Catha or Ganesh Cauthi

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

The Nevah community in Nepal celebrates the Ganesh Cauthi called Catha on the fourth day of the bright fortnight in Bhadra (August-September) in the Vikram calendar. On this occasion, they make offerings to Lord Ganesh and the crescent moon in the evening as soon as the moon appears in the sky. Some people do not look at the moon as it might bring them the charge of stealing if they view the moon in this evening so they hide in rooms where the light of the crescent moon does not reach. While making offerings to Lord Ganesh on this particular evening, some other people simply make offerings to the crescent moon also for freeing him from the curse Lord Ganesh has put on him in return for molesting Lord Ganesh. Some Nepalis believe that this is the birthday celebration of Lord Ganesh.

Sisters were busy at roasting beans and corn. They say that they need to roast nine different beans and then corn for offering those items to Lord Ganesh in the evening. It was a surprise to me to note that they are not preparing any meat dishes for offering to Lord Ganesh but they prepare meat dish for us to feast on after worshipping Lord Ganesh. These offerings of nine beans do not follow the Shastric or Tantric rituals although the members of the Nevah community follow both the Shastric and Tantric rituals.

They put the nine different roasted beans separately in wicker baskets, fruits and cucumber in another basket and kernels of a few peach-pit (stone) roasted in a small plate. These are the items we do not miss to offer to Lord Ganesh on this day called Catha or Ganesh Cauthi. If we miss any one of these items of offerings then Lord Ganesh might punish us with the charge of stealing. In addition, we make regular offerings to Lord Ganesh.

In the evening, we all gather at one corner of the rooftop and wait for our grandfather to make offerings to Lord Ganesh, as it is the duty of the male head of the family to do so. One of the sisters comes with a bronze plate full of regular items of offerings and on top of it a paper printed with Lord Ganesh. Then, other sisters bring the baskets with nine beans and corn, and with fruits and cucumber. They set all those baskets on the part of the rooftop floor smeared with the mixture of red clay and fresh cow dung. We believe that the floor smeared with such a mixture of fresh cow dung and red clay is a spiritually cleaned spot.

The patriarch of our family, our grandfather walking with his staff comes out to the rooftop, sets aside the staff and sits on a low stool set for him to sit. We all stand around him. First, he cleans his hands drawing a little bit of the holy water from a copper water pot, and then sprinkles it over the already cleaned spot. Then, he takes the cucumber and places it at the center of the cleaned spot and sets the paper Ganesh on it on a standing position. He sets all the baskets containing roasted beans and popcorn at the paper Ganesh.

Then, our grandfather does regular offerings to Lord Ganesh from the bronze plate. First, he lights incense sticks, and then he dips his middle finger in the yellow color paste placed on the bronze plate and marks the forehead of Lord Ganesh with it and then on top of it with the red color paste. He places flowers on the head of Lord Ganesh, and then offers other items such as flattened rice, and sweets, and then lights the wicks soaked in oil and offers it the paper Lord Ganesh circling it a number of times at Lord Ganesh and places it on the rice grains placed on the floor. Then, our grandfather distributes rice to all of us and asks us to clasp our hands with rice and then offer the rice to Lord Ganesh throwing it at Lord Ganesh.

Our granddad performs the rituals of making offerings to Lord Ganesh and then distributes various items offered to the lord as blessings from the lord to us. He takes a few grains each of the nine beans and of the popcorn out of the baskets and offered these items to Lord Ganesh. He takes a few kernels of peach-pits and offers them to Lord Ganesh. He takes another set of the beans and peach-pit kernels and throws them at the crescent moon. Then he takes out of Lord Ganesh the flower he has placed on his head and breaks it into pieces and offers one piece of the flower to each of us as the blessing from the God. We put it on our heads. He then applies red and yellow paste on our forehead by his middle finger as also the blessing from the lord. He then distributes the beans, peach-pit kernels and popcorn to all of us as another blessing from Lord Ganesh. Everybody eats the blessed beans, popcorn and so on.

One of the sisters brings a large saucepan and covers the paper god and other items offered to him to protect all of those items from rains and from night birds and rodents, as our tradition is to keep the offerings made to Lord Ganesh for overnight on the same spot. Next morning, one of us would offer holy water to Lord Ganesh and then collect all those offerings except for the paper Ganesh and dispose those items of at the nearest river. We usually paste the paper Ganesh on a wall.

After performing the worship to Lord Ganesh, all family members sit together and feast on the festival dishes. Our parents make it sure that no item of festival food has left out; if we miss some items we would miss those items during the big festival called Dashain and on other occasions, too.

