-:Eight Incarnations of Lord Ganesha:-
The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of
Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana,
Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation
as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata,
and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses
a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses
a horse, and Gajananauses a mouse, in the four
incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions
of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or
peacock.
Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat Martin-Dubost
says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of
Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always
placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written
sources in the Matsya Purana and later in
the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana,
where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last
incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation
verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The
names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner)
appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.
The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes,
"Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do
so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as
desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says
it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less
selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops.
The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the
root mūṣ(stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as
a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed
to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat
demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of
Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village
deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view
that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even
the most secret places....
Dancing Ganesha
sculpture from North Bengal, 11th century CE, Asian Art Museum of Berlin (Dahlem)
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