Ganpati

 

                                                            Sculpture: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai

In our culture, whenever someone begins a good endeavour, we say kāmācā Shrīgaṇēśā jhālā — 'the Shri Ganesh of the work has happened.' Ganpati holds a place of special honour at the start of every auspicious occasion. And for people like me who live to eat, Ganpati's modaks (sweet dumplings) are yet another reason to love him! 😊

It is only fitting, then, that we begin this series with Shri Ganesh himself. He is one of the deities most abundantly carved on temple walls across India. A deity who embodies prosperity and knowledge, he is also one of the easier ones to identify in sculpture. There are four reliable ways to identify any deity:

1.  The weapons and objects held in the hands (āyudha)

2.  The posture and form of the body

3.  The vehicle (vāhana)

4.  The crown, hair, and ornaments

In Ganpati's hands, you will most commonly find: an akṣamālā (rosary bead garland), pāśa (noose), daṇḍa (staff), modaka-pātra (vessel of sweet modaks), bhagna-danta (the broken tusk), aṅkuśa (goad), and paraśu (axe). Ganpati is usually shown with four arms, though sculptures with two or eight arms also exist. At his feet, his vehicle — the mūṣaka (mouse) — is almost always carved alongside him.

Observing the Sculpture

When observing or describing a sculpture, moving clockwise makes it much easier to understand the image. Let us observe the Ganpati in this photograph. He sits with legs folded. He holds his broken tusk held like a pen, ready to write. One arm is broken. We see a padma (lotus), a modaka vessel, and at his feet, a mouse — its ears just visible. He wears a serpent as his sacred thread (sarpa-yajñopavīta). 

The furrowed brow, the raised eyebrows, the narrowed eyes — all of this conveys deep concentration. But why, one wonders, was Ganpati concentrating so intensely?

The Story Behind the Concentration

The sage Vyāsa decided to compose the Mahābhārata and requested Ganpati to serve as his scribe. Being a god, Ganpati had his conditions — he agreed, but only on one: once he began writing, he would not stop. Vyāsa smiled and accepted — but he too had a condition: every verse must be fully understood before it is written down. And so the writing began. Every now and then, Vyāsa would compose a deliberately cryptic verse — a kūṭa-śloka (a riddling verse, a puzzle) — and while Ganpati paused to unravel its meaning, Vyāsa would compose the next several verses. Neither stopped. And thus the Mahābhārata came into being.

 

The sculptor who carved this image almost certainly had that very scene in mind — Ganpati in the act of scribing, brow furrowed, eyes narrowed, working through one of Vyāsa's riddles.

 

These ancient stories always carry a lesson within them. See if you can find yours.