About Anant Chaturdashi
Anant Chaturdashi is observed in Hindu culture and happens to be the day Lord Ganesha’s visarjan takes place after a long celebration of the beautiful and vibrant festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
It takes place on the fourteenth day (also known as Chaturdashi) of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapad. Coming to the significance of this day, there are two beliefs.
The first and foremost is its association with the immersion of idols of Lord Ganesha (Ganesh Visarjan) as the Ganesha festival finally wraps up and devotees immerse Ganesha’s idols into water bodies like lake, sea, or rivers, bidding adieu to the lovely Ganesha only to welcome him home again next year.
On the other hand, the other significance of Anant Chaturdashi is that on this very day, followers and devotees of Lord Vishnu listen to and recite stories of him, taking a keen interest in legends associated with him.
Lord Vishnu in Hindu culture is also known as Anant (infinite) and his devotees narrate verses and hymns from the Vedas, an instance that is often referred to as the ‘’Ananta Vrat.’’
Anant Chaturdashi mostly falls in the month of September every year, according to the traditional Hindu calendar, based on the fortnight of Bhadrapad and this year, it will be observed on the 5th of September.
The devotees of Lord Vishnu wear sacred silk threads on this day of Anant Chaturdashi as they follow religious rituals that include doing pujas, distributing prasad’s, etc.
In Jain culture too, Anant Chaturdashi has an important significance as it marks the last day of their Paryushana Parva (for the Digambara Jains) as the 10 days long observance of this cleansing ritual finally comes to a conclusion. As per the Hindu calendar, Anant Chaturdashi would fall on the 23rd of September in the coming year, that is 2018.