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South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c9.s17: XXVI

South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c9.s17

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XXVI

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Ganapati, Ganēsa or Vināyaka, the popular “belly god,” is, as his name indicates, the chief of the Saiva ganas. He is said to be the eldest son of Siva and Pārvatī, to have three eyes, an elephant’s head² and ears and four arms. In the two back hands he holds the hook and the noose and in the front arms an elephant's tusk and the wood-apple. Instead of the two last we may sometimes find the boon-conferring posture and the water-pot. According to the Kāśyapa-Silpa the noose may alternate with the rosary or a serpent. The illustration from Lēpākshi (fig. 107) shows the left lower hand of Ganēsa resting on his thigh. His elephant trunk is curved out in the act of picking up the wood-apple or, sometimes, the pudding. His pot-belly is girded round by a serpent and the sacred thread, which is also a serpent, hangs across the body from over his left shoulder. In the seated posture Ganēsa is represented with one leg hanging from the pedestal and placed on a foot-stool and the other resting on the pedestal. The right tusk of the god is broken and must in no case be shown complete.¹ He rides on a rat or bandicoot. His image may be made standing (fig. 108), seated (fig. 109) or dancing (fig. 110).² In the first position the general bend of the body known as ābhanga or samabhanga may optionally be adopted. While seated, the body is to be slightly bent to the left. Over his head Ganēsa wears the jewelled crown (kiritamakuta) and his hands and legs are fully ornamented.

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² One of the popular stories explaining how Ganapati came to have the elephant’s head is as follows: Once upon a time when Pārvatī went to bathe, she made a figure of the turmeric which had been smeared over her body, gave it life and limbs and appointed it to keep watch at the door. Siva came to see Pārvatī but was stopped at the door by the newly created guard. Siva in anger cut off the head of the figure. The goddess entreated him to revive her child. He agreed and said that the head of any living body sleeping with the head placed northward might be severed at once and placed on the trunk of the turmeric figure. An elephant was found sleeping in the way described. Its head was accordingly cut

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¹ In the Sukranītisāra it is stated that his left (vāma) tusk is broken, that his vehicle may be any animal which he chooses and that his trunk holds a lotus.

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² The dancing figure of Ganēsa from Gangaikondasōlapuram has its upper left hand lifted up instead of showing the noose or the rosary.

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FIG. 105.—Bhringi; Srisailam.

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FIG. 106.—Jvaradēva; Bhavāni.

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Ganapati is a very important deity in the Hindu Pantheon.³ Supposed to be the lord of obstacles (Vighnēśvara) he is worshipped by all classes of Hindus, other than Srī-Vaishnavas, at the commencement of every religious ceremony, whether auspicious or inauspicious. A sect of Brahmanas called Gānā-patyas, found mostly on the West Coast, worship him as the highest of the gods. As in the case of Vishnu and Siva he is

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³ Babu Nagendra Natha Vasu in his Mayūrabhanja states that Vināyaka is worshipped even by the Buddhists, the Japanese calling him Binayakia. He refers to a temple of Ganēsa in Nepal which is supposed to have been built by a daughter of the Maurya king Asōka in the third century B.C. Dr. Bhandarkar (Vaishnavism, Saivism, etc., p. 147 f.) gives the sixth century to be the earliest date when Ganapati as the elephant-headed god, came to be generally worshipped by the Hindus.

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off and placed on the trunk. The figure came back to life and Siva accepting that as his first-born child, blessed him and made him the leader (pati) of the Saiva hosts (ganas). People still believe that it is not right to sleep with one's head placed northward. The Brahmavaivarta-Purāna gives a different account and makes Vishnu responsible for the change in Ganapati's head.

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FIG. 107.—Ganapati standing ; Lēpākshi.

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FIG. 108.—Ganapati standing (metal) ; Pattīsvaram.

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FIG. 109.—Ganapati seated; Siyamangalam.

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FIG. 110.—Ganapati dancing ; Gangaikondasōlapuram.

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also called by a thousand names. Mr. Havell explains Ganapati to be the *manas*, or worldly wisdom, personified. Ganapati in Hindu mythology is recognized as an unmarried god—a *brahmachārin*. But from the sequel it will appear that some forms of Ganapati have their accompanying goddesses, sometimes recognized as Ashta-Siddhis (the eight presiding deities of success or achievement).

