Significance of 21 mOdakas

[Guest guest]

Namaskara,

 

Yesterday I posted a question regarding the

significance of 21 mOdakas

offered to Sri Ganesha in one of the dvaita lists. I

thank all those

who

replied. Although your replies broadened my

understanding, some

questions

still remained. Incidentally, I found all the answers

in Sri Bannanje

govindacharya's lecture on Sri Ganesha sent to us by

Sri Mukund. The

lecture

addresses the following questions:

 

1. What is the significance of the number 21?

2. What do we mean when we say that Ganapati was born

from the dust of

parvati's body?

3. Who are parvati and shiva?

4. Why did shiva cut the head of his son?

5. Why did shiva choose elephant's head?

6. Why did shiva cut the head of an elephant sleeping

in North-south

direction(ie.,head positioned in north)?

7. Why does Shiva and Ganapati wear snake around their

neck and belly?

8. why does Ganapati have an elephant face?

 

Here are the answers (translated of course from

whatever I understood

from

the cassette) :

1) Prapancha (world) has a numeral significance

(Starting from inside):

A. Pancha vidha antaHkaraNas(namely, manassu,buddhi,

chinte(thought),

chetana, ahamkaara). These are 5 in number.

B. pancha jnyanEndriyas(five sense organs)

C. panchakarmEndriyas (five again)

D. pancha tanmaatra(namely, sparsha, shabdha,rasa,

ruupa, gandha)(five

in

number)

(A+B+C+D=20)

e. pancha bhuuta(namely, akaasha(space)(#21),

wind(#22), water(#23),

fire(#24), earth(#25)

 

since, the akaasha devata is Ganapati. 21 is his

number. Hence all the

significance in offering 21 mOdakas, flowers etc

signifying and

respecting

his position in the tatvas.

 

Answer to question2. Sri Parvati controls speech in

the subtle form.

The

sound(shabdha) comes from naabhi(navel). It travels

through

hrudaya(heart),

kuttige(throat) and comes out through our mouth which

is then called as

" Vaikhari " . shabdha is very pure in naabhi. That is

the devara bhashe.

As it

travels through, it looses its purity and comes out as

mala(vaikhari).

The

suukhsma vaakku is parvati. The mala that comes out of

speech and

reaches

our ear is Ganapati. Here mala means sthoola roopa

(gross sound as

opposed

to the subtle sound with which the speech starts in

the navel). If

there is

no aakasha we will not hear anything. Helping the

sound travel is vaayu

the

wind. Wind will blow the shabdha to our ear. So, the

birth of Ganesha

signifies the relationship of sound/space and how we

hear the sound

thru the

space.

 

Answer for question3. Parvati is vaakkdevata. Shiva is

manassu devata.

They

are mana-maatu dampatigaLu. Whatever mind suggests, it

comes out as

talk.

 

Answer for question4. The mind can think properly if

there is a control

in

our speech(which comes out from mouth). If we keep on

talking some

rubbish

without thinking then manassu devata(shiva) gets

angry. Shiva likes to

do

more thinking and less talking. He is a abhimaani of

mouna. If the head

has

a big mouth, then that is not good. Hence, shiva cuts

the head that has

a

big mouth.

 

Answer to question5. Head has 4 sensory organs

viz.,eyes, ears, nose,

mouth.

Shiva was in a search of a head which has a small

mouth which does not

talk

much, but with big ears and big nose. (Here, eyes does

not matter.) So,

he

found an elephant with big ears to listen to

everything and big nose to

have

praana shakti.

 

Answer to question6. It seems there are two kinds of

energy flowing,

one in

north-east and the other in south-west. The n-e energy

is good for our

spiritual growth as the energy flows in upward in

direction. Whereas,

the

s-w energy flows in circular fashion(no matter where

you start you will

end

up back where you started). [this is the other reason

why we do

pradakshiNas in clockwise direction] So, when you

sleep in the

northerly

direction, you will face south when you get up. This

is not good. So

dakshiNa means no spiritual growth. Hence, Shiva cut

the head of an

elephant

which was facing south.

