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Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa), also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Lambodara and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon [4] and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect.
Many families worship Ganesha in the form of patri (leaves used for worshiping Ganesha or other gods), a picture is drawn on paper or small silver idols. In some households Ganesha idols are hidden, a feature unique to Ganesh Chaturthi in Goa due to a ban on clay Ganesha idols and festivals by the Jesuits as part of the Inquisition.
Ganesha is worshipped by only some Jainas, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. [5] Jaina connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up the worship of Ganesha as a result of commercial connections. [6] The Jaina canonical literature does not mention Ganesha. [7]
Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. [1] He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, [2] the patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom. [3] Stories about the birth of Ganesha are found in the later Puranas, composed from about 600 CE onwards. References to Ganesha in ...
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. [4] The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana—and their dating relative to one another—has sparked academic debate ...
The text is also significant because it relates to Ganesha, who is the most worshipped god in Hinduism, and revered as the god of beginnings by all major Hindu traditions, namely Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. [15] The text integrates ancient mythology and Vedantic premises into a Ganesha bhakti (devotional) framework. [16]
Emotional or loving devotion (bhakti) to a primary god such as avatars of Vishnu (Krishna for example), Shiva, and Devi (as emerged in the early medieval period) is now known as the Bhakti movement. [10] [11] Contemporary Hinduism can be categorized into four major theistic Hindu traditions: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism.
Mahaganapati represents Ganesha as the Supreme Being [5] and thus the most important deity of the Ganapatya sect, which accords the status of the Supreme God to Ganesha. He is a widely worshipped and widely depicted form of Ganesha. [5] The icon symbolizes happiness, wealth and magnificence of Ganesha. [4]