Shiva, meaning "The Auspicious One"), also known as Mahadeva ("Great God"), is a popular Hindu deity. Shiva is regarded as one of the primary forms of God. He is the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism. He is one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, and "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer" among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine.

 

Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome forms. At the highest level Shiva is limitless, transcendent, unchanging and formless. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya and in fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and arts.

 

The main iconographical attributes of Shiva are the third eye on his forehead, the snake Vasuki around his neck, the crescent moon adorning, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the trishula as his weapon and the damaru as his instrument.

 

Shiva is usually worshiped in the aniconic form of Lingam. Temples of Lord Shiva are called shivalayam.

 

ETYMOLOGY & OTHER NAMES

The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari: शिव, śiva) comes from Shri Rudram Chamakam of Taittiriya Samhita (TS 4.5, 4.7) of Krishna Yajurveda. The root word śi means auspicious. In simple English transliteration it is written either as Shiva or Siva. The adjective śiva, is used as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several other Vedic deities.

 

The other popular names associated with Shiva are Mahadev, Mahesh, Maheshwar, Shankar, Shambhu, Rudra, Har, Trilochan, Devendra (meaning Chief of the gods) and Trilokinath (meaning Lord of the three realms).

 

The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the God Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of that sect. It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. He is the oldest worshipped Lord of India.

 

The Tamil word Sivan, Tamil: சிவன் ("Fair Skinned") could have been derived from the word sivappu. The word 'sivappu' means "red" in Tamil language but while addressing a person's skin texture in Tamil the word 'Sivappu' is used for being Fair Skinned.

 

Adi Sankara, in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", or "the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)" or "the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name."Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu sahasranama, further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means "the One who is eternally pure" or "the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas".

 

Shiva's role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great God"; mahā "Great" and deva "god"), Maheśvara ("Great Lord"; mahā "great" and īśvara "lord"), and Parameśvara ("Supreme Lord").

 

There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva. The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradition. Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.

 

The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

 

ASSIMILATION OF TRADITIONS

The figure of Shiva as we know him today was built up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated into a single figure. How the persona of Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well documented. According to Vijay Nath:

 

Visnu and Siva [...] began to absorb countless local cults and deities within their folds. The latter were either taken to represent the multiple facets of the same god or else were supposed to denote different forms and appellations by which the god came to be known and worshipped. [...] Siva became identified with countless local cults by the sheer suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, e.g., Bhutesvara, Hatakesvara, Chandesvara."

 

Axel Michaels the Indologist suggests that Shaivism, like Vaishnavism, implies a unity which cannot be clearly found either in religious practice or in philosophical and esoteric doctrine. Furthermore, practice and doctrine must be kept separate.

 

An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes. The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri. Khandoba has been assimilated as a form of Shiva himself, in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam. Khandoba's varied associations also include an identification with Surya and Karttikeya.

 

INDUS VALLEY ORIGINS

Many Indus valley seals show animals but one seal that has attracted attention shows a figure, either horned or wearing a horned headdress and possibly ithyphallic figure seated in a posture reminiscent of the Lotus position and surrounded by animals was named by early excavators of Mohenjo-daro Pashupati (lord of cattle), an epithet of the later Hindu gods Shiva and Rudra. Sir John Marshall and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva and have described the figure as having three faces seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined.

 

This claim has been criticised, with some academics like Gavin Flood and John Keay characterizing them as unfounded. Writing in 1997 Doris Srinivasan said that "Not too many recent studies continue to call the seal's figure a 'Proto-Siva'", rejecting thereby Marshall's package of proto-Siva features, including that of three heads. She interprets what John Marshall interpreted as facial as not human but more bovine, possibly a divine buffalo-man. According to Iravatham Mahadevan symbols 47 and 48 of his Indus script glossary The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables (1977), representing seated human-like figures, could describe Hindu deity Murugan, popularly known as Shiva and Parvati's son.

 

INDO-EUROPEAN ORIGINS

Shiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Purusha, Rudra, Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Vāyu, and others.

 

RUDRA

Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra, and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in Hindu scriptures. The two names are used synonymously. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.

 

The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda, which is dated to between 1700 and 1100 BCE based on linguistic and philological evidence. A god named Rudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33, he is described as the "Father of the Rudras", a group of storm gods. Furthermore, the Rudram, one of the most sacred hymns of Hinduism found both in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas and addressed to Rudra, invokes him as Shiva in several instances, but the term Shiva is used as an epithet for the gods Indra, Mitra and Agni many times. Since Shiva means pure, the epithet is possibly used to describe a quality of these gods rather than to identify any of them with the God Shiva.

 

The identification of Shiva with the older god Rudhra is not universally accepted, as Axel Michaels explains:

 

Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva), and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.

 

The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means "to injure" or "to kill", and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness". The names Dhanvin ("Bowman") and Bāṇahasta ("Archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands") also refer to archery.

 

AGNI

Rudra and Agni have a close relationship. The identification between Agni and Rudra in the Vedic literature was an important factor in the process of Rudra's gradual development into the later character as Rudra-Shiva. The identification of Agni with Rudra is explicitly noted in the Nirukta, an important early text on etymology, which says, "Agni is also called Rudra." The interconnections between the two deities are complex, and according to Stella Kramrisch:

 

The fire myth of Rudra-Śiva plays on the whole gamut of fire, valuing all its potentialities and phases, from conflagration to illumination.

 

In the Śatarudrīya, some epithets of Rudra, such as Sasipañjara ("Of golden red hue as of flame") and Tivaṣīmati ("Flaming bright"), suggest a fusing of the two deities. Agni is said to be a bull, and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, Nandi. The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned. In medieval sculpture, both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.

 

INDRA

According to Wendy Doniger, the Puranic Shiva is a continuation of the Vedic Indra. Doniger gives several reasons for his hypothesis. Both are associated with mountains, rivers, male fertility, fierceness, fearlessness, warfare, transgression of established mores, the Aum sound, the Supreme Self. In the Rig Veda the term śiva is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3, 6.45.17, and 8.93.3.) Indra, like Shiva, is likened to a bull. In the Rig Veda, Rudra is the father of the Maruts, but he is never associated with their warlike exploits as is Indra.

 

The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion, and the Indo-Iranian religion. According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between the Zeravshan River (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran. It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements", which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the Bactria–Margiana Culture. At least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma. According to Anthony,

 

Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory, Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of the Rig Veda. He was associated more than any other deity with Soma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived from Ephedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.

 

LATER VEDIC LITERATURE

Rudra's transformation from an ambiguously characterized deity to a supreme being began in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (400-200 BCE), which founded the tradition of Rudra-Shiva worship. Here they are identified as the creators of the cosmos and liberators of souls from the birth-rebirth cycle. The period of 200 BCE to 100 CE also marks the beginning of the Shaiva tradition focused on the worship of Shiva, with references to Shaiva ascetics in Patanjali's Mahabhasya and in the Mahabharata.

 

Early historical paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters, depict Shiva dancing, Shiva's trident, and his mount Nandi but no other Vedic gods.

 

PURANIC LITERATURE

The Shiva Puranas, particularly the Shiva Purana and the Linga Purana, discuss the various forms of Shiva and the cosmology associated with him.

 

TANTRIC LITERATURE

The Tantras, composed between the 8th and 11th centuries, regard themselves as Sruti. Among these the Shaiva Agamas, are said to have been revealed by Shiva himself and are foundational texts for Shaiva Siddhanta.

 

POSITION WITHIN HINDUISM

 

SHAIVISM

Shaivism (Sanskrit: शैव पंथ, śaiva paṁtha) (Kannada: ಶೈವ ಪಂಥ) (Tamil: சைவ சமயம்) is the oldest of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas", and also "Saivas" or "Saivites", revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is. The tantric Shaiva tradition consists of the Kapalikas, Kashmir Shaivism and Shaiva Siddhanta. The Shiva MahaPurana is one of the purāṇas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, dedicated to Shiva. Shaivism is widespread throughout India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, mostly. Areas notable for the practice of Shaivism include parts of Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

 

PANCHAYATANA PUJA

Panchayatana puja is the system of worship ('puja') in the Smarta sampradaya of Hinduism. It is said to have been introduced by Adi Shankara, the 8th century CE Hindu philosopher. It consists of the worship of five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. Depending on the tradition followed by Smarta households, one of these deities is kept in the center and the other four surround it. Worship is offered to all the deities. The five are represented by small murtis, or by five kinds of stones, or by five marks drawn on the floor.

 

TRIMURTI

The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer. These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", often addressed as "Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara."

 

ICONOGRAPHY AND PROPERTIES

 

ATTRIBUTES

Shiva's form: Shiva has a trident in the right lower arm, and a crescent moon on his head. He is said to be fair like camphor or like an ice clad mountain. He wears five serpents and a garland of skulls as ornaments. Shiva is usually depicted facing the south. His trident, like almost all other forms in Hinduism, can be understood as the symbolism of the unity of three worlds that a human faces - his inside world, his immediate world, and the broader overall world. At the base of the trident, all three forks unite.

 

Third eye: (Trilochana) Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes, called "Tryambakam" (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम् ), which occurs in many scriptural sources. In classical Sanskrit, the word ambaka denotes "an eye", and in the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as "having three eyes". However, in Vedic Sanskrit, the word ambā or ambikā means "mother", and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the translation "three mothers". These three mother-goddesses who are collectively called the Ambikās. Other related translations have been based on the idea that the name actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some traditions were shared with the goddess Ambikā. It has been mentioned that when Shiva loses his temper, his third eye opens which can destroy most things to ashes.

 

Crescent moon: (The epithets "Chandrasekhara/Chandramouli") - Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon. The epithet Candraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - candra = "moon"; śekhara = "crest, crown") refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva. The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma, and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly implored, and in later literature, Soma and Rudra came to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the moon. The crescent moon is shown on the side of the Lord's head as an ornament. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end.

 

Ashes: (The epithet "Bhasmaanga Raaga") - Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). The ashes are said to represent the end of all material existence. Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy. These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism. One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.

 

Matted hair: (The epithet "Jataajoota Dhari/Kapardina") - Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "the one with matted hair", and Kapardin, "endowed with matted hair" or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion". A kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell, or, more generally, hair that is shaggy or curly. His hair is said to be like molten gold in color or being yellowish-white.

 

Blue throat: The epithet Nīlakaṇtha (Sanskrit नीलकण्ठ; nīla = "blue", kaṇtha = "throat"). Since Shiva drank the Halahala poison churned up from the Samudra Manthan to eliminate its destructive capacity. Shocked by his act, Goddess Parvati strangled his neck and hence managed to stop it in his neck itself and prevent it from spreading all over the universe, supposed to be in Shiva's stomach. However the poison was so potent that it changed the color of his neck to blue. (See Maha Shivaratri.)

 

Sacred Ganges: (The epithet "Gangadhara") Bearer of Ganga. Ganges river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The Gaṅgā (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair. The flow of the Ganges also represents the nectar of immortality.

 

Tiger skin: (The epithet "Krittivasana").He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.

 

Serpents: (The epithet "Nagendra Haara" or 'Vasoki"). Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.

 

Deer: His holding deer on one hand indicates that He has removed the Chanchalata of the mind (i.e., attained maturity and firmness in thought process). A deer jumps from one place to another swiftly, similar to the mind moving from one thought to another.

 

Trident: (Trishula): Shiva's particular weapon is the trident. His Trisul that is held in His right hand represents the three Gunas— Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. That is the emblem of sovereignty. He rules the world through these three Gunas. The Damaru in His left hand represents the Sabda Brahman. It represents OM from which all languages are formed. It is He who formed the Sanskrit language out of the Damaru sound.

 

Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru (ḍamaru). This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.

 

Axe: (Parashu):The parashu is the weapon of Lord Shiva who gave it to Parashurama, sixth Avatar of Vishnu, whose name means "Rama with the axe" and also taught him its mastery.

 

Nandī: (The epithet "Nandi Vaahana").Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana). Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati, or Pashupati (Sanskrit: पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "lord of cattle" and by Kramrisch as "lord of animals", who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra. Rishabha or the bull represents Dharma Devata. Lord Siva rides on the bull. Bull is his vehicle. This denotes that Lord Siva is the protector of Dharma, is an embodiment of Dharma or righteousness.

 

Gaṇa: The Gaṇas (Devanagari: गण) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailash. They are often referred to as the bhutaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked to intercede with the lord on behalf of the devotee. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title gaṇa-īśa or gaṇa-pati, "lord of the gaṇas".

 

Mount Kailāsa: Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode. In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a Linga, representing the center of the universe.

 

Varanasi: Varanasi (Benares) is considered to be the city specially loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in India. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as Kashi.

 

LINGAM

Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam, or linga, is also important. These are depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column. Shiva means auspiciousness, and linga means a sign or a symbol. Hence, the Shivalinga is regarded as a "symbol of the great God of the universe who is all-auspiciousness". Shiva also means "one in whom the whole creation sleeps after dissolution". Linga also means the same thing—a place where created objects get dissolved during the disintegration of the created universe. Since, according to Hinduism, it is the same god that creates, sustains and withdraws the universe, the Shivalinga represents symbolically God Himself. Some scholars, such as Monier Monier-Williams and Wendy Doniger, also view linga as a phallic symbol, although this interpretation is disputed by others, including Christopher Isherwood, Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda, and S.N. Balagangadhara.

 

JYOTIRLINGA

The worship of the Shiva-Linga originated from the famous hymn in the Atharva-Veda Samhitâ sung in praise of the Yupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. In that hymn, a description is found of the beginningless and endless Stambha or Skambha, and it is shown that the said Skambha is put in place of the eternal Brahman. Just as the Yajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes, and flames, the Soma plant, and the ox that used to carry on its back the wood for the Vedic sacrifice gave place to the conceptions of the brightness of Shiva's body, his tawny matted hair, his blue throat, and the riding on the bull of the Shiva, the Yupa-Skambha gave place in time to the Shiva-Linga. In the text Linga Purana, the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the superiority of Shiva as Mahadeva.

 

The sacred of all Shiva linga is worshipped as Jyotir linga. Jyoti means Radiance, apart from relating Shiva linga as a phallus symbol, there are also arguments that Shiva linga means 'mark' or a 'sign'. Jyotirlinga means "The Radiant sign of The Almighty". The Jyotirlingas are mentioned in Shiva Purana.

 

SHAKTI

Shiva forms a Tantric couple with Shakti [Tamil : சக்தி ], the embodiment of energy, dynamism, and the motivating force behind all action and existence in the material universe. Shiva is her transcendent masculine aspect, providing the divine ground of all being. Shakti manifests in several female deities. Sati and Parvati are the main consorts of Shiva. She is also referred to as Uma, Durga (Parvata), Kali and Chandika. Kali is the manifestation of Shakti in her dreadful aspect. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Since Shiva is called Kāla, the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in "time has come"). Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also revered as Bhavatārini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Kālī is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing or dancing. Shiva is the masculine force, the power of peace, while Shakti translates to power, and is considered as the feminine force. In the Vaishnava tradition, these realities are portrayed as Vishnu and Laxmi, or Radha and Krishna. These are differences in formulation rather than a fundamental difference in the principles. Both Shiva and Shakti have various forms. Shiva has forms like Yogi Raj (the common image of Himself meditating in the Himalayas), Rudra (a wrathful form) and Natarajar (Shiva's dance are the Lasya - the gentle form of dance, associated with the creation of the world, and the Tandava - the violent and dangerous dance, associated with the destruction of weary worldviews – weary perspectives and lifestyles).

 

THE FIVE MANTRAS

Five is a sacred number for Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namaḥ śivāya).

 

Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pañcabrahmans. As forms of God, each of these have their own names and distinct iconography:

 

Sadyojāta

Vāmadeva

Aghora

Tatpuruṣha

Īsāna

 

These are represented as the five faces of Shiva and are associated in various texts with the five elements, the five senses, the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action. Doctrinal differences and, possibly, errors in transmission, have resulted in some differences between texts in details of how these five forms are linked with various attributes. The overall meaning of these associations is summarized by Stella Kramrisch:

 

Through these transcendent categories, Śiva, the ultimate reality, becomes the efficient and material cause of all that exists.

 

According to the Pañcabrahma Upanishad:

 

One should know all things of the phenomenal world as of a fivefold character, for the reason that the eternal verity of Śiva is of the character of the fivefold Brahman. (Pañcabrahma Upanishad 31)

 

FORMES AND ROLES

According to Gavin Flood, "Shiva is a god of ambiguity and paradox," whose attributes include opposing themes.[168] The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.

 

DESTROYER AND BENEFACTOR

In the Yajurveda, two contrary sets of attributes for both malignant or terrific (Sanskrit: rudra) and benign or auspicious (Sanskrit: śiva) forms can be found, leading Chakravarti to conclude that "all the basic elements which created the complex Rudra-Śiva sect of later ages are to be found here". In the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as "the standard of invincibility, might, and terror", as well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance. The duality of Shiva's fearful and auspicious attributes appears in contrasted names.

 

The name Rudra (Sanskrit: रुद्र) reflects his fearsome aspects. According to traditional etymologies, the Sanskrit name Rudra is derived from the root rud-, which means "to cry, howl". Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means "wild, of rudra nature", and translates the name Rudra as "the wild one" or "the fierce god". R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "terrible". Hara (Sanskrit: हर) is an important name that occurs three times in the Anushasanaparvan version of the Shiva sahasranama, where it is translated in different ways each time it occurs, following a commentorial tradition of not repeating an interpretation. Sharma translates the three as "one who captivates", "one who consolidates", and "one who destroys". Kramrisch translates it as "the ravisher". Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as Kāla (Sanskrit: काल), "time", and as Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल), "great time", which ultimately destroys all things. Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव), "terrible" or "frightful", is a fierce form associated with annihilation.

 

In contrast, the name Śaṇkara (Sanskrit: शङ्कर), "beneficent" or "conferring happiness" reflects his benign form. This name was adopted by the great Vedanta philosopher Śaṇkara (c. 788 - 820 CE), who is also known as Shankaracharya. The name Śambhu (Sanskrit: शम्भु), "causing happiness", also reflects this benign aspect.

 

ASCETIC AND HOUSEHOLDER

He is depicted as both an ascetic yogi and as a householder, roles which have been traditionally mutually exclusive in Hindu society.[185] When depicted as a yogi, he may be shown sitting and meditating. His epithet Mahāyogi ("the great Yogi: Mahā = "great", Yogi = "one who practices Yoga") refers to his association with yoga. While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sacrifice, it was during the Epic period that the concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts. Shiva is also depicted as a corpse below Goddess Kali, it represents that Shiva is a corpse without Shakti. He remains inert. While Shiva is the static form, Mahakali or Shakti is the dynamic aspect without whom Shiva is powerless.

 

As a family man and householder, he has a wife, Parvati and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. His epithet Umāpati ("The husband of Umā") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, Umākānta and Umādhava, also appear in the sahasranama. Umā in epic literature is known by many names, including the benign Pārvatī. She is identified with Devi, the Divine Mother; Shakti (divine energy) as well as goddesses like Tripura Sundari, Durga, Kamakshi and Meenakshi. The consorts of Shiva are the source of his creative energy. They represent the dynamic extension of Shiva onto this universe. His son Ganesha is worshipped throughout India and Nepal as the Remover of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles. Kartikeya is worshipped in Southern India (especially in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) by the names Subrahmanya, Subrahmanyan, Shanmughan, Swaminathan and Murugan, and in Northern India by the names Skanda, Kumara, or Karttikeya.

 

Some regional deities are also identified as Shiva's children. As one story goes, Shiva is enticed by the beauty and charm of Mohini, Vishnu's female avatar, and procreates with her. As a result of this union, Shasta - identified with regional deities Ayyappa and Ayyanar - is born. Shiva is also mentioned in some scriptures or folktales to have had daughters like the serpent-goddess Manasa and Ashokasundari. Even the demon Andhaka is sometimes considered a child of Shiva.

 

NATARAJA

he depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Tamil: நடராஜா,Kannada: ನಟರಾಜ, Telugu: నటరాజు, Sanskrit: naṭarāja, "Lord of Dance") is popular. The names Nartaka ("dancer") and Nityanarta ("eternal dancer") appear in the Shiva Sahasranama. His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period. In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: nṛtyamūrti) are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Tamil Nadu in particular. The two most common forms of the dance are the Tandava, which later came to denote the powerful and masculine dance as Kala-Mahakala associated with the destruction of the world. When it requires the world or universe to be destroyed, Lord Śiva does it by the tāṇḍavanṛtya. and Lasya, which is graceful and delicate and expresses emotions on a gentle level and is considered the feminine dance attributed to the goddess Parvati. Lasya is regarded as the female counterpart of Tandava. The Tandava-Lasya dances are associated with the destruction-creation of the world.

 

DAKSHINAMURTHY

Dakshinamurthy, or Dakṣiṇāmūrti (Tamil:தட்சிணாமூர்த்தி, Telugu: దక్షిణామూర్తి, Sanskrit: दक्षिणामूर्ति), literally describes a form (mūrti) of Shiva facing south (dakṣiṇa). This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom and giving exposition on the shastras. This iconographic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly from Tamil Nadu. Elements of this motif can include Shiva seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.

 

ARDANARISHVARA

An iconographic representation of Shiva called (Ardhanārīśvara) shows him with one half of the body as male and the other half as female. According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form (Ardhanārīśvara) is best translated as "the lord who is half woman", not as "half-man, half-woman". According to legend, Lord Shiva is pleased by the difficult austerites performed by the goddess Parvati, grants her the left half of his body. This form of Shiva is quite similar to the Yin-Yang philosophy of Eastern Asia, though Ardhanārīśvara appears to be more ancient.

 

TRIRUPANTAKA

Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras. Shiva's name Tripurantaka (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरान्तक, Tripurāntaka), "ender of Tripura", refers to this important story.[216] In this aspect, Shiva is depicted with four arms wielding a bow and arrow, but different from the Pinakapani murti. He holds an axe and a deer on the upper pair of his arms. In the lower pair of the arms, he holds a bow and an arrow respectively. After destroying Tripura, Tripurantaka Shiva smeared his forehead with three strokes of Ashes. This has become a prominent symbol of Shiva and is practiced even today by Shaivites.

 

OTHER FORMS, AVATARS IDENTIFICATIONS

Shiva, like some other Hindu deities, is said to have several incarnations, known as Avatars. Although Puranic scriptures contain occasional references to "ansh" avatars of Shiva, the idea is not universally accepted in Saivism. The Linga Purana speaks of twenty-eight forms of Shiva which are sometimes seen as avatars. According to the Svetasvatara Upanishad, he has four avatars.

 

In the Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva and this belief is universal. Hanuman is popularly known as “Rudraavtaar” “Rudra” being a name of “Shiva”. Rama– the Vishnu avatar is considered by some to be the eleventh avatar of Rudra (Shiva).

 

Other traditions regard the sage Durvasa, the sage Agastya, the philosopher Adi Shankara, as avatars of Shiva. Other forms of Shiva include Virabhadra and Sharabha.

 

FESTIVALS

Maha Shivratri is a festival celebrated every year on the 13th night or the 14th day of the new moon in the Shukla Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna in the Hindu calendar. This festival is of utmost importance to the devotees of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the 'Tandava' and it is the day that Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. The holiday is often celebrated with special prayers and rituals offered up to Shiva, notably the Abhishek. This ritual, practiced throughout the night, is often performed every three hours with water, milk, yogurt, and honey. Bel (aegle marmelos) leaves are often offered up to the Hindu god, as it is considered necessary for a successful life. The offering of the leaves are considered so important that it is believed that someone who offers them without any intentions will be rewarded greatly.

 

BEYOND HINDUISM

 

BUDDHISM

Shiva is mentioned in Buddhist Tantra. Shiva as Upaya and Shakti as Prajna. In cosmologies of buddhist tantra, Shiva is depicted as active, skillful, and more passive.

 

SIKHISM

The Japuji Sahib of the Guru Granth Sahib says, "The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi." In the same chapter, it also says, "Shiva speaks, the Siddhas speak."

 

In Dasam Granth, Guru Gobind Singh have mentioned two avtars of Rudra: Dattatreya Avtar and Parasnath Avtar.

 

OTHERS

The worship of Lord Shiva became popular in Central Asia through the Hephthalite (White Hun) Dynasty, and Kushan Empire. Shaivism was also popular in Sogdiana and Eastern Turkestan as found from the wall painting from Penjikent on the river Zervashan. In this depiction, Shiva is portrayed with a sacred halo and a sacred thread ("Yajnopavita"). He is clad in tiger skin while his attendants are wearing Sodgian dress. In Eastern Turkestan in the Taklamakan Desert. There is a depiction of his four-legged seated cross-legged n a cushioned seat supported by two bulls. Another panel form Dandan-Uilip shows Shiva in His Trimurti form with His Shakti kneeling on her right thigh. It is also noted that Zoroastrian wind god Vayu-Vata took on the iconographic appearance of Shiva.

 

Kirant people, a Mongol tribe from Nepal, worship a form of Shiva as one of their major deity, identifying him as the lord of animals. It is also said that the physical form of Shiva as a yogi is derived from Kirants as it is mentioned in Mundhum that Shiva took human form as a child of Kirant. He is also said to give Kirants visions in form of a male deer.

 

In Indonesia, Shiva is also worshiped as Batara Guru. His other name is "Sang Hyang Jagadnata" (king of the universe) and "Sang Hyang Girinata" (king of mountains). In the ancient times, all kingdoms were located on top of mountains. When he was young, before receiving his authority of power, his name was Sang Hyang Manikmaya. He is first of the children who hatched from the eggs laid by Manuk Patiaraja, wife of god Mulajadi na Bolon. This avatar is also worshiped in Malaysia. Shiva's other form in Indonesian Hindu worship is "Maharaja Dewa" (Mahadeva). Both the forms are closely identified with the Sun in local forms of Hinduism or Kebatinan, and even in the genie lore of Muslims. Mostly Shiva is worshipped in the form of a lingam or the phallus.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Normally I don't make a list for running errands. I only needed to run just a very few errands, but one was pretty important. So I made a tiny list. I picked up my mail, remembered to speak to Walgreens in person about something they did, and then went to the grocery store. I knew exactly where to find the soda pop. I got Root Beer and Ginger Ale, and hadn't really needed them on my list. Then I knew I was going to get some food, but I couldn't remember what kind. I tried for a short while to remember. I was drawing a blank, and there I was in the middle of a huge famous chain grocery store with thousands of items, and I just couldn't think what it was I wanted to get. I thought of some food items and none of the ones I thought of rang a bell with whatever it was I had put on my list. So, I said to myself, "Self, why don't you just look at your list? Then when you see what you wrote, you'll probably just say, of course, that was it!"

 

I wrestled with my pocket to get my little tiny piece of paper out only to laugh at myself. The reason I couldn't remember any specific kind of food, was, well, look at my list!

 

Sometimes I think I am my own comedy routine...

 

(20180324_175822ErrandsListcuteabitfunnyflickr032418)

Dundalk overwhelm Bangor in All Ireland Final

by Roger Corbett

Bangor’s amazing run in the All Ireland Junior Cup came to an abrupt end when they were comprehensively beaten by Dundalk, eventually losing by 55-5.

Where do you start when trying to relate and absorb the events of Saturday’s final at Chambers Park? Firstly, congratulations to worthy winners Dundalk who nullified the Bangor attack, then went on to produce some stunning plays which racked up no less than 8 tries, each by a different player. For Bangor’s part, they were unable to respond to the intensity of Dundalk’s game, and lacked the cutting edge which their opponents used to great effect.

The day started full of promise, as the strong support from North Down made their way to Chambers Park in Portadown, knowing Bangor would be fielding their best team. Once again, the pundits had Bangor as the underdogs – just as they had done so in the previous three rounds! In confounding the experts earlier, Bangor produced some awesome performances against top quality opposition to get to the final. Dundalk had produced some convincing wins in the early rounds of the competition, but had struggled to get past CIYMS in the semi-final, just managing to squeeze ahead at the second time of asking. However, with a number of key players returning to the side in time for this game, they were now back at full strength and would be a formidable force to contend with.

Having won the toss, captain Jamie Clegg elected to play into the stiff wind in the first half. For the first 5 minutes, Bangor doggedly retained possession and tried to play their way into Dundalk’s half through a series of determined forward moves. However, little ground was made and, when possession was finally lost, the Dundalk back line produced a burst that simply cut through the Bangor defence resulting in an easy touch down under Bangor’s posts for a 7-0 lead.

Bangor stuck to their plan and slowly, but patiently, got their attack moving forward, eventually winning a penalty to the left of Dundalk’s posts, but Mark Widdowson’s kick into the wind drifted just wide of the mark.

The contrast in play between the two teams was becoming clear, with Bangor trying to keep the ball close while Dundalk were throwing it wide. The latter strategy was proving to be the more effective as, with 20 minutes gone, a quick back line move with players looping around resulted in an overlap on the right wing which gave a clear run in to again, score under the posts. A further 9 minutes later, they did it again and, although the Bangor defence had sensed the danger and moved across to cover it, their tackling let them down allowing Dundalk to get over in the right hand corner, taking their lead to 19-0.

By now, Bangor were trying to hang on until half time when they could regroup and come out with the wind at their backs. Dundalk, on the other hand were anxious to press home their advantage and give them a more comfortable lead. To Bangor’s credit, although camped on their own line for lengthy spells, they dug in and managed to hold on until the referee’s half time whistle.

As the teams reappeared from the dressing rooms, it was obvious Bangor were ringing the changes, particularly in the backs. With the wind advantage having lessened considerably, Bangor got the second half underway. It was now Dundalk’s turn to adopt the slow, steady approach, just as Bangor had done earlier. However, their more confident off-loading and support play was, once again, taking play deep into Bangor’s territory. Frustration at not being able to gain possession and take play out of their danger area eventually resulted in a yellow card for Clegg after a succession of penalties. Dundalk kicked the penalty to touch, won their lineout and drove for the line. Although initially held up by the Bangor defence, Dundalk’s repeated drives were eventually rewarded with another converted score, extending their lead to 26-0.

From the touchline, the Bangor faithful had felt that if their players had managed to score first in the second half, they may have been able to mount a fight-back and close the gap to their opponents. As it was, this Dundalk score simply bolstered their confidence and pushed Bangor deeper into trouble. With Bangor still a man down, Dundalk added to the score with a penalty and then another score in the corner. Everything was now working for the Leinster men, as even the difficult touchline conversion into the biting wind successfully split the posts, bringing the score to 36-0.

As the game entered the final quarter, and with Dundalk all but holding the cup, Bangor were now on the ropes. By contrast, the Dundalk players were in almost total control, and were not going to slow down now. In a 10 minute spell, they ran in a further 3 tries, making the scoreline 55-0. By now, any sense of dejection the Bangor supporters may have been feeling was now moved to feelings of sympathy for their players. However, pride was at stake and once again Bangor rallied as the game entered its final minutes. At last, the forwards got within striking distance of the Dundalk line and, although their repeated attacks were repelled, they finally managed to do what their opponents had done so effectively, and quickly passed the ball wide to Davy Charles. Even though they were 55 points ahead, the Dundalk defence made Charles work hard to drive through the tackles and score Bangor’s consolation try, bringing the final score to 55-5.

From Bangor’s point of view, the final score doesn’t tell the whole story of this competition. While the final may have resulted in a sad anti-climax for Bangor, the remarkable journey to get there will be remembered for some time. On the day, Dundalk were by far the better side, and Bangor would have to concede that their game was not up to the usual standard. However, there is no doubt the experience of competing at this level is something to relish and the goal now will be to secure a top four place in the league and try again next year.

Everybody at the club has nothing but the highest respect and praise for what has been achieved this year by not just the 1sts, but all the senior teams, and one poor result isn’t going to change that – the welcome at Upritchard Park for the returning players is testament to that. With that in mind, the players now need to put this disappointment behind them and provide the best possible response against a struggling Portadown side at home in the league next Saturday.

Bangor side: J Leary, A Jackson, P Whyte, F Black, G Irvine, R Latimer, J Clegg, C Stewart, R Armstrong, K Rosson, D Charles, M Aspley, M Weir, M Widdowson, C Morgan

Subs: S Irvine, O McIlmurray, D Kelly, M Rodgers, C Harper, D Fusco, M Thompson

Bangor scores: D Charles (1T)

Dundalk Storm To Title Dundalk 55 v Bangor 5 from KnockOn.ie

Dundalk Scorers: Christopher Scully, Owen McNally, Jonathan Williams, John Smyth, Ultan Murphy, Tiernan Gonnelly, James McConnon and Stephen Murphy 1 try each. Ultan Murphy 6 cons, 1 pen.

Bangor Scorers: David Charles 1 try.

In front of a big crowd at Chambers Park on Saturday afternoon Dundalk delivered a stunning and ruthless display to see off the challenge of Bangor and capture the All Ireland Junior Cup title for the very first time.

Three first half tries had them firmly in control at 19-0 ahead having played with the elements at the Portadown venue during the first half and while the wind dropped somewhat after half time the Dundalk intensity most certainly didn’t as they cut loose scoring five more tries.

Dundalk returned to a heroes welcome at their Mill Road clubhouse on Saturday night after a display of pure brilliance throughout the afternoon.

Precision, pace and skill from the Louth men from start to finish left Bangor playing second fiddle for long periods.

