Lord Ganesha-The Great Son of Shiva and Parvati

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                       "Vakratunda Mahakaya 

                             Suryakoti-sama-prabha 

                             Nirvighnam kuru me deva 

                             Sarva-karyeshu sarvada" 

("Oh, the curved faced, gigantic Lord Ganesha, you are like a million suns in brilliance; always kindly free us from hurdles in all our endeavors.")

Ganapati is considered god of wisdom in Indian mythology.

People mostly worship him asking for Siddhi (Prudence )and Buddhi (Intellegence) He is called Vighneshwara the destroyer of obstacles. His Mantra is "Om Gung Ganapathaye Namah."

Spiritual aspirants who worship Ganesha as their tutelary Deity repeat

this Mantra or "Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah."

The devotees of Ganesha also do Japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra.

This is as follows:

"Tat purushaaya vidmahe

 Vakratundaaya dheemahi     

 Tanno dhanti prachodayaat"

Etymologically, ‘ganah’ in Sanskrit means "multitude" and ‘isa’ means ‘Lord’. So, Ganesha means the "Lord of all beings.’ He is the God of knowledge. Ganesha is the first son of Lord Shiva, who is the supreme reality. This popular Indian God symbolises one who has realised the Reality, one who has discovered the godhood in him. Ganesha is also known by different names such as Ganapati, Gajanana, Vinayaka, Vighneshwara, Dhoomraketu, Sumukha, Ekadantha, Gajakarnaka, Lambodara, Vignaraja, Ganadhyaksha, Phalachandra, Vakratunda, Siddhivinayaka, Surpakarna, Heramba, Skandapurvaja, Kapila and Vigneshwara. He is also known by many as Maha-Ganapathi.

Birth of Lord Ganesha:

The following story is narrated about His birth and how He came to have the head of an elephant:

Once upon a time, the Goddess Parvati (consort of Lord Shiva), while bathing, created Ganesha as a pure white being out of the mud of Her Body and placed Him at the entrance of the house. She told Him not to allow anyone to enter while she went inside for a bath. Lord Shiva Himself was returning home quite thirsty and was stopped by Ganesha at the gate. Shiva became angry and cut off Ganesha"s head as He thought Ganesha was an outsider. When Gauri came to know of this she was sorely grieved. To console her grief, Shiva ordered His servants to cut off and bring to Him the head of any creature that might be sleeping with its head facing north. The servants went on their mission and found only an elephant in that position. The sacrifice was thus made and the elephant"s head was brought before Shiva. The Lord then joined the elephant"s head onto the body of Ganesha.

Lord Shiva made His son worthy of worship at the beginning of all undertakings, marriages, expeditions, studies, etc.

Ganesha Upanishad describes Lord Ganesha in the following words:

Auspiciousness to those who hear - thus the Shanti.    
Om Lam I bow to Ganapati.
You clearly are the tattva.
You alone are the Creator.
You alone are the Maintainer.
You alone are the Destroyer.
Of all this you certainly are Brahma.
You plainly are the Essence.
Always I speak amrita.
The truth I speak.
Protect me. Protect the speakers.
Protect the hearers. Protect the givers.
Protect the holders. Protect the disciple that repeats.
Protect that in the East. Protect that in the South.
Protect that in the West. Protect that in the North.
Protect that above. Protect that below.
Everywhere protect! Protect me everywhere!
You are speech. You are consciousness.
You are Bliss. You are Brahma.
You are Being-Consciousness-Bliss.                                                     
You are the Non-Dual.
You are plainly Brahma.
You are knowledge.
You are Intelligence.
You create this world.
You maintain this world.
This world is seen in you.
You are Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Aether.
You are beyond the four measures of speech.                     
You are beyond the three Gunas.
You are beyond the three bodies.
You are beyond the three times.
You are always situated in the Muladhara.
You are the Being of the three Shaktis.
You are always meditated on by Yogins.
You are Brahma, You are Vishnu,
You are Rudra, You are Agni,
You are Vayu, You are the Sun,
You are the Moon, You are Brahma,
Bhur-Bhuvah-Svar.

Birth Festival Of The Lord

Ganesh Chaturthi is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. This day is one of the most popular in Hindu festivals.It is the day most sacred to Lord Ganesha. It falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is observed throughout India, as well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the world Clay figures of the Deity are made and after being worshipped for two days or in some cases after ten days they are merged into the water. 

Ganesha was a moving spirit for the Indian nationalists. It was around 1893 that the great nationalist Balgangadhar Tilak began to organize the Ganesh Utsav and the festival was a rallying point for the nationalists. As a social and religious function Ganesha Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra with great enthusiasm since.

