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Ganesha, the Hindu deity in a human form but
with the head of an elephant - represents the power of the Supreme
Being that removes obstacles and ensures success in human endeavors.
Hindu religious texts recommend the worshipping of Ganesha before
the beginning of any religious, spiritual or worldly activity.
Pranamya shirasaa devam gaurii putram vinaayakam
Bhaktaa vaasam smarenha nityam aayuh kaama artha siddhaye
This stotra is from Narada Purana, and is
recited to remove all troubles and get liberation. The meaning
of this stotra (religious hymn) is that one should bow one's
head and offer obeisance before the son of Gauri, Vinayaka (or
Lord Ganesha), whose abode is the devotees, and remember Him
always for the purpose of obtaining longevity, desired powers
and prosperity.
Ganah in Sanskrit means 'multitude', 'Isa
means 'Lord'. Lord Ganesha therefore literally means the 'lord
of all beings'. Lord Ganesha is the first son of lord Shiva.
Shiva represents the supreme Reality. The son of Shiva symbolizes
one who has realized the Reality. One who has discovered the
godhood in him. Such a man is said to be the Lord of all beings.
In mythology, the birth of Ganesha is celebrated
as a divine twist of fate. The most popular tale brings alive
the story about the elephant head. As the legend goes, Parvati
(consort of Lord Shiva) was rather disappointed that none of
the guards she appointed out of Lord Shiva's army failed to stop
him from barging into her private chambers. She decided to have
someone who would be entirely her own and place no one above
her. According to Shiva Purana, Ganesha was born of the scurf
from Parvati's body. Once, when Shiva was away, Parvati wanted
someone to guard the door while she bathed. From the scurf of
her body and water from the Ganges she created a boy who is Lord
Ganesha. This makes Parvati and Ganga his mothers and he sometimes
also known as Dwimatri. Having created the figure, Parvati infused
life into him and told him to ensure that nobody entered her
room while she bathed. Lord Shiva soon came in and was stopped
by Lotd Ganesha. This enraged Shiva and He beheaded the boy.
Parvati was peeved to such an extent that she asked Goddess Durga
and Goddess Kali to destroy everything and everyone. She demanded
that Ganesha be brought back to life and Shiva sought to assuage
her, by promising to bring the boy to life but his head could
not be found in the battlefield. Lord Shiva sent his hordes to
collect the head of first living being, who was sleeping with
head facing north. The north was associated with wisdom, and
was also the direction from which the Aryans had invaded.
Airavat, Indra's white elephant paid the price
for Shiva's blunder. While Airavat slept facing the north, Shiva's
hordes beheaded him. His elephant head was carried away for the
dead body. Lord Brahma brought the boy back to life and they
took him to Parvati. Parvati still had a few conditions to be
fulfilled by the Gods for her son before she agreed to cease
the havoc created by the Shaktis. She asked that he should be
invincible, the giver of victory and God of wisdom. The person
who worships him should gain success and property. She also wanted
that nobody should be permitted to heaven before pleasing him
and it should be compulsory to first invoke him before any other
deity. These were all granted to Lord Ganesha, by the triumvirate
of Gods, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.
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LORD
SHIVA SHOWERS
BLESSINGS ON YOUNG GANESHA
Courtesy Exotic India |
Lord Shiva eventually appointed Lord Ganesha
as the leader of his Gana (public) and called him Ganapati, literally
meaning, leader of people. Ganapati represents all the qualities
that a leader should have.
The Brahma Vaivarta Purana narrates a different
story regarding the origin of Ganapati. Shiva instructed Parvati,
who wanted to have a son, to observe the Punayaka vrata (a special
type of holy fasting) for a year to propitiate Vishnu. On completion
of the vrata by Parvati, it was announced that Krishna would
incarnate Himself as Her son in every kalpa. Accordingly, Krishna
was born as a charming infant, delighting Parvati who celebrated
the event with great enthusiasm.
All the Gods arrived to have a look at the
baby. But Shani, the son of Surya, did not look at him and stared
at the ground instead. Upon Parvati's questioning regarding his
behaviour, Shani said that his look would harm the baby. Parvati,
however insisted that he should look at the baby. In difference
to Her wish Shani cast his eyes on the baby. Due to his malevolent
glance, the baby's head was severed and flew to Goloka, the abode
of Krishna. Parvati and all the Gods assembled there, including
Shiva, were grief-stricken. Thereupon, Vishnu mounted Gaduda
and rushed to the banks of the Pushpa-Bhadra river and brought
back the head of a young elephant. The head of the elephant was
joined with the headless body of Parvati's son, reviving him.
