Gaṇapati

Gaṇapati is the first deva to be worshipped. He is also called Gaṇeśa, Vināyaka and Vighneśvara, and he has many other names. He is the master of all beginnings. He removes obstacles (vighna) and, when needed, he also places them.

In the Purāṇas his birth is told in different ways. In the accounts given here, he arises from the laughter of Bhagavān Śiva. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, in its Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, teaches the widest view of him. It says that Gaṇapati is the Parabrahman, the highest consciousness, and that Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva receive their powers from him.

Origin

The devas ask for help

The devas saw that good works were meeting obstacles, while evil deeds went ahead without any. After talking it over, they went to Rudra on Kailāsa and said:

“O Mahādeva, O Śūlapāṇi, O Trilocana, please create someone who will cause obstacles (vighna) for the works of the wicked.”

Śiva’s laughter and the birth

Rudra looked at Pārvatī, who is the jñāna-śakti (the power of knowledge), with a steady eye that did not blink. Then his mind turned to ākāśa (space) and its lack of form. It also turned to a statement Brahmā had made earlier about the devas that live in the body. Rudra laughed. His laugh joined four things together: this cosmic gaze, the four qualities of ākāśa, and the knowledge of the guṇas of the four elements.

From this laughter a boy of splendid form appeared. He lit up all the directions with the qualities of Parameṣṭhin (Brahmā). He was like a second Rudra.

Rudra’s śāpa

Pārvatī looked at the boy’s beautiful form without blinking. Rudra saw how the women were charmed, and he saw how changeable they are. He became jealous and gave the boy a śāpa (a curse):

“You will have an elephant’s face, a hanging belly, and serpents as your sacred thread!”

Many Vināyakas

Rudra’s anger grew strong. Sweat poured out from fifty lakh pores (five million). As he shook his body, many Vināyakas came out of it. They were dark in colour, had many arms and looked terrifying. They came to cause obstacles for the enemies of the devas.

Brahmā steps in

Brahmā watched from his divine vehicle and spoke to the devas:

“You are blessed! The three-eyed Parameśvara has shown you his grace. These forms will block the works of the enemies of the devas.”

Then Brahmā spoke to Śiva:

“Let the greatest of these be the master of the Vināyakas. Let the others be his attendants. Give him weapons and varas.”

His varas and names

Bhagavān Śiva spoke to his son:

“You will be known by these names: Vināyaka, Vighnakara, Gajamukha, Śiva-putra, Gaṇeśa. These Vināyakas, fierce in the eye, will be your servants. They will complete the wishes of devotees. You will receive worship first in all yajñas, yātrās (journeys) and auspicious ceremonies. If this rite is not done, they will cause failure.”

Śiva then anointed Gaṇapati with water from golden vessels, in front of the devas. The devas praised him with a stotra. In short, it says:

“Salutation to the elephant-faced Deva! Salutation to Gaṇanāyaka, Vināyaka! Salutation to the one with terrifying power! Vighnakartā, salutation. Wearer of the serpent cord, salutation. Born from Rudra’s face, salutation. Fat-bellied Deva, salutation. All the devas bow to you. Protect them always from obstacles!”

Link with ākāśa

In the list of the devas of the body (Chapter 17), Gaṇapati is linked with ākāśa (space). His name Gaṇapati is also tied to the formless nature (āprakṛta rūpa) of ākāśa. Rudra wonders why ākāśa alone has no form, and his laughter at this thought brings forth Gaṇapati.

In the symbolism of the body, pṛthvī, ākāśa, jala, agni and vāyu (earth, space, water, fire and air) together are Gaṇapati. This is the pañca bhūta samuccaya, the gathering of the five elements.

Caturthī

Gaṇapati was installed as Gaṇanātha on a Caturthī, the fourth lunar day. So Caturthī became sacred. The observance is:

• Eat sesame seeds (tila, called nuvvulu in Telugu).
• Worship Gaṇapati with devotion.

“One who worships Gaṇapati on Caturthī with sesame makes Gaṇapati glad. Obstacles will not arise. No pāpa (sin) can touch such a devotee.”

