Collection of interesting facts related to Ganesh Chaturthi

Just after the basic structure was made.... "mayureshwar"

Had the opportunity to compere a little program for Ganesh Chaturthi. Did some general reading to pick up points on Ganesha to keep children and adults interested. Here are some bits which I found interesting!

• We associate the community celebration surrounding Ganesh Chaturthi with Lokmanya Tilak. In a way, that's correct. In 1894, Tilak wrote about celebrating Ganpati as a community event in the "Kesari". However, Tilak himself was inspired by one Babusaheb Lakshman Javale. The latter was the one who first came up with this concept in 1892.

• Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in the month of "bhaadrapad", in the bright fortnight (shukla paksha) and on the day of the 4th digit of the moon (chaturthi). This is true for places which follow the "lunar calendar". In case of places which follow the solar calendar, there may not be one fixed month when Ganesh Chaturthi falls. In Tamil calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi can occur in one of the two months: aavani or purattaasi.

• There are two huge Ganesha idols at Hampi, Karnataka...close to 20 ft and in stone. Curiously, they are named "saasuvey kaalu ganesha" (mustard seed) and "kadaley kaai ganesha" (groundnut) Ganesha! Ganesha is "maha kaaya". As "maha kaaya", He covers the whole universe...and exists as the very universe. For such a huge Lord, a twenty foot idol is a mustard seed only! That's the concept behind the name.

• Though Ganesha has an elephant face, we have the concept of "nara mukha vinayaka". We find this in Chidambaram and in Trichy. Here, Ganesha is worshipped with a human face!

•  Though "vakra tunda mahaa kaaya" portrays him as huge, there's another popular shloka where He is called "vaamana roopa"- having a tiny form.  So, which one is true- maha kaaya or vaamana roopa? We need to go the Upanishad- "anoraniyaan mahato mahiyaan". He is smaller than the atom and bigger than the biggest. It shows that the Lord is not bound by spatial concepts. He exists as the atom, as well as...as the universe.

• "Vakra tunda mahaa kaaya surya koti samaprabha"- He who is huge and who dazzles like a million suns! It reminds us of the Bhagavad Geeta. In the chapter where Lord Krishna shows his universal form, the same expression is used "divi surya sahasrasya bhaved yugapad utthitaa". Lord Krishna dazzles as if a thousand suns have arisen together! It is because of this similarity, we interpreted "maha kaaya" as Ganesha showing his universal form (vishvarupa), just like Lord Krishna. There is some sadness too in this expression. One sun itself we cannot see. A million suns must be so very bright! Such an overpowering presence, we cannot recognize! How blind must we be...how thick our ignorance to miss something which is so obvious! This idea is present in the Shivanandalahari. (eko vaarija baandhavah...)

•  Ganesh is called "vikata": the prankster, the one who does mischief for the welfare of the people. There are 3 pranks which are popular. At Gokarna, he tricked Ravana and placed the "atma linga" on the ground, never to be removed, much to Ravana's anger. At Talakaveri, Ganesha took the form of a crow and overturned Agastya's kamandalu and made the river Kaveri flow out. At Srirangam, Ganesha tricked Vibhishana and placed the idol of Lord Ranganatha on the ground, never to be removed!

• Tapping our forehead with fist: Any puja begins with the mantra "shuklaambaradharam...vishnum...". We use our fists to gently tap the temples (on the forehead!) and remember Lord Ganesha. The significance of this gesture comes from the above story pertaining to Ganesha and Agastya. Agastya was angry that his kamandalu was overturned and went after the offender with clenched fists! Later, he discovered the offender to be none other than Ganesha. He was overcome with remorse and now, used his clenched fists to tap his own forehead! And thus began the custom of tapping the forehead temples with our fists. We remember both vaamana rupas this way: Agastya and Lord Ganesha.

•  Ganesha and Agastya are related in multiple ways. Both are vaamana roopa, short and both are great eaters! Agastya drank up the entire ocean to drive out the rakshasas and digested the demon "Vatapi" for good! Ganesha is of course well known for his eating and love for modakas! Agastya worshipped Ganesha. Agastya is supposed to have carried the "vatapi ganapati" from Badami (known earlier as vatapi) all the way to Tamil Nadu. As per one version, this idol is at Tiruvarur and Muthuswamy Dikshitar sang the kriti "Vatapi Ganapatim" in praise of this idol.

