It has been in vogue to place a figure of lord Ganesha at the entrance of homes, offices, shops and other buildings.As most people believe that it is inauspicious to place the image or statue of lord Ganesha with his back towards their home, they place another image on the inside of the entrance. In this way, the position of Sarvapratham Pujaniya (who is worshipped first) lord Ganesha is reduced to that of a merely dwarpal (get keeper). Moreover, by placing his images both inside and outside, they unknowingly have to face his back whenever they enter or leave the building. This has to be avoided at any cost as it brings about abject poverty.
Interestingly, this tradition was started in Rajasthan about 250 years ago. This region, which was at that time one of the most prosperous in the country, is now dismissed as a sick state. However, of late with discontinuation of this tradition, it has once again started prospering.
There is another reason behind not displaying lord Ganesha’s image at the entrance. According to the scriptures, once goddess Parvati asked lord Ganesh to guard the entrance while she was busy inside. There ensued a serious dispute.Since then,the belief has prevailed that lord Ganesha should not be placed at the entrance.
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