All the Gods blessed Ganesha and wished Him power and prosperity.
Another tale is that once Lord Shiva slew
Aditya, the son of a sage. However, Shiva later restored
life to the dead boy. At this outrage, Kashyap, one of the seven
great Rishis, doomed Shiva's son to lose his head. When he
did
lose
it, the head of Indra's elephant was used to replace it.
Still another version states that on one occasion after Parvati
had
bathed, the water was thrown into the Ganges and was drunk
by the elephant-headed Goddess Malini, who gave birth to a
baby with four arms and live elephant heads. The river Goddess
Ganga
claimed him, but Shiva declared him to be Parvati's son,
reduced his five heads to one and enthroned him as the "Controller
of obstacles" (Vigneshwara).
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LORD
GANESHA WITH HIS WIVES
RIDDHI AND SIDDHI
Courtesy Exotic India |
In some regions of India, Ganesha is considered
to be a bachelor while in most he is believed to have two wives,
Riddhi and Siddhi. It implies that all the Riddhi and Siddhi
(knowledge and perfections) of the world kiss those who adopt
all the virtues of Lord Ganesha in their life. Riddhi and Siddhi
are the two beautiful daughters of Vishwabrahma. It is also said
in some Hindu tales that Lord Ganesha had two sons, Kshema and
Labha.
All rituals begin with the worship of Ganesha.
His image invokes the universe, his head signifies wisdom and
his body is globular, Vishwaroopa. Ganesha represents the majesty
of the animal kingdom with his head and his vehicle, the mouse,
shows subjugation of pestilent rats. In Hindu mythological literature,
Lord Ganesa is described as having a human form with an elephant's
head. One of the tusks in his head is broken. He has a conspicuously
large stomach. He sits with one leg folded in. At his feet a
variety of food is spread. A rat sits near the food and looks
up at him as if it were asking him for sanction to eat the food.
This mystical form of Lord Ganesha represents not only the supreme
state of human perfection but the practical path to reach that
state. The details of his description suggest deep philosophical
significance, which can guide you to reach that ultimate state.
Lord Ganesha is known for his intellect and
wisdom. A legend explains why Ganesha is worshipped before any
other deity or prior to any important event. It happened that
Lord Shiva asked Kartikeya and Ganesha - his two sons - to circle
the world and return. Kartikeya hurried off on his peacock, but
Ganesha walked around Shiva and Parvati. He explained that for
him, his parents constituted the world. Pleased, Shiva granted
him a boon, saying that before undertaking any important task,
people would pray to Ganesha. According to the Narasimha Purana,
if he is not worshipped at the beginning of a ceremony, he creates
obstacles for the performers. Therefore, no matter what the occasion
or ceremony be, Ganesha is worshipped before all other deities.
Ganesha is also known as Ekdanta, or the one
with one tooth, because one of his tusks is broken. The reason
for this, according to Padma Purana, is that one day when Lord
Shiva was sleeping, sage Parashurama came to visit him. However,
Ganesha would not allow Parashurama in, for his father's sleep
would be disturbed. When Parashurama insisted he be permitted
entry, a fight broke out. In the course of their struggle, Parashurama
threw his axe at Ganesha. This axe had been given to Parashurama
by Lord Shiva. Recognizing the axe and out of reverence for his
father, Ganesha refused to intercept the weapon. He bowed and
took its impact on one of his tusks, which broke. This broken
tusk was used by him to write the epic, Mahabharata. Ganesha,
the embodiment of wisdom, is also depicted as a scribe to whom
sage Vyasa dictated the Mahabharata. He is accepted as the god
of learning and the patron of letters.
There is an interesting tale connected with
the composition of Mahabharata. Sage Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata,
wanted to dictate the verses of Mahabharata to someone who was
capable of writing extremely fast, and without mistakes. Lord
Brahma decided that Lord Ganesa was the only person equal to
this great task. When Lord Ganesha came to Vyasa, Vyasa told
him that he would dictate the poem very fast and that Ganesha
must take down all the verses without mistakes. Ganesha threw
a challenge in return that he would write as fast as Vyasa dictates
and that too correctly, but when dictating, Vyasa should not
stop till he complete the entire Mahabharata. Vyasa accepted
the challenge and Ganesha used his broken tusk as the divine
quill to record the Mahabharata - each word of the verses recited
by Vyasa - for Gods and men alike.
