THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | HINDUISM | GAN

Shiva and Ganesha

To: alt.life.universe.everything,alt.magick.tantra,alt.religion.universal-life
From: "Saamaasya" 
Subject: Re: Shiva and Ganesha
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:16:06 -0800

joshua geller wrote in message <7aprru$d60$1@shell5.ba.best.com>...

>It seems to me that the events described by the famous Ganesha birth
>myth refer to the invasion before the Aryans, Shiva coming in with the
>Dravidians and Ganesha being the major indigenous God. There's a war,
>Shiva wins the war, but either it is not a total victory or there is a
>rebellion, and He has to give certain concessions to Ganesha: He's to
>be the Leader of the Army

Ganesha isn't thge Lord of Armies; that role is usually filled by his
brother, Skanda/Murugan/Kartikkeyya.  Ganesha is the lord of the Ganas
(which is what Ganapati means), who are an unruly bunch of theriocephalic
spirits (sometimes also called pramathas) who do occasionally fight on
Shiva's side.  Murugan was originally a Tamil god, and I think what you're
saying applies as much to him as Ganesha.

>(== the Lord of Categories, which he was
>already) and always worshipped first. What's your take on all this
>this?

Ganesha is worshiped first because he both creates and removes obstacles,
and his himself an obstacle if not placated (as per the ritual structure).
Ganesha's original role is as a guardian; in effect, you have to bribe the
guard to look the other way.  In some places, not only is Ganesha worsjiped
first, but Kubera (who is no familial relation to Ganesha, but a good friend
of Shiva) must also be worshiped at the close of whatever ceremony is in
question.  I think Kubera and Ganesha may really form a Janus-like complex,
and it may be that somewhere back in time they were worshiped together in
much the way that Mitra and Varuna were considered in the Vedic tradition.
Their vahanas may relate to this, too... Ganesha rides a mouse, which is
eaten by snakes... while Kubera's mount is a mongoose, which in turn eats
snakes.  Ganesh's mouse helps him to penetrate small spaces and thus be able
to gather all of the knowledge there is; Kubera's mongoose vomits gems
hidden deep in the earth, which represent not only material wealth but also
secrets.  Ganesh becomes angry at the moon (Shiva's forehead-ornament) and
breaks off one of his tusks to use as a missile.  Shiva knocks out all but 8
of Kubera's teeth in a fight when they first meet (which is also somewhat
reminiscent of Shiva lopping off Ganesha's original head).  There seem to be
numerous connections between Kubera and Ganesha, although none of them are
ever explained or even made really explicit.

>You may not have realized this yet, but the same event lies behind
>your memories and my memories, but not behind everybody's memories,
>and not even behind every man's memories.

I have no idea what this means.  I can barely remember what happened an hour
ago.  :=}

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
           Tzimon Yliaster
          Tools of CHAOS
       http://www.xiqual.com
            PO Box 26362,
     San Francisco, CA 94126

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races