CHAPTER -I

INTRODUCTION
GANAPATI IN LITERATURE AND
RELIGION
Ganapati is the Lord whom we invoke for

removing obstacles and for smooth sailing in all our enterprises.

No ritual is done without first propitiating Him and He is

invoked at the beginning of imparting children to letters. He

personifies the beginning obstacles, fine arts, intellect &

wisdom. It was during the fifth century that God Ganapati as a

distinct deity came into prominence. The 'Ganesa Purana', the

'Mudgala Purana', and the 'Ganapati Atharvasirsa' give

extensive information on the worship of Ganapati. His

blessings are indispensable foi enlightment. Linked to yoga He

is the sentinel Lord Guarding the Cakra, Miiladhara, in every

human being. Ganapati is also worshipped as a God by J ains

and Buddhists.

Though there are many vers10ns

regarding the birth of Lord Ganesa, the fourteen Puranas

contain more or less same version regarding the birth of

Ganapati< 1>, the most important is that He manifested Himself

on the lap of Lord Siva and Parvati. So Ganapati is known as

the son of Siva and Parvati.

I. 'Compendium on Ganesa' - S.K. Ramachandra Rao (See Appendix - 1)

One version is that He was born out of a mere glance

exchanged between Parvati and Siva. He is said to have been born out of

Parvati 's laughter. Elsewhere a story goes that the Goddess made a figure

of a young boy and threw it into the Ganges and Goddess Ganga identified

Him as her son. Thus He has two· mothers < 1 >.

Ganapati was born with a human head and body and that

Siva beheaded Him when Ganapti·came between Siva and Parvati. Thus

was born Ganesa (Ganapati).

Ganapati 's origin and presence is well described in the two

namavalis in the 'Lalita Sahasranama', "Kiimesvara nzukhiiloka kalpita

Srf Gaf!esvara" and "Mah ii Ga'!-esa nirbhinna vighna yantra

prahar�ita ".

It is noteworthy that Ganaptai is the only Saiva deity

worshipped by Vaishnavas. He is sometimes called Gajalwar, Tumbikai

Alwar and Vi�vaksena. GajaAlwar is the thirteenthAlwar of the Vaishnava

Bhakti cult in the South. Like Vishnu, Ganaptai acquires eight incamations<2 > .

They are Vakr.atun.d.fl, Ekadanta, Mahodara, Gajanana, Lambodara, Vikafa,

. .
Vighnaraja and Dhiimravarna. Each incarnation has a specific

1. 'Ganesa, the enchanter of the three words', Paul Martin Dubost. P. xii (Fore word)
2. ''Understanding Ganapati', Anita Raina Thapan
2
purpose. Ganapati 's incarnations destroy eight different demons (Matsara,

Mada, Moha, Lobha, Krodha, Kama, Manmata and Ahamkara) who were

just embodiment of evil tendencies. 1

It is generally believed that Ganapati is the source of the

Vedas, and He is identified with Vedic sacrifice and called Yajnapati. Based

on Him is a Kilaka Stotra, Sahasranama stotra enunciated by Siva and in

the 'Ganesagita' where He expounds upon jnana yoga, karma yoga and

kshetra viveka to king Varenya.

Lord Ganesa is supposed to have two consorts, Siddhi and

Buddhi. There are number of texts and commentaries which deals in depth

. . . Ekadanta,
with the eight incarnations (Avatara) of Ganesa; Vakratunda,

Mahodara, Gajanana, Lambodara, VikaJa, Vighna Raja and Dhumra Varna.

In spite of elephant"head, it happened that He has a single

tusk (Eka-danta). It is a special characteristic of Ganesa. Another story in

the same Purana explains this oddjty. Parasurama who had vowed to

obliterate the Kshatriyas who killed the powerful monarchs Kartavirya and

1. "Understanding Ganapati', Anita Raina Thapan. P. 200

3
Suchandra. There is a popular belief that sage Vyasa composed the great

epic 'Mahabharata', Ganesa wrote to his dictation by using His broken

tusk as quil. There is however no mention of this in the epic itself, but

'Balabharata' of the ninth century refers to it. Sarada ti/aka tantra'

(13, 141) contains just a passing reference to this fact. 'Mudgala Purana',

however, explains that a single tusk is symbolic of maya (the one), from

which all things emanate, being activated by Supreme reality.

