Historical development of Ganesha

Ganesha (Sanskrit: | ). These names are suggestive of Ganesha and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. [For text of "IAST|Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā" 2.9.1 and "IAST|Taittirīya Āraṇyaka" 10.1 and identification by IAST|Sāyaṇa in his commentary on the IAST|āraṇyaka, see: Rocher, Ludo, "IAST|Gaņeśa's Rise to Prominence in Sanskrit Literature" in Harvnb|Brown|1991|p=70.] The description of Dantin; possessing a twisted trunk (IAST|vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club [Taittiriya Aranyaka, X, 1, 5.] is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin." [Heras, p. 28.] However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. [Harvnb|Krishan|1981-1982|p=290] [For arguments documenting interpolation into the "IAST|Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā", see: Harvnb|Krishan|1999|pp=12-15] Thapan reports the view that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated" and Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the "IAST|Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā" have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity". [For interpolation into the IAST|Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā and IAST|Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, see: Thapan, p. 101.] [For Dhavilkar's views on Ganesha's in early Literature, see Dhavalikar, M. K. "Gaṇeśa: Myth and reality" in Harvnb|Brown|1991|p=56-57]

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. There is a late interpolation to the epic poem "Mahabharata" saying that the sage IAST|Vyāsa asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he orated it to him. Ganesha agreed but with the caveat that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed to this but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the "Mahabharata", [Rocher, Ludo "Ganesa's Rise to Prominence in Sanskrit Literature". Brown, pp. 71-72.] in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. ["IAST|Mahābhārata" Vol. 1 Part 2. Critical edition, p. 884.] The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted in preparation of the critical edition. [For statement that "Fifty-nine manuscripts of the "IAST|Ādiparvan" were consulted for the reconstruction of the critical edition. The story of IAST|Gaṇeśa acting as the scribe for writing the "IAST|Mahābhārata" occurs in 37 manuscripts", see: Harvnb|Krishan|1999|p=31, note 4.] Ganesha's association with cognitive dexterity, mental agility and learning furnish the rationale why he is subsumed as scribe for IAST|Vyāsa's dictation of the "Mahabharata" in this interpolation to the text. [Brown, p. 4.] Richard L. Brown dates the story to the eighth century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it had not yet been added to the "Mahabharata" some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the "Mahabharata" is their omission of this Ganesha legend. [Winternitz, Moriz. "IAST|Gaṇeśa in the IAST|Mahābhārata". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1898:382). Citation provided by Rocher, Ludo. "IAST|Gaņeśa's Rise to Prominence in Sanskrit Literature". Brown, p. 80.] The term "IAST|vināyaka" is found in some recensions of the "IAST|Śāntiparva" and "IAST|Anuśāsanaparva" that are regarded as interpolations. [For interpolations of the term vināyaka see: Harvnb|Krishan|1999|p=29.] A reference to "IAST|Vighnakartṛīṇām" ("Creator of Obstacles") in "Vanaparva" is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition. [For reference to IAST|Vighnakartṛīṇām and translation as "Creator of Obstacles", see: Harvnb|Krishan|1999|p=29.]

Puranic period

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering," the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, "circa" 600–1300. [Brown, p. 183.] Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he came to acquire an elephant's head are in the later Puranas composed from about 600 onwards and that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas are later interpolations made during the seventh to tenth centuries. [Krishan, p. 103.]

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding IAST|Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent. [Rocher, Ludo. "IAST|Gaṇeśa's Rise to Prominence in Sanskrit Literature". Brown, p. 73.]

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the ninth century when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The ninth-century philosopher IAST|Śaṅkarācārya popularized the "worship of the five forms" (IAST|pañcāyatana pūjā) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smārta tradition. [Dating for the "IAST|pañcāyatana pūjā" and its connection with IAST|Smārta Brahmins is from Courtright, p. 163.] [For the "five" divinities ("IAST|pañcādevatā") becoming "the major deities" in general, and their listing as Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu, Surya, and Ganesha, see: Bhattacharyya, S., "Indian Hymnology", in: Bhattacharyya (1956), volume IV, p. 470.] This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, IAST|Devī, and IAST|Sūrya. [Grimes, p. 162.] [Pal, p. ix.] IAST|Śaṅkarācārya instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

Ganesha scriptures

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some "IAST|brāhmaṇas" chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition as seen in the "Ganesha Purana" and the "Mudgala Purana". [Thapan, pp. 196-197. Addresses the IAST|pañcāyatana in the IAST|Smārta tradition and the relationship of the "Ganesha Purana" and the "Mudgala Purana" to it.]

The date of composition for the "Ganesha Purana" and the "Mudgala Purana", and their dating relative to one another, has sparked academic debate. Both works developed over periods of time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews different views on dating and provides her own judgement. She states that it appears likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana came into existence around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries but was subject to interpolations during succeeding ages. [For a review of major differences of opinions between scholars on dating, see: Thapan, pp. 30-33.] Lawrence W. Preston considers that the period 1100–1400 is the most reasonable date for the "Ganesha Purana" because that period agrees with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text. [See: Preston, Lawrence W., "Subregional Religious Centers in the History of Maharashtra: The Sites Sacred to IAST|Gaṇeśa", in: N. K. Wagle, ed., "Images of Maharashtra: A Regional Profile of India". p.103.]

R.C. Hazra suggested that the "Mudgala Purana" is older than the "Ganesha Purana", which he dates between 1100 and 1400 A.D. [R.C. Hazra, "The IAST|Gaṇeśa Purāṇa," "Journal of the Ganganatha Jha Research Institute" (1951);79-99.] However Phillis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the "Mudgala Purana" was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha because, among other internal evidence, the "Mudgala Purana" specifically mentions the "Ganesha Purana" as one of the four Puranas (the "Brahma", the "Brahmanda", the "Ganesha", and the "Mudgala" Puranas) that deal at length with Ganesha. [Phyllis Granoff, "IAST|Gaṇeśa as Metaphor," in Brown, pp. 94-95, note 2.] While the kernel of the text must be old, it continued to receive interpolations until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. [Thapan, pp. 30-33.] Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries A.D. [Courtright, p. 252.]

ee also

Notes

References

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