Vakratunda Mahakaya Surya Koti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kurumeydeva Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada

Vakratunda : Lord with Curved Trunk
Mahakaya: Large Bodied
Surya Koti: Million Suns
Samaprabha: With The Brilliance Of
Nirvighnam: Free Of Obstacles
Kuru: Make
Mey: My
Deva: O Lord
Sarva Karyeshu: All Work
Sarvada: Always

“O Lord Ganesha of Large Body,
Curved Trunk,
With the Brilliance of a Million Suns,
Make All My Work Free Of Obstacles,
Always.”

[Five jewels about Ganesa]

Courtesy - Translated By P. R. Ramachander

1.

Mudha karatha modhakam, sada vimukthi dayakam,
Kaladaravathamsakam, vichithra loka rakshakam,
Anayakaika nayakam vinasithebha daithyakam,
Nathashubha pranasakam, namami tham vinayakam.

I salute that remover of obstacles,
Who has modakas in his hand,
Who always bestows salvation,
Who wears a part of moon on his head,
Who protects this world which is varied,
Who is the leader of those who cannot be lead,
Who is the cause of destruction of asuras,
And who destroys all things which are not good.

2.

Nathetharathi bheekaram navodhitharka bhaswaram,
Namath surari nirjaram nathadhikapadhugdharam,
Sureswaram Nidheeswaram Gajeswaram Ganeswaram,
Maheswaram thamasraye parathparam nirantharam.

I bow before that great Lord permanently,
Who creates fear in the enemies of his devotees,
Who sparkles like the just risen sun,
Who is saluted by Gods and Asuras
who destroys obstacles of his devotees,
Who is the God of all devas,
Who is the God of all wealth,
Who is the God of all elephants,
And Who is the leader of the army of Lord Shiva.

3.

Samastha loka sankaram, nirastha daithya kunjaram,
Daretharodaram varam varebhavakthramaksharam,
Krupakaram, Kshamakaram, Mudhakaram, Yasaskaram,
Namaskaram Namaskrutham namaskaromi bhaskaram.

I bow to that Ganapati who shines like the Sun,
Who bestows peace to all the worlds,
Who removed the Gajamukhasura from this world
Who has a very big paunch,
Who has an elephant-face which blesses,
And who is the one who shows kindness
Who is patient,
Who is full of blessing,
And who showers great fame,
To those who salute Him.

4.

Akinchanarthimarjanam chiranthanokthi bhajanam,
Purari purva nandanam surari garva charvanam,
Prapancha nasa bheeshanam danamjayadhi bhooshanam,
Kapola dhana vaaranam Bhaje purana varanam.

I salute the very ancient elephant-god
Who destroys the wants of the have nots,
Who has been worshipped since ancient times,
Who is the eldest son of the lord who destroyed cities,
Who eats away the pride of the enemies of the gods,
Who is awesome at the time of final deluge,
Who wears serpents like Dananjaya as ornaments,
And who is fierce like the elephant in rut.

5.
Nithanta kanthi dantha kantha manthakantha kathmajam,
Achinthya roopamantha heena mantha raya krunthanam,
Hrudanthare nirantharam vasanthameva yoginaam ,
Tham eka dantha meka meva chinthayami santhatham.

I always meditate only on that God with single tusk,,
Who is ever lustrous tusk is very pretty,
Who is the son of Lord who killed the god of death,
Who has a form beyond ones imagination,
Who is endless,
Who tears asunder all obstacles,
And who dwells forever in the heart of Yogis ,
Like the season of spring.

Phalasruthi

Maha ganesa pancha rathna maadharena yo anvaham,
Prajalpathi prabhathake hrudhi smaran ganeswaram,
Arogadhamadhosadham susahitheem suputhratham,
Samahithayurshta bhoothi mapyupaithi sochiraath.

The resultant benefit.

He, who remembers with respect every morning,
These five gems of the great Lord Ganapati,
and who meditates in his heart the leader of ganas,
Will soon be blessed with a healthy life,
Free of all problems, endowed with great peace
Great sons, longevity and spiritual and physical wealth.

