As we visit temples in South Asia or South East Asia, one thing that stands out are the various forms of Lord Ganesh . Most of them are rock cut and either in standing or sitting posture. Since he is considered as the remover of obstacles and a harbinger of wisdom and success in life, one can find his image in every known form in temples across the world. You can even find him atop volcanoes, in the middle of dense forest, near seaside, on hill tops and any place that one can think of.
He is one god who has reached the foreign shores and one can see Ganesh’s various forms in which he is worshiped. Rock cut carvings of Ganesha can be seen in many temples which are built at the base of the volcanoes. In Bali, his images in stone and wood are so common that children sell the idols to tourists on the highway road to Denpasar.
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Ganesha with a Dragon look |
For me, an image carved in mahogany wood is very close to my heart. The
Ganesh has a dragon look with his trunk long and dragon like while other
features including the abdominal region is similar to the one made in
India.
He was considered a principal deity of the trading community in India and they
took his image to south east Asia, Africa and the Pacific – be it China,
Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines or Japan (Sho-ten).
The images of Ganesh can be found from the 10th century onwards in Hindu and
Buddhist temples. He was revered and often shown in dancing form and a bit
different from the Indian forms.
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| Udbhava Ganapathi |
Apart from this, there is a tradition of Ganesha idol taking form
naturally in many Indian temples and they are known as “Udbhava Ganapathi” and
are usually worshipped in many places across India. The one in Chikkamagaluru
is very old. According to the priest here, the stone has transformed and
changed into the shape of a Ganesha over a period of time. He told us the
sketch of the lord was seen in the dreams of one grandmother known as Subbajji
of Belavadi.
Later a temple was built around the idol by Sringeri Mutt. This temple sees a
lot of devotees from far and wide because of their belief that all their
problems would be resolved. According to the priest, the Ganesha
idol is still evolving and changes in the idol can be seen if one visits the
temple after a period of time.
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| Ganesha at Belavadi Temple |
Now how is the Ganesha depicted? He is depicted with a single to five
heads and two to sixteen arms in different countries – from India to Indonesia
to Nepal to Japan. With an elephant head, he is usually depicted with a big
belly and four arms. The broken tusk is held in his lower right hand with a
sweet delicacy. The lower right hand is turned towards the devotee in a
gesture of protection.
Normally we see Ganesh holding an axe or a goad and a noose in the upper arms.
Further, we see the sacred thread. The snake wrapped around his belly
like a belt is also a prominent feature. His vehicle or vahana is normally a
mouse but in earlier ancient times, the depiction showed lion, peacock and
other animal motifs. Although references to Lord Ganesha has not been found in
Vedic scriptures, the worship of this non-Vedic god can be found in various
temples going as far back as 2500 years.
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| Ganesha at Amrutheswara temple |
Even as we traverse across temples, Lord Ganesha is either placed at the
entry to a temple, the gateway or as a subordinate deity. The original wall of
Amrutheswara Temple in Tarikere in Chikkamagaluru district has a beautiful
stone carving of Ganapathi in a dancing pose. The belly portion is pretty
damaged while there are only two arms to this deity.
But there are lakhs of independent temples dedicated to Ganesha in the nook
and corner of India. But some images like the one at Hampi, the Sasivekalu
Ganesh on the southern side of Hemkunth hill is highly impressive. This
monolithic idol was built by a trader from Chandragiri (dealing with mustard
seeds) so it is known as Sasivekalu (mustard seeds in Kannada) Ganesha.
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| Sasivekalu Ganesh |
The magnificent idol seated here in an open pavilion has square pillars
around as a protection. Seated in a half lotus position, it bears a tusk,
goad, noose and bowl of sweets in its four arms respectively. There is also a
prominent snake tied across his belly with the head of the snake standing
upright in the front. Standing tall at 8 feet, the inscription found here said
it was built in 1506 in memory of King Narasimha, the II of the Saluva
dynasty.
One can go on and on about various forms of Ganesha and stone carvings found in temples across the world but one thing that stands out is the sculptures vary from region to region and the basic structure is the same as in India. There are references to Ganesha from the Aztec times and idols have been found in Mexico. But it is in India and south east Asia that the festival of Ganesh is celebrated in different forms. Every year, the lovable Ganesh comes home in various forms and mediums in the month of Bhadrapada in India.
People in the south and western parts of India make it a point to install the Ganesha idol at home. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi became a public event from the times of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a freedom fighter to involve people in India’s freedom movement and today, the festival is celebrated for a period of 10 days.
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