Go to the Book with image in the Internet Archive

Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 10 Nos. 1-4, 1916

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Publisher:

Sponsor:

Contributor:

Date: 1916

Language: eng

Vol. 10, No. 1 January 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... vii<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A TECHNIC FOR THE ABS0RPTION TEST FOR SYPHILIS, USING HUMAN COMPLEMENT.<br />By Surgeon C. S. Butler and Hospital Apprentice, First Class, W. P.<br />Landon.......... ....... ......... ...... l<br />THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS; AS IT RELATES TO THE SERVICE AND TO THE NAVAL HOSPITAL AT LAS ANIMAS, COLO.<br />By Medical Director G. H. Barber...................... . ..... ... ... 9<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards . . ..... 19<br />MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT IN THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy......... . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . 34<br />CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL DISEASES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan......... .  61<br />SECOND REPORT ON THE SCHIER TEST FOR MENTALITY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE POINT SYSTEM.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. E. Thomas .. .•..... . . .. . . . . ..... 88<br />THE TREATMENT OF FRACTURED MANDIBLES.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey.... .... . ...... . . 70<br />DIVING OPERATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALVAGE OF THE U.S.S. "F-4."<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. R. W. French. ........... ...... ..... 74<br />REPORT ON THE RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, AND DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINS OF THE CREW OF THE "F-4."<br />By Surgeon W. Seaman....... .. .. .. . ... ...... . ..... .. . . .......... . 91<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 97<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 97<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A SIMPLE TEST OF STERILIZER EFFICIENCY.<br />By Surgeon Edgar Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 99<br />A HANDY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE FOR THE SICK BAY.<br />By Surgeon A. Farenholt.. .......... .............. ...... ........... 100<br />DESCRIPTION OF A HORIZONTAL FLUOROSCOPE AND AN ILLUMINATING BOX MADE IN A NAVAL HOSPITAL.<br />By Hospital Steward H. L. Gall...... . ..... . . . ..... ............... 101<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />CREEPING ERUPTION. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  J. C. Parham ........ .... 103<br />A SPORADIC CASE OF TYPHUS FEVER.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis..... . ................ . .... 104<br />A BRANCHIOGENIC CYST.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  L. W. Johnson... ....... . . .. . . . . ...... 106<br />BILATERAL THROMBOSIS OF CENTRAL RETINAL VEINS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon S. Walker, jr., Medical Reserve Corps . . . . . . . . . 106<br />INTERNAL HERNIA. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. C. Espach.......... ... ............ ..... ... 108<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF PSORIASIS LIMITED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO THE SCALP.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon J. H. Harris.. . . . ... .. ........ . .... ... . . .. 109<br /><br />EDITORIAL COMMENT:<br />PROGRESS OF THE WAR.. ... . ....... . ............. . .. .. ... . ........... 113<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - The recruit's heart. By E. R. Stitt. Report of<br />cerebrospinal fever in the Royal Navy. Roentgen-ray treatment of<br />leukemia. Chronic lead poisoning in guinea-pigs; with special reference<br />to nephritis, cirrhosis, and polyserositis. Prolonged fasting in diabetes.<br />Proper dosage of antitoxin in diphtheria. By E. Thompson and E. L.<br />Woods.. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . 121<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Clinical lecture on the psychoneuroses of war. By H. Butts. Constructive delusions. Some observations on heroin habitues. A proper classification of borderline mental cases  amongst offenders. The feebly inhibited; violent temper and its inheritance. By R. Sheehan....... . ............................. . . 127<br />SURGERY - Renal pain: Diagnostic and clinical significance. Fulguration in the treatment of bladder tumors. Some details in the surgical<br />treatment of tumor of the bladder. By H. W. Cole. Wound infections.<br />byy L. W. Johnson. On the prevention of "frostbite" and other effects<br />of cold. By C. N. Fiske. Operative treatment of bad results after<br />fracture. End results of bone fractures. A review of the literature of<br />fractures. The clinical status of the autograft. Mesenteric thrombosis.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old .. . .. ... .. . . ...... . ..........132<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Hygienic interpretation of recent changes in the field rations and their preparation. by E. W. Brown. Recent additions<br />to the conception of a normal diet. Removing diphtheria bacilli with kaolin. By C. N. Fiske. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . ........ . . .. ..... 149<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Bilharzia in Cuba. By L.. W. Johnson. Pellagra a curable diseaese. By E . Thompson. Pellagra. Causation and treatment of pellagra. The occurrence of sprue in the United States. By E. R. Stitt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Hibernation and the pituitary body. The occurrence of carriers of disease-producing types of pneumococcus. by G. F. Clark. The mode of injection and etiology of epidemic poliomyelitis. by C. N. Fiske. Observations on<br />the proteolytic enzyme of bacillus proteus. Comparative efficacy of<br />benzin and anisol for the destruction of parasites. Technic for culturing<br />typhoid bacilli from stools. Report of an investigation of diphtheria<br />carriers. The presence of acid-fast bacilli in the circulating blood and<br />excretions. The serologic diagnosis of leprosy. The diagnostic value<br />of the placental blood film in estivo-autumnal malaria. A further study<br />of the bactericidal action of ethylhydrocuprein on pneumococci. By<br />C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning.. ... ...... . .... .. ... .. .. . . . ... .. . . .. . . 156<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY.-A substitute for potassium permanganate to liberate formaldehyde gas from a water solution. The preparation of<br />ammonia-free water. By C. N. Fiske. Chemopathological studies with<br />compounds of arsenic. By R.H. Laning. Laboratory experiments with<br />air. Comparison of the plating and microscopic methods in the bacteriological examination of milk. Beef frozen for 18 years. Tin poisoning after eating canned asparagus. Treatment of typhoid carriers with charcoal and thymol or charcoal and iodin. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge... . .. ... ... .. .... .... 166<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The present status of tuberculin therapy<br />in ocular tuberculosis. On dissolving senile cataract in the early stages.<br />The treatment of glaucoma simplex. The exploratory opening of the<br />ephenoidal sinus. Tonsillectomy in the adult; are we justified in doing<br />so many indiscriminate tonsillectomies for remote infections. The diagnosis<br />of otoeclerosis. Syphilis of the internal ear. Collapse of the alae nasi, its etiology and treatment. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible. .. ... 171<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET, AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR FORTY DAYS.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy.. ... ... . . ... . . . . .. . . . ........ . . 177<br />SANITARY REPORT ON BARCELONA, SPAIN. By Passed Assistant Surgeon H . L. Brown.... . . ... . . . . . . ... .... . ... .. 183<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "SARATOGA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon H. R . Hermesch... . .. . . .  ... .. . . . . . 186<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "HELENA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. L. Mann, jr.. . . . . . ... . 187<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 2 April 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... v<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESENT STATUS OF VESICAL PAPILLOMA .<br />By Assistant Surgeon L. C. Lehr, M. R. C.. .... .. . .... . .. . .. . .... . . 191<br />SUGGESTED USE OF COMBINED TABLE OF OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY.<br />By Surgeon C. N. Fiske... . .. . . . . ......... . . . . . . .... . . . .... ...... . . 199<br />EXCLUSION OF THE MENTALLY UNFIT FROM THE MILITARY SERVICES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan.... .. ...... . . . ... . .... .. .. 213<br />A GREATER FIELD OF ACTIVITY FOR MEDICAL OFFICERS OF NAVY YARDS.<br />By Medical Inspector N. J. Blackwood and Surgeon W. H. Bell. . . .. . 249<br />THE HOSPITAL STEWARD; CONCERNING HIS QUALIFICATIONS - PERSONAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND PROFESSIONAL.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . . .. . . ... ....... .. . ..... 269<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD. II.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards.... .. ..... .. ... ....... . . . . . . ... .... . . .. 277<br />FUMIGATION OF THE U. S. S. TENNESSEE BY THE CYANID METHOD.<br />By Surgeon N. Roberts, Public Health Service. Passed ASSistant Surgeon<br />G . E. Robertson, and aSSistant Surgeon A. E. Beddoe. . .. ... . 296<br />THE NEW HOSPITAL CORPS FORMS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . .... . ... . . . ...... ..... . 300<br />THE DIAGNOSIS OF SYPHILIS BY THE 'WASSERMANN REACTION.<br />By Passed Assistant. Surgeon A. H. Allen... . .. . . .... . .. . . . ........ . 304<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 309<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 309<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />APPARATUS FOR FILLING VACCINE AMPULES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis. .. . . . . . ... .. ... . .. .. ... . .. 311<br />METHODS OP PREVENTING THE ALTERATION OF TINCTURE OF IODIN IN MILITARY SURGERY.<br />Translation By Passed Assistant Surgeon J. A. Biello. .... ... .. . . . .... 314<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />REPORT OF TWO CASES OF INTUSSUSCEPTION AS A SEQUEL TO WHOOPING COUGH.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. . . .. . ..... . .. ... . . .. . . ..... . 319<br />TREATMENT OF A FRACTURED FEMUR BY MEANS OF A STEINMANN NAIL.<br />3y Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping....... .... .......... . ......... 320<br />AN UNUSUAL CASE OF HERPES ZOSTER (ZOSTER NUCHAE ET BRACHIALIS).<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton . . . . . . . . .... .......... .... 323<br />CASE OF HYPERNEPHROMA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeons E. H. H. Old and R.H. Laning. . . . . . .. 324<br />SURGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE KIDNEY.<br />By Surgeon C. G. Smith.. . . ... . . ... .... . .... ... . .... ........ ...... 334<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE.-The bacterin treatment of certain chronic pyogenic<br />dermatoses. By W. E. Eaton. The soldier's heart. The physics of bronchopneumonia. Specific treatment of pneumonia with ethylhydrocuprein.<br />The use of duodenal bucket in search for typhoid bacilli in typhoid convalescents. The treatment of myocarditia. By E. Thompson and J.A. Randall ....343<br /><br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Dementia precox and malingering. The distribution of tabetic crises with exhibition of an unusual case. Notes of a conference on medical and social aspects of syphilis of the nervous system. By R. Sheehan.. ...349<br />SURGERY - A plea for efficiency in the accident ward. Appendicitis as a<br />sequel of tonsillitis. Gasoline, iodin, and alcohol in surgery. Epididymotomy.<br />By L. W. Johnson. The treatment of fracture a lost art. The treatment of complicated fractures and present opinion of operative treatment. End-results in 242 cases of simple fracture of the femoral shaft. The artificial periosteum for fixation of shaft fractures. Talk on syphilis. Correction of depressed fractures of the nose by transplant of cartilage.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........ .. . . ................... 353<br />HYGIENE A.ND SANITATION - Duration of smallpox immunity conferred<br />by successful vaccination. Further experiments in the destruction of fly larvae in horse manure. Biochemical comparisons between mature beef and immature veal. On the influence of alcohol on bactericidal properties, phagocytosis, and resistance of human erythrocytes. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell.... .. .................................... 366<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - The treatment of dysentery. Further work on the<br />treatment of kala-azar. The treatment of hookworm disease. By E. R.<br />Stitt.. . .. ... ................................ ... ....... .. ... . ....... 369<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY. AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Bacteriological results in chronic leukemia and in pseudoleukemia. The acceleration of esterase action; studies on ferment action. By G. F. Clark. Combined preventive inoculation against typhoid and paratyphoid fever and<br />bacillary dysentery. The complement-fixation reactions of the Bordet-Gengou<br />bacillus. The bacteria of gangrenous wounds. Studies in nonspecific<br />complement fixation. Report on the results of the bilharzia mission in Egypt, 1915. The etiology of rat-bite fever. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning................................................. . 374<br />EYE, EAR. NOSE, AND THROAT - Ethmoiditis; its varied effects and their<br />probable prevention; or, when fully established, their possible cure.<br />Obstruction of the posterior nasal orifice. The space sense and the labyrinth.<br />Acute middle-ear inflammations. Vocal strain from a laryngologist's standpoint . its causes and prevention. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible... ....... ... ................. .. ..... . .................. . 382<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />MILITARY MEDICAL WORK IN CONSTANTINOPLE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  E. P. Huff. ... ......................... 387<br /><br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 3 July 1916<br /><br />PREFACE.... . .. .. . ..... . . . . ..... . ........ . ...... . .. . ....... .. ...... . .... vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401<br />CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon J.C. Dacosta, M. R. C. . ............. . ......... 416<br />THE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS RELATION TO THE HUMAN MECHANISM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NAVAL SERVICE.<br />By Surgeon R. C. Holcomb..... . .. .. . . .. ................ .. . . ...... 430<br />A SHORT STORY OP MY EXPERIENCE AT THE RED CROSS AUXILIARY NAVAL HOSPITAL OF HAMBURG, GERMANY, DURING THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS OF THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Medical Director H. G. Beyer, Retired..... . .... . .. . . .. ......... 465<br />DIAGNOSIS OF ABDOMINAL PAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476<br />DOSAGE IN ROENTOENOTHERAPY. <br />By Assistant Surgeon A. Soiland, M. R. C. . ..... ......... . . . ... .... 484<br />NOTES ON THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF 1,880 APPLICANTS FOR ENLISTMENT IN THE NAVY.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon C.H. Lowell. .. . ... . ... . ....... . ..... 487<br />THE PRACTICABILITY OR DESIRABILITY OF OMITTING FROM THE SUPPLY TABLE CERTAIN DRUGS.<br />By Hospital Steward J. A. Ortolan... . . . ................... . ..... .. 490<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . . 493<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION. . .....493<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES: .<br />FIRST-AID· DRESSINGS ON BATTLESHIPS.<br />By Surgeon G. F. Freeman .. .. . .... . .. . ........ . ..... ... ... .... . .. 495<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />THE LEWISOHN CITRATE METHOD OP BLOOD TRANSFUSION WITH REPORT OF A CASE OF TRAUMATIC GLUTEAL ANEURISM IN WHICH THIS METHOD WAS EMPLOYED.<br />By Surgeon R. B. Williams . . .. .. . . . . .. ..... ... . . ... . ... . ... 503<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF LUDWIG'S ANGINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . ... .  506<br />RUPTURE OF LIVER; REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . .  510<br />SYPHILIS IN A CHAMORRO.<br />By Passed  Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson. . .. . .. . . . ... .. ...... . .. 511<br />REPORT OF A CASE OP INTUSSUSCEPPTION CAUSED BY A MECKEL'S DIVERTICULUM<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy. . ............ . . . . . . . . . . .511<br />ADVANTAGES NOTED IN THE USE OF McDONALD'S SOLUTION.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon P. R. Stalnaker. . .... .. .. . ......... .. .. 514<br />HEMATOMA OF ABDOMINAL PARIETES.<br />By Surgeon J. S. Taylor........ . ... . . ... . .. .. . ... . . .. .. .. ....... . . . 515<br />BAYONET WOUND OF THE ABDOMEN.<br />By Assistant Surgeonn W. B. Hetfield... ... . ... . . . . .  516<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Gassing accidents from the fumes of explosives.<br />By C. G. Smith. The etiology and experimental production of herpes zoster. By W. E. Eaton. The Allen treatment of diabetes. Chronic arthritis. By E. Thompson and J. A. Randall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - A further study of the diagnostic value of the colloidal gold reaction, together with a method for the preparation of the reagent. Psycho-analytic tendencies. Some considerations of general paralysis from the histological viewpoint. The duration of<br />paresis following treatment. Discussion of treatment in general paresis.<br />By R. Sheehan.. .. . . .... . ... . . . . . ... .. .............................. 528<br />SURGERY - The artificial limb question. The treatment of war injuries of the upper arm. By P. J. Waldner. The inefficacy of pyloric exclusion by fascial bands. Postoperative intestinal obstruction. Index of toxicity of novocain-adrenalin injected intravenously. Reversal of the circulation in the lower extremity. By A. M. Fauntleroy and E . H. H. Old.. . ... .. . . ..... . 534<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Report of committees on the resuscitation<br />from mine gases and electric shock. By E. W. Brown. A contribution<br />to the fly campaign. On protection against mosquitoes. By P. J. Waldner. Medical guard. The result of closing the segregated vice district upon the public health of Cleveland. Workshop education in hygiene.<br />By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell. . . .. .. . ............ 540<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Are there harmful and harmless hookworm infections? By C. N. Fiske. Beriberi, with special reference to prophylaxia<br />and treatment. A method for the preparation of a nontoxic dysentery<br />vaccine. By E. R. Stitt......... . ..................... 546<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Autogenous vaccines in the treatment of bronchitis and asthma. The practical value of the guinea-pig test for the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. By G. F.<br />Clark. Methods of using diphtheria toxin in the Schick test and of controlling the reaction. Results with cholesterinized antigens in non-syphilitic sera. On the toxicity of various commercial preparations of emetin hydrochlorid. Bactericidal and protozoacidal activity of emetin hydrochlorid in vitro and in vivo. Two chronic amebic dysentery carriers treated by emetin, with some remarks on the treatment of Lamblia, Blastocystis, and E. coli infections. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning. ....549<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - A discussion of acidosis with special reference to that occurring in diseases of children. By R . H. Laning. Testing<br />distilled water as regards its wit.ability for the preparation of salvarsan<br />solutions. Improved heroin test for blood. Cause and significance of an abnormal reaction obtained in testing urine for sugar with Fehling's<br />solution. New test for reducing sugars in urine. Rapid method of<br />counting bacteria in milk. Estimation of carbon dioxide in air by Haldane's apparatus. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge. . . ... . .. . ........ 555<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - Researches upon the requisite visual acuity and refraction of infantry. Autointoxication and eye diseases. Orientation and equilibration. Deafness due to syphilis. Hay-fever; its cause<br />and prevention. A study of 500 tonsil enucleations with the Beck-Pierce<br />tonsillectome. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible..... . .............. . .. 559<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />SANITATION OF AMERICAN SAMOA. <br />By Surgeon E. G. Parker........... . . ... . . ....... . . ......... . ... ... 563<br />REPORT OF MEDICAL RELIEF AFFORDED IN FLOODED DISTRICTS OF SAN DIEGO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. I. Wood. .. ..... . .......................... 567<br />THE MARINE DETACHMENT WITH THE PANAMA·PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon K. C. Melhorn.. . . . .  . . 569<br />EARLY HISTORY OF THE NAVAL HOSPITAL RESERVATION, WASHINGTON, D . C.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood................. . .... .. .. . . .... . 573<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR 61 DAYS FROM FEBRUARY 9, 1916, TO APRIL 9, 1916.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy .......... 574<br />THE FRENCH HOSPITAL OF CHUNGKING, CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield............................... 583<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 4 September 1916<br /><br />PREFACE................................................................ vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS WHICH OCCURRED IN THE NAVY YARD AT WASHINGTON, D. C.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. A. Bloedorn ....... . .. 585<br />INTOXICATION BY DETONATION AND EXPLOSION GASES ABOARD SHIP.<br />By Surgeon K. OhneSorg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  626<br />FLAT POOT AND ITS MEASUREMENTS.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon M. Clements............................. 634<br />PREVENTION OF MALARIA IN THE FIELD.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon F. X. Koltes........................... 640<br />A WASSERMANN SURVEY ON 500 APPRENTICE SEAMEN.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon C. B. Munger......................... 642<br />MALINGERING IN MENTAL DISEASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. Sheehan......... . . . . . .  . . . . . . 646<br />THE REORGANIZATION OF THE HOSPITAL CORPS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton........................... 654<br />THE RELATION OF SEPTIC MOUTH TO ARTHRITIS.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey..................... 658<br />CLIMACTIC BUBO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. E. Treibly......... .. . . . . . . . . . . 661<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL, MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . .  665<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A DENTAL FOUNTAIN FOR THE CREW'S USE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. M. Kerr........................... 666<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />A CASE OF GANGOSA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson and Assistant Surgeon<br />C. W. Depping................................................. 667<br />CHRONIC LUMPHATIC LEUKEMIA WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION AND FATAL TERMINATION.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C.H. Weaver................................. 668<br />CASE REPORTS FROM U.s. NAVAL HOSPITAL, PORTSMOUTH, N. H.<br />By Surgeon F. M. Bogan.......................................... 671<br />ACUTE INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION DUE TO VOLVULUS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. I. Wood.................................... 673<br />SPLENITIS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. Wilson.................................... 674<br />SOME UNUSUAL CASES OF SYPHILIS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  M. B. Hiden................................. 676<br />GUNSHOT WOUND OF THE KIDNEY. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. W. Depping................................ 679<br />VESICAL CALCULUS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  T. W. Reed........................... 680<br />A CASE OF GASOLINE POISONING.<br />By Assistant Surgeon O. C. Foote................................... 681<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Coleman diet in typhoid fever. By W. S. Pugh.<br />Cutaneous reaction from proteins in eczema. By W. E. Eaton. Some<br />therapeutic uses for the ultraviolet rays. By E. Thompson and J. A.<br />Randall ........ 683<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Spinal injuries of warfare. Diagnostic value of Lange's gold sol test. Studies on alcoholic hallucinoses. The alcoholic as seen in court. Effects of syphilis upon the central nervous<br />system. The Wassermann test in practical psychiatry. Abstract of a<br />psychological study of 300 prisoners in the Massachusetts State Prison.<br />By R. Sheehan ..................... 689<br />SURGERY - A canvas sling for loading wounded from barges and boats<br />into hospital transports. By C. B. Camerer. Open wound treatment<br />with cotton rings and gauze cover. By P. J. Waldner. Nitrous oxid-oxygen, the most dangerous anesthetic. The treatment of peritonitis. Localization and extraction of projectiles and shell framents. By A. M.<br />Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........................................ 698<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - The Schick reaction and its applications. By J. A. Randall. Diphtheria immunity - natural, active, and passive; its determination by the Schick test. The bacillus carrier and the restaurant. The employment of rat poison as a measure for preventing and exterminating plague. Some observations on causes of high bacterial counts<br />in market milk. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell .........708<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - On agglutination reactions with normal sera. Memorandum on the prevention of amebic dysentery. By E. R. Stitt...... 712<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY -Sputum cultures with subsequent complement-fixation control. A new culture medium for the isolation of Bacillus typhosus from stoole. A new differential culture medium for the cholera vibrio. Therapeutic possibilities<br />of antitetanus serum. Remarks on B. welchii in the stools of pellagrins.<br />By G. F. Clark. Observations on the production of antibodies after<br />antityphoid inoculation. A study of various methods for determining the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. A study of acid production by diphtheria bacilli. The relation of the carbohydrate-splitting ferments to the soluble toxins of diphtheria bacilli. By C. S. Butler and R. H. Laning .. . . .  . . 714<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - Modification of Rose's method for the estimation of pepsin. Experimental study of fever. Changes in the Ninth<br />Decennial Revision of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. By E.W. Brown and<br />O. G. Ruge........................................................ 720<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The blood-clot dressing in simple mastoid abecess. Chronic suppurative ethmoiditis. Circumscribed purulent<br />leptomeningitis due to frontal sinusitis. Radium in the field of laryngology.<br />By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible........................... 72S<br /><br />REPORTS (TOPOGRAPHICAL BXTRACTS FROM ANNUAL SANITARY REPORTS):<br />MONROVIA, LIBERIA. FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  W. L. Irvine.......................... 725<br />THE M0SQUITO COAST AND THE CAYMANS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W.W. Hargrave....  737<br />LA ROMANA, SANTO DOMINGO, ST. MARC AND GONAIVES, HAITI.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. B. Helm.................................. 741<br />LA CEIBA, TELA, AND PUERTO CORTEZ, HONDURAS. PUERTO BARRIOS, GUATEMALA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. A. Fortescue. ......748<br />TAMPICO AND VERA CRUZ.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  A. E. Younie............................... 761<br />PROGRESO, CARMEN, AND MERIDA, MEXICO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. F. Riordan............764<br />THE UPPER YANGTZE RIVER. SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S.<br />MONOCACY.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W. B. Hetfield.....   767<br />SOME ASPECTS OF MEDICAL INTEREST OF THE RECENT UPRISING IN CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield.....  760<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES NAVAL TRAINING STATION, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.<br />By Surgeon P. S. Rossiter................ 764<br />INDEX .................................................... 767<br />

 

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Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

The performance relates the shorter version of the epic Ramayana Saga with dancers playing as Rama, Shinta (Sita), Lakshmana, Rahwana (Ravana), Hanoman (Hanuman), Sugriwa (Sugriva), and other characters. The storyline starts when Prince Rama wanders into the woods with his wife Shinta and brother Lakshmana. There, the giant Rahwana kidnaps Shinta and holds her in his palace. Rama then seeks help and sends Lakhsmana to find his friend Sugriwa, the King of the Monkey Kingdom. Sugriwa sends his commander the white monkey, by the name of Hanoman, to check on Shinta in Rahwana’s Palace.

 

A dramatic scene is portrayed when Hanoman is captured by Rahwana’s troops and put inside a circle of fire to burn him alive. Instead of burning to crisp, the white monkey warrior remains unharmed and breaks out only to burn Rahwana’s palace instead. Thus, began the battle between the two forces.

 

At first, Rahwana and his troops manage to overrun Rama. However, Sugriwa and Hanoman then come to Rama’s aid along with the rest of the monkey troops, defeat the evil king once and for all

 

Taken @Bali, Indonesia

Italien / Trentino - Gardasee

 

Torbole

 

seen from Cima Larici above Pregasina (Riva del Garda)

 

gesehen von der Cima Larici oberhalb von Pregasina (Riva del Garda)

 

Nago–Torbole (Nach e Tùrbule in local dialect) is a comune (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 30 kilometres (19 miles) southwest of Trento on the north shore of Lake Garda.

 

The municipality of Nago–Torbole contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Torbole (Turbel), Nago (Naag), and Tempesta. The villages cling to the limestone rocks on the extreme north-west slope of Monte Baldo; it lies close to the mouth of the river Sarca and its houses are set as an amphitheater around the small bay, in front of Monte Rocchetta and the Ledro Alps.

 

Nago–Torbole borders the following municipalities: Arco, Riva del Garda, Mori, Ledro, Brentonico, and Malcesine.

 

Torbole

 

Torbole, at 67 metres (220 ft) above sea level, is situated on the extreme north-western appendix of the Baldo chain and it is set as an amphitheatre on Lake Garda. The lake, once only valuable to fishermen and traders, is still the most precious resource together with 2,079-metre (6,821 ft) high Monte Baldo, which was once a seemingly inexhaustible mine of firewood and game though now it is a protected area for its rare flora, some of which are endemic to the area.

 

Nago

 

Situated on the hills above Torbole sits Nago. The parish church of Nago, San Vigilio, is located on the town's main road. The present building dates from the late 16th century, but the first church probably dates from the early Christian period. It is mentioned for the first time in 1203, in a document relating to a dispute between the people of Nago and the Bishop of Trento, Conrad II de Beseno. It is called "collegiate" in the document and its importance at the time must have been considerable.

 

History

 

Venetian domination (1440–1510) is evident in the old harbor: a typical toll house placed on a lake-front wharf. Goethe, who stopped here in September 1786, described in his writings a longing and passionate image of this place. During Austrian domination (1810–1918), tourism grew during the Belle Époque.

 

This area was populated in prehistoric times and colonized during the Imperial Roman times; it formed a community with Nago, castle residence of the Counts d'Arco. In 1439 Torbole was involved in the Third Lombard War (1438), between the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice. The latter dominated the eastern side of the lake (the Riviera). In order to gain supremacy on Lake Garda and help the Venetian condottiero Gattamelata, in freeing Brescia from the Milanese siege, the Venetians transported twenty-five boats and six galleys from the Adriatic Sea up the River Adige to the fluvial harbour of Mori. From here the boats were hauled further by oxen and manual labour until they could be launched into Lake Loppio, then further hauled along the slopes of Monte Baldo into Lake Garda at Torbole. This exploit cost 240 oxen and 15,000 ducats. In April 1440 the small Venetian fleet destroyed Visconti's fleet and conquered Riva del Garda.

 

Torbole, as early as the 15th century, was a stop for European travelers passing through on the Atesina road from Germany to Italy. Montaigne visited it in 1580. Goethe arrived here from Rovereto in the afternoon of 12 September 1786, four days after having crossed Brenner Pass. Goethe was 37 years old and upon seeing the blue expanse of Lake Garda and the silver olive-groves, he experienced for the first time the atmosphere and mild climate of the places extolled by the Classics, and he wrote that he had achieved happiness. The Brescian Cesare Arici, idyllic rural poet, exalted the "fishy Torbole". The painter Hans Lietzmann bought a large olive grove on the lake's shore (behind the Hotel Paradiso) and opened a school of nude art.

 

World War II and Liberation

 

Late April 1945: As Allied forces advanced, German troops began retreating from northern Italy, including Nago-Torbole, facing pressure from both the Allies and Italian partisans.

 

April 28–29, 1945: Nago-Torbole experienced significant activity during these final days. Partisan groups and local residents took control of key positions, anticipating the arrival of Allied forces.

 

Skirmishes and Resistance: Skirmishes occurred between retreating German units and partisans. Some German forces attempted to hold their positions but faced overwhelming pressure from both the partisans and the approaching Allied troops.

 

Liberation: On April 29, 1945, elements of the U.S. 10th Mountain Division reached Nago-Torbole after advancing through the Po Valley and the foothills of the Alps. The Allied troops were welcomed by local residents and partisans, whose collaboration was instrumental in ensuring a relatively swift and smooth liberation. By the end of April, most of the remaining German forces in the region had either surrendered or fled. The formal surrender of German forces in Italy occurred on May 2, 1945, marking the end of hostilities in the region.

 

Col. William O. Darby: The Assistant Division Commander of the 10th Mountain Division, Col. William O. Darby, was killed in action in Torbole on April 30, 1945, along with his aide, Sgt. Major John T. Evans, when struck by enemy artillery fire. Darby was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General, the only officer of that rank to be killed in Europe during World War II. A monument in Piazza Lietzmann, in front of the Church of Santa Maria, commemorates Col. Darby and twenty-five U.S. soldiers of the division who remain missing in action after the Lake Garda DUKW sinking. A separate plaque in the courtyard of the former Hotel Geier marks the exact site where Darby and Evans were killed.

 

U.S. Army Air Corps Aircraft: Above Nago, a U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft crashed during the final days of the war. In the following decades, local residents and the surviving pilot’s family commemorated the event with memorial visits and ceremonies.

 

Associazione Benàch: The Associazione Benàch is a non-profit organization based in Nago-Torbole that studies and preserves local World War II history. It operates a Welcome and Research Centre and has been involved in educational programs, exhibitions, publications, and documentary projects related to the 10th Mountain Division and the region’s wartime history. The organization has also proposed the creation of a "Museum of War and Peace" in Torbole to document the local impact of both World Wars.

 

Annual 40-Mile Challenge: Since 2010, the annual Col. William O. Darby 40-Mile Challenge has been held to honor Col. Darby and the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division. The event was initiated by Rick Tscherne in collaboration with Ben Appleby and the Associazione Benàch, and has grown into a successful endurance march retracing the division’s final advance from the Po Valley to Lake Garda. The challenge typically takes place on or around April 30, the anniversary of Darby’s death, attracting civilians, veterans, and serving military personnel from Italy and the United States.

 

Sister City Relationship: Torbole maintains a sister-city relationship with Fort Smith, Arkansas, Darby’s hometown, in recognition of his legacy and the shared commemoration of the 10th Mountain Division.

 

The Lost Mountaineers Documentary: The award-winning documentary The Lost Mountaineers (2022) recounts these events and their modern remembrance.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Nago-Torbole ist eine italienische Gemeinde mit 2764 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2024) in der Provinz Trient, Region Trentino-Südtirol. Sie gehört zur Talgemeinschaft Comunità Alto Garda e Ledro.

 

Etymologie

 

Nach Christian Schneller ist der Name Nago aus der Aphärese von Benaco, dem alten Namen des Gardasees, entstanden. Benaco leitet sich nach vorherrschender Meinung aus dem Keltischen ab. Womöglich aus bennacus was in etwa „mit vielen Landspitzen“ bedeutet. Vereinzelt wird auch ein illyrischer Ursprung des Wortes angenommen. Der Name Torbole leitet sich aus dem lateinischen turbulus im Sinne von ad aquas turbulas (dt. bewegtes/stürmisches Wasser) ab. Nach Carlo Battisti ist der Name Torbole aus der Bezeichnung turba vel vivarium entstanden, mit der die Grafen von Arco ihren Fischmarkt benannten. Das nicht mehr gebräuchliche deutsche Exonym lautet Naag-Turbel.

 

Geografie

 

Lage

 

Die Gemeinde Nago-Torbole besteht aus den zwei Fraktionen:

 

Torbole liegt am nördlichen Teil des Gardasees, direkt an der Küstenstraße Gardesana Orientale. Der Ort selbst liegt 68 m über dem Meeresspiegel. Hier mündet die Sarca in den Gardasee, die diesen als Mincio bei Peschiera del Garda wieder verlässt.

 

Nago befindet sich oberhalb von Torbole auf über 200 Metern unterhalb des Passo San Giovanni (287 m s.l.m.), eingebettet zwischen der Monte Bondone – Monte Stivo Gruppe im Norden und der Monte-Baldo-Kette im Süden. Der Pass stellt eine wichtige Ost-West-Verbindung zwischen dem Vallagarina – dem südlichen Teil des Etschtales – und dem nördlichen Bereich des Gardasees dar.

 

Der Weiler Tempesta bildet keine eigene Fraktion und besteht lediglich aus einigen Häusern am Ostufer des Gardasees südlich von Torbole. Südlich von Tempesta bildet die Gemeindegrenze gleichzeitig die Grenze zur Provinz Verona (Region Venetien).

 

Die Gemeinde hat ihren Sitz in Torbole. Der höchste Punkt wird am Monte Altissimo di Nago mit 2079 m s.l.m. erreicht.

 

Nachbargemeinden sind: Arco, Brentonico, Ledro, Mori und Riva del Garda alle in der Provinz Trient gelegen sowie Malcesine in der Provinz Verona.

 

Zum über 28 km² großen Gemeindegebiet gehören Teile des Naturparks Monte Baldo, darunter zum Teil die NATURA 2000 Schutzgebiete Lago di Loppio und Monte Baldo di Brentonico.

 

Geschichte

 

Frühgeschichte und Antike

 

Die ersten menschlichen Spuren in Nago-Torbole lassen sich auf das späte Jungpaläolithikum zurückdatieren. Zahlreiche Steinartefakte wurden bei Castel Penede, den Ausläufern des Monte Altissimo di Nago und des Monte Creino gefunden, die den Schluss zulassen, dass es sich nicht nur um sporadische Besuche in der Gegend handelte. Weitere Funde aus dem Mesolithikum wurden bei Prati di Nago und Pré Alta entdeckt. Die ersten menschlichen Überreste stammen aus einer Grabstätte der Kupfersteinzeit am südöstlichen Ortsrand von Nago. Andere Funde weisen auf die Präsenz von Menschen in der Bronzezeit und Eisenzeit hin. Auf letztere lässt sich die Fundstelle Busa Brodeghèra beim Rifugio Altissimo Damiano Chiesa zurückführen.

