20
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Lord Shiva realize that he was beheading his own son?
This whole event is a series of interconnected Chain events. I'm here summarizing the chain events:
1) Boon to Gajasura:
Gajasura was a devotee of Lord Shiva and he got a boon that his head would be ...
18
votes
Were Ganesh and Kartikeya mentioned in Vedas? Is Ganapati Elder to Kartikeya?
Yes, Ganesh and Kumara both are mentioned in Vedas. Here are the references.
रुद्रो रुद्रश्च दन्तिश्च नन्दिः षण्मुख एव च ।
गरुडो ब्रह्मा विष्णुश्च नारसिहंस्तथैव च ।।
rudro rudrascha dantischa ...
17
votes
Accepted
Why is the mantra Gananam Tva Ganapatim used to worship Lord Ganesha?
Yes, there are scriptures which prescribe using the mantra 'Gananam Tva Ganapatim.. ' to worship Lord Ganesha. Let's look at some scriptural references:
1) Sage Vyasa says so in Padma Purana:
In the ...
14
votes
Which scripture contains the famous Ganesha Sloka "Vakratunda Mahakaya..."?
I found the Vakratunda incarnation in Mudgal Brahmana but not the mantra. The closest I could come to this mantra is the following line from the Mahaganapati Shastranam Stotra from the Rudrayamala ...
11
votes
Accepted
What is Sri Ganesh Gita?
It is from the Ganesha Purana. It was told to a king called Varenya by Lord Ganesha himself.
You can read it from this page.
Varenya said, ‘In the world of birth and death many difficulties
...
10
votes
Accepted
Why is the Sloka "Suklambaradharam Vishnum..." used as Ganapaty Dhyanam when it is clearly a Dhyana Sloka for Lord Vishnu?
शुक्लाम्बरधरम् विष्णुम् शशि वर्णम् चतुर्भुजम् |
प्रसन्नवदनम् ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये ||
"shuklamvaram dharam vishnum sashivarnam chaturvujam |
prasanna vadanam dhyayet sarva ...
10
votes
Accepted
Who is the eldest son of Lord Shiva?
One of the famous names of Sri Ganapaty is "Skandapurvaja" which literally means "the elder brother of Skanda or Lord Karthikeya". So, Ganapaty is the eldest son.
Skandapurvaja -- ...
10
votes
Reference to Ganesha's statement from Mahabharata ("The day I was born I made my first mistake")
TL;DR: No such words were spoken by Gaṇeśa in the Mahābhārata i.e., you cannot find a reference to the original Sanskrit verse for the quote you mention in the question.
The entire conversation ...
10
votes
Accepted
Which scripture wrote the "Ganapathi Moola Mantra"?
It occurs in this chapter of the Narada Purana:
The immutable, the consort of Vishnu, the wife of Shambhu, minaketana, smriti, mamsa adorned with indu with manu and with the moon in the crest, ...
10
votes
Accepted
How do we know that Lord Ganesha wrote the Mahabharata?
We know it through this chapter of Adi Parva of Mahabharata:
And Vyasa having gone round him who is called Hiranyagarbha seated on that distinguished seat stood near it; and being commanded by ...
10
votes
Accepted
Who are some great devotees of Lord Ganesha from the scriptures?
Ganesha Purana and some Ganesha-centric scriptures mention few great devotees of Sri Ganesha.
Since i don't have complete Ganesha Purana, i will cite Puranic Encyclopedia by Vettam mani as reference. ...
10
votes
Accepted
Which scripture contains the event of Shiva beheading Vinayaka?
These events are mentioned in Shiva Mahapurana in the sequence given in question.
First Devi Parvati creating Ganesha (Vinayaka) from dirt of her body is mentioned in Section 2.4 - Rudra-saṃhitā (4): ...
9
votes
What was the name of Ganesha before beheading done by Lord Shiva?
Parvati devi just called Him "son" (Putra). There are many birth stories of Ganesha described in Puranas. Each Purana describes story of a particular Kalpa and Shiva severing head happened ...
9
votes
Why didn't Lord Shiva realize that he was beheading his own son?
I would like to quote the following text hope this helps
The story goes that Parvati created a boy out of dirt from her body
and appointed him to guard the doorstep. The first question that comes
...
9
votes
Do any Hindu scriptures condemn magick? Is the practice of magick by Wiccans using Hindu deities legitimate?
Here is a verse that says that black magic (using roots) is a punishable offence.