'Mudgalapurana' explains that expression 'Mu�ika' (rat)

as a vehicle of Ganesa signifies the lord who abides in all things and

experiences all events, but hidden under the veil of maya. There is also

another explanation, 'Kii-{ivilasa-tantra' (18, I 0-11) describes the rat-mount

of Ganapati as ginat-sized and bull shaped; it is in fact a bull and 'Vi·. s. a'

(the word for bull in Sanskrit means dharma).

The 'Saundarya lahari' (the Surge of Beauty) a devotional

poem attributed to Sankaracharya (8 th Century). Verses 72 and 73 refer to

Ganesa called here 'Dvipavadana' (elephant face), Heramba and

'Dviravadana'< 1 )(face with two tusks). Sankaracharya had composed two

1. 'Saundaryalahari' Adi Sankaracharyar (Malayalam Copy) P. 185

4
hymns in praise of Lord Ganesa,. they are 'Sri Ganesa

Pancaratna Stotram'and SriGanesa Bhujanga Stotram< 1> . The

,
beginning words of the Sri Ganesa Pancaratna stotram:
-
"Mudakaratta modakam sada vimukti sadhakam" and the

Ganesa Bhuja:nga stotram "Ranat

I
ksudra
••
khanda
• '#

ninadabhiramam ':

According to tradition it is believed that

Adi Sankara composed the above stotram on the shores of the

Gulf of Mannar at Tiruchendur in Tirunelveli district in Tamil

Nadu<2>. There is a famous temple for both Skanda and Dhundi

Ganapati.

The 'Prapanca Saratantra' (Essence of

the Universe), a famous Tantric text of the 9th century gives the

list of the nine Saktis as guardians of Ganesa's throne (17, 22).

Ganesa's throne is made of precious stones. He seated on a

lotus on which are inscribed Sanskrit syllables. Ganesa's

. pita),
throne hexagoned (satkona
. . His seat is a lotus with eight
. . patra
petals (Asta . bhujasana). He is carried on their heads by
.
the 9 Saktis (Nava sakti sirodhruta), the nine Saktis are Tivra,
.
.
Jvalini, Nanda, Sambhoga,da, Kamarupini, Ugra, Tejovati,

Satya and Vighnanasini<3>.

1. 'Sri Sankara Stotra Ratnakaram', Adi Sankaracharyar (Malayalam)

2. 'Ganesa the enchanter of the three words' Paul Martin Dubost
3. 'Compendium on Ganesa', S.K. Ramachandra Rao

5
The 'Kathasarit Sagara' is a collection of350 Sanskrit stories

written by the Saiva Brahmin Somadeva (11th century). Each chapter

contains an introductory stanza invoking Ganesa. Kachiyappa Munivar,

Tamil poet of the end of the 18�h century is author of the 'Vinayaka

Puranam'. Jinaprabha Suri, a Jain Scholar of the 14 th century, author of

the 'Vidhipraha' contains references to Ganesa. There are several vratas

associated with Ganapati like Ganesa CaturJthi (as the fourth day of the

bright half of Sravaria and ending on the fourth day of the bright half of the

. (for a month beginning with the fourth

. Ganapati Vrata
Bhadrapada), Durva

day of the bright half of the Bhadrapada.

Ther are varieties of worship of Ganesa. The authority and

authenticity for Ganapati's eminence came in A.D. 8 111 when great spiritual

luminary Adi Sankaracharya propagated the Pancayatana P uja

Sampradayam. It is also called Pancadevopasana, a join worship of the

five major deities of the Hindu pantheon came in vogue; Ganesa, Surya,

Sakti (Goddes Durga), Vishnu and Siva. In the Sankaravijaya of

6
Anandanandagiri (Prakara!la 71), it is noted that Adi Sankara entrusted

Girijakumara with the responsibility of spreading the Ganesa Cult across

India(l>.