 

Der Fritzens-Sanzeno-Kultur in der Eisenzeit wird die Gründung einer Siedlung unterhalb von Castel Penede zugeschrieben. Bei mehreren Grabungen, die ab 2019 von der Universität Trient am westlichen Abhang des Burgberges durchgeführt wurden, wurden die Reste einer Siedlung freigelegt, die ab dem 6. Jahrhundert. v. Chr. bis zur späten römischen Kaiserzeit im 5. Jahrhundert n. Chr. bestand.

 

Aus der Römerzeit waren bereits 1832 die Reste einer Nekropolis auf dem Burgberg freigelegt worden. In der Nähe fand man auch gotische und römische Münzen aus den Regierungszeiten Vespasians und Konstantins.

 

Den Römern wird auch der Bau einer ersten Straße über das Valle S. Lucia zum Seeufer zugesprochen. Sicher ist, dass der Karrenweg über diesen kleinen Taleinschnitt bis zur Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts die einzige Straßenverbindung zwischen Nago und Torbole war. Weitere römische Fundstücke wurden im Ortskern von Nago bei der Pfarrkirche S. Vigilio sowie im Ortsteil Tempesta am Ufer des Gardasees entdeckt.

 

Mittelalter

 

Während der Byzantinischen Herrschaft gehörte der nördliche Uferbereich des Gardasees und damit auch die Gegend um Nago-Torbole der Curtis Ripae, also dem Hof Riva, an. Ende des 10. Jahrhunderts fiel dieser dem Bischof von Verona zu, in dessen Besitz er bis 1027 verblieb, als Konrad II. ihn dem Hochstift Trient einverleibte. 1039 wurden dem Pustertaler Stift Sonnenburg Nutzungs- und Eigentumsrechte in Sommolago („locus Summolacus“), der Gegend am Nordufer des Gardasees zwischen Riva, Arco und Torbole am Unterlauf des Sarca, übertragen.

 

Ab dem 12. Jahrhundert begann sich die Geschichte der beiden Orte differenzierter herauszukristallisieren. 1154 wurde Torbole und 1171 Nago erstmals schriftlich erwähnt. Im gleichen Jahrhundert weiteten die Grafen von Arco geschickt ihren Machtbereich auf die beiden Orte aus. Dabei war Torbole wegen des Hafens und der damit verbundenen Zolleinnahmen und Nago aufgrund von Castel Penede von Interesse. Zwischen 1198, als den Arcos von Philipp von Schwaben das Recht zugestanden wurde eine Zollstation am Hafen von Torbole zu errichten, und 1210, als sie vom Fürstbischof von Trient Friedrich von Wangen die Burg oberhalb von Nago als Lehen erhielten, konnten sie ihren Machtbereich am nordöstlichen Eckpunkt des Gardasees festigen.

 

Die Lage am wichtigen Verbindungsweg zwischen Etschtal und Gardasee führte unweigerlich dazu, dass durch beide Orte im Laufe der Geschichte immer wieder Heerscharen durchzogen. So 1243 im Konflikt zwischen Ghibellinen und Guelfen, als guelfische Truppen nach ihrer Niederlage gegen die Verbündeten Ezzelinos III. da Romano die beiden Orte brandschatzten.

 

Andererseits zog man aufgrund der Lage nicht nur Soldaten und Söldner an, sondern auch Reisende. Einer der Ersten war Dante Alighieri, der zu Beginn des 14. Jahrhunderts auf Castel Penede weilte und dies in der Divina Commedia erwähnte.

 

Frühe Neuzeit

 

Im Dezember 1438 fiel Castel Penede und damit die beiden Orte in den Herrschaftsbereich der Republik Venedig. Während des Kampfes um die Vorherrschaft auf dem Gardasee zwischen Venedig und den Viscontis aus Mailand, wurde 1439 die im Unternehmen Galeas per montes vom Etschtal zum Gardasee transportierte venezianische Flotte in Torbole zu Wasser gelassen. Pier Candido Decembrio, der das venezianische Unternehmen beschrieb, bezeichnete Torbole noch als kleines Landgut. Mit Venedig nahm aber die Bedeutung Torboles als Hafenort zu, was zu einem merklichen Bevölkerungszuwachs führte, so dass die erstmals 1175 erwähnte Kirche S. Andrea in Torbole erweitert werden musste. Zwischen 1458 und 1459 wurde mit dem Bau eines Karrenweges an der zum Gardasee abfallenden Südwand des Monte Brione erstmals eine direkte Landverbindung zwischen Torbole und Riva geschaffen. Damit entfielen die bis dahin nötigen Umwege über Arco und die damit verbundenen Straßenzölle.

 

Die venezianische Epoche endete 1509 als Maximilian I. mit seinen Truppen die Burg und die beiden Orte nach der Niederlage Venedigs in der Schlacht bei Agnadello und dem damit verbundenen Rückzug der Venezianer aus dem Gebiet des oberen Gardasees besetzen konnte. In der Folgezeit kehrten die Grafen von Arco als kaiserliche Lehensherrn zurück. Die Gemeinde behielt aber eine weitgehende administrative Autonomie, wie aus den erhaltenen Gemeindestatuten hervorgeht.

 

1580 setzte Michel de Montaigne auf seiner Italienreise mit dem Boot von Torbole nach Riva über und hinterließ eine erste kurze literarische Beschreibung des Ortes.

 

Moderne

 

Während des Spanischen Erbfolgekrieges wurde Castel Penede 1703 von den Franzosen unter General Vendôme zerstört und verfiel zur Ruine. 1766 ließ Maria Theresia von Österreich in Tempesta eine Zollstation errichten, um die Einfuhr von billigem Getreide aus Venetien über den See zu unterbinden. Eine Maßnahme, die den Unmut der Bevölkerung hervorrief, so dass die Zollstation zwei Jahre später von einer aufgebrachten Menge zerstört wurde.

 

Im gleichen Jahr konnte nach drei Jahren Bauzeit zum ersten Mal auch die neue Straße zwischen Nago und Torbole begangen werden. Diese als Strada dei forti bekannte Straße (heute via Europa) wurde um 1773 fertiggestellt. Auf seinem Weg nach Torbole während seiner Italienischen Reise im September 1786 nutzte Johann Wolfgang von Goethe allerdings noch den alten durch das Valle S. Lucia führenden Karrenweg. Goethe hielt sich nur einen Tag und eine Nacht in Torbole auf, das zu diesem Zeitpunkt immer noch einen ärmlichen Eindruck auf ihn hinterließ. Die Haustüren ohne Schlösser, die Fenster statt mit Glas mit Ölpapier bespannt und die Häuser ohne hygienische Einrichtungen, dem Naturzustande ziemlich nahekommend, wie Goethe an Anlehnung an Rosseau in seinem Tagebuch festhielt. Dennoch überwog das köstliche Schauspiel, den der See und die Natur bot, zumal er auch an seinem Werk Iphigiene gut vorankam.

 

Goethe sah damals zum ersten Mal während seiner Italienreise im Palazzo Giordani, in dem bereits 1765 Joseph II. abgestiegen war, einen Zitronengarten, der später im 19. Jahrhundert zu einer der Attraktion Torboles wurde und unter anderem von Johann von Sachsen aufgesucht wurde.

 

Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts war Torbole auf etwa 400 Einwohner angewachsen und insbesondere als Umschlagsplatz von Getreide aus der Po-Ebene bekannt. 1787 schlossen sich in hier die Gepäckträger zu einer unabhängigen gewerkschaftsähnlichen Vereinigung zusammen, einer der ersten im Trentino, um ihren Lohnforderungen besser Ausdruck zu verleihen. Es handelte sich dabei um Saisonarbeiter aus der näheren und weiteren Umgebung, die ihr Auskommen mit dem Ent- und Beladen der im Hafen von Torbole liegenden Boote und Schiffe hatten.

 

In der wechselreichen napoleonischen Epoche zogen 1796 französische Truppen durch Nago-Torbole, bevor es 1802 zum Königreich Bayern und anschließend von 1805 bis 1814 zum Königreich Italien fiel. Infolge des Wiener Kongresses wurde es 1815 dem Kaisertum Österreich einverleibt.

 

Das Risorgimento, das sich mit seinen nationalstaatlichen Ideen und der Frage der Autonomie von Tirol und als Steigerung sogar der Abtrennung von Österreich in den politischen und intellektuellen Kreisen des Trentino im 19. Jahrhundert bemerkbar machte, fand auch im kleinen Nago-Torbole seine Anhänger. Einer der führenden Köpfe in diesen Zirkeln war Antonio Gazzoletti aus Nago, der 1848 in dieser Frage bei König Karl Albert von Sardinien-Piemont und 1859 bei dessen Sohn Viktor Emanuel II. vorstellig wurde. Der Hafen von Torbole wurde dabei nach den Anschluss der Lombardei an das Königreich Sardinien-Piemont zur illegalen Einfuhr von Waffen genutzt. Infolgedessen wurden 1860 über 20 Personen, darunter Hafenarbeiter, Bootsbesitzer und Wirte aus Nago-Torbole verhaftet, so dass die Gemeinde sich veranlasst sah, für den Unterhalt ihrer Familien zu sorgen. 1864 kam es nach der Konspiration der Aktionspartei Giuseppe Mazzinis, die einen gewaltsamen Anschluss des Trentino und Venetiens mit Unterstützung lokaler Sympathisanten anstrebte, zu weiteren Verhaftungen. Im Zuge des sich zuspannenden Nationalitätenkonfliktes wurde auch der deutsche Ortsname Naag-Turbel als Abgrenzung zu italienisch-nationalistischen Kreisen stärker hervorgehoben.

 

Die zunehmenden Spannungen zum Nachbarn Italien veranlassten Österreich-Ungarn 1861 zum Bau der Sperre Nago, an der neuen Straße nach Torbole hinunter. Das veraltete Werk wurde später der Festung Riva eingegliedert, war aber nie von besonderer militärischer Bedeutung, auch nicht nach dem Verlust Venetiens 1866 infolge des Dritten italienischen Unabhängigkeitskrieges.

 

Mit dem Anschluss Venetiens an das Königreich Italien bildete sich die österreichisch verbliebenen Nordküste des Gardasees zur Riviera des Kaiserreichs heraus. Das malerische Torbole mit seinem kleinen Hafen übte seine Faszination insbesondere bei Künstlern und Schriftstellern wie Hans Lietzmann, Paul Franz Flickel, Paul Hey, Michael Zeno Diemer, Eduard Weichberger, Georg Macco, Hermann Drück, Heinrich Adam, Carl Wuttke, Josef Rolletschek, Ludwig Friedrich Hofelich und anderen aus. Schnell wurde es vom aufkommenden Fremdenverkehr als Fischerdorf vereinnahmt und dementsprechend beworben. 1875 wurde mit dem Bau einer Fischzucht sowohl eine zusätzliche Einkommensquelle geschaffen als auch dem steigenden Bedarf nach Fischen in den Gasthäusern Torboles Rechnung getragen.

 

Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts baute man die Verkehrswege weiter aus. 1884 wurde die Straße von Nago nach Arco eröffnet und mit der Eröffnung der Lokalbahn Mori–Arco–Riva und des Bahnhofes Nago-Torbole 1891 erhielt die Gemeinde Anschluss an das Eisenbahnnetz, wovon vor allem der Fremdenverkehr auch von Tagesausflüglern profitierte.

 

20. und 21. Jahrhundert

 

Vom immer stärker aufkommenden Fremdenverkehr, 1907 wurde das Grand Hotel Torbole eröffnet, das in den 1930er Jahren zur Colonia Pavese umgewandelt wurde, profitierte fast ausschließlich Torbole. Von 1900 bis 1910 stieg hier die Bevölkerungszahl fast doppelt so stark an wie in Nago. In Letzterem war die Wirtschaft um die Jahrhundertwende nach wie vor fast ausschließlich von der Land-, Alm- und Forstwirtschaft geprägt. Diese war meist auf Subsistenzwirtschaft ausgerichtet und durch eine starke Fragmentierung des Grundeigentums charakterisiert, so dass der Lebensunterhalt oft nicht gesichert war. Die Folgen waren Unterernährung und Mangelerkrankungen wie die Pellagra. Die Armut und Verwahrlosung in Nago fielen zunehmend auch den Reisenden in Richtung Gardasee auf. Kinder die an der Bahnstation in Nago bettelten waren ein alltägliches Bild. Erst in den 1910er Jahren versuchte man auch in Nago vermehrt mit den Fremden Geld zu verdienen. 1911 plante man den Bau einer Seilbahn von Torbole nach Nago, das Projekt kam aber nicht über die Planungsphase heraus, und 1913 errichtete man ein erstes größeres und moderneres Hotel in der Nähe des Bahnhofs in Nago.

 

Trotzdem profitierte der Ort auch weiterhin nur am Rand von der touristischen Entwicklung, entging aber nicht der nationalistischen Debatte. Angeheizt wurde diese durch die Veröffentlichung einer Schrift von Giulio de Frenzi, einem Pseudonym des Schriftstellers und späteren faschistischen Politikers Luigi Federzoni, mit dem vielsagenden Titel La italianità del Gardasee (dt. Die Italianität des Gardasees). Darin prangerte der Autor unter anderem das Verdrängen italienischer Eigentümer auf dem privaten und gewerblichen Immobilienmarkt zugunsten finanzstarker deutschsprachiger Besitzer auch am Nordufer des Sees an. Aufgrund dieser nationalen und sozialen Spannungen wurden die Einwohner von Nago und Torbole der verschiedensten sozialen Schichten, auch wenn das liberal bürgerliche Element überwog, in nationalistischen irredentistischen Organisationen tätig. Aufsehen erregte in diesem Zusammenhang die Ausweisung Scipio Sigheles wegen politischer nationalistischer Agitation durch die österreichisch-ungarischen Behörden im Sommer 1912. Gegen die Ausweisung, Sighele besaß in Nago ein Haus, protestierte nicht nur der Gemeinderat in Nago, sondern auch Teile der Bevölkerung mit Unterschriftenaktionen.

 

Erster Weltkrieg

 

Mit Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges wurde die wehrfähige männliche Bevölkerung eingezogen. Wie die meisten aus dem Trentino Eingezogenen wurden die Soldaten aus Nago-Torbole an der Ostfront gegen Russland eingesetzt. Bis zum italienischen Kriegseintritt im Mai 1915 baute die k.u.k. Armee zahlreiche Feldstellungen rund um die beiden Orte aus. Ein vom österreichischen Generalstab unterhalb des Gipfels des Monte Altissimo di Nago geplantes Panzerwerk kam dagegen nicht über erste Aushubarbeiten hinaus. Am 22. Mai 1915 wurde beide Orte evakuiert und die Bevölkerung nach Böhmen und Mähren sowie ins Flüchtlingslager Mitterndorf gebracht, von wo sie erst zwischen 1918 und 1919 zurückkehrte.

 

Während des Krieges verlief die Front direkt durch das Gemeindegebiet von Nago-Torbole und bildete hier einen nach Süden vorgelagerten österreichisch-ungarischen Frontbogen. Insbesondere im ersten und letzten Kriegsjahr kam es an den nördlichen Ausläufern des Monte Altissimo di Nago immer wieder zu Gefechten. So im Dezember 1915, als die Italiener bei Malga Zures angriffen, und im Sommer 1918, als die k.u.k.-Truppen den von den Tschechoslowakischen Legionen gehaltenen benachbarten Doss Alto di Nago kurzzeitig erobern konnten. Torbole wurde dagegen zum Ziel der italienischen Marine, die mit MAS-Einheiten Sabotageaktionen unternahmen. Ein gewissen Bekanntheitsgrad erlangte der Frontabschnitt am Doss Casina durch die Präsenz einiger Futuristen, darunter Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Anselmo Bucci, Antonio Sant’Elia, Mario Sironi, Achille Funi und Luigi Russolo, die sich als Freiwillige in der italienischen Armee gemeldet hatten. Durch Artilleriebeschuss und Plünderungen wurden sowohl Nago als auch Torbole schwer in Mitleidenschaft gezogen und nach dem Krieg in die schwarze Zone und die damit am schwersten vom Krieg zerstörte Zone eingestuft.

 

Zwischenkriegszeit

 

Mit dem Bau der Gardesana Orientale 1929, der Staatsstraße zwischen Nago und Torbole 1935 und dem 1939 angestochenen Etsch-Gardasee-Tunnel sollte sich das Landschaftsbild im Gemeindegebiet einschneidend verändern. In den 1920er Zeit akzentuierten sich auch die soziowirtschaftlichen Unterschiede der beiden Orte. War Nago nach wie vor von der Landwirtschaft geprägt, spielte der Dienstleistungsbereich und das Handwerk aufgrund des Fremdenverkehrs in Torbole dort die größere Rolle. Diese Unterschiede führten dazu, dass beide Orte Anstrengungen unternahmen eigenständige Gemeinden zu bilden, wie es bereits in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts der Fall gewesen war. Diesem Bestreben kam die faschistische Gemeindereform 1927, auf deren Grundlage über 2000 italienische Gemeinden mit weniger als 2000 Einwohnern eingemeindet wurden, zuvor und im Jahr 1929 wurde Nago-Torbole der Gemeinde Riva angeschlossen.

 

Der Wiederaufbau in der Nachkriegszeit und die anschließende Weltwirtschaftskrise und deren Folgen waren ausschlaggebend dafür, dass der Fremdenverkehr in Torbole bis zum Zweiten Weltkrieg nicht mehr die Wachstumsraten, wie unmittelbar vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg aufwies. Während des Faschismus waren es vor allem staatliche Einrichtungen und Organisationen, wie die 1935 eingerichtete Colonia Pavese zur Tuberkulosevorbeugung, die das Bild des Tourismus in Torbole bestimmten. Anfang 1939 wurde der Gardasee mit den KdF-Fahrten auch in die NS-Urlaubskultur aufgenommen.

 

Zweiter Weltkrieg

 

Spätestens mit dem italienischen Kriegseintritt am 10. Juni 1940 kam der Tourismus fast vollständig zum Erliegen. Immer stärker machten sich die repressiven Maßnahmen des faschistischen Regimes und die zunehmenden Lebensmittelrationierungen bemerkbar. Nach dem Sturz Mussolinis und dem Waffenstillstand mit den Alliierten im September 1943 wurde auch Nago-Torbole am 9. September von deutschen Truppen besetzt und der Operationszone Alpenvorland eingegliedert. Als Quartiere wurden von den Deutschen die Schulgebäude, aber auch Hotels und Privatunterkünfte requiriert, so wurde in der Casa Beust am Hafen ein Luftwaffenkommando untergebracht. Innerhalb von 24 Stunden musste auch die Colonia Pavese geräumt werden, in der über 250 Kinder untergebracht waren. Sie diente in der Folgezeit als Wehrmachtslazarett. Am 8. Juni 1944 wurden bei einer Aktion gegen die Resistenza zwischen Riva, Arco und Nago-Torbole 11 Widerstandskämpfer von Angehörigen des Trientiner Sicherungsverbandes, des Polizeiregiments Bozen und der SS erschossen. 1944 nahmen auch die Caproni-Werke im Etsch-Gardasee Tunnel bei Torbole ihren Betrieb auf. In dem unterirdischen Rüstungsbetrieb wurden Teile für die sogenannten Wunderwaffen wie die Me-262 und die V2 produziert. Im Rahmen der sogenannten Alpenfestung wurde zwischen 1944 und 1945 rund um Nago-Torbole von der Organisation Todt die Blaue Linie mit Ringständen und Bunkern errichtet.

 

Am Morgen des 29. April 1945 begann der Angriff der 10. US-Gebirgsdivision auf Nago-Torbole. In zwei Gruppen, eine über die Gardesana Orientale und eine über die Westflanke den Altissimo di Nago vorgehend, gelang es den Amerikanern den Widerstand der letzten deutschen Verbände des XIV. Panzerkorps zu brechen, die sich nach dem Zusammenbruch der deutschen Front am 21. April bei Bologna während der alliierten Frühjahrsoffensive nach Norden abgesetzt hatten. Am frühen Morgen des 30. April konnte Torbole und am späten Vormittag Nago nach 30 Stunden heftigster Kämpfe eingenommen werden. Bei dem Unternehmen wurden auch Amphibienfahrzeuge vom Typ DUKW eingesetzt, wobei ein DUKW vor der Sarcamündung verloren ging.

 

Nachkriegszeit, Wirtschaftswunder und Massentourismus

 

Unmittelbar nach der Befreiung entstanden in Nago und in Torbole jeweils sogenannte Nationale Befreiungskomitees, die sich in erster Linie um die Aufrechterhaltung der öffentlichen Ordnung, der Beseitigung von Kriegsschäden und der Räumung von Kriegsmaterial kümmerten. Zu den Aufgaben des CLN gehörte auch die Versorgung der heimkehrenden Militärinternierten. Das CLN in Torbole machte es sich zudem zur Aufgabe einen neuen Hafen für die Fischer in Torbole zu errichten, da der alte Hafen zu einem wesentlichen Teil dem Bau der Gardesana zum Opfer gefallen war. Mit den ersten Gemeindewahlen von Riva im März 1946 lösten sich die CLN praktisch auf. Noch waren Nago und Torbole Ortsteile von Riva, die Diskussion um eine Neugründung war aber bereits im Oktober 1945 vom CLN angefacht worden.

 

Ende der 1940er Jahre rückte die touristische Entwicklung wieder in den Vordergrund des öffentlichen Interesses. In diesem Zusammenhang sah man in beiden Orten die administrative Eigenständigkeit für die zukünftige Entwicklung als entscheidend an. Einen ersten Schritt in dieser Richtung unternahmen die Hoteliers in Torbole, die 1952 einen von Riva unabhängigen Fremdenverkehrsverein gründeten. Angeheizt wurde die Debatte auch durch einen neuen Flächennutzungsplan, der als Ausverkauf von Nago-Torbole betrachtet wurde. Im Winter 1955/56 wurden schließlich die für ein einzuberufendes Referendum nötigen Unterschriften gesammelt, das am 15. Juli 1956 abgehalten wurde. Über 70 % der Wähler stimmten für eine Neugründung der Gemeinde Nago-Torbole, die 1958 ihren Abschluss fand.

 

Bis in die 1950er Jahre hatte sich an der sozioökonomischen Lage wenig geändert. Eine immer noch auf Eigenverbrauch ausgerichtete Landwirtschaft bestimmte das Leben der meisten Bewohner. Lediglich Wein- und Tabakanbau wurden im Sinne einer landwirtschaftlichen Produktion betrieben. Auch der Fischfang war für den Eigenverbrauch oder für den örtlichen Markt bestimmt. Die Emigration als Gastarbeiter in die Schweiz, nach Deutschland oder in die belgischen Bergbaugebiete waren nur die logische Konsequenz. Mit dem Aufkommen des Wirtschaftswunders begannen die Nächtigungszahlen langsam aber stetig anzusteigen. 1956 zählte man bereits über 120.000 Übernachtungen im Gemeindegebiet. Es gab bereits 20 Hotels, 17 davon in Torbole, 16 Pensionen, 27 Zimmervermieter und einen Campingplatz. Zahlreiche Gaststätten und Geschäfte entstanden. Gleichzeitig traten aber auch infrastrukturelle Probleme auf. So mangelte es im Sommer an Trinkwasser und Wasser musste rationiert werden. Um Abhilfe zu schaffen, wurde in Torbole Wasser ungereinigt aus dem See gepumpt, mit den entsprechenden hygienischen Problemen. Eine neue Wasserleitung wurde erst 1957 fertiggestellt. Ähnliche Probleme ergaben sich mit der Abwasserentsorgung.

 

Mit der Gründung des Segelclubs 1964 wurde Torbole auch in Wassersportkreisen bekannt. Zum Bekanntheitsgrad trug 1978 auch die Gründung des Surfclubs Torbole mit bei. In der Folgezeit war der Ort immer wieder Ausrichtungsort von nationalen und internationalen Segel- und Surfveranstaltungen. Mit der Fertigstellung der Autostrada A22 1974 war Nago-Torbole endgültig für den Massentourismus erschlossen worden. Im Jahr 2015 hatten sich die Nächtigungszahlen mit fast 760.000 Übernachtungen, davon 88 % Ausländer, seit 1956 mehr als versechsfacht.

 

Tourismus

 

Wie auch das umliegende Gebiet ist Torbole ein beliebtes Tourismus-Ziel. Vor allem bei Windsurfern ist der Ort aufgrund der konstanten Winde sehr beliebt. Darüber hinaus bieten die umgebenden Gardaseeberge unzählige Möglichkeiten für Mountainbiketouren sowie Wander- und Kletterrouten.

 

Verkehr

 

Durch das Gemeindegebiet führen die drei Staatsstraßen SS 240 „di Loppio e Val di Ledro“, SS 240 dir sowie die SS 249 „Gardesana Orientale“. In der Hochsaison, insbesondere an und vor Feiertagen sowie an Wochenenden leidet die Gemeinde am hohen Verkehrsaufkommen. Eine Ortsumgehung von Nago ist seit 2018 in Bau. Eine Umgehungsstraße für Torbole ist seit den 1980er Jahren im Gespräch.

 

Durch Nago-Torbole führt auch der Radweg, der bei Mori im Etschtal vom Etsch-Radweg Richtung Gardasee abzweigt. Der Ort verfügt über drei Häfen: der alte Fischerhafen, etwa 400 m westlich davon der kleine Hafen Porticciolo und etwa 700 m südlich bei dem Ausgang des Etsch-Gardasee-Tunnel der Yachthafen Porto Conca d’oro. Etwa 200 m südlich des Fischerhafens besitzt Torbole zudem eine Anlegestelle der Navigarda, die die Linienschifffahrt auf dem Gardasee betreibt. Außerdem halten in der Gemeinde Linienbusse aus der Provinz Trient und aus der Provinz Verona sowie Busse des Öffentlichen Personennahverkehrs.

 

Sehenswürdigkeiten

 

Castel Penede, erstmals im 13. Jahrhundert erwähnte Burg, zu einer Ruine verfallen.

 

Unterhalb der Ruine befinden sich die Reste eines frühgeschichtlichen Siedlungsplatzes.

 

Straßensperre Nago, Bauwerk aus k.u.k. Zeiten zur Kontrolle der wichtigen Straßenverbindung zwischen Gardasee und Etschtal über den Passo San Giovanni.

 

Pfarrkirche Sant’Andrea in Torbole, im 12. Jahrhundert erstmals erwähnt und im 18. Jahrhundert neu errichtet.

 

Kirche Santa Maria al Lago in Torbole, in den 1930er Jahren am Ufer des Sees erbaute Kirche.

 

Pfarrkirche San Vigilio in Nago, im 12. Jahrhundert erstmals erwähnt.

 

Kirche San Zeno in Nago, im 12. Jahrhundert auf einem bereits in der Frühgeschichte begangenen Hügel errichtet. Daneben lag das 1213 erstmals erwähnte Castello di San Zenone, von dem nur einige Mauerreste erhalten sind.

 

Rochuskirche in Nago, aus dem 16. Jahrhundert.

 

Trinitätskirche in Nago, Spätbarockkirche aus dem 17. Jahrhundert.

 

Zollhäuschen – Auf einer Mole im Hafenbecken steht ein kleines Zollhaus aus der Zeit der k.u.k.-Monarchie, da bei Tempesta bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg die Grenze zwischen dem Kaiserreich Österreich-Ungarn und dem Königreich Italien verlief. Die Ursprünge des Häuschens liegen vermutlich noch weiter zurück, da ein Relief an der Außenmauer an die venezianische Zeit erinnert. In den Sommermonaten wird das Zollhaus zum Teil als Bar genutzt. Es befindet sich im Privatbesitz.

 

Tunnelausgang des Etsch-Gardasee-Tunnels, Wasserbauwerk zur Hochwasserregulierung der Etsch nach 20 Jahren Bauzeit 1959 fertiggestellt.

 

Gedenktafel in Torbole, die an den Aufenthalt Johann Wolfgang von Goethes in Torbole während seiner Italienischen Reise im September 1786 erinnert.

 

Großes Wandgemälde an der Fassade der „Casa Beust“, Alterssitz von Friedrich Constantin von Beust, in Torbole am Gardasee: Der heilige Antonio spricht mit den Fischen von Hans Lietzmann.

 

Parco naturale locale del Monte Baldo, Naturpark, der sich rund um den Monte Altissimo di Nago ausdehnt.

 

Valle di Santa Lucia mit einem alten grob gepflasterten Weg durch Olivenhaine. Einst einzige Verbindung zwischen Nago und Torbole. Durch dieses Tal wurde 1439 die venezianische Flotte im Unternehmen Galeas per montes vom Etschtal nach Torbole herabgelassen.

 

(Wikipedia)

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

For the best part of the last year, I have been posting shots of Kent churches on Twitter, to break up the torrent of horrible news relating to COVID, Brexit and our Dear Leader, and in doing so, I have discovered many churches I visited at the start of the project, needed to redone.

 

Goudhurst, is, apparently, the highest point in Kent, or so Jools tells me. I will just check that with Wikki: Hmm, it seems not. That is Betsom's Hill north of the M25 near to the border with London. Goudhurst is not even in the top ten.

 

I can confirm we approached the village along a long hill from a river valley, finally climbing up the narrow high street, getting round the parked cars and finding a space nearly big enough for the car near to the church.

 

On the other side of the road from the church, a series of very Kent houses and buildings, all decorated with pegtiles, in the Kent fashion, and to the south, the imposing structure of The Star and Eagle Hotel.

 

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Seen from afar Goudhurst is Kent's answer to Rye - a small hilltop village over which broods the lovely church. Its west tower, dating from the seventeenth century, is rather low, but the honey-coloured sandstone is particularly beautiful here. We enter the church through the tower, and are impressed by the way in which the width and height of the nave and its aisles combine to make such a noble structure. There are two remarkably fine wooden effigies dating from the sixteenth century, carved and painted and set into a purpose-built bay window. Nearby, in the south chapel, the walls are crammed with monuments and there are three brasses, one of which is covered by a stone canopy - not particularly grand but unexpected and functional.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goudhurst

 

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GOUDHURST

LIES the next parish southward from Marden. The northern part of it, as far southward as the stream formerly called Risebridge river, which flows from Bedgebury to Hope mill, and a smaller part likewise on the other side of it, adjoining to the rivulet called the Bewle westward, is in the hundred of Marden, and lower division of the lath of Scray; the rest of the parish southward of the first-mentioned stream, is in the hundred of West, alias Little Barnefield, and lath of Aylesford, comprehending the whole of that hundred. So much of this parish as is within the borough of Faircrouch, is in the hundred of Cranbrook; as much as is in the boroughs of Pattenden, Lilsden, Combwell, and Chingley or Bromley, is in the same hundred of West, alias Little Barnefield; and the residue is in the hundred of Marden. It lies wholly within the district of the Weald, and in the division of West Kent.

 

The borsholders of the boroughs of Highamden, Pattenden, and Hilsden, in this parish, are chosen at the court-leet holden for the manor of East Farleigh, and the inhabitants owe no service but to that manor; only a constable for the hundred of West Barnefield may be chosen out of such parts of them as lay within it for that hundred. The manor of Maidstone likewise extends into this parish, over lands as far southward as Rise-bridge.

 

THE PARISH OF GOUDHURST is very pleasantly situated, being interspersed on every side with frequent hill and dale. The trees in it are oak, of a large size, and in great plenty throughout it, as well in the woods, as broad hedge-rows and shaves round the fields. The lands are in general very fertile; the soil, like the adjoining parishes, is mostly a deep stiff clay; being heavy tillage land, but it has the advantage of a great deal of rich marle at different places, and in some few parts sand, with which the roads are in general covered; and in the grounds near Finchcocks, there is a gravel-pit, which is the only one, I believe, in this part of the county. There is much more pasture than arable land in it, the former being mostly fatting lands, bullocks fatted on them weighing in general from 120 to 130 stone. It is well watered with several streams in different parts of it, all which uniting with the Teis, flow in one channel, along the western side of this parish, towards the Medway. The eastern and southern parts of it are much covered with thick coppice wood, mostly of oak. The turnpike road from Maidstone over Cocksheath through Marden, leads through the upper part of this parish southward, dividing into two branches at Winchethill; that to the left goes on to Comborne, and leaving the town of Goudhurst a little to the right, joins the Cranbrooke road a little beyond it. That to the right, having taken into it a branch of the Woodgate road from Tunbridge, near Broadford-bridge, goes on to the town of Goudhurst, and thence eastward to Cranbrooke and Tenterden; and the great high road from Lamberhurst through Stonecrouch to Hawkhurst, and into Sussex, south-east, goes along the southern bounds of this parish.

 

The parish is about eight miles long and four broad. There are about three hundred houses in it, and somewhat more than five inhabitants to a house. It is very healthy; sixty years of age being esteemed, if not the prime, at least the middle age of life; the inhabitants of these parts being in great measure untainted with the vices and dissipation too frequently practised above the hill.

 

There are two heaths or commons here; the one called Pyles-health, and the other Killdown, in West Barnefield hundred.

 

THE TOWN, or village of Goudhurst, stands in the hundred of Marden, about half a mile within the lower or southern bounds of it, on an hill, commanding an extensive view of the country all around it. It is not paved, but is built on the sides of five different roads which unite at a large pond in the middle of it. The houses are mostly large, antient and well-timbered, like the rest of those in this neighbourhood, one of them, called Brickwall, belongs to the Rev. Mr. Thomas Bathurst. Within memory there were many clothiers here, but there are none now. There is some little of the woolstapling business yet carried on.

 

On the summit of the hill, on which the town stands, is the church, a conspicuous object to the neighbouring country, and near it was the marketplace, which was pulled down about the year 1650, and the present small one built lower down, at the broad place in the town near the pond. The market was held on a Wednesday weekly, for cattle, provisions, &c. till within memory; it is now entirely disused, there is a fair held yearly in the town, upon the day of the assumption of our lady, being August 26, for cattle, hardware, toys, &c. This market and fair were granted in the year of king Richard II. to Joane, widow of Roger de Bedgebury, the possessors of which estate claim at this time the privilege of holding them, by a yearly rent to the manor of Marden.

 

At the hamlet of Stonecrouch is a post-office of very considerable account, its district extending to Goudhurst, Cranbrooke, Tenterden, Winchelsea, Rye, and Hastings, and all the intermediate and adjoining places, to which letters are directed by this Stonecrouch bag.

