Post by Amritha Varshini on Sept 10, 2013 6:19:09 GMT 5.5
GANAPATI PAPPA MORIYA - Article by Sri V.S. Krishnan (vsk1940@gmail.com)
Lord Ganesha has a distinct identity of his own. With his elephant-headed face, a large belly and four arms, he can be easily spotted. One finds a Ganesha temple in any human habitat. Lord Ganesha is the God most worshipped, most venerated and most sought after because he is known as the Remover of all Obstacles (Vigneswara).
He is also known by many other names which denote his character and nature like Jnana Ganapati (Lord of Knowledge), Nartana Ganapati (the Dancing Lord), Bala Ganapati, (the Young Lord), Ekadanta (single tusked), Maha Ganapati (the Supreme Lord) Omkara (One who has the form of 'OM") and so on. Hindus settled in India and abroad worship Ganapati with great devotion. Many songs composed on different deities like Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu and their manifestations like Lord Muruga and Lord Krishna start with an invocation prayer to Lord Ganesha.
Similarly, whatever may be the temples, that of Siva or Vishnu, one would find a shrine for Ganapati there. Lord Ganapati is all prevalent. Whether one starts a business venture or whether one starts a learning process, the first thing he does is to worship Lord Ganesha. It is believed that his large head shows his intellectual power, his big ears shows his receptivity and his trunk shows his adaptability. He has four hands. He holds the weapon of Ankush in one hand which symbolizes the power to control the mind. In another hand he holds the axe which severs all bondages and attachments. While the third hand holding the sweet delicacy of Modak denotes happiness, the fourth hand bestows his blessings to all.
There is an interesting story of how Ganesha acquired his elephant face. According to mythology, on one occasion when Lord Shiva was not present, Parvati created a living being out of clay. She blessed him with extra-ordinary power and assigned him the role as her protector. Before she went for her bath, she had asked Ganesha to stand as guard at the entrance. At that time, Lord Shiva has returned home. Not knowing the identity of Shiva, Ganesha prevented his entry into the premises. Furious by this act of a stranger, Lord Shiva struck off the boy's head.
When Parvati came to know about this, she felt great grief and explained the origin and identity of Ganapati. Lord Shiva then deputed his men to go out and bring the head of any being who appeared on their path. Since an elephant was passing through, Shiva's men severed the head of the elephant and brought it to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva then placed the elephant head on the neck of the boy. Lord Shiva then gave life to the boy and appointed him as leader of his troops. The boy thus got the name, Ganapati; 'Gana' means the followers of God and 'Pati' means the leader. Lord Shiva then declared that whoever worships Lord Ganapati before starting any venture would overcome all obstacles and attain success in their specific field of activity.
Though there are many exclusive temples in India for Ganesha, the Sidhivinayaka temple at Dadar, Mumbai is very famous. It is believed that devotees who come here seeking the blessings of Ganapati attain ever-lasting happiness and prosperity. When Ganesh Chathurti comes, the whole Mumbai reverberates with the slogan "Ganapati Pappa Moriya".
Maha Ganapati has another identification which most of us may not be aware. He is the first Stenographer. While Veda Vyasa composed his immortal work, Mahabharata, he requisitioned the services of Ganpati to transcript them. If Ganpati had not taken the notes and transcribed them truthfully, perhaps, we would not have been blessed with an epic (Maha Kavya) like Mahabharata.