Popularly called Astavinayak temples, the group of eight Ganapati temples are around the Pune and Konkan region. The temples are in Morgaon, Mahad, Pali, Lenyadri, Ranjangaon, Siddhatek, Theur and Ozar. Astavinayak is a popular pilgrimage that many pilgrims cover in two or three days.

The deities are monolith and are also Swayambhu, self formed and not man made.

It is a commonly held belief that if a pilgrim visits any one of the 8 temples, they must visit the others as well to receive the full benefit of the pilgrimage.

Source: Glory of Ganesha. Chinmaya Mission.

Temples and Legends of Maharashtra. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Agastya Muni took cauvery river in his Kamandala and carried her to south India.

There are different versions of why he did it. One says it was to restore the balance of earth which had tilted north because of the crowds gathering for Shiva’s wedding. Another says it was to bring water to parched South India.

In all versions, Ganesha appeared before Agastya Muni and tricked him into releasing the cauvery from Kamandala. Again there are many versions of why and how he did it. In one version he is helping Indra to water his gardens so that Indra can please Shiva and defeat Surapadman. In another, Ganesha becomes a crow and tilts the Kamandala releasing the river.

The spot where cauvery was released is known as Talacauvery and it is in Coorg district.

Source: Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandita Krishna, “Ganesha, the Auspicious, the Beginning.”

Popularly called Astavinayak temples, the group of eight Ganapati temples are around the Pune and Konkan region. The deities are monolith and are also Swayambhu, self formed and not man made. Astavinayak is a popular pilgrimage that many pilgrims cover in two or three days. It is a commonly held belief that if a pilgrim visits any one of the 8 temples, they must visit the others as well to receive the full benefit of the pilgrimage.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

PicureCredit: Scoutmytrip.com

A Yakshi would knock down the soldiers who were guarding the Padmanabhapuram palace of the Travancore dynasty. A soldier once retrieved a Vinayaka deity from a river and held it with him during the guard duty and was spared the wrath of the Yakshi. The deity was then celebrated as the war God and the Nair Brigade of the dynasty was made responsible for protecting the deity. The deity was later moved to Trivandrum and the Madras regiment of the Indian Army is now responsible for maintaining the temple. The Apex Board and the Executive Authority of the temple are headed by the Colonel and the Commandant of the Madras Regiment of the Indian Army.

Source: Bhoga Naivedyam by Sujata Shukla Rajan

PicureCredit:

The name Ganapati is mentioned in Rig Veda. However it does not refer to Ganesha. It is mentioned as an attribute of Brihaspati, the lord of wisdom who heads a group of mantras. Indra and Rudra are also referred as Ganapati in Vedic literature.

It is conjectured that it simply means a leader. Other old names include Ganesha (as Ganeshwara, Ganesha is not found in early Sanskrit literature) and Vinayaka, both of whom are present in Sutra literature and Mahabharata. Both have slightly malevolent characteristics in early references.

Scholars thus think that Ganesha & Vinayaka were Yaksha Gods and the early sculptures from Mathura from the 2nd-3rd cent CE, indicate that.

The image shows the gigantic Ganapati of Unakoti, considered timeless.

Source: AK Narain, “Ganesha: The Idea & The Icon”

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

Pillaiyar is the name of Ganesha in Tamil. ‘Pille’ means child and Pillaiyar means ‘noble child’ though some scholars believe the original meaning to be ‘young of an elephant’. Hiuen Tsang (7th cent CE) in his travels mentions the elephant deity called ‘Pillushara’.

It seems that Pillaiyar is derived from Pilushara for when words were borrowed into Tamil, the Sanskrit ‘sa or sha’ was sometimes changed into ‘ya’. The ancient name of Ganesha thus survives in south India where many of the Hindu traditions still continue in an unadulterated form.

The image shows a Ganesha from Gardez, near Kabul. This is attributed to the Turk Shahi kings of Afghanistan, 6th or 8th Century CE.

Source: MK Dhavalikar, “Origin of Ganesa’, BORI.