We do not wash the dishes on this night but leave them in the washbasin for washing next morning. The reasons for not washing the dishes are secret but our seniors say that these dishes might turn into gold next morning. So, we do not wash the dishes. Our forefather must have set the tradition of not washing the dishes on this night, as they have been tired doings various things on this day so they postponed the washing of dishes for next morning.

In Nepal, we offer both Shastric and Tantric offerings to Lord Ganesh. Following Shastric offerings, we offer sweets balls to Lord Ganesh. We believe that Lord Ganesh loves sweet balls more than anything else. Following Tantric offerings, we offer animal sacrifices and alcoholic drinks to Lord Ganesh. However, on this particular evening we offer nine beans and some other items that did neither match with the Shastric offerings nor with the Tantric offerings. Probably, the members of the Nevah community perform worship to different Lord Ganesh than Shastric and Tantric on this particular occasion, as the Ganesh printed on a paper has only one right tusk, rides on a lion not on a usual rat and looks fierce unlike other Ganesh. The Nevah community believes that Goddess Durga has lend her steed ‘lion’ to Ganesh for this day; so, Lord Ganesh has the privilege of riding a lion on this day.

We believe that making offering to the crescent moon would free the moon from the curse of “anybody seeing moon would be charged with stealing” Lord Ganesh has put on him. That is why we make offerings to Lord Ganesh only after the crescent moon is visible in the sky.

A legend has it that while returning back from the divine world after receiving the boon of perfect creation from Lord Brahma, Lord Ganesh happened to be in the world of moon. Seeing the unique physical features of Lord Ganesh, the moon laughed at him.

Lord Ganesh became furious with the moon at his rudeness. So, he put a curse on the moon that anybody seeing the moon would be charged with stealing. So, everybody started running away from the moon. The moon lost the status of the member of the divinity in the divine world. The moon was upset very much but could not do much.

Following the counsel of the creator of the universe Brahma, the moon started making offerings to Lord Ganesh pleading for the forgiveness for his mistake (in other words atoning for his sin) and for restoring him to his previous status.

After a number of years of strenuous atoning for the sin, the moon was successful to please Lord Ganesh. On the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month called Bhadra, satisfied with the repentance of the moon for its misdeed in the past, Lord Ganesh said to the moon, “I would free you from my curse for all days except for the fourth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadra.”

So, seeing the crescent moon on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadra, anybody might be charged with stealing. Most of the believers in such a legend hide in the room where the moon would have no access to in this evening to escape from of the curse put on the moon. Some people use to steal a fruit from neighbor and display it as they have stolen to get rid of any charge of stealing that might befall on them if incidentally they happen to see the moon on this night.

Our parents have been very practical pretending to steal fruits even before the moon is visible on this night so that the charge of stealing would not be on them. So, we all children carry a piece of fruits apparently stolen from a neighbor and hanged it from a string attached to our shirts. Every one of adult family members also carries such a piece of fruits. Then, we all offer those pieces of fruits to Lord Ganesh in the evening worship. So, we could view the crescent moon even on this night.

We all pray to Lord Ganesh for freeing the moon from the curse of “anybody seeing him would be charged with stealing.” We also pray to the moon for being free from the curse put on him. Our forefathers have developed various sorts of such offerings to make to different deities based on such myths and mythologies for us to follow for centuries to come.

The indigenous people living in the Maithili Pradesh (province) also celebrate the festival of Ganesh Cauthi. They call it Cautha-chand. They also believe in Lord Ganesh putting a curse on the moon. So, they make offerings to both Lord Ganesh and the moon for freeing the moon from the curse.

All family members assembly together at the open area in the evening as the Nevah do and make offerings to Lord Ganesh and the moon. Then, they offer various fruits and vegetables grown on their farms. The patriarch performs the religious rituals to Lord Ganesh and the moon, and then distributes the god-blessed food called ‘prasad’ to every one of the family members.

On this day, the indigenous people hold a religious festival in honor of Lord Ganesh at various places. They make offerings to Lord Ganesh and seek blessings from the lord for all the family members.

Men and women take a whole day fast on this day to make offerings to the moon in the evening. In the evening they make offerings of rice puddings, yogurt, sweets and fruits to the crescent moon. Then, they break the fast eating rice puddings and so on. They believe that by doing so the moon will bless them with sons and riches.


Note: Nepal has both Tantric Ganesh and Shastric Ganesh. Tantric Ganesh accepts meat dishes alcoholic drinks and even animal sacrifice whereas Shastric Ganesh accepts only sweet balls and other vegetarian foods.

This year’s Ganesh Cauthi is on August 23, 2009.