A whole chapter in 'Parasurama kalpa sutra' mentions how

to worship Ganesa, (Gananayaka Paddhati). In the original text from Assam

'Kalika purana', references are seen about Ganesa. 'Kalivilasa tantra' a

tantrik text gives in chapter 17, the dhyana and mantra of Ganesa. It also

contains the syllables ofMu�ika, th_e vehicle rat. It is interesting to not that

in chapter XI of 'Vi�vaksena Samhita' (Vaishnava text ofTirupati) the holy

eagle Garuda is a possible vehicle of Ganesa. A white coloured Ganesa

(Sitaprabha) is mentioned in 'Padma Samhita' a text of Vaishnava ritual<2 >.

'Sirpacintamani' aTamil treatise graphically describes the

..
. Ucchista,
tweleve forms of Ganesa - Bala, Dhanus, Bhakti, Vira, Pingala,

. . Heramba, Lekshmi, Maha, Bhuvana and Nrtta

Ksipra, . Ganapati. The birth·
of Ganapati is described in 'Rudra Samhita'-the book IV of the

"Sivapurana".

1. 'Understanding Ganapati', Anita Raina Thapan . P. 35

2. 'Ganesa, the enchanter of the three words', Paul Martin Dubost.
Rudrayamala was the author of a 'Litany of thousand Names

of Ganesa", all beginning with the letter 'GA'. The earliest literary reference

to Gan�pati appears in two hyms in R_gvedic collections.

Ganapati of the classical age represents the composite

imagery of all these Vedic deities. Brahaspati, Brahma1!aspati, Indra, Agni,

and Rudra. The aspects and attributes of these deities eulogized in the

Vedic hymns have been incorporated in the imagery of Ganapati who also

given an iconic form. Indra is described significantly as a 'Great elephant'

.
in Rgveda .
(8, 81 ). The Rgvedic .
hymn to Brahmanaspati (2, 23 and 17)

also refers to the deity's ability to free the devotee from indebtedness.

There is a form of Ganapati mentioned 'in Krishnayamala', known as

Rna-hartr ..
. . . . or Rnamocaka, whose worship is calculated to deliver the devotee

from indebtedness. 1

The Giinapatyiis

Little is known abo_ut the Ganapatyas, a sect worshipping

..
Ganapati as their special deity There are six sects of Ganapatyas- Ucchista

1. 'Compendium on Ganesa', S.K.RamachandraRao. P. 139

8
Ganapati and Heramba Ganapati, Haridra Ganapati, Maha Ganapati, Santana

Ganapati, Navanita Ganapati and Svarna

• •
Ganapati. They are worshipped

in different forms. Each sect has a.distinguishing symbol branded on his

or her arms and foreheads. Each �eparate system is dealt with separately

in the following paragraphs < 1 >.

1. Ucchi�{a Ganapati

..
According to Sankaravijaya, Ucchista Ganapati is to be

meditated as having four arms, three eyes bearing "Pasa" (rope), "Ankusa"

(goad) and "Gada" (mace). One hand is held in the 'abhayamudra' (freedom

from fear). The practice is mostly tantric. The Mahapuranam does not

mention about this form of Ganapati.

2. The sect of Heramba Ganapati

Here the icon shows Buddhist influence. In the Sankara

Vijaya, Heramba is visualized as embracing His consort seated on his left

thigh. But the Kasmiri text "Devi Rahasya" represents Him as a young boy

with the five heads.

1. 'Understanding Ganapati', Anita Raina Thapan. P. 195

9
They are related to the Mahayana Buddhism in some way

or other. Heramba is white in colour with five heads as the number five is

associated with Lord Siva. In an earliest reference the head of the deity is

seated on a lion, this is seen in the Kasmiri text 'Sarada tilaka tantra'.

3. Sect of Haridra Ganapati

Here Ganapati is having yellow dress. He has the sacred

thread (Yajnopavita). He has four arms and three eyes.

