The 32 forms of Ganapati
There are 32 forms of Ganesha. But we see hundreds of idols each year. Some idols have just two hands and some have as many as 16 hands. Ganpati Bappa wields weapons like a sword, discuss, a skull with wine, conch shell, club, an axe or hatchet and/or a walking stick too in his hands.
He may hold things like a lotus, stalk of sugarcane, ears of paddy, banana, mango, jackfruit, guava, pomegranate, the rose apple(jamun), the wood apple( bilva) and/or coconut too in his hands. The symbolic messages of each idol are therefore bound to be different. But some basic norms are followed by all Hindus.
Dakshinamurti Ganapati
Ganapati idols with the trunk facing totally towards the right, facing south are rare. They represent the Pingala Nadi or the sun channel. Yama lives in the south. Yama and the Sun are always active, powerful and radiant. Such idols are believed to be the “jagrut” form of Ganesha. All the rituals have to be performed perfectly regularly by tantriks. So such idols are usually enshrined in temples.
The Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai and a temple in Siddhatek, Pune have enshrined this form of Ganesha. Dakshinamurti Ganesha fulfils our wishes very quickly. But all the rituals should be performed meticulously. Else we may end up incurring Ganpati Bappa’s wrath.
Vama Mukhi Ganapati
“Vam” means the north or the left side. It represents the Chandra Nadi or the moon channel. The direction of north is favourable for spiritual progress and bestows us with bliss. So idols in which lord Ganesha’s trunk faces to his left are known as Vam Mukhi Ganeshas. Such forms of Ganesha are easy to please and are kept/brought into our homes.
The girl with the Churma Laddoo
A poor little girl lives with her mother in a small village. The 10 day Ganesh festival is going on in their village. When the little girl looks at the idol of Ganapati Bappa, she feels as if Bappa is looking and smiling only at her. She touches the idol with her small hands gently and returns home with her friends.
The next day she feels like offering something to Ganapati Bappa. She tells her mother about it. Her mother makes two Churma Laddoos with the ingredients she has at home. She gives them to her daughter and says, “Offer one to Ganapati Bappa and then eat the other one.”
The little girl runs to the temple and offers one Churma Laddoo to Ganapati Bappa. She then waits patiently for him to eat it. But the Churma Laddoo remains where she had placed it. She thinks to herself and says, “Probably Ganapati Bappa is feeling full with all the food he has just eaten. I’ll wait till he feels hungry again. I’m sure he’ll eat my Churma Laddoo after a while!”
So she waits and waits holding her Churma Laddoo in her hand. Patiently. With a smile on her face. Ganapati Bappa has no choice. He appears before her, sits down and shares his Churma Laddoo with her. Ganapati Bappa never fails his devotees. Never.
Chauth Gosain
A poor couple cannot visit the Ganesha temple on Ganesh Chaturthi because the temple is on the outskirts of their village and they have to report for work. So they offer him Laddoos made out of sesame seeds and jaggery and go off to work.
They return home, eat a frugal meal and go to sleep. But they wake up with a start when they hear someone knocking on their door in the middle of the night. They look at each other and said, “Who is it?” A voice replies, “Chauth Gosain!” The man opens the door. He is sure that the short hefty man standing outside their door is a thief. He says, “What do you want?” Chauth Gosain looks at them kindly and says, “Can I use your washroom?” The woman swallows her fear and says, “This way…”
Chauth Gosain returns after a few minutes. He thanks them for their kindness and leaves their house. The poor couple feel relieved that the thief has not harmed them. But they cannot sleep after that either. When the woman visits the washroom, she finds it overflowing with jewels. They realize that Chauth Gosain is one of Ganesha’s names. They regret their inability to recognize their lord but serve Ganapati Bappa with even more devotion after that.
News spreads like wildfire. Their rich arrogant neighbour suddenly becomes friendly with them. He finds out all the details about Chauth Gosain’s visit from the old couple. He does all that that the old couple had done. Exactly.
Chauth Gosain does come to visit him too. He does express his desire to visit the washroom too. The rich man feels happy. Very happy. He looks at his wife and says, “It is so simple to please Ganapati Bappa. Let’s do this more often!” His wife nods her head vigorously. The next day they rush to their washroom eagerly and see it brimming with dung.
Ganapati Bappa wrote the script of the Mahabharata. He can rewrite the script of our lives whenever and in whichever way he wants to……
Vignaharta
One day, Uma goes hunting with her son Ganesha. They reach a serene spot in the jungle and find several deer grazing nearby. Uma takes careful aim and shoots out several arrows from her bow.
But each time she misses her target by a whisker. She looks at Ganesha with exasperation and asks him if she is doing anything wrong. Ganapati Bappa looks at her calmly and says, “How can your arrow reach your target if you forget to invoke me before you aim?”
Uma realizes her folly, bows down and apologizes to her son. Yes, Ganapati Bappa is everyone’s Bappa indeed! He is Vignaharta, the remover of obstacles and we should always invoke him before we begin our poojas, rites and ceremonies.
Buddhi Priya Ganesha
Rishi Atri and his wife Anasuya invite Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha to their home for lunch one day. Anasuya cooks an elaborate meal for them all. She does the right thing by inviting Ganesha to have his lunch first. Ganesha eats everything that Anasuya offers him with relish. But he does not stop eating. At all.
Shiva, Parvati, Rishi Atri and his wife Anasuya become ravenous. But they know that unless they appease Ganesha’s hunger they cannot eat. Anasuya does some quick thinking. She cooks a batch of delicate modaks and slathers them with some hot ghee. The white modaks look bland but have a filling of a sweet golden-hued mixture of honey, jaggery and coconut.
When Ganesha eats these modaks, he feels full instantly and burps. Shiva, Parvati, Rishi Atri and Anasuya feel happy when they are finally able to appease Ganapati Bappa’s hunger. They then sit down to enjoy their meal.
“Buddhi Priya Ganesha” refers to Ganesha’s fondness for intelligence. Buddhi Priya Ganesha is clever and wise and appreciates Anasuya’s quick thinking. This shows us that Bappa is as hungry for food as he is for intelligence. We invoke Buddhi Priya Ganesh before learning and writing sessions also.
These stories reveal the different aspects of Ganapati Bappa’s powers. We understand that we cannot confine him to a few precise facts or stories. But most of us assume that Ganapati Bappa is the remover of obstacles. Yes, he does do that. Very well. But let us always remember that He also places obstacles in our path when we go astray.
Photos given by: Giridhari and Naresh.
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