Part 12 of 12 · 13 minWho He Is

Come closer. Sit down. Put the plate of kudumulu where everyone can reach it.

We have travelled a long way together. We stood in the snow while Gajasura prayed. We watched a bull dance in a demon's palace. We saw a boy made of turmeric guard his mother's door, and we saw him come back with the head that was promised. We rode with him on Mooshika, raced around the worlds, heard the moon laugh, and followed Krishna into the bear king's cave.

Now, before the clay Vinayaka goes home to the water, let us open his treasure chest.

Imagine it. A big old wooden box with brass corners, sitting at Vinayaka's feet. The lid creaks open. Inside, wrapped in silk, are all the things that make him who he is. Some of them you can hold in your hand. Some of them you can only hold in your heart.

Shall we look? Let's start with a riddle.

The first riddle

What has ears like the big flat baskets your grandmother uses to clean rice, a nose that can lift a tree and also pick up a single grain, and only one and a half teeth?

You guessed it.

His face

Vinayaka has the head of an elephant. You know whose head it was. It was the head of Gajasura, the demon who loved Shiva so much that he let him go, and whose last wish was that his head should be honoured first in all the worlds. Every time you bow to Vinayaka before anything else, that old wish comes true again.

Look at his ears. They are huge, like winnowing baskets, the shurpa that women use to toss rice so the light husks blow away and the good grain stays. That is why one of his names is Shurpakarna. Did you know what those ears are for? They are for listening. Every prayer, even the tiniest whisper from the smallest child, reaches those ears. And like the winnowing basket, they keep the good and let the useless things blow away.

Look at his eyes. They are small and bright. Elephants have small eyes, but they notice everything. Remember how Vinayaka noticed what nobody else did, that going around his mother and father was the same as going around the whole world?

Look at his trunk. An elephant's trunk can pull a fallen tree out of a river, and it can also pick up one single peanut from the ground without cracking it. That is what a wise mind is like. Strong enough for big things, gentle enough for small ones. In many pictures the trunk curls to one side, and so he is called Vakratunda, the one with the curving trunk.

Now count his tusks. One, and a half. One tusk is whole. The other is broken. So he is called Ekadanta, the one with one tusk. How did he break it? Hold on to that question. There is a story coming, and it is a good one.

And look at that tummy! Big and round, like a pot, like a drum, like a full moon. That is why he is Lambodara, the one with the big belly. The sages say the whole universe is inside that belly, every happy thing and every sad thing, all digested and made peaceful. And, as we know, a great many kudumulu are in there too.

His gadgets

Reach into the treasure chest again. What's this, cool and smooth, curled up in the corner?

A snake! Don't be scared. This is the snake Vinayaka wears around his tummy like a belt. You remember the night the moon laughed, when his tummy burst and his mother and father brought him back to life. Shiva lifted the serpent Vasuki from his own neck and tied him around his son to hold him together. He has worn it ever since.

And what's this, squeaking and wriggling under the silk?

It's Mooshika, of course, with a laddu in his paws. Once upon a time he was Mushikasura, the enormous demon who crept through every wall and ate the harvest of the whole world. Vinayaka caught him with his mother's noose, and instead of punishing him, gave him a job and a share of every sweet. Now Mooshika carries him everywhere. In many temples you will see a little stone mouse sitting in front of Vinayaka, looking up at him. Some people bend down and whisper their wishes into the mouse's ear, so that he can carry the message to his master.

Here's a thinking question. Why would the biggest-hearted god ride the smallest animal? The old sages say the mouse is like wanting things. Wanting creeps in everywhere, nibbles at everything and is never full. Vinayaka did not kill the mouse. He sits on top of it, calm and happy. He is the boss of his wanting, and not the other way round.

And here, folded at the bottom of the chest, is something white with a fringe of pearls and a golden handle. His chhatra, his royal umbrella, the gift the gods gave him after he tamed Mushikasura. In the old days only a king could walk under a white umbrella. It meant: this one protects. Whoever stands under this shade is safe from the hot sun of their troubles. In the Chavithi puja, an umbrella is offered to him as one of his royal honours.

