DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.75620#0043
GANESA IN INDIAN LITERATURE 9
In spite of his apparent popularity in the Tantras, he was, nevertheless, referred
to as one to whom the secrets of the tantric mysteries may not be revealed. In the
Mahdnirvana-tantra, for example, when Parvati, the primordial sakti, asks of Siva:
'Who else but thee, 0 Lord of the Three Worlds, is able to solve these doubts of
mine? Thou who knowest all', Siva replies: 'What is that thou sayest, 0 Great
Wise One and Beloved of my Heart? I will tell thee anything, be it ever so bound
in mystery, even that which should not be said before Ganesa and Skanda. . .
The author knows of no other text where Skanda is thus associated with his brother
Ganesa, who, unlike Skanda, seems never to have been admitted to the Tantric
mysteries. In the Kula2 rites of initiation, for instance, Ganesa was first supplicated
to remove all obstacles to the success of the initiation, after which he was invited
to depart by the following mantra of dismissal: 'Lord of Obstacles, pardon me!'3;
and not until his supposed departure had taken place were the mystic rites of initia-
tion begun. It seems apparent from this that he was looked upon as a god to be
feared until properly propitiated; but the question arises as to why Ganesa, alone
of all the gods, should be excluded from the Tantric mysteries, and especially, from
the Kula rites of initiation, when the group of 'Divine Mothers', with whom, as
will be seen below, he was always associated, was not only admitted to the mysteries,
but was worshipped several times during the Kula ceremonies. As a matter of fact,
very little is known of Ganesa in the Tantras and not until more Tantric texts are
accessible for study will it be possible to determine the exact position of Ganesa in
relation to the other gods who were worshipped in the mysteries, or to find the key
to this puzzling Tantric aspect of the Elephant-faced god.
1 Trans. Avalon, p. 5. 2 Sakti worship. The formula: 'Vighnaraja, Ksamasveti !' is given
3 Mahdnirvana-tantra, trans. Avalon, p. 251. in the commentary. (Kindness of Mr. Burnett.)
4255
C
In spite of his apparent popularity in the Tantras, he was, nevertheless, referred
to as one to whom the secrets of the tantric mysteries may not be revealed. In the
Mahdnirvana-tantra, for example, when Parvati, the primordial sakti, asks of Siva:
'Who else but thee, 0 Lord of the Three Worlds, is able to solve these doubts of
mine? Thou who knowest all', Siva replies: 'What is that thou sayest, 0 Great
Wise One and Beloved of my Heart? I will tell thee anything, be it ever so bound
in mystery, even that which should not be said before Ganesa and Skanda. . .
The author knows of no other text where Skanda is thus associated with his brother
Ganesa, who, unlike Skanda, seems never to have been admitted to the Tantric
mysteries. In the Kula2 rites of initiation, for instance, Ganesa was first supplicated
to remove all obstacles to the success of the initiation, after which he was invited
to depart by the following mantra of dismissal: 'Lord of Obstacles, pardon me!'3;
and not until his supposed departure had taken place were the mystic rites of initia-
tion begun. It seems apparent from this that he was looked upon as a god to be
feared until properly propitiated; but the question arises as to why Ganesa, alone
of all the gods, should be excluded from the Tantric mysteries, and especially, from
the Kula rites of initiation, when the group of 'Divine Mothers', with whom, as
will be seen below, he was always associated, was not only admitted to the mysteries,
but was worshipped several times during the Kula ceremonies. As a matter of fact,
very little is known of Ganesa in the Tantras and not until more Tantric texts are
accessible for study will it be possible to determine the exact position of Ganesa in
relation to the other gods who were worshipped in the mysteries, or to find the key
to this puzzling Tantric aspect of the Elephant-faced god.
1 Trans. Avalon, p. 5. 2 Sakti worship. The formula: 'Vighnaraja, Ksamasveti !' is given
3 Mahdnirvana-tantra, trans. Avalon, p. 251. in the commentary. (Kindness of Mr. Burnett.)
4255
C