Picture Credit: ISKapoor, Wikimedia Images

Ganesha worship is very popular in Japan and spread through Buddhism. Sōshin Kangiten is the most enigmatic and elusive Japanese version of Gaṇeśa. Ganesha represents Dual God of Boundless Bliss. The Japanese Dual Kangiten is an elephant-headed deity couple in embrace. It represents the unity of contrasting genders and opposites. Avalokiteśvara (a Bodhisatva) is believed to have seduced and calmed down Vinayaka resulting in the harmonious union.

Source: Lode Rosseels, Gaṇeśa’s Underbelly, Universiteit Gent

PicureCredit: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna

Once Devi Parvati happened to meet Lord Shaneswara during Ganesha’s birth celebrations. Shaneswara is one of the planets and the son of Surya Deva. Parvati Devi asked Shaneswara to bless the child. Shani Deva declined politely as his gaze is not auspicious. This is because his wife had cursed that his gaze would bring misfortune. Parvati persuaded Shani Deva and Shani Deva glanced at the child through the corners of his eyes. Instantly Ganesha’s head dropped abruptly. Devi Parvati fainted.

The dropped head of the boy reached Goloka and Vishnu realised what had happened. He jumped on Garuda and flew towards North to locate any ‘Praani’ sleeping northward and found a bull elephant; its head was sliced with his Sudarshana Chakra and fixed on Ganesha.

This story is from the Brahmanda Purana, an early mahapurana dating to at least 4th cent CE.

Source: VDN Rao, “Essence of Ganesha Mahima.”

Ravana did Tapas at Kailasha to make his kingdom indestructible. He also sought an atmalinga of Shiva so that his mother can worship a divine linga instead of a sand linga. Ravana cut off his heads one by one to show his dedication to Shiva. When only one of his heads was remaining, Shiva appeared and granted him the requests. However, Shiva insisted that Ravana should not place the linga anywhere till he reaches Lanka. Ravana tried walking fast, but he had to stop in the evening for his prayers.

At the request of Devas, Ganesha appeared before Ravana as a cowherd and offered to hold the atmalinga while Ravana did his evening routine. Ganesha also made a condition that if Ravana does not return after being called three times, he will leave the linga on the ground. Ravana agreed, but Ganesha tricked him by calling him thrice quickly and leaving the linga on the ground.

Ravana returned and was stunned to see that the linga could not be lifted. He tried punching Ganesha in anger and ran after Ganesha. Ravana could only catch the ear of one of his cows. This is the reason the place is called Gokarn. The linga remains there since then. There is a dent on top of the lingam showing the punch Ravana tried to give.

Source: Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandita Krishna, “Ganesha, the Auspicious, the Beginning.”

On one Bhadrapad Shukla Chaturthi, Chandra (moon) laughed at Ganesha (there are two versions of why he laughed). Ganesha cursed Chandra to disappear. The universe was in strife. Ganesha modified the curse and said that seeing the moon on Chaturthi should be avoided. By mistake if someone sees the moon they should worship Ganesha. The tradition of worshipping Ganesha on this day also started.

Krishna once saw the moon on this night and did not remember Ganesha. As a consequence he was falsely accused of stealing Shymantaka gem. To clear his name, Krishna had to fight Jambavan which led to Krishna’s marriage with Jambavati and Satyabhama. Later Krishna & Satyabhama would kill Narakasura and this event is celebrated as Diwali in South India. The story is unique as it brings together the Ramayana, Mahabharata & Puranic traditions.

Source: Chinmaya Mission, “Glory of Krishna,” and “Glory of Ganesha.”

Tulsidas wrote Ramcharitmanas which adorns all devout North Indian homes. He also wrote Ganpati Vandana which describes Ganesha as Modakpriya – lover of modak.

“Gaiye Ganapati jagvandan sankar suwan bhawani ke nandan,
Siddhi sadan gajbadan vinayak kripasindhu sundar sab laayak ,
Modak priya mud mangal data vidya varidhi buddhi vidhata ,
Maangat tulsidas kar jore basahu ram siya manas more”.

A North Indian saint celebrating a quintessential Maharashtrian delicacy 500 years ago!

