Ganesha, गणेश,Gaṇeśa, also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as
Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति, IAST: gaṇapati), Vinayaka (Sanskrit: विनायक;
IAST: Vināyaka), and Pillaiyar (Tamil: பிள்ளையார்), is one of the
deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His
image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him
regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and
extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although Ganesa is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant
head makes him particularly easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered
as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and
Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश; IAST: Vighneśa),
Vighneshvara (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश्वर; IAST: Vighneśvara)), patron of arts
and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at
the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters
during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes
associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct
iconography.
Ganesha emerged a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th
and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited
traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly,
and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism
(a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called
the Ganapatya (Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; IAST: gāṇapatya), who identified
Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal
scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala
Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (Tamil:ஓம், Sanskrit:ॐ)
also called Om). The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when
identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the
primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association.
Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You
are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya]
and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds)
Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You
are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions;
especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or
starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu]
home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. Ganapati,
being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all
castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if
Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection
against adversity.
Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke
him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious
ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin
performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to
Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the
Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras
associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation
to the Lord of Hosts).
Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls
(laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a
modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is
often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red
flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also
used in his worship.
Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka
chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the
month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's
birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of
the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesh
Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The
festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha,
symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of
Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the
most convenient body of water, while the people shout "Ganapati Bappa
Morya" (Ganesh come back soon next year). Some families have a tradition
of immersion on the 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak
transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family
celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap
between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate
context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his
nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of
Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a
rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the
first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he
established the practice of submerging all the public images on the
tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival
with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of
Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune,
and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
Halebid Ganesha..truncated by Ghazni Mohd!
Madurai Vinayakar
Ujjain Vinayakar
Maheshwar
Lord Vinayaka Swamy
Dancing Lord Ganesha
Lord Vinayaka Deity Pendants in Platinum
Ganesh Wallpaper
Chaturbhuj Lord Ganesha
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of
Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their
principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the
Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala
Purana and their dating relative to one another has sparked academic
debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered
strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own
judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared
around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later
interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date
for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with
the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha
Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff
finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala
Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha.
She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence,
the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of
the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the
Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of
the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th
centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain
regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa,
was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.
