SSC
On which festival are Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha traditionally worshipped together?
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Answer: Option D — Diwali
Detailed Solution
On the main night of Diwali, the new moon (Amavasya) of Kartika, Hindu families perform the Lakshmi Puja, in which Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha are worshipped together. It is the central ritual of the festival in most of North and West India.
Goddess Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, prosperity and good fortune, and the wife of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that on Diwali night she visits the homes of her devotees, and that she enters homes that are clean, well lit and welcoming. That is why people clean and decorate their homes, draw rangoli at the entrance, light lamps at every door and window, and sometimes draw small footprints leading into the house to welcome her. Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and the god of wisdom and new beginnings, is worshipped first in every Hindu ritual. He is worshipped with Lakshmi on Diwali so that wealth is accompanied by wisdom, and so that the new year begins without obstacles.
For the Lakshmi Puja, families place idols or pictures of Lakshmi and Ganesha on a decorated platform, often with silver coins, new account books, money and jewellery. They offer flowers, sweets, puffed rice (kheel), sugar toys (batashe) and lamps, and chant prayers. Traders and businesspeople worship their new account books (Chopda Pujan or Bahi Khata Puja), as Diwali marks the beginning of a new financial year in many business communities.
In West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, Diwali night is celebrated as Kali Puja, when Goddess Kali is worshipped. In the Bengali tradition, Lakshmi is worshipped instead on Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, the full moon night after Durga Puja (Sharad Purnima).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Holi is the festival of colours, linked with Prahlad and Radha-Krishna.
- ✗Raksha Bandhan is the festival of brothers and sisters.
- ✗Makar Sankranti is the harvest festival dedicated to the Sun.
Quick tip
Remember: Diwali = the joint worship of Lakshmi and Ganesha. Kali Puja = Diwali night in Bengal; Kojagari Lakshmi Puja = Sharad Purnima.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.