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*The various avatars of Ganesha*

The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana (A.D. 1100–1400) are upapuranas that include many stories and ritualistic elements relating to Ganesha. They are the core scriptures for devotees following Ganapathyam, an independent religious school dedicated to the worship of Ganesha as the preeminent deity considering Him to be the qualified (saguṇa) form of the ultimate unqualified (nirguṇa) Brahman. These Puranas are pervaded with this concept and interpret well-known Puranic stories in new ways to emphasize the importance of Ganesha and to explain his relationships with other divinities.
*Ganesha Purana:*
The Ganesha Purana is divided into two sections. The Upasanakhanda or “section on devotion” has 92 chapters, and the Kridakhanda or “section on the divine play” has 155 chapters. The Kridakhanda also includes the Ganesha Gita, which is modelled on the Bhagavad Gita, but adapted to place Ganesha in the divine role. The discourse is given to King Varenya during Ganesha’s incarnation as Gajanana.
A critical examination of the Ganesha Gita shows that ninety percent of its stanzas are, with slight modifications, taken from the Bhagavad Gita. Their topics are the same: karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga. However, Ganesha replaces Krishna in the divine role. Like Krishna, whenever there is an increase of unrighteousness (adharma) and decline of righteousness (dharma), he takes birth to protect the good and destroy the wicked.
*The four avatars of Ganesha*
The Kridakhanda of the Ganesha Purana narrates the stories of four avatars of Ganesha, each of which appeared in the four different yugas.
*Mahotkata Vinayaka*, who has ten arms and a red complexion was born to Kashyapa and Aditi in the Krita yuga. Different sources list his vāhana as either an elephant or lion. This incarnation killed the demon brothers Narantaka and Devantaka , as well as the demon Dhumraksha.
*Mayuresvara*, who has six arms and a white complexion was born to Shiva and Parvati in the Treta yuga. His avatara was for the purpose of killing the demon Sindhu. At the end of this avatara he gave his peacock vahana to his younger brother Skanda,
*Gajanana*, who has four arms and was born with a red complexion has a mouse as his vahana. He is born to Shiva and Parvati in the Dvapara yuga for the purpose of killing the demon Sindura.
*Dhumraketu* (grey in colour, like ash or smoke, dhūmra) has either two or four arms. He has a blue horse as his vahana and He will come to end the decline of the Kali yuga.
*Mudgala Purana : Eight avatars*
Ganesha’s first avatara is of *Vakratunda* (twisted trunk) an embodiment of the Absolute Impersonal aspect of Godhood called Brahman in the form of Ganesha. He defeated a demon called Matsaryasura, which means envy or jealousy. His vahana is a lion. Thus symbolically, Vakratunda is the god who destroys and overcomes the destructive power of jealousy. The next incarnation was in the form of *Ekadanta* (single tusked) who defeated Madasura, the demon of drunkenness. This broken tusk was used by him to write the epic, Mahabharata.
The third incarnation was of *Mahodara* who vanquished Mohasura, the demon of Delusion and Confusion. Once again the mouse was the vahana of Ganesha.
The avatar of *Gajanana* defeated the demon Lobhasura (greed or covetousness). As *Lambhodara*, the Essence of Sattva, he defeats Krodhasura (anger). His vahana is a mouse.
His next incarnation was of *Vikata*(“The mis-shapen”), who subdued Kamasura, the demon of desire.. Interestingly, Ganesha traded in his mouse to ride a peacock in this manifestation..
The 7th incarnation of Ganesha, *Vighnaraja* had a very unusual mode of conveyance – a Sheshnaag . In this lifetime Ganesha managed to subdue the demon Mamasur (also known as Mamtasura or Mama), the demon of the ego.
As *Dhoomravarna*, Ganesha’s life mission this time around was to defeat the demon Ahamkarasura, the demon of ego and self-infatuation.
A less known manifestation is that of Vinâyakî the feminine form of Lord Ganesh with an elephant head and the body of a female. She is commonly believed to represent the Shakti of Ganesha, or the creativeness of the god. This female form is also believed to symbolise the duality of nature. The Matsya Purana mentions Vinayaki as one of the two hundred celestial mothers created by Lord Shiva to kill a very dangerous demon called Andhaka.
These avatars can be understood to symbolize abstract qualities which triumph over personifications of evil and weakness. The Puranas explicitly state that the stories are to be meditated upon for their inner meaning, which will be revealed according to the inner development of each individual and are not meant to be understood as literal narratives.
Let us welcome Ganesha to come into our lives and remove all our negative thoughts and qualities of envy, hatred, confusion ,anger , greed and ego . There is no better time than today to renew and strengthen our bond with Him.

*Vighnarajam Bhaje*