The Picture is of a single Modak weighing 72kgs offered to the Vinayaka in Madurai Meenakshi temple

Picture Credit: Indian Express

Lord Kubera, the King of Yakshas and the God of Wealth once hosted a lavish feast at his grand capital, Alkapuri. Among other dignitaries, he requested Shiva and Parvati to join but they deputed Ganesha instead. Feeling miffed, Kubera kept on passing snide remarks when Ganesha arrived. When the lavish dinner commenced, Ganesha played a prank on Kubera. With unending appetite, he kept on asking for more and Kubera ran out of food. In shame and realizing his arrogance, he ran to Kailasha with a fistful cooked rice as offering to Shiva & Parvati. Ganesha with dissatisfied appetite too was already present there. Shiva Paravati asked both to calm down and all was fine when Kubera asked for Ganesha’s forgiveness. This story is likely a folk tale.

Source: Chinmaya Mission, “Glory of Ganesha”

This was found in Luristan in western Iran. The figure in the plaque appears to be bearded, a sign of great wisdom. The quill is also a symbol of learning and knowledge. The plaque is dated prior to the Taittriya Aranyaka and corresponds to what is called as later Vedic period by historians.

Source: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna

PicureCredit: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna

The Vinayakas are arranged eight each (representing the directions) in seven concentric circles around the Vishwanath temple. The Kasi Khanda of Skanda Purana provides a description of the 56 Vinayakas.

Kashi was ruled by King Divodasa. After Shiva married Parvati, he wished to settle in Kashi and sent Vinayaka to get Divodasa to vacate the city. Vinayaka, by a trick, caused Divodasa to invite a curse by which the city was emptied. Thereafter Shiva and Parvati could settle down in Kashi. Vinayaka established himself in 56 forms in the city to protect it.

Although the reference to 56 Vinayakas is well established in Brahmanda Purana, the physical location of the 56 Vinayakas is uncertain.

Source and Picture Credit: Isabelle Bermijn. An Investigation Into The Fifty-Six Vinayakas In Banaras And Their Origins

Picture Credit:

Ganesh Chaturthi is a national holiday in Mauritius. In addition, Shivratri, Thaipoosam, Ugadi and Deepavali are also national holidays. This is a reflection of the strong connection that Mauritius has with the Hindu culture.

Source: https://www.officeholidays.com/countries/mauritius/2022

PicureCredit: Prakash Sookun Facebook

Shiva’s companions or ‘ganas’ are short hardy spirits, a sort of Yakshas, mainly malevolent. It is symbolic that Shiva is the God of all, including the different and the wretched. After giving back Ganesha His life by installing an elephant head, Shiva makes Ganesha the leader of His ganas, as per the Puranas.

Ganapati is also mentioned in the Rig Veda, but refers to Brihaspati and Indra.

Gana also mean people – Republic of India is Bharat Gana-rajya. Thus Gana- pati, Gana-esha etc. came to mean Lord of the people or Raja. Ganpati pandals in Mumbai invariably call Him Raja of the locality where the pandal is made e.g. Andheri cha Raja.

The Wikimedia image is of a relief at Ellora depicting the marriage of Shiva & Parvati. The ganas are in the background.

Source: Ganesha, the Auspicious, the Beginning. Shakuntahla Jagannathan and Nanditha Krishna

Picture Credit: Britannica.com

Mount Bromo is in Java, Indonesia. It is an active volcano. The word Bromo is derived from Brahma. The Ganesha deity is supposed to have been installed 700 years ago and he is believed to protect the residents from the volcano. The Ganesha is actively worshipped even now. The volcano itself is one of the most visited tourist places in Java.

Source:

PicureCredit: Virendra Dhir

The earliest literary references to Ganapati as the Lord of the ganas are in connection with deities other than Ganesha himself. Rig Veda addresses Brihaspatu as ganaanaam tvaa ganapatim havaamahe. The description is also transferred to Indra on another occasion when he is also addressed as Ganapati. Later work such as Taittiriya Aranyaka refers to Dantin, who has a twisted trunk (vakratunda) and who holds a sheaf of corn, a sugarcane and a club.

