The Slokas we learn right from the time we are toddlers and little kids stick with us for the rest of our lives. We are taught Slokas to satisfy our every need - study well, stay healthy, give us courage - and what not! Each need is directed towards a specialized deity chosen from the myriad options we have. Therein lies the beauty of Hinduism! I plan to post over the next few weeks as many of these short Slokas as I can recollect.
I will begin the series of Slokas on Lord Ganesha. He is usually a favourite among the kids for his childlike innocence and behaviour, not to mention his immense love for sweets! Lord Ganesha is popular not only in India, but in many countries including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and so forth. You can find a really nice summary of his global following here. I will start my series with the following simple Sloka:
गजाननम् भूतगणादि सेवितम्
कपित्त जम्भुफलसार भक्षितम्।
उमा सुतम् शोक विनाश कारणम्
नमामि विघ्नेश्वर पाद पंकजम्॥
gajAnanam bhUtagaNAdi sevitam
kapitta jambhu phalasAra bhakshitam |
uma sutam shoka vinAsha kAraNam
namAmi vighneshvara pAda pankajam ||
गजाननम् - Elephant faced
भूतगणादि - Shiva's attendants
सेवितम् - Worshipped by
कपित्त जम्भु - Wood Apple and Rose Apple fruits
फलसार भक्षितम् - devour the essence of these fruits
उमा सुतम् - Son of Uma (Parvati)
शोक विनाश कारणम् - destroyer of grief
नमामि विघ्नेश्वर - Bow to Lord Vigneshwara
पाद पंकजम् - Lotus feet of the Lord
O' Elephant faced Lord who is worshipped by all of Shiva's Bootha Gana's (symbolic of all living beings), One who devours with pleasure the essence of Apple and Jamun fruits, the son of Uma who is the destroyer of all obstacles, I bow down to thy lotus feet!
The word Ganesha comes from गण + ईशा. The first word refers to a community or group and
the second word means God. So, Lord Ganesha is regarded as the leader of the community of Gods and is always worshipped first during any new effort. There is also a familiar story associated with this tradition.
Lord Shiva decided to have a competition between Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya (his younger brother) to determine who would lay claim to a fruit of gnaana or absolute knowledge. The challenge was to go around the entire universe and return to Lord Shiva. Whoever did so first would be the winner. Lord Kartikeya sped off on his peacock as soon as he heard the challenge. Lord Ganesha, on the other hand, simply went around his parents and told Lord Shiva that he had completed the task, thus symbolizing them to represent the whole universe. Lord Shiva was very pleased with Lord Ganesha’s wisdom and bestowed on the title of the Leader of Gods or गणेशा.
We will unravel over the series of Slokas a lot more of such interesting stories and reasoning behind Lord Ganesha’s seemingly contradictory attributes like a mighty and unbalanced body structure supported by a tiny, hapless mouse!
I would like to begin with the most simple, yet all powerful Sanskrit verse that marks the beginning of all things holy:
शुक्लाम्बरधरम् विष्णुम्
शशिवर्णम् चतुर्भुजम्।
प्रसन्नवदनम् ध्यायेत्
सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये॥
shukLAmbaradharam vishNum
shashivarNam caturbhujam |
prasannavadanam dhyAyet
sarva vighnopa shAntatye ||
शुक्लाम्बर - white(pure) garment
धर - wearing
विष्णुम् - All pervading One
शशिवर्णम् - luminous as the Moon
चतुर्भुजम् - having four arms (also interpreted as 3 dimensions + time)
प्रसन्नवदनम् - One with a benevolent face
ध्यायेत् - Meditate
सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये - eliminate all obstacles to lead to tranquility.
Typically, this Sloka is assumed to refer to Lord Ganapathi and is uttered with the traditional 'Pillayaar-kuttu', i.e., knocking simultaneously on both sides of the forehead with the knuckles. However, all attributes mentioned in the Sloka can also be associated with Lord Maha Vishnu. The word विष्णुम् is, therefore, cause for some controversy since the Sloka seems to be addressing Lord Vishnu and not Lord Ganapathi. If, however, the word is taken in its literal Sanskrit meaning, it simply refers to an omnipresent force and since Lord Ganapathi is traditionally associated with removing all obstacles, it is assumed to be directed towards him. Another argument in favour of Lord Ganapathi is that Lord Vishnu is always referred to as Neela Megha ShyAmalan, i.e., One who is coloured blue and never as one adorned in white. Without delving into this controversy, it is possible to convey the gist of this Sloka in a non-dualistic sense (this is something I found in one of the online forums) -
Oh pure, all pervading, ever conscious One; covering everything in the cosmos, holding the cosmos with serenity, tranquility (Love), all over (omnipresent) and through all times; having a pure space (face) (internal as well as eternal space with stillness and eternal silence), we meditate upon You so that you make us whole by removing all our obstacles (which are illusory obstacles) and merge us into or make us one with that infinite bliss or may we attain Self Realization.
We are very fortunate to have a religion that can so effortlessly transition from a dualistic view to a non-dualistic view whenever such petty arguments arise!
I will present the gist of the Slokas in future posts also.
