Concept
Ganesha
Overview
Ganesha, or Ganesh (Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa, IPA: [ɡɐˈɳeːɕɐ]), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most revered and worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme god in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Ganesha also holds the Title of "Pratham Pujya" (the god to be worshipped initially before the worship of any other Deity). Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head and four arms. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of logic, intellect, and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked during writing sessions as a patron of letters and learning. Several texts relate anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits.
Ganesha is mentioned in Hindu texts between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE, and a few Ganesha images from the 4th and 5th centuries CE have been documented by scholars. Hindu texts identify him as the son of Parvati and Shiva of the Shaivism tradition, but he is a pan-Hindu god found in its various traditions. In the Ganapatya tradition of Hinduism, Ganesha is the Supreme Being. Ganesha is also considered as the incarnation of "Mahaganapati" (Superior form of Ganesha). The principal texts on Ganesha include the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvasirsha.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
When a little bit of it gets into this network of time, space and causation, it apparently takes forms; remove the network and it is all One. This whole universe is all one, and is called in the Advaitist philosophy _Brahman_. _Brahman_ appearing behind the universe is called God; appearing behind the little universe--the microcosm, is the soul. This very “Self” or Âtman therefore is God in man. There is only one…
Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, Part II
States what Ganesha is.
The Mendesians then reverence all goats and the males more than the females (and the goatherds too have greater honour than other herdsmen), but of the goats one especially is reverenced, and when he dies there is great mourning in all the Mendesian district: and both the goat and Pan are called in the Egyptian tongue _Mendes_. Moreover in my lifetime there happened in that district this marvel, that is to say a…
Herodotus, An Account of Egypt
States what Ganesha is.
But, inasmuch as the impression was vanishing, the mythological idea in question was that of a 'god of the moment.' Then followed a second stage, in which a demoniacal power was associated with a particular place. Following upon these local gods came other gods, representing the guardian powers of a tribe, a vocation, or some other social group. At the third stage of development, the 'particular god' acquired a…
Wilhelm Max Wundt, Elements of Folk Psychology Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of Mankind
States what Ganesha is.
Philosophers who discussed Ganesha
Related ideas
- Parvati
- Lakshmi
- Buddhi
- Deva (Hinduism)
- India
- Jainism
- Karnataka
- Adi Shankara
- Mumbai
- Vishnu
- Mahabharata
- Mantra
- Maharashtra
- Vedic period
- The Times of India
- Om
- Uttar Pradesh
- Philippines
- Brahmin
- Science
- Sri Lanka
- Shaivism
- Mahayana
- Southeast Asia
Place in the tradition
Part of Polytheism.