Various Forms and Significance of Ganesh in Tantra
Significance of Ganesh in tantra:
Ganesh is one of the most important deities. The rule that he must be worshipped before any puja begins isn’t just restricted to the Vaidikas, Dakshinas, etc. systems. The same is true for higher Acharyas, such as Vama, etc. That is why Ganesh in Tantra has a very crucial role.
Without worshipping Ganesh in the beginning, no siddhis can be obtained, which makes his position crucial to Sadhaks. He is also the remover of obstacles that come in sadhana, and thus invoking him ensures lesser obstacles.
In Shakti sadhanas, just like every devi has a Bhairav, so do they have a Ganesh who must be worshipped, without whom the Kripa of the devi can never be obtained.
Ganesh is also said to be the Adhistata of the Mooladhar chakra. The kundalini shakti arises from the Mooladhar; the very base of shakti is the Mooladhar. The thing that connects the Urja of the Sadhak to the asan and helps in quicker siddhis is also this Mooladhar. Thus, Ganesh becomes indispensable even from the perspective of yogi and even Urjas(Energy) and Siddhi.
The mantras of Ganesh are also greatly helpful in sadhana. If someone does siddhi of even a single Ganesh mantra before starting the jaap of other mantras, the Ganesh mantra becomes a propeller and helps in attaining siddhis way faster than what’s generally seen.
Various forms of Ganesh in Tantra
Before we begin the discourse on the various forms, I would like to warn the readers of one thing. Do not randomly use mantras from the internet or given by random people. Use only the mantras that were obtained from a proper guru. Don’t listen to the words of astrologers, as some are dumb enough to give sadhanas of Ucchista, etc… Ugra Swarupas to their clients, which only messes up the client as neither the astrologer nor the client has the Adhikar and necessary qualifications for it.
For those with Diksha and gurus, kindly approach your guru for mantras. Those without diksha and guru who wish to know what mantra they can use for Ganesh, go for the mantra.
vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha
Nirvighnan kuru me deha sarva karyesu sarvada
Now we shall come to the various forms of Ganesh. There are 32 primary forms of Ganesh as described in Mudgal Puran; apart from that, there are several other forms as well. 32 Ganesh doesn’t mean that Ganesh is restricted to these 32 forms; what it rather implies is that these are the primary number of forms and are well known.
1) Bala Ganesh in Tantra:
The first of the 32 forms is known as Bala Ganpati. This is the child form of Ganesh like Batuk is the child form of Bhairav. According to Ganpatya tradition, Ganesh is Parabrahm, and he manifested as the son of Shiv Shakti as Leela. According to this very tradition, when he manifested as such, he was in the form of a child, thus earning him the name Bala Ganapati. Ganesh in this form is said to have four hands holding mango, jackfruit, banana, and sugarcane in his hands while his trunk holds a modak. He is golden in color and always happy.
2) Tarun Ganesh in Tantra
The second form of Ganpati is Tarun Ganpati. This form doesn’t have a deep story behind it; it’s simply stated that as Ganesh was doing Leela, he first assumed the form of a kid and appeared to grow in age as Sri Ram and Sri Krishna did, the growth simply being his own Leela and done for the welfare of his bhaktas. He is reddish-colored and six-handed, holding Ankush, pasha, modak, paddy, sugarcane stalk, jamun, and Bilva fruit.
3) Bhakti Ganesh in Tantra
Bhakti Ganpati is the third form of Ganpati that Ganesh assumed for his devotees. This form is four-armed and has a reddish complexion. He holds mango, coconut, banana, and a bowl of payasam.
4) Vira Ganesh in Tantra
Vira Ganapati is the fourth form of Ganesh said to have been assumed during the war against the Ganas of Shiv, which is a well-known tale. Ganesh in this form showed the characteristics of the divinities known as Veeras, who are known for their resilience and never back off. Ganesh in this form is reddish and sixteen-handed, holding a goad, banner, bow and arrow, preta, discus, sword, shield, large hammer, spear, sword, axe, trident, noose, mace, and snake.
5) Shakti Ganesh in Tantra
Shakti Ganpati is the fifth form of Ganpati; this form was assumed by him after his marriage, thus earning him the name Shakti Ganpati. Ganesh in this form is four-armed, and his shakti sits on his left lap. He holds pushp mala, pasha, and Ankush, and his fourth hand shows abhaya mudra. He is of a yellowish complexion.
