Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c9.28

v1.c9.28

Vighnēśvara is figured in most cases with only two eyes; the āgamas, however, prescribe three eyes to him in certain particular aspects. His image may have four, six, eight, ten or even sixteen arms; but the majority of such images have only four arms. The belly of this god, Lambōdara as he is often enough called, has to be very capacious. On the chest has to be thrown a snake in the form of the yajñōpavīta; and another snake should serve as a belt going round the belly. The following Purāṇic account of how he came to possess a girdle of snake is interesting. Once upon a time, Vighnēśvara, received from a number of devotees innumerable quantities of the mōdaka cake, and put them all into his capacious stomach. He then started to go home and mounted upon his precious charger, the mouse, and began to drive it. It was already dusk, and the poor over-burdened little mouse was hardly able to move along. In such a plight, it sighted a large snake crossing the path; and in terror it tripped and fell throwing down the rider god Gaṇeśa also. This fall caused the bursting of his inflated belly, and the cakes were all scattered pell mell on the floor. He picked them patiently, put them once again into his burst belly and tied round it for security the very snake which caused him so much damage. It is thus that he got the snake-girdle. The moon, who was then in the company of his twenty-seven starry consorts, saw all that took place on the earth below and burst out in loud laughter quite audible to Gaṇeśa. This god became greatly annoyed at the insult offered to him, grew wild with anger and plucked one of his own tusks and hurled it at the moon. It struck the moon and hit him so hard that he began to lose his lustre rapidly. The nights became pitch dark, and the gods thereupon approached him with prayers and implored him to pardon the offender, and to restore to him his light. Pleased with the praises of the gods, Vighneśvara modified his curse somewhat, changing it from perfect loss of light in the moon to one of periodic waning, and waxing. This story accounts also for Gaṇeśa having only one tusk in addition to its offering an explanation of the waxing and the waning of the moon.