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Lord Ganesh is one of the most important Gods in Hinduism, who is widely prayed to by devotees everywhere. Lord Ganesha is known by many names and there are various postures and forms of Ganesha. He is also known as Ekadantya and Vignaharta; the dedicated worship of Lord Ganesh has several great benefits for our lives.
There are several stories related to Lord Ganesh in Hindu mythology. Known as the lovable son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati; the various legends related to him mark his status as a great God. Lord Ganesh also had several avatars, each of which has their own significance. The Eight Avatars of Lord Ganesha are mentioned in the Mudgala Purana, an Upapurana devoted exclusively to Lord Ganesha.
Yes, he does have an elephant trunk in every single one of these avatars! Most of his lives seem to involve slaying demons! But each lifetime was different in some way, and his mode of carriage (the animal he rode) changed in certain lifetimes — in one life he rode a peacock and in another he traded his ever-reliable mouse, for a noble lion! The Lord defeats 8 weaknesses of humans in each form. These are arrogance, ego, desire, anger, greed, illusion, inebriation and jealousy. These 8 avatars materialized in different cosmic eras. Each of these avatars depicts a stage of the Ultimate which leads to creation.
The eight Avatars of Lord Ganesha
Vakratunda- The Curved Trunk
If you see Ganesha pictured with a curved trunk, you can assume this is a celebration of Ganesha’s first lifetime. Basically, Vakratunda was the Ganesha who slayed the demon Matsarasura, and his vehicle is the lion on which he is seated. Matsarasura was and still is a symbol of jealousy. Thus symbolically, Ganesha/Vakratunda is the god who destroys and overcomes the destructive power of jealousy.
Ekadanta – One Tusked
In this avatar, he had four arms, one tooth, a huge belly and his head was like an elephant. Once Parashurama had visited Lord Shiva and wanted darshan of him. But Ganesh refused him entry and they challenged each other to a fight. During the fight Parashurama struck Ganesh’s tusk with his divine weapon Parashu, Ganesh lost his tusk. Ganesh could have avoided the blow but he knew that the Parashu was a gift from Lord Shiva. So he took the blow of the Parashu as a sign of respect and devotion and lost his tooth. Ganesha later used this tusk to script the epic Mahabharata. He acted as a scribe to SageVed Vyas . A mouse is his mount or vahana in this avatar. In this avatar, Lord Ganesha fought against the demon Madasura, who was the embodiment of conceit and arrogance.
Mahodara
The third avatar was of Mahodara who vanquished Mohasura, the demon of Delusion and Confusion. The Mahodara avatar is an embodiment of the wisdom of Brahman. In this form the Lord is depicted with a pot belly and His mount is a mouse (shrew). Mahodara is an amalgamation of Vakratunda and Ekadanta forms. According to legends, Mohasura was also known as Daitya Raja or the King of the Asuras. He was a devotee of Surya Deva and dominated the three Lokas or worlds. All the sages, deities and gods were terrified of him. Then Lord Surya told the gods and sages to pray to Mahodara. Lord Ganesha was pleased with the worship and devotion of the sages and decided to eliminate Mohasura.
Lord Vishnu and Shukracharya advised Mohasura to surrender and pray to Mahodara. Eventually the demon surrendered to the Lord and praised him with utmost devotion. Mohasura asked for His forgiveness and promised to follow the path of righteousness. Lord Ganesha became pleased with his devotion and instructed him to return to Pataal Loka. All the sages and gods were relieved and praised Lord Mahodara.
Gajanana – The God with an elephant face
The combination of an elephant head with a human body is one of the unique physical features of Lord Ganesha. In this avatar, the Lord defeated the demon of greed, Lobhasura, who was the son of Lord Kuber. Gajanana mounts a mouse in this avatar. Kubera once visited Kailasa. There he was blessed with the vision of the Lord and Goddess Parvati. Parvati was so beautiful that Kubera looked at her with lustful eyes. The Mother became angry at this, and Kubera shivered with fear. From the fear of Kubera, there manifested a demon named Lobhasura. Lobhasura descended to the world of Asuras, where he received his education from Sukracharya. He was initiated into the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya”. The demon then performed penance and in due course the Lord appeared and blessed him with the boon of fearlessness.
Lambodara – The lord with a protuberant belly
Ganesha’s ever-present obesity is emphasized in this particular manifestation. For the Ganapatiya devotees, who consider Ganesha as the Supreme God and the Master of the Universe, the sweet given as offerings are seen like seeds of innumerable worlds inhabited by innumerable living creatures, and the god’s belly is large enough to contain within all these worlds and creatures. The Lambodara avatar of Ganesha is considered to be similar to Shakti, the pure power of Brahman. Lord Ganesha incarnated as Lambodara with the objective to eradicate the demon of anger known as Krodhasura.
Vikata – The Mishappen
This manifestation of Lord Ganesh is renowned for the subjugation of Kamasura; who was the personification of lust. The Devas were quite miserable as Kamasura had also become the leader of the three Lokas. Lord Ganesh in his Vikata form came and helped the Devas gain salvation. Interestingly, Ganesha traded in his Mouse Vehicle to ride a peacock in this manifestation.
Vighnaraja – Remover of obstacle
This is His most popular avatar. In this avatar he had an even more unusual mode of conveyance, Seshnag. One day when Parvati Devi was relaxing in the company of her friends. She burst out in laughter in a playful mood, and out of her laughter was born a handsome male form. She asked him who he was and what he wanted. He said that he was born from Her laughter and asked Her as to how he could serve Her. She named him Mama and then instructed him to remember Lord Ganesha always, who would fulfill all his desires. Mama retired to the forests to meditate on Lord Ganesha. On the way, he met Sambara Asura, who managed to allure him into the Asuric cult and initiated him into the demonic methods of worship. In due course he became the ruler of alt the three worlds. The Devas who were exiled from their worlds propitiated Lord Ganesha, Who incarnated as Vighnaraja, subdued Mamasura and established righteousness and peace.
Dhumravarna
His life mission this time around was to defeat the demon Ahamkarasur, the demon of self-infatuation.
It is worth noting that the word “Aham” means the human ego. Aham is the demonic force which grips the human mind like a vice, with cruelty and deception, and never let go until the very bitter end. Like a parasitic worm Aham is so entrenched in the psyche, the human host eventually thinks that this is all that s/he can identify with. This demon has also been called Ahamkarasur, or Abhimanasur, both words again pointing to the inextricable control of the ego on the human.
Lord Ganesha is the destroyer of vanity, pride and selfishness. All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of their sectarian beliefs and he is believed to guide and bless his devotees with success.
ॐ श्रीम गम सौभाग्य गणपतये
वर्वर्द सर्वजन्म में वषमान्य नमः॥
