Guest guest Posted October 21, 2003 Report Share Posted October 21, 2003 Namaste, I have a Question about Ganesh and about Hindu Gods in general. Why the multiple arms? I can see if it is just is 'well, two arms is good 4 arms are better' but is there a reason some deities are shown with multiple arms? Why only 4 for Ganesh yet Kali has many more? Thanks, Kevin the SeekerNot all who wander are lost. The Photography of Kevin McGlothlin http://www.jmoody.net/kevinmac/kevinmac.html A Great resource http://www.witchvox.com The New with improved product search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2003 Report Share Posted October 22, 2003 as god is omnipotent who is capable of everything .. having more than two hands is just another way to illustrate this capacity to the general public... ganesha holds an axe and a goad which represents that he is indeed the remover of obstacles.. as he is also capable of placing obstacles in front of you.. for this reason, he is invoked first and foremost before any other deity so that a devotee would be able to approach the deity without any obstacles. His two other hands hold a ladoo and his broken tusk.. which represents sweetness of life.. and the broken tusk was the result of the writing of the ramayana... kali has many more arms mainly because most pictures capture her fresh out of the battle against demons.. in some pictures, when she is potrayed in her "natural" state.. she only has four arms.. so kev. it really depends.. hope this helps... ciao , Kevin McGlothlin <kevinm40us> wrote: > Namaste, > > I have a Question about Ganesh and about Hindu Gods in general. Why the multiple arms? I can see if it is just is 'well, two arms is good 4 arms are better' but is there a reason some deities are shown with multiple arms? Why only 4 for Ganesh yet Kali has many more? > > Thanks, > Kevin the Seeker > > > > Not all who wander are lost. > > The Photography of Kevin McGlothlin > http://www.jmoody.net/kevinmac/kevinmac.html > A Great resource > http://www.witchvox.com > > > > > > The New with improved product search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2003 Report Share Posted October 22, 2003 Thank you! Kevintangchikhay <tangchikhay (AT) (DOT) es> wrote: as god is omnipotent who is capable of everything .. having more than two hands is just another way to illustrate this capacity to the general public... ganesha holds an axe and a goad which represents that he is indeed the remover of obstacles.. as he is also capable of placing obstacles in front of you.. for this reason, he is invoked first and foremost before any other deity so that a devotee would be able to approach the deity without any obstacles. His two other hands hold a ladoo and his broken tusk.. which represents sweetness of life.. and the broken tusk was the result of the writing of the ramayana... kali has many more arms mainly because most pictures capture her fresh out of the battle against demons.. in some pictures, when she is potrayed in her "natural" state.. she only has four arms.. so kev. it really depends.. hope this helps... ciao, Kevin McGlothlin <kevinm40us> wrote:> Namaste,> > I have a Question about Ganesh and about Hindu Gods in general. Why the multiple arms? I can see if it is just is 'well, two arms is good 4 arms are better' but is there a reason some deities are shown with multiple arms? Why only 4 for Ganesh yet Kali has many more?> > Thanks,> Kevin the Seeker> > > > Not all who wander are lost. > > The Photography of Kevin McGlothlin > http://www.jmoody.net/kevinmac/kevinmac.html > A Great resource > http://www.witchvox.com > > > > > Do you ?> The New with improved product searchTo from this group, send an email to:-http://www.geocities.com/aumganesh/ Your use of is subject to the Not all who wander are lost. The Photography of Kevin McGlothlin http://www.jmoody.net/kevinmac/kevinmac.html A Great resource http://www.witchvox.com The New with improved product search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2003 Report Share Posted October 22, 2003 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">Namaste all, 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">In response to Kevin’s question I thought I’d offer a response but the answer already given was so good that all I can do is basically reiterate it. I would like to add though that sometimes Bhagavan Ganesh has two arms, sometimes four, other times six, on other occasions eight and so on. I’ve included below, as possible points of interest and illustration, a couple of images from chapter five of Loving Ganesha (http://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/lg/lg_ch-05.html) of two forms of Ganesha - Vira Ganapati; who has sixteen arms, and Sinha Ganapati; who has eight arms. 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">As already explained in the earlier sound response to the question, the reason for the varying amount of arms (and the objects held) is a way to communicate or express God’s various powers, energies, or shaktis. The best way it seems to communicate these to a wide audience is through symbolism. So we see various deities, and various forms of deities, holding specific items which are very rich with spiritual and esoteric meaning. It seems then that the form of a deity, including it’s number of arms, depend on the nature of the deity and the deity’s various shaktis. 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">However having said all this, this is not to say that Lord Ganesh is merely symbolism and does not come to his devotees in his elephant-headed form. Many can testify to having been graced with the vision of seeing Lord Ganesha in his traditional form. Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:blue; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"> symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> Jaya Ganapataye Namaha, 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">Neil 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> height:241.5pt;z-index:2;mso-wrap-distance-left:0;mso-wrap-distance-top:0; mso-wrap-distance-right:0;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0; mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text; mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:line' o:allowoverlap="f"> Vira Ganapati The "Valiant Warrior," Vira Ganapati, assumes a commanding pose. His 16 arms bristle with weapons, symbols of mind powers: a goad, discus, bow, arrow, sword, shield, spear, mace, a battleaxe, a trident and more. left:0;text-align:left;margin-left:-7.5pt;margin-top:-79.5pt;width:223.5pt; height:246.75pt;z-index:1;mso-wrap-distance-left:0;mso-wrap-distance-top:0; mso-wrap-distance-right:0;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0; mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text; mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:line' o:allowoverlap="f"> Sinha Ganapati Sinha Ganapati, white in color, rides a lion and displays another lion in one hand, symbolizing strength and fearlessness. He also holds a kalpavriksha sprig, the vina, a lotus blossom, flower bouquet and a pot of jewels. 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue"> 12.0pt"> Attachment: (image/jpeg) image001.jpg [not stored] Attachment: (image/jpeg) image002.jpg [not stored] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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