Ganesha

Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश; Gaṇeśa; also spelled Ganesa) is one of the best-known and most beloved representations of divinity in Hinduism. Although he is known by multifarious attributes, Ganesha's elephant head renders him one of the most identifiable Hindu deities. Ganesha is worshiped as the lord of beginnings and also the lord of obstacles (Vighnesha), patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom. H He is also considered the personification of the primordial syllable AUM. Ganesha is honoured with affection at the start of any ritual or ceremony and invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.

A murti of Ganesha in a temple at Bangalore, capital of the Indian state of Karnataka.

Ganesha appears as a distinct deity in recognizable form beginning in the fourth to fifth centuries AD, during the Gupta Period. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism, an influential stream of Hinduism which began in the ninth century AD. The principal scriptures dedicated to his worship are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Today, Ganesha is the most-worshipped divinity in India, with many millions of Hindus recognizing him as their Ishta devata, or "chosen divinity". Worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other forms of the divine, and various Hindu sects recognize him in devotional activity regardless of their affiliations with other gods. The devotional cult of Ganesha is widely diffused and extends beyond Hinduism to Jains, Buddhists, and even beyond India to countries such as Malaysia, Japan and even Afghanistan.

Names

Etymology

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound which enjoins the words gana (Sanskrit: गण; gaṇa), meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha (Sanskrit: ईश; īśa), meaning lord or master. Thus, some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of created categories," such as the elements, etc. The translation "Lord of Hosts" may convey a familiar sense to Western readers. Others have noted that the word gaņa in association with Ganesha may refer to the gaņas, a group of semi-divine beings that form part of Lord Śiva's retinue.

Epithets

Ganesha has many other titles and epithets, including most prominently Ganapati and Vighneśvara. Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति; gaṇapati) is a synonym for Ganesha, being a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord"). The name Vignesha, meanwhile, refers to Ganesha's function in Hindu mythology as a "Lord of Obstacles", who is able to both create and remove obstacles in the lives of his followers (vighna). The Sanskrit names Vighnakartā ("obstacle-creator") and Vighnahartā ("obstacle-destroyer") are also used to summarize the god's dual functions pertaining to obstacles. Another of Ganesha's names based on his mythological functions employed in the Ganesha Purana and in the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya or "lover of intelligence"

Some of Ganesha's epithets refer to his physical features. The earliest name referring to Ganesha is Ekadanta ("One Tusk"), referring to his single tusk; the other is broken off. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the fact that, according to the Mudgala Purana, the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. According to the Mudgala Purana two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on Ganesha's paunch: Lambodara ("Pot Belly", or literally "Hanging Belly") and Mahodara ("Great Belly"). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly (Sanskrit: udara). Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha, referring to his place among the elephant-headed servants of Shiva in the Purāṇas, as well as his membership within a constellation of demons in the Buddhist Tantras.

One of the main names for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pille or Pillaiyar, which means "Little Child". A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pille means a "child" and pillaiyar a "noble child", and adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk of an elephant" but more generally an elephant alone. In discussing the name Pillaiyar, Anita Raina Thapan notes that since the Pali word pillaka has the significance of "a young elephant", it is possible that pille originally meant "the young of the elephant".

Historical Origins

Iconographic History

Ganesha appears as a distinct deity in clearly-recognizable form beginning in the fourth to fifth centuries AD, suggesting the emergence of the Ganapatya (Ganesh-worshipping) sect (probably an offshoot of mainstream Shaivism) The earliest cult image of Ganesha so far known is is found in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. By about the tenth century CE, Ganesha's independent cult had come into existence.

Despite these fragments of information, questions of Ganesha's historical origin are still largely unanswered, and many theories persist as to how he came into being. One theory of Ganesha's origin states that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vināyakas, from whom he gains one of his epithets (see above) In Hindu mythology the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties, but who were easily propitiated. Krishan is among the academics who accept this view, and states flatly that Ganesha "is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th-4th century B.C.E.) who cause various types of evil and suffering." While none of these gods are conceived to be elephant-headed, they are indeed resposible for the creation of obstacles.

