Page:South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses.djvu/196

176 in the Trichinopoly district, comes a stone figure of Pancha-mukha-Vināyaka which answers to the description of Hēramba-Ganapati without the lion vehicle. There are other forms known as Ūrdhva-Ganapati, Uchchhishta-Ganapati and Vara-Ganapati, which are perhaps the inventions of the followers of that mysterious and often indecent cult of Sāktas, in which the female energy of creation always plays a very prominent part. Sakti-Ganapati and Uddanda-Ganapati are represented as embracing a goddess. Bīja-Ganapati mentioned in the Silparatna has four arms, is fond of the citron and is adorned with shining ornaments. Perhaps he is the same as Vijaya-Ganapati of the Mudgala-Purāna. It may be noted that in the Brihadīsvara temple at Tanjore, established by the Chōla king Rājarāja I about the beginning of the eleventh century A.D., different forms of dancing and seated Ganapatis were installed. These bore the names Ālayattu-Pillaiyār and Parivārālayattu-Pillaiyār.

Ganapati, the Tamil Pillaiyār, is a very popular god. He is the god of wealth, the remover of all obstacles, the bestower of success, the fulfiller of desire. He is gentle, calm and friendly and withal possessed of a certain wise craft- A famous story relates how Vyāsa found no one capable of writing down his voluminous Mahābhārata to his dictation and was referred to Ganapati. Ganapati agreed, but on the understanding that Vyāsa never stopped for a moment in the midst. Vyāsa on his part stipulated that Ganapati should take down naught of which he did not understand the meaning. So whenever Vyāsa felt that he had to pause in the middle of his composition he gave out a more than ordinarily tough verse; and while the crafty god was worrying over its meaning managed to be ahead of the god's writing. Temples of Ganapati are quite common in Southern India, though there are none which may be considered particularly famous, except the one of Ucchi-Pillaiyār on the rock at Trichinopoly. In virtue of his being the lord of spirits (ganas) which cause obstacles to men, Ganapati is also considered to be the guardian deity of a village and is, as such, installed in one of the four quarters of almost every village.