Ganapati ( गणपति gaṇapati), a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaṇas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation.
The word gaṇa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaṇas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva, Ganesha's father. The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana ( gaṇa), meaning a 'group, multitude, or categorical system' and isha ( īśa), meaning 'lord or master'. The Hindu title of respect Shri ( Sanskrit: श्री IAST: śrī also spelled Sri or Shree) is often added before his name. Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati ( Ganpati), Vighneshvara, and Pillaiyar. Ganesha, Gupta Period (4th-6th century CE), Art of Mathura. Brahma Purana and Brahmanda Purana are other two Puranic genre encyclopaedic texts that deal with Ganesha.
The principal texts on Ganesha include the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana and the Ganapati Atharvasirsha. In the Ganapatya tradition of Hinduism, Ganesha is the supreme deity. Hindu mythology identifies him as the restored son of Parvati and Shiva of the Shaivism tradition, but he is a pan-Hindu god found in its various traditions. Most certainly by the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta period, Ganesha was well established and had inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits.Īn elephant–headed anthropomorphic figure on Indo-Greek coins from the 1st century BCE has been proposed by some scholars to be "incipient Ganesha", while others have suggested Ganesha may have been an emerging deity in India and southeast Asia around the 2nd century CE based on the evidence from archaeological excavations in Mathura and outside India. Ganesha is also invoked as a patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rites and ceremonies. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. Īlthough Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. His image is found throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia ( Java and Bali), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago. Ganesha ( Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa), also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.