 

ALMOST adjoining to the town eastward, on the road leading to Tenterden, there is A HAMLET, called LITTLE GOUDHURST, in which there is an antient seat, called TAYWELL, which for many generations was possessed by a family of the name of Lake, who bore for their arms, Sable, a bend between six crosscroslets, fitchee, argent. In the north isle of this church, under which is a vault, in which this family lie buried, there is a marble, on which is a descent of them. The last of them, Thomas Lake, esq. barrister-at-law, resided here, but dying without issue male, his daughters and coheirs became possessed of it; one of whom married Maximilian Gott, esq. and the other Thomas Hussey, esq. whose son Edward Hussey, esq. of Scotney, now possesses the entire see of this estate, which is demised for a long term of years to Mr. Olive, who has almost rebuilt it, and resides in it.

 

AT A SMALL DISTANCE southward from the abovementioned seat, is another, called TRIGGS, which was for several descents the residence of the Stringers, a family of good account in the different parts of this county. John Stringer, esq. son of Edward Stringer, of Biddenden, by Phillis his wife, daughter of George Holland, gent. resided here in king Charles I.'s reign, and married Susanna, daughter of Stephen Streeter, of Goudhurst, by whom he had Stephen, of Goudhurst; John, gent. of Ashford, who left a daughter and heir Mary, married to Anthony Irby, esq. Edward and Thomas, both of Goudhurst; the latter left two sons. Thomas and Edward, and a daughter Catherine, who married William Belcher, M. D. by whom the had Stringer Belcher, and other children. The Stringers bore for their arms, Per chevron, or, and sable, in chief two eagles displayed of the second, in the base a fleur de lis of the first.

 

Stephen Stringer, the eldest son of John, resided at Triggs in the reign of king Charles II. and was succeeded in it by his second son Stephen Stringer, esq. who kept his shrievalty here in the 6th year of queen Anne. He died without male issue, leaving by Jane his wife, daughter of John Austen, esq. of Broadford, four daughters his coheirs, Jane, married to Thomas Weston, of Cranbrooke; Hannah to William Monk, of Buckingham. in Sussex, whose eldest daughter and coheir married Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham; Elizabeth married Edward Bathurst, esq. of Finchcocks, and Anne married John Kirril, esq. of Sevenoke. (fn. 1) This seat was afterwards alienated to Francis Austen, esq. of Sevenoke, whose son Francis Mottley Austen, esq. of Sevenoke, is the present owner of it.

 

THE MANOR OF MARDEN claims over the greatest part of this parish; part of it, being the dens beforementioned, are within the manor of East Farleigh, and the remaining part, called Wincehurst-den, is within the manor of Gillingham, near Chatham. Although that part of this parish which lies within the hundred of West Barnefield, being the most southern part of it, contains those places which are of, by far, the greatest note in it, yet, for the sake of regularity in my description, I shall begin with those in the hundred of Marden, partly already described, and having finished that, proceed next to the hundred of West Barnefield, and the matters worthy of notice in it.

 

BOKINFOLD is a manor of large extent, situated in the hundred of Marden, having formerly a large park and demesnes belonging to it, which extended into the parishes of Brenchley, Horsemonden, Yalding, Marden, and Goudhurst, the house of it being situated in that of Yalding, in the description of which parish the reader will find an ample account of the former state and possessors of it. (fn. 2) It will, therefore, be sufficient to mention here, in addition to it, that the whole of this manor coming at length into the possession of Sir Alexander Colepeper. He in the 3d year of queen Elizabeth levied a fine of it, and three years afterwards alienated that part of this manor, and all the demesnes of it which lay in Brenchley, Horsemonden, Yalding, and Marden, to Roger Revell, as has been mentioned under the parish of Yalding, and THE REMAINDER OF IT in this parish, held of the manor of Marden, to Sharpeigh, whose descendant Stephen Sharpeigh passed that part of it away in 1582, to Richard Reynolds, whose son and heir John Reynolds, about the 41st year of queen Elizabeth, conveyed it to Richard Eliot, and he, about the year 1601, alienated it to Thomas Girdler, who the next year sold it to John Reynolds, and he, in the 5th year of king James, transmitted it to John Beale, who, about 1609, passed it away to John Harleston, of Ickham, and he settled it by will on Richard Harleston, who in like manner devised it to his kinsman Richard Bishop, and he, soon after the death of king Charles I. sold it to Mr. Stephen Stringer, of Triggs, in Goudhurst, whose son, of the same name, was sheriff anno 6 queen Anne, and left five daughters his coheirs, of whom Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Bathurst, esq. of Finchcocks, and on the division of their inheritance, he, in her right, became possessed of this manor. He died in 1772, upon which this estate came to his son, the Rev. Thomas Bathurst, rector of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire, the present owner of it. A court baron is regularly held for this manor.

 

In 1641 the archbishop collated Richard Amhurst, clerk, to the free chapels of Bockinfold and Newsted annexed, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury, then vacant and of his patronage. (fn. 3)

 

COMBORNE is an estate, situated in the northernmost part of this parish, adjoining to Winchet-hill, in the hundred of Marden likewise; which place of Winchet-hill was antiently the original seat in this county, of the family of Roberts, of Glassenbury.

 

An ancestor of this family, William Rookherst, a gentleman of Scotland, left his native country, and came into England in the 3d year of king Henry I. and had afterwards the surname of Roberts, having purchased lands at Winchet-hill, on which he built himself a mansion, calling it Rookherst, after himself. This place came afterwards to be called Ladiesden Rokehurst, alias Curtesden, and continued the residence of this family till the reign of king Richard II. when Stephen Roberts, alias Rookherst, marrying Joane, the daughter and heir of William Tilley, of Glassenbury, removed thither, and the remains of their residence here are so totally effaced, as to be known only by the family evidences, and the report of the neighbourhood.

 

But their estate at Winchet-hill continued several generations afterwards in their descendants, till it was at length alienated to one of the family of Maplesden, of Marden, in whose descendants this estate, together with that of Comborne adjoining, continued down to Edward Maplesden; esq. of the Middle Temple, who died in 1755, s. p. and intestate. Upon which they descended to Alexander Courthope, esq. of Horsemonden, the son of his sister Catherine, and to Charles Booth, esq. the grandson of his sister Anne, as his coheirs in gavelkind, and on a partition of those estates between them, Winchet-hill was allotted to Charles Booth, esq. afterwards Sir Charles Booth, of Harrietsham-place, who died possessed of it, s. p. in 1795, and his devisees, for the purposes of his will, are now in the possession of it; but Comborne was allotted to Alexander Courthope, esq. since deceased, whose nephew John Cole, esq. now possesses it.

 

FINCHCOCKS is a feat in this parish, situated within the hundred of Marden, in that angle of it which extends south-westward below Hope mill, and is likewise within that manor. It was formerly of note for being the mansion of a family of the same surname, who were possessed of it as early as the 40th year of Henry III. They were succeeded in it by the family of Horden, of Horden, who became proprietors of it by purchase in the beginning of king Henry VI.'s reign, one of whom was Edward Horden, esq. clerk of the green cloth to king Edward VI. queen Mary, and queen Elizabeth, who had, for some considerable service to the crown, the augmentation of a regal diadem, added to his paternal coat by queen Elizabeth. He left two daughters his coheirs, Elizabeth, married to Mr. Paul Bathurst, of Bathurst-street, in Nordiam, and Mary to Mr. Delves, of Fletchings, who had Horden for his share of the inheritance, as the other had this of Finchcocks. He was descended from Laurence Bathurst, of Canterbury, who held lands there and in Cranbrooke, whose son of the same name, left three sons, of whom Edward, the eldest, was of Staplehurst, and was ancestor of the Bathursts, of Franks, in this county, now extinct, (fn. 4) of the earls Bathurst, and those of Clarenden-park, in Wiltshire, and Lydney, in Gloucestershire; Robert Bathurst, the second, was of Horsemonden; and John, the third son, was ancestor of the Bathursts, of Ockham, in Hampshire. Robert Bathurst, of Horsemonden above-mentioned, by his first wife had John, from whom came the Bathursts, of Lechlade, in Gloucestershire, and baronets; and Paul, who was of Nordiam, and afterwards possessor of Finchcocks, from whose great-grandson William, who was a merchant in London, descended the Bathursts, of Edmonton, in Middlesex. By his second wife he had John, who was of Goudhurst, ancestor of the Bathursts, of Richmond, in Yorkshire. In the descendants of Paul Bathurst before-mentioned, this seat continued down to Thomas Bathurst, esq. who by his will devised this seat and estate to his nephew Edward, only son of his younger brother William, of Wilmington, who leaving his residence there on having this seat devised to him, removed hither, and rebuilt this seat, at a great expence, in a most stately manner. He resided here till his death in 1772, having been twice married, and leaving several children by each of his wives. By his first wife Elizabeth, third daughter and coheir of Stephen Stringer, esq. of Triggs, he had three sons, Edward, who left a daughter Dorothy, now unmarried, and John and Thomas, both fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, the latter of whom is now rector of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire. Before his death he conveyed this seat and estate by sale to his son by his second wife, Mr. Charles Bathurst, who on his decease in 1767, s. p. devised it by will to his brother, the Rev. Mr. Richard Bathurst, now of Rochester, the present possessor of it. This branch of the family of Bathurst. bore for their arms the same coat as those of Franks, in this county, and those of Cirencester, Lydney, and Clarendon, viz. Sable, two bars, ermine, in chief three crosses pattee, or, with a crescent for difference; but with a different crest, viz. Party per fess, and pale, a demi wolf argent, and sable, holding a regal crown, or; which I take to be that borne by Edward Horden, whose heir Paul Bathurst, their ancestor, married, and whose coat of arms they likewise quartered with their own.

 

¶AT NO GREAT DISTANCE from Finchcocks, in the same hundred, lies a capital messuage, called RISEDEN, alias GATEHOUSE, which formerly belonged to a family named Sabbe, one of whom, Simon Sabbe, sold it, before the middle of the last century, to Mr. Robert Bathurst, from whom it descended down, with an adjoining estate, called TRILLINGHERST, to another Robert Bathurst, who died in 1731, and lies buried in this church, whose daughter Mary sold them both to Sir Horace Mann, bart. the present possessor of them.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol7/pp64-73

Taken with an Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 on Portra 400.

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Go to the Book with image in the Internet Archive

Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 10 Nos. 1-4, 1916

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Publisher:

Sponsor:

Contributor:

Date: 1916

Language: eng

Vol. 10, No. 1 January 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... vii<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A TECHNIC FOR THE ABS0RPTION TEST FOR SYPHILIS, USING HUMAN COMPLEMENT.<br />By Surgeon C. S. Butler and Hospital Apprentice, First Class, W. P.<br />Landon.......... ....... ......... ...... l<br />THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS; AS IT RELATES TO THE SERVICE AND TO THE NAVAL HOSPITAL AT LAS ANIMAS, COLO.<br />By Medical Director G. H. Barber...................... . ..... ... ... 9<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards . . ..... 19<br />MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT IN THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy......... . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . 34<br />CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL DISEASES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan......... .  61<br />SECOND REPORT ON THE SCHIER TEST FOR MENTALITY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE POINT SYSTEM.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. E. Thomas .. .•..... . . .. . . . . ..... 88<br />THE TREATMENT OF FRACTURED MANDIBLES.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey.... .... . ...... . . 70<br />DIVING OPERATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALVAGE OF THE U.S.S. "F-4."<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. R. W. French. ........... ...... ..... 74<br />REPORT ON THE RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, AND DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINS OF THE CREW OF THE "F-4."<br />By Surgeon W. Seaman....... .. .. .. . ... ...... . ..... .. . . .......... . 91<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 97<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 97<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A SIMPLE TEST OF STERILIZER EFFICIENCY.<br />By Surgeon Edgar Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 99<br />A HANDY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE FOR THE SICK BAY.<br />By Surgeon A. Farenholt.. .......... .............. ...... ........... 100<br />DESCRIPTION OF A HORIZONTAL FLUOROSCOPE AND AN ILLUMINATING BOX MADE IN A NAVAL HOSPITAL.<br />By Hospital Steward H. L. Gall...... . ..... . . . ..... ............... 101<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />CREEPING ERUPTION. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  J. C. Parham ........ .... 103<br />A SPORADIC CASE OF TYPHUS FEVER.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis..... . ................ . .... 104<br />A BRANCHIOGENIC CYST.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  L. W. Johnson... ....... . . .. . . . . ...... 106<br />BILATERAL THROMBOSIS OF CENTRAL RETINAL VEINS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon S. Walker, jr., Medical Reserve Corps . . . . . . . . . 106<br />INTERNAL HERNIA. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. C. Espach.......... ... ............ ..... ... 108<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF PSORIASIS LIMITED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO THE SCALP.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon J. H. Harris.. . . . ... .. ........ . .... ... . . .. 109<br /><br />EDITORIAL COMMENT:<br />PROGRESS OF THE WAR.. ... . ....... . ............. . .. .. ... . ........... 113<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - The recruit's heart. By E. R. Stitt. Report of<br />cerebrospinal fever in the Royal Navy. Roentgen-ray treatment of<br />leukemia. Chronic lead poisoning in guinea-pigs; with special reference<br />to nephritis, cirrhosis, and polyserositis. Prolonged fasting in diabetes.<br />Proper dosage of antitoxin in diphtheria. By E. Thompson and E. L.<br />Woods.. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . 121<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Clinical lecture on the psychoneuroses of war. By H. Butts. Constructive delusions. Some observations on heroin habitues. A proper classification of borderline mental cases  amongst offenders. The feebly inhibited; violent temper and its inheritance. By R. Sheehan....... . ............................. . . 127<br />SURGERY - Renal pain: Diagnostic and clinical significance. Fulguration in the treatment of bladder tumors. Some details in the surgical<br />treatment of tumor of the bladder. By H. W. Cole. Wound infections.<br />byy L. W. Johnson. On the prevention of "frostbite" and other effects<br />of cold. By C. N. Fiske. Operative treatment of bad results after<br />fracture. End results of bone fractures. A review of the literature of<br />fractures. The clinical status of the autograft. Mesenteric thrombosis.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old .. . .. ... .. . . ...... . ..........132<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Hygienic interpretation of recent changes in the field rations and their preparation. by E. W. Brown. Recent additions<br />to the conception of a normal diet. Removing diphtheria bacilli with kaolin. By C. N. Fiske. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . ........ . . .. ..... 149<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Bilharzia in Cuba. By L.. W. Johnson. Pellagra a curable diseaese. By E . Thompson. Pellagra. Causation and treatment of pellagra. The occurrence of sprue in the United States. By E. R. Stitt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Hibernation and the pituitary body. The occurrence of carriers of disease-producing types of pneumococcus. by G. F. Clark. The mode of injection and etiology of epidemic poliomyelitis. by C. N. Fiske. Observations on<br />the proteolytic enzyme of bacillus proteus. Comparative efficacy of<br />benzin and anisol for the destruction of parasites. Technic for culturing<br />typhoid bacilli from stools. Report of an investigation of diphtheria<br />carriers. The presence of acid-fast bacilli in the circulating blood and<br />excretions. The serologic diagnosis of leprosy. The diagnostic value<br />of the placental blood film in estivo-autumnal malaria. A further study<br />of the bactericidal action of ethylhydrocuprein on pneumococci. By<br />C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning.. ... ...... . .... .. ... .. .. . . . ... .. . . .. . . 156<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY.-A substitute for potassium permanganate to liberate formaldehyde gas from a water solution. The preparation of<br />ammonia-free water. By C. N. Fiske. Chemopathological studies with<br />compounds of arsenic. By R.H. Laning. Laboratory experiments with<br />air. Comparison of the plating and microscopic methods in the bacteriological examination of milk. Beef frozen for 18 years. Tin poisoning after eating canned asparagus. Treatment of typhoid carriers with charcoal and thymol or charcoal and iodin. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge... . .. ... ... .. .... .... 166<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The present status of tuberculin therapy<br />in ocular tuberculosis. On dissolving senile cataract in the early stages.<br />The treatment of glaucoma simplex. The exploratory opening of the<br />ephenoidal sinus. Tonsillectomy in the adult; are we justified in doing<br />so many indiscriminate tonsillectomies for remote infections. The diagnosis<br />of otoeclerosis. Syphilis of the internal ear. Collapse of the alae nasi, its etiology and treatment. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible. .. ... 171<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET, AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR FORTY DAYS.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy.. ... ... . . ... . . . . .. . . . ........ . . 177<br />SANITARY REPORT ON BARCELONA, SPAIN. By Passed Assistant Surgeon H . L. Brown.... . . ... . . . . . . ... .... . ... .. 183<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "SARATOGA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon H. R . Hermesch... . .. . . .  ... .. . . . . . 186<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "HELENA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. L. Mann, jr.. . . . . . ... . 187<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 2 April 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... v<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESENT STATUS OF VESICAL PAPILLOMA .<br />By Assistant Surgeon L. C. Lehr, M. R. C.. .... .. . .... . .. . .. . .... . . 191<br />SUGGESTED USE OF COMBINED TABLE OF OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY.<br />By Surgeon C. N. Fiske... . .. . . . . ......... . . . . . . .... . . . .... ...... . . 199<br />EXCLUSION OF THE MENTALLY UNFIT FROM THE MILITARY SERVICES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan.... .. ...... . . . ... . .... .. .. 213<br />A GREATER FIELD OF ACTIVITY FOR MEDICAL OFFICERS OF NAVY YARDS.<br />By Medical Inspector N. J. Blackwood and Surgeon W. H. Bell. . . .. . 249<br />THE HOSPITAL STEWARD; CONCERNING HIS QUALIFICATIONS - PERSONAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND PROFESSIONAL.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . . .. . . ... ....... .. . ..... 269<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD. II.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards.... .. ..... .. ... ....... . . . . . . ... .... . . .. 277<br />FUMIGATION OF THE U. S. S. TENNESSEE BY THE CYANID METHOD.<br />By Surgeon N. Roberts, Public Health Service. Passed ASSistant Surgeon<br />G . E. Robertson, and aSSistant Surgeon A. E. Beddoe. . .. ... . 296<br />THE NEW HOSPITAL CORPS FORMS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . .... . ... . . . ...... ..... . 300<br />THE DIAGNOSIS OF SYPHILIS BY THE 'WASSERMANN REACTION.<br />By Passed Assistant. Surgeon A. H. Allen... . .. . . .... . .. . . . ........ . 304<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 309<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 309<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />APPARATUS FOR FILLING VACCINE AMPULES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis. .. . . . . . ... .. ... . .. .. ... . .. 311<br />METHODS OP PREVENTING THE ALTERATION OF TINCTURE OF IODIN IN MILITARY SURGERY.<br />Translation By Passed Assistant Surgeon J. A. Biello. .... ... .. . . . .... 314<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />REPORT OF TWO CASES OF INTUSSUSCEPTION AS A SEQUEL TO WHOOPING COUGH.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. . . .. . ..... . .. ... . . .. . . ..... . 319<br />TREATMENT OF A FRACTURED FEMUR BY MEANS OF A STEINMANN NAIL.<br />3y Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping....... .... .......... . ......... 320<br />AN UNUSUAL CASE OF HERPES ZOSTER (ZOSTER NUCHAE ET BRACHIALIS).<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton . . . . . . . . .... .......... .... 323<br />CASE OF HYPERNEPHROMA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeons E. H. H. Old and R.H. Laning. . . . . . .. 324<br />SURGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE KIDNEY.<br />By Surgeon C. G. Smith.. . . ... . . ... .... . .... ... . .... ........ ...... 334<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE.-The bacterin treatment of certain chronic pyogenic<br />dermatoses. By W. E. Eaton. The soldier's heart. The physics of bronchopneumonia. Specific treatment of pneumonia with ethylhydrocuprein.<br />The use of duodenal bucket in search for typhoid bacilli in typhoid convalescents. The treatment of myocarditia. By E. Thompson and J.A. Randall ....343<br /><br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Dementia precox and malingering. The distribution of tabetic crises with exhibition of an unusual case. Notes of a conference on medical and social aspects of syphilis of the nervous system. By R. Sheehan.. ...349<br />SURGERY - A plea for efficiency in the accident ward. Appendicitis as a<br />sequel of tonsillitis. Gasoline, iodin, and alcohol in surgery. Epididymotomy.<br />By L. W. Johnson. The treatment of fracture a lost art. The treatment of complicated fractures and present opinion of operative treatment. End-results in 242 cases of simple fracture of the femoral shaft. The artificial periosteum for fixation of shaft fractures. Talk on syphilis. Correction of depressed fractures of the nose by transplant of cartilage.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........ .. . . ................... 353<br />HYGIENE A.ND SANITATION - Duration of smallpox immunity conferred<br />by successful vaccination. Further experiments in the destruction of fly larvae in horse manure. Biochemical comparisons between mature beef and immature veal. On the influence of alcohol on bactericidal properties, phagocytosis, and resistance of human erythrocytes. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell.... .. .................................... 366<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - The treatment of dysentery. Further work on the<br />treatment of kala-azar. The treatment of hookworm disease. By E. R.<br />Stitt.. . .. ... ................................ ... ....... .. ... . ....... 369<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY. AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Bacteriological results in chronic leukemia and in pseudoleukemia. The acceleration of esterase action; studies on ferment action. By G. F. Clark. Combined preventive inoculation against typhoid and paratyphoid fever and<br />bacillary dysentery. The complement-fixation reactions of the Bordet-Gengou<br />bacillus. The bacteria of gangrenous wounds. Studies in nonspecific<br />complement fixation. Report on the results of the bilharzia mission in Egypt, 1915. The etiology of rat-bite fever. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning................................................. . 374<br />EYE, EAR. NOSE, AND THROAT - Ethmoiditis; its varied effects and their<br />probable prevention; or, when fully established, their possible cure.<br />Obstruction of the posterior nasal orifice. The space sense and the labyrinth.<br />Acute middle-ear inflammations. Vocal strain from a laryngologist's standpoint . its causes and prevention. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible... ....... ... ................. .. ..... . .................. . 382<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />MILITARY MEDICAL WORK IN CONSTANTINOPLE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  E. P. Huff. ... ......................... 387<br /><br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 3 July 1916<br /><br />PREFACE.... . .. .. . ..... . . . . ..... . ........ . ...... . .. . ....... .. ...... . .... vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401<br />CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon J.C. Dacosta, M. R. C. . ............. . ......... 416<br />THE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS RELATION TO THE HUMAN MECHANISM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NAVAL SERVICE.<br />By Surgeon R. C. Holcomb..... . .. .. . . .. ................ .. . . ...... 430<br />A SHORT STORY OP MY EXPERIENCE AT THE RED CROSS AUXILIARY NAVAL HOSPITAL OF HAMBURG, GERMANY, DURING THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS OF THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Medical Director H. G. Beyer, Retired..... . .... . .. . . .. ......... 465<br />DIAGNOSIS OF ABDOMINAL PAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476<br />DOSAGE IN ROENTOENOTHERAPY. <br />By Assistant Surgeon A. Soiland, M. R. C. . ..... ......... . . . ... .... 484<br />NOTES ON THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF 1,880 APPLICANTS FOR ENLISTMENT IN THE NAVY.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon C.H. Lowell. .. . ... . ... . ....... . ..... 487<br />THE PRACTICABILITY OR DESIRABILITY OF OMITTING FROM THE SUPPLY TABLE CERTAIN DRUGS.<br />By Hospital Steward J. A. Ortolan... . . . ................... . ..... .. 490<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . . 493<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION. . .....493<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES: .<br />FIRST-AID· DRESSINGS ON BATTLESHIPS.<br />By Surgeon G. F. Freeman .. .. . .... . .. . ........ . ..... ... ... .... . .. 495<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />THE LEWISOHN CITRATE METHOD OP BLOOD TRANSFUSION WITH REPORT OF A CASE OF TRAUMATIC GLUTEAL ANEURISM IN WHICH THIS METHOD WAS EMPLOYED.<br />By Surgeon R. B. Williams . . .. .. . . . . .. ..... ... . . ... . ... . ... 503<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF LUDWIG'S ANGINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . ... .  506<br />RUPTURE OF LIVER; REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . .  510<br />SYPHILIS IN A CHAMORRO.<br />By Passed  Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson. . .. . .. . . . ... .. ...... . .. 511<br />REPORT OF A CASE OP INTUSSUSCEPPTION CAUSED BY A MECKEL'S DIVERTICULUM<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy. . ............ . . . . . . . . . . .511<br />ADVANTAGES NOTED IN THE USE OF McDONALD'S SOLUTION.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon P. R. Stalnaker. . .... .. .. . ......... .. .. 514<br />HEMATOMA OF ABDOMINAL PARIETES.<br />By Surgeon J. S. Taylor........ . ... . . ... . .. .. . ... . . .. .. .. ....... . . . 515<br />BAYONET WOUND OF THE ABDOMEN.<br />By Assistant Surgeonn W. B. Hetfield... ... . ... . . . . .  516<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Gassing accidents from the fumes of explosives.<br />By C. G. Smith. The etiology and experimental production of herpes zoster. By W. E. Eaton. The Allen treatment of diabetes. Chronic arthritis. By E. Thompson and J. A. Randall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - A further study of the diagnostic value of the colloidal gold reaction, together with a method for the preparation of the reagent. Psycho-analytic tendencies. Some considerations of general paralysis from the histological viewpoint. The duration of<br />paresis following treatment. Discussion of treatment in general paresis.<br />By R. Sheehan.. .. . . .... . ... . . . . . ... .. .............................. 528<br />SURGERY - The artificial limb question. The treatment of war injuries of the upper arm. By P. J. Waldner. The inefficacy of pyloric exclusion by fascial bands. Postoperative intestinal obstruction. Index of toxicity of novocain-adrenalin injected intravenously. Reversal of the circulation in the lower extremity. By A. M. Fauntleroy and E . H. H. Old.. . ... .. . . ..... . 534<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Report of committees on the resuscitation<br />from mine gases and electric shock. By E. W. Brown. A contribution<br />to the fly campaign. On protection against mosquitoes. By P. J. Waldner. Medical guard. The result of closing the segregated vice district upon the public health of Cleveland. Workshop education in hygiene.<br />By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell. . . .. .. . ............ 540<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Are there harmful and harmless hookworm infections? By C. N. Fiske. Beriberi, with special reference to prophylaxia<br />and treatment. A method for the preparation of a nontoxic dysentery<br />vaccine. By E. R. Stitt......... . ..................... 546<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Autogenous vaccines in the treatment of bronchitis and asthma. The practical value of the guinea-pig test for the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. By G. F.<br />Clark. Methods of using diphtheria toxin in the Schick test and of controlling the reaction. Results with cholesterinized antigens in non-syphilitic sera. On the toxicity of various commercial preparations of emetin hydrochlorid. Bactericidal and protozoacidal activity of emetin hydrochlorid in vitro and in vivo. Two chronic amebic dysentery carriers treated by emetin, with some remarks on the treatment of Lamblia, Blastocystis, and E. coli infections. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning. ....549<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - A discussion of acidosis with special reference to that occurring in diseases of children. By R . H. Laning. Testing<br />distilled water as regards its wit.ability for the preparation of salvarsan<br />solutions. Improved heroin test for blood. Cause and significance of an abnormal reaction obtained in testing urine for sugar with Fehling's<br />solution. New test for reducing sugars in urine. Rapid method of<br />counting bacteria in milk. Estimation of carbon dioxide in air by Haldane's apparatus. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge. . . ... . .. . ........ 555<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - Researches upon the requisite visual acuity and refraction of infantry. Autointoxication and eye diseases. Orientation and equilibration. Deafness due to syphilis. Hay-fever; its cause<br />and prevention. A study of 500 tonsil enucleations with the Beck-Pierce<br />tonsillectome. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible..... . .............. . .. 559<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />SANITATION OF AMERICAN SAMOA. <br />By Surgeon E. G. Parker........... . . ... . . ....... . . ......... . ... ... 563<br />REPORT OF MEDICAL RELIEF AFFORDED IN FLOODED DISTRICTS OF SAN DIEGO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. I. Wood. .. ..... . .......................... 567<br />THE MARINE DETACHMENT WITH THE PANAMA·PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon K. C. Melhorn.. . . . .  . . 569<br />EARLY HISTORY OF THE NAVAL HOSPITAL RESERVATION, WASHINGTON, D . C.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood................. . .... .. .. . . .... . 573<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR 61 DAYS FROM FEBRUARY 9, 1916, TO APRIL 9, 1916.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy .......... 574<br />THE FRENCH HOSPITAL OF CHUNGKING, CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield............................... 583<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 4 September 1916<br /><br />PREFACE................................................................ vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS WHICH OCCURRED IN THE NAVY YARD AT WASHINGTON, D. C.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. A. Bloedorn ....... . .. 585<br />INTOXICATION BY DETONATION AND EXPLOSION GASES ABOARD SHIP.<br />By Surgeon K. OhneSorg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  626<br />FLAT POOT AND ITS MEASUREMENTS.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon M. Clements............................. 634<br />PREVENTION OF MALARIA IN THE FIELD.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon F. X. Koltes........................... 640<br />A WASSERMANN SURVEY ON 500 APPRENTICE SEAMEN.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon C. B. Munger......................... 642<br />MALINGERING IN MENTAL DISEASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. Sheehan......... . . . . . .  . . . . . . 646<br />THE REORGANIZATION OF THE HOSPITAL CORPS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton........................... 654<br />THE RELATION OF SEPTIC MOUTH TO ARTHRITIS.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey..................... 658<br />CLIMACTIC BUBO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. E. Treibly......... .. . . . . . . . . . . 661<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL, MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . .  665<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A DENTAL FOUNTAIN FOR THE CREW'S USE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. M. Kerr........................... 666<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />A CASE OF GANGOSA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson and Assistant Surgeon<br />C. W. Depping................................................. 667<br />CHRONIC LUMPHATIC LEUKEMIA WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION AND FATAL TERMINATION.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C.H. Weaver................................. 668<br />CASE REPORTS FROM U.s. NAVAL HOSPITAL, PORTSMOUTH, N. H.<br />By Surgeon F. M. Bogan.......................................... 671<br />ACUTE INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION DUE TO VOLVULUS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. I. Wood.................................... 673<br />SPLENITIS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. Wilson.................................... 674<br />SOME UNUSUAL CASES OF SYPHILIS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  M. B. Hiden................................. 676<br />GUNSHOT WOUND OF THE KIDNEY. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. W. Depping................................ 679<br />VESICAL CALCULUS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  T. W. Reed........................... 680<br />A CASE OF GASOLINE POISONING.<br />By Assistant Surgeon O. C. Foote................................... 681<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Coleman diet in typhoid fever. By W. S. Pugh.<br />Cutaneous reaction from proteins in eczema. By W. E. Eaton. Some<br />therapeutic uses for the ultraviolet rays. By E. Thompson and J. A.<br />Randall ........ 683<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Spinal injuries of warfare. Diagnostic value of Lange's gold sol test. Studies on alcoholic hallucinoses. The alcoholic as seen in court. Effects of syphilis upon the central nervous<br />system. The Wassermann test in practical psychiatry. Abstract of a<br />psychological study of 300 prisoners in the Massachusetts State Prison.<br />By R. Sheehan ..................... 689<br />SURGERY - A canvas sling for loading wounded from barges and boats<br />into hospital transports. By C. B. Camerer. Open wound treatment<br />with cotton rings and gauze cover. By P. J. Waldner. Nitrous oxid-oxygen, the most dangerous anesthetic. The treatment of peritonitis. Localization and extraction of projectiles and shell framents. By A. M.<br />Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........................................ 698<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - The Schick reaction and its applications. By J. A. Randall. Diphtheria immunity - natural, active, and passive; its determination by the Schick test. The bacillus carrier and the restaurant. The employment of rat poison as a measure for preventing and exterminating plague. Some observations on causes of high bacterial counts<br />in market milk. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell .........708<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - On agglutination reactions with normal sera. Memorandum on the prevention of amebic dysentery. By E. R. Stitt...... 712<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY -Sputum cultures with subsequent complement-fixation control. A new culture medium for the isolation of Bacillus typhosus from stoole. A new differential culture medium for the cholera vibrio. Therapeutic possibilities<br />of antitetanus serum. Remarks on B. welchii in the stools of pellagrins.<br />By G. F. Clark. Observations on the production of antibodies after<br />antityphoid inoculation. A study of various methods for determining the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. A study of acid production by diphtheria bacilli. The relation of the carbohydrate-splitting ferments to the soluble toxins of diphtheria bacilli. By C. S. Butler and R. H. Laning .. . . .  . . 714<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - Modification of Rose's method for the estimation of pepsin. Experimental study of fever. Changes in the Ninth<br />Decennial Revision of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. By E.W. Brown and<br />O. G. Ruge........................................................ 720<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The blood-clot dressing in simple mastoid abecess. Chronic suppurative ethmoiditis. Circumscribed purulent<br />leptomeningitis due to frontal sinusitis. Radium in the field of laryngology.<br />By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible........................... 72S<br /><br />REPORTS (TOPOGRAPHICAL BXTRACTS FROM ANNUAL SANITARY REPORTS):<br />MONROVIA, LIBERIA. FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  W. L. Irvine.......................... 725<br />THE M0SQUITO COAST AND THE CAYMANS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W.W. Hargrave....  737<br />LA ROMANA, SANTO DOMINGO, ST. MARC AND GONAIVES, HAITI.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. B. Helm.................................. 741<br />LA CEIBA, TELA, AND PUERTO CORTEZ, HONDURAS. PUERTO BARRIOS, GUATEMALA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. A. Fortescue. ......748<br />TAMPICO AND VERA CRUZ.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  A. E. Younie............................... 761<br />PROGRESO, CARMEN, AND MERIDA, MEXICO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. F. Riordan............764<br />THE UPPER YANGTZE RIVER. SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S.<br />MONOCACY.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W. B. Hetfield.....   767<br />SOME ASPECTS OF MEDICAL INTEREST OF THE RECENT UPRISING IN CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield.....  760<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES NAVAL TRAINING STATION, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.<br />By Surgeon P. S. Rossiter................ 764<br />INDEX .................................................... 767<br />

 

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Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 10 Nos. 1-4, 1916

