#294 Ganesha and his 8 Powerful Avataras

Where does one hear about legends and stories of Ganesha Deva? Mudgala Purana and Ganesha Purana. Both are considered to be Upapuranas, texts that have been written by Rishis in addition to the major 18 Puranas.

In different cosmic ages, Ganapati or Ganesha manifested as different Avataras to vanquish different Asuras. An Avataara is a divine form that appears on earth for the purpose of defeating Adharma and re-establish that which is flowing eternally – Dharma.

We often chant these names which occur in different hymns related to Ganesha. Vakratunda, Ekadanta, Mahodara, Gajavaktra(Gajanana), Lambodara, Vikata, Vighnaraja and Dhoomravarna. Did you know that these very names are Lord Ganesha’s Avataras?

In all these incarnations Lord Ganesha was depicted as having an elephant trunk. In five out of eight incarnations Lord Ganesha is symbolized with Mouse, Mooshika as his vehicle. In the other three incarnations he is said to have used Lion, Peacock, and Serpent as his vehicle (Vahana).

Lord Ganesha is said to have fought in each incarnation with the asura, demon symbolized as a weakness to be understood and conquered.

Vakratunda

Ganesha’s first avatara is of Vakratunda (twisted trunk) who vanquished the Matsara, the embodiment of jealousy.  

An asura named Matsara was born of the Pramaada, indifference of Indra, the king of Devas. This asura performed severe penance and invoked the grace of Lord Shiva and obtained the boon of fearlessness from Him. Then, he went about conquering all the three worlds. He was coronated as the king of Asuras by their guru Shukracharya.

The defeated Devas went to Kailasa and prayed to Lord Shiva for protection. On hearing this,  Matsara went to Kailasa but even Lord Shiva could not do much. Finally Lord Dattatreya came to the rescue. He imparted to them the bijakshara ‘Gam’ to invoke the grace of Lord Vakratunda.  All the gods did japa of this akshara and at last Ganesha as Vakratunda appeared. Matsara was so terrified at the sight of Vakratunda that he surrendered to Him and sought refuge at His feet. The Lord forgave him, and restored the lost glory and kingdoms to the Devas and to the various kings on earth.

Matsara means jealousy born of insecurity. When Matsara possesses us, we are too focused on the other’s achievements and definitely want the other to fail. Duryodhana was so possessed by jealousy that he was willing to go to any length to kill the Pandavas.

Jealousy is a part of being human and yet it must be kept in check. We need not feed our jealousy. If jealousy overpowers us, we can seek the help of Lord Ganesha such that another’s achievements can become an inspiration and we are spurred to work hard and achieve greater heights.

Ekadanta

Ganesha’s next incarnation was in the form of Ekadanta (single tusked) who defeated the asura, Madasura, the embodiment of intoxication and arrogance.

The asura, Chyavana, had a son, Mada, who was fond of madira or alcohol. Mada was schooled by his uncle Shukracharya who was Chyavana’s brother as well as the guru of the asuras.

Once Madasura did namaskar to Shukracharya and told him that he wanted to rule the world. Pleased by his nephew’s ambition, Shukracharya initiated him into the Shakti Mantra ‘Hreem’.

Madasura did tapas for a thousand years invoking the goddess. Devi appeared before him and blessed him with the fulfilment of all his desires. Armed with these new powers, and high on alcohol and arrogance, Madasura started conquering the three worlds. In his reign, all virtues and righteousness disappeared from the world.

The worried Devas turned to the sage, Sanat Kumara, for help. Sanat Kumara asked them to invoke Ekadanta. The Devas then meditated upon the Lord Ekadanta for hundreds of years.

Pleased by their devotion Ganesha as Ekadanta appeared before them and assured them that He would remove their miseries. Narada, the celestial sage, promptly informed Madasura of the boon given to the gods by the Lord and prompted him to wage war against Ekadanta.

Madasura got ready for a battle with the Lord. But alas as soon as he reached the battlefield and beheld the terrible form of Ekadanta, all his courage drained away and he surrendered to the Lord, earning Ekadanta’s forgiveness.

Ekadanta then told Madasura : “Don’t stay in a place where I am worshipped in a Sattvika manner. You are free to enjoy the fruits of all actions done with Asuric Bhava”.

Ganesha in Ekadanta avatar shows us that intoxication can fill one with arrogance beyond control. We overestimate our abilities and power because of which we victimise people. Mastery is lost. Who when intoxicated has done karma that has positively impacted people? Hardly anyone. We seek grace of Ganesha as Ekadanta. 

Mahodara

The third incarnation was of Mahodara who vanquished Mohasura, the asura of Delusion and Confusion. The story of Ganesha’s third avatar, Mahodara, has two versions.

