Ganesh and The Broken Tusk

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

In the lower right hand of Ganesh, there is seen in murti form is held a broken tusk. This would be an interesting topic. For one of the names of Ganesh is Ekadanta, or the One Tusk.

The other tusk, the right tusk, is held in His right hand.

This tusk is special. It is said that Ganapati used it at times for a weapon, that it was cut off by the axe of Parasurama, but most importantly that Ganesh used this as a writing instrument to scribe the Mahabharata.

So the question is, how was it scribed using the tusk? Did He dip it in ink? Did He cut with it into clay, or engrave it into stone?

Does He hold it at this moment, or does He always take to heart the request of His Brother to "never put it down"?

One thing is for sure - this Tusk is very special. It holds a significance much more profound than what may casually be taken as brief mention in a Purana. And perhaps more profound than simply an act of self sacrifice in order to complete the documentation of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.

Once Ganesh had two tusks. And then after the time of Krishna, He had only One.

God changed. And it occurred within a given place in Time. Time may always have been, and always will be, but there are also moments in time.

How long did it take for Lord Ganapati to scribe the Mahabharata?

In a moments time? In one day? 108 days?

If He still holds the tusk in His hand at this moment, does that mean the Mahabharata still has another chapter waiting for the time and place to be revealed? That it has no End? That Ganesh is waiting to sign His Name? To put that final sloka, or mantra, yet to be written?

If He does not hold that Tusk at this moment, then - where is It?

In the Home of Lord Shiva, perhaps in a box?

Or, someplace very special, where the battlefield took place, verily in Mother India, waiting or even hiding to reveal something very special perhaps in a future time?

And if you worship this Broken Tusk, what benefits await you?

For if this Tusk was once Ganapati when Ganesh was with Two Tusks, then how could this Tusk not still be Ganapati even now though it is broken? Is God ever broken?

For some reason, today I thought of this Tusk. I thought, perhaps if I give my respects to this tusk, I imagined in my fancy, perhaps even I could write something intelligent. As if a blessing of the Broken Tusk.

But that is probably something that dreams are made of. So perhaps I should ask Ganapati Himself.

How long will You hold Your Tusk, Ganapati? Do You hold it now?

If You do not hold it now, then Where does it rest?

Where does one find themselves, if they go on an adventure to seek and search for this Tusk?

And if You hold it still, what would happen if You Put It Down?

Om Namah Sivaya

[Anirudh]

Shiva Fan,

Pranaam!

Not sure if i replied as my post go via moderation...

Wonderful write up....

Let me add my wishful thinking...

Mleccha population at 10 Janpath explodes. Kalki decides enough is enough and says time for Sambhavaami Yuge Yuge!! Invaders are done to dust. Akhand Bhaarath is reestablished.. EkDantha finishes the last chapter with the broken tusk and says Appaadaa...

Guess you can understand the Tamil word...

))

[Equinox]

Vannakkam ShivaFan

It is said that Ganapati used it at times for a weapon, that it was cut off by the axe of Parasurama, but most importantly that Ganesh used this as a writing instrument to scribe the Mahabharata.

I'm not sure if you already knew, but there's a third reason to the broken tusk.

He once hurled it at Chandra the Moon God. It's an interesting version and shows that Ganesh Himself gets angry when laughed at. LOL

[Jodhaa]

Namaste-

I was told Ganesh broke his tusk in order to transcribe the Vedas. I'm sure there are many legends. My guess is that they are all true.

I think the question of God being broken is an intriguing one. Perhaps the broken tusk is to show that even though we are made up of pieces, we can never truly be destroyed no matter how many times we are separated into smaller portions. Or perhaps it is meant to show that we are smaller pieces of the whole, each with a unique purpose. For Ganesh, his tusk was used to write something very important. What is each person purpose, being a small part of the whole? Is it ever as noble/grand at writing the Vedas/Mahabharata?

Peace!

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Equinox

Yes Ganesh gets mad sometimes - because I suspect, I think He got mad at me one time when I laughed at how His Brother has a lovely wife such as Valli. Opps!

Namaste Jodhaa

Wow! I never thought of what you shared. Amazing! I have a hunch, which is pure speculation and open for laughs or criticism, that Ganesh currently is NOT holding His Tusk. It's probably more of my inclination for action and adventure in my heart, but I fantasize the Tusk is in India somewhere, perhaps in a chamber in a temple in South India, and it awaits to be revealed for some important task.

But such are the dreams of those adventurous bad Hindus who spend too much time having fun and not enough time listening to the "authority".

Jai Ganapati ki Jai!

Om Namah Sivaya

[Jodhaa]

I fantasize the Tusk is in India somewhere, perhaps in a chamber in a temple in South India, and it awaits to be revealed for some important task.

Wouldn't that be amazing though? But how would we know it was Ganesh's Tusk and not the tusk of his beautiful and intelligent elephant bodied friends? How is Ganesh's Tusk different? I'd like to think we'd know it if we saw it.

