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There is no hindu
household anywhere in the world where an auspicious event occurs without first
offering prayers to Gananayaka or Vighneswara
who wards away obstacles.
Adi Sankara Bhagavadpada prescribed worship to six distinct deities, namely
worship of Ganesa, worship of Siva, worship of Vishnu,
worship of Kartikeya, worship of Sakti and worship of Surya. Worship of Ganesa
is ever popular and He is the familiar and endearing divine presence with
an elephant’s head and pot belly, sitting on his vahana,
the diminutive mouse. This familiar description of Ganesa
however is nowhere to be found in vedic
literature. This particular and popular description occurs only in medieval
literature.
In Rig veda the word Ganapati is found to be used as an attribute of Brahmanaspati. What is more, Rig Veda addresses Indra also as Ganapati. The well
known mantra “ Gananam
tva Ganapati hava
mahe…”, etc, is actually addressed to Brahmanaspati. Aitareya Brahmana also expressly states that this mantra is addressed
to Brahmanaspati who is desribed
as the Lord of prayers or holy teachings and doctrines.
The Taitiriya Aranyaka
however ontains a verse which says ‘we contemplate
Vakratunta,
therefore may the tusked (God) drive us forward”.
The Grihya and Dharma Sutras do not contain any
reference whatever to worship of Ganesa at the beginning
of auspicious rites.
Deva Tarpana of Boudhayana includes propitiation of Vighna , Vinayaka,
Vira, Sthula, Varada, Hastimukha, Vakratunta, Ekadanta and Lambodara. This part of Boudhayana
Grihya Sutra however is considered to be of doubtful
authenticity. This portion of the sutra claims that these names are attributes
of Vinayaka.
According to Manava Grihya
Sutra there are four vinayakas, namely, Salakatankata ,
Kusmarajaputra, Usmita
and Devayajana. They are described as evil spirits. “When they
sieze people they have bad dreams and see in them inauspicious
sights such as shaved persons, persons with matted hair or persons wearing
yellow garments, camels, hogs, asses and chandalas.
When they sieze princes though they are capable
they are deprived of their kingdoms; well accomplished and deserving maidens
do not find husbands; married women remain barren; even virtuous wives lose
children in their infancy; farmers lose their crops.” The Manava
Grihya Sutra in which these descriptions occur then
proceeds to desribe propitiatory rites to remove
the evil effects of siezure by Vinayaka..
The Baijavapa Grihya Sutra
mentions four vinayakas, namely Mita,
Sammita, Salakantaka and
Kusumandarajaputra, and describes their evil influences in
the same way as the Manava Grihya
Sutra.
The Baijava Grihya Sutras
and Manava Grihya Sutras
may be considered to show the
First stage in the cult of Vinayaka worship. At
this stage vinayakas are considered to be
Malevolent spirits that spell danger and create obstacles of all kinds.
The second stage can be seen in the descriptions in Yagnavalkya
Smriti. Here one finds
Vinayaka described as the Lord of the Ganas, appointed by Brahmna and
Rudra. Here he is described as one who causes obstacles as
well as one who removes them.
There is a description attributed to Yagnavalkya
whih says that Mita, Sammita, Salakantaka and Kusumandarjaputra are the four names of one Vinayaka, son of Ambika. There is
no mention by Yagnavalkya of the popularly known
names Ekadanta, Heramba,
Gajanana, Lambodara, which are all
direct descriptions of the elephant headed deity.
The Baudayana Grihya Seshasutra describes Vinayaka as
Lord of Bhutas and also describes him as “Hastimukha” and “Vighneswara” .It
also prescribes apupa and
Modaka as neivedyas to
propitiate him.
The Gobhila Smriti says
that at the beginning of all rites the matrs together
with Ganadipa( Lord of Ganas) should be worshipped.
The popular version of Ganesa had become distinctive
by about the 6th century A.D. The well known and popular story about origin
of Ganesa, where Lord Ganesa being created as a guard by Ambika
while she had a bath and about his head being chopped off in anger by Lord
Siva who later replaces it with the head of an elephant and making him the
chief of his ganas is attributed to Vanana
Purana.
Whatever may be the origin and development of the cult of Ganesa
worship, Ganapathi, Vighneswara
with the head of an elephant, pot belly and with a piece of his own broken
tusk in his hand and seated on a mouse, is deeply ingrained in the Hindu minds
everywhere in the world as the Lord who wards off evils and obstacles in answer
to prayers made with deep faith.
It is also the amazing confirmation of the truth that no matter how or to
which form we may direct our prayers making them with deep conviction and
faith, those prayers are answered.
Forms are after all only props that one needs until one progresses
higher towards sublime levels, on to the stage of Realization. When we point
out the moon to a child , we use our finger to do
so. When the glance of the child is once locked with the image of the moon
the need for the finger vanishes.
For all of us, the finger, Vakra Tunda
Maha Kaya, Koti Surya Maha Prabha will remain ever relevant and very necessary. For mankind
salvation is a long, very long,,way
away, say a trillion billion light years away.
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