Avighna Vrata, the removal of all obstacles

The Varāha Purāṇa (Book 2, Chapter 59) teaches a vrata (vow) for Gaṇeśa called the Avighna Vrata. The word avighna means freedom from vighna. When it is kept properly, it destroys all obstacles.

How it is kept

• Start: Begin on the Caturthī (fourth tithi) of the month of Phālguna.
• Food at night: On the night of Caturthī, make food mixed with sesame and eat it. The same food is offered as haviṣya in the homa (fire offering), and it is given first to brāhmaṇas.
• Length: Keep the vrata for four months. This is one full cāturmāsya cycle.
• Completion: In the Pañcamī month (the fifth month):
• Have a golden image (svarṇa-pratimā) of Vighneśvara (Gaṇapati) made.
• Prepare five vessels (pañca pātra) filled with khīr (sweet rice milk) made with sesame, called nuvvula pāyasam.
• Give the image and the five vessels together to a qualified brāhmaṇa.

Archanā mantra

On the day of Caturthī, worship Gaṇapati with this mantra:

Śūraḥ, dhīraḥ, gajamukhaḥ, lambodaraḥ, ekadantaḥ, the deva who is all these, namaskaraḥ.

It means: “Salutation to the brave one, the steady one, the elephant-faced one, the pot-bellied one, the one-tusked Deva.” A second homa follows, to destroy all obstacles completely.

The fruit

“One who keeps this vrata, having fulfilled all his purposes through the grace of Vināyaka, is freed from all obstacles.”

Those who kept it

The Purāṇa records several cases of people who kept this vrata.

1. King Sagara. Obstacles came up during his aśvamedha yajña. He kept the Avighna Vrata and finished the yajña well.
2. Śiva (Rudra). When he was about to destroy the Tripurāsuras, Rudra kept this vrata first. After that he destroyed them.
3. Varāha (Bhagavān Viṣṇu himself). In one account, he kept this vrata when he was about to drink up the ocean.
4. Many kings, ascetics and jñānins (knowers) have kept this vrata so that their work goes on without obstacles.

In this way the Avighna Vrata shows Gaṇapati as the one who makes obstacles for enemies (vighna-kartā) and the one who removes them for devotees (avighna-kartā). This double work was fixed at his birth, as the sections above show.

Gaṇapati in the Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa has a chapter on the rules of Gaṇeśa-pūjā (Chapter 71), told by Maheśvara to Skanda. It also describes Gaṇeśa’s image in Chapter 50.

His form

The Agni Purāṇa describes Gaṇeśa, who is also called Gaṇapati, Lambodara, Ekadanta and Gajānana, in this way:

• He has the head of an elephant with a single tusk (ekadanta).
• He has a large pot-like belly (mahōdara, lambodara).
• He has four arms.
• His four hands hold the modaka (a sweet ball), the paraśu (axe), the danta (his own broken tusk), and a lotus or the abhaya-mudrā (the gesture of no fear).
• His colour is red or golden. The bīja-mantra “Gaṃ” calls up this red-golden form.
• His vehicle (vāhana) is the mūṣika (mouse).
• His trunk curls to the left (vāmāvarta), which is the most auspicious form.
• He wears serpents as his sacred thread (nāga-yajñopavīta).

The Gaṇeśa-pūjā

The pūjā begins with aṅga-nyāsa (placing mantras on the limbs). The names of Gaṇeśa are used as the aṅga-mantras:

• “Gaṃjayāya svāhā hṛdayāya namaḥ” (for the heart)
• “Ekadaṃṣṭrāya huṃ phaṭ śirase namaḥ” (for the head)
• “Acalakārṇine namo namaḥ śikhāyai namaḥ” (for the tuft of hair)
• “Gajavaktrāya namo namaḥ kavacāya namaḥ” (for the armour)
• “Mahōdarāya namaḥ netrebhyāṃ namaḥ” (for the eyes)
• “Sudaṇḍahastāya namaḥ astrāya namaḥ” (for the weapon)

The pūjā-maṇḍala (the diagram of worship) is a lotus with its petals and its karṇikā (central hub). On the lower petals these are worshipped: Gaṇa, Guru, Guru-pādukā, Śakti, Ananta and Dharma. On the karṇikā the bīja “Gaṃ” is worshipped. Then the nine pīṭha-śaktis are worshipped: Tīvrā, Jvālinī, Nandā, Bhogadā, Kāmarūpiṇī, Ugrā, Tejovatī, Satyā and Vighnanaśinī.

