Revealing the lesser known truths about wondrous Gaṇeśa
On the joyous occasion of Gaṇeśa-caturthī this article explores purāṇic stories about the origin of the elephant-headed god loved by so many, and collates interesting facts and practises associated with him. Gaṇeśa becomes an important, benevolent god in the post-epic, post-Gupta period, but we'll leave the historical study of origins and evolution for another day. Many articles will be written today about his classical form and function. But there is a lot more to discover about Gaṇeśa than the commonly known iconography and the Vighnahartā/Vighneśvara aspect.
Lesser known facts
The Muḍgala Purāṇa records 321 forms of Gaṇeśa. The emblems associated with these forms are as many as 48, including two mudras (abhaya and varada). In tune with his epithet Lambodara, 13 of these emblems are food related.2 The tantric orientation of Gaṇapati is indicated by some of his forms and emblems. The Ucchiṣṭa-Gaṇapati found in the Kumbheśvara temple at Kuṃbhakoṇam (Tamil Nadu) is a prime example. Mahā-Gaṇapati and Ūrdhva-Gaṇapati forms hold an ikṣucāpa (sugarcane bow) made of five sweet-smelling flowers, which are the same as those associated with Kāma. Vighna- Gaṇapati holds both the ikṣucāpa and ikṣubāṇa (sugarcane arrow) suggesting that in tantric Gāṇapatya, the Lord takes the form of Manmatha, the god of love.
A unique aspect of Gaṇapati worship is that is pervades the entire Hindu universe. He is worshipped by all castes and by all sects. This is mirrored in his iconography. He holds the khaṭvāṅga which is typical of Śiva, the gadā and cakra he shares with Viṣṇu, the japamālā and kamaṇḍalū is commom with Brahmā, vīṇā with Sarasvatī, padma with Sūrya and śakti with Skanda. He cumulatively represents the ṣanmatas, or six "religions". Not surprisingly, no matter who the iṣṭa deva/devī might be, Gaṇeśa holds a special place in every Hindu's heart.
He is invoked at the beginning of any task, big or small, sacred or profane. Sometimes the invocation can take an unusual form. When when my husband and I were to be married, my mother addressed the first invitation card to Gaṇeśa and went personally to a letter box to post it! However I realised later that she was not alone in doing this. It is traditional for Hindus in Pune to invite Gaṇeśa to any nuptials in the family by taking a wedding card to the Kasba peth temple which was built by Jījābai, the mother of Śivāji. In fact so important is his invocation, that an anomalous representation is found in art, whereby Śiva and Pārvati worship him before their marriage. This is seen at the Rāmeśvara temple at Ellora and Kannauj. Both Gaṇeśa and Skanda are attendants at the marriage.
"Śri Gaṇeśa" has become synonymous with auspicious beginnings. Whether we build a house, start a project, start revising, write an exam or a paper, open an account book, commence a journey, it cannot be done without "Śri Gaṇeśa". The performance of all saṃskāras (domestic rites) begins with Gaṇeśa, be it garbhādāna (conception), jātakarma (birth ceremony), cūḍākaraṇa (tonsure), or upanayana (sacred thread investiture). All śrauta rites, smārta (śāstric and purāṇic) and tantric rites also begin with - "Gaṇeśāya Vighneśvarāya namaḥ."
Little-known worship
Gaṇeśa is called Pillaiyar in Tamil Nadu. On seeing him, devotees strike their forehead/temples with their knuckles - known as "pillaiyar kuttu". This action is related to the birth of the River Kaveree. Gaṇeśa in the form of a crow knocks down the kamaṇḍalū of sage Agastya (containing the river), then takes the form of a boy. When the sage comes to strike the boy, he reveals himself to be Gaṇeśa. The contrite sage starts to strike his own forehead. Gaṇeśa declares that anyone who worships him this way will be of sound mind and body, and have a sharp intellect. In another story, an asura Gajamugasuran troubles the devas by forcing them to do 1,008 "thoppukkaranams" three times a day. A thoppukkaranam is when you sit and stand repeatedly holding your ears with crossed arms. Gaṇeśa finally defeats the asura, who surrenders his ego by doing thoppukkaranam before Gaṇeśa , and prays that all who do so be blessed with wisdom and prosperity.
A little-known fact about Gaṇeśa worship was recorded by Edward Moor in the 19th century. In Chinchwād near Pune, there used to be a "living" Gaṇeśa. The Lord is supposed to have incarnated himself for seven generations in a particular family. Moor comments on the homage paid to the avatāra by the Peshwa, who had a special Gaṇeśa room in his palace where lavish festivals were celebrated in his honour. Anthropologist Victor Barnouw notes other less widely known pūjā-related practises. The pūjā thāli on Gaṇeśa-caturthī (among other offerings) includes santamum leaves, which must be offered to the Lord only on that day, and on no other day of the year. Dūrvā grass is also offered, since the Lord is very fond of it. But the clump must consist of 21 shoots, each with three leaves. The number 21 is special to Gaṇeśa.
