The Telugu States, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, have declared September 18 as a holiday for celebrating Vinayaka Chavithi this year, but a few almanac writers have suggested that the festival should be celebrated on September 19.
The differing views, as the almanac writers have stuck to their respective ‘Siddhanta’ (system followed in preparing the almanac) in fixing the festival date, has led to confusion among some sections of people.
According to one school of thought, the Drik Siddhanta, Vinayaka Chavithi falls on September 19, while Poorva Paddhati (old tradition), prefers September 18. The latter is followed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Sringeri, and Jeeyars while the former is adopted by the Kanchi, and Mysore Datta Peethams.
There is an argument that celebrating Vinayaka Chavithi on a day when there was no ‘Chavithi’ (the fourth day in the Hindu calendar) at the time of moonrise is not correct. However, almanac writer Kappagantu Subbarama Somayaji says that ‘Chavithi chandra’ means moon on ‘Chavithi thithi’ and one should not insist that ‘Chavithi thithi’ must be present at the time of moonrise.
The Poorva Paddhati followers say that the moonrise and the moonset in ‘Chavithi’ hours fall on September 18 (Monday), and hence, we prefer celebrating it on that day. Even the TTD Panchangam (almanac) suggests the same, they point out.
Quoting ‘Vrata Nirnaya Kalpavalli’, ‘Dharma Sindhu’, ‘Nirnaya Sindhu’ and other scriptures, Mr. Subbarama Somayaji says there is no principle that ‘thithi’ should be present at the time of sunrise while celebrating festivals. With regard to Vinayaka Chavithi, the ‘thithi’ should be present at the time of noon, for which the ‘dina pramana’ (the time between sunrise and sunset which is divided into five equal parts — prataha, sanghava, madhyanna, aparanna and sayamkalam) is to be taken into account, as per which the ‘Chavithi thithi’ falls at ‘Madhyanna kala’ on September 18. Various factors have to be taken into consideration while deciding the date for the festival, he says.
Usually, the ‘thithi’ at the time of the sunrise is considered for celebrating festivals as per the ‘Shashtra’. Considering this rule, a few scholars suggest celebrating Vinayaka Chavithi on September 19. The almanac writers like Pulipaka Chandrasekhara Sastry, who follow the Drik Siddhanta, say September 19 is most auspicious to celebrate the festival. Likewise, ‘Vinayaka Nimajjana’ should be done on September 28, he opines.
Mr. Subbarama Somayaji says both systems were correct in fixing the date of the festival as per their respective principles as far as this year’s Vinayaka Chavithi is concerned and that a few people were creating unnecessary confusion. “It is unnecessary to compare different almanacs prepared based on different schools. Instead, people are suggested to celebrate the festival duly following the ‘panchanga’ or date fixed by their pontiff or mutts,’‘ he opines.
