FAQs about Lord Ganesh and Ganesh Chaturthi celebration
What is the Significance of Right
Sided Trunk?
The trunk should be curved to the left for normal idols.
If it is curved to the right, it is called siddhi vinakya
and needs special worship. One should be very careful
in worshipping such idols. But why is the trunk curved
to right so special and so strict ? The iDa naaDii is
on the left side, while the pingalaa naaDii is on the
right. The left-turning trunk has easy rules and one can
do puja however one wants with respect since the ida naadii
is the moon. but the right turning nadi is the sun and
will burn one if rules are violated. When the trunk is
facing straight forward, then it signifies the sushumna
is entirely open. Idols such as these are very rare and
special. Even more special is the trunk where the trunk
is swung up right in the air. It means the kundalini shakti
has reached the sahasra permanently.
Why does Lord Ganesha have a half-broken tusk?
When he came up with the idea to Mahabharatha, Sage Ved
Vyasa looked around for someone who would write down the
words even as he recited them. He approached Lord Ganesha
and asked him if he would do so. Lord Ganesha readily
agreed.Ved Vyasa said "I will narrate the story and
you must take it down as fast as I say it and should not
interrupt or stop anywhere in between" and Lord Ganesha
too said that "I will do so and if you halt or hesitate,
I will stop writing and your epic will never be written".
Ved Vyasa agreed with his final condition "So I agree
but you must also agree to fully comprehend the meaning
of the poems as you write and not just blindly write them
as I say". The elephant headed God gave his consent
and they started writing the epic Mahabharata. To write
this Lord Ganesha broke a bit off his tusk and used it
as a pen. As they continued with the writing, Ved Vyasa
found that Ganesha was very fast and he didn't even have
any time to breathe in air! His face slowly turned blue
and he wondered how will he go on without pausing to draw
his breath also. Then he came up with the solution and
narrated a difficult stanza. Ganesha, who was writing
at a furious pace, stopped for a second to get the meaning
of the stanza and Ved Vyasa thankfully used the split
second gap to gulp deep lungful of air. But Ganesha carried
on immediately and they went on. And so, whenever Ved
Vyasa needed a break, he would tell a difficult phrase
and used the time Ganesha took to comprehend the meaning.
Thus the original Mahabharata contains many difficult
stanzas placed at intervals throughout the length of the
epic.
How did mouse became the vehicle or vahan of
lord Ganesh?
In the royal meeting of God Indra there was a Gandharva
named Krounch. He was a good singer. One day he laughed
at one sage. With anger the sage cursed Krounch that your
next birth would be in the family of mouse. At that very
moment Krounch fell near the hermitage of sage Parashara,
where one of the incarnation of Lord Ganesha was living
and is called as Gajanana. Like other mice, this mouse
too started troubling the people from the hermitage. Making
holes in the hermitage, started eating food. Sage Parashara
called his son Gajanana, to get rid from the trouble.
Gajanana cought Krounch, who is in the appearance of mouse.
He begged for the mercy and asked to give a boon. Krounch
said, 'I don't want anything for myself. Instead I shall
take you a ride. I shall take you where ever you desire!'
At that very moment, Lord Ganesha sat on its back. Lord
Ganesha reduced his weight which is bearable to the mouse,
without reducing the size. From then onwards mouse became
the vehicle or vahan of Lord Ganesha .
Why was Tulsi Cursed By Lord Ganesh?
Tulsi, the daughter of Dharmaraja. the God of righteousness,
was roaming about in the world in ecstatic devotion to
Lord Narayana, in her youthful days White thus going about,
she came upon the banks of the sacred river Ganga. There
she wandered into a serene ashram full of fragrant flowers
and plants swaying in cool breeze. She saw Ganeshji, who
was in the prime of his youth, beautifully dressed in
yellow silks, and lost in deep contemplation on Lord Krishna.
She was captivated by the beauty of Ganeshji, and entreated
him to marry her. Ganeshji turned down the proposal, saying
that he was least interested in married life. Tuisi became
angry and cursed Ganeshji saying : "You shall surely
marry !", whereupon Ganeshji also pronounced a counter—curse
on her : "You too shall get married, but to an Asura,
and thereafter you shall be cursed to be born as a plant
by the wise men". Realising her mistake, Tulsi pleaded
for mercy, and extolled Ganeshji with divine hymns. Ganeshji
relented and said: "Though you shall be born as a
plant, you will inherit the essence of all fragrance.
All the gods will be happy with your fragrance, and Lord
Hari will be specially glad to receive worship with your
leaves. But you shall not be acceptable in the worship
offered to me". So saying, Ganeshji left that place
and went to Badrikashram.
Why Ganesha is offered Durvas for Pooja?
Once upon a time, there used to be a demon called "Analasur".
He had the ability to spit flames. The demon used to trouble
all the Gods. The Gods were distressed by Analasur's terror
and tried their best to get rid of him. When all of them
failed, they appealed to Ganesha for help. Ganesha had
a long battle with the demon that went for a long time.
At the end, Ganesha swallowed the demon. But since the
demon was made of flame, the heat became unbearable for
the God. Various Gods turned to the rescue of Ganesha,
prescribing their own methods, but to no avail. The sacred
water from Vishnu's lotus was administered to Him. This
gave the Lord some respite, although he was still in pain.
The snake of Lord Shiva was then tied around his waist.
This also helped but the pain still persisted. As a last
resort, 21 durvas were given to him and the Lord was finally
cured. Ever since, 21 durvas are offered to the Lord as
a token of devotion.