Manu Smriti 9.290. For all incantations intended to destroy life, for
magic rites with roots (practised by ...
8
votes
Why is lord Ganesha worshipped first before any puja?
The story is mentioned in Shiva Mahapurana, Rudra Samhita (Kumara Khanda), Chapter 18. When Lord Ganesha brought back to life after his head was chopped off by Lord Shiva, then Goddess Parvati adored ...
8
votes
Accepted
Who is sage Ganaka, the seer of so many mantras to Ganesha?
The only reference I found to Sage Ganaka is on Kamakoti Website which ascribes the verses to Ganesha Yamala Tantra. (Which I wasn't able to find anywhere on the internet. If anyone has this Tantra ...
8
votes
Accepted
Why is lord Ganesh also called Ekdant, Char Bhuja Dhari?
Ganesha is depicted having one tooth which has a story that one tooth was taken away by the axe of parashurAma. He has four arms hence he is called as Chaturbhuja also. Also another name is danti.
...
8
votes
Accepted
Where do Baudhyana dharma sutras mention Ganapati?
It's there in Baudhayana Dharma Sutras 2.9.6. The Mantras are as follows:
OM . I quench the Rudras. OM . I quench Rudra’s male attendants. OM . I quench Rudra’s female attendants.
7 OM . I ...
8
votes
Accepted
About UcchistaGanapathi and why its regarded as highest Ganesha form
I don't think it is mentioned as the supreme form of Lord Ganesha but it's worship is different from the usual worship. Because it is done (as the word Ucchistha already indicates) in an impure state ...
7
votes
Who are the wives of Lord Ganesha?
Lord Ganesha is married to Siddhi and Buddhi:
ब्रह्मा उवाच:
एतस्मिन्नन्तरे तत्र विश्वरुपः प्रजापति ।
तदुद्योगं संविचार्य सुखमाप प्रसन्नधि ।।
विश्वरुपप्रजेशस्य दिव्यरुपे सुते उभे ।
सिद्दि...
7
votes
Do we have any information about other wives (except Riddhi, Siddhi) and grandsons of Lord Ganesha mentioned in any texts
As far as I know, Tushti, Pushti, and Shri are amsas of Mahalakshmi, who reside in Vaikuntha, and not Ganesha's wives. This is because when Krsna gives his darshan to Akrura in Srimad Bhagavatam, he ...
7
votes
Accepted
Did Lord Vishnu pray to Lord Ganesha? If yes, in which scripture is it written?
The story of Vishnu worshiping Ganesha is given in Chapter 18(pg 205) of Ganesha Purana Upasanakhanda. Since the story is a bit long I'm referencing only relevant parts of it.
The story begins with ...
7
votes
Accepted
Which scriptures portray Lord Ganesha to be the supreme God?
Many scriptures including Puranas portray Lord Ganesha as Supreme Brahman.
Here in Ganesh Purana - Chapter 10 - Vyasa's Questions - Lord Brahma tells Shee Ved Vyasa that Shree Ganesha is supreme ...
7
votes
Accepted
In any of the works of Adi Shankaracharya is it mentioned that any deity apart from Sriman Narayana to be supreme/Saguna Brahman/Ishwara?
Adi Shankara didn't differentiate various forms of Saguna Brahman. He explicitly says that in Prasnottara Ratna Malika.
Adi Shankara at many places says Shiva, Vishnu, Amba(Supreme Goddess), Surya as ...
6
votes
Why is Saraswati shown with Ganesha and Lakshmi?
I belong to Smarta family.
Till photography became popular in India in Mid 19th century and selling of photos/colour paintings of Gods had become a commercial business, idols of Gods were used to be ...
6
votes
Why we do not keep Tulsi on Prasada offered to lord Ganpati?
Chapter 46 of the Ganapati Khanda of Brahma-Vaivarta Purana gives an account of the conversation between Ganesha and Tulsi.
It starts with Narada asking Narayana why Tulsi leaves are not used in ...
6
votes
Why did Lord Ganesha curse the Moon?
Lord Ganesha cursed the Moon god because once he made fun of the form of form of Ganesha (which is elephant-headed). The story is given in the Khanda 4 and Chapter 6 of Mudgala Purana. The relevant ...
6
votes
What happened to the body of elephant whose head was attached to Lord Ganesha?
Chapter 12 of the Ganapati Khanda of Brahma-Vaivarta Purana describes how Vishnu replaces Ganesha's head with the head of an elephant.
This is a version of the story where Ganesha's head was burnt off ...
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