Gaṇeśa's name

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

oṁ gaṇeśvarāya namaḥ
ॐ गणेश्वराय हमः

Namasté

Many here on HDF follow, are devoted or recognize śrī gaṇeśa as their iṣṭa-devatā. The great muni nārad (some write nārada) offers 12 names of śrī gaṇeśa in his gaṇapati stotra found in the nārada purāṇa and also calls out the benefits of knowing this stotra, hence the reason this post is in this folder/section.

When reading this stotra and perhaps appreciating the 12 names of gaṇeśa one may understand śrī gaṇeśa's following. One can read the stotra and its translation at many sites, here is one http://www.lebensplan.com/puranas/ganesh.html .

I have listed the 12 names and added the derivations/roots of gaṇeśa-s names for your consideration. For the names ( nama ) below , I end each name with the nasal ṁ called anusvāra as it appears in the gaṇapati stotra .

This anusvāra is a sound/vibration that follows a vowel, and is sounded through the nose. Take huṁ and bring the final sounding 'uṁ' up into the nose cavity and you have done anusvāra. Hence anusvāra is an after-sound , the nasal sound which is marked by a dot above the line , which always belongs to a preceding vowel.

The question one may ask or ponder - why did nārada-muni list out 12? Why not 15? or 21? or 8? What is significant about this 12?


The 12 names of śrī gaṇeśa

• vakratuṇḍaṁ - the One having curved tusks or trunk; vakra = curved, bent, twisted + tuṇḍa = trunk, beak, snout.
• ekadantaṁ - the One toothed; eka = one + danta = an elephant's tusk
• kṛṣṇapiṅgākṣaṁ - kṛṣṇa = black/dark-blue + piṅgā is a name for a divine being; it also means yellow , reddish-brown , tawny ;
  piṅgā is another name for turmeric , hence you can then sense the color that is being suggested.
  But what is this color? IS this the body color of gaṇeśa or perhaps his robe? The answer is in ākṣa which has 4 definitions; the 4th one is 'the eye'; akṣa is for in akṣi.
  • This word is brilliant (IMHO). Akṣi also means the number 2 ( as in two eyes) and it is a noun for the sun and the moon. The Sun and moon are considered the right and left eye. Hence gaṇeśa as kṛṣṇapiṅgākṣa is the Divine Being (piṅgā) with the dark (kṛṣṇa) + reddish-brown-turmeric in color + eyes (akṣa).

• gajavaktraṁ - the One with the elephant's mouth or face ; gaja = elephant + vaktra = ' organ of speech', the mouth , face

• lambodaraṁ - the pot-belled One; lamba = hanging down + udara = the belly , abdomen , stomach . Hence lambodara is having a large or protuberant belly i.e. potbellied

• vikaṭaṁ- has a few meanings. it is defined as unusual size or aspect, huge , large , great. This word also means 'large toothed'.These apply to gaṇeśa. His unusual size, and one-tusked. I am not fond of the name given as grotesque - to me it is unbecoming and I do not see gaṇeśa in this light . So I see Him as the huge ( like an elephant) large toothed One.

• vighnarājaṁ - King of obstacles . vighna as a noun is an obstacle , impediment , hindrance , opposition + raja is king.
  • Yet the beauty of this word vighna when used in the masculine gender also means 'a breaker, destroyer' .
  • So , in one word we see gaṇeśa as the owner of obstacles, yet to the wise , the destroyer of them at the same time.
    This must be the position of a King (raja) - to chose as He wishes and not be bound to any one selection ( a hindrance or a breaker of hindrances)

• dhūmaravarṇaṁ- the smoke-colored One; dhūmara is smoke-coloured , smoky , dark-coloured , grey + varṇa is color, cover, tint, dye, etc. We also know varṇa as race, tribe.
  • A a more subtle definition is 'one who wards off'. Hence this view of gaṇeśa can also be one who 'wards off' the darkess (dhūmara).

• bālacandraṁ - the moon-crested One; candra is the moon...it is also shining, glittering + bāla which is new or waxing. This is where the 'crest' definition comes from. As the moon is growing is fullness during its waxing, it is a crest.
  • Another insight is bāla is the name of a 5 year old elephant - this again connects it to gaṇeśa's form.