Authority or no - we are blessed with imagination for a reason. Even if we are wrong, it doesn't hurt us to imagine the possibilities.

Peace!

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: I do worship Ganesha a lot, and I see it all as metaphor. Metaphor for what, I'm not sure. I do know he doesn't really look like that, and suspect the tusk and writing represents a way of getting knowledge. Perhaps more.

Certainly, I don't think He ever gets mad. That would bring Him doen to a human level, which he isn't. Only in the sense that he uses the goad to nudge you back onto the path, helping you with insight into what dharma and adharma are all about, leading you toward one, and away from the other.

But really the best part about him is He's real ... absolutely! And He can help. All you need is sincere prayer, and belief, and a prayer of dharma.

'Remover of Obstacles' really suits the personal relationship I've developed with him over the years.

Aum Namasivaya

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Eastern Mind

"Only in the sense that he uses the goad to nudge you back onto the path" (quote EM) ...

Certainly I need a LOT of that! Thank you very much EM, especially since coming from you. There are many rascal Saivas like me, and I do not mean that as a joke, and I always welcome Lord Ganesha to give me the goad as I need it. I will pray to Him this very day!

OmShri GaṇeshāyaNamah!

Om Namah Sivaya

[ranjitm]

You'll are talking about a broken tusk... The Mother of this Universe, Sati, discarded Her full body and Sri Sudarshana divided it into pieces. Such an occurrence, although seemingly mayic, is divine in nature. God may accept a divine body or He may accept a material body to be discarded later. However, in either case He remains united with Yogmaya which makes every action of His divine.

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken, the broken tusk was used to inscribe the Mahabharta on the golden base of Meroo Parvat! Or was it some other episode?

[TrikonaBindu]

Namaste ShivaFan!

Thank you for initiating this conversation! Time and again, I too have pondered about Ganesha’s broken tusk. But until this forum, there was nobody with whom to share ideas on the subject. In so many years I haven’t met anyone who would care to “waste time” mulling over how our God Ganesha can have brokenness as part of his identity.

The two accepted stories are that the broken tusk is a missile or else a stylus. To regard the tusk as a missile flung at Chandradeva in retaliation for his derisive remarks (“Tubby, chubby funny-face!”)—that to me is, uh, disedifying. And to regard the tusk as a stylus is odd, because the scriptures were written on palm leaves, not inscribed on clay tablets.

One idea I have entertained is that the tusk is Ivory—symbolically the Essence of the Elephant. In other words, Tusk = Essence of Ganesha = Continuous Recognition of Shivatattva. As I see it, the essence of Sri Ganesha is the continous recognition of the nature of the absolutely independent Person who is the one cause and substance of everything.

That the tusk is broken off indicates the experience of separation and division, self and other, not realizing I am Shiva, even though Shiva is all there is. On the first day of his life, Ganesha got into combat with Shiva, but Shiva removed Ganesha’s ordinary head (ignorant mindset) and endowed Ganesha with his most distinguishing feature, the Elephantine Head (the liberating gnosis which is to appreciate Shivatattva under all circumstances).

The replacement head has an apparent defect, a broken tusk. But this broken tusk is not a defect. Rather the broken tusk is the symbol of jnana-shakti, the power of gnosis, the power to recognize Shivatattva. The broken tusk of the new elephant head is securely grasped by Sri Ganesha, which means that the experience of manyness never impedes Ganesha’s recognition of the essential reality of Ekanatha, the one Lord, the sole Person “in whom we live, move, and have our being.”

Of all the deities of the Hindu pantheon Sri Ganesha is considered to be the most readily available to humanity. In this respect he is similar if not identical to Agnideva, the Vedic deity of fire. Sri Ganesha completely groks the human point of view and he works with that. He comes down almost to our level. The name Ganesha means lord of groups, lord of conglomerates and associations, which is to say: Ganesha is the connoisseur of the many kinds of things that make up our life and experience. He is intimate with all of that. He enters into the color, intricacies, and drama of all that, while never losing his grasp of Shivatattva, the essence of all.

Furthermore: Usually in his left lower hand, just opposite the broken tusk, Ganesha has some sweet munchies of one kind or another. It means continuous love-bliss-joy (ananda) that is co-arising even in the most heartbreaking or horrifying situations. This kind of co-arising bliss is extensively discussed under the topic of Rasa in Indian aesthetics.

In his two upper hands, Ganesha carries the symbols of Maya. On the left side he has the Pasha (rope/lasso) indicating the limitation of consciousness. On the right side he has the Ankusha (a very cruel hook-and-goad instrument) indicating the entrapment, enslavement, subservience, compulsivity and drivenness which is the lot of the limited identity known as ego. Ganesha holds these symbols to indicate that he fully grasps the human condition. He knows how difficult it is for us to get the recognition of Shivatattva. He has compassion for us and he works with us on our level, gradually raising us up so finally we reach to the liberated understanding that he so endearingly embodies.

Sri Mangalamurti ki jai!!