Samarth Ramdas was a saint, poet, philosopher and writer.
These two aarti songs of Lord Ganesh are quite popular and performed by many during the pujas.
The festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi have begun with great pomp and show across the country. Crowds gathered to have darshan of Lord Ganesha at various pandals. In many states, people celebrate Ganeshotsav with full enthusiasm. They also bring idols of Lord Ganesha to their homes to worship him and perform aarti of the elephant-headed God.
Ganesha is usually worshiped before starting a new venture or business or before the ritual of a pooja. Lord Ganesha is also known as Vighanharta, remover of obstacles. You can appease Him by worshiping Him with devotion and it is believed that in return He blesses His devotees and puts an end to their troubles. Because of its elephant head it is called Gajanan and because of its huge belly it is called Lambodar. You may have noticed that two aartis are quite popular while worshiping Lord Ganesha. One aarti is Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva and the other is Sukhkarta Dukhharta Varta Vighnachi, both sung with deep devotion to Lord Ganesh.
But do you know who wrote this aarti?
According to available information, both the aartis were composed by Samarth Ramdas, the guru of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It is believed that saint poet-philosopher Samarth Ramdas was inspired to write the aarti after seeing the Mayureshwar form of Lord Ganesha at the Morgaon Temple, the main temple of the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage center comprising eight Ganesha temples . Pune.
The purpose of the aarti is to express devotion to the Vighnaharta. People bring Ganesha home for ten days and when the festival culminates with his immersion or visarjan in a body of water, people believe that he takes all the troubles with him.
Who was Samarth Ramdas?
Samarth Ramdas was born when Narayan Suryajipanta Thosar wrote the aarti of Lord Ganesha. He was born in Jamb in present-day Jalna district of Maharashtra. Samarth Ramdas taught the youth about the development of the country through various meditation practices and exercises. He is also responsible for the installation of Lord Hanumanji in many places.