• vināyakaṁ - the remover of Obstacles. This name is tightly connected to vighnarājaṁ offered above.
  • We can also look at this word by its components vi+nāya +kaṁ ; 'vi' is apart , asunder , in different directions , to and fro.
  • That is gaṇeśa's power of 'vi' , to breakup, break apart. And nāya is a leader, a guide. We know that all yajña and pūjā-s begin with invoking gaṇeśa - as the leader, guide (nāya) to break up (vi) any obsticles to one's progress of the homa being performed.
  • And what then occurs ? 'ka' . Ka has multiple meanings yet for this post we're using 'ka' as splendor, the sun, light, wealth, joy and happiness., therefore;
  • He who (yaka = who or which) is the leader (nāya) and guide, that breakups (vi) obsticles and brings light and splendor (ka).

• gaṇapatiṁ -Lord of the multitudes. gaṇa is a flock , troop , multitude , number , tribe , series , class + pati is Lord, master.
  Yet this pati is also 'husband' when uncompounded. It also can be used as 'wife' when taken as female gender use.
  • Hence this word can be used for those devotee's of gaṇeśa i.e. the the group/tribe (gaṇa) that are husband or wife (pati) of gaṇeśa.

• gajānanaṁ - the elephant-faced One. This is simular to gajavaktraṁ mentioned previously; gaja = elephant + na is 'like or as' - Hence He is is like or as an elephant.
  • Yet note 'na' also means 'not'. But what is 'not' here? It is 'jāna' or birth. Gaṇeśa as eternal , not born.

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

oṁ gaṇeśvarāya namaḥ
ॐ गणेश्वराय हमः

Namasté


I thought to add a few names from the śrī vināyaka aṣṭotra-śata (108) nama-vallī (names-section); I will continue the post with other names that are insightful (IMHO) and will bring an appreciation to this Being expressed as gaṇeśa-ji¹

• oṁ āśritāya namaḥ - gaṇeśa-ji is being hailed as the One taken, or sought, for refuge or shelter; The word āśrita आश्रित is defined as such; Yet a deeper meaning is 'attaching one's self , or joining to'; It is āśritāya-ji that one may attach one's self to for refuge and shelter. From where does this 'attach' come from? The word śrita is defined as cling/attached to, yet also is defined as honored and worshiped.

• oṁ adbhutamūrtimate namaḥ - this word is composed of adbhuta + mūrti+ mate ; adbhuta is wonderful, marvelous , extraordinary; mūrti is form ,manifestation , incarnation , personification; mate is mata , that which is honored, esteemed respected; Hence gaṇeśa-ji is hailed as the One respected, honored, with the wonderful form.

• oṁ adhyakṣāya namaḥ - adhyakṣa means perceptible to the senses, some may say an eye-witness. So in one sense, gaṇeśa-ji is considered He who is available to the senses. Yet in the core of the word we have yakṣā known as a supernatural benevolent being; So, one can say it is He, that benevolent being that is available to the senses.
  
  Yet there are those that say one need to recognize 'ad' in this name as it means 'to feed' and also means to consume as in adana. This word adayate suggests (to me) ad+aya Which means 'ad' to feed + 'aya' means favorable fortune. So , in this case, it is gaṇeśa-ji that 'feeds' good fortune to the devotee. And how is this done? by Him as vināyakaṁ - the remover of obstacles.
  I mentioned 'ad' means to consume and if we look to another definition of 'aya' it is a noun for a periodical sacrifice . Hence gaṇeśa-ji can be seen as the One that consumes the sacrifice. He is 1st to be recognized at a yajña for its favorable outcome - hence his is presiding over it for a fruitful (aya) result.

praṇām

words

• jī जी - means sir, or mister
• ji जि - means to conquer or conquering, to overcome, to win over. What is implied is that one has one overcome the self with the SELF. IN the case of gaṇeśvarāya, He is the SELF.

[Eastern Mind]

Yajvan, I have 2 questions. Hope you don't mind.

1) Do you know why some of the sets of 108 names vary? If one does research, you get different sets.

2) If readers submit names, can you give your view, or the explanation?

(Pillaiyar --- one of my favorite names. And the other = Ganesha itself)

Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

oṁ gaṇeśvarāya namaḥ
ॐ गणेश्वराय हमः

Namasté EM,

Yajvan, I have 2 questions. Hope you don't mind.
1) Do you know why some of the sets of 108 names vary? If one does research, you get different sets.
2) If readers submit names, can you give your view, or the explanation?
(Pillaiyar --- one of my favorite names. And the other = Ganesha itself)

I am happy to assist where I can. If others have favorite names, let's all view them and dis-assemble them to find the diamonds inside of these words. I am happy to help.