Without the Grace of Sri Ganesha and His help nothing whatsoever can be achieved. No action can be undertaken without His support, Grace or blessing. Indeed, he is the most popular deity in today’s India. 

Ganesh is usually depicted colored red; as one tusk broken, and has four arms that may hold a pasam, a goad, and a pot of rice or sweets.His appetite for these sweets is legendary and offerings of them are often left at his shrine. With enormous body and appetite, he rides a small mouse! He has big ears and small eyes. For his super intellect and sharp memory, he is humble and served as a scribe to great Vyasa who wrote (dictated) the Mahabharata. He is considered Ameya (beyond measure), and aprameya (beyond visualization (riddles)). It is perhaps only to represent the omniscient form of the almighty that Ganesha is worshipped. Statues of Ganesh can be found in most Indian towns. His image is placed where new houses are to be built; he is honoured at the start of a journey or business venture, and poets traditionally invoke him at the start of a book.

Rainy season occupies a very important place in the Indian subcontinent and the Ganesh festival is the most important event during this period. In the south of the Vindhyas, idols of the Lord Ganesha prepared from clay are worshipped by the Hindus. Special delicacies of coconut, rice flour and jaggery, called modakas are offered to this god and many cultural events are organized on the occasion.

The Great Saint Swami Sivananda On the Ganesh Chaturthi day,

This god of wisdom has two wives, Siddhi and Buddhi. Sidlhi is achievement and Buddhi is intellect. These two, together, when fully utilized, lead one towards wisdom. But it is the celibate God Ganapati who is most  popular as god of learning, especially among students. Schooling in India starts with homage to Ganesha and early lettering to kids starts with "shri ganeshaya namah." In his first lesson in the alphabet a Maharashtrian child is initiated into the Mantra of Lord Ganesha, Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah. Only then is the alphabet taught.

Story of Ganesha’s Curse on  Moon

One day while travelling round the universe on his rat, Ganesha

came to Chandraloka (the realm of the Moon). The Moon saw him. The Moon,

very handsome,was proud of his appearance. On seeing the elephant-faced,

big-bellied Ganapati riding on a rat, he- laughed at Ganesha with contempt.
This was an insult and Ganesha was very angry about the Moon. His eyes
grew red. He pronounced a curse "Oh Moon, your handsome appearance has made you too vain. Fool, I am worshipped in all the worlds, but you
laugh at me. Receive now the fruits of your foolish pride. Let your beauty, which is the cause for your arrogance and ignorance vanishing!
From now on, whoever sees you on the fourth day of the bright
fortnight of Bhadrapada month, the day of my birth, will suffer
because of unjust accusations."

The curse shattered the Moon"s pride. He realized his mistake, and
felt sorry. Standing devotedly with folded hands before Ganesha he
prayed to him. "Sir, forgive me and my ignorance. Take back the

curse and protect me."
Then the kind Ganesha grew calm. He consoled the unhappy Moon. He
said, "Moon, you have realized your fault. What is important is the
destruction of your pride. Anyhow, my curse cannot be in vain. But
those who are subjected to false accusations will be saved and regain
their good name if they see you on the second day of the bright
fortnight also or listen to the story of the Syamantaka gem." The Moon
was satisfied.

Maharshi Narada has praised Ganesha as follows:

“Vidyarthee labhate vidyam Dhanarthee labhate dhanam Putrarthee labhate putram, Moksharthee labhate gatim”

("A student acquires education, a man who desires money gains wealth, one who seeks a son gets a son and the aspires of salvation reaches his goal.") 

Writing of Mahabharatha

Mahabharatha is one of the greatest epics of the Hindus. It was
authored by the sage Vyasa. Lord Ganesha was his scribe. Ganesha

wrote the Mahabharatha using the tip of his right tusk as a pen

according to the scriptures Vyasa was thinking of dictating the epic,

The Mahabharata, to some one. But he wanted some one capable of writing fast and without mistakes. Brahma decided that Ganapati was the only person equal to this great task. He sent Ganapati. He came to Vyasa and said,"Bhagavan, I will take down the story of the Mahabharata." Vyasa said,"My dear Ganesha, I shall dictate the poem quite fast. Can you take down without any mistakes? Ganesha threw a challenge in return:"Bhagavan, I shall write as fast as you dictate and that, correctly.But once you start dictating you should not stop till you complete it.Do you agree?" Vyasa Maharshi accepted the challenge. After they had come to this agreement, Vyasa went on dictating the story and Ganapati wrote down it. So the world got the great epic and the credit for that goes to a great extent to the benign Lord of wisdom, Lord Ganesha.

In due course of time, Ganesha had also become popular in countries such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and ofcourse the western countries as well,Many archaeological excavations in these countries have proved his popularity in ancient times. Many legends have grown up around this deity.

This Article by Mridul Kakoti

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