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Ganesh  Idols

S50 s.  Ganesh Idol in White.    10925.

Theme : Spiritual.  Appearance : X Large. Length : 10 cms. Each idol has pure white sparkling stones - for your Temple room or strategic location. It may be fitted onto the wall or rested on a flat surface. The Idols shown above, is actually in pristine white & the 'tint' is due to photographic light refraction only - both photos are of the same pc itself.

S51 s.  Ganesh Idol in Red.   12040. 

Theme : Spiritual.  Appearance : X Large. Length : 8 cms. Each Idol has  fireful red stones - for your Temple room or strategic location. It may be fitted onto the wall or rested on a flat surface. Both photos are of the same pc itself.

S51 s.  Ganesh Idol in White.   12040.

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Vinayak Pendant provides the worshipper perfection in every sphere in life and the grace of Lord Ganesh is received by it. This pendant increases the strength of character and mind and help achieve happiness, fame, good health and increase confidence. By wearing this pendant, all the pleasures increase and all the difficulties diminish. Wearers of this get long life and they become truthful. Such a person is born free of diseases, wise and knowledgeable any obstacle in his tasks. Such persons have special ability and talent in studies. This pendant is also very useful in Rahu Dosh Nivaran. Those suffering because of Rahu or undergoing the Rahu Mahadasa or Anterdasa shall definitely wear this pendant as Lord Ganesha is the controller of Planet Rahu. This pendant appease the planet Rahu and wearer achieve success in his/her endeavor.

Ganesha is the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order.He can place obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked and can remove blockages just as easily. The Sanskrit terms vighnakartā ("obstacle-creator") and vighnahartā ("obstacle-destroyer") summarize the dual roles. Both functions are vital to his character.
Even after the Purāṇic Gaṇeśa is well-defined, in art Gaṇeśa remained predominantly important for his dual role as creator and remover of obstacles, thus having both a negative and a positive aspect.
Gaṇeśa is also called Vighneśvara or Vighnarāja, the Lord of Obstacles. 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.

Buddhi
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of Intelligence. 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, where many stories showcase 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 special list of twenty-one names that Gaṇeśa says are of special importance at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama. 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 (Devanagari) Aum jewelGanesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (ॐ, also called Om). The term oṃkārasvarūpa ("Aum is his form") when identified with Ganesha refers to the notion that he is the personification of the primal sound.[122] This association is attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. The relevant passage is translated by Paul Courtright as follows:
You are Brahmā, Vişņu, and Rudra [Śiva]. You are Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya. You are Candrama. You are earth, space, and heaven. You are the manifestation of the mantra "Oṃ.
A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire and air. You are the sun and the moon. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka, Antariksha-loka, and Swargaloka. You are Om. (that is to say, You are all this).
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of his body in iconography and the shape of Om in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

First chakra
Ganesha is associated with the first or "root" chakra (mūlādhāra). This association is attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. As translated by Courtright this passage reads:
You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra].
A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda:
You have a permanent abode (in every being) at the place called "Muladhara,"

Family and consorts
Shiva and Pārvatī giving a bath to Gaṇeśa. Kangra miniature, 18th century. Allahbad Museum, New Delhi.While Ganesha is popularly considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths relate several different versions of his birth. These include versions in which he is created by Shiva, by Parvati, by Shiva and Parvati, or simply appears in a mysterious manner and is then discovered by Shiva and Parvati.
The family includes his brother Skanda, who is also called Karttikeya, Murugan, and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder brother, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born.Prior to the emergence of Ganesha, Skanda had a long and glorious history as an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when his worship declined significantly in northern India. The period of this decline is concurrent with the rise of Ganesha. Several stories relate episodes of sibling rivalry between Ganesha and Skanda[138] and may reflect historical tensions between the respective sects.
Ganesha's marital status varies widely in mythological stories, and the issue has been the subject of considerable scholarly review.[140] One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacārin This view is common in southern India, but it is also held in some areas 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 who are considered 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 two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Labha (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 and Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

Worship and festivals
Celebrations of Ganesh by the Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, FranceGanesha is worshipped for a wide variety of reasons, including a religious ceremony, a new vehicle, student exams, sessions of devotional chanting, or a new business. Throughout India and in Hindu culture, Ganesha is the first icon placed into any new home or abode. Devotees widely believe that wherever there is Ganesha, there is success and prosperity. By calling on him, people believe that he will come to their aid and grant them success.
The worship of Ganesha is believed to complement the worship of other deities.[citation needed] Hindus of all sects begin prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies with an invocation to Ganesha. Dancers and musicians also adore Ganesha and begin their performances of arts such as Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to him, particularly in southern India.[152] 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 (literally, "Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts").
Devotees offer Ganesha various sweets, such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra, which is one of his iconographic elements. 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 various other materials are also used in his worship.

Ganesh Chaturthi
A large Ganesha statue at a Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, 2004An important festival honours Ganesha for ten days starting with Ganesh Chaturthi, typically in late August or early September. This festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi when images (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water.
Hindus celebrate the Ganapati festival with great devotional fervour. While it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra, it is performed all over India. The festival assumes huge proportions in Mumbai and in surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples. On the last day of the festival, millions of people of all ages descend onto the streets leading up to the sea, dancing and singing to the rhythmic accompaniment of drums and cymbals.

In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed the 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. Thus, Tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman. 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.


Rise to prominence
First appearance
A statue of Ganesha carved in wood.Ganesha appears in his classic form as a clearly-recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early fourth to fifth centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known cult image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult had come into existence by about the tenth century. Narain sums up controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
[W]hat 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. ... in my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.


India had an impact on the regions of western and southeastern Asia as a result of commercial and cultural contacts. Ganesha is one of many Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result. The worship of Ganesha by Hindus outside of India shows regional variation.

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. The period from approximately the tenth century onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds, and a resurgence of money circulation. It was during this time that 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 the Malay Archipelago and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the Malay Archipelago in great numbers, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The gradual emigration of Hindus to Indochina 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 Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Even today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles and thus 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. A few examples of sculptures from the fifth to the seventh centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

Ganesha appears in Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name (Vināyaka). His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing, a form called Nṛtta Ganapati that was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha known as Heramba is very popular, where he appears with five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, 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 531 CE. In Japan the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806 CE.

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the cult 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 ninth century. A fifteenth century Jain text provides procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.