[Advaita-l] 'VinAyaka' in ShAnkara GItA BhAShyam

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

Namaste,

Interesting. Probably you mean that Lord Vinayaka is a god and at the same time one cannot not know whether he is also the greatest dada as well because of the reason that  he controls the dadas. It is like one cannot say whether the fish is drinking water or not as it remains in water.

Regards,

Sunil KB

--- On Wed, 7/6/11, Dr. Yadu Moharir <ymoharir at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Dr. Yadu Moharir <ymoharir at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] 'VinAyaka' in ShAnkara GItA BhAShyam
To: "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2011, 2:16 PM

Namaste:

I am not aware of name Vinaayaka occurring in atharvashiirSha !?
I know of ekadnata, gaNapataye, la.mbodara, shuurpkarNa, vighnanaashine shivasutaaya,


If there is a paaThabheda, kindly send me the reference.
As per various pauraaNaka stories suggest that all of them boil down to 
that Vinaayaka becomes the leader (gaNapati or gaNaadhyaksha) only when 
Shiva realized that he can guard the "gateway" without compromising his 
dharma (without exception). 

Etymology of name Vinaayaka as per Vaamana puraaNa (28. 71-72) 

naayakeNa vinaa devi tava bhuuto.api putrakaH || yasmaajjaatastato naamnaa bhavoShyati vinaayakaH

In my previous mail I had given few references that document the characteristics of Vinaayaka. 


Mudgala puraaNa (7.12) talks about the generic traits as "vighnaraaja"

namaste vighnaraajaaya vighnaanaaM vighnakaaraNe | mahaavighnaprashaantaaya devadevesha te namH ||


In any case I do not see any favorable characteristics attributed to Vinaayaka.

So there is possibility for avoiding the trouble from Vinaayakaa's &/or rudragaNaa's "peace offering" was practiced.  This is very similar to "a Dada" (a bully, a leader) from the neighborhood who gets respect and/or the protection money?

Theses Vinaayakaa's gaining the status as "GaNa[pati or GaNaadhyaksha" (political Leaders) could have contributed to the current state of political arrogance and corruption at every door step?


Or could this be a simple clever trick to confuse the shivagaNaa's to moove on to others as Vinaayaka is already present in the household?

Thanks for responding.

Rgds

Dr. Yadu




________________________________
From: Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] 'VinAyaka' in ShAnkara GItA BhAShyam

On Tue, 5 Jul 2011, Dr. Yadu Moharir wrote:

> Vinayaka is a very popular name at least in Maharashtra. Then,  why would some one name their child Vinaayaka?

I think I did mention this before.  The sattvika Ganesha who is identified as parabrahman in the atharvashirsha is called Vinayaka because he is the master and controller of the Vinayakas.  Just as Rudra is the leader of the Rudras (who are often described as malicious or fearsome) and Aditya is the leader of the Adityas.  So parents can rest assured they are not naming their babies after demons if they name them Vinayaka.

-- Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>



Dear List:

I have been following the thread on Vinayaka with interest: 


(References cited at the end)


History of Dharmashastra[i]explains Vinayakaas
being of evil spirit. There were fourVinaayaka in number[ii]. maanava gR^ihyasuutra (II. 14) names the four, while some texts
claim the number to be six[iii](Vinaayakaas mita, smamita, usmita,devayaj~na,
shaalakaTa.nkaTa, and kyShmaaNDaraajaputra).
However, all of them agree that possession by these Vinayaka, people get bad
dreams. A prince, although capable cannot become the king. Girls cannot get
married. Married women do not bear children and one fails at everything they attempt.
In theses situations performing Vinayakashantiis recommended in many religious texts. In
general Vinayakaçänti[iv]is erformed
to achieve their objectives, gain wealth and for maintaining a good health.
Procedural details can be found in Yaj~navaalkyasmR^iti, BR^ihatparaasharasmRE^iti, ViShNudharmapuraaNa and BaviShya puraaNa.
Salted fish, cooked and raw meat is offered as naivedya.
 
NaaraayaNa kavaca of Bhaagavata puraaNa (6.8.24) one prays to the  ViShNu’s weapon (gadaa known as kaumudii) to pulverize
KuaShamaaNDa and Vinaayaka[v], which
are again grouped with evildoers (Bhaagavata puraaNa 10.6.27-29)[vi].
 
Removal of evil things from a specific
location is practiced commonly before performing any pious activities,
including SatyanaaraayaNa puujaa. This is achieved by reciting BuutaapasaaraNa  mantra[vii]. Here ShivagaNasare ordered to go away as per Shiva’s order or instructions. In other words, the
process is essentially for removing or driving away bad elements in order to
complete the desired ritual without any hindrance. Baudhayaana-gR^ihya suutrarecognizes
Vinaayaka as Bhuutanaatha, Hastimukhaa and Vighaneshvara and
recommends the offering of modaka  and apuupa.  The
town of Kashi is known to have 56 Vinaayaka  temples and DhunDitraaja is considered to be
their leader.
Based on the above 
discussion (references cited below) it is clear that Vinaayaka were not 
only ugra but shuudra troublesome vindictive devataa's. 

QUESTION:

Vinayaka is a very popular name at least in Maharashtra. Then,  why would some 
one name their child Vinaayaka? Any comments and thoughts would be 
appreciated.


Thank you in advance

Dr. Yadu
.
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