Tracing Vighnaharta in Sanskrit Literature

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Once again, Ganesh has returned to earth on his annual visit, to stay with human beings in their homes, creating joy, excitement and assurance that all will be well and all deeds will be completed without any hurdles.

Ganesh has always been associated with learning and education.  Account books, exam papers and anything new begin with ‘Shree Ganeshaay namah’. Ganesh is remover of all obstacles.  ‘Ganesh Sthapan’, a ritualistic puja, invites Ganesh to stay till a  wedding is over. Fasting on Tuesdays is believed to gain Ganesh’s blessings, and on Sankashta Chaturthi is believed to remove all troubles.

Ganesh is known through many stories: story of how he got his elephant head, and story of how intelligent he was to win a contest with his brother by circumambulating around his parents. Ganesh and his First-in-Everything status have always been around.

But where in the immense Hindu religious and philosophical literature is Ganesh’s story, of who he really was and what he did?

Ganesh stories are part of the Puranas, which were also written in Sanskrit like the Vedas, but much later. Vedas contain prayers, rituals and praise of gods. The Puranas contain simplified stories of the gods described in the Vedas and legends and myths about them, according to the encyclopedia Britannica.

The Puranas include topics such as the customs, ceremonies, sacrifices, festivals, duties, donations, the construction of temples and images. Puranas also describe how to live a pious life and how to worship the gods; the rituals and pujas that should be performed at home, in the temple, and on special festival days; places to go on pilgrimage; prayers to recite; and stories to tell and listen to.

There are 18 Puranas, and 18 UpaPuranas. The story of Ganesh is depicted in the much read Ganesh Purana and also in the Mudgala Purana.

Ganesh Purana is divided in two sections, the Krida Khand and the Upasana Khanda. Ganesh Sahastranama, one thousand names and attributes of Ganesh, chanted at most hawans, appear first in Chapter 46 of the Upasana Khand of Ganesh Purana.

Two different methods of Ganesh worship are listed in the Upasana Khanda. The first is through meditation and contemplation of Ganesh. The other is through performing Puja by preparing an image of Ganesh, decorating it with flowers, presenting it offerings and festively remembering him. This is the method that is followed during the Ganesh festival, when Ganesh image is installed in homes and in public places and worshipped with prayers and offerings.

Ganesh’s 4 incarnations in 4 Yugas are described in the Krida Khanda of Ganesh Purana.

In Satya Yuga, it depicts Ganesh with 10 arms, giving gifts and riding a lion. In Treta Yuga, Ganesh is depicted with 6 arms, has fair complexion, and riding a peacock.

Ganesh is depicted in Dvapar Yuga with 4 arms, a red complexion, riding a mouse and being a child of Shiva and Parvati. This is the most worshipped form of Ganesh.

In the Kali Yuga, Ganesh has two arms, smoky complexion, riding a horse, and fighting and killing demons. This sounds similar to Vishnu’s tenth incarnation Kalki destroying the evil in Kali Yuga.

Each of the sections of Ganesh Purana is relevant even today as it delivers a deeply spiritual message which is also useful in everyday life, according to scholars. Each section offers solutions to problems in different aspects of life.

The first section of the Ganesh Purana contains the story of the creation of the universe and of Ganesh and how he got the status of First-in-Everything. It also includes the story of the witty circumambulation of his parents by Ganesh. There is a section devoted to how his father Shiva also prayed to Ganesh before defeating Tripurasur. Yet another section is devoted to a dialogue between Ganesh and his mother Parvati and prayers to them. A section describes the rituals of the Sankashta Chaturthi Vrat.

Ganesh Purana is believed by devotees to help remain on the right path at every turn in the road. Every section addresses some aspect of life, be it personal conflict or family crisis, social responsibilities or spiritual upliftment.

The Mudgala Purana, also an UpPurana, is dedicated to Ganesh too,  tells many stories and describes many rituals. Each of the Mudgala Purana’s eight chapter is devoted to an incarnation of Ganesh. These incarnations are different from the ones in Ganesh Purana.

Whichever treatise his origin lies in, Ganesh is still a beloved god of all, giving boons and protecting anyone who approaches him. A prayer to  Ganesh is much recited, especially at Sankasht Chaturthi, and promises to protect and grant one’s wishes just by regular recitation. The prayer describes Ganesh as Vakratunda, Ekdanta, KrushnaPingaksha, Gajavaktra, Lambodara, Vikatmev, Vighnaraja, Dhumravarna, Bhalchandra, Vinayaka, Ganapati and Gajanana. It begins:

प्रणम्य शिरसा देवम्

गौरीपुत्रं विनायकम्

भक्त वासं स्मरे नित्यम्

आयुः कामार्थ सिद्धये

I bow down my head to the God Vinayak who is the son of Gauri, the abode of devotees who remember him regularly for fulfillment of their life’s desires.