•  As per an alternate story, Narasimha Varma, the Pallava king in Tamil Nadu defeated Pulakeshi II (who ruled Badami) and carried back this idol. Pulakeshi II, Mahendra Varma (pallava king) and the great Harsha were contemporaries. Mahendra Varma was defeated by Pulakeshi II. Later, Mahendra Varma was succeeded by Narasimha Varma. Narasimha Varma was a great wrestler and many of the landmarks at Mahabalipuram were constructed during his reign. All this happened 1400 years ago. Narasimha Varma's general was one "Paranjyoti" who became a saint (like Ashoka, he underwent a catharsis of sorts) after this battle with Pulakeshi II. He became one of the 63 nayanmars and was called "siruthonda nayanar".

•  Ganesha's tusk: Ganesha broke his right tusk for different reasons as per these stories. As per the most popular story, he broke his tusk to write the Mahabharata. As per an alternate story, there was an asura called "gajamukhasura". This asura also had an elephant face! Ganesha threw his tusk at him and destroyed the asura. In the ardha naareeshwara form, the right half is Shiva and the left half is Parvati (Shiva's right and left- not the observer's!) Asian female elephants normally have no tusk, male elephants have tusks. By breaking his right tusk off, Ganesha as it were, shows his ardha naareeshwara form. It differs from his parents, in the sense, here, the right half is female and the left male! In the shodasha naama of Ganesha, he is called "ekadanta", a name with reference to the tusk.

•  Ganesha's trunk: Ganesha's trunk conveys "humility". Ganesha is the epitome of knowledge. After all, he is called "kavin kavinaam" and "brahmanaspati". The scriptures say "vidya vinaya sampannah", that knowledge should be accompanied with humility. How do we depict humility? In an Indian context, people speak with their hand covering the mouth especially when they talk to some elderly/accomplished person. Ganesha forever has his hand (trunk) covering his mouth. He is the epitome of humility too.

• Ganesha's ear: Ganesha's ears are prominent. It shows that he can hear our pleas better than other deities!! He flaps his ears rhythmically and keeps beat (taala). He's fat, but a great dancer! We have images of "nartana vinayaka". Normally, we need someone else to fan us. But Ganesha can fan himself (chaamara karna) and does not need any external instrument. He is his own fan! It shows how the Lord does not use "anything external to him" during the creation of this world. The maker is He, the material is He and the instrument too is He! In the shodasha nama of Ganesha, he is called "gajakarnaka" with reference to his ear.

• Ganesha's belly is full. All the brahmaandas...multiple universe find a place in him. The universe is visualized as an "anda"- egglike to show it has neither a beginning nor an end. So too, Ganesha's belly is like an egg. Everything is housed in him! Nothing is outside him. In the shodasha nama of Ganesha, he is called "lambodara" with reference to his belly.

• Ganesha's modaka: Ganesha's favorite sweet is modaka. In degrees of happiness, we have priya (happy), moda (very happy) and pramoda (most happy!). That which gives happiness is modaka. Sweet gives instant happiness! The dough has no taste. But scratch the surface of the dough, and it is filled with sweet "poornam". It is full, sweet and filled...as it were...with happiness!  Ganesha's belly is filled with modakas. All the worlds abide in the same belly. The worlds are in reality....modakas only! If we find this world, this life.... tasteless, it means we are still at the surface. Scratch a bit and we get to the "content" (adhishtaana) which is aananda. The Lord is manifest as the world. He is "sat-chit-aananda". Naturally, the content of the world should be aananda...happiness! Let's not be at the surface! Let's bite into the poornam...and partake of that happiness! Any number of quotes can be given- "brahma eva idam amrutam purastaad, brahma pashchaad..." etc.

•  Ganesha and Vishnu: Lord Vishnu is Ganesha's maternal uncle. There is a verse to that effect "shrikaanto maatulo yasya..." That's because Parvati and Vishnu are siblings. In Krishna avatara, yoga maya was born to Nanda and Yashoda and Krishna was raised as their son as well. In that way, they were...sort of...siblings.  Lord Vishnu went to see Ganesha on his birthday. Ganesha snatched Vishnu's chakra, stuffed it into his mouth and wouldn't give it back. Lord Vishnu held his two ears with his four hands and did situps! It was so amusing that Ganesha burst out laughing and the chakra was ejected! In keeping with this incident, many devotees do "thorpi karnam" (holding their ears with their hands crossed) in front of the Ganesha shrine.

