Courtesy: Sri.K.Muralidharan Iyengar
Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. As Sri Vinayaka Chaturthi falls on Friday (29-Aug-2014), I am happy to share a rare Sharadesha Ashtottaram taken from Vinayaka Tantram, Patala 61. In this Tantra, Lord Vighnaraja is worshipped as the consort of Goddess Sharada (Sarasvati) and contains several hymns such as Ashtottaram, Trishati, Sahasranamam, Kavacham and Hrudayam.
As we have seen in the previous postings, the Lord Vinayaka's worship as the Prathama Pujita (first worshipped) is unequivocal in all the texts and goes beyond the shores of India - e.g. Nrusimha Purana contains a story where Lord Rama's ancestor (Ikshvaku) prayed to Lord Vinayaka to qualify for the meditation on Lord Vishnu (I had shared this hymn two years ago); Vinayaka Stuti in Narada Pancharatram, a Vaishnavite Agama text, where Sage Narada prays to him as the first-worshipped (I had shared this too before), etc. It is believed that Lord Rama Himself prayed to Lord Vinayaka prior to going to Sri Lanka to fight Ravana in Uppur (a small village near Rameshwaram where this temple is located)).
Lord Vinayaka is worshipped in several forms including as the consort of Sarasvati here, although Brahma is the consort of Sarasvati. In some texts, Lord Vinayaka is considered as manifestation Lord Vishnu himself (in the same way as Varaha Puranam embodies Lord Kartikeya as an embodiment of Lord Vishnu as is prescribed in Kanti Vrat). In Shatru Samhara Trishati, Lord Subrahmanya is portrayed as the consort of Sarasvati. In Brahma Vaivarta Puranam, both Sarasvati and Ganga are portrayed as the consorts of Lord Vishnu.
This is not strange if we go past the surface level nominal variations and to the root ekaM sat viprA bahudhA vadanti. Ganapati AtharvashIrsha succinctly puts this in the context:
tvameva pratyaxaM brahmAsi .. | tvaM-brahma tvaM-viShNus tvaM-rudras tvaM-indras tvaM-vAyus tvaM-sUryas tvaM-candramAs tvaM-brahma bhUrbhuvassuvarom || (Meaning : You are indeed BrahmA, Vishnu, Rudra, Indra, Vayu, Surya, Chandra and Brahman)
The above annotation is not unique to Lord Ganapati - the same are said for all deity forms. So, it is sheer fatuity to waste time on forms over substance as we see in many quarters. But wait a minute, if there is luxury of time to kill and split hair, why not? - By all means!
May We Pray To Lord Vighnaraja - who is posited in the mUlAdhAra - and removes all obstacles in every endeavour!
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