Ganesha : the Elephant Headed God, Art and Mythology

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Ganesha : the Elephant Headed God, Art and MythologyArticle of the Month - October 2000

The beloved elephant-faced-Deity popularly known as Ganesha has intrigued

thinking men all over the world, all through the ages even unto the present

day. The sacred texts give a variety of stories narrating the sequence of

Ganesha's birth. The most popular being the one mentioning that Ganesha was

created by Goddess Parvati as a guardian to her privacy: Incensed by the

refusal of her husband to respect her privacy, to the extent of entering her

private chambers even while she was having her bath, Parvati decided to settle

matters once and for all. Before going for her bath the next time, she rubbed

off the sandalwood paste on her body and out of it created the figure of a

young boy. She infused life into the figure and told him he was her son and

should guard the entrance while she bathed.

 

 

Soon after, Shiva (Lord of destruction and husband of Parvati,) came to see

Parvati but the young boy blocked his way and would not let him in. Shiva,

unaware that this lad was his son, became furious and in great anger fought

with this boy whose head got severed from his body in the ensuing battle.

Parvati, returning from her bath, saw her headless son and threatened in her

rage to destroy the heavens and the earth, so great was her sorrow.

Shiva pacified her and instructed his followers (known as ganas) to bring the

head of the first living being they encounter. The first creature they

encountered was an elephant. They thus cut off its head and placed it on the

body of Parvati's son and breathed life into him. Thus overjoyed, Parvati

embraced her son.

 

 

The son of Parvati was given the name Ganesha by Shiva. The word Ganesha is made

up of gana (followers of Shiva) and isha (lord), thus Shiva appointed him the

lord of his ganas.

Ganesha is usually depicted either as a pictograph or as an idol with the body

of a man and the head of an elephant, having only one tusk, the other tusk

appearing broken. His unique feature, besides the elephant head, is the large

belly practically falling over his lower garment. On his chest, across his left

shoulder, is his sacred thread, often in the form of a snake. The vehicle of

Ganesha is the mouse, often seen paying obeisance to his lord.

According to the strict rules of Hindu iconography, Ganesha figures with only

two hands are taboo. Hence, Ganesha figures are most commonly seen with four

hands which signify their divinity. Some figures may be seen with six, some

with eight, some with ten, some with twelve and some with fourteen hands, each

hand carrying a symbol which differs from the symbols in other hands, there

being about fifty seven symbols in all, according to the findings of research

scholars.

 

 

The physical attributes of Ganesha are themselves rich in symbolism. He is

normally shown with one hand in the abhaya pose of protection and refuge and

the second holding a sweet (modaka) symbolic of the sweetness of the realized

inner self. In the two hands behind him he often holds an ankusha (elephant

goad) and a pasha (noose). The noose is to convey that worldly attachments and

desires are a noose. The goad is to prod man to the path of righteousness and

truth. With this goad Ganesha can both strike and repel obstacles.

 

 

 

His pot belly signifies the bounty of nature and also that Ganesha swallows the

sorrows of the Universe and protects the world.

The image of Ganesha is a composite one. Four animals viz., man, elephant, the

serpent and the mouse have contributed for the makeup of his figure. All of

them individually and collectively have deep symbolic significance. The image

of Ganesha thus represents man's eternal striving towards integration with

nature. He has to be interpreted taking into consideration the fact that though

millenniums rolled by, man yet remains closer to animal today than he was ever

before.

The most striking feature of Ganesha is his elephant head, symbolic of

auspiciousness, strength and intellectual prowess. All the qualities of the

elephant are contained in the form of Ganpati. The elephant is the largest and

strongest of animals of the forest. Yet he is gentle and, amazingly, a

vegetarian, so that he does not kill to eat. He is very affectionate and loyal

to his keeper and is greatly swayed if love and kindness are extended to him.

Ganesha, though a powerful deity, is similarly loving and forgiving and moved

by the affection of his devotees. But at the same time the elephant can destroy

a whole forest and is a one-man army when provoked. Ganesha is similarly most

powerful and can be ruthless when containing evil.