Source: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna

PicureCredit: https://greenmesg.org/stotras/ganesha/gananam_tva_ganapatim.php

Vatapi refers to Badami, in the Bijapur (now Viyayapura) district of Karnataka. Tradition holds that in the 7th Century CE, the Pallava kings brought back the deity from Vatapi as a booty, after their victory over Chalukyas. Pallavas and Chalukyas had been bitter rivals. The deity was brought to the home town of Paranjyoti, the Pallava general who later on became a Saivite Saint.

The song is in Sanskrit. It was composed in the 18th/19th century CE by Muttuswami Dikshitar, one of the trinities of Carnatic Music. The song is very popular and is rendered as the opening song in most Carnatic music concerts.

The song reflects the universality of Ganesha. It straddles several centuries of history; is composed in Sanskrit in the heart of Tamil culture; and links the history of northern Karnataka with Tamil Nadu.

Source: Catlin, Amy. “Vātāpi Gaṇapatim”: Sculptural, Poetic, and Musical Texts in the a Hymn to Gaṇeśa”.

Picture Credit: Dinamalar

There are many names of ganesh that describe his elephant features. Gajavakra (elephant trunk), Gajakarna (elephant ears), Gajanan, Hastimukha & Gajananeti (elephant face), Gajavaktra (elephant mouth), Shoorpakarna & Lamabakarna (large ears), Lambodra (big belly). The image shows an elephant deity on the coin of Hermaeus, and Indo Greek ruler (1st-2nd cent CE). Notice the prominent curved trunk.

Source: Glory of Ganesha, Chinmaya Mission

Picture Credit: MK Dhavalikar, “Origin of Ganesa”, BORI

In ‘Sveta Varaha Kalpa,’ two anecdotes about Kartikeya and Ganesha were narrated by Lord Brahma to His Son Devarshi Narada. When both Ganesha and Karthikeya reached marriageable age, the parents decided that whosoever could circumambulate the entire Universe will get married first. Kartikeya started immediately on his vahana, the peacock. Ganesha applied His mind. He recalled Vedic verses that say that a single ‘Pradakshina’of one’s parents would yield the fruit of ‘Bhu pradakshina.’ He did a Pradakshina of his parents and got married first.

When Karthikeya was half way through his journey, Narada informed Kartikeya of the marriage of Ganesha with Siddhi and Riddhi (they were blessed with two sons Kshema and Labha eventually). Kartikeya felt cheated and retired to Krouncha Mountain and had to be cajoled back.

Strangely, stories originating in the North depict Kartikeya as a bachelor and Ganesha as married while the reverse is the case in the South.

Source: VDN Rao, “Essence of Ganesha Mahima.”

The Devas requested Rudra to create someone who can obstruct bad people. He looked at Uma and then created a boy. He had a glowing face and looked like Rudra himself. Uma’s gaze got fixed on the boy. Rudra was upset at this and then cursed that the boy would have an elephant face, large belly and will wear a snake as Yajnopavita. He then rose shaking his body in anger and sweat dropped on the earth from his body. Each drop took the form of numerous dark coloured, armed and elephant faced Vinayakas. The earth became agitated by the Vinayakas.

Brahma requested Rudra to make the boy the head of all the Vinayakas. Rudra agreed and made the boy the leader of the Vinayakas and gave him the names of Vinayaka, Vighnakara, Ganesa and Bhaputra. He also commanded that success will be bestowed on those who worship VInayaka in the beginning of all Yagnas.

Source: Prof. J.L. Shastri, “Varaha Purana”

Ganesha’s vahana (carrier) is the mouse who is lovingly called Mooshakraj (mooshak=mouse). His traditional form always has a mooshak by his side. In some of his avatars he does trade his mouse for another vahana. According to the Ganesha Purana, the gandharva Krauncha was cursed by the sage Vamadeva to turn into a rat. As a colossal rat, Krauncha started eating everything in his path and there was devastation. Ganesha stopped him by sitting down on him and Krauncha couldn’t take his weight. He then agreed to serve Ganesha as his vaahana.

According to another Puranic legend, Ganesha defeated Gajamukha by throwing his tusk at him and turning him into a rat. He was then turned into his vahana by Ganesha. The mooshak is worshipped on the eleventh day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The mooshak symbolises the ego that can nibble away all virtues and must be subdued. The mooshak is also a symbol of the minute details of a subject. The mooshak represents wisdom, talent and intelligence that Ganesha presides over.