Why different names for the 108? It is my assessment that there are more then 1,008 names for gaṇeśa-ji and we sometimes see them 108 at a time.

re: your word list.
Let's do one and I will add one complimentary name that extends the name you have offered, gaṇeśa.

gaṇeśa गणेश - we can look as gaṇ+iśa

• gaṇ - is to count , number , enumerate , sum up , add up ; it also means to count one's number as in a flock or troop, a herd, a group.

• iśa is viewed as īśa meaning master , lord , ruler; coincidentally it is another name of śiva

Hence we have gaṇ+iśa , the Lord, ruler of the sums/group/herd/multitudes. In this case we are collecting everything in this known and unknown universe ( most all things I can think of belong to some group - stars, atoms, people, animals, fauna-flora, solids, liquids, gases, devatā, etc.).

From here we can go to gaṇeśvarāya; like above, gaṇeśa is addressed as Lord of the multitudes , and as for varāya, it means to be or represent a boon - a great gift. So gaṇeśa-ji is viewed as the One, The lord and gift of the multitudes. This is found in my salutation above:

oṁ gaṇeśvarāya namaḥ
ॐ गणेश्वराय हमः

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

oṁ gajavaktraṁ namaḥ
ॐ गजवक्त्रं हमः


Namasté EM,

(Pillaiyar --- one of my favorite names. )
Aum Namasivaya

Regarding this pillaiyar - let's see if this makes sense.
pilla पिल्ल is blear-eyed¹ in saṃskṛt; some would say this applies as elephant's eyes are round ,full, and often tearful ~bleary-eyed ~; we need to look a little deeper.
We find pīlu defined as an elephant. (IMO) this comes from an additional meaning of pīlu, the stem/trunk of a palm tree. Hence an elephant's snout looking roughly the same.

Yet I am not in great comfort with these definitions and I think we need to look to an ajacent language for help.

Our HDF Tamil Nadu friends can assist with this post. In the Tamil language (and I am far from even being aquanted with this language) piḷḷe means 'child' and piḷḷaiyar means 'nobile child' - so says R.L.Brown¹ . Some say piḷḷaiyar means 'little child' - again our Tamil language-speaking friends on HDF can correct this information and steer us in the right direction.

There is the notion by a few folks I read that the original notion of piḷḷaiyar could have meant a young elephant and hence the association to gaṇeśa. If we are talking 'young' then gaṇeśa as bālacandra will apply. How so?

It means the moon-crested One; candra is the moon. It is also shining, glittering + bāla, which is new or waxing. This bāla is the name of a 5 year old (young) elephant, connecting us back to ~piḷḷaiyar~.

praṇām

references and words

• By R. L. Brown author of gaṇeśa: studies of an Asian god
• blear as a verb when used with object:
  • to make dim, as with tears or inflammation:
  • a biting wind that bleared the vision.
  • as an adjective means of the eyes, dim / welled up with tears.

[Eastern Mind]

Yajvan:

Thank you for such detail. You could write a book on the names and variations! There was one I remember from earlier days that went as below. (Please forgive my transliteration typing skills)

Sailendra tanujot sanga kelanot sukamanasaya..

I am receiving the reconfirming thoughts of His diversity. Makes me feel so grateful I live so close to one of his newer temples.

Another question: In your explanation it was Vakratundam, and yet I am more familiar with Vakratundaya. What is the difference between m and ya?

Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

oṁ gajavaktraṁ namaḥ
ॐ गजवक्त्रं हमः

Namast� EM,

Yajvan:

Thank you for such detail. You could write a book on the names and variations! (Please forgive my transliteration typing skills)

Sailendra tanujot sukamanasaya..

Another question: In your explanation it was Vakratundam, and yet I am more familiar with Vakratundaya. What is the difference between m and ya? Aum Namasivaya

Yes, I concur. Multiple names.

• The gaṇapati stotra found in the nārada purāṇa list 12 ( why so? I will offer in a future post if there is interest)
• The mudgala purāṇa lists 32 names.
  the skanda purāṇa lists 56 vināyaka-s within the location of vārāṇasī.
• The śāradātilakaka-tantra lists 51 names .
• The śrī vināyaka aṣṭotra-śata list 108 - this is the present list I am offering names from.