Today is the day of Sankasht Chaturthi one of the vrata for the devoties of Lord Ganesha

Every month fourth day of the dark phase of the moon is called Sankasht Chaturthi. Sankashta means sankat (crisis). On this day Devotees fast for a whole day and break their fast after having darshan of Moon and worshipping Lord Ganpati. For worshiping twenty-one rounds (avartans) of Atharvashirsha should be recited. The moon should be paid obeisance after giving an offering and sprinkling sandalwood paste (gandha), flowers and consecrated rice in its direction.

Dvadash aitani namani trisandhya pathennara |

Nacha vighna bhaya; tasya sarva siddhikara prabho || 5 ||

Vidyarthi labhate vidya, Dhanarthi labhate dhanam |

Putrarthi labhate putra, Mokshharthi labhate gatim || 6 ||

Japenah ganapatistotra shhadbhimarahse phala labhethe |

Savatsarena siddhich labhate natra sanshaayah || 7 ||

Ashhtabhya brahmanebhyashcha likhitva yah samarpayeth |

Tasya vidya bhavethsarva Ganeshasya prasadatah || 8 ||

Ithi Shri Narada Purane Sankatnashan Shri Ganeshastotra Sampurna

This Sankashtanashan stotra is from the Narada Purana, and is recited to remove all troubles and get liberation.

By this prayer to Lord Ganesha, one will be free from all fears, one who pursues education will get knowledge, one who wants to earn money will get money, one who wishes for a son, will get a son, And one who wants salvation will get salvation.

Results of chanting this prayer, Of Ganapathi will be got within six months, and within a year, he would get all wishes fulfilled, and there is no doubt about this.

One who gets this prayer, Written by Eight Brahmanas, and offers it to Lord Ganesa, will become knowledgeable, and would be blessed with all stellar qualities, By the grace of Lord Ganesa.

Thus ends the prayer to Ganesa from Narada Purana which would destroy all sorrows.

Navamam Bhalachandrach, Dashamam tu Vinayakam |

Ekadasha Ganapati, Dvadasha tu Gajananam || 4 ||

In his all swarupas think him ninth as Bhalachandra mean god whose forehead is adorned by the moon, tenth as Vinayaka mean the God as the great leader, eleventh as Ganapati mean the lord of all ganas, twelfth as Gajanana mean the one with the elephant-faced

Gajanana - We have already seen the origins of the word gaja. Gajanana was born to overcome the demon Lobha-asura (greed) and Moha-asura. Once Kubera, the richest person, meditated on the eternal couple of Lord Shiva-Shakti. After a long penance, They appeared before Kubera thought to himself that since he was the richest person, everyone would be greedy for his wealth. So thinking, he cast amorous glances at the divine mother, Parvati. Parvati was greatly angered that Kubera would think like this of her and cursed him saying that she was not greedy (She had Shiva, no other wealth is necessary) and Kubera was deluded by moha. Out of this encounter was the asuras. They were killed by Gajanana.

Balachandra - Ganesha’s head is adorned by the moon. The moon signifies the subtle tendencies i.e., the mind.

Vinakaya and Ganapati - He is the lord of ganas (groups, numbers) and the leader of the army. To the King Aabhijit and queen Gunavati was born a beautiful son named Gana. He was very bright and strong. In addition, he had great devotion to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva pleased with his devotion granted him some boons. However, this increased Gana’s ego and he also fell into bad company. One day he visited sage Kapila’s ashram. Kapila had a gem called Chintamani which was wish-fulfilling and could provide food for thousands. When Gana saw this, he wanted to possess the gem but Kapila did not want to give it to him. But Gana forcibly took it away from him. Kapila prayed to Lord Ganesha and Ganesha appeared in the dream of Gana and cut off his head. Gana, on waking up, did not repent but became angry and took his army to kill Kapila. Gana’s father, abhijit, pleaded with Gana to give Kapila back his gem but Gana did not heed the advice. However, on reaching Kapila’s ashram he found that Ganesha had assembled an army. In a huge fight, Gana was killed by Ganesha and Ganesha restored the Chintamani to Kapila.