Source: Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandita Krishna, “Ganesha, the Auspicious, the Beginning.”

Mukkuruni Vinayagar within Madurai Meenakshi temple in Tamil Nadu receives this offering on Vinayaka Chaturthi each year. Once Ganpati was looking for physical work and was asked to transport some material in a cart. At the end of the work when he was asked to specify his wages for the work, Ganpati asked for 30 kgs of rice (Mukkuruni in Tamil). To mark this legend, a single modak is made with 30 kgs of rice and 30 kgs of jaggery and other material, eventually weighing about 72 kg. The cooking takes 24 hours.

Source: Bhoga Naivedyam by Sujata Shukla Rajan

PicureCredit: Indian Express

Unakoti is in Tripura. It is a Saivite pilgrimage site that dates back to atleast 7th – 9th century. Unakoti means one less than a crore. It is believed that as many rock cut carvings are available here. These carvings are located at a beautifully landscaped forest area with green vegetation all around. The main Shiva sculpture is about 30 feet tall. There are various other stone as well as rock cut images at Unakoti.

Source: Tripura Tourism

https://tripuratourism.gov.in/archaeological-sites

PicureCredit: SR Ramanujam

When Parvati was feeling lonely without Shiva, she created Ganapati out of perfumes and dirt from her body. She threw Ganapti into the Ganga. Ganapati became as big as the world in the river. Parvati then accepted Ganapati as her son. Gangaji also called Ganapati her son because she nurtured him to become big. This is the reason Ganapati is also known as Gangeya. Ganesha Purana tells this story.

Source: Ramakrishna Mission, “Mythology and Iconography of Ganesha”

Swami Samarth Ramdas is supposed to have composed the aarti in the Mayureshwar temple. It is believed that the pilgrimage of the Ganesha temples should start and end with Mayureshwar. The bhajan itself is very popular with every aarti being accompanied by the bhajan.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

PicureCredit: Kalyandasdomgaon, Creative Commons

Ganesha was the family deity of Peshwas. They devoted a good deal of money and attention on the construction and renovation of Ganesha temples around Pune region. These temples pre date the Peshwa region and the avataras date back to far remote times. But the form in which these temples are seen today is a result of Peshwa patronage. The Sarasbaug Ganapati temple in Pune is considered as the family temple of Peshwas.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

PicureCredit: Pakshya Creative Commons

Kapisa is a province of Afghanistan centred around the modern city of Bagram. There is a 2nd cent BCE Indo Greek coin with an elephant deity described as “kapise nagara devata.” Kapisa can mean either ‘endowed with elephants’ or ‘monkey coloured’ (brown). Many cities of that area have elephant based names – Kapisa (Bagram), Pushkaravati (Peshawar), Hastinapur, Varanavat etc. Some names of Ganapati describe his brown colour – Kapil (yellowish brown) and Haridra (golden brown).

Greek historians describe how Alexander worshipped an elephant at Taxila. They say that the north west of India was populated by a tribe of elephant worshippers called Hastikas. Alexander issued a coin with an elephant shaped crown on his head, a practice later adopted by many Indo Greek rulers. Historians conjecture that after defeating the Hastikas, the Greeks adopted their deity to pacify them.

Source: MK Dhavalikar, “Origin of Ganesa’, BORI.

Picture Credit: New York Public Library Digital Collection

Ganesh Chaturthi had been a popular festival for a long time. Tilak introduced the large scale public worship of Ganpati (Sarvajanik) as a form of patriotic movement to overcome the restrictions that British had imposed on large gatherings in the civil society. Further, the festival had already gathered a character of a classless casteless celebration. The organisation of Sarvajanik Ganpati was also intended to overcome a perceived weakness of the Hindu society to organise itself. Tilak initiated the Sarvajanik Ganpati in 1893 in Pune.

Source: Ganesha Chaturthi: Cultural-Historical Background and Celebration by Singh, Rana P.B. and Ratate, Madhav J.

