Why Is Lord Ganesha Offered Succulents Modaks?

Modaks are considered one of the loved sweets of Lord Ganapati

the auspicious god. The succulent sweets are even seen in one of the hands of the God. The importance of the modak can be gauged by their name ‘moda’ stands for bliss and ‘ka’ represents a small portion. Hence, it literally translates to a little piece of bliss.

Now let us share the story of what made Modak the favorite food of little Ganes

Story Of Modaks

Once upon a time a famished Shiva and his wife along with their son Ganesha, visited the abode of sage Atri and his wife Anusuya. The sage’s wife welcomed them all in and was mesmerized by the chubby little child. She declared that she will only feed the rest of the party once Ganesha was fed to satisfaction. Anusuya went to the kitchen and came out with the food which the child-lord quickly devoured. She went in again and brought out the plate full of food but the same happened again and again. Meanwhile Shiva was getting agitated due to hunger and the sage-wife was scared of invoking his wrath. She quickly had an idea. Anusuya went inside the kitchen and came out with a single sweet which she offered to Ganesha with love. The boy quickly gulped it down and gave a satisfied burp. Simultaneously, Lord Shiva also burped 21 times. This surprised Parvati and she enquired about this magical sweet that could satiate her ever hungry son as well as her husband. Anusuya told her it is a ‘modak’, a dumpling filled with coconut, jaggery and assorted dry fruits. When she came to know of this fact, Parvati blessed Anusuya and said that all devotees must offer 21 modaks shall to Ganesha by his devotees.