Guest guest Posted September 6, 2003 Report Share Posted September 6, 2003 Are there forms of Ganesha with a human head? I know that his head was cut of and replaced with that of an elephant, however, Indian gods have many forms and aspects, so I think that Lord Ganesha also should have iconographic representations that show him with a human head. Someone information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 2003 Report Share Posted September 7, 2003 The Ganapatyas, who worship Ganesha as the Supreme Godhead, say that he first appeared as the "Aum" that permeated all of space at the creation of the universe. At this time, Ganesha was pure sound, no head or body at all. In the Mugdala Purana, there are descriptions of previous avatars of Ganesha -- no description of what his head looked like, though. Alice Getty in her monograph, "Ganesha," shows a woodcut of what she purports is a two-headed Ganesha, one elephant and one human head. The woodcut is very crude, the "human" head looks like thst of a fetus or a very stylized mask. Short of his "birth" as a child sculpted from Parvati's scurf and used sandalpaste, I've never seen Ganesha with a human head. Unless you to the theory that Brihaspati (the planet Jupiter as cosmic Brhmin) is really Ganesha... There is a Simha-Ganapati, who has a lion's head and mane, with a trunk, though -- Ganesh imitating Narasimha's <leela>. -- Len/ Kalipadma On Sat, 6 Sep 2003 12:22:08 -0700 (PDT) akka_108 <akka_108 writes: > Are there forms of Ganesha with a human head? > I know that his head was cut of and replaced with that of an > elephant, however, Indian gods have many forms and aspects, so I > think that Lord Ganesha also should have iconographic > representations that show him with a human head. > Someone information? > ______________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 2003 Report Share Posted September 7, 2003 Do the Ganapatyas exist nowadays, or has this sect vanished? kalipadma wrote: The Ganapatyas, who worship Ganesha as the Supreme Godhead, say that he first appeared as the "Aum" that permeated all of space at the creation of the universe. At this time, Ganesha was pure sound, no head or body at all. In the Mugdala Purana, there are descriptions of previous avatars of Ganesha -- no description of what his head looked like, though. Alice Getty in her monograph, "Ganesha," shows a woodcut of what she purports is a two-headed Ganesha, one elephant and one human head. The woodcut is very crude, the "human" head looks like thst of a fetus or a very stylized mask. Short of his "birth" as a child sculpted from Parvati's scurf and used sandalpaste, I've never seen Ganesha with a human head. Unless you to the theory that Brihaspati (the planet Jupiter as cosmic Brhmin) is really Ganesha... There is a Simha-Ganapati, who has a lion's head and mane, with a trunk, though -- Ganesh imitating Narasimha's <leela>. -- Len/ Kalipadma On Sat, 6 Sep 2003 12:22:08 -0700 (PDT) akka_108 <akka_108 writes: > Are there forms of Ganesha with a human head? > I know that his head was cut of and replaced with that of an > elephant, however, Indian gods have many forms and aspects, so I > think that Lord Ganesha also should have iconographic > representations that show him with a human head. > Someone information? > ______________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 My friend Brian visited Maharashtra last year, hoping to find Ganapatyas. He went to several famous Ganesha temples, and was told that none of them knew of any extant Ganapatyas. If any still exisy, they aren't letting themselves be known. -- Len/ Kalipadma On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 09:29:21 -0700 (PDT) akka_108 <akka_108 writes: > Do the Ganapatyas exist nowadays, or has this sect vanished? > > kalipadma wrote: > > The Ganapatyas, who worship Ganesha as the Supreme Godhead, say that > he > first appeared as the "Aum" that permeated all of space at the > creation > of the universe. At this time, Ganesha was pure sound, no head or > body > at all. In the Mugdala Purana, there are descriptions of previous > avatars of Ganesha -- no description of what his head looked like, > though. > > Alice Getty in her monograph, "Ganesha," shows a woodcut of what she > purports is a two-headed Ganesha, one elephant and one human head. > The > woodcut is very crude, the "human" head looks like thst of a fetus > or a > very stylized mask. > > Short of his "birth" as a child sculpted from Parvati's scurf and > used > sandalpaste, I've never seen Ganesha with a human head. Unless you > to the theory that Brihaspati (the planet Jupiter as > cosmic > Brhmin) is really Ganesha... > > There is a Simha-Ganapati, who has a lion's head and mane, with a > trunk, > though -- Ganesh imitating Narasimha's <leela>. > > -- Len/ Kalipadma > > > On Sat, 6 Sep 2003 12:22:08 -0700 (PDT) akka_108 > <akka_108 > writes: > > Are there forms of Ganesha with a human head? > > I know that his head was cut of and replaced with that of an > > elephant, however, Indian gods have many forms and aspects, so I > > think that Lord Ganesha also should have iconographic > > representations that show him with a human head. > > Someone information? > > > > > ______________ > The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! > Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! > Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! > > Sponsor > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------ Sponsor > > > > > > > Your use of is subject to > > > > ______________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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