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Is lord Ganesh the supreme power??

Author: Acharya Sethu
by Acharya Sethu
Posted: Oct 11, 2017

Is lord Ganesh the supreme power??

According to Hindu mythology lord Ganesh is considered to be the foremost among all the gods and leader of all ganas (classes of beings). He is the one considered to be responsible for removal of hurdles and barriers. All pujas and auspicious occasions begin with worshiping lord Ganesh. Lord Ganesh is said to be the embodiment of success, education and knowledge and is worshiped under different names by people of different cultures like Buddhism, Jainism and devotees of lord Shiva, lord Vishnu and goddess Shakti. Apart from India, he is also worshiped in countries like Nepal, Tibet, China, Indonesia and Japan.

Lord Ganesh is believed to have head of an elephant, huge belly, large ears, broken tusk and a snake wrapped around his body. He is also said to appear riding a mouse with rope (pasham), laddu, and axe in his three hands while the fourth hand is in ‘Abhaya Mudra’. Appearance of lord Ganesh is said to be of good fortune to the believers and a wonder for others.

Vinayaka, Ganapati, Vignesha¸ Ekadanta, Gananadha, Pillayar are various names of lord Ganesh…He is recognized by features like Elephant head and having mouse as a ride.

Do you know the symbolic meaning of lord ganeshas appearance??

From the earlier times, there have been various debates, discussions and opinions regarding appearance of lord Ganesh. His trunk is said to symbolize ‘OM’ which is the pranavanada. While his elephant head represents Knowledge and wisdom, his human body symbolizes illusion and nature.

Axe in the hand of lord Ganesh signifies the removal of ignorance, rope (pasham) in his hand is said to confine or restrain the hurdles in our lives. While the broken tusk represents sacrifice, mala (garland) represents wisdom and righteousness. Lord Ganeshas huge ears symbolize his great attention towards prayers of devotees and the snake wrapped around his body signifies ‘kundalini Shakti‘ in humans.

Apart from appearance of lord Ganesh, his ride (mouse) too is of great significance according Hindu mythology. It shows equality among all living beings and a tiny mouse carrying mighty lord Ganesh shows that lord Ganesh bestows to his devotees the power of carrying any burden and lead a comfortable life.

Has our culture ever embraced the eminence of lord Ganesh???

Lord Ganesh has a unique structure. We can see the usage of word "Ganesha" in the scripts as old as Rigveda. Ganesha is used as a synonym for Bruhaspati. Bruhaspati who is the teacher of Gods is known for his great intellect and wisdom. Some people assert that bruhaspati evolved to be ganesha. According to grihya sutras, Ganesha is described as occult god i.e. god of demons(kshudradevata). His structure is the main reason behind this. Ancient scripts like Manusmriti and yajnavalkasmriti didn’t recognize the greatness of lord ganesh.

However, lord ganesh is as wise as bruhaspati. Lord ganesh will always be worshipped as the one who removes hurdles and provides good fortune. According to Brahma vaivarta puranam ‘ga’ in ganapati stands for intellect, while ‘na’ stands for nirvana and pati means master.so ganesha is considered as provider of intellect and nirvana. Thus vedas explain ganesha the son of shiva to be foremost among gods.

Is Ganesha married??? Who are Siddhi and Buddhi???

There are various speculations relating to marriage of lord Ganesha. According to some puranas, lord Ganesha is married to siddhi and buddhi and has two sons namely kshema and labha.

The way in which lord Ganesha circumambulates around his mother parvati instead of the earth in a competition against his brother kumaraswami is admirable. Pleased with the wit and sensitivity of lord ganesha, goddess parvati arranged his marriage with Siddhi and buddhi. Intelligence and accomplishments are like wives for a bachelor. It can be clearly seen from Lord ganesha’s behavior that he is master of those two. It is said that ganesha has two sons kshema and labha from his marriages.

Lord Ganesha’s marriage to siddhi and buddhi and having sons kshema and labha shows us that, one attains safety through accomplishment and achieves profit due to intelligence. Lord ganesha is worshiped with the phrase "bramhacharine namah" ( I bow down to the bachelor) as his wedding ceremony was never carried out.

About the Author

Acharya Sethu is formed to encourage Peace by understanding Sanatana Dharma and its cultural practices in its true sense.

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Author: Acharya Sethu

Acharya Sethu

Member since: Oct 10, 2017
Published articles: 2

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