Attributes of Ganesha

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Can never have enough of Ganesha... From the same source..... BB AY

 

The Indian system of beliefs venerates Ganesha the elephant faced

God as a destroyer of obstacles and the source of good luck. Ganesha

or Vinayaka is one of the most popularly worshipped deities in the

Indian system of beliefs and practices.

 

Ganesha is revered as the son of the Universal parents Shiva and

Parvati, and is always honored first in most worship services and

rituals. Ganesha is also known as Ganapati, Vigneswara, Vinayaka,

Gajamukha and Ainkaran.

 

Symbolism: The huge size of Ganapati represents the Universe

(Cosmos), and his curled trunk, the symbol OM. The elephant's head is

said to represent superior intellect while the snake around his waist

cosmic energy. His broken tusk is symbolic of knowledge, as it is

believed that it is with this tusk that he wrote down the

Mahabharata, in the capacity of a scribe, when it was recited by the

sage Vyasa. The mouse - mooshikam, his mount is said to symbolize the

equal importance of the biggest and smallest of creatures, in the

eyes of the infinity of creation Bhraman.

 

Ganesha is believed to have been the scribe who wrote down the text

of the Indian epic Mahabharatam as it was recited by the sage Vyasa.

 

The Ganesa Pancharatnam of Aadi Sankaracharya in sanskrit salutes

Ganapati. The tamil works of Tirumoolar and Avvaiyaar (of the 1st

millennium CE), also bear hymns saluting Ganesha. So do the

Tiruppugazh hymns of Arunagirinathar of the 1st half of the 2nd

millennium CE. Several of the sanskrit kritis of the Karnatic Music

composer Mutthuswamy Deekshitar salute Ganapati shrines all over

Tamilnadu.

 

Several small temples dedicated to Ganapati adorn all towns and

villages of south India. Most of these are modern temples. There are

several shrines to Ganesha in all Saivite temples all over south

India. Ganesha is taken out at the head of all processions in

festivals celebrated in the Saivite temples of Tamilnadu.

 

Vinayaka Chaturti is a festival celebrated in honor of Ganesha, and

it is celebrated as a community festival in the state of Maharashtra,

where Vinayak is held in great reverence, especially in the 8 Ashta

Vinayak temples in the vicinity of Pune and in the Siddhi Vinayak

temple in Mumbai.

 

Perhaps the most ancient of Ganapati shrines in India, is the well

known Karpaka Vinayakar temple in the town of Pillaiarpatti near

Karaikkudi in Tamilnadu. This temple with a rock cut shrine, bearing

a collossal form of Vinayakar, is over 1600 years old.

 

The Ucchi Pillaiyaar temple, on top of a hill defining

Tiruchirappalli's (Tamilnadu) skyline, enshrines Ganapati, who is

said to have been instrumental in enshrining Ranganathar at Srirangam

nearby.

 

Ganapateeswaram, enshrining Uttarapateeswarar and Vatapi Ganapati has

been revered by the Tevaram hymns of the 1st millennium CE. It is

closely associated with the Pallavas of Tamilnadu, and it bears an

image of Ganapati brought back by the Pallavas from Badami in Deccan.

 

Tiruvalanchuzhi near Kumbhakonam is a Saivite temple venerated by the

Tevaram hymns of the 1st millennium CE. It is known better for its

shrine to Vinayakar, said to have been fashioned out of foam. Nearby

is the Skandastalam Swamimalai.

 

 

 

Ganesha Iconography

 

 

As with the 64 forms of Shiva, 32 forms of Ganapati are recognized in

the Agamic scriptures. They are:

 

 

 

1. Baala Ganapati - Red colored image of a four armed Ganesha

 

2. Dharuna Vinayakar: Red colored image of an eight armed Ganesha

 

3. Bhakti Vinayakar: Grey colored image of four armed Ganesha

 

4. Veera Vinayakar: Red colored image of 16 armed Ganapati

 

5. Shakti Ganapati: Red colored image of 4 armed Ganapati, seated

with his consort to his left.

 

6. Dwija Vinayakar: White colored image of four faced Ganesha with 4

arms.

 

7. Siddhi Vinayakar: Golden colored image of four armed Ganapati.

 

8. Ucchishta Ganapati: Blue colored image of six armed Ganapati with

his consort.

 

9. Vigna Vinayakar: Gold colored image of eight armed Ganapati

 

10. Kshipra Ganapati: Red colored image of four armed Ganesha bearing

a ratna kumbham.

 

11. Heramba Vinayakar: Black colored image of ten armed Ganesha with

five faces, seated on a lion.

 

12. Lakshmi Vinayakar: White colored image of eight armed Ganesha

with two consorts.

 

13. Makara Vinayakar: Red colored image of Ganesha with a third eye,

10 arms, bearing a ratna kumbham, with his consort.

 

14. Vijaya Vinayakar: Red colored image of 4 armed Ganesha on the

mooshika mount.

 

15. Nritta Vinayakar: Gold colored image of Ganesha in a dance

posture.

 

16. Urdhva Vinayakar: Gold colored image of six armed Ganesha with

his consort.

 

17. Ekakshara Vinayakar: Red colored image of Ganesha with a third

eye, seated on a lotus.

 

18. Vara Vinayakar: Red colored image of 4 armed Vinayaka with a

third eye.

 

19. Dhryakshara Vinayaka: Gold colored image of four armed Vinayakar,

decorated with Chaamara ear rings.

 

20. Kshipraprasaada Vinayakar: Red colored image of six armed

Ganapati.

 

21. Haridra Vinayakar: Yellow colored image of four armed Ganapati.

 

22. Ekadhanta Vinayakar: Blue colored image of four armed Ganapati.

 

23. Srishti Vinayakar: Red colored image of four armed Ganapati

seated on his mooshika mount.

