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Lord Ganesha - Know everything about God Ganesh

Ganesha is the Lord of Ganas, the elephant faced God, represents the power of the Supreme Being that removes obstacles and ensures success in human endeavors. He is revered as the son of the Shiva and Durga , and is always honored first in most worship services and rituals. ganesha He is worshipped for siddhi, success in undertakings, and buddhi, intelligence. He is worshipped before any venture is started.

Some other names Ganapati, Vigneswara, Vinayaka, Gajamukha and Ainkaran.

He is also the God of education, knowledge and wisdom, literature, and the fine arts. He is also one of the five Gods the worship of whom was popularised by Adi Shankaracharya; the other four are Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Surya. The worship of these five deities is called the pancayatana puja. In some cases, a sixth God, Skanda is also worshipped.

Famous Ancient Temple of Lord Ganesha in India

1. Shree Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai 2. Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple, Pune 3. Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple, Chittoor 4. Manakula Vinayaka Temple, Pondicherry 5. Madhur Mahaganapathi Temple, Kerala 6. Ranthambore Ganesh Temple, Rajasthan 7. Moti Dungri Ganesh Temple, Jaipur 8. Ganesh Tok Temple, Gangtok 9. Ganpatipule Temple, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra 10. Rockfort Ucchi Pillayar Koil Temple, Tamil Nadu any many more....

108 names of Lord Ganesha - Ganesh Sahasranamavali
Lord Ganesha is known by many names. There exists 108 different names of Ganesha in the Hindu scriptures. Astroshastra has tried to explain the various Sanskrit names of Ganesha with their meaning. Daily chanting of Sahasranamavali is considered very aupicious.

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival

Ganesha Chaturthi or the Vinayak Chaviti, is one of the many religious festivals celebrated in the land of Gods, India. On the fourth day of Bhadrapada, Hindus embark on a 10 days festivity, where the idol of Ganesha is brought into the house or a place specially dedicated for the purpose, which becomes Lord Ganesha’s humble abode for a while before it is immersed in the rivers. The pandals or the place is decorated with flowers, incense, smudge sticks and all sorts of prayers & chanting takes place to please the auspicious lord. Just like every other god, Lord Ganesha has many mythological tales attached to him as well.

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival

The Ganeshotsav, the festivity of Ganesh Chaturthi, ends after 10 days on Anant Chaturdashi which is also known as Ganesh Visarjan day i.e 5th September, 2017. On Anant Chaturdashi, devotees immerse idol of Lord Ganesh in water body after a gala street procession.

Ganapati Sthapana and Ganapati Puja Muhurat

Ganesh Puja is preferred during Madhyahna as it is believed that Lord Ganesh was born during Madhyahna Kala. Madhyahna Kala is equivalent to midday according to Hindu division of the day.

As per Hindu time-keeping, the time duration between sunrise to sunset is divided into five equal parts. These five parts are known as Pratahkala, Sangava, Madhyahna, Aparahna and Sayankal. Ganapati Sthapana and Ganapati Puja on Ganesha Chaturthi are done during Madhyahna part of the day and as per Vedic astrology it is considered the most appropriate time for Ganesha Puja.

During midday, Ganesha devotees perform detailed ritualistic Ganesha Puja which is known as Shodashopachara Ganapati Puja.

This festival has a very interesting mythological context & story. One of the famous beleifs attached to the festival is, one should not look at the moon on this day. If they do, they will suffer from troubles, pains and allegations. If you happen to see moon on this day, the sages say that only listening to the tale of Krishna and Syamantaka can the curse be relieved. The tale goes as follows: The Tale of Lord Krishna & Syamantaka Gem , it is also the effective remedy for seeing moon on Ganesh Chaturdashi

Why we should not see the moon on Ganesha Chaturthi?

Symbolism of Lord Ganesha
The large head of an elephant symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life.

The wide mouth represents the natural human desire to enjoy life in the world.