Four elemental bījas are used in the bhūtaśuddhi (cleansing of the elements) before the main worship: “Yaṃ” (vāyu), “Raṃ” (agni), “Laṃ” (pṛthvī) and “Vaṃ” (amṛta).

The Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī mantra is:

Oṃ Lambodarāya vidmahe Mahōdarāya dhīmahi, tanno dantaḥ pracodayāt.

The twelve names worshipped in the aṅga-pūjā are: Gaṇapati, Gaṇādhipa, Gaṇeśa, Gaṇanāyaka, Gaṇakrīḍa, Vakratuṇḍa, Ekadaṃṣṭra, Mahōdara, Gajānana, Lambodara, Vikaṭa and Vighnanāśana. Along with these, the guardians of the directions are worshipped as part of the Gaṇapati-pūjā. They are Mahendra and the eight dikpālas.

Gaṇeśa at the start of all worship

The Agni Purāṇa shows that Gaṇeśa comes before every ritual. In Chapter 73, on the Sūrya-pūjā, even the worship of Bhagavān Sūrya begins with “Gaṃ Gaṇapataye Namaḥ” in the Īśāna corner (the north-east), before the main worship. In Chapter 74, on the Śiva-pūjā, Gaṇapati, Sarasvatī and Lakṣmī are worshipped on the udumbara branch above the door before anyone enters the pūjā-maṇḍapa. The fruit of Gaṇeśa-pūjā is the removal of all obstacles and the gaining of all desires (sarvābhīṣṭa).

Saṃkaṣṭa-Caturthī in the Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 179) describes several Caturthī vratas for Gaṇapati. The Caturthī tithi, the fourth lunar day, is his own tithi in all months.

• Māgha Śukla Caturthī: Fast on this day, do Gaṇeśa-pūjā, and eat tila (sesame) on the Pañcamī. One who keeps this vrata stays free from all obstacles for many years without a break.
• Bhādrapada Śukla Caturthī: One who keeps the Caturthī vrata on this day reaches Śivaloka.
• Maṃgala-Caturthī: When a Tuesday (Maṃgalavāra) falls on Caturthī, the Gaṇapati-pūjā on that day gives all that is wished for.
• Avighna-Caturthī (Phālguna Kṛṣṇa Caturthī): On this day, eat only at night (nakta). The name Avighna, freedom from obstacles, tells the fruit.
• Caitra-Caturthī: Worship Gaṇapati with damana flowers, a spring flower. The fruit is happiness and enjoyment (sukha-bhoga).

The mūla-mantra (root mantra) of Gaṇapati is “Gaṃ svāhā”. The aṅga-nyāsa begins with “Gāṃ namaḥ” and similar words. The mantra to call him (āvāhana) is “Āgaccha ulkāya”, and the mantra to send him off (visarjana) is “Gaccha ulkāya”. So the mantra begins with the letter ga and ends with the word ulkā. He is worshipped with gandha (sandal paste), modaka and other offerings (upacāra). The Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī for this pūjā is:

Oṃ Mahaulkāya vidmahe Vakratuṇḍāya dhīmahi, tanno dantī pracodayāt.

Vināyaka-snāna in the Agni Purāṇa

Chapter 266 describes the Vināyaka-snāna, a ritual bath for people who are held by Vināyaka. Here Vināyaka is the side of Gaṇeśa that causes obstacles. Puṣkara tells this to Paraśurāma.

