Ganesha Symbolism and Significance

By Jayaram V

Many people look at the Gods as mere symbols, representations

of forces or mind areas. Actually, the Gods are beings, and down
through the ages ordinary men and women, great saints and
sages, prophets and mystics in all cultures have inwardly seen,
heard and been profoundly influenced by these superconscious,
inner-plane, inner-galactic beings. Lord Ganesha is just such a
being. He can think just as we can think. He can see and under-
stand and make decisions -- decisions so vast in their implica-
tions and complexity that we could never comprehend them with
our human faculties of limited understanding. - Loving Ganesha1

Ganesha is one of the most popular gods of Hinduism. Ganesha

means lord of the ganas. Gana means a group or community and
isa means lord. Ganesha is the leader of the community of Hindu

1
Loving Ganesha: Hinduism's Endearing Elephant-Faced God is publish-
ed by Himalayan Academy
gods. Ganesha is also the first deity who awakens in our spiritual
meditation and guide us on the path. Lord Ganesha is worshipped
by almost every Hindu. Ganesha's statuses are found almost in
every temple, every village every household. In Hindu rituals and
worship, Ganesha is invariably worshipped first. We know
Ganesha by many names of which Vighnaraja is one because he is
the lord of obstacles.2 He also removes them when he deems fit.
So devout Hindus worship Ganesha before starting any new ven-
ture or project.

The Historical Ganesha

Historically speaking, the worship of Ganesha dates back to pre-

historic times. In the ancient world he was probably worshipped
for the protection of farmlands against wild elephants and the
menace of rats. The Ganapathi-Brahmanaspati and the Maruts of
the Rigvedic hymns have some aspects of Ganesha. Brahmanas-
pati is Indra's lovely friend, who is known for his knowledge, wis-
dom and leadership, gives wisdom, heals diseases, increases agri-
cultural wealth, and protects people from their enemies. As the
teacher of gods or the priest of heaven, who makes the oblations
to prosper, Ganesha occupies an important place in Vedic rites
and rituals. Without him no sacrifice is supposed to be complete.
There is also a reference to the elephant in his descriptions as an
epithet. The Maruts are known for their fierce form and destruc-
tive nature. They send rains to the earth and cause fierce storms.
In Ganesha we can see a fine integration of the qualities of an ex-
cellent teacher and a fierce warrior.

2
Vighna means obstacles and raja means lord
From the copious references available in the Puranas such as the
Skanda, Padma, Vamana, Brahmanda, Varaha and Mudgala pura-
nas, we can estimate the extent of Ganesha's popularity even in
earlier times. Historians believe that a prototype of Ganesha was
worshipped in prehistoric times outside the Indian subcontinent
in such faraway places as Afghanistan, Tibet, Mongolia, China,
Java, Iran, Cambodia, Borneo, Japan and Mexico. Images of
Ganesha were found in Afghanistan and also in Iran. The image of
Ganesha found at Luristan in Iran dates back to 1200 BC to 1000
BC. Many Ganesha type idols were also found in Mexico from ex-
cavations and ancient temple ruins.

Connection with Buddhism

Ganesha was popular in both China and Japan centuries ago be-
cause of his association with Buddhism. Buddhism easily inte-
grated Ganesha into their pantheon just as they admitted many
other Hindu deities with same names but different status. The
early Buddhists who went from the Indian subcontinent to spread
Buddhism in other countries introduced Ganesha to the followers
of the Buddha in China and from there the tradition moved to Ja-
pan. Subsequently in both China and Japan Ganesha gained pop-
ularity as a god who brought romance and good luck into people's
lives. According to Buddhist tradition the Buddha himself re-
vealed a mystic mantra called Ganapathihrdaya to his close disci-
ple Ananda at Rajagriha. Followers of the Mahayana Buddhism
allotted a specific place for Ganesha in their drawings of Manda-
las or mystic diagrams. In China as well as in Japan, Buddha was
worshipped in two forms. One was the traditional Ganesha with
the usual and familiar appearance and the other was a two faced
Ganesha standing opposite to each other. The laughing Buddha
who became popular in China shares some physical features with
Ganesha and is also associated with good luck and good fortune.

Ganesha in the Subtle Planes

Followers of Saivism believe that Ganesha sits in the muladhara

chakra, at the base of the spinal cord and facilitates the spiritual
progress of human beings. Sitting in the muladhara chakra he
serves as the gateway to the higher chakras and higher planes of
consciousness. Ganesha is a lovable and affable god, who is easily
accessible through prayers, meditation and contemplation. He is
easy to please and approach because he is resides in the subtle
worlds closers to our earth plane (physical body) and serves as a
connecting link between this world and the higher. According to
Sakti Tantra, there are as many Ganeshas in the creation as there
the letters of the alphabet. This suggests that Ganesha exists in
various planes and worlds as the head of the ganas or groups of
entities to guide them and lead them towards Siva, the primordial
being.