Another significant group of scholars have interpreted the myths of Ganesha as revelatory of his status as a former totemic emblem. In this way, Ganesha's adoption by Shiva (see below) is a mythological illustration of syncretism, in which a tribe under the banner of the elephant is assimilated into the Brahmanic fold. In the process of this academic search for Ganesha's tribal origin, numerous possibilities have been suggested, including South India tribal traditions, the Pillayar caste, the Munda of central India, the Gajas of the northeast, and the Naga cult of Western India. All these possibilities are insufficient since they limit Ganesha to Dravidian roots; furthermore, there is no independent evidence for the existence of an elephant cult or a totem in any of these regions.

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century AD when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The "worship of the five forms" (pañcāyatana pūjā) system, which was popularized by the ninth-century philosopher Śaṅkarācārya among orthodox Brahmins of the Smārta tradition, invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devī, and Sūrya. It was instituted by Śaṅkarācārya primarily to unite the principal deities of the foremost sects of Hinduism at the time (Gāṇapatya, Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, and Sūrya) by giving them equal status. The monistic philosophy preached by Śaṅkarācārya made it possible to choose any one of these figures as a preferred principal deity while at the same time worshiping the other four deities as different forms of the same all-pervading Brahman. This served to formalize the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

Scriptural History

Ganesha as we know him today does not appear in the Vedas, at least not explicitly. Rg Veda 2.23.1 calls upon a deity also known as Ganapati, the "leader of hosts". While most devotees of Ganesha accept this as proof of their chosen deity's Vedic origin, scholars both east and west have concluded that this text is actually referring to Brhaspati, the teacher of the gods, rather than Ganesh. Similarly, the Yajur Veda invokes "one having a trunk", although this phrase is located within a larger litany to Rudra, Shiva's prototype. Hence, this and other Vedic references to a trunks and tusks are most likely referring in actuality to the elephantine features assumed by Shiva after he slayed an elephant demon. Ganesha also does not appear in literature of the epic period, save for a brief passage in the Mahabharata in which Ganesha serves as Vyasa's scribe. However, this singular story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata. where the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix.

It is not until the Puranas that Ganesha became an established figure in Hindu scripture. While the Puranas defy precise chronological ordering, the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life appear in the later texts, circa 600- 1300 C.E. References to Ganesha occuring in Puranas predating this (such as those in the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas), are considered to be later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries AD. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, Ganesha also became the focal point of two Puranic texts of his own, the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana. His pivotal role in these texts reflects Ganesha's acceptance as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism and the subsequent development of the Ganapatya tradition in which some brāhmaṇas chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity These two scriptures, along with the Ganapati Atharvashirsa (a text composed during the sixteenth or seventeenth centurie A.D.) remain the core texts involved in devotion to Ganesha.

Mythology

Birth

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Shiva and Parvati with their son Ganesh

Ganesha is popularly considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati; however, the means by which he became their son is anything but conventional, even in the context of mythology. The most common account of Ganesh's birth begins with Shiva leaving his wife Parvati for an extended period of time in order to meditate upon Mount Kailasa. This inspired intense loneliness within the goddess. Longing for a son, she rubbed an unguent upon the surface of her skin and from the scarp that had collected beneath her she brought forth a being in the shape of a young man, Ganesha. She quickly ordered him to stand guard at the door of her private chamber while she bathed. Eventually, Shiva returned from his meditative sabbatical and attempted to access Parvati's private chamber. Ganesha refused to let him in and a struggle ensued, after which Shiva beheaded Ganesha. Hearing the commotion, Parvati came out of her bath and informed Shiva that he had just killed her child, and threatened to destroy the universe if the situation was not rectified. Shiva promptly sent his servants to the North, the holy direction, so that they could find a new head for Ganesha. Details as to where this replacement head came from vary according to different sources. Eventually, the servants found an elephant and cut off its head, which they placed upon Ganesh's shoulders upon their return. When Ganesh came back to consciousness, Shiva adopted him as his own.