Signs of Vināyaka’s hold

The Agni Purāṇa gives clear signs of Vināyaka-pīḍā (being troubled by Vināyaka). In dreams, the person sinks in deep water, sees a shaven-headed man, rides animals that eat meat, or feels that someone is following from behind when walking. In waking life, the mind wanders into useless thoughts and acts. A young woman cannot find a husband. A woman cannot have a child. A scholar cannot find students or the place of a guru. A student cannot study. A rich man cannot gain a profit. A farmer cannot bring in a harvest. A king cannot keep his kingdom. All such people may take this bath.

The rite

Time: The bath is done under the nakṣatras (lunar stars) Hasta, Puṣya, Aśvinī, Mṛgaśīra or Śravaṇa.

Preparation: The person to be bathed sits on a seat of kadamba wood. Fresh green mustard is ground, mixed with ghee, and rubbed over the whole body. All the limbs are massaged with this paste. Sarvauṣadha (all the healing herbs) mixed with sweet-smelling things is put on the head as a paste (lepa).

The kalaśas: Four kalaśas (water pots) are filled with sarvauṣadha. The water in them is taken from five places: the horse stable (aśvaśāla), the elephant stable (gajaśāla), a termite hill (puṭṭa), the meeting place of rivers (nadī-saṃgama), and a body of water (jalāśaya). To this water are added gorōcana, gandha, guggulu (incense resin), akṣatā (unbroken rice grains) and sacred substances.

The bathing mantras: The ācārya (the teacher who leads the rite) takes the eastern kalaśa and says: “O Indra of a thousand eyes, purified by the great ṛṣis, I bathe you with this water. May this sacred water purify you.” Then he says: “The sun, Bṛhaspati, Indra, Vāyu and the seven ṛṣis have given you well-being. May this water remove all that is not auspicious from your hair, the parting of your hair, your head, forehead, ears and eyes.”

After the bath: The guru places kuśa stalks on the head of the bathed person. With an udumbara ladle (sruva), sesame oil (avā) is offered in the homa, with these mantras: vittasammita, śālaka-kaṇṭaka, kūṣmāṇḍa, rāja-putra and ānu. Each ends with svāhā. A bali (food offering) is given to the gathered Vināyakas from the rest of the cooked offering (caru). The word namaḥ is added to the water mantras.

The Vināyaka-bali: A winnowing basket is spread with kuśa. On it are placed fresh wet-ground rice mixed with sesame, many vegetables, meat, fish, three kinds of wine, roots, cakes, many sweets, dadhi-anna (curd rice), pāyasa, piṣṭa (flour sweets), laḍḍus and jaggery. All this is offered at a crossroads (catuṣpatha) to these: Devatās, Suvarṇa, Sarpa, the Gṛha-devatās, Asuras, Yātudhānas, Piśācas, Nāgas, Mātṛkās, Śākinīs, Yakṣas, Vetālas, Yoginīs and Patanādis.

Prayer to Ambikā: Then Ambikā (Pārvatī), the mother of Vināyaka, is worshipped. An añjali (cupped hands) full of dūrvā grass, white mustard and flowers is offered to her with this prayer: “O Devī blessed with a happy marriage, give me beauty (rūpa), fame (yaśas), good fortune (saubhāgya), a son (putra), wealth (dhana) and all desires (sarva-kāma).”

End: Brāhmaṇas are fed. The ācārya is given two garments as dakṣiṇā (a gift). By worshipping the grahas of Vināyaka in this way, the devotee gains prosperity (aiśvarya) and the fruits of all his actions (karman).

Gaṇa-pūjā in the Agni Purāṇa

Chapter 318 of the Agni Purāṇa is called “Gaṇa-Pūjā”. It teaches the worship of the gaṇas of Bhagavān Śiva, the attendants who make up his company. They serve Gaṇeśa-Gaṇapati, the leader of the gaṇas, and they help those who worship them. The Agni Purāṇa sorts the gaṇas into groups by their work and the areas they guard. They are beings of great power. They keep dharma in the realms below the devas’ worlds, protect the devotees of Śiva, and remove or make obstacles as Gaṇeśa directs.