PicureCredit: SR Ramanujam

Gokarna is a popular tourist and pilgrimage place in Northern Karnataka. The famous Gokarna linga, a piece of solid reddish rock is twisted like an old stump. Here Ravana had to perform his evening rituals and gave the linga that he was carrying to Ganesha who was in disguise. Ganesha put the deity down and Ravana could not pick it up again. He tried so hard to remove the linga forcibly from the place where it was stuck. In this process the lingam was twisted.

Source: India: A Sacred Geography by Diana Eck

PicureCredit:

Dholkal Ganesh is at a beautiful spot located 3000 feet high in Dantewada district in Chattisgarh. The Ganesha is a 3 feet stone deity believed to be made during the Naga dynasty between 10th and 11th centuries. The deity commands a panoramic look over the dense forests around. As the Ganesha became popular it attracted visitors to the area. Irked by this, Maoists are believed to have broken and pushed the deity down the cliff in January 2017. The deity was restored by an ASI team led by Padmashri Arun Kumar Sharma, aged 84. The local residents desired that the deity is reinstalled at the same spot rather than relocated to the safety of a museum. This was done on Basant Panchami day on February 1, 2017.

Source: https://dantewada.nic.in/

The Return of God

PicureCredit: Open, The Magazine

Parashurama, to avenge his father’s killing by a Kshatriya, wreaked havoc on the Kshatriyas. He killed all male Kshatriyas and repeated this cycle 20 times. After completing the task, he went to thank Mahadeva who had blessed him with weapons. However, Ganesha wouldn’t allow him into Kailasha.

Parashurama threatened Ganesha. Ganesha picked him up in his trunk and whirled him around the seven lokas playfully. An angry Parashurama cut off one of Ganesha’s tusks. Seeing Ganesha’s condition, Devi Parvati became angry. Vishnu pacified her by explaining the greatness of Ganesha in a nice invocation. Parashurama was then granted forgiveness by the Mother of the Universe.

The story of Ekdanta (the one with one tusk) is primarily narrated in the Brahmavaivarta Purana whose composition is dated to 8th-10th CE but the stories could be much older.

Source: VDN Rao, “Essence of Ganesha Mahima.”

Though Tulasi is considered as very auspicious it is prohibited for Ganeshs. In the course of the Eka Vimshati or 21 leaf pujas of Ganesha puja just one tulasi leaf is offered to Ganesha as an exception.

Once Lord Ganesha was engaged in deep meditation. Tulasi saw him and fell in love with him. She requested him to marry her. Ganesha refused, addressed her as a mother and said marriage would distract him from his devotion to Narayana. Tulasi cursed Ganesha. In return Ganesha cursed that Tulasi would be over powered by demon and would turn into a tree with the curse of elders. After Tulasi regretted her actions, Ganesha relented and blessed that she would be the beloved of Narayana and would become an auspicious plant. But her leaves would not be offered to him.

There are two version of Tulsi’s marriage to a demon, in one to Jalandhar and in another to Shankachud, both of whom were slain by Shiva with the help of Vishnu’s deception.

Source: Ramakrishna Mission , “Mythology and Iconography of Ganesha.”

When Vyasa was wondering who the scribe for the epic Mahabharata would be, Brahma suggested to him that Ganesha was the right choice. Ganesha had a special condition. Vyasa must not give a moment’s rest to his pen. He also said that he would not write down a single letter if he did not understand it completely. At times, Vyasa composed verses which were difficult for Ganesha to comprehend. These came to be called kuta-slokas. These are said to number 8800 verses.

VS Sukhthankar who worked on the critical edition believes that the references to the kuta-slokas are later interpolations in the epic. Mahabharata was composed in the age of oral works and this story is likely a later folk tale. Nevertheless, many scholars like Macdonell & CV Vaidya believe that the original core of the epic consisted of these 8800 verses. Traditionalists believe that the entire epic consisting of 100000 odd verses was composed by Vyasa. They also opine that if we exclude the upakhyanas from these, the actual story of Mahabharata is 24000.

The Mahabharata being an encyclopedic work has many anecdotes not related to the main storyline which demonstrate some learning of Dharma. The Ramayana for example is summarized as Ramopkhyana.