6) Dvija Ganpati:
Dvija Ganpati is the sixth form of Ganpati. The story of the origin of this form is very interesting. It’s stated that instead of actually creating Brahma, once Ganpati decided to take on the role of Brahma and became four-headed, he started to give Ved Gyan to the devatas, and his appearance showed the characteristic marks of Dvija. This Ganpati in this form came to be known as Dvija Ganpati. Like a vaidik Brahman who takes pride in his white clothes, Ganesh in this form has a camphor white complexion. He is four-armed and holds shastra (scriptures), japmala, danda (staff), and kamandal (a small water jug).
7) Siddhi Ganpati
Siddhi Ganpati is the seventh form of Sri Ganesh; he is depicted in yellow, and there are two different versions of his origin. One states that this Ganpati is the very essence of Siddhis; he is the very tattva that bestows Siddhis, and once Ganpati decides to manifest in this tattva, he takes up this form. According to the other tale, while Ganesh assumed the form of Shakti Ganpati for Buddhi, he assumed the form of Siddhi Ganpati during his marriage with Siddhi. Ganesh is four-armed and holds parshu, flowers, sugarcane, and mango.
8) Ucchista Ganapathi
The eighth form of Ganesh is Ucchista Ganapathi, who is one of the most revered forms in tantra marg. Ucchista is said to have originated from the Ucchista of Parvati, who got some of her shaktis and thus manifested into this form in a similar fashion to how Ganesh was created out of the dirt of the body of Parvati. In the Ganpatya version, it’s stated that this Ganpati form was assumed by Ganesh himself, who purposefully entered into the Ucchista of Parvati so that he could do leelas in this form. He is blue-eyed and six-armed, holding a blue lotus, veena, pomegranate, jaapmala, and paddy. His sixth hand is holding the waist of his shakti, seated on his lap, who holds his penis, which is in urdhvaretas mudra, or state of erection.
9) Vighna Ganesh in Tantra
Vighna Ganesh is the ninth form of Ganesh that removes obstacles; this is one of the forms Ganesh assumed without any specific reason, or, in other words, just because he felt like it. He is golden-hued and eight-armed, holding a noose, goad, axe, conch, discus, sharp tusk, flower-tipped arrow, and sugarcane. He holds a modak in his trunk
10) Kshipra Ganpati
Kshipra Ganpati is the 10th form of Ganpati that he assumed for a very strange reason. It’s stated that Damar Vidya is the giver of Kshipra siddhi; some of the Damara tantras also come under the Ganpatya tradition. When Ganesh bestowed these damar tantras on his tradition, he assumed the form of Kshipra Ganpati. He is red-hued and four-armed, holding Pasha, Ankush, a broken tusk, and Kalpavriksh.
11) Heremba Ganapati
Heremba Ganapati is the eleventh form of Ganpati. He is five-headed and green-hued; he rides a lion and has ten hands, showing abhaya and varada mudra and holding noose, japa mala, a battle axe, a battle hammer, his broken tusk as a weapon, garland, a fruit, and Modaka. This form was assumed by Ganesh to protect his bhaktas against Andhakasur.
12) Lakshmi Ganpati
Lakshmi Ganpati is the twelfth form of Ganpati and is associated with Lakshmi. It’s stated that this form was assumed by Ganesh when he was worshipped by Lakshmi. He is of camphor white complexion and eight-armed. Showing abhaya and varada mudra and holding parrot, pomegranate, sword, pasha, ankush, kalpavriksh, and kamandal. He is shown with both his consorts, one seated on his right lap and the other on his left lap.
13) Maha Ganapati
Maha Ganapati is the thirteenth form of Ganesh, and this form was assumed by him to defeat Mahasura. In some other traditions, this is the primal form of Ganesh in Ganpatyas, where he is considered to be Parabrahm. Similar to how certain Shaivas consider Maha Sadashiva to be the original form of Shiv. He is reddish-hued and ten-armed, holding a tusk, pomegranate, bow, chakra, noose, blue lily, sprig of paddy, lotus, mace, and ratna kumbha.
14) Vijaya Ganpati
Vijaya Ganpati is the fourteenth form of Ganesh, which he assumed against an asur named Sindhu after he was worshipped by the various devatas, so that he gives them Vijay over the asura sena. He is reddish-colored and four-handed, holding Pasha ankush mango and a broken tusk. He is seated on his mushak (RAT).
15) Nritya Ganpati
Nritya Ganpati is the fifteenth form of Ganesh, in which he actually becomes a student of Shiv and learns tandava and various other nritya forms from Shiv, thus becoming an expert in dance styles. He is golden-colored and four-armed, holding Pasha Ankush Parshu and a broken tusk.
16) Urdhva Ganapati
Urdhva Ganapati is the sixteenth form of Ganpati, which he assumed when he was worshipped by Parashar Rishi, who worshipped Ganesh to get relief from the curse of Pulastya Maharshi. Ganesh in this form is depicted as golden-colored and six-armed, holding a paddy lotus bow, arrow tusk, and water lily.
17) Ekakshara Ganesh in Tantra
Ekakshara Ganapati is the seventeenth form of Ganesh, which he assumed when Narad worshipped Ganesh to learn about the various vidyas, including Brahmvidya, and comprehend the Ekakshara mantra Shaili. Ganesh in this form is red-hued and four-armed, holding Pasha ankusha pomegranate and showing abhaya mudra.
18) Varada Ganapati
Varada Ganapati is the eighteenth form of Ganesh, which he assumed at the behest of Indra. When Indra failed to defeat Vritrasur, he worshipped Ganesh, who manifested as Varada and helped Indra defeat Vritrasur. This Ganesh is also red and has four arms holding Pasha ankusha ratnakumbha and a bowl of payasam.
19) Tryakshar Ganpati
Tryakshar Ganpati is the nineteenth form of Ganesh, which he assumed when Brahma worshipped Ganesh to seek his help in the creation of the world. Ganesh came in this form and taught Brahma about Shabda Brahm and the secrets of Pranav Akshar, due to which Brahma was able to fulfill the task of creation. This form of Ganpati is shown as golden-colored and four-armed, holding Pasha ankusha mango and tusk while his trunk holds a modak.
20) Kshipra Prasada Ganesh in Tantra
Kshipra Prasada Ganapati is the twentieth form of Ganesh, which he assumed when worshipped by Kshipra Rishi. He is depicted as red-hued and six-armed, holding Pasha ankusha lotus, tusk, kalpavriksh, and pomegranate.
21) Harida Ganesh in Tantra
Harida Ganapathi is the twenty-first form of Ganesh, which he assumed to help Vishnu, who worshipped him, slay Hiranyaksh. He is depicted as yellow-colored and four-armed, holding a Pasha ankusha modak and tusk.
22) Ekdanta Ganpati
Ekdanta Ganpati is the 22nd form of Ganesh, which was assumed by him after his battle against Parashuram, who broke one of his two tusks. This form is blue-colored and four-handed, holding jaap mala (darpan in some alternative iconographic representations), ankush laddoo, and his broken tusk.
23) Sristi Ganpati
Sristi Ganpati is the twenty-third form of Ganesh, and its story is similar to that of Tryakshar Ganpati. Albeit from a different kalpa where all the incidents are the same but the form of Ganesh is different. This Ganesh is shown red-hued and four-handed, holding a Pasha ankush laddoo and tusk.
24) Uddanda Ganpati
Uddanda Ganpati is the 24th form of Ganesh, taken by Ganesh to defeat Mallasura at the behest of Devi Parvati. Ganesh in this form is red-hued and ten-armed, holding ratnakumbha, blue lily, sugar cane, mace, lotus flower, paddy, pomegranate, noose, garland, and tusk.
25) Rinmochana Ganapati
Rinmochana Ganapati is the 25th form of Ganesh, taken by Ganesh when he was worshipped by Kuber to get rid of his dilated financial condition. This Ganesh is white-hued and four-handed, holding Pasha ankush tusk and jamun fruits.
26) Dhundhi Ganpat
The 26th form of Ganesh is Dhundhi Ganpati, whom he assumed would slay a rakshas named Dhundi. He is depicted as red-hued and holding jaap mala, parshu, tusk, and ratnakumbha.
27) Dvimukh Ganpati
The 27th form of Ganesh is Dvimukh Ganpati, which he assumed would aid Krishna in slaying the asuras Madhu and Kaithaba. This Ganesh is depicted as blue-hued and four-armed, holding Pasha ankush tusk and ratnakumbha.