The first version talks of the main antagonist, Mohasura, who came to be known as Daitya Raja or the king of the asuras, because of his devotion to Surya, the sun god. He also conquered all the three worlds. All the Devas and Rishis hid in caves and jungles in fear of him. There was anarchy all over.

In the second version, once when Shiva was in deep meditation and the Devas needed him, they asked Parvati to help break his trance. Parvati took an alluring form and distracted Shiva. When Shiva came out of his meditative state, Parvati discarded her alluring form. This discarded abandoned energy took the form of Mohasura, the embodiment of delusion, who then went on a rampage against all three worlds.

Both stories conclude similarly. The terrified gods went to Surya for help as he had blessed Mohasura. At this time Surya Devata advised all the gods to worship Mahodara ie, Ganesha. Ganesha was pleased and granted them with a boon, saying that he would slay Mohasura himself.

Pleased by the prayers, Ganesha as Mahodara arrives on Mooshika to wage war against Mohasura. At this point, Vishnu appears, advising Mohasura to surrender, praising and singing the glories of Lord Mahodara.

Listening to this Mohasura became frightened and he requested Lord Vishnu to bring Mahodara giving him due honour and respect. When Lord Mahodara arrived, Mohasur greeted and welcomed him with pomp and gaiety. He sang his praises and asked for forgiveness for his paapa karma.  

Mohasura promised the gods that he would return them their Svargalok and assured that he would be always on the path of righteousness. He also assured them that henceforth, he would not dare to harass the Gods and Sages.

Listening to this Lord Mahodara was pleased and commanded him to go back to Pataala lok and never return again. All the Devas and the Sages were elated and they started singing the praise of Lord Mahodara. Mohasura became Mahodara’s devotee forever.

Moha – confusion in our choices and delusion in our evaluation of people and situations is normal. Yet if we allow moha, confusion and delusion to continue we experience conflict and suffering. We feel misunderstood and we are always misunderstanding the other.

Clarity and knowledge shines the light on moha leading to better choices and dharmika actions. When in doubt we seek grace of Ganesha as Mahodara who dispels Moha, confusion and delusion.    

Gajanana.

The fourth incarnation of Ganesha was Gajanana, the elephant faced One who vanquished Lobhasura, the embodiment of greed.

Kubera, the treasurer of the heavens, once visited Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He looked at goddess Parvati with lustful eyes, which made the goddess angry. Kubera started shivering with fear. This fearful energy got manifested into Lobha.

Lobhasura went on to study under Shukracharya, using the mantra ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ to perform tapas, and eventually gain enough power to conquer the three realms. Shiva blessed him with the boon of fearlessness. The asura Lobha now went about conquering the three worlds and became the sovereign ruler. He sent word to Lord Shiva that he would like to rule over Kailasa, and that it would be better if He relinquished His abode.

Tyrannised by his rule, the troubled Devas approached sage Raibhya who told them to pray to Lord Gajanana, the one with Elephant Face. Vishnu was sent as a messenger to Lobhasura to warn him of the strength of Gajaanana Lobhasura got convinced of the Lord’s strength and surrendered without putting up a fight. The sheer presence of Gajanana was enough to fill Lobhasura with guilt, who begged for forgiveness.

Again, lobha or greed is a part of the human condition. It is the binding desire for more. Whatever we have is never enough! More money, more power, more status, more clothes, more shoes, more accessories, more vacations, more of everything.

Our overflowing cupboards, wardrobes, houses and garages are a clear symptom of this condition. As a famous person once said – There is enough in this world for a person’s need but not enough for a person’s greed.

When lobha, greed consumes us, we are willing to cheat, steal and go against Dharma. When can we say it is enough? When we receive grace from Gajanana who helps us see that I am enough with or without these things. 

Lambodara

The fifth incarnation of Ganesha was Lambodara, the large bellied one, who vanquished Krodhasura, the embodiment of anger.

During the episode of the celestial churning of the ocean, Vishnu took the form of the beautiful and charming Mohini to trick the asuras. However, he did not see Shiva becoming enchanted by this avatar of his. When he realised this, Vishnu immediately reverted to his original form. This made Shiva sad and angry and this anger manifested into a terrible asura named Krodhasura.

Krodhasura became Shukracharya’s student, worshipping Surya Devata becoming powerful enough to – you guessed it – wreak havoc on the three worlds.

The Devas undertook tapas to invoke the grace of Lord Ganesha. To stop Krodhasura’s rampage, Ganesha took the form of Lambodara and appeared with a belly large enough to accommodate the anger of the demon Krodhasura! Lambodara managed to subdue Krodhasura and peace was restored.

