The art historian Partha Mitter, when writing his oft-cited masterpiece ‘Much Maligned Monsters,’ explained that European and Victorian sensibilities wrongly assumed the significance of Indian art – when they came across depictions of four or eight-armed gods and goddesses, often in striking and fierce moments vanquishing demons, Westerners thought that we had an underdeveloped sense of reality, and that our ‘savage’ livelihood needed to be civilised according to their tastes and aesthetics. Imagine their fright then if they would have come across this imaginative visualisation from the ’sthapati’ from Swamimalai!
However, we can realise his artistic and religious genius in presenting to us what is perhaps the most unique iteration of Ganesha one would come across. Ganesha, as our beloved lord of auspicious starts and the remover of obstacles, is usually visualised in thirty-two forms as listed in the Ganesha-centric scripture Mudgala Purana. These forms are always individually realised, as is the case with the various sculptural representations present at the temples of Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar. Moreover, Ganesha is also associated with 108 names; a number which is deeply auspicious for Hindu religion. The artisan, therefore, has provided us with a hugely impressive and massive fifty-four-inch Ganesha – embodying all his 108 names and characteristics in a single figure.
The totality of this sculptural masterpiece is a triad of three figures standing proud on an elaborately raised pedestal. The two flanking pot-bellied figures carry a basket of twenty-one ‘modak,’ a sweet famously favoured by Ganesha as ‘Modarpriya,’ and a large mango. The mango alludes to the instance when Sage Narada mischievously offered a single mango between Ganesha and Kartikeya and challenged that whoever would circle the world three times and come first would get to enjoy the fruit. While Kartikeya quickly hopped on his ‘vahana,’ the peacock, Ganesha respectfully took three rounds of Shiva and Parvati, proclaiming them to be his world, and ultimately won the fruit.
The central figure of the divine zoo-anthropomorphic, elephant-headed god exquisitely staggers belief and minutely presents every single attribute associated to Ganesha. Standing on a double-lotus pedestal, he adorns an elaborate, multi-tiered ‘mukuta’ along with distinct jewellery and tassels spread over his shoulders, belly, and feet. A large ‘prabhamandala’ is attached to the back of the ‘mukuta,’ symbolising his divine halo. A diaphanous ‘dhoti’ covers his thighs. Ganesha’s iconic trunk is curled around a jar of ‘amrita’ or elixir, the sweet nectar of the gods that was procured during the ‘samudra manthan’ – the great churning of the ocean. Moreover, the fact that Ganesha’s trunk is curled to the left is also symbolic, for that represents the blissful and peaceful qualities of the Moon and signifies material gains and prosperity. Another element of the trunk is the absence of one of his tooth/tusks – an episode from when he purposely broke it to use as a writing instrument for completing the manuscript of the Mahabharata that sage Vyasa was narrating (the ‘Ekdanta’ aspect of Ganesha has various legends associated with it).
Ganesha’s two prominent forehands are in the two gestures of ‘abhaya’ and ‘varada’ – the right hand dispels fear from the hearts of the devout and the left-hand grants boons to the righteous. Two distinct groups of hands can be ascertained behind Ganesha. The inside circle of hands does not carry any attribute, but their gesture of being in the ‘kartarimukha’ – that which holds an attribute between the index and the middle figure – acknowledges their symbolic idea. The outer rim of hands carries his attributes, and these include the goad, mace, trident, lotus, noose, flag, sword, musical drum, war discus, conch, bow and arrow, others.
For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist