Let us pay our obeisance to Ganesha in the New Year !

Ganesha: - The first amongst Gods

Ganesha, popularly known and easily recognized as the Elephant-God, is one of the most important deities of the Hindu pantheon (all the gods of a religion). Before every undertaking, however minor it be, Lord Ganesha is worshipped so as to invoke his blessings. Hence he is also known as Vigneshwara – “controller of obstacles”.

Some other names are Ganapati (lord of the tribe or attendants), Vinayaka (the prominent leader), Gajanana (elephant-faced), Gajadhipati (Lord of elephants), Lambakarna (long-eared), Lambodara (pot-bellied) and Ekadanta (having one tusk).

He is the son of Shiva and Parvathi. There are many episodes in the Hindu mythology connected with his birth and having an elephant’s head.

Ganesha is depicted as having four arms which symbolize him as the universal leader, establishing his power over the four categories of beings, that is,
those who can only live in water,
those who can live in water and earth,
those who can live only on earth
and lastly those who can fly in the air.

Another explanation is, the four arms represent the inner equipments of the subtle body – mind, intellect, ego and consciousness.

The vehicle of Ganesha is a mouse. A rat generally succeeds in gnawing its way through every obstruction and an elephant passes through the thickest growth and fells out whatever comes his way. Ganesha is preferred for his sharpness of intellect.

He has two wives, Siddhi (success) and Ridhi (prosperity). One who pleases the Lord automatically comes in the good books of his wives.

In modern age, Ganesha is regarded as the personification of those qualities which surmount all difficulties. He is the typical Lord of success in life and its accompaniments like good living, prosperity and peace. His image or symbol, anywhere, is deemed to be auspicious and a guarantee for progress and prosperity. His numerous images and shrines can be seen throughout India. In all ceremonies, except funeral rites, Ganesha is first invoked.

The story of his circumambulating his parents instead of traversing the whole universe is very famous. Once there was a competition between Vinayaka and Subrahmanya as to who will circumambulate the world first. Subrahmanya took off on his peacock vahana, while Vinayaka went around his parents Shiva and Parvati and claimed the fruit, saying that parents are as valuable as the universe. People who are always devoted and conscious of their duty to parents are the most beloved of Vinayaka.

Ganesha represents the unity of the small being, the man, with the great being, the elephant. It is the blending of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of a drop with the ocean and of an individual soul with the divinity.

Let us end with a tamil verse on Ganesha by Nakkeeradevar:

வெண்ணீ ரணியும் விமலன் புதல்வா!
பெண்ணாம் உமையாள் பெறு குஞ்சரனே !
அரிதிரு மருகா அறுமுகன் துணைவா !
கரிமுக வாரண கணபதி சரணம் !!

Love,
Chithra.

This decoration was made on Vinayaka Chathurthi, by Chitra, my namesake, in my mother's house in Madurai.
Hope you all enjoy it !
Love,
Chithra.

Dear Ms C,

A lovely start for IL , with this post on Our beloved pillayar. I think he is amongst the most popular gods .
Both the pictures were lovely. What was used for the floral one.? I could make out the white flowers but not the other two the green outline and the inner filler.

Vandhana

Dear Chitra,
Good way to start the New Year with Pillayar Suzhi. You have explained it so well in simple language. Can preserve this for our kids too. Yes as you said Ganesha is popular throughout India. Rockfort temple in Trichy is my favourite. I always make it appoint to climb right till the top. You get that peaceful feeling when you do it.Thanks for yet another interesting post. The floral design looks superb just as usual. Eagerly waiting for next week.
Love,

Dear Chitra

It was a very simple narration about the Lord Ganesha. we learn something new from you everyday. So I always make it a point to come to this religious thread daily. The floral ganapathi looks great. I am also attaching a zip file hope you can view it.

regards
vidhi

Thankyou for a very prompt f b.
Ganesha is not only the most popular, but also referred to as முழு முதற் கடவுள். So, you can imagine.
Now in the floral decoration, the leaves are from galphemia - amma has both shrub & creeper of the same in our garden. The flowers are the tiny flowerettes of yellow lantanas - they are tiny & ideal for use as fillers !
Love,
Chithra.

பாரதியாரின் அகவல்:
1 - கற்பக வினாயகக் கடவுளே போற்றி !
சிற்பர மோனத்தேவன் வாழ்க !
வாரண முகத்தான் மலர்த்தாள் வெல்க !
ஆரண முகத்தான் அருட்பதம் வெல்க !

Yes, we start with the piLLaiyar suzhi - you are right.
I adore our " mukkuruNi piLLaiyar" in Meenakshi temple. It is so huge, that one feel totally humbled in his presence.Nehru Alaalavinayakar temple is also popular & Varalotti says, it is his favourite temple !
Thankyou for the F b.
Love,
Chithra.

Though I know, you cannot read tamil, I am writing the next lines of akaval for others' benefit.

படைப்புக் கிறையவன்; பன்ணவர் நாயகன்;
இந்திர குரு, எனது இதயத் தொளிர்வான்
சந்திர மவுலித் தலைவன் மைந்தன்
கணபதித் தாளைக் கருத்திடை வைப்போம்.

Thankyou for the F B.
It is very nice of you to have shared the zipfile with all of us here. It is very nice. Thankyou specially for that.
Love,
Chithra.

குணமதிற் பலவாம்; கூறக் கேளீர் !
உட்செவி திறக்கும்; அகக்கண் ஒளிதரும்;
அக்கினி தோன்றும்; ஆண்மை வலியுறும்;
திக்கெலாம் வென்று ஜனக்கொடி நாட்டலாம்;
கட்செவி தன்னைக் கையில் எடுக்கலாம்.

Dear Chitra,

Another beautiful post on Lord Ganapathi, the most popular God all over.
once, while in arts exhibition in Blore, I was surprised to see few foreigners literally picking up all idols of Ganesha in diff pose.
the floral kolam of Ganapa - beautiful....
I'll try this kolam surely.

Love & regards,

You are right. For gifts, Ganesha is avilable in all ranges, sizes etc ! The latest I bought was " Nava dhanya vinayakar" !
Thankyou for the F B.
Love,
Chithra.

விடத்தையும் நோவையும் வெம்பகையதனையும்
துச்சமென்றெண்ணித் துயரிலாதிங்கு
நிச்சலும் வாழ்ந்து நிலை பெற்றோங்கலாம்;