Forms of Ganesa.

April 28, 2006

Dear Mr.Shiva Rudra Dharmadeva Arya,

namaste. here i am presenting the edited

excerpts from the book 'Ganesa - The Enchanter of the Three Worlds' .

From solid to subtle and symbolic, the

elephant God is presented in numberous postures depending upon for

what he is invoked.

Certain of the forms of Ganesa, to use the

Indian expression, are self-made(Svayambhu). Certain Ganesa

worshippers pay homage to tiny Ganesa figurines at home made out of

bronze, with a detachable heed. The ceremony is carried out on the

body of the child Ganesa, and when the puja has ended, the elephant-

head is replaced on the body of the statue. The aim of such ritual

is clear: It recreates the story of Ganesa's deapitation.

Human-Faced Ganesa:

Another extremely rare form is that of

Ganesa shown as an adolescent,before the decapitation. There is one

venerated on the outer wall of the great Siva Nataraja temple in

Chidambaram, and another one in Ganapatisvaram, 12 kilometres from

Nannilam, in the district of Thanjavur, at the site where Vinayaka

killed the demon Gajamukha. Both these representations show Ganesa

standing with human face (Naramukha Vinayaka).

One of Ganesa's most common representations

is the one which is drawn with geometrical figures(Kolam), made with

thin liquefied rice in South India; this is a very common custom.

Equally common is the auspicious sign, Pillaiyar Suli representing

Ganesa, who in Tamil Nadu is placed at the top of all palmleaf or

latania manuscripts.

Fragrant Idols :

Before listing the forms fashioned from

solid materials, such as stone, metal, ivory or wood, the images

pertaining to worship known as Asthiramurti made from quickly

perishable materials, such as sandalwood paste, flour, turmeric

powder, calf-dung(gomaya), flowers or fresh butter (Navanita Ganesa),

should be mentioned.

These figures are usually venerated on the

very day or within a few hours on their being made. Their

proportionn is left to the judgement of those who model them, but

they have no pedestal. During daily household rituals (atmartha

puja), the head of the house, for his own and for his family's

benefit, may choose to carry out the ceremony on either one of these

Asthiramurti figures.

Sign of Divinity :

It so happens that the root of the Mandara

tree is shaped like a long curved trunk. For the Ganapatyas, it is

an obvious sign of his divinity. Some of these Mandara Ganesas are

venerated in Mumbai, Pune, Titvala and in the family of the Poet,

Gopala Mairala, in Vaodara. The Kridkhanda of the Ganeshapurana

narrates the story of the hero, Parasubahu, who had made a tiny

medallion from Mandara wood for himself and had placed it around his

neck as a necklace. He obtained the paradise of Ganesa, the

Ganesaloka.

Stone Ganesa :

The first stone Ganesa which appears in the

caves or on the walls of temples in North India are of the Gupta,

Vakataka, Rastrakula, Maitraka, Vardhana styles, those from the two

chalukayan dynasties of Central India and the ones from South India

of Pallava, Pandya and Chera styles have two or four arms. They are

shown seated (asana) or standing (sthanaka).

The dancing Ganesa appears in Rjasthan,

under the Pratiharas; in Bengal under the Senas; in Orissa, under the

Gangas, in Central India under the Cedis and the candellas; in South

India, under the Cholas, the Hoysalas and the Kakaliyas of North

Andhra Pradesh.

Ganesa with one or both consorts is

depicted at the end of the Gupta era in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and

Madhya Prades.

The dimensions of the statues and

statuettes are not always precisely specified. No ancient text gives

the sizes of ting earthen figurine used before the construction of

temples. However, the Ganesgita of the Ganesapurana specifies that a

clay, four-armed Ganesa figurine should be made on the fourth day of

bright fortnight in the month of Bhadrapada, and that his vehichle

and attributes should be represented.

The most gigantic stone Ganesa is the one

carved on the perpendicular face of an enormous rock in the midst of

a jungle, near the river bed, in Vnakati - ten kilometres from

Kailashar, in the norht of Tripura.

In the ancient caves of Elephanta and

Ellora, Ganesa is shown seated in the company of the seven or eight

mothers. In Idagunji and Gokarnam, in the standing, holding a lotus

bud.

In the rock shrines of South India, be

they Pallava, Pandya, Chera or Chola, Ganesa is almost inevitably

shown alone, seated with two arms (Pillaiyarpatti) and sevalpatti, in

the district of Ramnad) or with four arms, with the trunk curving to

the right(Valanguri) on the side of the Bhairavakonda hill, in the

district of Nellur, Andhra Pradesh, elsewhere still, he is found in

the company of his maternal uncle Vishnu, or with Siva Nataraja.