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Publisher:

Sponsor:

Contributor:

Date: 1916

Language: eng

Vol. 10, No. 1 January 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... vii<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A TECHNIC FOR THE ABS0RPTION TEST FOR SYPHILIS, USING HUMAN COMPLEMENT.<br />By Surgeon C. S. Butler and Hospital Apprentice, First Class, W. P.<br />Landon.......... ....... ......... ...... l<br />THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS; AS IT RELATES TO THE SERVICE AND TO THE NAVAL HOSPITAL AT LAS ANIMAS, COLO.<br />By Medical Director G. H. Barber...................... . ..... ... ... 9<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards . . ..... 19<br />MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT IN THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy......... . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . 34<br />CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL DISEASES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan......... .  61<br />SECOND REPORT ON THE SCHIER TEST FOR MENTALITY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE POINT SYSTEM.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. E. Thomas .. .•..... . . .. . . . . ..... 88<br />THE TREATMENT OF FRACTURED MANDIBLES.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey.... .... . ...... . . 70<br />DIVING OPERATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALVAGE OF THE U.S.S. "F-4."<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. R. W. French. ........... ...... ..... 74<br />REPORT ON THE RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, AND DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINS OF THE CREW OF THE "F-4."<br />By Surgeon W. Seaman....... .. .. .. . ... ...... . ..... .. . . .......... . 91<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 97<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 97<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A SIMPLE TEST OF STERILIZER EFFICIENCY.<br />By Surgeon Edgar Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 99<br />A HANDY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE FOR THE SICK BAY.<br />By Surgeon A. Farenholt.. .......... .............. ...... ........... 100<br />DESCRIPTION OF A HORIZONTAL FLUOROSCOPE AND AN ILLUMINATING BOX MADE IN A NAVAL HOSPITAL.<br />By Hospital Steward H. L. Gall...... . ..... . . . ..... ............... 101<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />CREEPING ERUPTION. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  J. C. Parham ........ .... 103<br />A SPORADIC CASE OF TYPHUS FEVER.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis..... . ................ . .... 104<br />A BRANCHIOGENIC CYST.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  L. W. Johnson... ....... . . .. . . . . ...... 106<br />BILATERAL THROMBOSIS OF CENTRAL RETINAL VEINS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon S. Walker, jr., Medical Reserve Corps . . . . . . . . . 106<br />INTERNAL HERNIA. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. C. Espach.......... ... ............ ..... ... 108<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF PSORIASIS LIMITED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO THE SCALP.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon J. H. Harris.. . . . ... .. ........ . .... ... . . .. 109<br /><br />EDITORIAL COMMENT:<br />PROGRESS OF THE WAR.. ... . ....... . ............. . .. .. ... . ........... 113<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - The recruit's heart. By E. R. Stitt. Report of<br />cerebrospinal fever in the Royal Navy. Roentgen-ray treatment of<br />leukemia. Chronic lead poisoning in guinea-pigs; with special reference<br />to nephritis, cirrhosis, and polyserositis. Prolonged fasting in diabetes.<br />Proper dosage of antitoxin in diphtheria. By E. Thompson and E. L.<br />Woods.. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . 121<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Clinical lecture on the psychoneuroses of war. By H. Butts. Constructive delusions. Some observations on heroin habitues. A proper classification of borderline mental cases  amongst offenders. The feebly inhibited; violent temper and its inheritance. By R. Sheehan....... . ............................. . . 127<br />SURGERY - Renal pain: Diagnostic and clinical significance. Fulguration in the treatment of bladder tumors. Some details in the surgical<br />treatment of tumor of the bladder. By H. W. Cole. Wound infections.<br />byy L. W. Johnson. On the prevention of "frostbite" and other effects<br />of cold. By C. N. Fiske. Operative treatment of bad results after<br />fracture. End results of bone fractures. A review of the literature of<br />fractures. The clinical status of the autograft. Mesenteric thrombosis.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old .. . .. ... .. . . ...... . ..........132<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Hygienic interpretation of recent changes in the field rations and their preparation. by E. W. Brown. Recent additions<br />to the conception of a normal diet. Removing diphtheria bacilli with kaolin. By C. N. Fiske. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . ........ . . .. ..... 149<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Bilharzia in Cuba. By L.. W. Johnson. Pellagra a curable diseaese. By E . Thompson. Pellagra. Causation and treatment of pellagra. The occurrence of sprue in the United States. By E. R. Stitt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Hibernation and the pituitary body. The occurrence of carriers of disease-producing types of pneumococcus. by G. F. Clark. The mode of injection and etiology of epidemic poliomyelitis. by C. N. Fiske. Observations on<br />the proteolytic enzyme of bacillus proteus. Comparative efficacy of<br />benzin and anisol for the destruction of parasites. Technic for culturing<br />typhoid bacilli from stools. Report of an investigation of diphtheria<br />carriers. The presence of acid-fast bacilli in the circulating blood and<br />excretions. The serologic diagnosis of leprosy. The diagnostic value<br />of the placental blood film in estivo-autumnal malaria. A further study<br />of the bactericidal action of ethylhydrocuprein on pneumococci. By<br />C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning.. ... ...... . .... .. ... .. .. . . . ... .. . . .. . . 156<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY.-A substitute for potassium permanganate to liberate formaldehyde gas from a water solution. The preparation of<br />ammonia-free water. By C. N. Fiske. Chemopathological studies with<br />compounds of arsenic. By R.H. Laning. Laboratory experiments with<br />air. Comparison of the plating and microscopic methods in the bacteriological examination of milk. Beef frozen for 18 years. Tin poisoning after eating canned asparagus. Treatment of typhoid carriers with charcoal and thymol or charcoal and iodin. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge... . .. ... ... .. .... .... 166<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The present status of tuberculin therapy<br />in ocular tuberculosis. On dissolving senile cataract in the early stages.<br />The treatment of glaucoma simplex. The exploratory opening of the<br />ephenoidal sinus. Tonsillectomy in the adult; are we justified in doing<br />so many indiscriminate tonsillectomies for remote infections. The diagnosis<br />of otoeclerosis. Syphilis of the internal ear. Collapse of the alae nasi, its etiology and treatment. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible. .. ... 171<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET, AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR FORTY DAYS.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy.. ... ... . . ... . . . . .. . . . ........ . . 177<br />SANITARY REPORT ON BARCELONA, SPAIN. By Passed Assistant Surgeon H . L. Brown.... . . ... . . . . . . ... .... . ... .. 183<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "SARATOGA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon H. R . Hermesch... . .. . . .  ... .. . . . . . 186<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "HELENA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. L. Mann, jr.. . . . . . ... . 187<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 2 April 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... v<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESENT STATUS OF VESICAL PAPILLOMA .<br />By Assistant Surgeon L. C. Lehr, M. R. C.. .... .. . .... . .. . .. . .... . . 191<br />SUGGESTED USE OF COMBINED TABLE OF OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY.<br />By Surgeon C. N. Fiske... . .. . . . . ......... . . . . . . .... . . . .... ...... . . 199<br />EXCLUSION OF THE MENTALLY UNFIT FROM THE MILITARY SERVICES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan.... .. ...... . . . ... . .... .. .. 213<br />A GREATER FIELD OF ACTIVITY FOR MEDICAL OFFICERS OF NAVY YARDS.<br />By Medical Inspector N. J. Blackwood and Surgeon W. H. Bell. . . .. . 249<br />THE HOSPITAL STEWARD; CONCERNING HIS QUALIFICATIONS - PERSONAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND PROFESSIONAL.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . . .. . . ... ....... .. . ..... 269<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD. II.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards.... .. ..... .. ... ....... . . . . . . ... .... . . .. 277<br />FUMIGATION OF THE U. S. S. TENNESSEE BY THE CYANID METHOD.<br />By Surgeon N. Roberts, Public Health Service. Passed ASSistant Surgeon<br />G . E. Robertson, and aSSistant Surgeon A. E. Beddoe. . .. ... . 296<br />THE NEW HOSPITAL CORPS FORMS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . .... . ... . . . ...... ..... . 300<br />THE DIAGNOSIS OF SYPHILIS BY THE 'WASSERMANN REACTION.<br />By Passed Assistant. Surgeon A. H. Allen... . .. . . .... . .. . . . ........ . 304<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 309<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 309<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />APPARATUS FOR FILLING VACCINE AMPULES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis. .. . . . . . ... .. ... . .. .. ... . .. 311<br />METHODS OP PREVENTING THE ALTERATION OF TINCTURE OF IODIN IN MILITARY SURGERY.<br />Translation By Passed Assistant Surgeon J. A. Biello. .... ... .. . . . .... 314<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />REPORT OF TWO CASES OF INTUSSUSCEPTION AS A SEQUEL TO WHOOPING COUGH.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. . . .. . ..... . .. ... . . .. . . ..... . 319<br />TREATMENT OF A FRACTURED FEMUR BY MEANS OF A STEINMANN NAIL.<br />3y Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping....... .... .......... . ......... 320<br />AN UNUSUAL CASE OF HERPES ZOSTER (ZOSTER NUCHAE ET BRACHIALIS).<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton . . . . . . . . .... .......... .... 323<br />CASE OF HYPERNEPHROMA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeons E. H. H. Old and R.H. Laning. . . . . . .. 324<br />SURGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE KIDNEY.<br />By Surgeon C. G. Smith.. . . ... . . ... .... . .... ... . .... ........ ...... 334<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE.-The bacterin treatment of certain chronic pyogenic<br />dermatoses. By W. E. Eaton. The soldier's heart. The physics of bronchopneumonia. Specific treatment of pneumonia with ethylhydrocuprein.<br />The use of duodenal bucket in search for typhoid bacilli in typhoid convalescents. The treatment of myocarditia. By E. Thompson and J.A. Randall ....343<br /><br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Dementia precox and malingering. The distribution of tabetic crises with exhibition of an unusual case. Notes of a conference on medical and social aspects of syphilis of the nervous system. By R. Sheehan.. ...349<br />SURGERY - A plea for efficiency in the accident ward. Appendicitis as a<br />sequel of tonsillitis. Gasoline, iodin, and alcohol in surgery. Epididymotomy.<br />By L. W. Johnson. The treatment of fracture a lost art. The treatment of complicated fractures and present opinion of operative treatment. End-results in 242 cases of simple fracture of the femoral shaft. The artificial periosteum for fixation of shaft fractures. Talk on syphilis. Correction of depressed fractures of the nose by transplant of cartilage.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........ .. . . ................... 353<br />HYGIENE A.ND SANITATION - Duration of smallpox immunity conferred<br />by successful vaccination. Further experiments in the destruction of fly larvae in horse manure. Biochemical comparisons between mature beef and immature veal. On the influence of alcohol on bactericidal properties, phagocytosis, and resistance of human erythrocytes. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell.... .. .................................... 366<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - The treatment of dysentery. Further work on the<br />treatment of kala-azar. The treatment of hookworm disease. By E. R.<br />Stitt.. . .. ... ................................ ... ....... .. ... . ....... 369<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY. AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Bacteriological results in chronic leukemia and in pseudoleukemia. The acceleration of esterase action; studies on ferment action. By G. F. Clark. Combined preventive inoculation against typhoid and paratyphoid fever and<br />bacillary dysentery. The complement-fixation reactions of the Bordet-Gengou<br />bacillus. The bacteria of gangrenous wounds. Studies in nonspecific<br />complement fixation. Report on the results of the bilharzia mission in Egypt, 1915. The etiology of rat-bite fever. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning................................................. . 374<br />EYE, EAR. NOSE, AND THROAT - Ethmoiditis; its varied effects and their<br />probable prevention; or, when fully established, their possible cure.<br />Obstruction of the posterior nasal orifice. The space sense and the labyrinth.<br />Acute middle-ear inflammations. Vocal strain from a laryngologist's standpoint . its causes and prevention. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible... ....... ... ................. .. ..... . .................. . 382<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />MILITARY MEDICAL WORK IN CONSTANTINOPLE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  E. P. Huff. ... ......................... 387<br /><br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 3 July 1916<br /><br />PREFACE.... . .. .. . ..... . . . . ..... . ........ . ...... . .. . ....... .. ...... . .... vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401<br />CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon J.C. Dacosta, M. R. C. . ............. . ......... 416<br />THE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS RELATION TO THE HUMAN MECHANISM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NAVAL SERVICE.<br />By Surgeon R. C. Holcomb..... . .. .. . . .. ................ .. . . ...... 430<br />A SHORT STORY OP MY EXPERIENCE AT THE RED CROSS AUXILIARY NAVAL HOSPITAL OF HAMBURG, GERMANY, DURING THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS OF THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Medical Director H. G. Beyer, Retired..... . .... . .. . . .. ......... 465<br />DIAGNOSIS OF ABDOMINAL PAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476<br />DOSAGE IN ROENTOENOTHERAPY. <br />By Assistant Surgeon A. Soiland, M. R. C. . ..... ......... . . . ... .... 484<br />NOTES ON THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF 1,880 APPLICANTS FOR ENLISTMENT IN THE NAVY.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon C.H. Lowell. .. . ... . ... . ....... . ..... 487<br />THE PRACTICABILITY OR DESIRABILITY OF OMITTING FROM THE SUPPLY TABLE CERTAIN DRUGS.<br />By Hospital Steward J. A. Ortolan... . . . ................... . ..... .. 490<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . . 493<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION. . .....493<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES: .<br />FIRST-AID· DRESSINGS ON BATTLESHIPS.<br />By Surgeon G. F. Freeman .. .. . .... . .. . ........ . ..... ... ... .... . .. 495<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />THE LEWISOHN CITRATE METHOD OP BLOOD TRANSFUSION WITH REPORT OF A CASE OF TRAUMATIC GLUTEAL ANEURISM IN WHICH THIS METHOD WAS EMPLOYED.<br />By Surgeon R. B. Williams . . .. .. . . . . .. ..... ... . . ... . ... . ... 503<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF LUDWIG'S ANGINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . ... .  506<br />RUPTURE OF LIVER; REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . .  510<br />SYPHILIS IN A CHAMORRO.<br />By Passed  Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson. . .. . .. . . . ... .. ...... . .. 511<br />REPORT OF A CASE OP INTUSSUSCEPPTION CAUSED BY A MECKEL'S DIVERTICULUM<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy. . ............ . . . . . . . . . . .511<br />ADVANTAGES NOTED IN THE USE OF McDONALD'S SOLUTION.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon P. R. Stalnaker. . .... .. .. . ......... .. .. 514<br />HEMATOMA OF ABDOMINAL PARIETES.<br />By Surgeon J. S. Taylor........ . ... . . ... . .. .. . ... . . .. .. .. ....... . . . 515<br />BAYONET WOUND OF THE ABDOMEN.<br />By Assistant Surgeonn W. B. Hetfield... ... . ... . . . . .  516<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Gassing accidents from the fumes of explosives.<br />By C. G. Smith. The etiology and experimental production of herpes zoster. By W. E. Eaton. The Allen treatment of diabetes. Chronic arthritis. By E. Thompson and J. A. Randall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - A further study of the diagnostic value of the colloidal gold reaction, together with a method for the preparation of the reagent. Psycho-analytic tendencies. Some considerations of general paralysis from the histological viewpoint. The duration of<br />paresis following treatment. Discussion of treatment in general paresis.<br />By R. Sheehan.. .. . . .... . ... . . . . . ... .. .............................. 528<br />SURGERY - The artificial limb question. The treatment of war injuries of the upper arm. By P. J. Waldner. The inefficacy of pyloric exclusion by fascial bands. Postoperative intestinal obstruction. Index of toxicity of novocain-adrenalin injected intravenously. Reversal of the circulation in the lower extremity. By A. M. Fauntleroy and E . H. H. Old.. . ... .. . . ..... . 534<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Report of committees on the resuscitation<br />from mine gases and electric shock. By E. W. Brown. A contribution<br />to the fly campaign. On protection against mosquitoes. By P. J. Waldner. Medical guard. The result of closing the segregated vice district upon the public health of Cleveland. Workshop education in hygiene.<br />By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell. . . .. .. . ............ 540<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Are there harmful and harmless hookworm infections? By C. N. Fiske. Beriberi, with special reference to prophylaxia<br />and treatment. A method for the preparation of a nontoxic dysentery<br />vaccine. By E. R. Stitt......... . ..................... 546<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Autogenous vaccines in the treatment of bronchitis and asthma. The practical value of the guinea-pig test for the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. By G. F.<br />Clark. Methods of using diphtheria toxin in the Schick test and of controlling the reaction. Results with cholesterinized antigens in non-syphilitic sera. On the toxicity of various commercial preparations of emetin hydrochlorid. Bactericidal and protozoacidal activity of emetin hydrochlorid in vitro and in vivo. Two chronic amebic dysentery carriers treated by emetin, with some remarks on the treatment of Lamblia, Blastocystis, and E. coli infections. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning. ....549<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - A discussion of acidosis with special reference to that occurring in diseases of children. By R . H. Laning. Testing<br />distilled water as regards its wit.ability for the preparation of salvarsan<br />solutions. Improved heroin test for blood. Cause and significance of an abnormal reaction obtained in testing urine for sugar with Fehling's<br />solution. New test for reducing sugars in urine. Rapid method of<br />counting bacteria in milk. Estimation of carbon dioxide in air by Haldane's apparatus. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge. . . ... . .. . ........ 555<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - Researches upon the requisite visual acuity and refraction of infantry. Autointoxication and eye diseases. Orientation and equilibration. Deafness due to syphilis. Hay-fever; its cause<br />and prevention. A study of 500 tonsil enucleations with the Beck-Pierce<br />tonsillectome. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible..... . .............. . .. 559<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />SANITATION OF AMERICAN SAMOA. <br />By Surgeon E. G. Parker........... . . ... . . ....... . . ......... . ... ... 563<br />REPORT OF MEDICAL RELIEF AFFORDED IN FLOODED DISTRICTS OF SAN DIEGO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. I. Wood. .. ..... . .......................... 567<br />THE MARINE DETACHMENT WITH THE PANAMA·PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon K. C. Melhorn.. . . . .  . . 569<br />EARLY HISTORY OF THE NAVAL HOSPITAL RESERVATION, WASHINGTON, D . C.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood................. . .... .. .. . . .... . 573<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR 61 DAYS FROM FEBRUARY 9, 1916, TO APRIL 9, 1916.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy .......... 574<br />THE FRENCH HOSPITAL OF CHUNGKING, CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield............................... 583<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 4 September 1916<br /><br />PREFACE................................................................ vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS WHICH OCCURRED IN THE NAVY YARD AT WASHINGTON, D. C.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. A. Bloedorn ....... . .. 585<br />INTOXICATION BY DETONATION AND EXPLOSION GASES ABOARD SHIP.<br />By Surgeon K. OhneSorg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  626<br />FLAT POOT AND ITS MEASUREMENTS.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon M. Clements............................. 634<br />PREVENTION OF MALARIA IN THE FIELD.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon F. X. Koltes........................... 640<br />A WASSERMANN SURVEY ON 500 APPRENTICE SEAMEN.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon C. B. Munger......................... 642<br />MALINGERING IN MENTAL DISEASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. Sheehan......... . . . . . .  . . . . . . 646<br />THE REORGANIZATION OF THE HOSPITAL CORPS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton........................... 654<br />THE RELATION OF SEPTIC MOUTH TO ARTHRITIS.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey..................... 658<br />CLIMACTIC BUBO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. E. Treibly......... .. . . . . . . . . . . 661<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL, MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . .  665<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A DENTAL FOUNTAIN FOR THE CREW'S USE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. M. Kerr........................... 666<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />A CASE OF GANGOSA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson and Assistant Surgeon<br />C. W. Depping................................................. 667<br />CHRONIC LUMPHATIC LEUKEMIA WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION AND FATAL TERMINATION.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C.H. Weaver................................. 668<br />CASE REPORTS FROM U.s. NAVAL HOSPITAL, PORTSMOUTH, N. H.<br />By Surgeon F. M. Bogan.......................................... 671<br />ACUTE INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION DUE TO VOLVULUS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. I. Wood.................................... 673<br />SPLENITIS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. Wilson.................................... 674<br />SOME UNUSUAL CASES OF SYPHILIS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  M. B. Hiden................................. 676<br />GUNSHOT WOUND OF THE KIDNEY. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. W. Depping................................ 679<br />VESICAL CALCULUS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  T. W. Reed........................... 680<br />A CASE OF GASOLINE POISONING.<br />By Assistant Surgeon O. C. Foote................................... 681<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Coleman diet in typhoid fever. By W. S. Pugh.<br />Cutaneous reaction from proteins in eczema. By W. E. Eaton. Some<br />therapeutic uses for the ultraviolet rays. By E. Thompson and J. A.<br />Randall ........ 683<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Spinal injuries of warfare. Diagnostic value of Lange's gold sol test. Studies on alcoholic hallucinoses. The alcoholic as seen in court. Effects of syphilis upon the central nervous<br />system. The Wassermann test in practical psychiatry. Abstract of a<br />psychological study of 300 prisoners in the Massachusetts State Prison.<br />By R. Sheehan ..................... 689<br />SURGERY - A canvas sling for loading wounded from barges and boats<br />into hospital transports. By C. B. Camerer. Open wound treatment<br />with cotton rings and gauze cover. By P. J. Waldner. Nitrous oxid-oxygen, the most dangerous anesthetic. The treatment of peritonitis. Localization and extraction of projectiles and shell framents. By A. M.<br />Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........................................ 698<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - The Schick reaction and its applications. By J. A. Randall. Diphtheria immunity - natural, active, and passive; its determination by the Schick test. The bacillus carrier and the restaurant. The employment of rat poison as a measure for preventing and exterminating plague. Some observations on causes of high bacterial counts<br />in market milk. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell .........708<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - On agglutination reactions with normal sera. Memorandum on the prevention of amebic dysentery. By E. R. Stitt...... 712<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY -Sputum cultures with subsequent complement-fixation control. A new culture medium for the isolation of Bacillus typhosus from stoole. A new differential culture medium for the cholera vibrio. Therapeutic possibilities<br />of antitetanus serum. Remarks on B. welchii in the stools of pellagrins.<br />By G. F. Clark. Observations on the production of antibodies after<br />antityphoid inoculation. A study of various methods for determining the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. A study of acid production by diphtheria bacilli. The relation of the carbohydrate-splitting ferments to the soluble toxins of diphtheria bacilli. By C. S. Butler and R. H. Laning .. . . .  . . 714<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - Modification of Rose's method for the estimation of pepsin. Experimental study of fever. Changes in the Ninth<br />Decennial Revision of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. By E.W. Brown and<br />O. G. Ruge........................................................ 720<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The blood-clot dressing in simple mastoid abecess. Chronic suppurative ethmoiditis. Circumscribed purulent<br />leptomeningitis due to frontal sinusitis. Radium in the field of laryngology.<br />By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible........................... 72S<br /><br />REPORTS (TOPOGRAPHICAL BXTRACTS FROM ANNUAL SANITARY REPORTS):<br />MONROVIA, LIBERIA. FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  W. L. Irvine.......................... 725<br />THE M0SQUITO COAST AND THE CAYMANS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W.W. Hargrave....  737<br />LA ROMANA, SANTO DOMINGO, ST. MARC AND GONAIVES, HAITI.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. B. Helm.................................. 741<br />LA CEIBA, TELA, AND PUERTO CORTEZ, HONDURAS. PUERTO BARRIOS, GUATEMALA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. A. Fortescue. ......748<br />TAMPICO AND VERA CRUZ.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  A. E. Younie............................... 761<br />PROGRESO, CARMEN, AND MERIDA, MEXICO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. F. Riordan............764<br />THE UPPER YANGTZE RIVER. SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S.<br />MONOCACY.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W. B. Hetfield.....   767<br />SOME ASPECTS OF MEDICAL INTEREST OF THE RECENT UPRISING IN CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield.....  760<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES NAVAL TRAINING STATION, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.<br />By Surgeon P. S. Rossiter................ 764<br />INDEX .................................................... 767<br />

 

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Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

John Huck 1900 (Scotland) - 1975 (Australia)

Oddly, one of the first Kent churches I photographed whilst on a walk at the end of 2007, I think.

 

Now converted into a home, has views over the marshes to the Thames Estuary and Essex beyond.

 

Taken by my wife earlier this month when she did the walk alone, while I was home, working.

 

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ST. MARY's, HOO.

NORTH EASTWARD from Halstow, lies St. Mary's, distinguished from others of the same name in this county, by the addition of at Hoo, and near Rochester, both which are frequently used in deeds relating to it.

 

There are two parishes mentioned in the Textus Rossensis, by the names of Ordmæres circe de Hou, and Deremannes circe de Hou, which certainly mean this parish, and that of Alhallows adjoining. I should imagine the former was the name belonging to this parish of St. Mary.

 

THE CHURCH of St. Mary's, with the village adjoining to it, is situated about half a mile from the marshes, which extend as much farther towards the river Thames, which is its northern boundary. It lies much lower and more level than the adjoining parish of Halstow; the soil of it is in general more fertile, and not so much subject to gravel, though about Combe, which is situated midway between St. Mary's church and the marshes, the land is poor, and much covered with furze and heath. It is in other particulars of much the same description as the other parishes in this hundred.

 

The MANOR of St. Mary's Hoo, which is held of the paramount manor of Hoo, was, together with the mansion, called St. Mary's-hall, antiently part of the possessions of the family of Bardolf; and on the division of the estates of Robert Bardolf among his five nieces and coheirs, this manor fell to the share of Hugh Poinz, in right of Maud his wife, who was one of them. (fn. 1) His descendant, Sir Nicholas de Poinz, sold it to William de Halden, who died possessed of it in the 50th year of king Edward III. in whose family it remained till the reign of king Edward IV. when William de Halton, as the name was then spelt, in the 8th year of that reign, alienated this manor to William Lemyng, citizen and grocer of London. He was succeeded in this manor by Sir John Brooke, lord Cobham, who in the 7th year of king Henry VII. conveyed it by sale to Sir Robert Read, afterwards made chief justice of the common pleas, who died about the 10th year of king Henry VIII.'s reign, (fn. 2) and on the partition of his lands among his four daughters and coheirs, this manor was allotted, among other premises, to the daughters and coheirs of his daughter Mary, then deceased, by her husband, Sir William Barentyne; and on a further partition of her share among them, Margaret, one of her daughters, became entitled to this manor, which she carried in marriage to Sir John Harcourt, of Elnall, in Staffordshire. (fn. 3) They, in the 30th year of Henry VIII. exchanged the manor of St. Mary's with John Wiseman, gent. for the priory of Ronton, in Staffordshire, who died possessed of it in 1558, leaving three sons; (fn. 4) of whom, Ralph, the second son, succeeded to the manor of St. Mary's Hoo, and was knighted in 1603. He was of Rivenhall, in Essex, where he died in 1608. The family of Wiseman bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three cronels of tilting spears, argent. This branch of Rivenhall, bore the chevron ermine. His descendant, Sir William Wiseman, of Riven-hall, was created a baronet in 1660. He alienated this manor, at the latter end of the reign of king Charles II. to captain John Daniel; his arms were, Argent, a pale fufilly sable; whose sole daughter and heir carried it in marriage to Mr. Thomas Faunce, gent. of St. Margaret's, Rochester; whose son, Tho. Faunce, esq. was of Sutton-at-Hone, and succeeded his father in this manor, and bore for his arms, Argent, three lions rampant sable, ribboned argent. In 1735, he married Jane, daughter of Edmund Barrell, A. M. prebendary of Rochester, by whom he had two sons, Edmund, vicar of Sutton-at-Hone; and Thomas, town major of Quebec; and three daughters, Anne, married to John Tasker, esq. of Franks; Mary, to Alured Pincke, esq. of Sharsted; and Jane to William Hey, esq. chief justice of Canada, and a commissioner of customs. The Rev. Edm. Faunce, the eldest son, married Anne, sister of James Chapman, esq. of Paul's Cray hill, by whom he had a daughter Anne, married to Mr. Stephen Lee, of Doddington; and one son, Mr. Edmund, Faunce, who is now entitled to the inheritance of this estate. Among the Harleian manuscripts, in the British museum, No. 590–1, is part of a roll, containing a survey of the marsh of Kent, with pictures of several of the manor houses, and among them this of St. Mary's, then belonging to the lord Cobham.

 

NEWLAND'S is a reputed manor in this parish, which was as high as any evidence can be traced, the inheritance of the family of Somer, since vulgarly called Somers, (fn. 5) who bore for their arms, Vert, a fess dancette ermine.

 

Richard le Somer made his will, as appears by the records of the church of Rochester, in the year 1347, and died possessed of this manor and other lands in Halstow, Higham, Leigh, and elsewhere in this county, from whom it descended to John Somer, who was chancellor of the exchequer in the reign of Henry VI. and from him again to Jeffry Somer, who left two sons, William, who possessed the manor of Newland's, and Thomas, whose descendants were of Halstow. William was knighted, and thrice employed by queen Elizabeth, as public ambassador to foreign states, His son, John Somer, clerk, was of St. Margaret's, Rochester, and left two daughters his coheirs, of whom Maria, the eldest, married first Thomas Peniston, and afterwards Sir Alexander Temple, the latter of whom, upon the partition of their estates, became entitled to this manor, whose heir, about the time of the death of king Charles I. conveyed it by sale to the treasurers of the chest for sick and maimed seamen, at Chatham, in whom the possession of this manor and estate now remains.

 

There is no court belonging to this manor, which is held of the manor of St. Mary's.

 

COOMBE is a manor here, which soon after the conquest was in the possession of Wlfward de Hou, surnamed Henry, who became a monk of the priory of St. Andrew, in Rochester, and afterwards gave to that priory the half of his tithes in this parish, and the third part of his substance after his death, to which his wife and his son Robert, and his brothers Hereward, Siward, and Edward, freely consented. (fn. 6)

 

How this manor passed afterwards I have not found till the reign of Henry VIII. when Sir Tho. Wyatt, of Allington castle, was owner of it; and he, in the 34th year of it, conveyed it, among other premises, to that king; and it seems to have remained in the crown till queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir Thomas Walsingham.

 

At the beginning of the reign of king George II. about the year 1732, this manor of Combe, was purchased by the trustees, of the rector of St. George's church, Bloomsbury, London, with part of a sum of money allotted at the first erection of it, in 1731, towards the support of the rector, which money was directed to be laid out in the purchase of lands and tenements, in fee simple, as a perpetual fund for the maintenance of the rector, and his successors.

 

Edward Vernon, D. D. was the first rector of this church, and as such possessed and resided frequently at this manor; he died in 1761. His successor, as rector of Bloomsbury, was Charles Tarrant, D.D. afterwards dean of Peterborough, who finding it a very unprofitable estate, by reason of the great annual expence of the sea walls belonging to it, obtained an act in 1765, to enable him to sell it. In pursuance of which it was afterwards conveyed to David Lesley, esq, and Mr. John Proby; the former of whom soon afterwards died, leaving his two nieces, Frances and Sarah Meekes, his coheirs, who about the year 1773, joined with the heirs at law of Mr. John Proby, then deceased, in the conveyance of this manor, to Owen and William Meredith, of Rochester; the latter of whom, on the death of his brother, in 1780, possessed the whole of this estate, which he sold in 1786, to the Rev. Richard Hancorn Duppa, of Hollingborne; whose devisee, Richard Duppa Duppa, esq. of that place, is the present owner of it.

 

The PORTION of TITHES above mentioned, since called COOMBE PORTION, given to the priory of St. Andrew, Rochester, by Wlfward, surnamed Henry, remained part of the possessions of that priory, at its dissolution in the 32d year of king Henry VIII. when the same was surrendered into the king's hands, who the next year settled this portion of tithes, among other premises, by his dotation charter, on his new-founded dean and chapter of Rochester, where the inheritance of it now remains.

 

On the dissolution of the deans and chapters, after the death of king Charles I. this portion of tithes was, in 1649, surveyed, when it was returned, that the portion of tithes, called Combe, alias Coome, and also usually called St. Mary's, arising from lands, sometime before belonging to the crown of England, called Combe, with the tithe of ten fields and closes lying in St. Mary's, Hoo, containing, by estimation, one hundred and eighty-four acres, the improved rent of which was 10l. 14s. per annum, was let by the late dean and chapter, anno 16 Charles I for twenty-one years, at the yearly rent of fourteen shillings per annum. The lessees of it, under the dean and chapter, have been for some time the owners of Combe manor as above mentioned, the present lessee being Richard Duppa Duppa, esq.

 

CHARITIES.

HENRY WHITE, formerly of Chalk (who lies buried under an altar tomb in this church yard) by his will, in 1622, devised 2l. per annum to the poor of this parish, not receiving alms, payable on St. Andrew's day; and he gave yearly sums to the poor of Chalk, Cowling, and Stoke.

 

The parish of St. Mary's, Hoo, has the right of nomination to one place in the New College of Cobham, for one poor person, inhabitant of this parish, to be chosen and presented so, and by such, as the ordinances of the college have power to present and elect for this parish; and if the parish of Higham should make default in electing, then the benefit of such election devolves to this parish.

 

ST. MARY'S is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese and deanry of Rochester. The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a small building of one isle and a chancel.

 

In this church, in the nave, an inscription for Thomas Lukyn, obt. 1412, and Joane his wife. In the church yard is a tomb, partly sunk in the ground, for Henry White, a benefactor to this parish, and others in this neighbourhood.

 

¶This church was formerly esteemed but as a chapel to the church of St. Warburgh, Hoo, as appears by the instrument of bishop Laurence, in 1274, recited more fully before, being pensionary to that church, beyond memory, as to its mother church, in the payment of half a marc yearly. This pension continued part of the revenues of the priory there till the dissolution of it in the 32d year of Henry VIII. when it was surrendered into that king's hands, who the next year settled it, by his dotation charter, on his new erected dean and chapter of Rochester, part of whose revenues it now remains. Notwithstanding the above decree of bishop Laurence, the patronage of this church seems to have passed in the same chain of ownership that the lordship of Hoo did, and on a dispute concerning the right of presenting to this rectory, on a vacancy in 1501, Sir William de la Pole, in right of his wife Catherine, formerly wife of Sir Henry lord Grey, who had in his life time presented to it, brought his claim before the bishop's official, to establish his right to it, and it was decreed to him by the definitive sentence of the official; after which this patronage continued in the possession of the proprietors of the manor of Hoo till Sir Edward Hales, bart. in the reign of king Charles II. alienated it; and after some intermediate owners it was conveyed to Chapman, whose heirs sold it to Richard Fletcher, A. M. rector of this church, whose son, the Rev. Richard Fletcher, sold it, in 1786, to the Rev. Robert Burt; whose widow, Mrs. Sarah Burt, is now entitled to it.