Again, Ganesha's large head is symbolic of the wisdom of the elephant. His large

ears, like the winnow, sift the bad from the good. Although they hear

everything, they retain only that which is good; they are attentive to all

requests made by the devotees, be they humble or powerful.

Ganesha's trunk is a symbol of his discrimination (viveka), a most important

quality necessary for spiritual progress. The elephant uses its trunk to push

down a massive tree, carry huge logs to the river and for other heavy tasks.

The same huge trunk is used to pick up a few blades of grass, to break a small

coconut, remove the hard nut and eat the soft kernel inside. The biggest and

minutest of tasks are within the range of this trunk which is symbolic of

Ganesha's intellect and hiss powers of discrimination.

An intriguing aspect of Ganesha's iconography is his broken tusk, leading to the

appellation Ekdanta, Ek meaning one and danta meaning teeth. It carries an

interesting legend behind it:

When Parashurama one of Shiva's favorite disciples, came to visit him, he found

Ganesha guarding Shiva's inner apartments. His father being asleep, Ganesha

opposed Parshurama's entry. Parashurama nevertheless tried to urge his way, and

the parties came to blows. Ganesha had at first the advantage, seizing

Parashurama in his trunk, and giving him a twirl that left him sick and

senseless; on recovering, Rama threw his axe at Ganesha, who recognizing it as

his father's weapon (Shiva having given it to Parashurama) received it with all

humility upon one of his tusks, which it immediately severed, and hence Ganesha

has but one tusk.

A different legend narrates that Ganesha was asked to scribe down the epic of

Mahabharata, dictated to him by its author, sage Vyasa. Taking into note the

enormity and significance of the task, Ganesha realized the inadequacy of any

ordinary 'pen' to undertake the task. He thus broke one of his own tusks and

made a pen out of it. The lesson offered here is that no sacrifice is big

enough in the pursuit of knowledge.

An ancient Sanskrit drama titled "Shishupalvadha", presents a different version.

Here it is mentioned that Ganesha was deprived of his tusk by the arrogant

Ravana (the villain of Ramayana), who removed it forcefully in order to make

ivory earrings for the beauties of Lanka!

The little mouse whom Ganesha is supposed to ride upon is another enigmatic

feature in his iconography. At a first glance it seems strange that the lord of

wisdom has been granted a humble obsequious mouse quite incapable of lifting the

bulging belly and massive head that he possesses. But it implies that wisdom is

an attribute of ugly conglomeration of factors and further that the wise do not

find anything in the world disproportionate or ugly.

The mouse is, in every respect, comparable to the intellect. It is able to slip

unobserved or without our knowledge into places which we would have not thought

it possible to penetrate. In doing this it is hardly concerned whether it is

seeking virtue or vice. The mouse thus represents our wandering, wayward mind,

lured to undesirable or corrupting grounds. By showing the mouse paying

subservience to Lord Ganesha it is implied that the intellect has been tamed

through Ganesha's power of discrimination.

Any attempt to penetrate the depths of the Ganesha phenomenon must note that he

is born from Goddess Parvati alone without the intervention of her husband

Shiva, and as such he shares a very unique and special relationship with his

mother. The sensitive nature of his relationship with Parvati is made amply

clear in the following tale:

As a child, Ganesha teased a cat by pulling its tail, rolling it over on the

ground and causing it great pain, as naughty young boys are wont to do. After

some time, tired of his game, he went to his mother Parvati. He found her in

great pain and covered with scratches and dust all over. When he questioned

her, she put the blame on him. She explained that she was the cat whom Ganesha

had teased.

His total devotion towards his mother is the reason why in the South Indian

tradition Ganesha is represented as single and celibate. It is said that he

felt that his mother, Parvati, was the most beautiful and perfect woman in the

universe. Bring me a woman as beautiful as she is and I shall marry her, he

said. None could find an equal to the beautiful Uma (Parvati), and so the

legend goes, the search is still on...

