Top eight incarnations of Ganesha

Incarnations of Ganesha

There are two dedicated scriptures for Lord Ganesha, the Mudgala Purana and the Ganesha Purana. Both the scriptures contain stories of Lord Ganesha’s childhood, his marriage and his various avatars. In Hinduism an avatar is a direct descent of a deity which is born for a purpose. Apart from Hinduism, only Sikhism and Ayyavazhi religions believe in the concept of avatar or incarnations. Thus, Hinduism believes in the principle of Avatarvada.

As per the Ganesha Purana, there are four incarnations of Ganesha, one for each “yuga” (cycle of life). The Mudgala Purana describes eight incarnations of Ganesha which are popular. This article talks about the eight incarnations of Lord Ganesha.

All the avatars of Ganesha have specific attributes. They differ in physical qualities like colour of the skin or the vehicle they use. However the purpose of all the avatars was one, to slay demons. All the avatars symbolize abstract qualities but have similar purpose of existence. The Mudgala Purana preaches that the importance of the stories of the eight incarnations of Ganesha is not in their literal recitation but it is in the understanding of their purpose.

The first of Lord Ganesha’s manifestation is called Vakratunda. The name is derived from the physical attributes of this manifestation of Lord Ganesha. Since the avatar has a twisted trunk it is called “Vakratunda”. The reason this avatar was born was to defeat the demon Matsaryasura. Symbolically Matsaryasura is the demon of envy and his defeat by Lord Ganesha is a testimony to triumph over envy.

The second incarnation was Ekdanta. The incarnation got the name because of Lord Ganesha being single tusked. This avatar was born to defeat the demon Madasura. The demon Madasura represents intoxication.

The third manifestation of Lord Ganesha is Mahodara or the big bellied one. He was born to kill the demon of delusion, Mohasura. This incarnation of Lord Ganesha also destroyed Durbuddhi (negative thought) and Jnanaari (Ignorance). Mohasura was born out of momentary confusion of Lord Shiva.

Gajanana, was the fourth incarnation of Ganesha. The name of the avatar is coined after the “elephant face” of Lord Ganesha. He was born to slay the demon of greed, Lobha.

The fifth incarnation of Ganesha is Lambodara who killed Krodha, the demon of anger. The name Lambodara means “potbellied God”.

Vikata, “the misshaped one”, defeated Kama, the demon of desire. Vikata is the sixth incarnation of Ganesha.

The seventh incarnation, Vighnaraja destroyed Mama, the demon of ego.  In Sanskrit, Vighnaraja means the king of obstacles.

The last or the eighth incarnation of Ganesha is Dhumravarna (smoke colour). The incarnation got victory over the demon Ahamkara (narcissism).

The purpose of the incarnations was to gain victory over vices. Lord Ganesha helps his devotees to overcome bad qualities and walk the path of righteousness.

Mudgala Purana

The Mudgala Purana is a Hindu religious text dedicated to the Hindu deity Ganesha (Gaṇeśa). It is an upapurāṇa that includes many stories and ritualistic elements relating to Ganesha. The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana are core scriptures for devotees of Ganesha, known as Ganapatyas (Gāṇapatya). These are the only two Purana that are exclusively dedicated to Ganesha.

The Mudgala Purana considers Ganesha to represent the ultimate reality of being. As such, Ganesha's manifestations are endless but eight of his incarnations are of most importance. The eight incarnations are introduced in MudP 1.17.24-28. The text is organized into sections for each of these incarnations. These are not the same as the four incarnations of Ganesha that are described in the Ganesha Purana.

The incarnation described in the Mudgala Purana took place in different cosmic ages. The Mudgala Purana uses these incarnations to express complex philosophical concepts associated with the progressive creation of the world. Each incarnation represents a stage of the absolute as it unfolds into creation. Granoff provides a summary of the philosophical meaning of each incarnation within the framework of the Mudgala Purana: Along with the philosophy, typical Puranic themes of battles with demons provide much of the story line.

The incarnations appear in the following order:

1. Vakratunda, first in the series, represents the absolute as the aggregate of all bodies, an embodiment of the form of Brahman. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Matsaryāsura (envy, jealousy). His mount is a lion.