•  Ganesha and Shiva: Lord Shiva forgot to propitiate Ganesha when he went to destroy the asura Tripura. Shiva had to meet with an obstacle. The axle of his chariot broke! Thereafter, Shiva made amends and took blessings from his own son!

•  Ganesha and Kartikeya: Kartikeya got married to Valli (daughter of a hunter-chief) due to a prank played by Ganesha. Ganesha assumed the mock form of a wild elephant and chased Valli. As she ran for cover, she found solace in the embrace of Kartikeya!

• Revolving around Shiva-Parvati and claiming the mango: The story is very popular and known to everyone. While Kartikeya took the trouble to actually go around the whole world to claim the mango as a prize, Ganesha simply circled around his parents. Much to Kartikeya's anger, Ganesha won the competition with a clever interpretation of the rules!  A number of ideas can be gleaned from the story. Philosophically, we can take the following moral. By knowing "one cause", all the "effects" are "as though" fully known. If we know "one gold", the cause, we have in effect known "the gold bangle", "the gold necklace", "the gold earring" etc. We need not take the trouble of sequentially knowing each effect in detail: first the bangle, next the necklace, next the earring and so on. One gold alone appears as the bangle, the necklace etc. So too, by knowing the "adhyaatma", one's own inner self, we have in effect known the entire creation. One's inner Self alone appears as this entire universe as in a dream! It is a baffling fact, but taught by the Upanishads. Kartikeya takes the trouble of trying to cover the entire world, an impossible task considering the immensity of the creation. Ganesha keeps it simple. He circles around Shiva-Parvati, the original cause (and present in each one of us as the adhyaatma) and stakes claim to the prize. He has "as though" circled the entire creation! This interpretation is seen in the Mundaka Upanishad.

• Ganesha and Parvati: When Lalitaambika (Parvati's form) went to destroy Bhandasura, the asura's army chief used a special "yantra" called vighna yantra. Due to this astra, Lalitambika's army was in disarray. They underwent a change of heart, so much so, they started distancing themselves from Lalitambika and started favoring the enemy! Ganesha used his tusk to break this yantra. With this, the soldiers were back with the right spirit and the enemy was conquered.

• Ganesha and turmeric: It is customary to take a lump of turmeric and invoke Lord Ganesha in it. This practice is followed in any Ganesha puja. What is the reason behind invoking Ganesha in a lump of turmeric? When Parvati created Ganesha, she is supposed to have scraped turmeric from her own body. Turmeric was the clay with which Parvati molded Ganesha. In keeping with this story, we also invoke Ganesha in a lump of turmeric. Turmeric is "mangalam", auspicious. Parvati is called "sarva mangalaa". Little wonder that the child crafted should also be "mangalakaari". In many songs, Ganesha is praised as "mangalakaari", who's grace confers the devotee with "shubham", everything auspicious! In languages like Tamil, turmeric is called "manjal". The word "manjal" comes from "mangala", auspicious. Turmeric is auspicious, Parvati is auspicious, Ganesha is of course auspicious!

• Ganesha and the moon: The moon was proud of his good-looks and laughed at Ganesha, who looked funny to him! It provoked Ganesha and he cursed the moon. The beauty is, he didn't directly curse the moon. Ganesha pronounced a curse that whoever looks at the moon, will be subject to blame and false accusation! With this, no one looked at the moon. If they looked at the moon and landed in trouble, they cursed the moon! Thus, Ganesha's purpose of teaching the moon a lesson, was served! The moon begged for forgiveness. Ganesha was magnanimous. He forgave the moon and even placed the moon on his head. Ganesha has a special name: "bhaalachandra"- the one who placed the moon on his forehead or "phaalachandra"- the one who placed the moon on the parting of this hair. Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha have the moon on their head. It is always the "third digit" of the moon on their head. Still, Ganesha's curse could not be completely revoked. He made a concession. The one who looked at the moon on "Ganesha chaturthi" day alone, will invite the curse. Even on that day, if he listens to the story of "Syamantaka mani", he can wriggle out of the curse! So much concession! 

•  Ganesha and Krishna: The entire episode of Syamantaka Mani (gem) is connected to Ganesha in a way. Lord Krishna happened to see the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi day. He underwent a lot of trouble as a result. Krishna was blamed for killing "Prasena" and stealing the gem. Satraajit, the original owner of the gem and even Balarama doubted Krishna. It took a lot of effort on Krishna's part to clear his name. But it ended on a good note. Krishna married Jaambavati and Satyabhaama (Satraajit's daughter) at the end of this episode. Narada explains to Krishna the reason for all these problems and Krishna does a special puja for Ganesha.

