|| OM GHAM GANAPATHAYE NAMAHA ||

Ganesha is revered as the son of the Universal parents Shiva and Parvati, and is always honored first in most worship services and rituals. He is the Lord of all Obstacles, no Hindu ritual or auspicious act is ever undertaken without invoking Him.  Ganesha is also known as Ganapati, Vigneswara, Vinayaka, Gajamukha and Ainkaran.

The huge size of Ganapati represents the Universe (Cosmos), and his curled trunk, the symbol OM. The elephant's head is said to represent superior intellect while the snake around his waist cosmic energy. His broken tusk is symbolic of knowledge, as it is believed that it is with this tusk that he wrote down the Mahabharata, in the capacity of a scribe, when it was recited by the sage Vyasa. The mouse - mooshikam, his mount is said to symbolize the equal importance of the biggest and smallest of creatures, in the eyes of the infinity of creation Bhraman.

Ganesha is believed to have been the scribe who wrote down the text of the Indian epic Mahabharatam as it was recited by the sage Vyasa.

The Ganesa Pancharatnam of Aadi Sankaracharya in sanskrit salutes Ganapati. The tamil works of Tirumoolar and Avvaiyaar (of the 1st millennium CE), also bear hymns saluting Ganesha. So do the Tiruppugazh hymns of Arunagirinathar of the 1st half of the 2nd millennium CE. Several of the sanskrit kritis of the Karnatic Music composer Mutthuswamy Deekshitar salute Ganapati shrines all over Tamilnadu.

Several small temples dedicated to Ganapati adorn all towns and villages of south India. Most of these are modern temples. There are several shrines to Ganesha in all Saivite temples all over south India. Ganesha is taken out at the head of all processions in festivals celebrated in the Saivite temples of Tamilnadu. 


Perhaps the most ancient of Ganapati shrines in India, is the well known Karpaka Vinayakar temple in the town of Pillaiarpatti near Karaikkudi in Tamilnadu. This temple with a rock cut shrine, bearing a collossal form of Vinayakar, is over 1600 years old.

The Ucchi Pillaiyaar temple, on top of a hill defining Tiruchirappalli's (Tamilnadu) skyline, enshrines Ganapati, who is said to have been instrumental in enshrining Ranganathar at Srirangam nearby.

The Story of Lord Ganesha's birth

Ganesha the elephant faced God is one of the most popularly worshipped forms of divinity - as a remover of obstacles and the embodiment of good luck, in the Indian system of beliefs and practices.

Ganesha is regarded as the son of Shiva and Parvati (Shakti), the Universal parents, and the brother of Skanda.

Legend has it that Parvati, created a beautiful boy from the dirt of her body, treated him as her son, and gave him the responsibility of guarding her home. Shiva, upon returning home was affronted by this lad, hitherto unknown to him. The lad, true to his word to his mother, refused to let Shiva into his own home.

An enraged Shiva sent his Bhuta Gana attendants to scare the lad and to obtain entry into his own home. The lad single handedly defeated the Bhuta Ganas in battle. A clash of egos followed, as Shiva sent several of the Gods, to fight against Ganesha and an equally enraged Parvati sent several of her attendants to fight them. In the resultant fight, the valorous lad's head was chopped off by Nandi deva, and the lad lay lifeless.

Parvati's grief knew no bounds, and Shiva sought to assuage her, by promising to bring the boy to life. Alas, his head could not be found in the battlefield. A quick fix was sought, and it was decided that the first available head would be used to bring the boy to life. Accordingly, the boy was fitted with the head of an elephant and brought back to life.

Even this did not placate Parvati, who sought that this boy (who successfully created obstacles to his father's mission) now fitted with the head of an elephant, should be regarded by one and all, as the remover of obstacles, and should be offered worship first, before any form of worship was offered to any other manifestation of divinity.

This boon granted, Ganesha, the lord of the attendants of Parvati, came to be regarded as Vigneshwara the remover of obstacles.

There is another story about why Lord Vinayaka is a bachelor?  Once when it was time to get Vinayaka married off, his mother goddess Parvathi asked him whom he would like to wed? The Lord answered saying "somebody who is as beautiful and as virtuous as yourself." To which his mother replied, "find yourself such a maiden and I shall wed her to you." Thereupon it is believed that Lord Vinayaka retreated to tanks, road junctions, river banks where maidens used to congregate. Some believe that Lord Vinayaka’s quest has still not ended.