Statue of Ganesha

Hawkes, Joseph · [1910?–1930?]

This lantern slide, “Statue of Ganesha,” shows a statue of the Hindu god Ganesha (also called Ganesa, Ganesh, Pillaiyar, Ganapati, and Vinayaka) photographed somewhere in India. Ganesha is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is almost always depicted with an elephant head. Ganesha’s physical attributes are themselves rich in symbolism: he is normally shown with one hand in the abhaya pose of protection and refuge and the second holding a sweet (modaka), symbolic of the sweetness of the realized inner self. In the two hands behind him he often holds an ankusha (elephant goad) and a pasha (noose). The noose is to convey that worldly attachments and desires are a noose. The goad is to prod man to the path of righteousness and truth. With this goad, Ganesha can repel obstacles. His pot belly signifies the bounty of nature and that Ganesha swallows the sorrows of the Universe and protects the world. Revered as the Remover of Obstacles, the Lord of Beginnings, the patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom, he emerged as a distinct deity in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.