 

In the year 1476, a suit was commenced before the bishop's official, against Richard Fletcher, rector of St. Mary's, by the rector of the adjoining parish of Halstow, for the recovery and establishment of certain tithes, as rector of the parish of Halstow, which claim was then established to him, by the definitive sentence of the official, as has been already recited fully under that parish.

 

This rectory is valued in the king's books, at 16l. 12s. 1d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 13s. 2½d.

 

On the dissolution of deans and chapters, after the death of king Charles I. a survey was taken in 1650, of the several ecclesiastical livings in this diocese, by which it appeared, that here was a parsonage presentative, worth 83l. 13s. per annum, Sir Edw. Hales, patron; and Mr. Tracy, who had been sequestered from Bredherste, incumbent.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol4/pp20-27

For the best part of the last year, I have been posting shots of Kent churches on Twitter, to break up the torrent of horrible news relating to COVID, Brexit and our Dear Leader, and in doing so, I have discovered many churches I visited at the start of the project, needed to redone.

 

Goudhurst, is, apparently, the highest point in Kent, or so Jools tells me. I will just check that with Wikki: Hmm, it seems not. That is Betsom's Hill north of the M25 near to the border with London. Goudhurst is not even in the top ten.

 

I can confirm we approached the village along a long hill from a river valley, finally climbing up the narrow high street, getting round the parked cars and finding a space nearly big enough for the car near to the church.

 

On the other side of the road from the church, a series of very Kent houses and buildings, all decorated with pegtiles, in the Kent fashion, and to the south, the imposing structure of The Star and Eagle Hotel.

 

The church sits in it's large graveyard, pretty as a picture on a sunny summer's afternoon as on my first visit, but on a grey, late autumn afternoon, just as the light fades, it loses some of its charm.

 

The church itself is resplendent with it's honey-coloured stone, squat tower and spreading aisles on both sides.

 

There is a welcome notice on the door in the west end of the tower stating that the church is always open and all are indeed, welcome.

 

Its a fine touch.

 

Inside, it is light and spacious, so spacious to have to grand leather sofas in the nave, not sure if this is for glamping, or for some other reason, but they're doing no harm.

 

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Seen from afar Goudhurst is Kent's answer to Rye - a small hilltop village over which broods the lovely church. Its west tower, dating from the seventeenth century, is rather low, but the honey-coloured sandstone is particularly beautiful here. We enter the church through the tower, and are impressed by the way in which the width and height of the nave and its aisles combine to make such a noble structure. There are two remarkably fine wooden effigies dating from the sixteenth century, carved and painted and set into a purpose-built bay window. Nearby, in the south chapel, the walls are crammed with monuments and there are three brasses, one of which is covered by a stone canopy - not particularly grand but unexpected and functional.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goudhurst

 

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GOUDHURST

LIES the next parish southward from Marden. The northern part of it, as far southward as the stream formerly called Risebridge river, which flows from Bedgebury to Hope mill, and a smaller part likewise on the other side of it, adjoining to the rivulet called the Bewle westward, is in the hundred of Marden, and lower division of the lath of Scray; the rest of the parish southward of the first-mentioned stream, is in the hundred of West, alias Little Barnefield, and lath of Aylesford, comprehending the whole of that hundred. So much of this parish as is within the borough of Faircrouch, is in the hundred of Cranbrook; as much as is in the boroughs of Pattenden, Lilsden, Combwell, and Chingley or Bromley, is in the same hundred of West, alias Little Barnefield; and the residue is in the hundred of Marden. It lies wholly within the district of the Weald, and in the division of West Kent.

 

The borsholders of the boroughs of Highamden, Pattenden, and Hilsden, in this parish, are chosen at the court-leet holden for the manor of East Farleigh, and the inhabitants owe no service but to that manor; only a constable for the hundred of West Barnefield may be chosen out of such parts of them as lay within it for that hundred. The manor of Maidstone likewise extends into this parish, over lands as far southward as Rise-bridge.

 

THE PARISH OF GOUDHURST is very pleasantly situated, being interspersed on every side with frequent hill and dale. The trees in it are oak, of a large size, and in great plenty throughout it, as well in the woods, as broad hedge-rows and shaves round the fields. The lands are in general very fertile; the soil, like the adjoining parishes, is mostly a deep stiff clay; being heavy tillage land, but it has the advantage of a great deal of rich marle at different places, and in some few parts sand, with which the roads are in general covered; and in the grounds near Finchcocks, there is a gravel-pit, which is the only one, I believe, in this part of the county. There is much more pasture than arable land in it, the former being mostly fatting lands, bullocks fatted on them weighing in general from 120 to 130 stone. It is well watered with several streams in different parts of it, all which uniting with the Teis, flow in one channel, along the western side of this parish, towards the Medway. The eastern and southern parts of it are much covered with thick coppice wood, mostly of oak. The turnpike road from Maidstone over Cocksheath through Marden, leads through the upper part of this parish southward, dividing into two branches at Winchethill; that to the left goes on to Comborne, and leaving the town of Goudhurst a little to the right, joins the Cranbrooke road a little beyond it. That to the right, having taken into it a branch of the Woodgate road from Tunbridge, near Broadford-bridge, goes on to the town of Goudhurst, and thence eastward to Cranbrooke and Tenterden; and the great high road from Lamberhurst through Stonecrouch to Hawkhurst, and into Sussex, south-east, goes along the southern bounds of this parish.

 

The parish is about eight miles long and four broad. There are about three hundred houses in it, and somewhat more than five inhabitants to a house. It is very healthy; sixty years of age being esteemed, if not the prime, at least the middle age of life; the inhabitants of these parts being in great measure untainted with the vices and dissipation too frequently practised above the hill.

 

There are two heaths or commons here; the one called Pyles-health, and the other Killdown, in West Barnefield hundred.

 

THE TOWN, or village of Goudhurst, stands in the hundred of Marden, about half a mile within the lower or southern bounds of it, on an hill, commanding an extensive view of the country all around it. It is not paved, but is built on the sides of five different roads which unite at a large pond in the middle of it. The houses are mostly large, antient and well-timbered, like the rest of those in this neighbourhood, one of them, called Brickwall, belongs to the Rev. Mr. Thomas Bathurst. Within memory there were many clothiers here, but there are none now. There is some little of the woolstapling business yet carried on.

 

On the summit of the hill, on which the town stands, is the church, a conspicuous object to the neighbouring country, and near it was the marketplace, which was pulled down about the year 1650, and the present small one built lower down, at the broad place in the town near the pond. The market was held on a Wednesday weekly, for cattle, provisions, &c. till within memory; it is now entirely disused, there is a fair held yearly in the town, upon the day of the assumption of our lady, being August 26, for cattle, hardware, toys, &c. This market and fair were granted in the year of king Richard II. to Joane, widow of Roger de Bedgebury, the possessors of which estate claim at this time the privilege of holding them, by a yearly rent to the manor of Marden.

 

At the hamlet of Stonecrouch is a post-office of very considerable account, its district extending to Goudhurst, Cranbrooke, Tenterden, Winchelsea, Rye, and Hastings, and all the intermediate and adjoining places, to which letters are directed by this Stonecrouch bag.

 

ALMOST adjoining to the town eastward, on the road leading to Tenterden, there is A HAMLET, called LITTLE GOUDHURST, in which there is an antient seat, called TAYWELL, which for many generations was possessed by a family of the name of Lake, who bore for their arms, Sable, a bend between six crosscroslets, fitchee, argent. In the north isle of this church, under which is a vault, in which this family lie buried, there is a marble, on which is a descent of them. The last of them, Thomas Lake, esq. barrister-at-law, resided here, but dying without issue male, his daughters and coheirs became possessed of it; one of whom married Maximilian Gott, esq. and the other Thomas Hussey, esq. whose son Edward Hussey, esq. of Scotney, now possesses the entire see of this estate, which is demised for a long term of years to Mr. Olive, who has almost rebuilt it, and resides in it.

 

AT A SMALL DISTANCE southward from the abovementioned seat, is another, called TRIGGS, which was for several descents the residence of the Stringers, a family of good account in the different parts of this county. John Stringer, esq. son of Edward Stringer, of Biddenden, by Phillis his wife, daughter of George Holland, gent. resided here in king Charles I.'s reign, and married Susanna, daughter of Stephen Streeter, of Goudhurst, by whom he had Stephen, of Goudhurst; John, gent. of Ashford, who left a daughter and heir Mary, married to Anthony Irby, esq. Edward and Thomas, both of Goudhurst; the latter left two sons. Thomas and Edward, and a daughter Catherine, who married William Belcher, M. D. by whom the had Stringer Belcher, and other children. The Stringers bore for their arms, Per chevron, or, and sable, in chief two eagles displayed of the second, in the base a fleur de lis of the first.

 

Stephen Stringer, the eldest son of John, resided at Triggs in the reign of king Charles II. and was succeeded in it by his second son Stephen Stringer, esq. who kept his shrievalty here in the 6th year of queen Anne. He died without male issue, leaving by Jane his wife, daughter of John Austen, esq. of Broadford, four daughters his coheirs, Jane, married to Thomas Weston, of Cranbrooke; Hannah to William Monk, of Buckingham. in Sussex, whose eldest daughter and coheir married Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham; Elizabeth married Edward Bathurst, esq. of Finchcocks, and Anne married John Kirril, esq. of Sevenoke. (fn. 1) This seat was afterwards alienated to Francis Austen, esq. of Sevenoke, whose son Francis Mottley Austen, esq. of Sevenoke, is the present owner of it.

 

THE MANOR OF MARDEN claims over the greatest part of this parish; part of it, being the dens beforementioned, are within the manor of East Farleigh, and the remaining part, called Wincehurst-den, is within the manor of Gillingham, near Chatham. Although that part of this parish which lies within the hundred of West Barnefield, being the most southern part of it, contains those places which are of, by far, the greatest note in it, yet, for the sake of regularity in my description, I shall begin with those in the hundred of Marden, partly already described, and having finished that, proceed next to the hundred of West Barnefield, and the matters worthy of notice in it.

 

BOKINFOLD is a manor of large extent, situated in the hundred of Marden, having formerly a large park and demesnes belonging to it, which extended into the parishes of Brenchley, Horsemonden, Yalding, Marden, and Goudhurst, the house of it being situated in that of Yalding, in the description of which parish the reader will find an ample account of the former state and possessors of it. (fn. 2) It will, therefore, be sufficient to mention here, in addition to it, that the whole of this manor coming at length into the possession of Sir Alexander Colepeper. He in the 3d year of queen Elizabeth levied a fine of it, and three years afterwards alienated that part of this manor, and all the demesnes of it which lay in Brenchley, Horsemonden, Yalding, and Marden, to Roger Revell, as has been mentioned under the parish of Yalding, and THE REMAINDER OF IT in this parish, held of the manor of Marden, to Sharpeigh, whose descendant Stephen Sharpeigh passed that part of it away in 1582, to Richard Reynolds, whose son and heir John Reynolds, about the 41st year of queen Elizabeth, conveyed it to Richard Eliot, and he, about the year 1601, alienated it to Thomas Girdler, who the next year sold it to John Reynolds, and he, in the 5th year of king James, transmitted it to John Beale, who, about 1609, passed it away to John Harleston, of Ickham, and he settled it by will on Richard Harleston, who in like manner devised it to his kinsman Richard Bishop, and he, soon after the death of king Charles I. sold it to Mr. Stephen Stringer, of Triggs, in Goudhurst, whose son, of the same name, was sheriff anno 6 queen Anne, and left five daughters his coheirs, of whom Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Bathurst, esq. of Finchcocks, and on the division of their inheritance, he, in her right, became possessed of this manor. He died in 1772, upon which this estate came to his son, the Rev. Thomas Bathurst, rector of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire, the present owner of it. A court baron is regularly held for this manor.

 

In 1641 the archbishop collated Richard Amhurst, clerk, to the free chapels of Bockinfold and Newsted annexed, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury, then vacant and of his patronage. (fn. 3)

 

COMBORNE is an estate, situated in the northernmost part of this parish, adjoining to Winchet-hill, in the hundred of Marden likewise; which place of Winchet-hill was antiently the original seat in this county, of the family of Roberts, of Glassenbury.

 

An ancestor of this family, William Rookherst, a gentleman of Scotland, left his native country, and came into England in the 3d year of king Henry I. and had afterwards the surname of Roberts, having purchased lands at Winchet-hill, on which he built himself a mansion, calling it Rookherst, after himself. This place came afterwards to be called Ladiesden Rokehurst, alias Curtesden, and continued the residence of this family till the reign of king Richard II. when Stephen Roberts, alias Rookherst, marrying Joane, the daughter and heir of William Tilley, of Glassenbury, removed thither, and the remains of their residence here are so totally effaced, as to be known only by the family evidences, and the report of the neighbourhood.

 

But their estate at Winchet-hill continued several generations afterwards in their descendants, till it was at length alienated to one of the family of Maplesden, of Marden, in whose descendants this estate, together with that of Comborne adjoining, continued down to Edward Maplesden; esq. of the Middle Temple, who died in 1755, s. p. and intestate. Upon which they descended to Alexander Courthope, esq. of Horsemonden, the son of his sister Catherine, and to Charles Booth, esq. the grandson of his sister Anne, as his coheirs in gavelkind, and on a partition of those estates between them, Winchet-hill was allotted to Charles Booth, esq. afterwards Sir Charles Booth, of Harrietsham-place, who died possessed of it, s. p. in 1795, and his devisees, for the purposes of his will, are now in the possession of it; but Comborne was allotted to Alexander Courthope, esq. since deceased, whose nephew John Cole, esq. now possesses it.

 

FINCHCOCKS is a feat in this parish, situated within the hundred of Marden, in that angle of it which extends south-westward below Hope mill, and is likewise within that manor. It was formerly of note for being the mansion of a family of the same surname, who were possessed of it as early as the 40th year of Henry III. They were succeeded in it by the family of Horden, of Horden, who became proprietors of it by purchase in the beginning of king Henry VI.'s reign, one of whom was Edward Horden, esq. clerk of the green cloth to king Edward VI. queen Mary, and queen Elizabeth, who had, for some considerable service to the crown, the augmentation of a regal diadem, added to his paternal coat by queen Elizabeth. He left two daughters his coheirs, Elizabeth, married to Mr. Paul Bathurst, of Bathurst-street, in Nordiam, and Mary to Mr. Delves, of Fletchings, who had Horden for his share of the inheritance, as the other had this of Finchcocks. He was descended from Laurence Bathurst, of Canterbury, who held lands there and in Cranbrooke, whose son of the same name, left three sons, of whom Edward, the eldest, was of Staplehurst, and was ancestor of the Bathursts, of Franks, in this county, now extinct, (fn. 4) of the earls Bathurst, and those of Clarenden-park, in Wiltshire, and Lydney, in Gloucestershire; Robert Bathurst, the second, was of Horsemonden; and John, the third son, was ancestor of the Bathursts, of Ockham, in Hampshire. Robert Bathurst, of Horsemonden above-mentioned, by his first wife had John, from whom came the Bathursts, of Lechlade, in Gloucestershire, and baronets; and Paul, who was of Nordiam, and afterwards possessor of Finchcocks, from whose great-grandson William, who was a merchant in London, descended the Bathursts, of Edmonton, in Middlesex. By his second wife he had John, who was of Goudhurst, ancestor of the Bathursts, of Richmond, in Yorkshire. In the descendants of Paul Bathurst before-mentioned, this seat continued down to Thomas Bathurst, esq. who by his will devised this seat and estate to his nephew Edward, only son of his younger brother William, of Wilmington, who leaving his residence there on having this seat devised to him, removed hither, and rebuilt this seat, at a great expence, in a most stately manner. He resided here till his death in 1772, having been twice married, and leaving several children by each of his wives. By his first wife Elizabeth, third daughter and coheir of Stephen Stringer, esq. of Triggs, he had three sons, Edward, who left a daughter Dorothy, now unmarried, and John and Thomas, both fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, the latter of whom is now rector of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire. Before his death he conveyed this seat and estate by sale to his son by his second wife, Mr. Charles Bathurst, who on his decease in 1767, s. p. devised it by will to his brother, the Rev. Mr. Richard Bathurst, now of Rochester, the present possessor of it. This branch of the family of Bathurst. bore for their arms the same coat as those of Franks, in this county, and those of Cirencester, Lydney, and Clarendon, viz. Sable, two bars, ermine, in chief three crosses pattee, or, with a crescent for difference; but with a different crest, viz. Party per fess, and pale, a demi wolf argent, and sable, holding a regal crown, or; which I take to be that borne by Edward Horden, whose heir Paul Bathurst, their ancestor, married, and whose coat of arms they likewise quartered with their own.

 

¶AT NO GREAT DISTANCE from Finchcocks, in the same hundred, lies a capital messuage, called RISEDEN, alias GATEHOUSE, which formerly belonged to a family named Sabbe, one of whom, Simon Sabbe, sold it, before the middle of the last century, to Mr. Robert Bathurst, from whom it descended down, with an adjoining estate, called TRILLINGHERST, to another Robert Bathurst, who died in 1731, and lies buried in this church, whose daughter Mary sold them both to Sir Horace Mann, bart. the present possessor of them.

 

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Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 10 Nos. 1-4, 1916

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

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Date: 1916

Language: eng

Vol. 10, No. 1 January 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... vii<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A TECHNIC FOR THE ABS0RPTION TEST FOR SYPHILIS, USING HUMAN COMPLEMENT.<br />By Surgeon C. S. Butler and Hospital Apprentice, First Class, W. P.<br />Landon.......... ....... ......... ...... l<br />THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS; AS IT RELATES TO THE SERVICE AND TO THE NAVAL HOSPITAL AT LAS ANIMAS, COLO.<br />By Medical Director G. H. Barber...................... . ..... ... ... 9<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards . . ..... 19<br />MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT IN THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy......... . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . 34<br />CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL DISEASES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan......... .  61<br />SECOND REPORT ON THE SCHIER TEST FOR MENTALITY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE POINT SYSTEM.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. E. Thomas .. .•..... . . .. . . . . ..... 88<br />THE TREATMENT OF FRACTURED MANDIBLES.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey.... .... . ...... . . 70<br />DIVING OPERATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALVAGE OF THE U.S.S. "F-4."<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  G. R. W. French. ........... ...... ..... 74<br />REPORT ON THE RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, AND DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINS OF THE CREW OF THE "F-4."<br />By Surgeon W. Seaman....... .. .. .. . ... ...... . ..... .. . . .......... . 91<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 97<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 97<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A SIMPLE TEST OF STERILIZER EFFICIENCY.<br />By Surgeon Edgar Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 99<br />A HANDY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE FOR THE SICK BAY.<br />By Surgeon A. Farenholt.. .......... .............. ...... ........... 100<br />DESCRIPTION OF A HORIZONTAL FLUOROSCOPE AND AN ILLUMINATING BOX MADE IN A NAVAL HOSPITAL.<br />By Hospital Steward H. L. Gall...... . ..... . . . ..... ............... 101<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />CREEPING ERUPTION. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  J. C. Parham ........ .... 103<br />A SPORADIC CASE OF TYPHUS FEVER.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis..... . ................ . .... 104<br />A BRANCHIOGENIC CYST.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  L. W. Johnson... ....... . . .. . . . . ...... 106<br />BILATERAL THROMBOSIS OF CENTRAL RETINAL VEINS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon S. Walker, jr., Medical Reserve Corps . . . . . . . . . 106<br />INTERNAL HERNIA. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. C. Espach.......... ... ............ ..... ... 108<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF PSORIASIS LIMITED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO THE SCALP.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon J. H. Harris.. . . . ... .. ........ . .... ... . . .. 109<br /><br />EDITORIAL COMMENT:<br />PROGRESS OF THE WAR.. ... . ....... . ............. . .. .. ... . ........... 113<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - The recruit's heart. By E. R. Stitt. Report of<br />cerebrospinal fever in the Royal Navy. Roentgen-ray treatment of<br />leukemia. Chronic lead poisoning in guinea-pigs; with special reference<br />to nephritis, cirrhosis, and polyserositis. Prolonged fasting in diabetes.<br />Proper dosage of antitoxin in diphtheria. By E. Thompson and E. L.<br />Woods.. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . 121<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Clinical lecture on the psychoneuroses of war. By H. Butts. Constructive delusions. Some observations on heroin habitues. A proper classification of borderline mental cases  amongst offenders. The feebly inhibited; violent temper and its inheritance. By R. Sheehan....... . ............................. . . 127<br />SURGERY - Renal pain: Diagnostic and clinical significance. Fulguration in the treatment of bladder tumors. Some details in the surgical<br />treatment of tumor of the bladder. By H. W. Cole. Wound infections.<br />byy L. W. Johnson. On the prevention of "frostbite" and other effects<br />of cold. By C. N. Fiske. Operative treatment of bad results after<br />fracture. End results of bone fractures. A review of the literature of<br />fractures. The clinical status of the autograft. Mesenteric thrombosis.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old .. . .. ... .. . . ...... . ..........132<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Hygienic interpretation of recent changes in the field rations and their preparation. by E. W. Brown. Recent additions<br />to the conception of a normal diet. Removing diphtheria bacilli with kaolin. By C. N. Fiske. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . ........ . . .. ..... 149<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Bilharzia in Cuba. By L.. W. Johnson. Pellagra a curable diseaese. By E . Thompson. Pellagra. Causation and treatment of pellagra. The occurrence of sprue in the United States. By E. R. Stitt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Hibernation and the pituitary body. The occurrence of carriers of disease-producing types of pneumococcus. by G. F. Clark. The mode of injection and etiology of epidemic poliomyelitis. by C. N. Fiske. Observations on<br />the proteolytic enzyme of bacillus proteus. Comparative efficacy of<br />benzin and anisol for the destruction of parasites. Technic for culturing<br />typhoid bacilli from stools. Report of an investigation of diphtheria<br />carriers. The presence of acid-fast bacilli in the circulating blood and<br />excretions. The serologic diagnosis of leprosy. The diagnostic value<br />of the placental blood film in estivo-autumnal malaria. A further study<br />of the bactericidal action of ethylhydrocuprein on pneumococci. By<br />C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning.. ... ...... . .... .. ... .. .. . . . ... .. . . .. . . 156<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY.-A substitute for potassium permanganate to liberate formaldehyde gas from a water solution. The preparation of<br />ammonia-free water. By C. N. Fiske. Chemopathological studies with<br />compounds of arsenic. By R.H. Laning. Laboratory experiments with<br />air. Comparison of the plating and microscopic methods in the bacteriological examination of milk. Beef frozen for 18 years. Tin poisoning after eating canned asparagus. Treatment of typhoid carriers with charcoal and thymol or charcoal and iodin. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge... . .. ... ... .. .... .... 166<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The present status of tuberculin therapy<br />in ocular tuberculosis. On dissolving senile cataract in the early stages.<br />The treatment of glaucoma simplex. The exploratory opening of the<br />ephenoidal sinus. Tonsillectomy in the adult; are we justified in doing<br />so many indiscriminate tonsillectomies for remote infections. The diagnosis<br />of otoeclerosis. Syphilis of the internal ear. Collapse of the alae nasi, its etiology and treatment. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible. .. ... 171<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET, AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR FORTY DAYS.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy.. ... ... . . ... . . . . .. . . . ........ . . 177<br />SANITARY REPORT ON BARCELONA, SPAIN. By Passed Assistant Surgeon H . L. Brown.... . . ... . . . . . . ... .... . ... .. 183<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "SARATOGA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon H. R . Hermesch... . .. . . .  ... .. . . . . . 186<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S. "HELENA." By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. L. Mann, jr.. . . . . . ... . 187<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 2 April 1916<br /><br />PREFACE .. .... v<br /><br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESENT STATUS OF VESICAL PAPILLOMA .<br />By Assistant Surgeon L. C. Lehr, M. R. C.. .... .. . .... . .. . .. . .... . . 191<br />SUGGESTED USE OF COMBINED TABLE OF OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY.<br />By Surgeon C. N. Fiske... . .. . . . . ......... . . . . . . .... . . . .... ...... . . 199<br />EXCLUSION OF THE MENTALLY UNFIT FROM THE MILITARY SERVICES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon R. Sheehan.... .. ...... . . . ... . .... .. .. 213<br />A GREATER FIELD OF ACTIVITY FOR MEDICAL OFFICERS OF NAVY YARDS.<br />By Medical Inspector N. J. Blackwood and Surgeon W. H. Bell. . . .. . 249<br />THE HOSPITAL STEWARD; CONCERNING HIS QUALIFICATIONS - PERSONAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND PROFESSIONAL.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . . .. . . ... ....... .. . ..... 269<br />STUDIES PERTAINING TO LIGHT ON SHIPBOARD. II.<br />By Surgeon T. W. Richards.... .. ..... .. ... ....... . . . . . . ... .... . . .. 277<br />FUMIGATION OF THE U. S. S. TENNESSEE BY THE CYANID METHOD.<br />By Surgeon N. Roberts, Public Health Service. Passed ASSistant Surgeon<br />G . E. Robertson, and aSSistant Surgeon A. E. Beddoe. . .. ... . 296<br />THE NEW HOSPITAL CORPS FORMS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton.. . .... . ... . . . ...... ..... . 300<br />THE DIAGNOSIS OF SYPHILIS BY THE 'WASSERMANN REACTION.<br />By Passed Assistant. Surgeon A. H. Allen... . .. . . .... . .. . . . ........ . 304<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... ..... 309<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION.... .... 309<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />APPARATUS FOR FILLING VACCINE AMPULES.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. G. Davis. .. . . . . . ... .. ... . .. .. ... . .. 311<br />METHODS OP PREVENTING THE ALTERATION OF TINCTURE OF IODIN IN MILITARY SURGERY.<br />Translation By Passed Assistant Surgeon J. A. Biello. .... ... .. . . . .... 314<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />REPORT OF TWO CASES OF INTUSSUSCEPTION AS A SEQUEL TO WHOOPING COUGH.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. . . .. . ..... . .. ... . . .. . . ..... . 319<br />TREATMENT OF A FRACTURED FEMUR BY MEANS OF A STEINMANN NAIL.<br />3y Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping....... .... .......... . ......... 320<br />AN UNUSUAL CASE OF HERPES ZOSTER (ZOSTER NUCHAE ET BRACHIALIS).<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton . . . . . . . . .... .......... .... 323<br />CASE OF HYPERNEPHROMA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeons E. H. H. Old and R.H. Laning. . . . . . .. 324<br />SURGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE KIDNEY.<br />By Surgeon C. G. Smith.. . . ... . . ... .... . .... ... . .... ........ ...... 334<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE.-The bacterin treatment of certain chronic pyogenic<br />dermatoses. By W. E. Eaton. The soldier's heart. The physics of bronchopneumonia. Specific treatment of pneumonia with ethylhydrocuprein.<br />The use of duodenal bucket in search for typhoid bacilli in typhoid convalescents. The treatment of myocarditia. By E. Thompson and J.A. Randall ....343<br /><br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Dementia precox and malingering. The distribution of tabetic crises with exhibition of an unusual case. Notes of a conference on medical and social aspects of syphilis of the nervous system. By R. Sheehan.. ...349<br />SURGERY - A plea for efficiency in the accident ward. Appendicitis as a<br />sequel of tonsillitis. Gasoline, iodin, and alcohol in surgery. Epididymotomy.<br />By L. W. Johnson. The treatment of fracture a lost art. The treatment of complicated fractures and present opinion of operative treatment. End-results in 242 cases of simple fracture of the femoral shaft. The artificial periosteum for fixation of shaft fractures. Talk on syphilis. Correction of depressed fractures of the nose by transplant of cartilage.<br />By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........ .. . . ................... 353<br />HYGIENE A.ND SANITATION - Duration of smallpox immunity conferred<br />by successful vaccination. Further experiments in the destruction of fly larvae in horse manure. Biochemical comparisons between mature beef and immature veal. On the influence of alcohol on bactericidal properties, phagocytosis, and resistance of human erythrocytes. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell.... .. .................................... 366<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - The treatment of dysentery. Further work on the<br />treatment of kala-azar. The treatment of hookworm disease. By E. R.<br />Stitt.. . .. ... ................................ ... ....... .. ... . ....... 369<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY. AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Bacteriological results in chronic leukemia and in pseudoleukemia. The acceleration of esterase action; studies on ferment action. By G. F. Clark. Combined preventive inoculation against typhoid and paratyphoid fever and<br />bacillary dysentery. The complement-fixation reactions of the Bordet-Gengou<br />bacillus. The bacteria of gangrenous wounds. Studies in nonspecific<br />complement fixation. Report on the results of the bilharzia mission in Egypt, 1915. The etiology of rat-bite fever. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning................................................. . 374<br />EYE, EAR. NOSE, AND THROAT - Ethmoiditis; its varied effects and their<br />probable prevention; or, when fully established, their possible cure.<br />Obstruction of the posterior nasal orifice. The space sense and the labyrinth.<br />Acute middle-ear inflammations. Vocal strain from a laryngologist's standpoint . its causes and prevention. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible... ....... ... ................. .. ..... . .................. . 382<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />MILITARY MEDICAL WORK IN CONSTANTINOPLE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  E. P. Huff. ... ......................... 387<br /><br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 3 July 1916<br /><br />PREFACE.... . .. .. . ..... . . . . ..... . ........ . ...... . .. . ....... .. ...... . .... vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />A. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401<br />CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon J.C. Dacosta, M. R. C. . ............. . ......... 416<br />THE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS RELATION TO THE HUMAN MECHANISM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NAVAL SERVICE.<br />By Surgeon R. C. Holcomb..... . .. .. . . .. ................ .. . . ...... 430<br />A SHORT STORY OP MY EXPERIENCE AT THE RED CROSS AUXILIARY NAVAL HOSPITAL OF HAMBURG, GERMANY, DURING THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS OF THE PRESENT WAR.<br />By Medical Director H. G. Beyer, Retired..... . .... . .. . . .. ......... 465<br />DIAGNOSIS OF ABDOMINAL PAIN.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476<br />DOSAGE IN ROENTOENOTHERAPY. <br />By Assistant Surgeon A. Soiland, M. R. C. . ..... ......... . . . ... .... 484<br />NOTES ON THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF 1,880 APPLICANTS FOR ENLISTMENT IN THE NAVY.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon C.H. Lowell. .. . ... . ... . ....... . ..... 487<br />THE PRACTICABILITY OR DESIRABILITY OF OMITTING FROM THE SUPPLY TABLE CERTAIN DRUGS.<br />By Hospital Steward J. A. Ortolan... . . . ................... . ..... .. 490<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . . 493<br />ADDITIONS TO THE HELMINTHOLOGICAL COLLECTION. . .....493<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES: .<br />FIRST-AID· DRESSINGS ON BATTLESHIPS.<br />By Surgeon G. F. Freeman .. .. . .... . .. . ........ . ..... ... ... .... . .. 495<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />THE LEWISOHN CITRATE METHOD OP BLOOD TRANSFUSION WITH REPORT OF A CASE OF TRAUMATIC GLUTEAL ANEURISM IN WHICH THIS METHOD WAS EMPLOYED.<br />By Surgeon R. B. Williams . . .. .. . . . . .. ..... ... . . ... . ... . ... 503<br />REPORT OF A CASE OF LUDWIG'S ANGINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. A. Brams.  . . ... .  506<br />RUPTURE OF LIVER; REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. W. Depping. .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . .  510<br />SYPHILIS IN A CHAMORRO.<br />By Passed  Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson. . .. . .. . . . ... .. ...... . .. 511<br />REPORT OF A CASE OP INTUSSUSCEPPTION CAUSED BY A MECKEL'S DIVERTICULUM<br />By Surgeon A. M. Fauntleroy. . ............ . . . . . . . . . . .511<br />ADVANTAGES NOTED IN THE USE OF McDONALD'S SOLUTION.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon P. R. Stalnaker. . .... .. .. . ......... .. .. 514<br />HEMATOMA OF ABDOMINAL PARIETES.<br />By Surgeon J. S. Taylor........ . ... . . ... . .. .. . ... . . .. .. .. ....... . . . 515<br />BAYONET WOUND OF THE ABDOMEN.<br />By Assistant Surgeonn W. B. Hetfield... ... . ... . . . . .  516<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES:<br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Gassing accidents from the fumes of explosives.<br />By C. G. Smith. The etiology and experimental production of herpes zoster. By W. E. Eaton. The Allen treatment of diabetes. Chronic arthritis. By E. Thompson and J. A. Randall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - A further study of the diagnostic value of the colloidal gold reaction, together with a method for the preparation of the reagent. Psycho-analytic tendencies. Some considerations of general paralysis from the histological viewpoint. The duration of<br />paresis following treatment. Discussion of treatment in general paresis.<br />By R. Sheehan.. .. . . .... . ... . . . . . ... .. .............................. 528<br />SURGERY - The artificial limb question. The treatment of war injuries of the upper arm. By P. J. Waldner. The inefficacy of pyloric exclusion by fascial bands. Postoperative intestinal obstruction. Index of toxicity of novocain-adrenalin injected intravenously. Reversal of the circulation in the lower extremity. By A. M. Fauntleroy and E . H. H. Old.. . ... .. . . ..... . 534<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - Report of committees on the resuscitation<br />from mine gases and electric shock. By E. W. Brown. A contribution<br />to the fly campaign. On protection against mosquitoes. By P. J. Waldner. Medical guard. The result of closing the segregated vice district upon the public health of Cleveland. Workshop education in hygiene.<br />By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell. . . .. .. . ............ 540<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - Are there harmful and harmless hookworm infections? By C. N. Fiske. Beriberi, with special reference to prophylaxia<br />and treatment. A method for the preparation of a nontoxic dysentery<br />vaccine. By E. R. Stitt......... . ..................... 546<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY - Autogenous vaccines in the treatment of bronchitis and asthma. The practical value of the guinea-pig test for the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. By G. F.<br />Clark. Methods of using diphtheria toxin in the Schick test and of controlling the reaction. Results with cholesterinized antigens in non-syphilitic sera. On the toxicity of various commercial preparations of emetin hydrochlorid. Bactericidal and protozoacidal activity of emetin hydrochlorid in vitro and in vivo. Two chronic amebic dysentery carriers treated by emetin, with some remarks on the treatment of Lamblia, Blastocystis, and E. coli infections. By C. S. Butler and R.H. Laning. ....549<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - A discussion of acidosis with special reference to that occurring in diseases of children. By R . H. Laning. Testing<br />distilled water as regards its wit.ability for the preparation of salvarsan<br />solutions. Improved heroin test for blood. Cause and significance of an abnormal reaction obtained in testing urine for sugar with Fehling's<br />solution. New test for reducing sugars in urine. Rapid method of<br />counting bacteria in milk. Estimation of carbon dioxide in air by Haldane's apparatus. By E.W. Brown and O. G. Ruge. . . ... . .. . ........ 555<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - Researches upon the requisite visual acuity and refraction of infantry. Autointoxication and eye diseases. Orientation and equilibration. Deafness due to syphilis. Hay-fever; its cause<br />and prevention. A study of 500 tonsil enucleations with the Beck-Pierce<br />tonsillectome. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible..... . .............. . .. 559<br /><br />REPORTS:<br />SANITATION OF AMERICAN SAMOA. <br />By Surgeon E. G. Parker........... . . ... . . ....... . . ......... . ... ... 563<br />REPORT OF MEDICAL RELIEF AFFORDED IN FLOODED DISTRICTS OF SAN DIEGO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon C. I. Wood. .. ..... . .......................... 567<br />THE MARINE DETACHMENT WITH THE PANAMA·PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon K. C. Melhorn.. . . . .  . . 569<br />EARLY HISTORY OF THE NAVAL HOSPITAL RESERVATION, WASHINGTON, D . C.<br />By Medical Director J. D. Gatewood................. . .... .. .. . . .... . 573<br />A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP "SOLACE" WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, FOR 61 DAYS FROM FEBRUARY 9, 1916, TO APRIL 9, 1916.<br />By Medical Inspector R. M. Kennedy .......... 574<br />THE FRENCH HOSPITAL OF CHUNGKING, CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield............................... 583<br /><br />Vol. 10, No. 4 September 1916<br /><br />PREFACE................................................................ vii<br />SPECIAL ARTICLES:<br />STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS WHICH OCCURRED IN THE NAVY YARD AT WASHINGTON, D. C.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. A. Bloedorn ....... . .. 585<br />INTOXICATION BY DETONATION AND EXPLOSION GASES ABOARD SHIP.<br />By Surgeon K. OhneSorg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  626<br />FLAT POOT AND ITS MEASUREMENTS.<br />By Acting Assistant Surgeon M. Clements............................. 634<br />PREVENTION OF MALARIA IN THE FIELD.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon F. X. Koltes........................... 640<br />A WASSERMANN SURVEY ON 500 APPRENTICE SEAMEN.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon C. B. Munger......................... 642<br />MALINGERING IN MENTAL DISEASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  R. Sheehan......... . . . . . .  . . . . . . 646<br />THE REORGANIZATION OF THE HOSPITAL CORPS.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. E. Eaton........................... 654<br />THE RELATION OF SEPTIC MOUTH TO ARTHRITIS.<br />By Acting Assistant Dental Surgeon F. L. Morey..................... 658<br />CLIMACTIC BUBO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. E. Treibly......... .. . . . . . . . . . . 661<br /><br />UNITED STATES NAVAL, MEDICAL SCHOOL LABORATORIES:<br />ADDITIONS TO THE PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTION... . .. . . . .  665<br /><br />SUGGESTED DEVICES:<br />A DENTAL FOUNTAIN FOR THE CREW'S USE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon W. M. Kerr........................... 666<br /><br />CLINICAL NOTES:<br />A CASE OF GANGOSA.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon L. W. Johnson and Assistant Surgeon<br />C. W. Depping................................................. 667<br />CHRONIC LUMPHATIC LEUKEMIA WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION AND FATAL TERMINATION.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C.H. Weaver................................. 668<br />CASE REPORTS FROM U.s. NAVAL HOSPITAL, PORTSMOUTH, N. H.<br />By Surgeon F. M. Bogan.......................................... 671<br />ACUTE INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION DUE TO VOLVULUS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. I. Wood.................................... 673<br />SPLENITIS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. Wilson.................................... 674<br />SOME UNUSUAL CASES OF SYPHILIS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  M. B. Hiden................................. 676<br />GUNSHOT WOUND OF THE KIDNEY. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  C. W. Depping................................ 679<br />VESICAL CALCULUS. REPORT OF A CASE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  T. W. Reed........................... 680<br />A CASE OF GASOLINE POISONING.<br />By Assistant Surgeon O. C. Foote................................... 681<br /><br />PROGRESS IN MEDICAL SCIENCES: <br />GENERAL MEDICINE - Coleman diet in typhoid fever. By W. S. Pugh.<br />Cutaneous reaction from proteins in eczema. By W. E. Eaton. Some<br />therapeutic uses for the ultraviolet rays. By E. Thompson and J. A.<br />Randall ........ 683<br />MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES - Spinal injuries of warfare. Diagnostic value of Lange's gold sol test. Studies on alcoholic hallucinoses. The alcoholic as seen in court. Effects of syphilis upon the central nervous<br />system. The Wassermann test in practical psychiatry. Abstract of a<br />psychological study of 300 prisoners in the Massachusetts State Prison.<br />By R. Sheehan ..................... 689<br />SURGERY - A canvas sling for loading wounded from barges and boats<br />into hospital transports. By C. B. Camerer. Open wound treatment<br />with cotton rings and gauze cover. By P. J. Waldner. Nitrous oxid-oxygen, the most dangerous anesthetic. The treatment of peritonitis. Localization and extraction of projectiles and shell framents. By A. M.<br />Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old........................................ 698<br />HYGIENE AND SANITATION - The Schick reaction and its applications. By J. A. Randall. Diphtheria immunity - natural, active, and passive; its determination by the Schick test. The bacillus carrier and the restaurant. The employment of rat poison as a measure for preventing and exterminating plague. Some observations on causes of high bacterial counts<br />in market milk. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell .........708<br />TROPICAL MEDICINE - On agglutination reactions with normal sera. Memorandum on the prevention of amebic dysentery. By E. R. Stitt...... 712<br />PATHOLOGY, BACTERIOLOGY, AND ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY -Sputum cultures with subsequent complement-fixation control. A new culture medium for the isolation of Bacillus typhosus from stoole. A new differential culture medium for the cholera vibrio. Therapeutic possibilities<br />of antitetanus serum. Remarks on B. welchii in the stools of pellagrins.<br />By G. F. Clark. Observations on the production of antibodies after<br />antityphoid inoculation. A study of various methods for determining the virulence of diphtheria bacilli. A study of acid production by diphtheria bacilli. The relation of the carbohydrate-splitting ferments to the soluble toxins of diphtheria bacilli. By C. S. Butler and R. H. Laning .. . . .  . . 714<br />CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY - Modification of Rose's method for the estimation of pepsin. Experimental study of fever. Changes in the Ninth<br />Decennial Revision of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. By E.W. Brown and<br />O. G. Ruge........................................................ 720<br />EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT - The blood-clot dressing in simple mastoid abecess. Chronic suppurative ethmoiditis. Circumscribed purulent<br />leptomeningitis due to frontal sinusitis. Radium in the field of laryngology.<br />By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible........................... 72S<br /><br />REPORTS (TOPOGRAPHICAL BXTRACTS FROM ANNUAL SANITARY REPORTS):<br />MONROVIA, LIBERIA. FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE.<br />By Passed Assistant Surgeon  W. L. Irvine.......................... 725<br />THE M0SQUITO COAST AND THE CAYMANS.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W.W. Hargrave....  737<br />LA ROMANA, SANTO DOMINGO, ST. MARC AND GONAIVES, HAITI.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. B. Helm.................................. 741<br />LA CEIBA, TELA, AND PUERTO CORTEZ, HONDURAS. PUERTO BARRIOS, GUATEMALA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  T. A. Fortescue. ......748<br />TAMPICO AND VERA CRUZ.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  A. E. Younie............................... 761<br />PROGRESO, CARMEN, AND MERIDA, MEXICO.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  J. F. Riordan............764<br />THE UPPER YANGTZE RIVER. SANITARY NOTES FROM THE U.S.S.<br />MONOCACY.<br />By Assistant Surgeon  W. B. Hetfield.....   767<br />SOME ASPECTS OF MEDICAL INTEREST OF THE RECENT UPRISING IN CHINA.<br />By Assistant Surgeon W. B. Hetfield.....  760<br />SANITARY NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES NAVAL TRAINING STATION, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.<br />By Surgeon P. S. Rossiter................ 764<br />INDEX .................................................... 767<br />