Each gaṇa has its own mantra. It is usually a nama-mantra in the dative case, such as “Oṃ [name of the gaṇa]-āya namaḥ”. The aṅga-nyāsa of the gaṇa-pūjā places these mantras on the limbs of the worshipper. This is a form of gaṇa-nyāsa that surrounds the central call to Gaṇeśa with the mantras of his company.

The gaṇa-pūjā follows the plan of a lotus with eight petals (aṣṭa-daḷa-kamala). Gaṇeśa, as Gaṇapati, the leader of the gaṇas, is placed at the centre and worshipped. Eight chief gaṇas are worshipped on the eight petals, each with his own mantra. The other gaṇas of the assembly of Śiva are called in the outer directions by shared mantras. The bali is central in this pūjā. The gaṇas like strong bali offerings: cooked rice, sesame, sweets and other prepared foods. The offering is made at the outer edge of the place of worship, as bali is given to the kṣetrapālas (guardians of the place) at the outer part of a temple.

The Agni Purāṇa gives these fruits of the gaṇa-pūjā:

• All obstacles in undertakings are removed, whether in the home, in trade, in ritual or in rule.
• When the gaṇas are pleased, they carry the prayers of the devotee quickly to Bhagavān Śiva.
• The devotee is protected from bhūtas, piśācas and other harmful unseen beings. The gaṇas guard the home and the place of ritual.
• All wished-for things (sarvābhīṣṭa) are gained through the joint grace of Gaṇapati and his gaṇas.

The gaṇa-pūjā suits the Caturthī tithis, the start of large undertakings, and the blessing of a new home or a new place of ritual.

Caturthī vrata in the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa

The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa (Brahma Parva, Chapter 22) records a Caturthī vrata for Gaṇapati taught by Sumantu Muni. On the Caturthī tithi the devotee fasts (upavāsa) the whole day, gives tila (sesame) to a brāhmaṇa, and eats food made of tila at the end. One who keeps this vrata for two years receives the full grace (anugraha) of Vināyaka. All desires are fulfilled and wealth flows in plenty. The devotee reaches higher lokas, and for seven births is born as a kṣatriya of high standing. The Purāṇa says this account of Caturthī is guhya (secret) and should be told only on the day of Caturthī itself, but all four varṇas may hear it.

The Sāmudrika Śāstra and the origin of Ekadanta

The same chapter holds an account of two things about Gaṇeśa’s form: his single tusk (ekadanta), and why he always holds it in his hand.

Kārttikeya was once writing the Sāmudrika Śāstra. This is the great śāstra of physical signs (lakṣaṇa) in men and women, and it tells the good and bad marks on every limb of the human body. While he was writing, Gaṇeśa came and broke in on him. Kārttikeya was angry at the interruption. He struck Gaṇeśa with the tablet of the śāstra and broke off one of his tusks (danta). The quarrel grew. Kārttikeya tried to kill Gaṇeśa, and then Bhagavān Śiva came and stopped Kārttikeya.

Śiva asked for the broken tusk to be given back. Kārttikeya handed it over, but he gave a warning: “This tusk may never be set down. If it is ever placed on the ground, it will burn whoever set it there.” Śiva accepted this condition and gave the tusk to Gaṇeśa. So Gaṇeśa has only one tusk, and he always holds the broken tusk in his hand. If he put it down even for a moment, there would be destruction.

After this, Kārttikeya gave the Sāmudrika Śāstra, the text of signs and omens, to Samudra (the ocean) to keep. Because it was given to Samudra, the śāstra is called Sāmudrika.

Gaṇeśa and the making of Bhaṇḍāsura

The Lalitopākhyāna of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (Chapter 11) tells of one act of Gaṇeśa’s divine play. After Bhagavān Śiva burned Manmatha to ash in the Tāraka account, the heaps of ash lay on the ground. Gaṇeśa gathered the ash and shaped it into a human figure. By the power of divine play, this figure began to do japa (repeating a mantra) by itself. It recited the Śatarudrīya, the Vedic text on the hundred forms of Rudra, one hundred thousand times. Śiva woke because of the power of this japa, and he was pleased. He gave the figure varas (boons). Brahmā named it Bhaṇḍa, which means “bundle”, after its origin in the heap of Manmatha’s ash. Śukrācārya crowned Bhaṇḍa king of Śoṇitapura.