 

24. Utthanda Vinayakar: Red colored image of 10 armed Ganesha with

his consort to his left.

 

25. Ranamochana Vinayaka: Crystal image of four armed Vinayakar.

 

26. Dundi Vinayakar: Four armed image of Ganesha bearing a tusk, a

garland, an axe and a gem studded vessel.

 

27. Dwimukha Vinayakar: Red colored image of Ganesha with two faces

and four arms.

 

28. Trimukha Vinayakar: Red colored image of Ganesha with three faces

and six arms seated on a golden lotus.

 

29. Simha Vinayakar: White colored image of Ganesha with eight arms

(with an arm bearing a lions face).

 

30. Yoga Vinayakar: Red colored image of Ganesha in the posture of a

yogi.

 

31. Durga Vinayakar: Red colored image of Ganesha with eight arms.

 

32. Sankatahara Vinayakar: Red colored image of four armed Ganesha

clothed in blue, seated on a lotus peetham with his consort to his

left.

 

Ganesha in Literature

 

 

Several literary works of the 2nd half of the second millennium CE

are addressed to Ganapati.

 

The Ganesa Pancharatnam of Aadi Sankaracharya of the first millennium

CE in sanskrit salutes Ganapati.

 

The tamil works of Tirumoolar and Avvaiyaar (of the 1st millennium

CE), also bear hymns saluting Ganesha. The Vinayakar Akaval hymns of

Avvaiyaar are well known.

 

So are the Tiruppugazh hymns of Arunagirinathar of the 1st half of

the 2nd millennium CE (addressed to Skanda). The popular Tiruppugazh

hymn Kaittala nirai kani describes several of the attributes of

Ganesha. It also refers to the role of Ganesha in Tripura Samharam

and in Valli Kalyanam.

 

Several of the sanskrit kritis of the Karnatic Music composer

Mutthuswamy Deekshitar salute Ganapati shrines all over Tamilnadu.

Possibly the best known of these is Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje addressing

Vatapi Ganapati at Tiruchenkattankudi (Ganapateeswaram) in Tamilnadu.

 

The birth of Ganesha

 

 

This legend narrates the story of the birth of Ganesha.

 

Ganesha the elephant faced God is one of the most popularly

worshipped forms of divinity - as a remover of obstacles and the

embodiment of good luck, in the Indian system of beliefs and

practices.

 

Ganesha is regarded as the son of Shiva and Parvati (Shakti), the

Universal parents, and the brother of Skanda.

 

Legend has it that Parvati, created a beautiful boy from the dirt of

her body, treated him as her son, and gave him the responsibility of

guarding her home. Shiva, upon returning home was affronted by this

lad, hitherto unknown to him. The lad, true to his word to his

mother, refused to let Shiva into his own home.

 

An enraged Shiva sent his Bhuta Gana attendants to scare the lad and

to obtain entry into his own home. The lad single handedly defeated

the Bhuta Ganas in battle. A clash of egos followed, as Shiva sent

several of the Gods, to fight against Ganesha and an equally enraged

Parvati sent several of her attendants to fight them. In the

resultant fight, the valorous lad's head was chopped off by Nandi

deva, and the lad lay lifeless.

 

Parvati's grief knew no bounds, and Shiva sought to assuage her, by

promising to bring the boy to life. Alas, his head could not be found

in the battlefield. A quick fix was sought, and it was decided that

the first available head would be used to bring the boy to life.

Accordingly, the boy was fitted with the head of an elephant and

brought back to life.

 

Even this did not placate Parvati, who sought that this boy (who

successfully created obstacles to his father's mission) now fitted

with the head of an elephant, should be regarded by one and all, as

the remover of obstacles, and should be offered worship first, before

any form of worship was offered to any other manifestation of

divinity.

 

This boon granted, Ganesha, the lord of the attendants of Parvati,

came to be regarded as Vigneshwara the remover of obstacles.

 

Valli Kalyanam

 

 

The Story of Skanda's marriage with Valli

 

Legend has it that the ghat region of Tamilnadu was ruled by

Nambirajan, the king of the Kuravas or the hill tribes. Nambirajan

worshipped Shiva, praying for a daughter; his prayers were answered

and it was revealed to him that he would discover a baby in the

nearby woods and that she would be his daughter.

 

Accordingly the kurava king discovered `Vallinayaki' in the

woods and

brought her up as his own.

 

Valli grew up to be a beautiful maiden and Subramanya - son of Shiva

and Parvati sought her hand in marriage. Their courtship is full of

very interesting stories which form the basis of many and folk and

classical performing arts in Tamilnadu.

 

Murugan assumed the form of an old bangle seller, and sold bangles to

Valli, in return for a local delicacy of honey soaked corn flour. A

conversation ensued between the two, which was interrupted by the

arrival of Valli's brothers, a valiant lot who were highly possessive

and protective of their sister. Flustered by their sudden appearance,

and unwilling to indulge in battle, Skanda manifested himself as a

Vengai maram (a stump of which is still seen in the Temple at

Velimalai in Southern Tamilnadu).

 

Skanda appeared again, in the guise of an old tribal king and sought

her hand in marriage. The brothers materialized again, and Skanda

transformed himself into an old ascetic from the Himalayas, and they

left the spot.

 

Upset by the ongoing hindrance, Skanda sought the help of his brother

Vinayaka - the remover of obstacles, who appeared on the spot as a

wild elephant. The scared Valli, embraced Skanda and promised to

offer him anything in return for protection from the wild beast.

Skanda sought her hand in marriage, and Valli consented gladly,

realizing that her suitor was none other than Murugan, whom she and

her tribe held in great regard.

 

Valli married Murugan and the marriage was celebrated in great

splendor by Nambirajan, the king of kuravas

 

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