 

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Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

This 1941 newspaper article could relate to the photo:

trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47857845?searchTerm=pr...

"Military Ambulance To Be Presented

A military ambulance will the presented to the Base Commandant (Brigadier H. C. Bundock) in the courtyard of the Royal Adelaide Hospital at 2.30 pm today by the Assistant Matron (Sister J. Maxfield) on behalf of the Royal Adelaide Hospital War Ambulance Fund Committee.

The ambulance was bought from subscriptions to the fund by members of the staff of the hospital."

Autism is sometimes defined as "a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication,"(wikipedia).

 

As testified by Temple Grandin (2006), however, those with autism may develop a superior ability to "think in pictures". Indeed the Autism Spectrum Questionnaire (AQ) contains some items that relate directly to the mental ability to create and manipulate images. From the Nacalian perspective of this blog -- that Japanese have a self in the mirror 'stage' rather than a self as narrative -- one would predict that Japanese would be 'somewhat autistic' or share some commonalities with those that are deemed to have autism.

 

What does the science say? First of all one finds that, though autism is increasing worldwide especially in the West, the prevalence of Autism is argued to be higher in Japan than anywhere else in the world with, 118 cases per 10,000 children (Hughes, 2011; see image centre). Secondly comparisons of scores on the above mentioned Autism Spectrum Questionnaire, which gives a score between 1 and 50, finds that average Japanese student score of 22.4 is 6 points above that of British students (16.4) and lies almost in the middle between British students, and British in the Aspergers Syndrome or High Functioning Autism group (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin, & Clubley, 2001; Kurita, Koyama, & Osada, 2005).

 

Some of this difference may be due to the possibility that" the Japanese translation might have changed the meaning of some items to be more agreeable for the Japanese to score 1, although the back translation was satisfactory"(Kurita, Koyama, & Osada, 2005, p495). While translation issues may be responsible for some of the difference, I suggest that an increased tendency in Japan to think in pictures rather than words is likely also to explain some of the difference.

 

By pointing out this data I in no way mean suggest that the Japanese are in any way "disordered", but rather, as those with autism are themselves sometimes found to claim, the ability to think in pictures as opposed to words - if that is a characteristic difference found in autism - is not a disorder, but a difference, especially perhaps in the land of anime, manga, the zaniest fashion, and making things (monodukuri), not words.

 

Image top: ‘Flag of Japan made into a Jigsaw’, n.d. Jigsawplanet

Image middle: (Hughes, 2011)

Image Bottom: Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin, & Clubley, (2001 p.9), with added data from Kurita, Koyama, & Osada, (2005)

 

The average for Japan of 22.4 was created by averaging the Japanese male and female averages given in the text.

 

Bibliography

Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17.

Flag of Japan made into a Jigsaw. (n.d.). Jigsaw Planet. Retrieved 24 February 2014, from www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=07b457ea244c

Grandin, T. (2006). Thinking in pictures: and other reports from my life with autism. New York: Vintage Books.

Hughes, V. (2011, April 7). Researchers track down autism rates across the globe — SFARI.org - Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. Retrieved 24 February 2014, from sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2011/researchers-track-do...

Kurita, H., Koyama, T., & Osada, H. (2005). Autism-Spectrum Quotient–Japanese version and its short forms for screening normally intelligent persons with pervasive developmental disorders. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 59(4), 490–496. Retrieved from onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2005.0140...

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Women everywhere can relate to this.

 

Men, this will help explain why women

"take so long" in the ladies room. Sad,

but true....enjoy!

   

My mother was a fanatic about public

bathrooms. When I was a little girl,

she'd take me into the stall, teach me

to wad up toilet paper and wipe the

seat. Then, she'd carefully lay strips of

toilet paper to cover the seat. Finally,

she'd instruct, "Never, NEVER sit on a

public toilet seat." Then she'd

demonstrate "The Stance," which

consisted of balancing over the toilet

in a sitting position without actually

letting any of your flesh make contact

with the toilet seat. By this time, I'd

have wet down my leg and we'd

have to go home to change my

clothes.

 

That was a long time ago.Even now,

in my more "mature" years, "The

Stance" is excruciatingly difficult to

maintain, especially when one's

bladder is full.

 

When you have to "go" in a public

bathroom, you usually find a line of

women that makes you think there's

a half-price sale on Nelly's underwear

in there. So, you wait and smile

politely at all the other ladies, who are

also crossing their legs and smiling

politely. You get closer and check for

feet under the stall doors. Every one is

occupied. Finally, a door opens and

you dash in, nearly knocking down

the woman leaving the stall.

 

You get in to find the door won't latch.

It doesn't matter. The dispenser for the

new fangled "seat covers" (invented

by someone's Mom, no doubt) is

handy, but empty. You would hang

your purse on the door hook if there

was one but there isn't -- so you

carefully but quickly hang it around

your neck (since Mom would not

approve if you put it on the FLOOR),

yank down your pants, and assume

"The Stance."

 

Ahhhh, relief. More relief. But then

your thighs begin to shake. You'd love

to sit down but you certainly hadn't

taken time to wipe the seat or lay

toilet paper on it, so you hold "The

Stance" as your thighs experience a

quake that would register an eight on

the Richter scale.

 

To take your mind off of your trembling

thighs, you reach for what you

discover to be the empty toilet paper

dispenser. In your mind, you can hear

your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if

you would have tried to clean the seat,

you would have KNOWN there was no

toilet paper!"

 

Your thighs shake more. You remember the tiny tissue that you

blew your nose on yesterday -- the

one that's still in your purse. That

would have to do. You crumple it in

the puffiest way possible. It is still

smaller than your thumbnail.

 

Someone pushes open your stall door

because the latch doesn't work. The

door hits your purse, which is hanging

around your neck in front of your

chest, and you and your purse topple

backward against the tank of the

toilet. "Occupied!" you scream, as

you reach for the door, dropping your

precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle, and sliding down, directly

onto the insidious toilet seat. You bolt

up, knowing all too well that it's too

late. Your bare bottom has made

contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat

because YOU never laid down toilet

paper -- not that there was any, even

if you had taken time to try. You know

that your mother would be utterly

ashamed of you if she knew, because

you're certain that her bare bottom

never touched a public toilet seat

because, frankly, dear, "You just don't

KNOW what kind of diseases you

could get."

 

By this time, the automatic sensor on

the back of the toilet is so confused

that it flushes, sending up a stream of

water akin to a fountain that suddenly

sucks everything down with such

force that you grab onto the toilet

paper dispenser for fear of being

dragged off to China.

 

At that point, you give up. You're

soaked by the splashing water. You're

exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum

wrapper you found in your pocket,

then slink out inconspicuously to the

sinks. You can't figure out how to

operate the faucets with the automatic

sensors, so you wipe your hands with

spit and a dry paper towel and walk

past a line of women, still waiting,

cross-legged and, at this point, no

longer able to smile politely. One kind

soul at the very end of the line points

out that you are trailing a piece of

toilet paper on your shoe as long as

the Mississippi River! (Where was it

when you NEEDED it?) You yank the

paper from your shoe, plunk it in the

woman's hand and tell her warmly,

"Here, you just might need this." As

you exit, you spot your hubby, who

has since entered, used and exited

the men's restroom and read a copy

of War and Peace while waiting for

you. Annoyed, he asks, "What took

you so long, and why is your purse

hanging around your neck?"

 

This is dedicated to women

everywhere who have ever had to

deal with a public restroom (rest???

you've got to be kidding!!). It finally

explains to the men what really does

take us so long. It also answers their

other commonly asked question

about why women go to the restroom

in pairs. It's so the other woman can

hold the door and hand you Kleenex

under the door.

 

-- Any Womans Mom

 

(courtesy of a forwarded email =))

Logic Vision Collective & Digital Alchemists present The Ritual: Gathering of the Tribes @ Chutes de Sainte Agathe Lotbiniere, Quebec, Canada August 16-19, 2013

 

Photos by Kyle Rober

www.Fractaltribe.net

www.facebook.com/Fractaltribe

 

The Ritual: The Xperience 2014:

www.facebook.com/events/415497831904495/

 

Links:

The Ritual 2013:

www.facebook.com/events/431476333570283

 

Logic Vision Collective:

www.logicvisioncollective.com/

www.facebook.com/groups/logicvisionrecs

 

------------------------------------

 

"How to I anchor these experiences and solidify these changes when I leave the forest?" And that brings me full circle back to my art practice and the question of the art object. Every festival does this for me, but every once in a while there is a festival space that goes so far to the core of my being, that it transcends everything I held to be true, and everything changes for me. This year The Ritual did that for me. '' J.S ((( )))

 

jodisharp-inprocess.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-ritual-and-ho...

 

------------------------------------

 

The DIGITAL ALCHEMISTS are proud to present:

 

THE RITUAL: Gathering of the Tribes 2013. Where the paths of Mysticism, Spirituality & Consciousness meet... Let's Bring Back our Sacred Rituals !

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

Every year, a number of festivals are celebrated in the world. These festivals are looked forward to, for many, with a lot of enthusiasm.

Although these festivals, different kinds of rituals are performed (with utmost care), and provide you mystical experiences.

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

PROLOGUE :

 

Focused around a central element, throughout the gathering, there is a sacred container being collectively created and held, in collaboration with the Native peoples who have honored us with the use of their land.

 

We believe in the healing potential of intentional gatherings.

We have dedicated our lives for facilitating these opportunities for a collective evolution.

 

Our mission : to create the perfect transformation into Peace, Unity and Global Respect...

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

4 days Open-Air Festival

International Music acts

International Deco concept

 

More info coming soon...

Pono Pono

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

Logic Vision Collective est fier de vous présenter :

 

La Réunion des Tribus 2013

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

Chaque année, un certain nombre de festivals sont célébrés dans le monde. Ces réunions sont organisés avec beaucoup de respect et sont attendus, pour beaucoup, avec enthousiasme. Ils sont exécutés avec un soin extrême pour vous offrir une expérience psychedelique mystique unique.

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

PROLOGUE :

 

Autour d'un conteneur sacré est centré un élément, créé et collectivement gardé avec les Peuples autochtones, nous ayant honorés de l'usage de leur terre.

 

Nous croyons aux guérisons et au potentiel des intentions.

Nous consacrons nos vies à faciliter ces réunions, pour l'évolution collective.

 

Notre mission : créer une transformation parfaite dans la Paix, l'Union et le Respect Global...

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

4 Jours de Festival en Plein-Air

Artistes internationaux

Concept Déco international

 

Bientôt d'autres nouvelles...

O Pono Pono

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

International Artists:

 

✔ PSYKOVSKY live! (Osom Music - Russia) - Psychedelia

 

✔ KASHYYYK live! (Kamino recs - Mexico) - Hitech Psychedelic Trance

 

✔ INSECTOR live! (Kamino recs - Hungary) - Hitech Psychedelic Trance

 

✔ ENICHKIN live! (Mind Expension - D-A-R-K recs - Russia) - Psychedelic Trance & Psydub

 

✔ VENSKER Djset! (Kamino recs - D-A-R-K rec | Mexico) ::: Hitech Psytrance

 

✔ PRIMORDIAL OOZE live+djset (Anti-shanti recs | D-A-R-K recs- USA) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ LUNECELL live+djset+Vjset (Occulta recs - USA) ::: Psychedelia

 

✔ AXIS MUNDI live! (Touch Samadhi - USA) :::: Psychedelic trance

 

✔ DOG OF TEARS live! (Active Meditation Music - USA) ::: Psychedelic trance

 

✔ MANIPULATION live! (Kinematic recs - USA)) ::: Psychedelic

 

✔ BRANDON ADAMS (Bom Shanka Music/Free Radical Recs/SYNC/Dreamcatcher - USA)::: Psychedelic

 

✔ THE HIPPIE DISCO PROJECT live! (D-A-R-K recs - USA)::: Groovadelic Circuit Bending

 

✔ RICCO MAZZER (Uroborous recs -Brazil) ::: Darkprog

 

✔ MISSKEY DJSET! (Arkona Creation - United Kingdom) ::: Psygressive

 

✔ Z3NKAI Djset! (PSYNON records - Switzerland)::: Psychedelic

 

✔ HARDKOR NATE live+djset ( Spacecamp Psyfari, Denver USA] ::: Psychedelic Trance

 

✔ ASCENSION LIVE+DJSET [Chilluminati, Spacecamp Psyfari, Denver USA] ::: Psychedelic Trance

 

✔ DEFTSPANK live! (D-A-R-K recs - Venezuela)::: Darkpsy

 

:::::::::::::::::::::::

 

Local Heros

 

Live-Acts:

 

✔ 1,618 live! (Montreal) ::: Progressive Psytrance

 

✔ ATHERIA live! (Geomagnetic recs - Toronto) ::: Progressive

 

✔ AURA live! (Aura Music - Montreal) ::: Psydub

 

✔ DUGONG LIVE ! (FEATURING SPECIAL GUESTS) Tom Lemann & Logan Hollow (BELLYOFTHEWHALECTRONICA inc. - Montreal) ::: Tribal Minimalism

 

✔ DER DENKER live! (Concepto Hypnotico - Montreal)::: Dark Minimal

 

✔ Dr STRANGEFUNK live! (Werk It Music - St Jerome) ::: Zenonesque

 

✔ FLORIAN MSK live! (Concepto Hypnotico - Montreal) ::: Dark Minimal

 

✔ KLOUD NIN9 live! (Glitchy Tonic - Montreal) ::: ProgDark

 

✔ SOURSWEET live! (Logic Vision recs - Montreal) ::: Psysufi

 

✔ SPACEY KOALA live! (Logic Vision recs - Montreal) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ UBER live! (Indy - Montreal) ::: Progressive

 

✔ VIRTUAL LIGHT live (Prism Code - Montreal) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ ZENTRIX live! (Digital Mind recs - Montreal) ::: Zenonesque

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

DJsets

  

✔ ALAKAZOO (Logic Vision - Samsara Festival) ::: Darkprog

 

✔ ALIEN RAINFOREST (Ajnavision recs- Ottawa) ::: Psydub

 

✔ AKSHOBHYA (Logic Vision - Montreal) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ ANIMA vs NTSHANTI (OuI-R1 - Montreal) ::: Psyprog

 

✔ BANJANKRI (Organic Family - Toronto) ::: Forest Le Pendu

 

✔ BENDALA (Space Gathering - Montreal)

 

✔ CODE-AMA (Logic Vision - Montreal) ::: Dark Grooves

 

✔ DIRTY HARRY (St Jerome) ::: Zenonesque

 

✔ EFFLUX (Montreal) ::: DMTechno

 

✔ ELVIRA (Osiris Collective - Montreal) ::: Forest Psytrance

 

✔ FIELD EQUATION (Montreal) ::: Chillstep

 

✔ G-PI (Techno Agricole - Montreal) ::: Psyprog

 

✔ JOEL MCDUFF (OUIR1 - Montreal) ::: Progressive

 

✔ KHALIL (Speakeasy - Montreal) ::: Electroswing Balkan

 

✔ KOALUNA (Logic Vision - Montreal) ::: Troglodyte Psytrance

 

✔ KISS of VENUS (New York) ::: Psychedelic Techno

 

✔ KRIKKITT (Osiris prods - Montreal) ::: Psydub

 

✔ MACHINELF (Timewave Productions, Om Reunion Project-Toronto) ::: Progressive Psytrance

 

✔ MOHINIA (Logic Vision - Montreal) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ MYTHROPHAN (Toronto) ::: Progressive

 

✔ MYKUL ELF (Organic Family - ToMontrealronto) ::: Psybass

 

✔ NAAZ djset (D.A.R.K recs - Montreal) ::: psychedelic trance

 

✔ NAINITA (Logic Vision - Quebec) ::: Forest Psytrance

 

✔ NIKOCH (Montreal) ::: Native Tribal Trance

 

✔ NIKOLI Djset (Outer World Prods, Manifesting Magic festival - Ottawa) ::; Progressive

 

✔ NISMO (Cyberloft - Montreal) ::: Progressive

 

✔ OBSIDIAN (Logic Vision - Ottawa) ::: Psydub

 

✔ OGICHIDA (Organic Family - Toronto) ::: Forest

 

✔ OTKUN djset (kamino recs - Montreal) ::: Forest Hitech

 

✔ PLAN B (Shakti Collective - Toronto) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ PRANAPAPA (Logic Vision - Quebec) ::: Ethno Trance

 

✔ PSYBERTH (Openmind Festival - Can) ::: Psybass

 

✔ PYROTRICH (Logic Vision - Montreal) ::: Forest Psytrance

 

✔ RED ELECTRIC EARTH (Love Project - Montreal) ::: Progressive

 

✔ RON JON (Logic Vision - Ottawa) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ SABI NON STOP (Tatanka fest - Montreal) ::: Psydub

 

✔ SARA DOPSTAR (Kosmic Juice, Toronto) ::: Psyprog

 

✔ SHANGO (Logic Vision - Quebec) ::: Dakrpsy

 

✔ SPOONANI (Pounjah - Quebec) ::: Drum & Bass

 

✔ SYNTHETIK (Prism Code - Montreal) ::: Psytrance

 

✔ TRANSISCO (Om Project - Toronto) ::: Morning Psy

 

✔ WARRIORS (Big Tooth - Montreal) ::: Deep BASS

 

✔ XONICA (Logic Vision rec - Toronto) ::: Psychedelic Trance

 

✔ YGRIEGA (Sourcecode | OUI R1 - Montreal) ::: Psyprog

 

✔ ZAGA (Cosmic Juice - Toronto) ::: Progressive

 

::::::::

 

Deco Artists:

 

✔ WIZART VISIONS (USA) ::: Decoration

WizArt Visions is a visionary art project of New York based artist Olga Klimova and her team dedicated to creating an intense mind-opening visual environment for events.

www.facebook.com/pages/WizArt-Visions/444814318878170

 

✔ ORGANIC FAMILY (CAN) ::: DECO

 

✔ CESAR AR (CAN) ::: Visionnary ARt

 

✔ MYRKO (CAN) ::: Visionnary ARt

  

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

 

SERVICES

----------------------------------------

 

- Restaurant végétarien et méditerranéen / Vegetarian and mediterranean restaurant

- Kiosque de jus frais & Tchai / Fresh juice stand & Tchai

- Plage et baignade sur le site / Beach and swimming on the site

- Toilettes / WC

- Camping gratuit / Free camping

- Sécurité professionnelle et amicale sur le site / Professionnal and friendly security on the site.

  

REGLEMENT / REGULATION

---------------------------------------------

 

- Respectez l’environnement / Respect the environment

- Aucun objet en verre sur le site / No glass on the site

- Les feux sont interdits / Fires are forbidden

- Baignade interdite la nuit / No swimming at night

- Aucun animal domestique sur le site / Pets are not allowed on the site

- Aucun système de son indépendant ne sera toléré sur le site / Independant sound systems will be not tolerated on the site.

 

MERCI DE BIEN VOULOIR RESPECTER CES REGLES ! ...

THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THOSE RULES ! ...

  

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

  

The INDIAN MARKET !

 

The Ritual Festival will offer a wide assortment of food/drink, crafts, and other vendors throughout the Festival site.

 

Le RItuel Festival vous offrira un assortiment très large de restaurants ainsi qu'une variété de kiosques nous proposants des produits d'ici et d'ailleurs

 

please email us at: theritual.festival@gmail.com

  

☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯

  

。ॐ。*。ॐ。

ॐ。＼｜／。ॐ

--- PEACE ---

ॐ。／｜＼。ॐ

。ॐ。*。ॐ

 

With open minds and adventurous souls, there will always be sounds to move to and beats to feel.

We hope you are as excited as we are !

 

Avec l'esprit ouvert et aventureux, il y aura toujours des rythmes pour vous faire bouger et des musiques à ressentir.

Nous espérons que vous êtes aussi enthousiasmés que nous le sommes !

 

Info Contact : theritual.festival@gmail.com

  

COLLABORATORS & SPONSORS

 

Digital-Audio-Records-Kompany

Cybeloft

Kamino records

Tantruum recs

MAIA Brazil records

Osom records

Glitchy Tonic records

Organic FamilyThe DIgital ALchemists

 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Timetables

 

Galactic Portal:

 

Vendredi / Friday

 

18:00 XONICA ::: OPENING Ceremony

19:00 Krikkitt djset :: Psychedelic

20:30 Pyrotrich djset ::: Forest Psychedelic Trance

22:00 Mohinia djset ::: Psychedelic

23:30 Shango & Nainita ::: Forest Psy

 

Samedi / Saturday

 

01:00 CAUSAI (Vancouver) ::: Psytrance

02:30 PREGAKORE (Portugal) ::: Psychedelic

04:00 VENSKER Djset! (USA) ::: Psychedelic

05:30 AXIS MUNDI live! (USA) ::: Psychedelic

07:00 Virtual Light djset ::: Morning Psy

08:30 HIPPIE DISCO live ! (USA) ::: Morning FUnky

10:00 SPACEY KOALA live :::Funky Psytrance

11:00 MISSKEY djset! (UK) ::: Progressive Trance

12:30 ATHERIA live ! (Toronto) ::: Psytrance

01:30 Dr Strangefunk live! ::: Zenonesque

02:30 Zentrix live!::: Zenonesque

03:30 Ygriega ::: Progressive Trance

05:00 KLOUD Nin9 live! ::: darkprog OTEZUKA (France) :::: Progressive

06:00 RICCO MAZZER live! (Brazil) ::: Zenonesque

07:30 FRACTAL PHONO (USA) ::: Zenonesque

09:00 LUNECELL live! (USA) ::: Psychedelic

10:30 Otkun (Montreal) ::: Psychedelic Moon

 

Dimanche / Sunday

 

00:00 KASHYYYK live! (MEXICO) ::: Hitech

03:00 INSECTOR live! (HUNGARY) ::: Hitech

06:00 PRIMORDIAL OOZE live!(USA) ::: Psychedelic

08:30 BRANDON ADAMS (USA) :: Full Power

10:00 MANIPULATION live (USA) ::: Morning

11:30 HARDKOR NATE djset (USA) ::: Psytrance

13:00 ASCENTION liveset (USA) ::: Psytrance

14:00 A.C. LYON live! (USA) ::: Psychedelic

15:30 Dugong live! ::: Dark Tribal Minimalism

17:00 Florian live! ::: Dark Minimal

18:00 Der Denker ::: Dark Minimal

20:00 Anima vs Nt Shanti ::: Psygressive

21:30 Akshobhya ::: Psychedelic

23:00 Plan B ::: Psychedelic

 

Lundi / Monday

 

00:30 DEFTSPANK live (Venezuela) ::: Psychedelic

01:30 Ogichida vs Banjankari::: Forest Psytrance

03:00 PSYKOVSKY live ! (Russia)::: Psychedelic

07:30 DOG OF TEARS live! (USA) ::: Psychedelic

09:30 NAAZ ::: Psychedelic

11:00 CODE-AMA ::: Psychedelic

12:30 RONJON ::: Psychedelic

14:00 OTEZUKA ::: Psyprog

16:00 The DIGITAL ALCHEMISTS ::: CLOSING

 

Dream Catcher Portal

 

Friday / Vendredi:

08:00 Zaga (Toronto) ::: Dark Minimal

10:00 MAJESTER (British COlumbia) ::

 

Saturday / Samedi:

 

00:00 Elvira ::: Hitech

01:30 Koaluna ::: forestpsy

03:00 Play Different live! (Toronto) ::: Psytrance

04:30 Synthetik ::: psytrance

06:00 MACHINE ELF (Toronto) ::: Psy trance

08:00 MYTHROPHAN (Toronto) ::: Progressive Trance

10:00 TRANCISCO (Toronto) ::: Progressive Psytrance

12:00 Glitch (Quebec) :: Progressive

01:30 Red ELectric Earth ::: Progresive

03:00 G-Pi ::: Minimal

04:30 Uber live! ::: Progressive

06:00 Nismo & Franky-Owl::: Progressive

07:30 Alakazoo ::: Psyprog

09:00 SARA DOPSTAR (Toronto) ::: Progressive

11:00 1,618 live! :: Psytech

 

Sunday / Dimanche

 

00:30 ZENKAI ::: Psytrance

02h30 SPOONANI vs ZENTRIX ::: Progressive

04:00 FLICKER LIGHT (Brazil) ::: Progressive

05:30 Efflux ::: Minimal

07:00 Dirty Harry ::: Zenonesque

08:30 Joel Mac Duff ::: Progressive

10:30 AURA live! (Portugal) ::: Psybient

12:00 KHALIL ::: Gypsy PsyDub

02:00 KATNIP (British Columbia) ::: Psybreaks

03:30 NIKOLI (Ottawa) ::: Temple Step

05:00 SOURSWEET live!::: IDM

07:00 LUNECELL djset! ::: Temple Step

09:00 OBSIDIAN (Ottawa) ::: Temple Step

 

Monday / Lundi

 

00:00 SPOONANI (Quebec) ::: DnB

01:30 Pranapapa ::: Progressive Dub

03:00 Psyberth djset :: Progressive Dub

04:30 KISSofVenus (USA) ::: Minimalism

06:00 RED ELECTRICH ::: Zenonesque

07:30 Transurfer ::: Progressive

09:00 Sabi Non STop ::: Psydub

10:30 Bendala ::: Psybass

12:00 MAYA EFF ::: PsyBass

 

END OF THE VORTEX _/\_ AHO

 

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Barrier Miner

Sat 28 Jan 1933

 

Tourists to Great Barrier Reef

Dr Macgillivray Relates His Experiences

 

Mr Busuttin, a Maltese, has two married sons who are very hardy specimens, especially Mick, the elder. Mick was engaged at one time in capturing crocodiles for the various zoological gardens in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. It is nothing for him to defend himself single handed against a shark and kill it with a knife.