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Thirty-two forms of Ganapati¹ are mentioned in the Mudgala-Purāṇa. The *Silpasāra* also refers to some of these forms. Mahā-Ganapati is stated in the Mudgala-Purāṇa to be an elephant-faced god, three-eyed, wearing the crescent of the moon as his head-ornament, and red in colour. He is lovingly embraced by his wife who, seated on his lap, holds a lotus in her hand. The following weapons and symbols are mentioned: the *bijapūra*, club, sugarcane-bow, a brilliant discus, conch, noose, lotus, ear of paddy, the broken tusk and the ruby-pot. This list indicates that the god must have ten hands.² The illustration (fig. 111) from Madura shows Mahā-Ganapati riding on a rat and having on his lap the seated figure of a goddess. He has ten arms but the weapons held in them are not quite distinct. In the uppermost hand on the right side, however, is seen the discus. In the Visvanātha temple at Tenkāsi (Tinnevelly district) we have a similar image seated on a pedestal without the usual rat vehicle, the elephant trunk being turned towards the left side. Here again only the discus and the lotus held in two of the ten arms are clear. Mahā-Ganapati with different weapons and two goddesses receives the name Lakshmī-Ganapati. A fine bronze image of Hēramba-Ganapati, also described in the Mudgala-Purāṇa comes from Negapatam (fig. 112). This figure has five elephant faces, the fifth of which, in the illustration, is represented at the top.³ Of his ten arms the two lowest show the protecting and the boon-giving postures. The others hold the noose, the tusk, the rosary, hook, axe, pestle, pudding and the fruit. He rides on a lion, but no goddess is found, as in the two varieties just mentioned. From Tiruvānaikkāval (i.e., Jambukēsvaram)

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¹ The *Sāradātilaka* speaks of fifty-one forms of Ganapati.

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² The *Silparatna* says that he is seated on a lotus-pedestal under a *kalpa-tree*; that he has ten arms holding the weapons mentioned in the Mudgala-Purāṇa and that he is surrounded by gods and *ganas*. No. 84 of the Tanjore inscriptions (S.I.I., Vol. II, p. 407) refers to a comfortably seated Ganapati and mentions a tree as one of his accompaniments. The reference may be to Mahā-Ganapati; but the inscription states that he had only four divine arms.

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³ A stone image of this form of Ganapati is found at Tiruvottiyūr near Madras. It is of recent make and has the five heads all arranged in a circle.

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MAHĀ-GANAPATI.

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LAKSHMĪ-GANAPATI.

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HĒRAMBA-GANAPATI.

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FIG. III.—Mahā-Ganapati ; Madura.

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FIG. 112.—Hēramba-Ganapati (metal); Negapatam.

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PANCHA- MUKHA- VINĀYAKA. in the Trichinopoly district, comes a stone figure of Pancha-mukha-Vināyaka which answers to the description of Hēramba-Ganapati without the lion vehicle. There are other forms known as Ūrdhva-Ganapati, Uchchhishta-Ganapati and Vara-Ganapati,¹ which are perhaps the inventions of the followers of that mysterious and often indecent cult of Sāktas, in which the female energy of creation always plays a very prominent part. Sakti-Ganapati and Uddanda-Ganapati are represented as embracing a goddess. Bīja-Ganapati mentioned in the Silparatna has four arms, is fond of the citron and is adorned with shining ornaments. Perhaps he is the same as Vijaya-Ganapati of the Mudgala-Purāna. It may be noted that in the Brihadīsvara temple at Tanjore, established by the Chōla king Rājarāja I about the beginning of the eleventh century A.D., different forms of dancing and seated Ganapatis were installed. These bore the names Ālayattu-Pillaiyār and Parivārālayattu-Pillaiyār.²

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¹ The Gānāpatyas recognize six forms of Ganapati to be the most important, viz., Mahā-Ganapati, Haridrā-Ganapati, Uchchhishta-Ganapati, Navanīta-Ganapati, Svarna-Ganapati and Santāna-Ganapati.

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² I.e., Ganapati within the main temple and Ganapati in the surrounding shrines. Evidently the former was worshipped as a chief god and the latter as one of the subsidiary guardian deities of the temple.

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BĪJA- GANAPATI or VIJAYA- GANAPATI.

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Ganapati, the Tamil Pillaiyār, is a very popular god. He is the god of wealth, the remover of all obstacles, the bestower of success, the fulfiller of desire. He is gentle, calm and friendly and withal possessed of a certain wise craft. A famous story relates how Vyāsa found no one capable of writing down his voluminous Mahābhārata to his dictation and was referred to Ganapati. Ganapati agreed, but on the understanding that Vyāsa never stopped for a moment in the midst. Vyāsa on his part stipulated that Ganapati should take down naught of which he did not understand the meaning. So whenever Vyāsa felt that he had to pause in the middle of his composition he gave out a more than ordinarily tough verse; and while the crafty god was worrying over its meaning managed to be ahead of the god's writing. Temples of Ganapati are quite common in Southern India, though there are none which may be considered particularly famous, except the one of Ucchi-Pillaiyār on the rock at Trichinopoly. In virtue of his being the lord of spirits (ganas) which cause obstacles to men, Ganapati is also considered to be the guardian deity of a village and is, as such, installed in one of the four quarters of almost every village.

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