We Indians are blessed with many Gods and Goddesses but I think I can safely say that the cutest and most adorable of them is the Elephant-headed pot bellied four armed single tusked Lord Ganesha. Although on second thoughts Krishna in his childhood avatar is probably equally adored and cute 🙂
Lord Ganesha is also the Lord of beginnings and the Remover of all obstacles. This Ganesha Chathurthi I wish you all new auspicious beginnings and share a beautiful mosaic of the God made by our own dear friend and artist Ferdi (Ilfordian). She appears to a bit underweather d these days but I would like to request her to share some details about her artwork and thank her for allowing me to share it with you all 🙂
Don’t miss the tiny mouse at the bottom – never fails to amaze (and amuse) me how Lord Ganesha manages to sit on the mouse (although some believe it is a rat or a shrew) without squashing it 😀 But then legend has it that there was a celestial musician Krauncha who accidentally stepped on the foot of Muni Vamadeva who was infuriated enough to curse Krauncha to become a mouse. The curse turned Krauncha into a massive mouse who ended up damaging everything and anything. Once he made the mistake of destroying the ashram of Maharishi Parashar where Lord Ganesha was also staying. To teach the destructive Krauncha a lesson, Lord Ganesha looped a noose around his neck and subdued him. Krauncha begged pardon and requested salvation. Lord Ganesha forgave him and accepted him as his vehicle which Krauncha gratefully accepted. But then the Lord was too heavy for Krauncha so taking pity on him, the Lord became lighter so that Krauncha could easily support him.
The other angle is that as the Destroyer of all obstacles with a mouse as His vehicle, Ganesha is able to enter into all nooks and crannies with ease and gives Him Omnipresence. Alternatively, the mouse is the destroyer of a farmer’s crop and by subduing it, the Lord removes their obstacle. There are many other stories of Ganesha like this one here which explains why Ganesha has a single tusk. Well one of the versions anyway!
I have always wondered what the chant “Ganpati Bappa Morya” meant and this time I exerted myself to google it. Ganpati is a combination of two words – Gan is group and pati is ruler or lord (Like really? Oh well I guess I better not go there...) and Bappa is Father or Lord. Morya is a bit tricky with two explanations. The more popular one is the one which speaks about a 14th Century saint Morya Gosavi who was a crazed devotee of Ganpati and did severe penance to please his Lord. Pleased, Ganesh asked him to choose his boon and all he wanted was to be forever associated with him and hence the chant Ganpati Bapppa Morya.
The other explanation is that Morya is a combination of two words – Mhora ya which means come ahead and bless us. I personally prefer this explanation as it makes more sense but then again, both explanations could be right!
Ganesha Chaturthi greetings to one and all 🙏
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥
Meaning:
1: (I meditate on Sri Ganesha) Who has a Curved Trunk, Large Body, and Who has the Brilliance of a Million Suns,
2: O Lord, Please make all my Works, free of Obstacles, always.
Ganapati Bappa Morya!
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Stories and more 