Puranic myths provide a wide variety of other explanations for Ganesha's form. Some texts say that he was actually born with his elephant head (or heads), thought in most stories he acquires the head later. In a different story, when Ganesha was born his mother Parvati showed off her new baby to the other gods. Unfortunately, the god Shani (a deity corresponding to the planet Saturn) – who is said to have the "evil eye" – looked at him, causing the baby's head to be burned to ashes. The god Visnu came to the rescue and replaced the missing head with that of an elephant. In yet another story, Ganesha is created directly by Shiva's laughter. After Ganesha's birth, Shiva became concerned that the youth was excessively beautiful, and so he cursed Ganesha to have the head of an elephant and a protruding belly in order to make his appearance less appealing.

Brotherly Rivalry

Along with his mother and father, Ganesh's closest kin includes a brother, Karttikeya (also known as Skanda) ref>Thapan, p. 300.</ref> Legends suggesting which one of the two is the older brother vary from region to region: in North India, Karttikeya is generally said to be the elder brother while in the South, Ganesha is considered the first born. Prior to the emergence of Ganesha as a cult figure, Karttikeya had a long and glorious history as a martial deity from about 500 B.C.E. until approxiamately 600 C.E., when his worship declined significantly in North India in conjunction with the rise of Ganesha. Several stories relate episodes of sibling rivalry between Ganesha and Karttikeya, such as their competition over women, which may reflect historical tensions between the respective sects.

Consorts

Buddhi, Siddhi and Riddhi

Ganesha's marital status varies widely in mythological stories and the issue has been the subject of considerable scholarly review. One pattern of myths based in various Puranas associates Ganesha with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity), three qualities personified as goddesses who are considered to be Ganesha's wives. In Chapter I.18.24-39 of the Ganesha Purana, Brahmā performs worship in honour of Ganesha. During the puja, Ganesha himself causes Buddhi and Siddhi to appear so that Brahmā can offer them back to Ganesha. Ganesha happily accepts them as offerings. In the Shiva Purana (Śiva Purāṇa), Ganesha cleverly wins the two desirable daughters of Prajāpati by outwitting Karttikeya. Aside from Puranic texts, evidence of Ganesha's links to these goddesses can be found elsewhere. For instance, in the Ganesha Temple at Morgaon (the central shrine for the regional aṣṭavināyaka complex), Buddhi and Siddhi stand to the right and left sides of the Ganesha image. In northern India, the two female figures are said to be Siddhi and Riddhi; Riddhi substitutes for Buddhi with no Puranic basis. These female figures may have originally served as a symbolic suggestion that where Gaṇesha is present, success (siddhi) and wisdom (buddhi) are not far away; the idea that they were actually married to the god probably developed later.

Shaktis

Ganesha with the Ashta (meaning eight) Siddhi. The Ashtasiddhi are associated with Ganesha. Painted by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906).

A distinct type of iconographic image of Ganesha depicts him with human-looking females called shaktis, referring to uniquely female creative energy. Theses consorts generally lack distinctive personalities or iconographic repertoires. A common depiction of this motif shows Ganesha seated with the shakti upon his left hip. Meanwhile, he turns his trunk to his left to taste the flat cakes or round sweets that the shakti holds in a bowl. In some of the tantric forms of this image, the gesture is modified to take on erotic overtones. According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, the oldest known depiction of Ganesha with a shakti of this type dates from the sixth century AD.