Source: SR Ramaswamy, “Evolution of the Mahabharata”

Rāma had given this ancestral deity, called Ranganātha, to Vibhīshana and told him not to put the deity down until he reached Lanka. When Vibhīshana came to the beautiful Kāverī River, he was overwhelmed with the desire to bathe. He gave the deity to Ganesha in disguise, and Ganesha agreed to hold it for him, under the condition that Vibhīshana would come promptly if he called for him three times. When Vibhīshana was underwater, taking his dips in the Kāverī River, the boy called out thrice. Of course, Vibhīshana could not hear him. The boy put down the deity of Ranganātha, and so it is that the deity has been worshipped on the island of Shrīrangam ever since.

Source: India: A Sacred Geography by Diana Eck

PicureCredit: SR Ramanujam

Trinetra Ganapati temple is in Ranthambore Fort within the national park. Ganesha is present in this temple with his full family consisting of Riddhi and Siddhi (consorts) and two sons (Shub and Labh). His vahana, mouse, is also present.

Source: Rajasthan Tourism

PicureCredit:

In Lenyadri, Ganesha is worshipped as Girijatmaj. Ganesha is Swayambhu in a cave. The name of the idol ‘Girijatmaj’ comes as ‘Girija’ meaning Devi Parvati and ‘Aatmaj’ meaning Son. It is said that in this particular cave Devi Parvati performed tapascharya for twelve long years for the gain of a son. After this long tapascharya, Lord Ganesh himself came before her. Leni means caves in Marathi. The temple faces the southern direction and is rock cut within the cave. It closely resembles a Buddhist Vihara.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Shree Lenyadri Ganpati Devsthan Trust, https://lenyadriganpati.com/en/a-homepage-section/

PicureCredit: https://lenyadriganpati.com/en/a-homepage-section/

Torana Ganapati in Sringeri is worshipped in the doorframe. There is no GarbhaGrha and the door is always in closed state. The 32nd Acharya of the Peetham, Jagadguru Sri Vriddha Narasimha Bharati Mahaswamiji used to reside adjacent to the temple of Goddess Sharada. One occasion, the Acharya had a vision of the Ganapati when he was contemplating on resolving an issue in the mutt affairs. He offered His prayer by offering a dhurva to the image of Lord Ganapati carved on the Torana of the door nearby, and the problem got resolved. Since then, the Ganapati has come to be worshipped as Torana Ganapati.

Source: Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri

https://sringeri.net/temples/sri-torana-ganapati

PicureCredit: SR Ramanujam

https://sringeri.net/temples/sri-torana-ganapati

Ganesh Tok is a popular tourist place in Gangtok. It offers excellent views of the city and is at a height of about 6500 feet.

Source:

PicureCredit: Kailas98, Creative Commons

This temple is called Uchhi Pillayar, meaning Ganpati at the top. The temple is on top of a Droog (steep rock). It served as a fortification and was a scene of many battles involving the Vijayanagara empire, Nayaks of Madurai, Nawabs and the British. The rock is 83 mts tall. The Ganapati temple on top of the hill, another Ganapati temple at the foothills and a rock cut Shiva temple are among the most visited in the city. Rockfort is also a popular evening spot due to the strong breeze on top and as the rockfort offers commanding views of the Cauvery river, the agricultural fields and the Srirangam temple.

Source:

PicureCredit: SR Ramanujam

Ganesha worship is very popular in Japan and spread through Buddhism. Sōshin Kangiten is the most enigmatic and elusive Japanese version of Gaṇeśa. Ganesha represents Dual God of Boundless Bliss. The Japanese Dual Kangiten is an elephant-headed deity couple in embrace. It represents the unity of contrasting genders and opposites. Avalokiteśvara (a Bodhisatva) is believed to have seduced and calmed down Vinayaka resulting in the harmonious union.

Source: Lode Rosseels, Gaṇeśa’s Underbelly, Universiteit Gent

Picture Credit: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna

The frieze is around the Kantaka Cetinga Stupa, near Mihintale in Sri Lanka. A double procession of ganas converge towards a central dwarfish elephant headed figure whose trunk is turned to the left. This is undoubtedly, Ganapati

Source: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna

PicureCredit: Ganesha; The Auspicious, The Beginning by Shakunthala Jagannathan and Nandhita Krishna