His weapons

Careful now. These are real weapons, but in Vinayaka's hands they don't hurt good people. They help them.

Most pictures show Vinayaka with four arms, and each hand holds something.

In one hand is the pasha, a noose of rope. His mother Parvati wove it for him, and it caught Mushikasura when no one else could. The noose pulls us close to what is good. It is the rope of love that ties a devotee to God.

In another hand is the ankusha, the hooked stick that mahouts use to guide elephants. His father Shiva gave it to him and said, "The mind is an elephant. Learn to guide it, and you can guide anything." When your mind wants to wander off during homework, that is when you need Vinayaka's ankusha.

In the third hand he often holds his broken tusk. Some pictures show an axe, the parashu, instead, for chopping away bad habits.

And the fourth hand? Sometimes it is raised with the palm facing you. That is the abhaya mudra, which means "Don't be afraid." And sometimes that hand is holding a modaka, a sweet dumpling. Can you guess why? Because at the end of every honest effort, there is something sweet waiting.

Did you know that the old books describe thirty-two different forms of Vinayaka? In some he holds a lotus, in some a sugarcane bow, a pot of jewels, a mango or a string of prayer beads. But the noose, the goad, the tusk and the sweet are the ones you will see most often.

His favourite food

Now for the most delicious part of the treasure chest.

There is no god in our stories who loves food as openly and happily as Vinayaka does. Let's make a list, and you can shout out the ones you have eaten.

Kudumulu, the soft steamed rice-flour dumplings. Undrallu, the little round balls of rice and chana dal. Modakas, shaped like tiny closed lotus buds, stuffed with coconut and jaggery. Laddus, every kind of laddu. Vadapappu, soaked moong dal, cool and crunchy. Panakam, the sweet drink of jaggery water with pepper and cardamom. Chalimidi, made of rice flour and jaggery. Payasam. Bananas, sugarcane, coconut, jamun fruit, wood apples and puffed rice.

But here is a secret. There is one thing Vinayaka loves even more than all of those. It costs nothing. It grows on every roadside and between the stones of every path. It is garika, the thin green durva grass.

Why grass? One old story says that Vinayaka once swallowed a fire demon called Analasura to save the world, and afterwards his tummy burned and burned. Nothing could cool it, not water, not sandal paste, not even the moon. Then some sages tied little bundles of durva grass and placed them on his head, and the burning stopped. He has loved garika ever since.

So remember: the humblest gift, given with love, is the one he likes best.

Did you know? On Vinayaka Chavithi he is worshipped with twenty-one kinds of leaves, and it is the one day of the year when even the tulasi leaf, which is otherwise never offered to him, is placed at his feet.

His pen

Now, here is the story I promised you. The story of the broken tusk.

Long, long ago, there lived a great sage named Veda Vyasa. Vyasa had a story in his head. Not a small story. The biggest story in the whole world. It was about two families of cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, and a great war, and Krishna himself was in it. It had thousands and thousands of verses. It was called the Mahabharata.

But Vyasa had a problem. The story was pouring out of him like a river in flood, and nobody could write fast enough to catch it. He prayed to Brahma, the Creator, and Brahma said, "There is only one who can write as fast as you can think. Ask Vinayaka."

So Vyasa went to Vinayaka and asked, "Will you be my scribe?"

Vinayaka's ears twitched. He loved stories. "I will," he said. "But I have one condition. Once I start writing, my pen must never stop. If you pause, even for one breath, I will put down my pen and go home."

Vyasa gulped. Thousands of verses without a single pause? But he was a clever sage. "I agree," he said. "And I have a condition too. You must not write a single line until you have understood exactly what it means."

Vinayaka grinned. "Agreed."

And off they went.

Vyasa recited. Vinayaka's pen flew across the palm leaves. Scratch, scratch, scratch. Day after day, verse after verse. Whenever Vyasa felt himself running out of breath or needing time to think, he would recite a really tricky verse, full of double meanings, like a riddle. And Vinayaka would have to stop and think, "Hmm, what does this mean?" And while Vinayaka was working it out, Vyasa quickly composed the next hundred verses in his head.

