AFVOA Newletters of Year 2003

Page 89 of 170 Hindus. As he is supposed to be very fond of rice puddings, these dishes are cooked on a very large scale in every Hindu house and offered to the God, to be consumed by the members of the family, after the worship is over. A fresh image of Ganesh in clay is made and worshiped on this day. One hundred and eight different names of this God are repeated after the preliminary ceremonies and 108 different flowers are offered in worship over them. The origin of this worship is prehistoric. Yudhisthira, the hero of the Mahabharata, Damayanti, the queen of the Nishada King Nala, Indra, the Lord of Heavens and even Krishna, the expounder of the Bhagavatgita are said to have devoutly worshipped Ganesh and to have obtained their desired ends. Vinayaka or Ganesh is the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati, or of Parvati only, according to the following legend, as he sprang from the dirt of her body. Shiva had gone from home and Parvati was left alone on the Kailasa; she wished to have a bath and not liking the idea of any person entering the house then, she rubbed her body with her hands and from the dirt that rolled off produced a figure to which she gave life and named Ganesh. She then asked Ganesh to sit at the door and allow no one, however he might be, to come in till she had finished her bath. Ganesh sat at his duty and while Parvati was bathing inside, Shiva returned home. He wanted to enter his house, but Ganesh would not allow him. After trying in vain to persuade him with gentle words, the great god used threats which, however had no effect. He was at last compelled to cut off Ganesh’s head and force his way in. When the goddess who was within perceived her lord entering and when she came to know that Ganesh had been murdered, she would not speak to Shiva until her attendant was restored to life. In order to do this, Shiva gave orders to his army of the Bhutaganas to find the first living creature that slept with its head turned towards the north, to cut off its head and to fit it into Ganesh’s body. The Bhutas searched and searched for a very long time and at last found an elephant asleep with its head to the north, and cutting of its head, they brought it and fixed it to the Ganesh’s body, and lo! he rose up Ma man in body and elephant in face. This story also accounts for the belief of Hindus to avoid the northern aspect in sleep. Vinayaka is the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati and one of the most popular deities in India. He is the male Minerva and the Janus of public ways. His shrine is in every Hindu village. He is worshipped in every Hindu house. Every school boy begins his lessons after offering his usual prayers to Vinayaka. Every merchant commences his operation after first propitiating this deity. In marriages and every other kind of religious ceremony, Vinayaka is the first God whose help is invoked. Almost all the standard works in Sanskrit and the Vernacular languages begin with an invocation of the help of Ganesh. Vinayaka’s figure is represented as elephant in face and man in body. The elephant’s head is regarded as the emblem of sagacity. In his image he is always seated at his ease, with his legs folded under him on a lotus throne. He has four arms and they hold an elephant’s trunk, a noose, a mace, and a Modaka (rice pudding). He wears a crown. His ears are adorned with jewels and his forehead vibhuti - the sacred ashes. He wears a garland of pearls and precious stones round his neck. He is worshipped under the different names of Vinayaka, Ganesh, Ganapati, Pillaiyar, etc. As this most popular deity is worshipped in almost every village, there is a belief among certain people that he is the god of the Sudras and lower orders, who are generally uneducated. As an authority for this belief, the following couplet is sometimes quoted: -