Iconography of Vinayaka, Ganapati and Ganesa

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About the Book In the Hindu pantheon of gods, Vinayaka is the only deity who was born with a normal head, but beheaded by Lord Siva (his father) and again fixed with an elephant head to his body by the same Lord Siva. Then Lord Siva addressed him as Ganesa and blessed him that everyone including devas would pray to Ganesa before starting their work. This elephant god got the epithets, Vighnakarta and Vighnaharta. He is also called Ganapati.

The worship of Vinayaka has its roots in India from the very early period, 500 BCE. At that time, he was looked upon as an evil spirit by the brahmanical society and therefore, to save oneself from his wrath, his propitiation was prescribed in the household ritual manual called Manavagrhyasutra. However, after one thousand years, i.e. around 500 CE, the misconception about Vinayaka was rectified by a Smrti called Yajnavalkya Smrti and He was identified as the son of Lord Siva and mother Ambika and was included in the Hindu pantheon of gods.

In this book, there are eight chapters which covers his earliest emergence in ancient historical period, different legends about his birth depicted in the puranas, the philosophical interpretations of Ganesa tattva, the continuity of his worship from the remote past till today and temples of Ganesa with special reference to Kasi and Maharashtra. The iconographical analysis of his forms cited in the various Silpasastras with his images in three postures and the images of Sakti Vinayaka are described with the help of 102 illustrations.

About the Author Dr. (Mrs.) Haripriya Rangarajan obtained her Ph.D. degree in Indian Culture from the Gujarat University in 1987. She specialized in the iconography of Visnu and has contributed articles to academic journals, national seminars and popular magazines. Her doctoral thesis was published in 1990 under the title Spread of Vaishnavism in Gujarat upto 1600 A.D. (A Study with Special Reference to the Iconic forms of Vishnu). Her book on Ramanuja Sampradaya in Gujarat: A Historical Perspective was published in 1996. Her third work entitled Varaha Images in Madhya Pradesh: An Iconographic Study was published in 1997 and the Asiatic Society of Bombay awarded the Silver Medal for the best book of the year in 1998. Her fourth book Images of Varahi: An Iconographic Study was published in 2004. Her fifth book Images of Skanda-Karthikeya-Murugan: An Iconographic Study was published in 2010.

She is a recipient of Indian Council of Historical Studies fellowship for her research studies. She is keen in organizing and participating in the academic activities. She has organized several seminars and workshops in close association with well-known museums and research institutions.

Foreword This book entitled "Iconography.of Vinayaka, Ganapati and Ganesa" is a scholarly study dealing with the different dimensions of one of the most common and respected deities of Indian mythology, most commonly called as Vinayaka, Ganapati, or Ganesa. It covers issues, such as, genesis of the name and the concept of the deity, varied accounts of the origination of the deity as mentioned in the different puranas, the philosophical interpretation of the different forms of the deity, different traditions and conventions adopted in the different parts of the country for the worship of Ganapati, description of the various temples of the deity in the different parts of the country, and technical analysis of the iconography and icons of Ganapati. The study is rich in scholarly perceptions and valuable information, both presented in a lucid and appealing manner.

It is the normal practice of the present times, to worship Ganapati, at the beginning of all important and auspicious festivals. He is regarded as a deity whose worship would ward off all impediments and difficulties that might crop up in the implementation of the project on hand. Worshipping of Ganapati at the beginning of the first lessons of the letters (Aksarabhyasa) by a child, is regarded as a good omen for an illustrious intellectual career in the future.

Preface After writing a book entitled "Images of Skanda-Karthikeya-Murugan", I decided to write on the iconography of Lord Vinayaka who is popularly known by other names such as Vighnesa, Ganapati, Ganesa, etc. The deity Vinayaka does not belong to any single sect or any single country. Therefore, the first question that came to my mind was who is Ganesa? Why of all gods, he alone has got the elephant head? Secondly, when Mother Parvati herself created this handsome boy, then why and how that boy got the elephant head? In the forms of Narasimha and Varaha avatara, Lord Visnu himself appeared originally with an animal head to protect the innocent and kill the enemies of dharma whereas in the case of Ganesa his original head itself was beheaded by Lord Siva and again the same Siva replaced it with the elephant head. What could be the divine reason behind it?

With these questions, I went through old Vedic manuals and all the puranas. At last, I realized that if anyone irrespective of mortal or immortal or any divine being who inspite of having divine blessings, just for once becomes the slave of tamasik ego, then Supreme Siva cannot tolerate. In order to release the bonded soul from the clutches of mega; Lord Siva without any hesitation would take very harsh action to the extreme level. At the same time, Goddess Parvati who is the embodiment of motherly affection would bestow lots of

Book's Contents and Sample Pages