 

He knows all passages and the islands intimately and ran with consumate ease barefooted over the sharp rocks and stone and coral reef. He is stall, strong, and wiry and climbs a coconut tree with his hands and feet and can come down head first. Some little time ago an airman who was engaged in an aerial survey on the Barrier Reef tried to emulate him. He climbed the tree all right, but came down head first with all the skin off his chest, arms and nose. He had to be taken to Mackay Hospital for treatment. Mick thinks nothing of putting a whole orange into his mouth and chewing it up. He once won a competition by eating 36 pies for a meal. I saw him eat 18 turtle eggs as they were laid by a turtle, and I saw him eat raw turtle steak.

 

He took us out to islands to the east from his place. We passed Bushy Island, which is surrounded by a very big coral reef. It is a typical coral island covered with vegetation and is the resting place at night of millions of sea birds. Tern Island was visited. It comprised two masses of rock from a large coral reef. On Tern Island we saw some most marvellous coral pools, far finer than any artificial aquarium that could be possibly be formed. We saw a turtle nesting on Bushy Island during two nights we were there, and many sharks came on the second day for remains that the turtle had left. One 12-foot tiger shark was caught together with a small black tipped one.

 

Mick showed he had a wonderful memory and woudl sing and recite - mostly of the shearing shed tone.

 

Brampton Island is an island in the Cumberland Group, off shore from Mackay in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. The island lies within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and the majority of the island forms the Brampton Islands National Park, however there is a resort located on the island. The highest point of the island is Brampton Peak, 214 m above sea level.

 

The traditional Aboriginal owners of Brampton Island are the Ngaro people. no permanent population was present when Captain James Cook passed through the area in June 1770. The island was simply known as "M" in the naval charts until it was eventually given its European name in 1879, when Staff Commander Bedwell of the Royal Navy recognised the group of islands and named each after towns in the county of Cumberland. An expedition led by George Elphinstone Dalrymple landed at the island in 1860. They encountered a group of around 14 Aboriginal people with several bark canoes. These vessels were equipped with paddles decorated with red pigment as well as dugong-hunting harpoons made from palm fibre and sharpened bone.

 

The island can be accessed by private boat for day use only. Camping is not permitted. Picnic and day use areas are available at Brampton’s Western Bay and Dinghy Bay West with very basic facilities.

Brampton Island is considered a national park and a part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area surrounded by coral reefs and amazing marine life. When boating please anchor with care and go slow as turtles are common in the marine park.

 

Swimming and snorkeling are popular in this area and many visitors take advantage of the quiet and secluded beaches that are on offer. Marine stingers are present in these waters between the months of October to May so it is recommended that you wear protective stinger suits if you are entering the waters during these times.

 

As mentioned earlier, there are no commercial businesses on this island so it essential that you bring your own drinking water, food, insect repellent, medications and first aid kits.

 

Tropical climates are experienced all year round with temperatures ranging from 28 degrees to 35 degrees in the peak of summer. In winter the lowest temperatures usually drop to is 20 degrees making this an ideal island to visit all year round.

 

Spread across 1000 hectares there are many picturesque rainforest walking trails and secluded beaches to be explored within the national park. The highlight of Dunk Island is the three hour walk to the highest point of the island, Mount Kootaloo for spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding island and reef. Enjoy being on island time here as you take it easy and swim in the ocean, snorkel off the beach, set up a picnic or camp under the stars.

 

Camping is the only accommodation available on the island until the resort has been redeveloped. There are currently 9 campsites available which are situated nearby the island jetty.

 

Source: greatbarrierreef.com.au/brampton-island/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brampton_Island

  

Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID ITM1040452 Mr Mick Busuttin coming down Coconut Palm head-first, Brampton Island.

St Patrick founded his first stone Church in Ireland on the site now occupied by St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, known as Sally Hill, in the year 445. But the hill where the twin-spired Catholic Cathedral now stands is not without Patrician associations. The Book of Armagh, relates a beautiful tradition which is also depicted in the lower portion of the Cathedral's great east window. When St Patrick took possession of Sally Hill a deer with her fawn allegedly leaped from the bushes. His companions wanted to catch and kill the fawn but the Saint would not allow them. He himself took the animal on his shoulders and carried it, followed by its mother, to Tealach na Licci (Sandy Hill), the site of the present Catholic Cathedral. The incident has been fondly construed as a prophetic reference by Patrick to the building of another Cathedral in his honour 1400 years later.

 

Archbishop William Crolly (1835-1849) negotiated the current site for the Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick in Armagh from the Earl of Dartrey. The original architect was Thomas J. Duff of Newry. The work of construction lasted from St Patrick's Day 1840, when the foundation stone was blessed and laid, with occasional intermissions until the year 1904 when the solemn ceremony of consecration took place. One of the longest gaps in construction took place during the years of the Great Famine. With the dreadful spectre of hunger and disease stalking the land, Cathedral funds were understandably diverted to the more pressing cause of famine relief. Indeed the cholera disease claimed the primate himself and in 1849 his body was laid to rest, at his own request, under the sanctuary of his unfinished Cathedral.

 

Primate Joseph Dixon (1852-1866) declared Easter Monday 1854, 'Resumption Monday'. Financial contributions for the Cathedral came from across the Atlantic and to raise extra funds Dr Dixon took the step, rare in those days, of organising a great Bazaar. 'The First Bazaar' of 1865 became a household word in Armagh, not alone for its material success (over £7,000 was raised, a remarkable sum for the times), but also for the unique character of some of the prizes. Pope Pius IX sent a beautiful ivory carving of Raphael's 'Madonna Di Foligno'. The Emperor of Austria sent a table of rare inlaid work specially designed for the occasion, while Napoleon II chose from the Tuileries Staterooms two magnificent vases of Old Sevrés. An interesting relic of the Bazaar is the grandfather clock now standing in the Cathedral Sacristy. This was a prize which has never been claimed!!

 

When work resumed in 1854 the original architect Thomas Duff had died and the famous Irish neo-Gothic architect, J. J. McCarthy, was appointed to complete the work. He proposed a different design. The original plan had proposed a perpendicular Gothic church. However, since the original plan of Duff had been adopted for Armagh, an architectural renaissance had taken place and there was a growing tendency to favour a return to purer styles of which perpendicular Gothic was seen as a decadent modification. What McCarthy drew up was a continuation design in the old fourteenth century style of decorated Gothic.

 

Under Archbishop Daniel McGettigan (1870-87) the Cathedral was completed and dedicated on 24 August 1873 attended by an estimated 20,000 people. Prior to the great occasion Dr McGettigan had seen to the construction of the seven-terraced flight of steps leading from the Cathedral gates to the piazza in front of the west door. In the years following the ceremony he continued to make additions. He built the Archbishop's house in 1876-77 and in 1884-86 the sacristan's lodge just inside the Cathedral gates.

 

The adornment of the interior of the Cathedral was completed under Cardinal Michael Logue (1887-1924). At that time the southern transept was still being used as an impoverished sacristy and assembly room for diocesan purposes. Cardinal Logue corrected this undesirable state of affairs which greatly detracted from the symmetrical beauty of the building's interior by having constructed to the north east of the Cathedral the Synod Hall which houses the present sacristy. At this time the interior of the Cathedral was dull and undecorated. Cardinal Logue issued a pastoral letter, On the National Cathedral, out of which grew the famous 'National Cathedral Bazaar' of 1900 which realised a record sum of £30,000. It can be said that everything in the inside of the Cathedral, except for the Stations of the Cross and some windows in the Lady Chapel, dates from Cardinal Logue's time.

 

At his own expense he went abroad and visited the Cathedrals of Italy. He went to the workshops of Rome and Cararra in his search for precious marbles for the construction of the reredos and pulpit as well as the altars. In an exquisite example of artistic workmanship a magnificent Gothic altar was erected in purest statuary marble. On the front it carried in high relief Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper by the distinguished Roman sculptor, Cesare Aureli, which in the rearrangement of the sanctuary following Vatican II, was transferred to St Patrick's Church, Stonebridge, in the historic parish of Kilmore, where it still stands.

 

It was also the achievement of Cardinal Logue to have decorated with mosaic the entire walls from the floor to the groining. The materials used were pottery and glass of various colours in dice-shaped cubes. The ceilings are painted in oils, the artist being Oreste Amici. The stained-glass windows, almost all of which date from Cardinal Logue's time, are mostly the work of the German firm, Meyer. The great window in the Lady Chapel, which was erected at a cost of £920 by Dr McGettigan, at his own expense, came from Dublin.

 

It was with fitting pride, with his work of decoration complete, that Cardinal Logue announced 24 July 1904 as the solemn day of consecration. And when Pope Pius X deputed Cardinal Vincent Vannutelli, a distinguished member of the Roman Curia, to represent him at the ceremony in Armagh, Ireland felt herself signally honoured in her ecclesiastical capital.

 

No restructuring of the Cathedral was contemplated until the Second Vatican Council's decree on Sacred Liturgy in the 1960s called for the redesigning of sanctuaries. In the competition for the best design, first prize was awarded to architect, Liam McCormick of Derry. By raising, enlarging and opening the sanctuary area the architect, to a great extent, restored the Cathedral to its original form, as proposed by Duff. The new sanctuary area was finished in Wicklow granite and the same material is used in the altar, ambo and tabernacle stand. All these sanctuary furnishings are the work of sculptor Peter McTigue of Dundalk. The new tabernacle door is a product of Kilkenny Design Workshops and the richly coloured sanctuary carpets were manufactured in Killybegs. Thus, as far as possible, Irish workmanship and materials were used. A new crucifix, the Cross of Christ was affixed to the huge pillar to the right of the sanctuary. This was the work of Imogen Stuart and relies heavily on St John's theology of the life-giving death of Jesus, the structure of the cross reminiscent of the shoots from a sprouting seed, a theme popular in medieval crucifix carvings. The new sanctuary was dedicated on Sunday, 13 June 1982.

 

Abstracted from St. Patricks Cathedral, Armagh. Tomas Ó Fiaich. The Irish Heritage Series: 58, Eason & Sons Ltd, Dublin, 1987

     

Restoration 2003

     

The 2003 restoration arose out of the necessity for major structural repairs to the Cathedral. To oversee the project, Archbishop Seán Brady appointed a Diocesan committee whose members took the opportunity of reviewing the sanctuary area, of restoring and enhancing the interior decoration and of upgrading existing facilities.

 

The restoration work was undertaken by the established firm of McAleer & Teague of Dromore, Co. Tyrone, under the supervision of Gregory Architects, Belfast. The firm of Rooney and McConville, also from Belfast, was commissioned to redesign the sanctuary.

   

In line with tradition pertaining to Cathedrals and in accordance with liturgical norms, the Tabernacle has been relocated to a new Blessed Sacrament Chapel in the South Transept. By doing so, a private space for prayer and meditation has been created.

   

To the rear of the new altar is the Archbishop’s chair, or ‘Cathedra’, from which the name ‘Cathedral’ comes.

 

The Lady Chapel, under the Great East Window, has been enhanced as a shrine area and is now known as the Marian Shrine. It is separated from the sanctuary by a new brass screen reminiscent of the marble and brass screen installed by Cardinal Logue.

   

The Baptistery with its rich imagery in mosaic and stained glass has been restored and is again used for baptisms.

 

An Evangelarium has been created in the space to the right of the entrance doors. Here the Gospel of the day may be read in quiet contemplation. On the walls are two marble plaques commemorating the consecration of the Cathedral, 20th July 1904.

 

The total cost of the 2003 restoration amounted to £6 million pounds. In excess of £1 million was grant-aided by the Heritage Lottery Fund and £300,000 from the Environment & Heritage Service. The balance of the cost was generously covered by parishioners and friends throughout the diocese and beyond.

 

Since the building of the Cathedral was commenced in 1840, thirteen primates, including seven cardinals, have each contributed in his own way to its history. Its commanding site overlooking the City gives it an enduring presence, a reminder to each generation of the sacrifices of those who have gone before. The now restored building is a further realisation of Dr Crolly’s vision of a Great National Cathedral of St Patrick and one worthy of the Primatial See of Armagh.

 

Abstracted from 'Official Cathedral Guide, St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh,' 2003

 

This lantern slide relates to a photograph taken by Clement Lindley Wragge (b.1852, d.1922), date unknown.

 

The slide shows clusters of stars and nebulae against a dark sky.

 

Inscription Details: Handwritten in black ink on recto, top of slide, "Repd-7-5-16, Welltn". Handwritten in blue ink on recto, bottom of slide "U15".

 

Credit: Shared by Auckland War Memorial Museum, Tāmaki Paenga Hira, as part of the Clement Lindley Wragge collection.

 

Rights: No known copyright restrictions.

 

Reference: 235940|PH-1984-1-LS78-4-85|U15

 

For more details, please visit: www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/collections/record/1033274

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

To read the complete post, please visit www.postpositives.com/things-only-siblings-can-relate-to/...

Ok, I can relate. While I often feel as though I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, that's just me, although I do tend to carry almost everything I own with me everywhere I go, which is a lot easier to do these days. Florida is full of critters that have adapted in what at first glance looks like a bizarre lifestyle. But if I were to wake up tomorrow and look in the mirror and find that I was a bug, I think I'd try this. Just for a day or so.

Lombard style bell tower illuminated.

The church of Our Lady of the Assumption is one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches Brionnais and one of the most interesting of Romanesque Burgundy by the quality of its carved decoration and its harmonious proportions.

 

The building, with its height two-story relates to the ancient architectural tradition of Burgundy. It is the antithesis of architectural principles illustrated in Cluny III.

 

The church plan

The church of Our Lady of the Assumption is, classically, facing east, toward Jerusalem.

 

Its floor plan replicates that of the church of Charlieu and recalled the ties between the two monasteries founded in the Carolingian period. The main vessel is a three-nave of five bays under edges. The transept, salient, is to arm with oriented apses. The whole forms a Latin cross. The choir and transepts are crowned by a series of five apses behind. This plan offers a picture perfect in its simplicity and in the rightness of its proportions.

 

Construction is medium blond limestone unit, uneven and grouted. Unlike the masonry of the apse and transept, compared to that of the nave, recalls that the church of Anzy-le-Duc was conducted in two campaigns, from the mid / late eleventh and early twelfth.

 

Outdoor Architecture

South side of the church, the corbels that support the entablature cornices are almost carved.

 

The transept and the main facade is highlighted by their stilted gables.

 

The bell tower

The church of Our Lady of the Assumption has a remarkable octagonal tower novel.

The elegance of this tower makes it one of the most beautiful Romanesque bell towers of Brionnais. Its high silhouette give slenderness to the entire building. Its octagonal building decorated with three floors of Lombard arches recalls the Romanesque bell towers of northern Italy.

It is decorated with the three upper floors of twin arched windows separated by pillars and topped with Lombard bands.

 

The western façade has a remarkable portal whose lintel, the eardrum and the archivolt double arch have a very rich sculptural decoration.

 

The eardrum dated twelfth. The church of Our Lady of the Assumption in three had originally. Today, one of them is located in Hiero Museum Paray-le-Monial. The eardrum visible on the building face Christ in glory in a mandorla. He sits on his throne. The mandorla is a symbol of rebirth, is supported by two angels with wings and whose feet are anchored to the ground. This iconography symbolizes the return of Christ on earth, to the end of time to judge the living and the dead.

The lintel is the scene of the Ascension.

 

The badly damaged lower arch as well as the four capitals, the 24 elders of the Apocalypse, crowned head, holding in his hand a cup and harp, celebrating the glory of the risen Christ. The 24 elders represent the 12 prophets and patriarchs and the 12 Apostles. They symbolize the meeting of the Old and New Testaments. This image is from a vision of St. John described in the Apocalypse.

 

The moldings were restored.

 

The sculptures were hammered during the period of the French Revolution.

 

The south facade

The south portal of the priory tells the story of the salvation of mankind. Tympanum represents the Adoration of the Magi and the Original Sin. The architrave shows the punishments imposed on the damned in hell, and its left end, a brief allusion to the heavenly Jerusalem. Figures could include the influence of the workshop Gislebertus Autun, although their flexibility departs somewhat from the impetuosity which characterizes the sculptures of the Saint-Lazare Cathedral of Autun. The style is much cruder. Perhaps we there see the hand of an artist who spoke at the Church of Neuilly-en-Donjon, located on the other side of the Loire.

 

The bedside

Like the second abbey of Cluny, the church of Anzy-le-Duc has a bedside level with five apsidal chapels.

  

interior architecture

The nave [change | modify the code]

The church of Anzy-le-Duc is regularly oriented.

 

The architecture of the nave is two stories with large arcades surmounted by tall windows.

 

The bays of the nave bear groin vaults separated by arches that give rise to simple architectural lines and great harmony. The quality of vaulting demonstrates the skills mastered craftsmen and architects. This bias construction is found in other Romanesque churches of Burgundy, including Vezelay. However, there is not here this momentum verticality that will characterize the buildings have adopted the principles of Cluny III. The vertical and horizontal lines are balanced to generate a feeling of peaceful serenity.

 

The capitals of the nave date from the eleventh. They are among the earliest examples of this form of typically Romanesque art.

 

They are carved mostly from plant or animal motifs are of great aesthetic value. There are approximately forty of which a head of cattle, Daniel and the lions, an acrobat, an angel fighting a demon, Samson controlling a lion ...

 

Saint Michael fighting the devil. He guards the entrance of Paradise. In its shield, the monstrous devil planted his trident, the handle and the right arm holding the were broken (3rd pillar to the left, entering the nave).

This scene could be the man, attached to the right, however, must fight against physical forces or the forces of evil. Nu (nudity in Roman art can represent the innocence of origins), he clings with both hands in the ring that forms the basis of capital. The ring is a symbol of a branch of the tree of life in Genesis. Two monstrous snakes to interlaced rings are preparing to bite his torso and heel. (2nd pillar to the left, entering the nave)

This capital, located on the 5th pillar to the left, entering the nave could illustrate the theme of the quarrel. Two figures evil their tongues, classic iconography in Roman art of lying, slander or insults. The lie is generating conflicts and wars. In the left corner of the tent, two characters kiss: a reconciliation? a hypocritical gesture as might suggest the two heads like monkeys. The monkey wants to imitate the man as the devil tries to imitate God. The monkey is a symbol of heresy, paganism, of all that is false, anything that distracts man from his likeness to God.

Here, in contrast, the most recent works it is possible to see in Autun and Saulieu, the block formed by the marquee itself is not entirely hidden: include seem like stone applied on their support. Yet we already discern a principle of composition which will remain true Burgundian sculpture submitted to the architectural structure of the capital, the figures of angles resume the role of ancient scrolls. They announce the development of the Cluny sculpture twelfth.

 

The choir

The choir is composed of a span with aisles that end in the apses. It extends an axial central apse and chapels.

 

The choir, vaulted cul-de-four with frescoes, and the transepts are crowned by a series of five apses behind. The octagonal cupola on tubes.

 

Two capitals, almost symmetrical, represent two majestic eagles with outspread wings. They open your eyes wide and yet set the rising sun. At the top of the wings, is carved a swastika, ancient Hindu symbol of the sun spinning. The eagle symbolizes the soul that rises above the vicissitudes of earthly experience. That is the spiritual equivalent of the temporal power of the lion. The eagle is the opposite of the snake, chthonic animal. It symbolizes the soul that rises to the Light, to Knowledge as the eagle, king of birds can fly in / from the sun. It is the oldest capitals of the church (circa 1050).

 

The murals are of medieval origin but were heavily restored in 1850 by a painter of Drill, Jean-François Maurice. The vault in this cul-de-four Ascension. The risen Christ joined his Father in heaven. Standing, surrounded by an oval glory, he blessed the people of believers. Two angels are for 12 Apostles and three holy women remained low. They say, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who comes to you be taken to heaven, will come in the same way that you saw up there. " Under this Ascension in four areas bounded by pilasters, are represented the symbols of the four evangelists: the angel, emblem of St Matthew, the bull for Luke, the lion of St. Mark and the eagle for John. These four figures were the haloed head and holding the holy book, ie the Bible. Under the angel symbolizing St Matthew Letbald is shown. It was the lord of Anzy-le-Duc, who, in 876, donated his land to the Benedictine monks of Autun. Opposite, under the eagle of St. John, was his wife slope, Altasie.

 

The crypt

Recent excavations have rediscovered the crypt, clearing a passage of stairs from the north transept. This crypt dated eleventh century served as a burial place to Hugues de Poitiers. It is one of the Christian shrines preserved among the oldest of all the brionnais country. MM. of Canat and Surigny, made the plan of the crypt and worked in the study of sculptures and murals, the date is not earlier than the twelfth century.

 

It communicated with the church by two staircases that had come together in a single release in front of the choir. The vault is supported by pillars, two gray breccia from the broken barrel of an ancient column, whose base was still visible.

 

In 1576, the tomb of Hugues de Poitiers is desecrated by Huguenots. The body is thrown into the fire and the ashes scattered to the winds.

 

The crypt was decorated with frescoes of which only a fragment.

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This picture relates to the one preceding it... The two young men in my previous photo pointed to their friend saying I must take a picture of the "Jamaican Beckham" (due to his hair). He did not seem quite amused, but nonetheless let me take his picture :)

 

On a side note...I just came back from Jamaica for the second time this year... lots of photos coming up. In the meantime, please check a personal project, dear to my heart, following my visit to the Golden Age Home in Trench Town. I have started a gofundme page: www.gofundme.com/3l1134

  

I am trying to raise money to help polish up the Golden Age Home- a place that hosts seniors left with no family or friends to take care of them. The residents are in a very fragile state and need any form of help. Any support is appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read/consider/help!

In 1865 the New Zealand Parliament, entirely Pākehā, passed an act to "Amend and Consolidate the Laws relating to Lands in the Colony in which the Māori Proprietary Customs still exist and to provide for the ascertainment of the Titles to such lands and for Regulating the Descent thereof and for other purposes" [30th October 1865]. This was ‘The Native Lands Act 1865’, successor to an ineffective act of 1862, which set up the Native (later Māori) Land Court of New Zealand, to be the Court of Record for investigation into the titles of Māori land and title succession. A Judge of the Court was to work with at least two Assessors and an interpreter. Any ‘Native’ could claim, in writing, interest in a specified piece of land, and ask the Court to investigate so that a Crown title might be issued. A claimant was to state the name of the iwi or the names of others who had an interest, making these records extremely useful for Māori as they contain a rich account of whakapapa.

 

The Native Land Court was known to Māori as ‘the Land-Taking Court’. While its official purpose was to give Māori title to their land under Pākehā systems, and this did happen, the real purpose of the Native Land Court was to make it easier for Pākehā to acquire land from Māori. Court decisions often gave Māori less land than they believed right. More significantly the duration of Court cases and Māori costs often resulted in debts which could only be paid through a mortgage on the land or its sale, perhaps at far less than its real value. Once Māori had title they could sell land directly to Pākehā, until Crown pre-emption was re-introduced 1893-1909. Even land designated ‘inalienable’ by the court could be lost to Māori.

 

Archives New Zealand in Wellington holds original Minute Books from all seven Māori Land Court (MLC) districts. Most date from 1865-1962 or -1975. Originals are not available to researchers. Many copies are held, in microfilm (some to after 1975) and reproduction forms. All are listed on ARCHWAY. Researchers can consult reproductions and microfilms in the Wellington Reading Room.

 

The image presented here shows the reproductions available to researchers and an example of the original Minute Book volumes Archives New Zealand holds. The cultural and historical significance of the Māori Land Court Minute Books has been recognised by UNESCO, with these records inscribed on the New Zealand Memory of the World Register www.unescomow.org.nz/nz-register/44-maori-land-court-minu...

 

Archives New Zealand can organise for copies of Minute Books to be made. Enquiries about this service, costs, delivery, should be sent to: research.archives@dia.govt.nz

 

For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter twitter.com/ArchivesNZ

 

Material supplied by Archives New Zealand

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar (Sanskrit: पुष्कर-सरोवर) is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.

 

Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.

 

Tourism and deforestation in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".

 

The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.

 

CLIMATE

The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C. During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C. Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres. Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.

 

From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres. The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares . It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres. The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres. As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channelled through a series of arches under a foot bridge, 110 metres long at the southern end. The foot bridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres from a maximum of 9 metres – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms, caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it as lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.

 

HISTORY

Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. The inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd Century BC. This suggests that Pushkar was a pilgrimage centre even if it did not lie on the trade route.

 

In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

 

A story tells of a ninth-century Rajput king, Nahar Rao Parihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lake shore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see that the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative characteristics of the lake water, people have since visited the lake to take a holy dip and cure themselves of skin problems.

 

The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.

 

During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to this lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres from Pushkar. This act violated the local tradition of not killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity. Thereafter, Jahangir's grandson emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707) destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devout follower.

 

The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British rule for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate taxes for improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

There are various legends from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranic scriptures which mention the Pushar Lake and the town of Pushkar surrounding it.

 

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, where springs emerged creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar". It is also said that the sacred Sarasvati River emerged at Pushkar as five streams. The three lakes were assigned their presiding deities as the Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the lotus fell as 'Pushkar'. Brahma then decided to perform a yagna at the place, at the main Pushkar Lake. However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna. Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar,a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him. However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins. It is now one of the five holiest centres of pilgrimage for Hindus.

 

Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Pushkar Lake as Adi Tirtha, or the "original sacred water-body". The famous Sanskrit poet and play-writer Kalidasa also referred to this lake in his poem Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The Ramayana mentions that Vishwamitra performed penance at Pushkar Lake for a thousand years. In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath. Vishwamitra was enamoured by her beauty and they decided to live together in pursuit of pleasure for ten years. Then, Vishwamitra realized that his main activity of penance was disturbed. He, therefore, took leave of Menaka and went away to the north to continue his meditation. Vishwamitra was also described as building the Brahma temple at Pushkar after Brahma's yagna. Mahabharata mentions that Pushkar is a holy place of the god Vishnu, considered as the Adi Tirtha where millions of tirthas united during sunrise and sunset, and visiting the lake and taking a holy bath in the lake would wash off all sins.

 

According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes collectively called Panch-Sarovar ('Sarovar' means "lake"). Namely, Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar; hence, Pushkar is considered one of the most sacred places in India. It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries. Pushkar is often called "Tirtha-Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites related to water-bodies. The scriptures also mention that doing parikrama (circumambulation) of the three lakes (the main Pushkar, Madya Pushkar where there is a Hanuman temple and an old Banyan tree, and Kanistha Pushkar where a Krishna temple exists), which cover a distance of 16 kilometres, during the Kartik Poornima day would be highly auspicious. International Business Times has identified Pushkar as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.

 

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.

 

PUSHKAR CITY

Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, the Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.

 

TEMPLES

Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.

 

GHATS

Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument) have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further improvements as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.

 

A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee). This indicates that the pilgrim has visited Pushkar Lake and is usually not approached by priests again for further rites and fees.

 

PUSHKAR FAIR

Pushkar Lake and its precincts become very heavily populated during the annual Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela, which has both a religious as well as an economic aspect. During the fair, a very large gathering of pilgrims takes a holy dip in the lake and the camel fair is an adjunct celebration. Pushkar Fair commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October–November), the latter being the most important day of the fair. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves. The Pushkar fair is also Asia's largest camel fair. The colourful and lively Camel Fair reportedly attracts 2 lakh people and 50,000 camels. In this fair held on the banks of the lake, camels are very colourfully decorated and paraded in the sand dunes on the southern part of the lake. Tribes from several neighbouring villages are seen in their traditional colourful costumes. The fair on Kartik Poornima, the day when Brahma is believed to have concluded his Yagna establishing the lake. It is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Pushkar Municipal Board and the Animal Husbandry Department of Rajasthan. The fair is a colourful cultural event also with folk dances, music, camel races and the cattle fair. The tug of war is a popular entertaining sport held during the fair. This event is held between the Rajasthanis and foreigners; locals invariably win the event.

 

STATUS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES

The natural environment of Pushkar Lake and its precincts has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems arise primarily from the over development of tourist facilities as well as the deforestation of the surrounding area.

 

The critical issues related to the conservation of the lake have been identified as:

 

- Siltation during the rainy season due to soil erosion of the denuded hills and inappropriate agricultural practices flowing through the three feeder streams namely, the Gomukh, the Nag Pahar and Savitri.

- Shifting sand dunes from hills and surrounding areas causing a rise of the bed level of the lake.

- Upstream interception by farmers through check dams for farming practices causing reduction in inflows. This reduction is reflected in the full reservoir level of 8.53 metres not being achieved during most years, resulting in pilgrim displeasure and the reduction in maximum depth of the lake, reported now as only 4.6 metres.

- Large inflow of sewage from the ghats and the surrounding habitation has caused serious water pollution.

- Alarming rate of fall in ground water level has occurred in the vicinity of the lake due to high extraction for various uses.

 

In recent years, storage in the Pushkar Lake has been reduced alarmingly, leaving only a small puddle of water in many years during the festival season when pilgrims flock to the lake for sacred bathing during the Hindu holy month of Kartik, when the Pushkar Fair is held. During the 2009 Pushkar fair, the situation became very grim when the lake dried up entirely. Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from ground water sources. While the authorities have been blamed for poor planning by de-silting the lake, the drought situation has resulted in insignificant rainfall in the area to fill the lake.

Water quality issues.

 

The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Considering the adverse impact on the lake water quality due to Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures and holy rituals and tourism, a water quality study was specifically undertaken at four sites on a monthly basis for six months. The sampling sites were chosen to represent the pressure of pilgrims and other pollution inflows at the locations. The water samples were analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, total chlorophyll, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off). During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake. This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

 

RESTAURATION WORKS

To supplement water supply to the lake, even as early as in 1993, the government built 12 deep tube wells to supplement water supply to the lake. However, most tube wells were dysfunctional, thereby aggravating the problem. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests included Pushkar Lake on a list of five lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NLCP) for restoration. They have been providing funds since 2008 for the restoration works, but the situation has not eased.

 

Development plans are under various stages of implementation to address the critical issues related to the lake. They aim to improve water quality, increase water storage capacity, prevent encroachment of the lake periphery, improve the ambience around the lake, as well as to introduce recreational and revenue generating schemes.

 

Sewage outfalls into the lake are proposed to be completely stopped by the interception and diversion of feeder lines. Lining the main feeders into the lake and setting up water treatment plants to continuously treat and recirculate the lake water are also envisioned. Conservation measures proposed for adoption to clean the lake are by way of desilting and deweeding, water treatment at inlet of feeders into the lake, construction of check dams, conservation of ghats, afforestation of denuded hills in the catchment, soil moisture conservation measures, stabilization of sand dunes by planting vegetation of suitable species of plants and restriction of cultivation in the bed of feeder channels. In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.

 

WIKIPEDIA

There is an old Guarani Indian legend that relates the origins of the Guarani in the Forests of Paraguay. According to the legend, the ancestors of the Guarani at one time in the distant past crossed a great and spacious ocean from a far land to settle in the Americas. They found the land both wonderful yet full of dangers; through diligence and effort they subdued the land and inaugurated a new civilization.

 

The Guarani tribes worked the land and became excellent craftsmen. They looked forward to the coming of a tall, fair-skinned, blue eyed, bearded God (Pa' i Shume) who, according to legend, descended from the skies and expressed his pleasure with the Guarani. He brought religious knowledge and imparted to them certain agricultural practices to be of benefit during times of drought and pestilence as well as on a day-to-day basis. Significantly, He unlocked the secrets of health and medicine and revealed the healing qualities of native plants. One of the most important of these secrets was how to harvest and prepare the leaves of the Yerba Mate tree. The Mate beverage was meant to ensure health, vitality and longevity.

 

It was like this: the tribe would clear part of the forest, plant manioc and corn, but after four or five years the soil would be worn out and the tribe had to move on. Tired of such moving, an old Indian refused to go on and preferred to stay where he was. The youngest of his daughters, beautiful Jary, had her heart split: to go on with the tribe's youths, or remain isolated, helping the old man until death would take him to Ivy-Marae's peace. Despite her friends' pleas, she ended up staying with her father.

 

This love gesture deserved a prize. One day, a unknown shaman arrived at the ranch and asked Jary what she wanted in order to feel happy. The girl did not ask anything. But the old man asked: "I want new forces to go on and take Jary to the tribe that went away".

 

The shaman gave him a very green plant, perfumed with kindness, and told him to plant it, pick the leaves, dry them on fire, grind them, put the pieces in a gourd, add cold or hot water and sip the infusion. "In this new beverage, you will find an healthy company, even in the sad hours of the cruelest solitude." After which he went away.

 

Thus was born and grew the "caá-mini," whence came the caá-y beverage that white people would later adopt under the name of Chimarrão in Brazil and Yerba Mate in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

 

Sipping the green sap, the old man recovered, gained new strengths and was able to resume their long journey toward meeting their kinsmen. They were received with the greatest joy. And the whole tribe adopted the habit of drinking the green herb, bitter and sweet, that gave strength and courage and would comfort friendships at the sad hours of utmost solitude.

 

Mate became the most common ingredient in household cures of the Guarani, and remains so to this day. In current practice in modern Argentina and Paraguay, Mate tea is made from the leaves steeped in hot water. Actually, a large quantity of ground leaf is first soaked in cold water, then the hot water is added, over and over again, until all the good stuff has been extracted. In between each addition of hot water the tea is ingested through a special wood or metal straw, called a bombilla, that filters out the leafy material. It is also used as a cold beverage.

  

At the ranch San Juan Poriahu in the Corrientes wet lands , this was all part of the Tango & Samba Gourmet trip from BA to Rio were we cover Buenos Aires, The Ranch at the wetlands of Corrientes, Iguazu falls, Sao Paulo, Paraty, Angra, Ihla Grande and Rio de Janeiro with Thousand Flavors. www.thousandflavors.com