• Ganesha and serpent: Ganesha eats so much that he ties a snake to keep his overflowing belly in check! A snake symbolizes "shakti"- power. Without legs, it moves so quickly! It's all shakti! Ganesha's belly symbolizes the entire universe as seen earlier. And circumscribing this universe is...power. We see power everywhere- in the cascading waterfall, in the streak of lightning, in the volcanic eruption...everywhere.

•  Ganesha and Rama: On his way to Rameshvaram, Rama prayed at the Ganesha shrine at "Uppoor" and at "Thondi". "Thondi Ganesha" advised Rama to go further south to build the bridge from Rameshwaram. Adi Shankara composed the famous "Ganesha pancharatnam" on this "Thondi ganesha".

•  Ganesha and Hanuman: There's a special form of the Lord called "Aadyanta prabhu". Here, one half is Ganesha and the other half is Hanuman. Ganesha is the adi-devata- the first deity we pray to. He is right at the beginning. Hanuman is "rudraavatara", Shiva's manifestation. In that sense, he is laya karta...who alone remains after this cycle of creation is destroyed. He is verily the "anta". Thus, this combination of "adi" and "anta" makes this form "aadyanta prabhu".

• Ganesha and pranava: In many compositions, we find Ganesha referred as "pranavaakaaram"- having the form of "om" (pranava). "Om" is a "sound-symbol". It is not a visual symbol as seen sometimes. As a sound symbol, "om" is made up of the syllables "a", "u" and "m". Note that in Sanskrit, "a" and "u" combine to form "o". That's why we say "om", though it has 3 syllables. When we open the mouth, naturally we say "aaaaa". When we close the mouth, naturally, we say "mmmmm". "aaaaaa" "uuuu" and "mmmm" cover all sounds which can be uttered by any human being in any language. Sounds make up words. Words refer to objects. In effect, we can say "om" refers to "all objects" in the creation. The totality of everything in the creation is the Lord. He exists as every object, as all objects in the creation. Hence, "pranava" or "om" is the best name for the Lord since it covers everything in one sweep. Curiously, though "om" is a sound-symbol and needs to be uttered/intoned, for Ganesha alone, it also appears are a "visual-symbol" also. From the letter "om" in devanagari script, with its characteristic loops, it is easy for anyone to extrapolate it to the face of Ganesha. Even in regional languages like Tamil, the letter "om" is very close to an elephant face with trunk and tusk! Thus, Ganesha and "pranava" are intimately related.

• Ganesha and Kubera: There is a popular story involving Kubera and Ganesha. Kubera, the lord of all riches, is proud of his bounty. To flaunt his wealth, he throws a feast. Kubera is so sure that the food can never run out. Ganesha punctures his pride by consuming all the food and still not satisfied! A crest-fallen Kubera goes to Lord Shiva to find an exit strategy! Lord Shiva rebukes Kubera and teaches him the importance of a gracious and pure heart. Only then does any gift bless both the giver and the recipient. Shiva gives Kubera a handful of rice. With a change of heart, with bhakti, Kubera now serves the rice to Ganesha. Ganesha's appetite is immediately satiated! The story is simple. We can take the following moral from it. As the Geeta says: "patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati..." "Just one leaf, one flower, one fruit, one drop of water...if it is greased with bhakti, with love...that alone is enough...and I readily accept" says the Lord. Bhakti is the only currency which the Lord accepts as seen in this story.

• Ganesha and Adi Shankara: In the panchaayatana pooja popularized by Adi Shankara, Ganesha is worshipped in the "red stone" obtained from the river Sone in Bihar. It is called Sonabhadra. The other stones which are used in this puja are: saligrama stone for Lord Vishnu obtained from the river Gandaki in Nepal, baana linga stone for Lord Shiva obtained from the river Narmada, swarnamukhi stone for Devi from AP and crystal for Surya from Vallam in Thanjavur.

• Ganesha in "shanmata": There are 6 "matas". Followers of a particular deity (ishta devata) form a "mata". "Gaanapatyam" is one of the mataas. As per this tradition, Ganesha is the Supreme God. The other matas are Shaivam, Vaishnavam, Shaaktam, Souram and Kaumaaram. The shanmata was also established by Adi Shankara. The only addition to the panchayatana (5 deities) is Kaumaaram (followers of Kartikeya). In the panchayatana puja, Kartikeya does not find a place.

