Ganesha, the elephant-headed one, is one of the most popular deities of India. All auspicious events begin with an invocation to him. He is invoked before an act of business or trade, or before laying the first stone of a new building.
Ganesha is usually portrayed as having the head of an elephant and the body of a huge-bellied man. In some depictions he is standing, whilst in others he may he dancing or sitting. As with the iconography of other Indian deities, the number of heads or arms an image of Ganesha possesses may vary. Ganesha is often shown wearing a serpent for a girdle and riding a mouse.
Significantly, unlike other deities of the Hindu pantheon, there are no strict rules or canons binding the form his worship may take. He may be revered in any form. Ganesha is addressed in hymn and prayer by many different titles such as Vinayaka (remover of hindrances), or Vakratunda (of the twisted trunk). Prayers to Ganesha ask for the removal of obstacles from the path of the devotee, and for success in one’s endeavours.
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence.
The most interesting story concerning Ganesha is the belief that he was the scribe who wrote the Mahabharata. Maharshi Ved Vyas was instructed to write the epic by the Gods. He wanted it to be written down by the most knowledgeable one in the universe. Lord Brahma asked Maharshi to visit Lord Shiva and beg for his son SIDDHIDATA GANESHA to be allowed for the task. Lord Ganesha had a clause: While reciting the verses, if Ved Vyas stopped for a while, and Ganesha would have to stop because of the same; he would terminate his writing of the epic and Maharshi would have to search for another writer.That is, Maharshi would have to recite the entire epic at one go, without pausing at all.
Maharshi Ved Vyas agreed to this. However he himself put forth another condition: He told the Lord that he would have to understand every hymn, every verse before penning it down. He put this condition with the idea that he would be reciting something very tough; and while Ganesha would be pondering upon its meaning, he would get a scope to take a few moments of rest
However that was not the case with Lord Ganesha. He completed penning down the sacred hymns even before the sage had thought of the next. In the mean time, the pen He used for writing down the verses, began to wear away. Aware of His earlier condition, and not finding out any other alternative, the Lord pulled out his left tusk and used it to complete writing the great epic Mahabharata.
Maharshi Ved Vyas agreed to this. However he himself put forth another condition: He told the Lord that he would have to understand every hymn, every verse before penning it down. He put this condition with the idea that he would be reciting something very tough; and while Ganesha would be pondering upon its meaning, he would get a scope to take a few moments of rest
However that was not the case with Lord Ganesha. He completed penning down the sacred hymns even before the sage had thought of the next. In the mean time, the pen He used for writing down the verses, began to wear away. Aware of His earlier condition, and not finding out any other alternative, the Lord pulled out his left tusk and used it to complete writing the great epic Mahabharata.
No comments:
Post a Comment