Further, Gaṇeśa has been found outside India from very early times. The earliest iconographic representations are two stone statues from Afghanistan one from Sakai Dhar near Kabul (fourth century) and the other from Gardez with an inscription in Brahmi (fifth century). A terracotta from Akra in present Pakistan is also datable to about the fifth cen. Gaṇeśa was also popular in other Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Java and Bali, Cambodia and Champa, Tibet, Chinese Turkestan, China and Japan. In Nepal he is a liminal deity, guarding the threshold. He is represented as a slender youth with sausage curls under a tripartite crown, nudging a mouse with his foot. Nepalese legend has it that Gaṇeśa is svayambhū (self manifested) and he is called Sūrya Vināyaka.
Origin stories
The most widely-accepted story about the birth of Gaṇeśa is the one told in the Śiva Purāṇa. Of how Pārvatī creates him from the ubṭan (saffron paste) she removes from her body before a bath. The boy prevents Śiva from entering the home and Śiva cuts his head off in a rage. Later he relents and his gaṇas are instructed to bring the first head they can find and it turns out to be that of an elephant. However there are many other variations. The Skanda Purāṇa says Pārvatī created him from the impurities of her body, while the Vāmana Purāṇa says she moulded him from her bodily filth while bathing (hence his epithet mala puruṣa). The Matsya Purāṇa adds that this creation had the head of an elephant and came to life after being immersed in the Gaṅgā, giving him the name Gaṅgāja.
The Liṅga Purāṇa says Gaṇeśa was created by Śiva to defeat asuras, while the Varāhapurāṇa says Gaṇeśa was a boy created by Śiva and he was so handsome that Pārvatī was attracted to him. Śiva in a fit of jealousy cursed him to be pot-bellied and have an elephant's head. The Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa puts a Vaiśṇava spin on the origin story. In this text, Pārvatī prays to Viṣṇu for a child and he, propitiated, incarnates himself as her son. In this story, all the gods are invited to see the charming infant. When Śani looks at the baby, his head is reduced to ashes. To console the grief-stricken parents, Viṣṇu rushes to the banks of a river and brings back the head of a young elephant. Meanwhile the Suprabhedāgama states that one time Śiva and Pārvatī took the form of elephants to enjoy connubial bliss, and the child born of that union was Gaṇeśa.
Something else I learned recently was that there have been four different forms of Vināyaka in the four yugas. According to the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa. In the Kṛtayuga he is called Mahotakaṭa Vināyaka and is born to Kaśyapa and Aditi. He has no elephant head, and has a lion as his vehicle. In the Tretayuga he is called Mayūreśvara, and is born to Pārvatī. Again he does not have an elephant head, and his vehicle is a peacock. In the Dvāparayuga he is called Gajānana, is born to Śiva and Pārvatī, has an elephant head and a rat as his vehicle. In the Kaliyuga he is called Dhūmaketu Vināyaka. His features are not described and his vehicle is a horse. Again like his iconography (described above) in his different forms he shares elements with other deities. The lion with Durgā, the peacock with Skanda, and the horse with the form of Kalki avatāra.
[End of part I]
Wishing all the readers of this column a very happy Gaṇeśa-caturthī, and we will continue to explore this lovable deity in part II of the series.
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1They are Bāla-, Taruṇa-, Bhakta-, Vīra-, Śakti-, Dvija-, Siddhita-, Ucchiṣṭa-, Kṣipra-, Heraṃhba-, Lakṣmī-, Mahāvighneśvara-, Vijaya-, Kalpa-, Nṛtta-, Ūrdhvavighneśa-, Ekākṣara-, Vara-, Trayakṣara-, Kṣipradāyaka-, Haridrā-, Ekandanta-, Mṛdhṛṣṭi-, Uddānda-, Ṛṇamocana-, Ḍuṇḍi-, Dvimuka-, Trimukha-, Siṃha-, Yoga-, Durgā- and Saṅkaṭahara-, all suffixed with the common name -Ganapati.
2kaḍalī "plantain (fruit)", cyūta "mango", panasa "jack (fruit)", kapittha "wood apple", jambu "rose-apple", ikṣu "sugarcane", nārikela "coconut", modaka, apūpa (a sweet cake), guḍa "jaggery", pāyasam (sweet porridge), tilamodaka (a sweet cake made of jingily seeds) and laḍḍuka (pancake). Flowers, sprouts and creepers include the following: śālī (bunch of paddy crop), puṣpabandha (bunch of flowers), nīlotpala (blue lily), padma "lotus", puṣpabāṇa "arrow of flowers", kahlāra "white lily" and kalpalatā "a creeper of the wish-fulfilling tree". The weapons are śakti, bāṇa, dhanus, pāśa, aṅkuśa, vetāḷa, cakra, khaḍga, khaṭḍṅga, mudgara and gadā. Among others are vīṇā, śuka "parrot", ratnakalaśa, japamālā, danta and kamaṇḍalū.
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This article is based on the following sources:
Barnouw, V, The Changing character of a Hindu Festival, American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 56, No. 1 Feb, 1954
Krishan, Y, The Origins of Gaṇeśa, Artibus Asiae, Vol 43, No 4 1981 - 1982
Krishan, Y, Evolution of Gaṇeśa, East and West, Vol 44, No 2/4 December 1994
Rajarajan, RKK, Sugarcane Ganapati, East and West, Vol 51, No 3/4 December 2001
Venkataraman, M, Ganesha, ebook, 2015 (Kindle version)