This led, step by step, to the prādurbhāva (appearance) of Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī.

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa: Gaṇapati as Parabrahman

The Upāsanā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa teaches that Gaṇapati is more than a deva of good beginnings. In the account of the slaying of the Tripurāsuras, which is the central account of this Khaṇḍa, Bhagavān Śiva did tapas (austerity) towards Gaṇeśa for a hundred years. Then he bowed down before his own son and said:

“You are not Brahmā, nor Viṣṇu, nor I, yet from you alone Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva have come. You are the Parabrahman, the highest consciousness, the Reality without beginning and without end. Even Brahmā’s power of creation, Viṣṇu’s sustaining grace and my own power of dissolution come from you and return to you.”

By this word, Gaṇapati is the Parabrahman whose grace is the base of all that exists. He is the highest source from which all the devas draw their being. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 44)

Forms of Gaṇapati in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa

• Five-headed, ten-armed form: The form in which Gaṇapati appeared to Śiva at the end of his tapas in Daṇḍakāraṇya. He has five heads and ten arms, and he is adorned with the crescent moon and with serpents as ornaments.
• Bāla Gaṇapati: The child form of Gaṇapati. He swallowed the fire asura Anala-āsura and was cooled only by dūrvā grass offered by 8,800 ṛṣis. This form has the names Phālacandra, Padmahasta, Vyālabaddha and Kālānalaprāśamana.
• Siṃhavāhana form: The ten-armed Gaṇapati seated on a lion. He appeared in this form to Śeṣa at Pravāḷa-kṣetra after the serpent king’s thousand years of tapas.
• Pravāḷa Gaṇapati (the coral-red form): The form that rose from the sacred lake at Pravāḷa-kṣetra when Kārtavīryārjuna finished his twelve years of Ekākṣarī tapas. It is coral-red in colour and has great power.
• Varada Gaṇapati: The four-armed form that gives varas (boons). It holds the paraśu, the aṅkuśa (elephant goad), the pāśa (noose) and the danta. Gaṇapati appeared in this form to Skanda at the end of the Varada Gaṇapati Vrata at Gṛṣṇeśvara.

The Ekākṣarī mantra

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa names the one-syllable bīja mantra of Gaṇapati, the Ekākṣarī, as the highest mantra for acts that touch the whole cosmos. Śiva chanted it during his hundred years of tapas. Candra used it for 120 years of tapas. Manmatha used it at Janasthāna. The Ekākṣarī is also named as the praṇava (Oṃ), so Gaṇapati is the living reality behind the first sound of all that exists. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 44, 46)

The Sahasranāma and the Dvādaśanāma

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa holds two collections of names:

• Gaṇeśa Sahasranāma: one thousand names, told by Gaṇapati to Śiva before the battle of Tripura.
• Gaṇeśa Dvādaśanāma: twelve chief names, set down through the Kāśyapa Sṛṣṭi. Saying them at dawn and at dusk gives full protection.

Sacred kṣetras of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa

Several holy places arise from Gaṇapati’s appearances in the Upāsanā Khaṇḍa:

• Māyūreśvara Kṣetra (Morgaon): where Gaṇapati appeared to Paraśurāma and gave him the paraśu.
• Cintāmaṇi Kṣetra (Theur, also called Pārinena-nagara): set up by Maṅgala after he received his identity as a planet.
• Pravāḷa-kṣetra: where Kārtavīryārjuna and Śeṣa both did tapas. Pravāḷa Gaṇapati and Dharaṇīdhara were installed here.
• Janasthāna (Nasik): where Manmatha installed Mahōtkaṭa Gaṇeśa.
• Nāmāla-kṣetra: set up through the sārūpya tapas of Bhṛśuṇḍi.
• Siddha-kṣetra: where Candra did 120 years of Ekākṣarī tapas.
• Lakṣya Vināyaka Kṣetra (Gṛṣṇeśvara): set up through Skanda’s Varada Gaṇapati Vrata.

(Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, various chapters)

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa: the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa

The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa is the part of the Purāṇa with the most narrative. It tells of Gaṇeśa’s descents in the four yugas, the holy ground of Kāśī, and a direct description of his highest realm.

The four yuga avatāras

The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa says that Gaṇeśa comes down in each of the four yugas in a different form. He comes to defeat the main force of evil in that age and to bring back dharma.

In each yuga Gaṇeśa is born to different parents, takes a different form and rides a different vāhana. Yet his nature as the Parabrahman stays the same in all four descents. The asuras Devāntaka and Narāntaka, the sons of Raudraketu, received a vara from Bhagavān Śiva. It made them unbeatable by all beings except Gaṇeśa himself. So the avatāra of Gaṇeśa was needed. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1)

Mahōtkaṭa, the avatāra of Kṛtayuga

Mahōtkaṭa (“the supremely huge”) is born to Kaśyapa and Aditi as the Kṛtayuga form of Gaṇeśa. His birth followed the prayer of the devas to Gaṇeśa to save them from Devāntaka and Narāntaka. These two had conquered the three worlds and driven the devas from their places. Mahōtkaṭa accepted the prayer and agreed to come down.

His chief deeds in Kāśī are these:

• He received the city from King Kāśirāja as his lasting home.
• He defeated the asura Dairāsada, the son of Bhasmasura, who attacked the city.
• He brought forth the Ṣaṭpañcāśat Vināyakas, fifty-six forms made from his own tejas. They stand in seven rings of eight around Kāśī.
• He set up Ḍhuṇḍhirāja at the centre of all the rings, as the eternal guardian of the holy city.

His battles with Narāntaka ended with the showing of his Virāṭ rūpa, the cosmic form that holds all three worlds within his body. In battle, Devāntaka broke Mahōtkaṭa’s tusk. Mahōtkaṭa took up the broken tusk and used it as a weapon to kill Devāntaka at dawn. This is how the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa explains Gaṇeśa’s broken tusk. It was broken in a just battle and then used in the victory that made the cosmos safe. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 5–70)

Ḍhuṇḍhirāja in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa

In the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, the name Ḍhuṇḍhirāja comes from the root dhundh, which means to seek or to look into. Mahōtkaṭa searched all three worlds for the most auspicious place to set up his lasting guardian. He found that Kāśī was that one place. So the name tells of the careful search that came before the choice of this holy city as the eternal seat of Gaṇeśa. Ḍhuṇḍhirāja stands at the centre of the seven rings of fifty-six Vināyakas, the steady axis around which all protecting power turns. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43)

Pañcāyatana pūjā

The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa says that Mahōtkaṭa himself taught the Pañcāyatana pūjā. This is the joint worship of Gaṇeśa, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Durgā and Sūrya as five forms of one highest reality. He taught it to the gandharvas Hāhā, Hūhū and Tumburu. The teaching comes again in the talk on the three kinds of mukti (liberation) in Chapter 49. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9, 49)

Svānandabhuvana

The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa gives the fullest description in any Purāṇa of Svānandabhuvana, the highest realm of Gaṇeśa. It is also called Nijloka and Divyaloka. It lies in the Ikṣusāgara, the ocean of sugarcane juice. It is beyond Goloka, Satyaloka, Vaikuṇṭha and Kailāsa. Gaṇeśa rests there on the Kāmadāyinī pīṭha (the seat that gives all desires), served by Siddhi and Buddhi, while the Sāmaveda is sung without end. King Kāśirāja travelled through all the lokas to reach Svānandabhuvana. There he stayed for koṭi kalpas (ten million kalpas) close to Gaṇeśa. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 49–53)

Sources

• Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 23, 59
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 50, 71, 73, 74, 179, 266, 318
• Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 22
• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Lalitopākhyāna, Chapter 11
• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–92
• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–75