28) Trimukh Ganpati
The 28th form of Ganesh is Trimukh Ganpati, which he took up to slay Andhaka in a different kalpa, where instead of Bhairav, Ganesh is the one who slays Andhak at the behest of Vishnu. He is depicted as red-hued and six-armed, showing abhaya and varada mudra and holding Pasha ankush jaap mala and ratnakumbha.
29) Sinha Ganpati
The 29th form of Ganesh is Sinha Ganpati, which he took up to slay Gajasura (this is also in a different kalpa where Ganesh slays Gajasura instead of Shiv slaying him). He is depicted as white-coated and eight-armed, showing abhaya and varada mudra and holding kalpavriksh, lotus, pushp, veena, simha, and ratnakumbha.
30) Yoga Ganesh in Tantra
The 30th form of Ganesh is yoga ganapati, which he assumed would help Vyasa write the Mahabharata. He is shown red-hued and four-armed, holding yogdand, sugarcane, jaap mala, and Pasha.
31) Durga Ganesh in Tantra
The 31st form of Ganesh is Durga Ganpati; this form was taken up by Ganesh to aid his mother Durga in her war against Mahisasur. He is depicted as dark yellow-colored and eight-armed, holding a Pasha ankush bow, arrow, jaapmala tusk, jamun, and dhvaj.
32) Sankathara Ganpati
The 32nd form of Ganesh is Sankathara Ganpati. This form was assumed by Ganesh when he was worshipped by Krishna. It’s well known that Krishna was initiated into various Shaiva margas, such as Pashupat and Aghora. His first diksha was in Pashupata marga, and as expected before any sadhana, one must worship Ganesh. The same was done by Krishna, who prayed for all dangers to be removed from his way. Due to this, Ganesh took up this form and came to Krishna to bless him. He is golden-hued and four-armed, holding Pasha ankusha, a bowl of payasam, and showing varada mudra.
As stated, this isn’t the limit to the number of forms Ganesh has. He also has several other forms, for instance, the Ganesha associated with the Dasha Mahavidyas (some of them coming under the 32 forms while others being outside this classification), the Ganesh of Tara in Mahachinakram known as Hasti Pisach, and the infamous Aghora Tandav Ganpati that put an end to the peshwai system.
Ganesh in Tantras Mahavidyas:
- For Kali, there’s mention of four different Ganeshas in different traditions, which are Vakratunda, Swanandeshvar, Heremba, and Kala Ganapathi.
- For Tara, there’s mention of two different traditions. While the main stream view is that Ucchista Ganapathi is the Ganesh of Tara, in Mahachinakram and certain shakta traditions, the Ganesh of Tara is Hasti Pisacha. (Also mention pisacha sundari.)
- For Sodashi, there’s a mention of Mahaganapati.
- For Bhuvaneshwari, the ganesh is Ekakshara.
- For Bhairavi, the ganesh is Dhundhi Ganapati.
- For Chinnamasta, there’s mention of Kavandh Ganapati and, alternatively, Durmukha Ganapati.
- For Dhumavati, the Ganesh is Dhumraksh Ganapati, who’s alternatively also called Dhumravarna Ganapati.
- For Bagala, the Ganesh is Durga Ganapati.
- For Matangi, the Ganesh is Ucchista or Heremba.
- For Kamala, the Ganesh is Svarnakarshan Ganapati, or Rinmochana Ganapati and Lakshmi Ganapati.
It’s seen that while some forms of Ganapati associated with the Mahavidyas come under the 32 primary forms, some others don’t. The Ganapatis we find here are separate from the 32 forms. Their stories will be discussed, but the forms won’t be revealed.
Swanandeshvar Ganesh
Swanandeshvar form was taken by Ganesh when he was done creating Swananda Loka, which is the loka of Ganesh.
Kala Ganesh
Kala Ganesh is a form that emerged with Kaalbhairav and his Shakti and has similar functions to him.
Hasti Pisach Ganesh
Hasti Pisach is the form of Ganesh worshipped in Mahachinakram. This Ganesh emerged after the death of Ganesh during his war against Shiv. This form of Ganesh is extremely ferocious, and his dhyana is strictly restricted to certain sects, so I’ll choose not to disclose it here.
Kavandh Ganapati
Kavandh Ganapati emerged while fighting against Rakshas Kavandh. During the battle, his head was cut off, so he used his powers and grew eyes, a mouthand even a trunk, and tusks on his chest and belly. The eyes on his chest, ears on the sides, and mouth on his belly.