Prithvi Kumar Agrawala has traced at least six different lists of fifty or more aspects or forms of Ganesha each with their specific female consorts or shaktis. In these lists, goddess names such as Hrī, Śrī, and Puṣṭī are found. However, Buddhi, Siddhi, and Riddhi do not appear on any of these lists, which also do not provide any details about the personalities or distinguishing iconographic forms for these shaktis. Agrawala concludes that all of the lists were derived from one original set of names. The earliest of such lists occurs in the Nārada Purāṇa (I.66.124-38), and appears to have been used with minor variations in the Ucchiṣṭagaṇapati Upāsanā. These lists are of two types. In the first type the names of various forms of Ganesha are given with a clear-cut pairing of a named shakti for that form. In the second type, as found in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (II.IV.44.63-76) and the commentary of Rāghavabhaṭṭa on the Śāradātilaka (I.115), fifty or more names of Ganesha are given collectively in one group, with the names of the shaktis given collectively in a second group.

Other Wives

Additionally, Ganesha has been coupled with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati, as well as the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. This suggests that the qualities of these separate goddesses should always accompany one other. In the Ajitāgama, a Tantric form of Ganesha called Haridra Ganapati is described as being flanked by two unnamed women distinct from shaktis who are specifically ly referred to as "wives" (Sanskrit: दारा; dārā) is specifically used (Sanskrit: दारायुगलम्; dārāyugalam). Yet another altogether different pattern of mythology identifies Ganesha as a brahmacharin, which would suggest he was not married, but actually celibate.

Attributes

This statue of Ganesha was created in the Mysore District of Karnataka in the 13th century.

Appearance and Iconography

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art, and so representations of Ganesha are not only abundant but also widely varied. However, he is most consistently and obviously recognizable by way of his elephant head, a feature that has characterized the god since his earliest appearances in Indian art. One of his more popular images (called Heramba-Ganapati) has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads have also been documented. Ganesha's elephant head is also notable for the fact that one of its tusks is missing. Ganesha is commonly depicted with a short, stocky build, and a comfortable pot-belly. The pot belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries AD). It is explained in the Brahmanda Purana that Ganesha has the bulbous paunch due to the fact that all the universes of the past, present, and future exist inside him The number of Ganesha's arms varies between two and sixteen, though he is most often pictured with four, which is codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms, and so the presence of only two arms on an image of Ganesha points toward an early origin. In the typical four-arm configuration, Ganesha's lower right hand holds his broken tusk, a feature which was present even in early depictions. His lower-left hand often holds a bowl of sweet delicacies (modakapātra), which he samples with his trunk, while his upper hands carry an axe and a noose as symbols of his ability to cut through obstacles or to create them as needed. The colors most-often associated with Ganesha are red and yellow, but other colors are prescribed for use in specific forms and situations. For example, the color white is associated with his representations as Rina-Mochana-Ganapati.("Ganapati Who Releases From Bondage"), while blue is associated with Ekadanta-Ganapati when engaged in meditation . He may be portrayed standing, dancing, taking heroic action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down, or else engaging in a remarkable range of contemporary activities.

Vehicle

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a small rodent, either a mouse or a rat. In the earliest known images of the god, he is shown without a Vahana (mount), an ommission highly uncharacteristic of most Hindu deities; . by the time of the Puranas however, the mouse as was well-established as Ganesha's mount. The mouse is first mentioned in the Matsya Purana, and later in the Brahmananda Purana as well as the Ganesha Purana The rodent is also most common vehicles among Ganesha's avatars. Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha has a mouse in five of them, although he uses a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation of Vikata, and a divine serpent in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. In popular iconography of central and western India, Martin-Dubost says that the rodent began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Gaṇeśa in the 7th century C.E., consistently placed in proximity to the god's feet

Scholars have wagered many guesses as to what the rodent represents. David Brown suggests that it speaks to Ganesha's status as a god of enterprise, since the rodent rivals the god in his ability to get past any obstacle. A completely different interpretation is given by Krishan, who notes that the rat or the mouse is a destructive creature and a menace to crops. Thus, it was essential to subdue the destructive pest, a type of vighna or impediment to progress that needed to be overcome. By this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat proclaimed his function as remover of obstacles, and also suggests his possible role as a village deity who later rose to greater prominence.