 

Answer to question7. Snake signifies kunDalini the

driving force for

spirituality. The snake's hood faces downward

(dakshina) when this

power is

in the sleep state. Ganapati controls the uplifting of

kunDalini thru

the

bottom 3 chakras (mooladhara, swadhisthana, maNipura -

gonad etc glands

up

to the navel portion). Hence the snake with the hood

up, around

Ganapati's

navel. Similar explanation applies to Shiva wearing

snake around his

neck.

Also, Ganapati is described as clad with red clothes

that signifies

rajas or

creation. The 3 chakras mentioned above help rajas or

creative

activity.

 

Answer to question8. Ganapati wakes us up, as his

antaryami is

Vishwambhara

ruupa who controls the wake state. In upanishads, that

ruupa has 7

anga(limbs viz., 2legs, 4 hands and 1 long trunk).

This is gaja mukha.

Ganapati is upaasaka of vishwambhara who in turn has a

gaja mukha.

Hence,

Ganapati got that face.

 

I am thankful to Sri BG for these wonderful

explanations. Hope you all

like

it. Any errors in this write-up are mine. Let me

know if you find any

mistakes.

 

||Srii krishnaarpaNamastu||

 

Thanks,

Anita Durg

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for this posting. Has Shri Bannanje provided

any Pramana's in the casette for this explanation. Is

there a reason why Panchabhuta's have to be noted in

the order you have mentioned below. What happens if

the order changes ?

 

Rgds

 

Naveen

 

 

--- > Yesterday I posted a question regarding the

> significance of 21 mOdakas

> offered to Sri Ganesha in one of the dvaita lists.

 

> Here are the answers (translated of course from

> whatever I understood

> from

> the cassette) :

> 1) Prapancha (world) has a numeral significance

> (Starting from inside):

> A. Pancha vidha antaHkaraNas(namely, manassu,buddhi,

> chinte(thought),

> chetana, ahamkaara). These are 5 in number.

> B. pancha jnyanEndriyas(five sense organs)

> C. panchakarmEndriyas (five again)

> D. pancha tanmaatra(namely, sparsha, shabdha,rasa,

> ruupa, gandha)(five

> in

> number)

> (A+B+C+D=20)

> e. pancha bhuuta(namely, akaasha(space)(#21),

> wind(#22), water(#23),

> fire(#24), earth(#25)

>

> since, the akaasha devata is Ganapati. 21 is his

> number. Hence all the

> significance in offering 21 mOdakas, flowers etc

> signifying and

> respecting

> his position in the tatvas.

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for this posting. Has Shri Bannanje provided

any Pramana's in the casette for this explanation. Is

there a reason why Panchabhuta's have to be noted in

the order you have mentioned below. If there isn't

then the number 21 still loses its significane.

 

Rgds

 

Naveen

 

 

--- > Yesterday I posted a question regarding the

> significance of 21 mOdakas

> offered to Sri Ganesha in one of the dvaita lists.

 

> Here are the answers (translated of course from

> whatever I understood

> from

> the cassette) :

> 1) Prapancha (world) has a numeral significance

> (Starting from inside):

> A. Pancha vidha antaHkaraNas(namely, manassu,buddhi,

> chinte(thought),

> chetana, ahamkaara). These are 5 in number.

> B. pancha jnyanEndriyas(five sense organs)

> C. panchakarmEndriyas (five again)

> D. pancha tanmaatra(namely, sparsha, shabdha,rasa,

> ruupa, gandha)(five

> in

> number)

> (A+B+C+D=20)

> e. pancha bhuuta(namely, akaasha(space)(#21),

> wind(#22), water(#23),

> fire(#24), earth(#25)

>

> since, the akaasha devata is Ganapati. 21 is his

> number. Hence all the

> significance in offering 21 mOdakas, flowers etc

> signifying and

> respecting

> his position in the tatvas.

 

 

 

 

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http://phonecard./

[Guest guest]

|| Shree gurubhyO namaha harihi OM ||

 

Hi Praveen,

 

Taittareeya says,

 

" tasmAdvA EtasmAt Atmana AkAshah sambhUtaha | AkAshaat vaayuhu | vAyO

ragnihi |

agNeraapaha | adbhyah prithivee | prithivyaam Oshadayahaha | OshadeebhyO

annam |

annaat purushaha | "

 

which puts Akaasha, Vaayu, Agni, Apa, prithvee as the order among

the five gross elements.