4. The sect of MahiiGanapati

There is no uniformity in the concept of Maha Ganapati in

the Agamas, Tantras and in the Sankaravijaya. Maha Ganapati tant�a forms

part of the Tibetan Buddist Canon (principles). In the Buddist concept

Maha Ganapati is white in complexion with four heads. In the Saiva Agamas

appears as one of the sixteen forms of the deity and have temples dedicated

to each form.

10
5. Santana Ganapati

Santana Ganapati reminds us of Santana Gopala, a form of

Krishna worshipped to obtain off springs.

6. Navanfta Ganapati & Svarna Ganapati

Navanita Ganapati & Svarna Ganapati recalls the child

Krishna and His myths about stealing butter. According to the Ajitagama,

Svama Ganapati is dressed, white as gold.

The essential difference noted is that, while Heramba and

Ucchi_sJa Ganapati are tantric and influenced by Buddhism; the other four

were not. They denote a kind of resurgent Saivism in the south during the

Chola period. During the Bhakti movement worship of Vishnu and Siva

paired off, among common folk. Gradually and finally Ganapati was

worshipped as son of Siva. It is an intrinsic part of Saivism. What deserves

mention here is that a majority of people did not accept Ganapati worship

as superior to independent of Siva.

"Maitr[iyani Samhita" a grand collection of Krishna

Yajurveda attributed to Maitrayana mentions a Gayatri in which the four

11
A~taVinayakas
old names of Elephant faced God are enumerated - 'Hastimukha, Karata,

Aum and Dantin'. "Meru tantra" a tantric text gives ten forms of Ganesa.

'Sarada ti/aka tantra', the tilaka of the Goddess Sarada, tantric

text of the 11 th century, chapter 13 list$ the sacred formulas (mantras) and

the ingredients which must be offered to the different forms of Ganesa,

during the rituals.

FAMOUS TEMPLES

Banaras

In Varanasi there are fifty-six Vinayakas each of them elephant

headed (Gajamukhas) and Lord of troop (Ganesvari). Further there are

Vinayaka shrines in groups like the Dasa-Vinayaka shrines of Kasi (in

Panca-Krosi parikrama), A�ta-Vinayaka centers of Maharashtra (See

. .
appendix-II) and Sad-Vinayaka of Ujjayini, Panca-Vinayaka of Puri. In this

context it deserves mention that 21 Vinayakas are celebrated in the entire

country as especially important (I)_ These. places were once centers of

Ga\1.apatya cult but only few of them can be identified at the present time.

(See appendix-III)

1. 'Comoandium on Ganesa' S.K. Ramachandra Rao (o. 54)

12
Karnataka

The 'Atmalinga', the linga of immortality offered by God

Siva to the demon king Ravana, was later lost in Gokamam in Kamataka,

while coming down towards Srilanka, his capital. It was Lord Ganesa

who disguised in the form of a Brahmin boy who instead of giving the

Atmalinga installed the Atmalinga in Gokarnam.

Gokamam, Idagunji and Kurudumale are the earliest Ganapati

temples in Kamataka. The worship of Ganapati at Gokamam is very

similar to that of Siva. The figure of the elephant headed deity has an

abhisheka patra on his hand. Water pours on him day long just as it does

on the Siva linga. In Gokarnam which is a famous Saiva fi�tha, one of the

smaller Ganapati temples is referred to the Ketaki Ganapati temple.

Hampi (district ofBellari, Kamataka) was the capital of the

kingdom ofVijayanagar between 1336 and 1665. The site possesses two

monumental statues of Ganesa, popularly called, 'Chick pea Ganesa' (4

meters in height) and mustard seed Ganesa (2 meters in length). In

'Chepalugudda' near Tirthahalli in Kamataka there is a famous temple for

13
Siddhi Vinayaka. In Shimoga on the banks of the river Thungabhadra,

there is a popular temple of Lord Siva and Goddess Sarada and Sakti

Ganapati. The idols were said to be installed by Adi Sankara. There is a

famous temple of Ganapati in Sagar as well.

