Lambodar Sankashti Chaturthi Fast Story

In the Satyuga, there was a noble and righteous king named Harishchandra. His kingdom was free from injustice, and no one was disabled, poor, or unhappy. During his reign, a devoted Brahmin named Rishisharma lived there. After he passed away, his widow took care of their son through begging. The Brahmin lady had great devotion and worshiped Lord Ganesha using a clay idol she made herself. She managed to prepare ten sesame laddoos from her begging. Her young son tied the idol of Lord Ganesha around his neck and went out to play. A cruel potter captured the five-year-old boy and threw him into the furnace to bake clay pots. The mother searched for her son, couldn't find him, and was heartbroken. She cried and prayed to Lord Ganesha to save her son. The potter came to check the furnace the next morning and found water collected inside instead of fire. To his astonishment, the boy was sitting unharmed, happily playing inside. Terrified, the potter confessed his wrongdoing at the king's court, describing how he sacrificed the boy to bake his pots but was shocked to see the boy alive. King Harishchandra went to see the boy and was amazed. The furnace was filled with water, lotus flowers, and fresh grass, and the boy was completely unburnt and playing as if nothing had happened. At that moment, the grieving mother arrived, took her son into her arms, and explained that she had been observing the Sankatnashak Ganesh Chaturthi fast. She attributed her son's survival to Lord Ganesha's blessings. It is believed that from that day, the Ganesh Chaturthi fast started, observed on the fourth day of each lunar month. This fast fulfills the wishes of devotees and grants them success, worldly happiness, and salvation.