Symbolism of Ganesha

Ganesha has a grotesque form. He is depicted with an elephant

head, pot belly, short plump hands and legs, a curved trunk, and
four arms, one holding a noose, one holding a goad , one giving
blessings and boons (varada) and one offering protection (abha-
ya). He is invariably shown in the company of his vehicle, a small
rat happily seated at his feet and surrounded by savory food. His
grotesqueness is a symbolic reminder of the fact that in our world
appearances are illusory and that truth is always other than what
it appears to be. Hidden within that grotesque form is a great soul
of universal dimensions, the son of God (Siva), known for his
 knowledge, wisdom, kindness, valor and leadership. There are
many stories about his origin, his adventures and mischievous
pranks. The most widely accepted legend is that he was created by
Parvathi, the mother goddess to assist her in her duties and was
later elevated by Lord Siva, after subjecting him to some rigorous
tests, as the leader of the gods. Ganapathi was originally a bache-
lor god. But with the rise of Shaktism in India, his shaktis began
to appear along with him in his images and descriptions. His
shaktis are two, variously known as Siddhi and Riddhi or Buddhi
or Pusti. 3 In some modern images we also see him as Laskhmi
Ganapathi, seated along with goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswathi
instead of Siddhi and Riddhi. Some of the symbolism associated
with Ganesha is shown in the following table:

Elephant Head Calmness, majesty, wisdom and strength

Mouse Mastery of fear, indecision, anxiety and uncer-

tainty; control over subterranean beings.

Grotesque body Illusion and duality

Large Ears Discernment, supernatural auditory powers

Broken tusk Indifference and detachment. Also skill in ac-

tion.

Curve of the Trunk Connection with curves in the symbol of AUM as

the lord of the speech.

Large belly Completeness, contentment and fulfillment

Pasa The three impurities of anava, karma and maya.

Ankusa or Goad Complete control or mastery of self. The power

to mitigate as well as inflict suffering.

3. These shaktis denote his unlimited wisdom (buddhi), his power to grant health (pusti),
wealth and boons (siddhis) and his power to take away (riddhi) suffering and human attach-
ments.
Forms of Ganesha

The idols and temples of Ganesha are found all over the world.
We we have archeological evidence to suggest that he was wor-
shipped in some temples of northern India as early as first centu-
ry AD. The Ganapatyam lists 32 iconic forms of Lord Ganesha of
which 16 are considered to be the most popular. They are not dif-
ferent Ganeshas but personification of his various aspects and at-
tributes. There are idols and images of Lord Ganesha correspond-
ing to these 16 forms. In each aspect Ganesha is shown with spe-
cific color, shape, posture and a variety of objects in his hands.
Ganapathi is also symbolically worshipped in the form of a
kumbha consisting of a coconut sitting atop the mouth of a round
pot or vessel surrounded by five mango leaves. In some places
Ganesha is worshipped in the form of lingas, salagramas and
yantras. The swastika is also considered to be a symbol of
Ganesha because he is a god of luck and auspiciousness. The six-
teen forms of Ganesha are shown below:

Temples of Ganesha

Traditionally the state of Maharashtra in India is well known for

the worship of Lord Ganesha and houses eight of his very famous
temples knows as Ashtavinayaka temples. Some details of these
temples and their idols are mentioned below

Location Idol Name Detail

Morgaon Mayureshwara Associated with Saint Morya a

famous devotee of Lord Ganesha

Thevoor Chintamani Served as a religious retreat for

Ganesha the Peshwas the rules of Maratha
 Kingdom

Ranjangaon Maha The idol of Ganesha with ten

Gganapathi heads is also located in the temple
complex,

Siddhatek Siddhi The idol is right tusked. So devo-

Vinayaka tees are advised to be extra care-
ful while worshipping.

Lenyadri Girijatmaja The idol is situated in a cave tem-

Cave ple with only the back of the idol
visible to the worshippers.

Ojhar Vighneswara The idol is flanked by Riddhi and

Kshetra Siddha the two Shaktis of
Ganesha

Pali Ballaleshwara The name comes from Ballala a

boy whom Ganesha rescued from
persecution.

Mahad Varada A traditional lamp that has been

Vinayaka kept alight since 1892

16 Names of Ganesha

Ganesha is usually worshipped alone. But in the tantric form of

worship he is worshipped along with his shaktis as Vallabha. The
puranas mention 16 names of Ganesha which are considered to be
effective during his worship for warding off evil and gaining his
blessings. These names are also used in the prayers addressed to
Ganesha during his worship. The 16 names of Ganesha are:
sumukha, ekadanta, kapila, vighnaraja, vinayaka, dhumaketu,
ganadhyaksha, phalachandra, gajakarna, lambodara, vikata,
vakratunda, surpanakha, heramba, skandapurvaja and
mahaganapathi. Ganesha is also worshipped as the supreme
Brahman himself by the followers of Ganapatya Sect

Some rare and interesting aspects of Ganesha are found in some

temples of India such as the the image of Bala Ganapathi crawling
on his hands like a baby at Vellore in Andhra Pradesh, the image
of Ganesha holding a flute just like Krishna at Madurai, a female
aspect of Ganesha called Ganeshini at Suchindra and Madurai
and a five headed Heramaba Ganapathi riding a lion at
Nagapattinam. The female aspect of Ganesha is also called
Vinayaki, Surpakarni and Lambamekhala.

The End