Skip to content
Gaṇeśa-tatva
‘Gaṇeśa’ the word paints the following picture in the canvas of the mind – An inexplicably lovely form with winnow-like ears swaying gaily, a handsome trunk resting resolutely in a bowl of ‘modakas,’ eyes the dais of mischief, and belly as rotund as can be! Celebrated variedly as Agrapūjya, Vināyaka, Ekadanta, Heramba, Vighneśvara, Gaṇapati, and so on, He occupies a very important place in the Hindu Pantheon. Two aspects of Gaṇeśa-tatva serve as the basis for His preeminence – Gaṇeśa is both ‘vighna-kartā’ (creator of obstacle) as well as ‘vighna-hartā’ (annihilator of obstacles!) Any endeavor, even of the other manifestations of Gods, reaches fruition only by the grace of Gaṇeśa, and the undoing of any endeavor too is owing to His grace alone. The Nyāyendu-śekhara states,
अप्यन्यामरमारिराधयिषतां यत्पादपङ्केरुह-
द्वन्द्वाराधनमन्तरायहतये कार्यं त्ववश्यं विदुः।
तद्धेतोरिति नीतिवित्तु भजते देवं यमेकं परं
सर्वार्थप्रतिपादनैकचतुरो द्वैमातुरोऽव्यात्स नः॥
apyanyāmaramārirādhayiṣatāṁ yat-pāda-paṅkeruha-
dvandvārādhanam-antarāya-hataye kāryaṁ tvavaśyaṁ viduḥ|
taddhetor-iti nīti-vit-tu bhajate devaṁ yam-ekaṁ paraṁ
sarvārtha-pradipādanaika-caturo dvaimāturo’vyāt-sa naḥ||
The twin lotuses of His feet, even those desirous of adoring other manifestations of Gods resort to. Hence do the wise celebrate Him as the peerless Supreme, the patron of all ends. May He, Dvaimātura (Son to two mothers*, Gaṇeśa,) bless us.
The following Purāṇic anecdotes attest to Gaṇeśa’s roles as vighna-kartā and vighna-hartā, respectively.
The Mudgala-purāṇa relates the following anecdote. Once, Indra’s svarga-loka (heaven) became over-populated. Every soul that discarded the mortal-coils was given admittance to svarga-loka, and Yama’s Naraka (hell) lay empty. Indra was alarmed. He appealed to Lord Śiva most humbly, ‘Lord, not a single soul is being sent to naraka any longer. They all throng svarga. Admitting just one more soul into svarga will mean I may be displaced. Kindly intervene and send only the deserving souls to svarga.’ Lord Śiva responded, ‘Indra I am powerless to transgress the Divine Edict that whom-so-ever may step foot inside the temple of Somanatha will be afforded admittance to svarga. Parvatī is an adept in finding solutions to tricky situations such as these. Appeal to Her.’ Indra did as bade and Parvatī blessed Indra with a beautiful Boy fashioned out of the paste of Her body. She said to Him, ‘This handsome one will serve as the vighna-kartā (creator of obstacles) to those who have not qualified to attain to svarga!’
The second Purāṇic anecdote is as follows –
Once, Lord Śiva set out to destroy the tripuras (city-triad,) mounting His formidable chariot. The Three cities could only be destroyed by a single arrow that pierced through them all, and that could be achieved only when the three cities aligned in a row. Such an alignment was to occur only once in a thousand celestial years, and that time was now at hand. Intent upon the task at hand Lord Śiva rode forth in grave solemnity. All of a sudden, the peg of His chariot-wheel came undone! The all-knowing Śiva recognized the origin of this impediment. He had failed to seek Gaṇeśa’s grace for the endeavor at hand. He returned to seek the blessings of His son, vighna-hartā and succeeded in His cosmic endeavor.
Gaṇeśa is thus the composite of all auspiciousness (maṇgala-mūrti,) owing to His twin role as the destroyer of evil and the facilitator of the good. Gāṇāpatya treatise that adore Gaṇeśa as the Supreme personality describe Him as svānanda, as he embodies bliss. Personified, He is said to recline in an ocean of sugarcane juice, bestowing untold bliss on His devotees.
* Two different explanations are given regarding this particular appellation of Gaṇeśa. One Purāṇic account holds that Pārvatī is one mother while the elephant that afforded Gaṇeśa His head, is the other mother. Yet another account considers both Pārvatī and Gaṅgā to be Gaṇeśa mothers. He is as a result, referred to as Dvaimātura.
