Legend of Ganesha

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anesha, also known as Vinayaka (the prominent leader), is the elephant-headed

Hindu god of wisdom, literature and worldly success. He is thought to derive

from an animistic deity, possibly a Dravidian (aboriginal) sun god. Ganesha is

a propitious god, promising success, prosperity, and peace and is invoked

before any sort of enterprise. It is his responsibility to decide between

success and failure, to remove obstacles or create them as necessary. His

pot-belly symbolizes a pitcher full of prosperity, a sort of abdominal

cornucopia. Ganesha has many names. The main ones are Ganapati (Lord of the

tribe or attendants), Vighnesvara (controller of all obstacles), Gajanana

(elephant-faced), Gajadhipati (Lord of elephants), Lambkarn (long-eared),

Lambodar (pendant-bellied) and Ekadant (having one tusk). Ganesha is said to

have been the son of Parvati and Shiva. His task in life was to guard his

mother and once while doing so he foolishly failed to recognize Shiva himself

who had come seeking his consort. Trying to defend his mother's bath, Ganesha

was beheaded by Shiva who later was persuaded by Parvati to revive him. He

promised Ganesha that he should have the head of the first creature who

happened along. An elephant, the wisest of animals, appeared and became the

involuntary donor in the first successful head transplant in history. Ganesha

was a glutton. One evening, having stuffed himself to capacity, he decided to

take a post-prandial ride on his favored mount, Mooshika, a rat or shrew. Along

the moonlit road they chanced upon a large snake and the startled rat bolted,

throwing the gross Ganesha. Ganesha fell heavily; he hit the ground so hard

that his stomach burst open. Gathering up the remains of his self-esteem, his

ample guts and the snake, Ganesha wittily used the reptile as a belt and tied

himself up together again. Howls of derision shattered the peaceful scene; it

was the moon who had witnessed the whole incident with great relish. Ganesha

lost his temper and angrily looked about for something to throw at his

tormentor. Finding nothing suitable, he ripped off one of his own tusks and

hurled it at the moon. He added a vindictive curse that every so often the moon

would lose its power of giving light. Another explanation of his missing tusk

is that he plucked it out in his enthusiasm to write down the Mahabharata, the

Hindu religious epic, at the dictation of sage Vyasa. He was after all the

Hindu god of learning and the patron of letters. Would that all in the literary

world were as kind, gentle and well-meaning as Ganesha. Ganesha is depicted

with having four arms. These symbolize him as the universal ruler establishing

four categories of beings -- firstly those who can live only in water, secondly

those who can live in water and earth, thirdly those who can live only on earth

and lastly those who can fly in the air. Moreover it is also Ganesha who

instituted the four castes and four Vedas. One hymn in Sri Bhagavat Tathva, an

ancient scripture, says: "In heaven this child will establish the predominance

of gods, on earth that of men, in the nether world that of the anti-gods and

serpents. He causes the four principles of the elements to move and is

therefore four-armed. In one hand he is shown to have a shell, in another a

discus, in the third a club or a sweet cake and in the fourth a water lily."

The vehicle of Ganesha is a mouse. As rats generally succeed in gnawing their

way through every obstruction, the rat symbolizes this god's ability to destroy

every obstacle. Being an elephant he passes through the thickest of wild growth

in a forest, uproots and tears to smithereens the thickest trees hindering his

path and fells out whatever comes in his way. While drilling holes like a mouse

he can also slip through the narrowest of spaces and thickest of the walls.

Moreover, the mouse is deemed to be the master of inside everything. The

all-pervading Atman (soul) is the mouse that lives in the hole called

Intellect, within the heart of every being. It hides itself behind the

inscrutable shape of illusion. The legend about Ganesha having preference

over all other gods establishes his sharpness of intellect. There was a keen

competition amongst all gods to gain the first place of worship amongst the

laity. It was decided that the god who would return first after traversing the

whole universe shall be declared the winner. All gods and goddesses ran on

their fast vehicles. Ganesh with his pot-bellied body and mouse's vehicle could

never hope to compete. He took a round of his parents, Shiva and Parvati, and

just sat there at the starting point. He was declared the winner because one

who goes round his parents and touches their feet traverses the whole universe.

Since then Ganesha is always worshipped first and every other god takes a back

seat. Another legend says that when Parvati saw an elephant's head being fixed

on her son's body, she burst into tears and could not be soothed. To pacify her

Brahma announced that amongst the worship of all the gods, that of Ganesha

should forever bear the first preference. Ganesha has two wives, one named

Siddhi (Success) and the other named Riddhi (Prosperity). Of course one who

pleases the Lord automatically comes into the good books of his two wives! As

the Lord of Obstacles and the personification of those qualities which surmount

all difficulties, Ganesha is often honored at the outset of any project or test

and consequently has become particularly popular with modern businessmen and

students. He is the typical lord of success in life and its accompaniments of

good living, prosperity and peace. In all ceremonies (except funeral rites)

Ganesha is first involked. He is revered by most Hindus, whether followers of

Shiva or Vishnu. Ganesha represents the unity of the Small Being, the man,

with the Great Being, the elephant. It is the blending of the microcosm with

macrocosm, of drop of water with the ocean and of individual soul with

divinity.

Last modified: November 17, 2000 1999-2000 Holy Mountain Trading

Company. All rights reserved.

 

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