- As per Ganesh Atharvasheersh, ब्रह्मभूर्भुवः स्वरोम …आप ब्रह्मा हो, ओंकार आप ही हो. Ganesh is the manifestation of Brahma, and represents the celestial sound of Omkar.
2. Ganesh is usually shown with four hands . The lower right holds his own broken tusk or is in abhay mudra, the lower left hand holds a modaka, whereas the other hands might hold a mace or a noose in one, and an axe or goad in another. His trunk usually curves in the direction of modaka. One can usually find a serpent either in his hands or around his waist. It works as a balance to keep the mooshak (mouse ) under check.
3. Mooshak is the vehicle of Ganesh. He used to be a demon who was tamed by the Lord. Actually Kraunch (a celestial musician) was condemned by a Muni to become a rat since the former had stepped on his foot. The rat grew very large in size, with insatiable appetite and wild, unruly behaviour. Once he destroyed Maharshi Parashar’s ashram . It so happened that Ganesh was staying there at that time and in anger , sat on the large mouse to bring him to his senses. Since then the mooshak became his vehicle.
Mouse is a pest which harms crops. Ganesh has subjugated the rodent , which is why he is considered as god of fertility.
In his Vaktratunda avatar, Ganesh moves about on a lion, as Vikata on a peacock , as Vignesh on sheshnag and as Dhumraketu on a horse.
4.Vinayak-The one born without(vina) the help of a man(nayak). When Shiva refused to give her a child, Parvati anointed her body with turmeric and oil , scraped it off ,collected the rubbings ,mixed it with her sweat, molded a doll out of it and breathed life into it.
5.Did Parashuram break his tusk ? Or did he break it himself to write Mahabharata ? Or did he break it to throw at Moon who had made fun of his rotund shape ? Is he embarrassed of his belly , or does he consider it an evidence of his prosperity ?
6. Why is Ganesh fighting with this tortoise ?IS this some reference to the Tortoise/Elephant myth ? Or has it something to do with Sagar Manthan? I do not know.
7. Taklu Ganesh- We are so used to watching a crown on his elephantine head that a bald one looks odd,almost as if the crown has fallen down in the rush of puja proceedings.
8. Ekdanta-ganapati is depicted in blue colour while meditating in this form.
He is the remover of obstacles (Vighnharta), god of beginnings (mangalmoorthi), prosperity,patron of arts and science and the lord of wisdom.
The remover of obstacle also allows the rise of kundalini by blessing the first hurdle, the Muladhara Chakra at the base of the spine.
There are not too many stories and legends woven around Ganesh. But he is one of the Gods whose popularity has been rising for the past 300 years or so, esp. after Bal Gangadhar Tilak began celebrating the Ganpati Festival on a community scale.
#Ganesh #PujaPandals #DurgaPuja #PandalHopping
#vinayak #mangalmoorthi #Ganpati #Tilak #Mooshak
#Vighnharta
Abhinav Pancholi 