• Ganesha in the Vedas: In the Veda, there are special "Suktas" glorifying each deity. The most popular hymn in the Vedas for Lord Vishnu is the "Purusha Suktam". The most popular hymn in the Vedas for Lord Shiva is "Shri Rudram". The question is...where is Ganesha extolled in the Vedas? In the Atharvana Veda, there is a section called "Atharva Sheersham". This is one of the most popular Vedic hymns for Lord Ganesha. Here, Ganesha is praised as the creator-sustainer-destroyer of the entire creation. It is an Upanishad and reveals Ganesha as non different from one's own Self also.

• Ganesha as Heramba: There is a special form of Ganesha called "Heramba". Here, Ganesha sits on a lion. It is peculiar because an elephant and a lion are normally enemies. We say that an elephant is rattled by seeing a lion even in a dream (simha swapna). However, in Heramba, an elephant and lion come together. Likewise, Kartikeya rides a peacock. In many places, including Kukke Subramanya, Kartikeya is associated with a snake. Snake and peacock are natural enemies. Similarly, Shiva's third son (Ayappa or Shaasta) rides a tiger. Ayappa is in human form- a man. It's as if a man rides a man-eater! All opposites have to resolve in Bhagavan. Either we can say, He is "BOTH fat and thin" or we should say "He is neither fat nor thin"!!!

• Ganesha as Lakshmi Ganapati: For a Ganesha bhakta, he folds everything into Ganesha. Thus, we have concepts of "Lakshmi Ganapati", "Vidya Ganapati" and "Shakti Ganapati". It's as if Lakshmi-Saraswati-Durga and whatever they symbolize, find their being in Ganesha himself. Even in songs we find expressions like "lambodara lakumi karaa" (lakumi is a variant of lakshmi).

• Siddhi-buddhi Ganesha: We have no idea if Ganesha is married or not! In South India, Ganesha is a confirmed bachelor. However, in places like Jambukeshvaram, we have "vallabha Ganapati" with a lady seated on Ganesha's left lap. We also have "siddhi-buddhi vinayaka". In the South, siddhi-buddhi are not considered as consorts. Rather, they are looked upon as Ganesha's powers. In North India, Ganesha has two wives-  Riddhi and Siddhi. The confusion is not limited to Ganesha. In North India, Kartikeya is considered as a bachelor. In the South, he has two wives- Valli and Devasena! We can take whatever suits us.

• Ganesha - a subjective interpretation: Sometimes, we find a subjective interpretation of Ganesha- how the concept of Ganesha signifies a "man of spiritual perfection" (a gnyaani). He serves as a guide for every "saadhaka" (spiritual aspirant) to scale the same heights of perfection. We know that Ganesha's human head was replaced with the biggest head, an elephant head! The idea behind this is the following. We live our entire lives like a frog in a well! So narrow is our outlook with importance given only to "me" and "mine". Some trigger- a chance book, a chance meeting, a chance experience... suddenly changes us. The earlier petty mind (laghu chetas) is completely blasted and it is replaced with the grandest vision possible. "My family" now is this entire earth (vasudhaiva kutumbakam), "my nation" now is the entire universe (swadesho bhuvanatrayam) and the whole creation is now permeated by the Lord alone (ishaavaasyam idam sarvam). The change of Ganesha's head indicates this change in outlook. The broken tusk shows the readiness to sacrifice everything to gain this vision. The trunk can pick up a needle as well as uproot an entire tree. So too, a man of perfection has mastered his mind in a two-fold way. He is "dakshah" efficient... in his dealings with the world outside. When it comes to seeing the "one truth" in the "many", he has that subtlety (sukshma buddhi) as well. A pot-belly shows his ability to digest all experiences with equal ease- the good, the bad and the ugly! He accepts all experiences as "prasada". The mouse hovering around the feet of Ganesha indicates desire. A man of perfection is forever in charge. He is the master. He rides over the tiny mouse and perhaps fulfills whatever "preferences" he may have. There is never a time when the mouse rides him! We can go on extrapolating more from this allegorical Ganesha. This is just a sample!

Ganpati bappa morya!!!

Ganesha....fully painted and ready for pooja!