Were they ever going to finish? Would Vyasa pause? Would Vinayaka put down his pen?

And then, right in the middle of the story, with the words pouring out faster than ever, something went snap.

Vinayaka's pen had broken.

Vyasa froze. The scribe's condition was that his pen must never stop. Would this be the end of the Mahabharata?

But Vinayaka did not stop. He had made a promise. Without a moment's hesitation, he reached up, snapped off his own tusk, dipped the sharp end in the ink, and went right on writing.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

That is how he became Ekadanta. And that is why the Mahabharata is full of riddle-verses. And that is why Vinayaka is the special friend of every writer, every student and everyone who is learning their letters. When a child writes the very first letter on a slate, or someone opens a new notebook, or an author begins a story, they remember him first.

His job

Here is the most important thing in the treasure chest, and it isn't a thing at all. It is his job.

Vinayaka is called Vighneshwara, the Lord of Obstacles. An obstacle is anything that blocks your way: a fallen tree across the road, a problem you can't solve, a fear that stops you from starting.

People often think Vighneshwara only means "the one who removes obstacles." And he does! But the name really means he is the ruler of obstacles. So if we set out on a path that would hurt us, he can put a stone in our way to stop us. And when we set out with a good heart, he rolls the stones away.

That is why nothing begins without him. Not a wedding, not a new house, not a journey, not a shop's first day, not a book, not even the worship of any other god. He comes first. Always. Just as Gajasura wished, and just as Shiva promised.

Many prayers begin with his verse. Maybe you know it already:

"Shuklambaradharam Vishnum, shashivarnam chaturbhujam, prasanna vadanam dhyayet, sarva vighnopashantaye."

It means: think of the one dressed in white, bright as the moon, with four arms and a happy face, so that every obstacle may be calmed.

He is also Ganapati, the leader of the ganas, the wild, loyal army of Shiva. Remember how he won that title by walking around his parents? Every gana on Kailasa, Bhringi who dances and Kumbhodara who eats almost as much as Vinayaka does, all of them answer to him.

And he is Vinayaka, which means the one who has no leader above him.

His sixteen names

In the Chavithi puja, his sixteen names are said one by one. Let's say them together, slowly, like counting beads.

Sumukha, the one with the lovely face.

Ekadanta, the one with one tusk.

Kapila, the golden-brown one.

Gajakarnaka, the one with elephant ears.

Lambodara, the one with the big tummy.

Vikata, the one who is wonderfully different.

Vighnaraja, king of obstacles.

Ganadhipa, lord of the ganas.

Dhumaketu, whose flag is like smoke.

Ganadhyaksha, leader of the hosts.

Bhalachandra, who wears the moon on his forehead.

Gajanana, the elephant-faced.

Vakratunda, with the curving trunk.

Shurpakarna, with ears like winnowing baskets.

Heramba, protector of the weak.

Skandapurvaja, big brother of Skanda, our Kumaraswamy.

Did you catch the strange one? Look again. Bhalachandra. The one who wears the moon on his forehead.

The last treasure

This is the very bottom of the chest, and it is the loveliest thing of all.

Remember Chandra, the proud moon, who laughed at a little boy who had eaten too much? Remember how Parvati cursed him, and the whole world turned its face away from him, and he learned how it feels to be laughed at and blamed?

It is said that after the moon was truly sorry, Vinayaka forgave him completely. And he did more than forgive. He called Chandra down from his father's hair and let him rest, for a while, on his own forehead, like a shining ornament.

Think about that. The one who laughed at him, and he wears him like a jewel.

That is who Vinayaka is.

He is the round little god who comes first. He guards the door. He listens to everything with his enormous ears. He breaks his own tusk rather than break a promise. He rides a mouse and shades us under his umbrella. He eats our sweets and forgives our silliness, and even forgives the ones who laughed at him. And all he really asks for is a blade of grass and a true heart.

Close the treasure chest now. Put a few grains of akshatas on your head. Keep your eyes away from the moon tonight.

And whatever you begin tomorrow, your homework, your drawing, your first day somewhere new, remember him first, and may your path be clear.

Jai Ganesha. Ganapati Bappa Morya.