Feeling anger is human. Being consumed by anger and hurting, insulting, humiliating people is not acceptable though. Hence, we seek to learn appropriate expression of anger such that we never victimise another due to our anger. We seek the grace of Ganesha as Lambodara. 

Vikata

The sixth incarnation of Ganesha was Vikata, the one with a huge form, who vanquished Kamasura, the embodiment of binding desire and lust.

The asura named Kamasura, was born of the seeds of Lord Vishnu. He embodied trickery, lust and the consequences of lust.

Like all other asuras he was accepted by the guru Sukracharya as his disciple.  Kamasura performed tapas on Lord Shiva and after arduous austerities he was blessed by the Lord. He became the supreme ruler of the three worlds and created trouble for all the Devas.

The Devas, tormented by his rule, approached Mudgala Rishi, who had written the Mudgala Purana to show them a way out. The Rishi advised them to meditate on the mantra ‘Om’ at a place called Mayuresa Kshetra on Vikata, Ganesha as a huge form.

Pleased by their devotion. Lord Ganesha appeared to them in the form of Vikata, atop a peacock and was able to easily defeat Kamasura.

Kama is any binding desire including lust, which is very much a part of the human condition. While lust can bring people together and contribute to committed relationships, lust also wreaks havoc when one strays or betrays the other.

We seek grace from Ganesha as Vikata so that our Kamas do not possess us. We can gracefully live our lives from a place of our priorities and not our endless, binding desires.

Vighnaraja.

The 7th incarnation of Ganesha as Vighnaraja has Sheshanaag as his vahana. This is (Ganesha’s) most popular incarnation, known as The Remover of Obstacles where he vanquishes Mamakara.

Parvati Devi, the daughter of Himavan, was married to Lord Shiva. After the marriage, one day, when She was relaxing in the company of Her friends. She burst into laughter in a playful mood, and out of Her laughter was born a handsome male form. Surprised by her creation, she named him ‘Mama’ which in Sanskrit means ‘Mine’.

She then instructed him to remember Lord Ganesha always, who would fulfill all his desires.

Mama decided to retire to the forests to meditate on Lord Ganesha but meets the asura, Sambara on the way. Sambara lures him into the world of the asuras and slowly, the good-natured Mama becomes the demon Mamasura. He marries Mohini, the daughter of an asura chief, and starts his campaign to rule all three worlds.

Defeated and thrown out of Svargaloka, the Devas propitiated Lord Ganesha. So he takes on the avatar of Vighnaraja – the remover of obstacles. Riding on the great serpent, Sheshnaag, Vighnaraja tames Mamasura and restores peace.

Ahamkara and Mamakara, I-sense and by extension ‘Mine’ go hand in hand. To feel significant, I start to become possessive of the things around me. My pillow, my chair, my cup, my child, my thoughts. Is this a description of temporary ownership or is the myness leading me to become controlling, selfish, possessive and stifling the other?

All that we call ‘mine’ is given to us. When the body dies, we cannot take it with us, leave alone our favourite people or things. If the body is not really mine then how can anything associated with the body-mind, really be mine? We seek the grace of Ganesha as Vighnaraja.    

Dhoomravarna

The eighth incarnation of Ganesha is Dhoomravarna (One of grey color) who vanquishes the Ahamkara.

Once Brahma gave the right to rule over the ‘world of action’ to his grandson, the sun god Surya devata. A thought dawned in his mind, “All the worlds are governed by Karma and being the Lord of Karma Rajya, I can consider myself to be the supreme ruler of all the worlds.” As this thought passed his mind, he happened to sneeze and out of the sneeze  arose an asura.

The Asura went to Shukracharya who gave him the name Ahamkarasura, as he was born from Surya’s ahankara. Shukracharya also asked him to do tapas, penance. Terrified by Ahamkarasura’s growing power, the Devas look to Ganesha for help.

Lord Ganesha in the form of Dhoomravarna appeared on his Mooshika, subdued Ahamkarasura and peace was restored.

All the eight incarnations indicate the need for us to seek grace of Lord Ganesha to overcome these overpowering dispositions –

Matsara, jealousy,

Mada, intoxication and arrogance

Moha, confusion and delusion

Lobha, greed

Krodha, anger

Kama, Binding desire and lust

Mamakara, mine-ness,

Ahankara, self-concept

Just like Ganesha appeared in different forms to vanquish these asuras, we too can seek his help and grace to vanquish these overpowering dispositions that rage in our hearts.

Just like he blessed the Devas he continues to bless us to be happy and peaceful so that we may recognise the ultimate reality as revealed in the Ganapati Atharvasheersha Upanishad. The link is given in the description of the episode.

Shree ganeshaaya namah