1. Ekadanta represents the aggregate of all individual souls, an embodiment of the essential nature of Brahman. the purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Madāsura (arrogance, conceit). His mount is a mouse.

1. Mahodara is a synthesis of both Vakratuṇḍa and Ekadanta. It is the absolute as it enters into the creative process. It is an embodiment of the wisdom of Brahman. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Mohāsura. His mount is a mouse.

1. Gajavaktra is a counterpart to Mahodara. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Lobhāsura (greed). His mount is a mouse.

1. Lambodara is the first of four incarnations that correspond to the stage where the Purāṇic gods are created. Lambodara corresponds to Śakti, the pure power of Brahman. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Krodhāsura. His mount is a mouse.

1. Vikata corresponds to Sūrya. He is an embodiment of the illuminating nature of Brahman. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Kāmāsura (lust). His mount is a peacock.

1. Vighnaraja, corresponds to Viṣṇu. He is an embodiment of the preserving nature of Brahman. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Mamāsura. His mount is the celestial serpent Shesha.

1. Dhumravarna corresponds to Śiva. He is an embodiment of the destructive nature of Brahman. The purpose of this incarnation is to overcome the demon Abhimanāsura. His mount is a mouse.

Wives of Ganesha

Wives of Ganesha

In Indian mythology there are so many stories about Ganesha that determining his proper marital status is quite difficult and may easily be considered as a subject eligible for scholarly reviews. There are some myths that depict Ganesha as a confirmed bachelor – a bramhachari without any consort. While there are also some stories that show Riddhi and Siddhi as the wives of Ganesha – known as the goddesses of prosperity and spiritual powerrespectively.

As per Mudgala Purana and Ganesha purana the wives of Ganesha, Riddhi and Siddhi are born from the mind of Bramha – the creator of the universe and were offered to Ganesha as his consorts by the creator himself. Ganesha accepted them as his wives and in many part of north Indiathey accompany Ganesha but there is actually no rituals associated with Shakti worship to worship them. The story that relates Riddhi and Siddhi as lord Ganesha’s wife is quite interesting and fascinating at the same time.

As Ganesha has an elephant head on his shoulders no girl was ready to marry him and the absence of a consort made him really angry. Out of frustration Ganesha started to create problems in the marriages of other demigods and asked his rat to dig up the path though which their marriage procession will pass. The demigods faced innumerable hardship to reach their bride’s houses and ultimately complained to Brahma who took the responsibility of solving the problem. To bring the situation under control Brahma created two beautiful women Riddhi and Siddhi to become the wives of Ganesha and Ganesha was ultimately satisfied with the offerings.

In Hindu pantheon Riddhi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity and Siddhi stands for intellectual and spiritual powers – the ultimate goal of this mortal world and the means of achieving that. Anybody who satisfies Ganesha with his devotion and prayer are also blessed by the wives of Ganesha and can attain every success in their life. in Riddhi and Siddhi Ganesha had two sons – Subha the auspicious and labha, the profit. Ganesha has also one daughter – Santoshi Mata or the goddess of satisfaction.

There is another story describing the wives of Ganesha and their marriage and that is both Ganesha and his brother Kartikeya were rivals for marrying Siddhi and Riddhi. In order to decide who will get their hands a race was arranged in which both of them were to circle the globe and who comes first will get the twin girls. Promptly Kartikeya went away riding his peacock. But instead of following him Ganesha started circling round his parent lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi and when asked why he did so he said that his parents were the universe in themselves and by circling around his parents he has circled around the universe. No one even the great scholar Narada had any answer to this and thus there was no other way but to marry him with the twin girls Riddhi and Siddhi. When Kartikeya returned home Ganesha was already married and Kartikeya had to satisfy himself by listening to stories of how he lost to greater wisdom and intelligence.

Mudgala Purana

The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana are the two main scriptures of the Ganapataya sect that are exclusively dedicated to Lord Ganesha.  Mudgala Purana is an ancient religious text that discusses various aspects of Lord Ganesha and his life in detail. 

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Mudgala Purana and the avatars of Ganesha