Denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha
Ganapatya is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha (also called Ganapati) as the Saguna Brahman. [2]
| Part of a series on |
| Hinduism |
|---|
 |
Ganapatya is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha (also called Ganapati) as the Saguna Brahman. [2]
The worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other deities. Hindus of all sects begin prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies with an invocation of Ganesha, because of Ganesha's role as the god of beginnings. But although most Hindu sects do revere Ganesha, the Ganapatya sect goes further than that, and declares Ganesha to be the supreme being. Ganapatya is one of the five principal Hindu sects which focus on a particular deity, alongside Shaivism, focussed on Shiva, Shaktism, focussed on Shakti, Vaishnavism, focused on Vishnu, and Saura, focussed on Surya. While Ganapatya is not as large a sect as the other four, it still has been influential.[ citation needed ] There is also the Smartism sect, which follows Advaita philosophy and practices the "worship of the five forms" (pañcāyatana pūjā) system, popularized by Śaṅkarācārya. In this system, the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devī, and Sūrya are viewed as five equal forms of one Nirguna Brahman. [3]
 |
Ganapati has been worshipped as part of Shaivism since at least the fifth century. A specific Ganapatya sect probably began to appear between the sixth and ninth centuries: six sects are mentioned in the Sankara digvijaya (life of Adi Shankara) by Anandigiri. It reached a high point about the tenth century, and built temples dedicated to Ganesha, the largest of which is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil (the Columns Hall of a Thousand Pillars), on the Rock Fort of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu. Ganesha is worshipped as the Supreme Being (Para Brahman) in this sect. Being the chief deity in this form of Hinduism, he is known by the epithet Parameshwara (Supreme God), which is normally reserved for Shiva.
Later, the sect was popularized by Morya Gosavi. According to one source, he found an idol of Ganapati not made by human hands, and built the Moragao temple near Pune in the 14th century.[ citation needed ] According to another, he experienced visions of Ganapati at the Morgaon shrine, and was entombed alive (jeeva samadhi) in 1651, in a Ganesha temple at his birthplace in Chinchwad. [4]
Following him, the Ganapatya sect became prominent between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries in Maharashtra in south western India, centering on Cinchwad. Its centre is still among Hindus in the Marathi-speaking Maharashtra, and it is important in the rest of South India. Devotees hold an annual pilgrimage between Chinchwad and Moragao.
Sect marks include a red circle on the forehead, or the brands of an elephant face and tusk on the shoulders.
Further information: Ganesha Purana, Mudgala Purana, and Ganapati Atharvashirsa
In the Ganapatya tradition founded in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha is worshipped as one of the five principle deities along with Siva, Vishnu, the Sun, Ganesha, and the Goddess. [5]
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana—and their dating relative to one another—has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comment about dating and provide her own judgment. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text. [6]
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. [7] However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. [8] While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture in the Ganapatya tradition, the Sanskrit Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th century. [9]
The Ganesha Sahasranama is part of the Puranic literature, and is a litany of a thousand names and attributes of Ganesha. Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. Versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama are found in the Ganesha Purana. [10]
The Trimurti is the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. The Om symbol of Hinduism is considered to have an allusion to Trimurti, where the A, U, and M phonemes of the word are considered to indicate creation, preservation and destruction, adding up to represent Brahman. The Tridevi is the trinity of goddess consorts for the Trimurti.
Avatar is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means 'descent'. It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes used to refer to any guru or revered human being.
Ishta-deva or ishta devata, is a term used in Hinduism denoting a worshipper's favourite deity.
Sahasranāma is a Sanskrit term which means "a thousand names". It is also a genre of stotra literature, usually found as a title of the text named after a deity, such as Vishnu Sahasranāma, wherein the deity is remembered by 1,000 names, attributes or epithets.
Shanmata meaning "Six Sects" in Sanskrit, is a system of worship, believed by the Smarta tradition to have been founded by Adi Shankara, [circa 8th Century CE] Hindu philosopher. It centers around the worship of the six main deities of Hinduism, Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda. In this system, six major deities are worshipped. This is based on the belief in the essential oneness of all deities, the unity of Godhead, and their conceptualization of the myriad deities of India as various manifestations of the one divine power, Brahman.