 

 

 

In variance with the South Indian tradition, in North India Ganesha is often

shown married to the two daughters of Brahma (the Lord of Creation), namely

Buddhi and Siddhi. Metaphorically Buddhi signifies wisdom and Siddhi

achievement. In the sense of yoga, Buddhi and Siddhi represent the female and

male currents in the human body. In visual arts this aspect of Ganesha is

represented with grace and charm.

 

 

In a different, slightly erotic version from Tantric thought, Ganesha is

depicted in a form known as "Shakti Ganpati". Here he is depicted with four

arms, two of them holding symbolic implements. With the other two arms he

fondles his consort, who is comfortably balanced on his left thigh. The third

eye in this representation, is of course the eye of wisdom, which sees above

and beyond mere physical reality.

No analysis of Lord Ganesha can be concluded without a mention of the mystical

syllable AUM. The sacred AUM is the most powerful Universal symbol of the

divine presence in Hindu thought. It is further said to be the sound which was

generated when the world first came into being. The written manifestation of

this divine symbol when inverted gives the perfect profile of the god with the

elephant head.

 

 

Ganesha is thus the ONLY god to be associated in a "physical" sense with the

primordial sacred sound AUM, a telling reminder of his supreme position in the

Hindu pantheon.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments or feedback that you

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This article by Nitin Kumar Editor http://www.exoticindia.com

2000, ExoticIndiaArt

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There's another story about how Ganesha lost his tusk. Having gorged

himself on <modakas> (a favorite sweet), Ganesha was riding home from a

feast one night when a serpent scared his rat, who reared and knocked him

off. Ganesha's belly burst, spilling modakas everywhere. He

methodically returned them to his belly, and tied the serpent around his

waist to seal the wound until it healed. Lord Chandra, the vain and

beautiful Moon-god who seduces all the star maidens in the sky, laughed

at fat Ganesha's predicament, embarassing him. Ganesha broke off his tusk

and threw it at Chandra, wounding him so that he waxes and wanes now,

instead of shining steadily like the Sun.

 

And on Ganesha's late summer feast of Ganesh Chaturthi, it's considered

bad luck to look at the lean but waxing Moon as it follows the setting

Sun.

 

I wrote the following poem about the tale...

 

 

Ganesha's Other Tusk

 

Come off your rat and gaily dance, Ganesha,

Raise high your trunk and trumpet forth to all

That Shiva's son, defender of the Devi,

Has pierced Lord Moon, and made him wane and fall

 

Now mount your rodent steed and ride, Ganesha,

The night approaches, dusk descends too soon,

When Chandra, tossing insults, tries to taunt you

To hurl your other tusk against the Moon.

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

<Ganesha sharanam>

(Ganesha, be my refuge)

 

 

>

> An intriguing aspect of Ganesha's iconography is his broken tusk,

> leading to the appellation Ekdanta, Ek meaning one and danta meaning

> teeth. It carries an interesting legend behind it:

>

> When Parashurama one of Shiva's favorite disciples, came to visit

> him, he found Ganesha guarding Shiva's inner apartments. His father

> being asleep, Ganesha opposed Parshurama's entry. Parashurama

> nevertheless tried to urge his way, and the parties came to blows.

> Ganesha had at first the advantage, seizing Parashurama in his

> trunk, and giving him a twirl that left him sick and senseless; on

> recovering, Rama threw his axe at Ganesha, who recognizing it as his

> father's weapon (Shiva having given it to Parashurama) received it

> with all humility upon one of his tusks, which it immediately

> severed, and hence Ganesha has but one tusk.

>

> A different legend narrates that Ganesha was asked to scribe down

> the epic of Mahabharata, dictated to him by its author, sage Vyasa.

> Taking into note the enormity and significance of the task, Ganesha

> realized the inadequacy of any ordinary 'pen' to undertake the task.

> He thus broke one of his own tusks and made a pen out of it. The

> lesson offered here is that no sacrifice is big enough in the

> pursuit of knowledge.

>

> An ancient Sanskrit drama titled "Shishupalvadha", presents a

> different version. Here it is mentioned that Ganesha was deprived of

> his tusk by the arrogant Ravana (the villain of Ramayana), who

> removed it forcefully in order to make ivory earrings for the

> beauties of Lanka!

>

 

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