Introduction

(Sanskrit: गणेश; Gaṇeśa; listen (help·info)), also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.^[5] His image is found throughout India.^[6] Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations.^[7] Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.^[8]

Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha’s elephant head makes him easy to identify.^[9] Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles^[10] and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara),^[11] patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom.^[12] He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions.^[13] Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors.^[14] His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya, (Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; gāṇapatya), who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period.^[15] The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

Etymology and other names

Ganesh has many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vigneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri (Sanskrit: श्री; śrī, also spelled Sri or Shree) is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of “a thousand names of Ganesha”. Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.^[17]

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana (Sanskrit: गण; gaṇa), meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha (Sanskrit: ईश; īśa), meaning lord or master.^[18] The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the ganas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva (IAST: Śiva).^[19] The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation.^[20] Some commentators interpret the name “Lord of the Ganas” to mean “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord of created categories”, such as the elements.^[21] Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति; gaṇapati), a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of ga?a, meaning “group”, and pati, meaning “ruler” or “lord”.^[20] The Amarakosa,^[22] an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vignesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers),^[23] Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana (IAST: gajānana) ; having the face of an elephant).^[24]

Vinayaka (Sanskrit: विनायक; vināyaka) is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Pura?as and in Buddhist Tantras.^[25] This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the aṣṭavināyaka.^[26] The names Vignesha (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश; vighneśa) and Vigneshvara (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश्वर; vighneśvara) (Lord of Obstacles)^[11] refers to his primary function in Hindu mythology as the creator and remover of obstacles (vighna).^[27]

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pille or Pillaiyar (Little Child).^[28] A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pille means a “child” while pillaiyar means a “noble child”. He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify “tooth or tusk of an elephant”, but more generally “elephant”.^[29] Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant “the young of the elephant”, because the Pali word pillaka means “a young elephant”.^[30]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha

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Tags: ganesh, ganesha, ganpati, names, pikkaiyar, sanskrit, vighnesha, vighneshvara, vinayaka