Functions

Ganesha has three primary functions: he is 1)the god of obstacles, 2) the god of Buddhi (or intelligence), and 3) the personification of the primordial sound AUM.

Obstacles

As the "Lord of Obstacles", Ganesha is responsible for creating obstructions of both a material and spiritual order. It is he who places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Thus, Ganesha is thought to be the gatekeeper of shrines, and he is said to corrupt all those who are unworthy of entering such holy places by furthe deluding their minds with desires. Ganesha can also remove obstacles for his devotees just as easily. This is best illustrated by the story of the warrior-king Vishvamitra, who wanted more than anything to obtain a wish-granting cow from the Brahmin sage Vasishta. The sage refused, and so Vishvamitra stole the cow. As he carried her off, the cow opened her mouth and let loose a torrent of smoke, fire and malevolent warriors. Vishvamitra realized that in order to fully harness the wealth-giving power of the cow, he too would have to become a Brahmin himself. So, Vishvamitra performed intense asceticism, yet still did not attain Brahminhood. Finally, he petitioned Shiva and Parvati, asking them to remove the obstacle to his spiritual progression. Shiva proceeded to teach Vishvamitra the proper way in which to worship Ganesha. After following Shiva's advice, all the obstacles disappeared and Vishvamitra became a Brahmin Ganesha's diametrically opposed functions as both obstacle-creator and obstacle-destroyer are vital to his character, giving it significant depth as he is venerable for both negative and a positive reasons.

However, Ganesha does not create or remove obstacles exclusively for the benefit the righteous. In some cases, he has been known to even place obstacles in the path of the benevolent, as in situations where too many doers of good are going to heaven and thereby crowding the gods. This illustrates Ganesha's ultimate prerogative, which is to uphold the established cosmological hierarchy, whether it be by rerouting demons, bolstering the authority of the Brahmins, or protecting the interests of the gods. That said, even the gods are not immune frome Ganesha's obstacles. In one variation of the famous Hindu myth of the cosmic milk-ocean, the gods churn its waters so singlemindedly that they neglect to pay homage to the supreme Lord Shiva. Although they sought the elixir of immortality as the end result of their churning, their efforts yield only poison, which begins to spill out of the ocean. The poison spread upward to the realm of the gods, and so they came to Shiva for refuge, who in turn went to Ganesha. Ganesha informed his father that it was he who had created the obstacle for the purpose of visiting punishment upon the gods for attempting to obtain immortality without Shiva or himself in mind. Thus, no entity in the universe is immune from Ganesha's obstacles.

Buddhi

Ganesha is also considered to be the lord of buddhi, which is a feminine noun that can be variously translated from Sanskrit to English as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, where many stories were developed in order to showcase his cleverness and love of intellect. For example, in a late interpolation to the massive epic poem Mahabharata, it is written that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the entirety of the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed, but only on the condition that, in a truly miraculous excercize of memory, Vyasa recite the poem without interruption. The sage agreed to this condition, and found that in order to obtain occassional reprieve from this exhaustive feat, he needed to recite highly complex passages so that Ganesha would ask for clarifications. Ganesha's familiar association with mental agility and learning is most likely the reason this vignette was added to the Mahabharata long after it was written.

Aum

File:Ganesha-aum.jpg

Ganesha Aum jewel

Ganesha is often identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (ॐ, also called Om, Omkara, oṃkāra, or Aumkara), the fundamental sound of the universe. The term oṃkārasvarūpa ("Aum is his form") in connection with Ganesha refers to the belief that he alone is the personification of the primal sound. This association is attested in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, which describes Ganesha as an incarnation of the sacred sound (among other holy entities) in a passage translated by Paul Courtright as follows:

You are Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. You are Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya. You are Candrama. You are earth, space, and heaven. You are the manifestation of the mantra "Oṃ".