Durmukha Ganapati
Durmukha Ganapati is another Ganesh who emerged from the anger of Chinnamasta to slay another rakshas called Durmukha. As he emerged due to the anger of Chinnamasta, he came out with a disfigured and frightening face, earning him the name Durmukha.
Dhumraksh Ganesh is the one who emerged from Dhumravarn Shiv to slay Rakshas Dhumraksh.
Dhumravarn Ganapati emerged from Dhumavati. When Sati consumed Shiv out of hunger, Shiv exited her body by becoming smoke, and Devi became Dhumavati, the smoke had shakti of both Dhumavati and Dhumravarn Bhairav, from which emerged Dhumravarn Ganapathi.
Svarnakarshan Ganapati
Svarnakarshan Ganapati is said to have emerged in a way similar to Rinmochana; however, here the circumstances were a little different. This form emerged when Kuber worshipped Ganesh to gain wealth and not to pay off his debts.
Aghora Tandava Ganesh in Tantra
Apart from all this, there’s another form of Ganesh not known to most, which is Aghora Tandava Ganapati, who wreaked havoc in many places and timelines, including becoming one of the many documented reasons behind the end of the peshwai system.
The story of his origin states that after the war against Shiv, after Ganesh was slain, despite being revived by Shivji, Ganesha still felt the torments that resulted from Shanidev casting his side glance at Ganesha. He was instructed by Shivji to worship Kaalbhairav, who would rid Ganeshji of the torments.
During his sadhana, Ganesha once again got a side glance from Shanidev; however, due to the grace of Kaalbhairav, the vakra dristhi (side glance) was a blessing, and by its power, Ganesha completed his sadhana. However, due to the tormenting nature of vakra dristhi, Ganeshji assumed a fierce form and started Samhara tandava. Since this was due to Shanidev, Ganesha worshipped him and gained control over this form; he attained Aghor diksha.
After attaining Aghora Diksha, he started Ananda Tandava. By doing this, he saved the Aghori Sadhakas of that time who were being tormented by pretas who flocked at them due to the same vakra dristhi. By getting Aghora diksha and becoming Aghori, he got the name Aghora; for being the master and performer of Samhara and Ananda Tandava and becoming the master of all the forms of Tandava Nritya, he got the name Tandava; for becoming the chief amongst all forms of Ganeshas and other Shivaganas, he got the name Ganapati; thus, he is called Aghora Tandava Ganapati.
History of Aghora Tandava Ganapati
Aghora Tandava Ganapati has a very dark history, thanks to which the common people today know its name. During the peshwai period when Madhav Rao was the peshwa, his uncle Raghunath Rao, who wished to claim the throne, approached a person called Kotrakar Guruji for help in killing his nephew. Kotrakar agreed but told him beforehand that he would invoke Tandava Ganapati and the vigraha(IDOL) would claim blood. Raghunath went with the plan; the Vigraha was installed inside the palace.
Madhavrao died, but his brother Narayanrao ascended the throne. Angered, Raghunathrao plotted to kill Narayanrao. Assassins were sent who chased Narayanrao to his uncle’s room, where Raghunathrao killed Narayanrao. Blood splattered on the vigraha(IDOL), and it opened the portal to destruction. Raghunathrao himself became a victim of the vigraha(IDOL) as it claimed his life; the manner of his death is unknown.
Vigraha (Idol) destruction
A palace staff member named Shedanikar stole the vigraha and installed it under a pipal tree in Shedani village. From there, it went to a Brahman Shastri. Shedanikar and the family of the Shastri also died terrible deaths. The Shastri was so tortured that he threw the Vigraha into a well behind his house. Eventually, he also fell victim to the Vigraha and died. Wherever the vigraha went, it left a trail of destruction. It was recovered from the well by a sanyasi, Swami Swacchananda.
He asked his disciple Wamanrao Kamat to bring the idol, as it was begging to be released, and the Kamat family became its next victims; the whereabouts of the Svami aren’t recorded. The Vigraha kept getting transferred from one place to another, leaving behind a trail of death until, in 1960, a person named Keshavram Ayyengar (the last known owner of the idol) donated it to a Shankar Math in Thambu Chetty Street, Madras; after this, the location of the idol was lost.
So here ends the discussion on the various Forms and significance of Ganesh in Tantras. Questions related to the topic can now be asked in the comment section.
Article credit: Tara Peeth Aghor Acharya Swords_of_shiva