ANUJA PURANDARE anujapurandare51@gmail.com
University of Mumbai
MADHAVI NARSALAY madhavinarsalay@yahoo.com
University of Mumbai
WHO IS GAṆEŚA: A CREATOR OF OBSTACLES OR A SPIRITUAL FORM? (STUDY OF THE MUDGALAPURĀṆA AND GAṆEŚAPURĀṆA)
Contemporary Hinduism worships Gaṇeśa as the Lord who wards off obstacles, i.e. Vighnahartṛ. However, scholars like M. K. Dhavalikar, Yuvraj Krishan, etc., have considered the evolution of Gaṇeśa worship from Vighnakartṛ “the creator of obstacles” to Vighnahartṛ “the remover of obstacles”. We do not agree with this interpretation. We are of the opinion that Purāṇic Hinduism refers to a variety of alternative thoughts, beliefs, and practices. Had Gaṇeśa been regarded as the cause of obstacles, Śaṅkarācārya (8th century CE) would not have included this deity in the pañcāyatana worship or composed a stotra addressing him as Parabrahmarūpa. There is a cult called the Gāṇapatya cult, which existed before the 8th century CE. In this paper, we will discuss the philosophical and esoteric form of Gaṇeśa based on two Upapurāṇas, namely the Gaṇeśapurāṇa and the Mudgalapurāṇa. Both these Purāṇas contain gītās on Gaṇeśa, namely the Yogagītā in the Mudgalapurāṇa and the Gaṇeśagītā in the Gaṇeśapurāṇa. These gītās are based on various aspects of Yoga and describe the form of Gaṇeśa with reference to Yoga philosophy as well as the Upaniṣads, especially the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-Upaniṣad and the Māṇḍūkya-Upaniṣad. We argue that the interpretation of Gaṇeśa should be understood more in the light of philosophy than of iconography.
The paper will focus on:
a) the philosophical origins of Gaṇeśa through the study of the Gaṇeśapurāṇa and the Mudgalapurāṇa;
b) the epithets of Gaṇeśa and their philosophical interpretations.