Accordingly, some devotees have even claimed to have seen similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body and the shape of Om in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts. With this in mind, numerous ornamentations have been made shaping Ganesha in the calligraphical form of the sacred word.

Worship

Whether one is concerned with the successful performance of a religious ceremony, the purchase of a new vehicle, the writing of an examination, the chanting of devotional hymns, or the beginning a business, Ganesha is worshipped. It is widely believed that wherever Ganesha is present, there is success and prosperity. By calling on him, people believe that he will come to their aid and grant them success in whatever endeavours they might be making.

In the temple, Mantras such as Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah ("Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha"), and others, are often used to channel Ganesha. Another common form of Ganesha worship is performed by chanting the Ganesha Sahasranamas, which literally means "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each of the god's epithets symbolises a different aspect of his divine personality, and so by chanting these worshipers are able to contemplate his various benevolent qualities. Offerings are commonly made to Ganesh, often in the form of various sweets, such as modaka, small sweet balls (laddus).. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with ruddy objects or substances, such as red sandalwood paste (raktacandana), or red flowers. The worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other deities, thus, Hindus of all sects begin prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies with an invocation of Ganesha.

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Celebrations of Ganesh by the Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France

Considering his ubiquitous appeal, worship of Ganesh extends beyond the temple and is carried out in virtually all aspects of life. For example, throughout India and the Hindu diasopora, Ganesha is the first icon placed into any new home or abode. As well, Ganesha is particularly adored by dancers and musicians, who begin their performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to him, particularly in South India.

While Ganesh figures in to most every instance of worship performed by Hindus, he is also the focal point of a ten-day festival occuring in the late summer (between late August and mid-September). The festival begins on Ganesh Chaturthi, the fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada. On this first day, clay images (murtis) of Ganesh, fashioned by sculptors, are installed by way of an elaborate ritual within each and every home. In this domestic setting, the image it is then treated like a kingly guest . On the days and nights that follow, the larger community sets up similar images of Ganesha which serve as the foci for various public performances, including devotional songs, dramas, dances, films, lectures and speeches by public dignitaries. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi when the images of Ganesha are paraded through the streets and then immersed into the most accessible body of water, be it an ocean, river or even a tank, where they quickly dissolve. While this festival is most popular in the state of Maharashtra, it is celebrated by Hindus throughout the whole of India with great devotional fervour.

Ganesh in Other Religions and Cultures

India had an impact on many countries throughout Asia as a result of commercial and cultural contacts. In particular, the period from approximately the tenth century onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange and a resurgence of money circulation throughout Asia, and it was during this time that Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. These traders prayed that the god would grant them success and remove obstacles in their path as they went outside of India to pursue commercial ventures; accordingly, the earliest inscriptions where Ganesha is invoked before any other deity were composed by the merchant community. Since Ganesha was widely worshipped by these enterprising travellers, he became one of the most prevalent Hindu deities in foreign lands. As could be expected, the worship of Ganesha by Hindus outside of India shows much regional variation.

In the Dharmic Religions

Tibetan depiction of Ganapati as Maha-Rakta (The Great Red One)

Ganesha has estabished significant roles within the two other major dharmic religions, namely Jainism and Buddhism. Although the canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the cult of Ganesha, he is still worshipped by most Jains. In this religion he appears to have assumed a role similar to that of Kubera, a forest-dwelling Hindu deity responsible for protection of wealth Not surprisingly, connections with the trading community suggest that Jainism also took up the worship of Ganesha as a result of commercial associations. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century AD, and images of the god remain in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat today. Moreover, a 15th century Jain text provides detailed procedural instruction for the installation of Ganapati images.