 

Harihi OM tatsat,

-------------------------------

Jay Nelamangala

RJAY Consultants Inc.,

Tel: (703)904-0196

Fax: (703)904-8496

 

-

" Naveen BR " <brnaveen

 

Friday, August 24, 2001 9:53 AM

Re: Significance of 21 mOdakas

 

 

> Thanks for this posting. Has Shri Bannanje provided

> any Pramana's in the casette for this explanation. Is

> there a reason why Panchabhuta's have to be noted in

> the order you have mentioned below. If there isn't

> then the number 21 still loses its significane.

>

> Rgds

>

> Naveen

>

>

> --- > Yesterday I posted a question regarding the

> > significance of 21 mOdakas

> > offered to Sri Ganesha in one of the dvaita lists.

>

> > Here are the answers (translated of course from

> > whatever I understood

> > from

> > the cassette) :

> > 1) Prapancha (world) has a numeral significance

> > (Starting from inside):

> > A. Pancha vidha antaHkaraNas(namely, manassu,buddhi,

> > chinte(thought),

> > chetana, ahamkaara). These are 5 in number.

> > B. pancha jnyanEndriyas(five sense organs)

> > C. panchakarmEndriyas (five again)

> > D. pancha tanmaatra(namely, sparsha, shabdha,rasa,

> > ruupa, gandha)(five

> > in

> > number)

> > (A+B+C+D=20)

> > e. pancha bhuuta(namely, akaasha(space)(#21),

> > wind(#22), water(#23),

> > fire(#24), earth(#25)

> >

> > since, the akaasha devata is Ganapati. 21 is his

> > number. Hence all the

> > significance in offering 21 mOdakas, flowers etc

> > signifying and

> > respecting

> > his position in the tatvas.

>

>

>

>

> Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Messenger

> http://phonecard./

>

>

> nAham kartA hariH kartA tatpUjA karmachaakhilam.h|

> taThaapi matkR^itaa pUja tatprasaadhEna naanyaThaa|

> tadbhakti tadphalam.h mahyam.h tatprasaadaat.h punaH punaH |

> karmanyaasO harAvevam.h vishNOsthR^iptikaraH sadhA ||

>

> " I am not the doer, shri Hari is the doer, all the actions that I do are

His worship. Even then, the worship I do is through His grace and not

otherwise. That devotion and the fruits of the actions that come to me are

due to His recurring grace "

> If one always practices to do actions with a dedicated spirit to Hari, in

this way, it pleases Vishnu.

> --- Quoted by Sri madhvAchArya in GitA tAtparya

> --

> To send an empty E-mail (without subject and body info.) to

-

> --

> Visit VMS at http://www.madhva.org

> --

>

>

[Guest guest]

On Friday, August 24, 2001 Naveen Bannur wrote:

 

> Thanks for this posting. Has Shri Bannanje provided

> any Pramana's in the casette for this explanation. Is

> there a reason why Panchabhuta's have to be noted in

> the order you have mentioned below. What happens if

> the order changes ?

 

The commentary of Shankarshana Odeyaru for this HKS verse

# 14 in the " Vighneswara stotra sandhi " is available at:

 

http://www.dvaita.org/list/list_41/msg00045.html

 

To access this info, you'll need:

 

userid : dvaita

password : dvaita

 

Regards,

 

Meera Tadipatri

[Guest guest]

I suggest you to go through HArikathamRuthasara commentary by Sankarshana

Odeyaru.and an article appeared in Taranaga(1999) by Sri Bannanje

GovindhAcharya will clear all the doubts.

 

Regards,

Madhusudan Bheemasenarao

 

 

>Naveen BR <brnaveen

>

>Re: Significance of 21 mOdakas

>Fri, 24 Aug 2001 06:53:24 -0700 (PDT)

>

>Thanks for this posting. Has Shri Bannanje provided

>any Pramana's in the casette for this explanation. Is

>there a reason why Panchabhuta's have to be noted in

>the order you have mentioned below. If there isn't

>then the number 21 still loses its significane.

>

>Rgds

>

>Naveen

>

>

>--- > Yesterday I posted a question regarding the

> > significance of 21 mOdakas

> > offered to Sri Ganesha in one of the dvaita lists.