The Litany of the Thousan Names of Ganesa

included in the Ganespurana gives other specifications; Ganesa's

throne is made of Precious stones(Ratnasimhasnesraya); Ganesa is

seated on a lotus on which are inscribed Sanskrit syllables

(Lipipadmasanadhara); Ganesa's throne is hexagonal(Satkonapitha);

Ganesa is carried on their heads by the nine Saktis led by Tivra

(Navasaktisiroddhrta); he stands on a throne made of nine serpents

(Navangasanahyasin); he has for his throne, the king of serpents with

ten thousan heads(Dasasahasranabhrt - Phanirajakrtasana).

Differnt Roles :

In a Saiva temple it is the soutern or soth-

western wall which is allocated to Ganesa. He is found there, most

often seated in a niche, or shown standing on a stele. Sometimes, he

also guards the entrance of forts, with Hanuman, and this is

especially visible in South India, betweenm Tamil Nadu and the

southern border of Karnataka.

In several Sri Vaishnava temples of Tamil

Nadu and Karnataka, in Chennai, Alagarkovil and Melkote, among

others, Ganesa is shown on the pillars or in one of the outer

courtyards. The Sri Vaishnavas of South India designate him

Tumbikkai Alvar : The sage with the elephant trunk.

The Dhyanasloka of Sritattvanidhi - a

treatise illustrated with minatures got prepared by the Maharaja of

Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar - lists the following attributes

(weapons, flowers,fruits,vegetables,gestures of the hands such as

mudra,sweets,musical instruments.), shown by each of these Ganesha :

Bala Ganapati (the child Ganapati);

Taruna Ganapati(the youth);

Bhakta Ganapati(the perfect devotee);

Vcchista Ganapati(the God of achievement,very fond

of sesame cake);

Dvija Ganapati(the twice-born);

theramba Ganapati(with five faces, riding a lion);

Ganapati (the giver of success embracing Siddhi and

Buddhi, his consorts);

Vijaya Ganapati(the Victorious,riding a rat, which

is trotting briskly);

Nrtya Ganapati(dancing under the wish-fulfulling

tree);

Urdhva Ganapati(the awakened, sitting with his

consort on his left lap);

Vara Ganapati(the exvcellent one seated with

Goddess of prosperity, Pusti on

his left lap);

Ekaksara Ganapati(identified with the single letter

OM);

Tryaksara Ganapati(of three letter A+U+M);

Ksipraprasade Ganapati (Ganapati who rewards

promptly);

Haridra Ganapati(the colour of trumeric);

Ekadanta Ganapati(of the single tusk);

Srsti Ganapati(tnhe creator, riding a huge rat);

Uddanda Ganapati(the wild, with his consort on his

left lap);

Sankatahara Ganapati(seated with his consort on a

huge lotus; he removes

difficulties);

Dhundhi Ganapati(the God who should be sought);

Dvimukha Ganapati(the God with two faces);

Trimukha Ganapati(with three faces);

Simha Ganapati(Ganapati, whose upper portion of

the face above the trunk is

leonline);

Yoga Ganapati(the great Yogi);

Durga Ganapati(Ganapati, very similar to Goddess

Durga);

and Rnamocaka Ganapati(the God who liberates from

debts).

as i found this article very interesting, i wanted to

present in the Rudrkasha bead society club so that all good souls can

enhance their kavach with the Grace of Lord Ganesha. hope it will be

beneficial for all.

Good Wishes,

balaji p.

indospyder · February 2, 2008

Dear all,

I have recently renovated a 2000-year old Shiva temple, Pasupati kovil, near Thanjavur in South India. In this temple there a unique idol of Lord Ganesa. The sitting ganesa has his trunk on the yoni of a Shakthi seated on his left lap and under his right foot there stands a figure with folded hands. According to a leading epigraphist and temple historian who visited this temple, this form of Ganesa is not seen seen anywhere else. He says that there exists a legend that goes like this: Once there was a war between the Devas and the Asuras. In this battle the asuras far outnumbered the devas as new ones kept springing out of the yoni of their Shakthi. Devas had to take the help of Ganesa who blocked the yoni of the Shakthi thus preventing further procreation of asuras. The standing figure under Ganesha's right foot is the deva king.

Can anybody throw some light on this significance, please?

om-namasivaya om-namasivaya om-namasivaya sivayanama-om.