16 Daily Forms of Ganesha

[Guest guest]

I found a website for Agastya's Universal Mission

(AUM), which has a "Ganapati of the Day."

 

Using the numbered days following Amavasya (New Moon),

or Purnuma (Full Moon), they suggest invoking the form

of Ganapati that is the corresponding number in the

list of 16 (or 32) forms of Ganapatis.

 

This means, for example, that on the Chaturti day (4th

after the New Moon or Full Moon), you should invoke

Veera Ganapati. On Ekadasi (11th day after the Full

or New Moon), observed as a fasting day by many

Hindus, you should invoke Heramba Ganapati. I've

numbered the first 16 Ganapatis below, for reference.

 

I like this idea, it gives special emphasis to each of

the Ganapatis in turn.

 

I recall reading somewhere that the numbered lunar

days of the Hindu calendar are also sacred to various

other deities, based on numerological qualities.

Chaturti (the 4th day) is sacred to Ganesha, and

Shasti (the 6th day) is sacred to Skanda. Does anyone

have the entire list?

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 20:40:40 -0000

"muktimaa" <muktimaa

~32 Forms of Ganesh~

 

Namaste dear family,

 

i ran across this today, and thought it was very

sweet.

 

 

32 Forms of Ganesha

 

 

[1]Bala Ganapati - The beloved child

The elephant-faced child is depicted with four arms

and is the color

of the rays of the rising sun. He holds a banana,

mango, jackfruit

and sugarcane in his hands and his favourite sweet,

the modaka, in

his trunk.

 

[2]Taruna Ganapati - The youthful Ganesha

The young Ganapati is shown as being red in colour

like the noon-day

sun. In his hands he holds a noose, an elephant goad,

modaka sweet,

wood-apple, rose-apple, his broken tusk, a sprig of

paddy, and a

sugarcane branch.

 

[3]Bhakti Ganapati - God of devotees

Depicted as being of the colour of the full moon of

autumn, in his

hands a coconut, mango, banana, and a cup of payasam

(kheer / milk

pudding).

 

[4]Veera Ganapati - The valiant warrior

In this form Ganapati is shown with a red complexion,

eight pairs of

arms and a stern look. In his hands he holds a goblin,

spear, bow,

arrow, chakra (discus), sword, shield, large hammer,

gada(mace),

goad, noose, pick-axe, battle-axe, trident, serpent

and banner.

 

[5]Shaki Ganapati - The powerful one

Holding in one arm the green-coloured Shakti (power

personified in

female form), Shakti Ganapati is depicted as being the

colour of the

sky at sunset. He holds a noose, a garland of flowers

and one hand in

the abhaya mudra, offering blessing to his devotees.

This form of

Ganapati is part of Tantric worship.

 

[6]Dwija Ganapati - The twice-born

Four-headed, like Brahma, he holds a book, rosary

beads, kamandalu

(vessel used during worship), and a danda (staff). He

is the colour

of the moon and wears lightning-like bangles on his

arms.

 

[7]Siddhi Ganapati - God of achievement

Of the colour of golden yellow, he holds a mango

fruit, stick of

sugarcane, a bunch of flowers and an axe. In his

trunk, the fifth

hand, he holds a sweetened ball of sesame seeds

 

[8]Uchhishta Ganapati - A Tantric deity

Holding Shakti (his female power) in one arm, in his

remaining hands

he holds a blue lotus, pomegranate, a sprig of paddy,

veena (musical

instrument), and prayer beads. He is depicted as being

blue in

colour.

 

[9]Vighna Ganapati - Creator of obstacles for the evil

 

Of golden hue, he is eight-armed and holds, like

Vishnu, a shankha

(conch) and chakra (discus). He also holds a sprig of

flowers,

sugarcane bow, flower arrow, axe, noose and garland.

 

[10]Kshipra Ganapati - Quick-acting god

Handsome of appearance and red in colour like the

hibiscus flower, he

holds his broken tusk, noose, goad and a sprig of the

kalpavriksha

(wish-fulfilling) tree in his hands and ratnakumbha

(pot of precious

gems) in his trunk.

 

[11]Heramba Ganapati - Protector of the weak

With five faces and the dark green colour, he rides a

lion. Two of

his hands are in the abhaya (protective) and varada

(giving)

postures. In his other hands he holds a noose, tusk,

prayer beads,

garland, axe, big hammer, modaka sweet and fruit.

 

[12]Lakshmi Ganapati - Giver of success

The goddesses, Siddhi (achievement) and Buddhi

(wisdom) in either lap

hold blue lotuses in their hands. His one hand is in

the varada

(giving) posture, and in his other hands he has a

noose, goad,

parrot, a sprig of the kalpavriksha tree, kamandalu

(prayer vessel),

sword and pomegranate. In this form he is of pure

white colour.

 

[13]Maha Ganapati - The great one

With a complexion like ripe paddy, he holds his

shakti, who has a

lotus in her hand, on his lap. He has three eyes and

the crescent

moon on his crown. He holds a pomegranate, gada

(mace), sugarcane

bow, chakra (discus), lotus, noose, blue lily, sprig

of paddy, tusk,

and pot of gems. This again is a Tantric form.

 

[14]Vijaya Ganapati - The giver of success

Of red complexion and riding a rodent, he holds a

goad, noose, tusk

and mango in his hands.

 

[15]Nritya Ganapati - The happy dancer

Of golden colour, Ganapati in this form dances under

the kalpavriksha

Tree. He wears rings on his fingers and holds a noose,

goad, axe,

tusk and sometimes a sweet cake in one of his hands.

 

[16]Urdhva Ganapati - Tantric god

Holding a green-complexioned goddess, he holds in his

hands a blue

flower, sprig of paddy, lotus, sugarcane bow, arrow

and tusk. He

himself is of golden colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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