SrI Saravu Maha Ganapati temple (Manglore) is situated in

the heart of the city Hampankatta. It is one of the most ancient temples of

South Karnataka district. The origin and importance of the temple is

described in Skandapurana. Sarabheswara and Maha Ganapati are the

principal deities in the temple. In Bangalore there is a Pancamukha Heramba

Ganapati temple, where bilva leaves are offered to Ganesa, He has five

faces, Siva also has five faces.

Krishnaraja Wodayar III, Maharaja of Mysore (1811-183 l)

and a great scholar, in his 'Srf Tatvanidhi', supplementary with illustration

the famous 32 forms of Ganapati are described. 'Srf Tatvanidhi' is

preserved in the Mysore Oriented Research Institute. It contains beautiful

and colourful paintings in the old traditional Mysore school of the 32

14
Ganapati forms are known as Dvatrimsat Ganapati. (See Appendix- IV).

Orissa

In Orissa, the five great divinities of the Hindu Pantheon,

Ganesa, Surya, Vishnu, Durga and Siva each has a main temple. Ganesa is

situated at the bottom of the Maha Vinayaka hill in the district of Cuttack,

Surya in Konark, Vishnu in the temple of Jagannatha in Puri, Goddess

Durga in Her temple of Viraja in Jaipur and the Lord Siva in the Lingaraja

temple in Bhuvanesvar.

Andhra Pradesh

In Kalahasti, m the distri-ct of Chittor, Andhra Pradesh, the

devotees before entering the grand temple of Siva descend to Salute in the

first courtyard- the Pata.la Vinayaka, guardian of the Subterranean kingdom,

who is situated in a cell dug nine meters below the ground and which marks

the level of the Suvamamukhi river just.close by.

IS
Kerala

The cave of Trikkur, ten kilometers south west of Trichur,

offers the oldest and best preserved Ganesa from Kerala

Kashmir

In Kashmir, three famous pilgrimage sites are associated

with Ganapati. One is a rock lying at the foot of the Hariparbat hill near

Srinagar, which is worshipped as. Ganapati under the name of 'Bhima

Swamin'. Another Svayambhu murtti (self existent image) of Ganapati

lies near the village of Ganesa-Bal in the Lidar River near right bank. The

pilgrimage site is called Ganesa Gha.ti or Ganesagiri. It is located in the

upper Kisanganga valley and is close to the shrine of Sarada.

As the son of Parvati He is invincible before the power of

Siva or He is the deity with cosmic powers even as Parvati represents the

earth. With Lekshmi, He is the giver of wealth and with Saraswati, Ganapati

symbolize wisdom and knowledge.

16
From His wive� He has two sons named Labha and

Kshema(l> . The most recent Goddess with whom Ganapati is associated is

Santhoshi Maa, His mind-born daughter <2> .

Ganesa in Unique Form

The Nantrudayan Vinayaka temple in Devadanam, Trichy

boasts of a unique Adi Vinayakar granite idol depicting Lord Ganesa with

His original Devine face, without the usual elephantine head and the trunk.

The four feet tall Adi Vinayaka is installed in a separate shrine close to this

Sanctum Sanctorum in the Nantrudayan Vinayakar temple<3> .

The Hindu scriptures are a unique blend of philosophy of

Vedanta on one hand and gross fetish worship on the other, full of

ceremony, rituals, festivals and celebrations. The ancient sages and

philosophers had perfected the art of symbolism to help the knowledgeable

man and the layman understand to intricate concepts through a simple

philosophy. And it was in this context that Lord Ganesa, the remover

1,2. 'Understanding Ganapati', Anita Raina Thapan. P. 160, 129

3. 'The Hindu', English Daily.
17
of all obstacles, Lord of all beings came to be portrayed to have the face

of an elephant with a trunk. It is indeed unique that this ancient Nantrudayan

temple in Devadanam depicts Lord Ganesa in his pristine Divine form.