Another legend about the broken tusk of Ganesha
is as follows. Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated as the birthday
of Ganesha. During one of his birthdays, his mother, Goddess
Parvati cooked twenty-one types of delicious dishes and a lot
of sweet porridge. Ganesha ate so much that even his big belly
found it difficult to accommodate all the food. Mounting his
little mouse, he embarked on his nightly rounds. His mouse suddenly
stumbled upon spotting a huge snake. To adjust his belly, Ganesha
put the snake on as a belt around his belly. All of a sudden,
he heard laughter emanating from the skies. He looked up and
saw the moon mocking him. Ganesha was infuriated and broke off
one of his tusks and hurled it at the moon. The moon hid himself
behind the clouds and immediately Ganesha pronounced a curse
on him and banished him from the night skies. The curse shattered
the moon's pride. He realized his mistake, and felt apologetic.
Standing devotedly with folded hands in front of Ganesha, he
prayed to him to forgive him and his ignorance and requested
Ganesha to take back his curse and save him from humiliation.
This calmed down the kind Ganesha. He consoled the unhappy moon
and said, "Moon, you have realized your fault. What is
important is the destruction of your pride. Anyhow, my curse
cannot be in vain. But those who are subjected to false accusations
will be saved and will regain their good name if they see you
on the second night of the bright fortnight or listen to the
story of the Syamantaka jewel."
The story of the Syamantaka jewel may be found
in the Puranas such as the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana.
Satrajit, who secured a jewel Syamantaka from Surya - the Sun
God, did not part with it even when Lord Krishna asked for it,
saying it would be safe with him. Prasena, the brother of Satrajit
went out hunting wearing the jewel but was killed by a lion.
Jambavan - one of the monkey Gods from Ramayana and great devotee
of Lord Rama, killed the lion and gave the jewel to his son to
play with. When Prasena did not return, Satrajit falsely accused
Krishna of killing Prasensa for the sake of the jewel. Krishna,
in order to remove the stain on his reputation, set out in search
of the jewel and found it in Jambavan's cave, with Jambavan's
child. Jambavan attacked Krishna thinking him to be an intruder
who had come to take away the jewel. They fought each other for
28 fays, when Jambavan, his whole body terribly weakened from
the hammering of Krishna's fists, finally recognized him as Rama.
As repentence for his having fought Krishna, Jambavan gave Krishna
the jewel and also his daughter Jambavati in marriage. Krishna
returned to Dwaraka with Jambavati and the jewel, and returned
it to Satrajit, who in turn repented for his false accusation.
He promptly offered to give Krishna the jewel and his daughter
Satyabhama in marriage. Krishna accepted Satyabhama as His wife
but did not accept the jewel.
The depiction of Ganesha as a pot-bellied
God with an elephant head having a trunk and two tusks with one
of them broken, and with a snake tied around its waist and having
a mouse for a vehicle, has specific symbolisms attached to it.
The huge size of Ganapati represents the universe
(cosmos). Parvati is the primordial energy. The seven lokas (various
planes of spiritual human existence) above, seven lokas below
and the seven divine oceans, are inside the cosmic belly of Ganesha,
held together by the cosmic energy of Kundalini symbolized as
a huge snake which Ganesha ties around him.
Lord Ganesha is the presiding deity of the
Mooladhara Chakra, which is the foundation of the evolutionary,
creative or primeval energy called the Kundalini Shakti. It is
coiled up like a snake when dormant and is depicted by the snake
around Lord Ganesha's belly. When activated, this energy is said
to result in an expansion of consciousness and the enlightenment
of man. The snake around Lord Ganesha's belly reminds us that
we have to awaken this energy to reach the state of expanded
consciousness. The snake around the belly also shows that everything
in nature (the pot-belly) is supported by energy.
Lord Ganesha's large belly is meant to convey
that a man of perfection can consume and digest whatever
experiences he undergoes. He maintains an unaffected grace in
and through
all these fluctuations of the world. In Hindu mythology,
Kubera, the god of wealth offered a dinner to Lord Ganesha in
his palace.
Lord Ganesha ate all his food that was prepared for the entire
gathering of guests. Thereafter still dissatisfied, he started
eating the festive decorations that were used for the occasion.
At this juncture, his father Lord Shiva approached him and
offered him a handful of roasted rice. Lord Ganesha consumed
the roasted
rice and his hunger was satisfied immediately. This story
is a directive to mankind that man can never be satisfied with
the joys provided by the world of objects represented by Kubera's
feast. The consumption of roasted rice indicates the destruction
of desires in us. Thereafter, we remain in a state of absolute
peace & bliss.
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