The gradual emigration of Hindus to Southeast Asia also established Ganesha in modified forms in mostly Buddhist nations such as Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In these nations Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side-by-side, and mutual influences can be seen in Ganesha iconography in these regions. Among Buddhists in Thailand, for example, Ganesha maintained his traditional Hindu function as a remover of obstacles and is is therefore considered a god of success. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha known as Heramba has traditionally been very popular, and is often depicted with five heads and riding upon a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha are usually more ambivalent in nature; in one Tibetan form he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākala, a popular Tibetan deity, while in other depictions he is shown as the Destroyer of Obstacles, sometimes dancing in jubilation over his successes.. This dancing form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, originally gained popularity in North India and was later adopted in Nepal before arriving in Tibet. In Buddhism in general, Ganesha is seen not only as a benevolent deity, but also in the form of a demon called Vināyaka. Such images may be found among Buddhist sculptures of the late Gupta period.

Other Cultures

Ganesha also spread into a wide variety of additional cultures. Hindus brought Ganesh with them to the Malay Archipelago, and statues to the diety can be found throughout the region in great numbers, often beside sanctuaries dedicated to Shiva . Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and Afghans venerated both Hindu and Buddhist deities. A few examples of sculptures from the period 5th-7th century AD have survived in this region, including some depicting Ganesha, suggesting that the worship of the deity was in vogue in the region at that time. Ganesha also appears in both China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In North China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated 531 C.E. while in Japan a cult dedicated to the diety was first mentioned in 806 C.E.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Agrawala, Prithvi Kumar (1978). Goddess Vināyakī: The Female Gaṇeśa, Indian Civilization Series. Varanasi: Prithivi Prakashan. 
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-0567-4.  (fourth revised & enlarged edition).
• Avalon, Arthur (1933). Śāradā Tilaka Tantram. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-1338-3.  (1993 reprint edition).
• Bailey, Greg (1995). Ganeśapurāna: Introduction, translation, notes and index. Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03647-8. 
• Brown, Robert L. (1991). Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God. Albany: State University of New York. ISBN 0-7914-0657-1. 
• Chinmayananda, Swami (1987). Glory of Ganesha. Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. 
• Courtright, Paul B. (1985). Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN ISBN 0-19-505742-2. 
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN ISBN 0-521-43878-0. 
• Getty, Alice (1936). Gaņeśa: A Monograph on the Elephant-Faced God. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 81-215-0377-X.  (1992 reprint edition).
• Grimes, John A. (1995). Ganapati: Song of the Self, SUNY Series in Religious Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-2440-5. 
• Gupta, Shakti M. (1988). Karttikeya: The Son of Shiva. Bombay: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd.. ISBN ISBN 81-7039-186-5. 
• Heras, H. (1972). The Problem of Ganapati. Delhi: Indological Book House. 
• Khokar, Ashish; Saraswati, S. (2005) Ganesha-Karttikeya. Rupa and Co., New Delhi. ISBN 81-291-0776-7.
• Krishan, Yuvraj (1999). Gaņeśa: Unravelling An Enigma. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-1413-4. 
• Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1996). A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Munshiram Monoharlal Publishers. ISBN 81-215-0715-4. 
• Mate, M. S. (1988). Temples and Legends of Maharashtra. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 
• Martin-Dubost, Paul (1997). Gaņeśa: The Enchanter of the Three Worlds. Mumbai: Project for Indian Cultural Studies. ISBN 81-900184-3-4. 
• Nagar, Shanti Lal (1992). The Cult of Vinayaka. New Delhi: Intellectual Publishing House. ISBN 81-7076-043-9. 
• Pal, Pratapaditya (1995). Ganesh: The Benevolent. Marg Publications. ISBN 81-85026-31-9. 
• Ramachandra Rao, S. K. (1992). The Compendium on Gaņeśa. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications. ISBN ISBN 81-7030-828-3. 
• Thapan, Anita Raina (1997). Understanding Gaņapati: Insights into the Dynamics of a Cult. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers. ISBN 81-7304-195-4. 

External links

Most of the source scriptures on Ganesha are in Sanskrit. A collection of useful documents can be found here. At the same site can be found some documents and translations in English here.

• Ganesh: Symbol and presence Retrieved May 22, 2007.
• Ganesha: The Elephant-God Retrieved May 22, 2007.

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