THE MANIFESTATION OF VINAYAKA

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All ancient manuscripts, whether on palm leaves or any other

material, began with salutation to Lord Ganapathi. Sri

Ganaadhipathaye Namaha. From the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, Hindus

worship Vinayaka at the beginning of every auspicious ceremony. All

these show the great significance attached to this elephant faced

deity in our religious thought.

 

In Tamilnadu, this deity has come to be known as Pillayar, because he

is the pillai or son of the Parents of the Universe, Parvati-

Parameswaran. When you begin to contemplate upon this particular

manifestation of the Divine, tattavasa or religious principles fame

to mind in an unending stream.

 

Though His Body is of gigantic proportions, He is yet a child. Every

mother likes to feed her child so that he may grow up plumpy and

healthy. That is why, Pillayar is contemplated a a voracious eater,

fond of all nice things.

 

He is essentially an object of affection for children who take

delight in playing, imitating the gait of the elephant.

 

It is paradoxical that with such a massive body, Ganapathi should

have chosen the tiny mouse as His Vahana or vehicle. It is said that

He sat on the mouse as light as cork. This conception of Vinayaka

riding a mouse is illustrative of the Vedantic truth that God alone

matters and that all other external paraphernalia are illusions. The

pride of an elephant is its tusks and it takes care to keep them

bright and sharp. But Vinayaka broke one of the tusks to write the

Mahabharatha, demonstrating that no personal sacrifice is too much in

the cause of spreading the knowledge of truth, dharma and jnana. The

Tamil saint Avvaiyar wrote Vinayakar Ahaval, explaining how Vinayaka

is the embodiment of Yog Sastras, with all its aim and implications.

 

 

 

 

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Aga Janana Padmarkam Gajanana Maharnisam

Anekadham Tham Bhakthanam Ekadantha Upasmahe.

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This is a familiar prayer verse addressed to Vinayaka. Agajaa is the

Divine mother, Parvati daughter of the mountain, Himavan. At the

sight of her beloved child Vinayaka, Parvati's face beams with

joy, even as the lotus blossoms at the first rays of the sun. For the

lotus face of Parvati, Vinayaka is the sun. For his devotees,

Vinayaka showers benefits generously bhaktaanam anekadam. He has only

one tusk -- ekadantam. The devotees say that they are worshipping

that elephant faced Vinayaka who is the beloved son of Agajaa. We

offer obeisance to Vinayaka by putting Thoppikaranam. In this method

of salutation, we catch our left ear with the right hand and right

ear with left hand and knee down. This we repeat a number of times.

Thopikarnam is the corruption of Dorbih Karnam Griheetva. Vishnu is

stated to have offered this form of salutation to make Vinayaka laugh

and throw out the discus (chakram) which he was keeping concealed in

his mouth. The manifestation of VINAYAKA embodies the high

philosophic tattva of the functioning of the Universe as mere sport

of God.

 

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORSHIP OF

SREE SIDDHI BUDDHI SAMETHA KARPAGA VINAYAKAR

 

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In addition to the eighteen puranas known as the Ashtadasa

puranas, there are other eighteen Puranas which are known as Upa

Puranas. One among them is the Bhargava Purana also known as Vinayaka

Purana or Ganesa Purana. Sage Vedvyasa is the author of the major and

minor puranas. In fact, there is no Purana which does not have a

reference to Lord Ganesa. But the Bhargava Purana does deal

exclusively with the birth and Leela of Lord Vinayaka since it also

goes by the name of Sri Ganesa Purana. The story in this Purana was

first narrated by Sri Vedvyasa to Brigu Maharishi, who later

recounted it to Somaskanda. For this reason it came to be known as

Bhargava Purana. There is another Upa Purana by name Mudgala Purana

which also recounts in detail about the birth and Leelas of Maha

Ganapathi.

 

We learn in the Bhargava Purana that when Vinayaka attained

adolescence, Mother Parvathi Devi as all other mothers do, began to

think about celebrating the marriage. When she was considering the

question with Her Lord Maheswara, sage Narada visited Kailash and

paid his respects to them. He suggested that Siddhi and Buddhi, the

two daughters of Brahma would be the ideal brides of Ganesa. They

were the Manasa Puthris of Brahma, the former signifying Fulfilment

and the latter Wisdom.

 

Lord Siva and Parvathi approved the suggestion and started with

Ganesa as also with all their retinue to Ananda Bhuvanam for

arranging the wedding. On their way the party camped at Gandaki. An

atrocious demon by name Sindhu was ruling in that area. He had waged

war on the Devas, defeated them and had imprisoned Indra and a number

of Devas. Lord Vinayaka felt that he should first set free Indra and

the Devas who were in prison before he proceeded further on his way

for the marriage. Nandhi, the bull was despatched to the court of

Sindhu asking him to release the Devas or otherwise to prepare for an

encounter to decide the issue. The demon was adamant and came for a

battle. The war was severe and lasted many days. In the end the Asura

was slain. The Gods and Indra was released. The entire party then

started on their journey towards Ananda Bhuvanam.

 

By this time Visvakarma, the reputed Celestial Engineer had

prepared a most beautiful palace at Ananda Bhuvanam and had procured

all the essential materials for the marriage. The inhabitants of the

celestial world had gathered in large numbers to witness the

marriage. The Sapta Rishis had assembled with their descipiles. It

was a great event to witness. On the wedding dais the divine consorts

seated on both the sides of Maha Ganapathi when flowers rained amidst

tumultuous joy.

 

In the Hindu pantheon of Gods, Ganesa occupies a most imortant

place. No worship begins without Vigneswara puja. Vinayaka represents

Pranava(omkara). He is the remover of all obstacles. The combination

of the elephant head and human body signifies the Jeeva Brahma unity.

Although more popularly Lord Ganesa is worshipped as Brahamachari

(celibated) there are also a number of centres of worship in India

where Vinayaka is worshipped as Siddhi Buddhi Sametha Vinayaka. While

the elephant head Deity by Himself represents the Pure Pranava, with

his consorts by his side, he reminds us that he is the bestower of

SIDDHI AND BUDDHI on whoever prays to HIM with devout Bakhti.

 

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