|
Home > Temples of Kerala >Vinayaka / Ganapathy Temples in Kerala Vinayaka / Ganapathy Temples in Kerala
Notwithstanding the fact that the Ganapati referred to in the famous Rgvedic mantras, gananam ganapatim havamahe and visu sida ganapate. And the Ganapati we worship today are strangers to each other, all unbiased scholars agree that the seeds of the Ganapati concept are already there in the Rgveda itself. In the subsequent centuries, this concept has passed through the mills of the epics and the puranas to produce the Ganapati as we know him today. In any community, the development of the concept of God and the modes of his worship are as much the products of geographical, historical and cultural factors as of mystic experience and spiritual realizations of the highly evolved persons. It is quite reasonable to suppose that the Ganapati Brahmanaspati of the Rgveda gradually got metamorphosed into the deity, Gajavadana Ganesa Vighnesvara. The Rgvedic deity Ganapati Brahmanaspati also called as Brhaspati and Vacaspati manifests himself through a vast mass of light. He is golden red in colour. The battle axe is an important weapon of his. Without his grace no religious rite can succeed. He is always in the company of a group (gana=a group) of singers and dancers. He vanquishes the enemies of gods, protects the devoted votaries and shows them the right way of life. Another class of Rgvedic deities, known as the Maruts or Marud gana, described as the children of Rudra, also have similar characteristics. In addition, they can be malevolent towards those who antagonize them and can cause destruction like the wild elephants. They can put obstacles in the path of men if displeased and remove them when pleased. They are independent, not subject to any ones sovereignty (Arajana = Vinayaka). A perusal of these two descriptions will perforce lead us to the obvious conclusion that Ganapati is the metamorphosed form of the Brhaspati Marudgana deities. There is nothing strange in this, especially if we can recognize the transformations that have taken place among the various Vedic deities, as they were gradually absorbed among the gods of the later Hindu pantheon. The once all important and all powerful Indra was demoted to the rank of a minor deity ruling over one of the quarters. His lieutenant Vishnu was elevated to the central place in the Trinity. Rudra, the terrible, became Siva the auspicious. Many other deities like Dyaus, Aryaman and Pusan was quietly dispatched into oblivion. Despite the fact that Ganapati is a highly venerated and all important deity, his head has often been a mystery for others. No doubt, our puranas have easily solved this problem, each in its own way. But this has satisfied neither the layman nor the scholar. Article courtsey : Sri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, Chennai. Related Reading
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Ganapati or Ganesa, also known as Vinayaka, is perhaps, the most popular of the Hindu deities worshipped by all sections of the Hinsus. No undertaking, whether sacred or secular, can get started without first honouring and worshipping him. This is understandable and highly desirable, since he is said to be the lord of obstacles (Vighnesvara or Vighnaraja). However, what is not understandable and certainly not very agreeable is his repulsive origin and grotesque form. Even for those who admire Lord Siva’s skill in the surgical art of head transplantation it becomes rather difficult to admire the end product. Once we successfully manage to delve into the mysteries of this symbolism our repugnance will give rise to respect and respect to reverence and worship..jpg){kind=icon}
.jpg){kind=icon}
.jpg){kind=icon}
.jpg){kind=icon}
.jpg){kind=icon}