Are there more ? yes, more and more where gaṇeśa-ji is discussed, listed, and stories told.
But where is this thousand names of gaṇeśa I mentioned in a previous post? One can find it in the gaṇeśa purāṇa where the sahasranāma ( 1000 names) can be found.

re: vakratuṇḍaṁ
vakratuṇḍaṁ = vakratuṇḍa , no difference other then how the name is ended.
This ending is anusvāra. Here is the explanation:

I end each name with the nasal ṁ called anusvāra as it appears in the gaṇapati stotra .

This anusvāra is a sound/vibration that follows a vowel, and is sounded through the nose. Take huṁ and bring the final sounding 'uṁ' up into the nose cavity and you have done anusvāra. Hence anusvāra is an after-sound , the nasal sound which is marked by a dot above the line , which always belongs to a preceding vowel

Lets end this post with the seed-sound of gaṇeśa, gaṁ गं. Holding this vibration we hold gaṇeśa-ji

praṇām

[Eastern Mind]

A list of 1000 is here:

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/h...es-ganesh.html

Yet some of the names on the 108 lists don't come here. (Now its becoming trivia more than anything.)

The list I am the most familiar with is the ine from "Loving Ganesha" .

Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

oṁ gajavaktraṁ namaḥ
ॐ गजवक्त्रं हमः

Namasté

adding to the list...

• oṁ mūṣikavāhanaya namaḥ - gaṇeśa-ji is the One that rides (or has a vehicle) a mouse or mūṣika; vāhana means 'carrying' ; so this mouse carries gaṇeśa-ji. Vāhana also means riding, driving and in a broader sense any vehicle or conveyance or draught-animal , carriage , chariot , waggon , horse that one may use for carrying.
  What is the significance of a mouse then? Does this represent something?

• oṁ pāpahāriṇe namaḥ - gaṇeśa-ji is the One that takes away/removes pāpa. This pāpa is defined as bad , vicious , wicked , evil , wretched , vile ~ inauspicious ~ behaviors; misfortune , ill-luck , trouble , mischief, and harmful conditions. Since gaṇeśa-ji is the remover of obstacles (vināyaka), these pāpa are impediments to fullness (bhūma);
  • The pāpa-s are blemishes or moham (anything that leads to error ; delusion).
  • Hence the one that takes away or captures ( capturing the pāpa) is hāri. Now the ending is 'ṇe' and I see this 'ṇa' meaning 'certainty' and also a 'gift' ; it is also a noun of śiva, but look to be corrected on this matter.

• oṁ parasmai namaḥ - I see this word this way: para+as+ma+i which infers a spelling of parāsmai.
  • para we know as Supreme; 'as' is abide in, dwell +
  • 'ma' is measure and also máyā +
  • i is to spread and or appear, yet the 5th definiton is applicable 'to go away , escape , pass , retire '.
• Now we have He who is beyond (i) máyā (ma&#185 + who abides (as) + in the Supreme (para).
• Others define this in a simular manner : Him, for whom there is no other. This makes perfect sense - He is unsurpassable (anuttara) and Supreme, hence there can be no other.

praṇām

words
ma can also be 'mad' , 2nd definition to enjoy bliss and/or to gladden , exhilarate , intoxicate , animate , inspire

[sunyata07]

Namaste Yajvan,

First of all, thank you very much for this thread. I have been slowly familiarising myself with the 108 names of the Lord, although I have realised like EM that some sources do vary considerably and I have often been confused as to why. Your explanations on the Sanskrit definitions as well as the various nuances of Sri Ganesha's name are an invaluable source of help for me and other Ganesha bhaktars.

What is the significance of a mouse then? Does this represent something?

I have often wondered myself what is the real significance behind the mouse! How can such a small animal carry portly Ganesha's frame? It is a nice little lesson on how appearances can be deceiving. I have taken Ganesha's riding the mouse to mean that the highest knowledge does not have to conform to what our human views on what should and should not be. I have read long ago that the mouse is one of the few animals who is pervasive enough to appear in nearly all societies around the world. Much like Ganesha seems to be worshipped nearly everywhere. I have posted before on the Devoted to Lord Ganesha thread (http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...?t=4361&page=3) what I felt the mouse could mean inadvertently when I was reflecting over it quietly after meditation. It is a popular belief in the West (not sure if it exists in the East) that elephants are afraid of mice. I sometimes think it is very fitting Lord Ganesha has selected the mouse as his vehicle, because it has taught me that if you want to succeed in any endeavour you must learn to face your fears if you want to overcome them.