Kapila, however, gave it back to Ganesha saying that even a small gem like that is the cause of all troubles and wealth is the root of many troubles of the world. Kapila, however, requested Ganesha to stay in that place. That place is called ‘Chintamani Vinayaka’ and is at Theur, near Poona (Pune). There are also other incidents involving other demons called gana in the Ganesha purana and mudgala purana. Let us look at the esoteric meaning. Gana means numbers, groups of. That is, any group is a gana. Thus Lord Shiva’s group of attendants, servants, mischieveous children etc. are called ganas. But what is a group ? Mind is a group of thoughts. Who is Ganapati ? the lord of ganas- i.e group of thoughts. Who is the Lord of thoughts ? Obviously, the source of thoughts. What is the Source ? Atman i.e. Ganapati.

Lambodara Panchamamch, Shhashtha Vikatamevach |

Saptamam Vighnaraajamch, Dhumravarnam Tathaashtamam || 3 ||

In his all swarupas think him fifth as Lambodara mean god with large belly, sixth as Vikatameva mean the God with gigantic/gross swarupa, Seventh as Vighnaraajam mean the one who is lord of all the obstacles , eighth as Dhumravarna mean the one with smoky colored.

Lambodara was born to overcome the demon krodha-asura. When the ocean was churned, and the asuras and devas quarelled about the nectar, Vishnu took the form of Mohini and Lord Shiva also took a form. Out of this encounter was born the demon krodha-asura. Krodha is anger. One has to control anger at all times. What is the cause of anger ? A feeling of inferiority/superiority. When all that exists is her manifestation, who should be I against ? If at all I should be angry I should be angry at my ignorance i.e., my association with the unreal. When some one makes fun of us, the way we talk, dress etc., we should be internally thank them for giving us a test and feel very happy. We should laugh with them and tell Shakti, ‘Thanks for testing.’ But after sometime, we don’t even feel that they are making fun of you. When a right hand becomes dirty, does the left hand laugh at it ? As Krishna says in BG, anger leads to delusion and loss of discrimination.

Another story for Lambodara states that Kubera went to the eternal couple and wanted to show off his wealth. He invited them to dinner. But, the couple denied Kubera’s request and sauid he could feed Ganesha instead. Kubera laughed, and said ‘I can feed many children like this.’ Ganesha calmly went to his place and sat down to eat. He started eating all the food. Kubera’s army had a tough time feeding the child. Then, Ganesha started eating all the furniture, palace etc. Kubera became very afraid but Ganesha merrily said, ‘You promised my parents u will feed me. Now, I have to eat you.’ Kubera ran away and pleaded with Shiva. Shiva gave him a handful of rice and asked him to give it to Ganesha without pride. Kubera went back. By this time, Ganesha’s stomach had become very huge but the child was merry. When Kubera served a cup of rice with humility, Ganesa;s hunger was satisfied. We should be never proud of our material or spiritual accomplishments. Everything has been given unto you by Ganesha, and He can take it away any time. We should be unaffected by these successes or failures by surrendering ourselves completely to His feet. Ganapati’s belly enshrines the entire brahmanda and that’s another reason his pot belly is called lambodhara.

Vikata was an incarnation to overcome the demon kaama-asura (lust). The demon was born due to a boon from Lord Vishnu, and obtained various siddhis. He married Ttrushna (desire) and had two sons, decay and corruption. Finally, they were killed by Vikata. When one has lust, to satisfy the lust, action is taken, but the desire is never satisfied even after indulging in them. The sons who are born are only decay and corrupt. No desire can be satisfied by indulging in them. That is like throwing kerosene in fire instead of water. One should control these vaasaana-s by throwing the water of detachment on them or go to the source of these vaasaana-s or ask ‘To whom do these desires arise? Are they mine?’

