Chabbi Ganapathi

What it is

Chabbi Ganapathi is a household deity in Chabbi, also written Chebbi, a village in Dharwad district near Hubballi. The murti is red, covered in sindhoor, and is unlike the Ganesha figures seen in most temples. In his right hand he holds a broken tusk; in his left, a lingam. His other two hands carry weapons. Local people call him Varasiddi Vinayaka and Ugraswaroopi Ganapathi, names that point to his fierce look and to the wishes people believe he grants. For close to two centuries the Kulkarni family has kept him, and seven households of the village now share the three-day Ganeshotsava.

Origins and history

According to the sources, the festival began in 1827. A Brahmin named Tammappanna had no children and went looking for blessings. A saint, Krishnendra Swamiji, told him to worship a Ganapathi coloured with sindhoor for three days. Within a year of that worship a son was born to him. The Kulkarni family has kept the three-day observance ever since, and what started in one household now involves seven. The year 2026 marks the two hundredth year of the celebration, counted from 1827.

How it is kept

The Ganeshotsava lasts three days and begins on the Chaturthi of the Bhadrapada month. On the first day the sthapana, the setting up of the deity, is done, usually in the afternoon. After that visitors are allowed in for darshan. The second and third days follow the family's own rituals and pooja. Evenings are given over to bhajan and keerthan, sung devotional songs. On the third day, after midnight, the visarjana takes place and the deity is taken away. Only these three days are kept each year, and the household customs shape how they run.

The areca nut

Visitors who come for darshan bring a whole areca nut, called adikebetta, and offer it to Ganapathi. It is handed back to them, and they take it home and keep it at their own shrine, worshipping it through the year. When they return the following year they bring that same nut, offer it again, and receive a new one to keep for the year ahead. People follow this for three years, or sometimes between three and five, depending on what they have asked for, and they believe the wish is granted within that time.

What it means

Those who keep the tradition describe the deity as Varasiddi Vinayaka, the giver of what has been asked for, and as Ugraswaroopi Ganapathi, the fierce-looking one. His red colour and his weapons set him apart from the gentler images of Ganesha in other places. The broken tusk and the lingam he carries are part of what people come to see. Many visitors say they have returned year after year, for three or five years, until their prayer was answered. The feast is therefore a family duty and a place of hope at once.

How Chabbi Ganapathi is kept

Three days each year, beginning on the Chaturthi of Bhadrapada. On day one the sthapana is performed, usually in the afternoon, and then the shrine is opened to visitors for darshan. On the second and third days the family performs its own pooja and keeps its own customs. Evenings are spent in bhajan and keerthan. Visitors offer a whole areca nut and take it home to keep for a year. After midnight on the third day the visarjana is done, and the celebration ends.

When and where

It falls once a year and runs for three days. The start is the Chaturthi of the Bhadrapada month in the Hindu lunar calendar, so the dates move from year to year in the common calendar. The first day's sthapana usually happens in the afternoon, and the visarjana comes after midnight on the third day.

It is kept in Chabbi, also written Chebbi, a village in Dharwad district near Hubballi. The Kulkarni family there holds the Ganeshotsava, and seven households of the village take part. People from the surrounding area and beyond travel to the village for darshan during the three days.

What Chabbi Ganapathi means

For the families who keep it, the red Ganapathi is a figure of answered prayer. The colour, the broken tusk and the lingam in his hands make him recognisable, and his fierce look gives him the name Ugraswaroopi. The areca nut carries a wish from one year to the next: it is kept at home and brought back, so a household's hope stays with it until the prayer is fulfilled. The three-day feast ties the living family to the one that began it in 1827.

Days Chabbi Ganapathi is marked

Questions people ask about Chabbi Ganapathi

See also

Water lanternSmall lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneDhanterasThe first day of Diwali, a festival of lamps, health and wealth kept across India and Nepal.Naraka ChaturdashiThe dawn festival of oil baths, ancestor lamps, and harvest foods during DiwaliBonaluAn annual festival of thanksgiving to Goddess Mahakali across Telangana, India

Good reading and sources

• Chabbi Ganapathi on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-10.