Panchayatana puja also known as Pancha Devi Deva Puja is a system of puja (worship) in the Smarta sampradaya, which is one of four major sampradaya of Hinduism. It consists of the worship of five deities set in a quincunx pattern, the five deities being Ganesha, Adi Shakti, Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. Sometimes an Ishta Devata or Kartikeya is the sixth deity in the mandala.
The Ganesha Purana is a Sanskrit text that deals with the Hindu deity Ganesha. It is an upapurāṇa that includes mythology, cosmogony, genealogy, metaphors, yoga, theology and philosophy relating to Ganesha.
The Mudgala Purana is a Hindu religious text dedicated to the Hindu deity Ganesha. It is an upapurāṇa that includes many stories and ritualistic elements relating to Ganesha. The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana are core scriptures for devotees of Ganesha, known as Ganapatyas. These are the only two Purana that are exclusively dedicated to Ganesha.
The Ganapati Atharvasirsha is a Sanskrit text and a minor Upanishad of Hinduism. It is a late Upanishadic text dedicated to Ganesha, the deity representing intellect and learning. It asserts that Ganesha is same as the eternal underlying reality, Brahman. The text is attached to the Atharvaveda, and is also referred to as the Sri Ganapati Atharva Sirsha, the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, the Ganapati Atharvasirsa, or the Ganapati Upanishad.
Ganesha is a prominent Hindu god. He is the god of Beginnings, Wisdom and Luck and worshipped as the Remover of Obstacles. Ganesha is easily recognized from his elephant head. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
There are many anecdotes of Ganesha. Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom. Stories about the birth of Ganesha are found in the later Puranas, composed from about 600 CE onwards. References to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas are considered to be later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.
The marital status of Ganesha varies widely in mythological stories and the issue has been the subject of considerable scholarly review. Several patterns of associations with different consorts are identifiable. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacārin with no consorts. Another mainstream pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi, and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses who are considered to be Ganesha's wives. Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati. In the Bengal region he is linked with the banana tree, Kala Bo. Usually Ganesha's consort is portrayed as his shakti, a personification of his creative energy.
Heramba, also known as Heramba Ganapati, is a five-headed iconographical form of the Hindu god Ganesha (Ganapati). This form is particularly popular in Nepal. This form is important in Tantric worship of Ganesha. He is one of the most popular of the thirty-two forms of Ganesha.
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
Shri Mayureshwar Mandir or Shri Moreshwar Temple is a Hindu temple (mandir) dedicated to Ganesha, god of wisdom. It is located in Moragaon in Pune District, about 65 km away from Pune city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The temple is the starting and ending point of a pilgrimage of eight revered Ganesha temples called Ashtavinayaka.
The Chintamani Temple of Theur is a Hindu temple dedicated to Supreme God Ganesha according to Ganapatya Sect located 25 km (16 mi) from Pune, the temple is "one of the larger and more famous" of the Ashtavinayaka, the eight revered shrines of Ganesha in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
The Siddhivinayak Temple of Siddhatek is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom. The temple is one of the Ashtavinayaka, the eight revered shrines of Ganesha in the Indian state of Maharashtra and the only Ashtavinayaka shrine in Ahmednagar district.
Vinayaki (Vināyakī) is an elephant-headed Hindu goddess. Her mythology and iconography are not clearly defined. Little is told about her in Hindu scriptures and very few images of this deity exist.
Thirty-two forms of Ganesha are mentioned frequently in devotional literature related to the Hindu god Ganesha. The Ganesha-centric scripture Mudgala Purana is the first to list them.
Haridra Ganapati is an aspect of the Hindu god Ganesha (Ganapati). Haridra Ganapati is also known as Ratri Ganapati. Haridra Ganapati is depicted as yellow like turmeric and wears yellow garments. He is one of the most popular thirty-two forms of Ganesha.
| Forms |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Worship | ||
| Ashtavinayaka Temples | ||
| Legends and Texts | ||
| Associated deities | ||
| See also | ||