There are also another two extremely rare representations

of Lord Ganesa with human face. There is one, worshipped in the outer

enclosure of the huge temple of Siva Nataraja in Chidambaram. Another

one stands in Ganapatisvaram, twelve kilometers from Nannilam, in the

district ofTanjavur at the site where Vinayaka killed the demon Gajamukha.

Both these representations show Ganesa standing with human fact

(Naramukha Vinayaka).

At the SrI Ananta Vinayaka temple in Chennai where there

is a syncretistic deity who is halfHanuman and half Ganapati, the left side

is Hanuman and the right is Ganapati. The image stands in a Lotus. In the

Siva temple at Coutralam in Tirunelveli district there is a hall of paintings

called Chitsabha. It is decorated with recently painted frescoes showing

Siva, Nataraja and sixteen different forms of Ganesa.

18
Iconic representations of nearly a hundred forms of Ganapati

are available in sculptures in the different parts of the country. Among

these Heramba Ganapati at the Thiruvanaikaval Akhilandeswari temple,

Lekshmi Ganapati at the Tenkasi Viswanatha Temple and Nrtta Ganapati at

the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebid are renowned.

Kanyakumari, the temple of the young Virgin in the southern

most tip of India is identified, according to the holy Geography, with the

. .
first Cakra (Miiladhara), the other centre being Madurai (Swadistana),

Chidambaram (Ma1;1ipura), Kasi (Anahata half way), Haridwar (Visuddhi),

Kedarnath (Ajna) and Mount Kailasa (Sahasrara). The whole outline is

having shape of Ganesa's trunk(I>.

Karaikudi, in Tamil Nadu we can find the copper plate of

the Pallava king Nandi Yarman (731-796), which carries an eulogy to Ganesa.

The Vinayaka who restores light, worshipped in the temple of Swamy

Malai in Tamil Nadu is called Netra Vinayaka.

1. 'Ganesa enchanter of the three words', Paul Martin Dubost. P. 114

19
In Pondicherry we can see a temple dedicated to Ganesa

. . Vinayakar. The frescos on the inner walls of the

named as Manakkula

Sanctum Sanctorum show several .forms of Ganesa.

An important temple for Ganesa in Tiruchirapalli is the Ucchi

Pillayar Coil situated on the top of the rock which overlooks the city. At

the bottom of the same rock, a Pallava rock sanctuary shows a very beautiful

standing Ganesa. Tirunallar (District Tanjavur) in Tamil Nadu, a Salagrama

from the Gandaki River in Nepal is worshipped in this temple; Ganesa's

face can be distinguished on its spirals. 1

King Madhava Yarman ( 440-480 AD) belonged to the

dynasty of the Vishnu kundin. During his 33 years reign, he had inscribed

on a marble pillar of the temple of Ramalinga Swamin of Velpura in the

district of Guntur, Andra Pradesh, there Ganesa is called "Danti Mukha

1. 'Understanding Ganapati', Anita Raina Thapan. P. 219

20
Swamin Vinayaka". It is the oldest inscription discovered so far which

expressly mentions Gan�sa. < 1 >

Apart from being a Universal Hindu God, He is also a truly

international Deity. As early as 3

rd
century B.C. king Ashoka's daughter

Sanghamitra is reported to have taken a Ganapati idol to Nepal<2>. Even in

many countries where the majority of the population profess religions other

than Hinduism, Ganapati is quite popular. He was known as "King-Hsein"

in ancient China and as "Ko-Kitten" in Japan. Janus of the Romans is

similar to our Dvi-mukha or double faced Ganapati. Dionysus the Greek

God of theater resembles closely to our N:rtta Ganapati. Ganapati or His

close variations are also worshipped in many south East Asian countries

like Sumatra, Bali, Java, Borneo, Philippines, Combodia, Thailand, Malaya

and Burma as well as Ceylon.

1. 'Ganesa enchanter of the three words', Paul Martin Dubost. P. 17

2. "Diverse facets ofGanapati as seen in the Sanskrit musical compositions ofMuthuswami
Dikshitar", Dr. Gowri kuppuswami and Dr. M. Hariharan.
21