Vighnaraaja is similar to Vijneshvara, i.e Ganesha is the lord and destroyer of obstacles, respectively. Why so ? Lord Shiva says to Parvati that Ganesha will create numerous obstacles for those who do not follow the path of dharma but he will remove all the obstacles to those who revere knowledge, shruti and guru. Even if one has to worship shiva or Vishnu, they have to worship our friend, Ganesha, first. This incarnation was born to overcome mama-asura. When Parvati laughed, the incarnation was born signifying mama (mine), but he fell into bad habits and got Mohini (enchantment). The worst sense is ‘This is mine,’ and leads to all kinds of errors including the thought ‘I am the body/mind, as distinct from his/her body/mind.’ This type of thought can be killed only by Vighnaraaja.

Dhuumravarna rode upon a horse and overcame the demon Abhimana-asura (attachment). The creator Brahma blessed sun and gave him siddhis. The sun thought to himself, If not for me, nothing in the earth would function. Thinking such, he became proud and sneezed and out of him was born a demon named aham (I). Aham married egoity, the daughter of negligence and they had two sons arrogance and pleasure. When the thought of I arises, it is pure and unadulatered. But, it mixes with the unreality, neglects the mind and marries egoity. Out of egoism is born arrogance and a search for incessant pleasure. Man is ignorant when he says ‘I am such and such.’ but when he says that with pride, he is arrogant. Seeking pleasure outside in objects, he becomes attached to them. This attachment to the unreal can be killed only Dhuumravarna (why is he smoky-colored ?). Man’s ego is like smoke, it is everywhere, but when searched for, it cannot be found. Search, in this case, means self-enquiry as to ‘Who am I ? Where does the ego arise from ?’

Prathama Vakratundch, Ekadanta dvityakam |

Tritya Krishhnapingakshh, Gajavaktram Chaturthakam || 2 ||

In his all swarupas think him first as Vakratund mean god with curved trunk, Second as Ekadanta mean the God with one tusk,
Third as Krishhnapingaksh mean the one with reddish black eyes, Fourth as Gajavaktram mean the one who has the face of an elephant.

As Vakratund, the grace of his trunk will smash all the obstacles in our life. The trunk lord of Ganesha should be curved to the left for normal idols, if it is curved to the right, it is called Siddhi Vinakya

The name Ekadanta is from the incarnation to subdue mada-asura(pride). The asura after surrendering to ekadanta describes that "Eka" is the embodiment (Maayaa) and "Danta" stands for truth (satya). Thus, ekadanta stands for the supreme truth that weilds maya. Who weilds the maya ? - Mahamaya. - Who is Mahamaya ? Ekadanta.

Ganesha with red-eyed, may be referred to the slaying of the demon Sindurasur.

Gajavaktra means elephant faced. Perhaps the most popular story regarding Ganesha’s origin is the one derived from the Shiva Purana. Mother Parvati once wanted to take a bath and created a boy from the dirt of her own body, asking him to stand as a guard outside while she was taking the bath. In the meantime Lord Shiva returned home to find a stranger at his door, preventing him from entering. In anger, Shiva cut off the boy’s head, upon which Parvati was stricken with great grief. In order to console her, Shiva sent out his troops (gana) to fetch the head of anyone found sleeping with his head pointing to the north. They found an elephant sleeping thus and brought back its head. Shiva then attached the elephantine head to the body of the boy and revived him. He named the boy Ganapati or commander of His troops, and granted Him a boon that anyone would have to worship Him (Ganesha) before beginning any undertaking.

The mudgala purana states that the Ganapati took the Vakratunda incarnation to subdue the demon Maatsarya-asura (envy, jealousy). The demon was born out of the negligence (pramaada) of Indra. Indra is the Lord of the subtle tendencies i.e., the mind. When the mind is neglected, then demons are born. The bad demon is envy. This demon can be found in all fields, including spirituality. Only when duality of “me” and the “other” is lost, one truly awakens to the state of nondual objectless awareness. All that is left is pure bliss and consciousness.