The large ears signify that a perfect person is the one who possesses a great capacity to listen to others and assimilate ideas.

The trunk relates to the power of human mind which must be strong enough to face the ups and downs of the external world and yet delicate enough to explore the subtle realms of the inner world.

The two tusks denote the two aspects of the human personality, wisdom and emotion.

The right tusk represents wisdom left tusk represents emotion.

The broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with wisdom to attain perfection.

The eyes: the elephant eyes are said to possess natural deceptiveness that allows them to perceive objects to be bigger than what they really are.

Thus the elephant eyes symbolize the idea that even if an individual gets "bigger and bigger" in wealth and wisdom, he should perceive others to be bigger than himself; that is, surrender one's pride and attain humility.

The four arms and various objects in the four hands: the four arms indicate that the Lord is omnipresent and omnipotent.

The left side of the body symbolizes emotion and the right side symbolizes reason.

An axe in the upper left hand and a lotus in the upper right hand signify that in order to attain spiritual perfection, one should cut worldly attachments and conquer emotions. This enables one to live in the world without being affected by earthly temptations, just as a lotus remains in water but is not affected by it.

A tray of Laddus near the Lord denotes that He bestows wealth and prosperity upon His devotees. The lower right hand is shown in a blessing pose, which signifies that He always blesses his devotees.

A body with a big belly: the human body possesses a human heart, which is a symbol of kindness and compassion toward all. He's body is usually portrayed wearing red and yellow clothes. Yellow symbolizes purity, peace and truthfulness. Red symbolizes the activity in the world.

A mouse sitting near the feet of He and gazing at the tray of Laddus: a mouse symbalizes the ego that can nibble all that is good and noble in a person. Right foot dangling over the left foot illustrates that in order to live a successful life one should utilize knowledge and reason to overcome emotions.
Lord Ganesha mantras:

The chanting or the ‘Jaapa’ of Lord Ganesh mantra is considered very auspicious. The chanting of Sanskrit mantras, or their equivalent Tamil Ganesha mantras, is known to activate the mind and the various chakras of the body. This leads to better blood circulation and therefore improved metabolic rate in the body.

In the Ganapati Upanished, the Lord Ganesha beeja mantra ‘Om Gum Ganapataaye Namah’ is mentioned. It is believed that this mantra should be recited before beginning a new venture, like entering a business deal or signing a contract, so that Lord Ganpati brings success, wealth, good luck and peace.

In the Ganesh Purana, the mantra ‘Om Vakratundaya Hum’ is mentioned a lot of times. It is believed that the recitation of this Ganesh Mantra removes every enemy from one’s path and brings clarity and focus in the vision. Chanting this Ganesha Mantra 1,008 times also removes fear and sets twisted paths and minds straight.

The Ganesha Mantra for Education is ‘Om Shri Ganeshaaya Namah’. This Ganesha mantra makes the mind sharp and is often taught to children and students for success in Education and good results in exams.
For more mantras

Why to worship Left curved Trunk Ganesha ?

Ganesha is worshiped at home by offering prayers and conducting rituals to his statue. When they buy statues of Ganesha, they make sure that the trunk is curved to the left and not to the right.

The trunk of Ganesha is usually curved or twisted. The shape of the curved trunk symbolizes OM or the primordial sound.Ganesha uses his trunk to destroy the obstacles and turn them into opportunities for growth.

Ganesha forms with left curved trunk:

Out of 32 forms of Ganesha, 17 have left curved trunks. They are:

Taruna Ganapathi, Vira Ganapathi, Dvija Ganapathi, Sidhi Ganapathi, Ucchhishta Ganapathi, Vighna Ganapathi, Lakshmi Ganapathi, Maha Ganapathi, Vijaya Ganapathi, Nrithya Ganapathi, Urdhva Ganapathi, Varada Ganapathi, Kshipra Ganapathi, Uddanda Ganapathi, Trimukha Ganapathi, Sinha Ganapathi, Durga Ganapathi.