Post No. 14,604
Date uploaded in London – 7 June 2025
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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If you google the question Why do Hindus worship Ganesh first?, you will get many answers .
But I am going to add one more reason with some support from a famous song. They say he is the god of obstacles and remover of obstacles. The meaning is that if you start any work without worshipping God, he will lay hurdles in your path. If you worship him first, he will remove all the obstacles in your work. It is in his name itself -Vigna+ Eswara= Vigneswara.
(Vigna= Obstacles, hurdles, difficulties)
How can he remove the hurdles in your path? Because he is the god of wisdom. Two of his names are Sumukha and Vikata; always showing good face and looks beautiful. Lord Ganesh is shown with elephant head.
Vikaṭa (विकट).—I. adj. 1. Large, [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 118, 6. 2. Large-toothed. 3. Knitted (as the brows), [Prabodhacandrodaya, (ed. Brockhaus.)] 85, 15; formidable, [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 150, 13; hideous. 4. Obsolete, obscure. 5. Changed in form or appearance. 6. Beautiful. 7. i. e. vi-kaṭa, Without a mat, [Nala] 10, 6. Ii. n. A tumour. Iii. m. A proper name, [Pañcatantra] 76, 7.
The meaning beautiful is used in the 2000 year of Mrchakatika drama.
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If one shows a positive, smiling, beautiful face to you, you naturally get good vibes. These are all old interpretations
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Tamil Puzzle about Lord Ganesh
Arunagirinathar, a great Tamil poet who lived 500 years ago, composed over 1300 Tamil verses on Lord Skanda/ Kartikeya (Tamil name Murugan). In his very first verse he says that Lord Shiva’s chariot broke into pieces because he did not salute Lord Ganesh when he went on an adventurous trip to destroy the Tripurasuras. But I could not find the story anywhere else. We sing the first verse of Tiruppugaz written by Arunagirinathar, very often.
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My New Interpretation
We worship Ganesh or Ganapathy or Vinayaka first because his elephant head looks like the Pranava Mantra OM. And we know Vedas begin with this Om. And the Upanishads also say that the universe came about from the (Om) sound. Cosmologists also say that the universe began with the Big Bang.
Mandukya Upanishad, Tamil saint Tirumular and many others sang about OM and said that the universe was created from this sound.
But one may ask where is the proof that Ganapathi’s elephant head represents Omkara or the Pranava mantra . In Tamil Nadu, we have two proofs. Athiveera Rama Pandya composed a didactic poem called Vetri Verkai. As every other Tamil poet, he also praised Lord Ganessh in the very first verse. He says I worship Ganapathy with the face of Pranava mantra. But the big proof comes from the verse/ Kriti
‘VATAPI GANAPATHIM BHAJE ‘COMPOSED IN SANSKRIT BY GREAT MUSICIAN MUTHUSWAMI DIKSHITAR (1735-1817).
DIKSHITAR IS ONE OF THE MUSICAL TRINITY OF Tamil Nadu .Dikshitar’s Kritis (songs) are in Sanskrit with very deep meaning.
All music students in South India are taught first his Vatapi Ganapathim Bhaje. Famous musicians of Tamil Nadu have rendered this song in the same Hamsadwani Raga. There is one-line which musicians repeat 20 to 30 times. That line is Vakra Thunda Pranava Swarupa. The meaning is very clear. Elephant’s curved trunk looks like Pranava mantra OM. That is the only line where all the musicians repeat and repeat to show their skill.
The Ganapathy mentioned here is the Ganapathy statue that came from Badami; a commander of the Tamil Choza army won the war in Karnataka and brought the statue to Tamil Nadu.
There is another interpretation. Om or AUM is made up of three letters A+ U+ M. All the ancient languages begin with the letter A. it is sung by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (aksharaanaam aham akaarosmi) and Tiruvalluvar in his very first couplet in Tamil Tirukkural. Rig Veda also begins with A (Agnimule prohitam). So even looking from that angle we see Ganapathy has the beginning sound A in Pranawa Swarupa Vakra Tunda.:
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MahA vaidyanAtha Iyer used to render this k.rti invariably in all his concerts. He used to employ various beautiful sa”ngatis each time he sang this composition. These have been carefully preserved and passed on to the present day. Perhaps this also accounts for the wide acclaim, and concert popularity enjoyed by this k.rti.
Here is the famous Kriti Vatapi Ganpathim taken from Karnatik website
Free Translation
I sing in praise of vAtApi gaNapati, who has the face of an elephant, and who is a giver of all boons. All the living beings worship his feet. He transcends the past, the future and the universe, comprising the five elements. He is devoid of passion, and is saluted by the yOgis He is the cause of the creation of the world and he is the remover of all obstacles.
In ancient times, he was worshiped by saint Agastya (born out of a pot). He resides in the middle of the mystic triangle. He is saluted by the prominent gods, viSNu and others. He resides in the mUlAdhAra cakram (cosmic circle). He represents the four forms of speech, beginning with parA. His trunk is curved in the form of the sacred syllable Om. He is eternal, and his forehead bears the crescent moon. In his left hand he carries the stack of sugar cane. He also carries a noose and a pomegranate fruit in his lotus-like hand. He is of a gigantic form, and he is faultless. He is hEraMba, and his figure is adorned by haMsadhvani rAgam.
| vātāpi gaṇapatiṃ bhajē’hamvāraṇāsyaṃ varapradaṃ śrī |
| bhūtādi-saṃsēvita-caraṇam bhūta-bhautika-prapañca-bharaṇam vītarāgiṇaṃ vinata-yoginam (or) vītarāgiṇaṃ vinuta-yoginam viśvakāraṇaṃ vighnavāraṇam |
| purā kumbha-saṃbhava-munivara prapūjitaṃ trikoṇa-madhyagatam murāri-pramukhādyupāsitam mūlādhāra-kṣētrasthitamparādi catvāri vāgātmakam praṇava-svarūpa vakratuṇḍam nirantaraṃ niṭila candrakhaṇḍam nija vāmakara vidhṛtekṣudaṇḍamkarāmbuja-pāśa-bījā-pūram kaluṣa-vidūraṃ bhūtākāram harādi-guruguha-toṣita-bimbam haṃsadhvani bhūṣita hērambam |
*praNavasvarUpavakratuNDaM – who has a curved (vakra) trunk (tuNDaM) in the shape of (svarUpa) the sacred mystic syllable “Om” (praNava)
–Subham—
Tags– worship Ganesh first, Vakratundam, Pranava Swarupa, OM, AUM, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Vatapi Ganapthim, letter A, Arunagirinathar, God of Wisdom, Remover of Obstacles
Tamil and Vedas 