>

> > Here are the answers (translated of course from

> > whatever I understood

> > from

> > the cassette) :

> > 1) Prapancha (world) has a numeral significance

> > (Starting from inside):

> > A. Pancha vidha antaHkaraNas(namely, manassu,buddhi,

> > chinte(thought),

> > chetana, ahamkaara). These are 5 in number.

> > B. pancha jnyanEndriyas(five sense organs)

> > C. panchakarmEndriyas (five again)

> > D. pancha tanmaatra(namely, sparsha, shabdha,rasa,

> > ruupa, gandha)(five

> > in

> > number)

> > (A+B+C+D=20)

> > e. pancha bhuuta(namely, akaasha(space)(#21),

> > wind(#22), water(#23),

> > fire(#24), earth(#25)

> >

> > since, the akaasha devata is Ganapati. 21 is his

> > number. Hence all the

> > significance in offering 21 mOdakas, flowers etc

> > signifying and

> > respecting

> > his position in the tatvas.

>

>

>

>

>Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Messenger

>http://phonecard./

 

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for this response. It was one of the questions.

But what of having Panchabhutas itself changing in

order with the rest.

 

Also if we are dealing with the Tatwas( ref original

mail which speaks of 21st position among Tatwas), then

why do we have panch vidha Ahankaras. Aren't the

chaturvimshati Tatwas inclusive of the Dashendriyas,

Pancha Tanmatra, Pancha Butah, Manasu, Mahat tatwa,

Avyakta Tatwa and Ahankara Tatwa.

 

Rgds

 

Naveen

 

 

 

--- Jay /RCI <jay wrote:

> || Shree gurubhyO namaha harihi OM ||

>

> Hi Praveen,

>

> Taittareeya says,

>

> " tasmAdvA EtasmAt Atmana AkAshah sambhUtaha |

> AkAshaat vaayuhu | vAyO

> ragnihi |

> agNeraapaha | adbhyah prithivee | prithivyaam

> Oshadayahaha | OshadeebhyO

> annam |

> annaat purushaha | "

>

> which puts Akaasha, Vaayu, Agni, Apa, prithvee

> as the order among

> the five gross elements.

> > > Here are the answers (translated of course from

> > > whatever I understood

> > > from

> > > the cassette) :

> > > 1) Prapancha (world) has a numeral significance

> > > (Starting from inside):

> > > A. Pancha vidha antaHkaraNas(namely,

> manassu,buddhi,

> > > chinte(thought),

> > > chetana, ahamkaara). These are 5 in number.

> > > B. pancha jnyanEndriyas(five sense organs)

> > > C. panchakarmEndriyas (five again)

> > > D. pancha tanmaatra(namely, sparsha,

> shabdha,rasa,

> > > ruupa, gandha)(five

> > > in

> > > number)

> > > (A+B+C+D=20)

> > > e. pancha bhuuta(namely, akaasha(space)(#21),

> > > wind(#22), water(#23),

> > > fire(#24), earth(#25)

> > >

> > > since, the akaasha devata is Ganapati. 21 is his

> > > number. Hence all the

> > > significance in offering 21 mOdakas, flowers etc

> > > signifying and

> > > respecting

> > > his position in the tatvas.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute

> with Messenger

> > http://phonecard./

> >

> >

> > nAham kartA hariH kartA tatpUjA karmachaakhilam.h|

> > taThaapi matkR^itaa pUja tatprasaadhEna

> naanyaThaa|

> > tadbhakti tadphalam.h mahyam.h tatprasaadaat.h

> punaH punaH |

> > karmanyaasO harAvevam.h vishNOsthR^iptikaraH sadhA

> ||

> >

> > " I am not the doer, shri Hari is the doer, all the

> actions that I do are

> His worship. Even then, the worship I do is through

> His grace and not

> otherwise. That devotion and the fruits of the

> actions that come to me are

> due to His recurring grace "

> > If one always practices to do actions with a

> dedicated spirit to Hari, in

> this way, it pleases Vishnu.

> > --- Quoted by Sri madhvAchArya in

> GitA tAtparya

> > --

> > To send an empty E-mail (without

> subject and body info.) to

> -

> > --

> > Visit VMS at http://www.madhva.org

> > --

> >

> >