The much-awaited festival of Ganeshotsav has begun today. The 10 days festival sees a lot of excitement among the masses, as some people get the Ganpati idols at home and celebrate. People worship Lord Ganesha and pamper him like a guest. They decorate their houses, make a makhar to keep the idol, prepare special food items and finally bid him a heartfelt goodbye. The number of days for which the families bring in the idol also vary. The immersion of the Ganpati idol takes place after one and a half, three, five, seven and on the 10th day of Anant Chaturdashi. The muhurat timings for the immersion are also different.

Although it is a sad moment for the people to bid goodbye to the Lord, the immersion procession are carried out in great fanfare. Some people bring in the traditional dhol pathaks to play during the procession. People dance, sing and keep saying 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' throughout the procession. Let us look at the dates, visarjan tithi and muhurat timings for all the Ganpati visarjan days of 2018. Why Gauri Ganpati Visarjan Won’t Take Place on 7th Day This Year.

One and a half day visarjan muhurat: September 14, 2018.

Afternoon Muhurta (Shubh) - 12:35 - 14:07

Afternoon Muhurta (Char) - 17:09 - 18:41

Night Muhurta (Labh) - 21:38 - 23:07

Three days visarjan muhurat: September 15, 2018

Afternoon Muhurta (Char, Labh, Amrit) - 12:35 - 17:09

Evening Muhurta (Labh) - 18:40 - 20:09

Night Muhurta (Shubh, Amrit, Char) - 21:37- 02.04 (September 16)

Five days visarjan muhurat: September 17, 2018

Morning Muhurta (Amrit) - 06:30 - 08:01

Morning Muhurta (Shubh) - 09:32 - 11:03

Evening Muhurta (Char) - 14:05 - 20:07

Seven days visarjan muhurat: September 19, 2018

Morning Muhurta (Labh, Amrit) - 06:31 - 09:32

Morning Muhurta (Shubh) - 11:03 - 12:33

Afternoon Muhurta (Char, Labh) - 15:34 - 18:36

Anant Chaturdashi visarjan muhurat: September 23, 2018

Morning Muhurta (Char, Labh, Amrit) - 08:02 - 12:32

Afternoon Muhurta (Shubh) - 14:02 - 15:32

Evening Muhurta (Shubh, Amrit, Char) - 18:32 - 23:02

On the day of Gauri Ganpati, it is said that Goddess Gowri, who is the mother of Lord Ganesh comes in search of him. This year Gauri Aavhan and Puja will be on September 15. Several households who keep Ganpati also have the Gauri Puja and then the immersion of both Gauri and Ganesh takes place together. A lot of household Ganpatis will immerse on September 17. The Sarvajanik Ganesh Pandals, which organise the Ganeshotsav for the public will have the Ganpati visarjan on the last day ie. Anant Chaturdashi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 13, 2018 04:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).