To immerse or to consecrate

Normally Ganesha is immersed in water and more so if it is installed in public. Very few would are to keep the Ganesha back and Ganesha Visarjane is part of  a ritual.

Very rarely do the police or for that matter any other agency interfere in the Visarjane. The police do provide escort and security and also clear the road if the Ganesha procession is huge as in the case of Mumbai.

But, hold on. There is a locality in a city where the police are insisting that the organisers of a Ganesha which was placed in public do not immerse the idol.  The reason: They feel the Ganesha will be fished out of water by thieves and they do not want to set off a communal riot over the issue.

But wait. Why would a Ganesha be stolen unless it is an antique, priceless or valuable. This Ganesha does not satisfy the first two words. However, it is valuable as it is made of pure silver and it is worth more than Rs. 20 lakhs.

While the residents and organizers want to immerse the silver Ganesh, the police are dead against it. You see, they are scared that thieves will dive into the water, fish out the Ganesha and either melt it or sell it as it is. This, the police feel, could set off a riot and lead to a communal conflagration.

The police have, therefore, advised the organizers not to immerse the Ganesha. On their part, the residents and organizers are form on immersion. They say the Ganesha festival would come to a logical end only after the idol is immersed in water amid Vedic chants.

The “for and against” lobby is tearing the suburb of Pulianthope in Channai apart and giving sleepless nights to one and all. The police are asking residents of  Pulianthope to consecrate the Ganesha in a temple. The residents and organisers say they will row ten kilometers into the sea and then immerse the Ganesha.

The police remain unconvinced about the safety of the Ganesha after its immersion. They are sure that thieves will have a go at it. Having classified the suburb as communally sensitive, they are loathe to allow the immersion.

Their argument is that the area often sees violence and murders and till August this year, Pulianthope recorded some 30 murders and this half of all murders in Chennai.

Pointing to this disturbing trend, the police say the Ganesha issue may snowball anytime into a law and order issue. As of now, three policemen guard the silver idol on display at the Prakash Rao Colony.

The  Ganesha idol is made of 19 kilograms of silver with experts from Mysore and Udaipur designing and sculpting it. The residents of the colony decided to go in for a silver Ganesha to mark the 25th year of having these idols on public display.

By the way, Chennai, this year, has seen installation of more than 1,700 Ganesha idols on public display. Of them 165 are in Pulianthope police district.

Apart from the Ganesha row, Pulianthope is also known for another strange phenomenon. This unexplained phenomenon occurs on the narrow lane of Jafferkhan Street when life comes to a standstill after 7-30 p.m.

This is so as bricks starts falling on the houses after this hour and they continue well  past midnight.

Nobody known who throws the bricks or why. All they know is that this strange incident is confined only to this lane and it starts after 7-30 p.m. The bricks fall on four to five homes only. The police are sure that it is the handiwork of miscreants but the residents are not fully convinced. How can anyone throw bricks on roofs of two storied houses, they ask.

  

The man who started Ganeshotsava

Ganesha Chaturthi was always a family affair and the festival goes back to the times of the Guptas when the first temple to Ganesha was built.

In Karnataka, the Ganesha festival is mentioned in the records of the Sathavahanas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas. Later, Ganesha figures during the Hoysala, Vijayanagar and Wodeyar periods.

However, the first public function relating to Ganesha in today’s Karnataka was in Belgaum when Balagangadhar Tilak visited the City and inspired the first Ganesha Mandal to be set up.

Today, Ganesha is as much a public figure as he is private and the credit for making this festival a public function goes to Balagangadhar Tilak, the freedom fighter from Maharashtra.

Tilak wanted an event to unify the people of India and he found this in the Ganapathy festival. He organised the first public Ganesha function in Pune, Maharashtra.

The festival first started out as a family affair. There were no public functions. However, the festival took on a royal hue when the Peshwas came to power in Pune in the eighteenth century. With Ganapathy being the family deity of the Peshwas, the celebrations were grand and it would commence on the first day of  Bhadrapada and they would continue for ten days. The festival ended on Anant Chaturdashi with the immersion of the Ganapathy idol in water.

The last of the Ganesha festivals celebrated by the Peshwa was in  1815 when Bajirao II was in power. When the Peshwa rule ended in 1818,  the Peshwa flag came down from Shaniwar wada, the palace of Peshwas in Pune and up fluttered the Union Jack of England.

Among the valuables the British took away from the Wada was a ruby eyed Ganesha made in pure gold and the idol was studded with diamonds and rubies. It was reportedly valued at £ 50000 in those days. From 1818 to 1892, Ganesha festival remained a family affair in Maharashtra and other parts of India.

Tilak in 1892 saw that the public function could easily unify people. The 1893 Hindu-Muslim riots at Pune and Mumbai further added to his resolve to make the Ganesha pooja a secular affair. Thus, the first public celebration of Ganesha was in Pune and at the Keshav Naik Chawl in Bombay in 1893.

He also set up the Thambdi Jogeshwari Ganapathy Pandal in Pune. This mandal exists even today and celebrates Ganeshotatsava. But it was at the Kesariwada pandal set up by Tilak established in 1893 that saw Ganesha festival turning into a socio-political movement.

After commencing the Sarvajanik mandals for Ganesha in Pune, Tilak came down  to Belgaum in Karnataka in 1905 where he asked the people to come on a common platform and celebrate Ganesha festival. This is how the Zenda Chowk Ganesh Utsav Mandal was formed and today it is 107 years old and still going strong.

There is another legend about why and how Lokmanya Tilak hit upon the idea of starting Ganesha festival in public. People of Girgaum in Mumbai say Tilak was worried about how India could attain freedom and how he could unify people.

He used to sit at bank of Girgaum Chowpaty and make idols. Many people stopped by to see the idols. This gave him the idea of gathering people to watch a statue or idol placed in a public place and which better deity than Ganesha. This is how Tilak started the tradition of Sarvajanik Ganesha Utsav by making clay idols.

Even today, Chowpathy sees huge Ganeshas being taken to the Arabian Sea for immersion.

Today, we see thousands of Ganesha mandals all over the country but except in Maharashtra, none even care to acknowledge the role of Tilak in starting them.

In Bangalore and elsewhere, the Ganesha celebrations in public continue long after the festival is over. Loud filmi music, extravagantly designed pandals and a cacophony of garish colours and designs form the background of many mandals.

Mumbai today sees some of the most elaborate celebrations and the Ganesha idols are huge and the celebrations are hugely popular.

The Lalbaugcha Raja in central Mumbai is the biggest draw and crores of people visit this pandal. Although the idol is situated in the cramped fish market and it remains the same each year, devotees flock here to seek boons from the wish-fulfilling deity. Over the years, offerings in gold and silver to this Ganapathy have increased in direct proportion to high-profile celebrity visits and constant media coverage. Last year celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Sonu Nigam, Shilpa Shetty, Isha Koppikar and Shankar Mahadevan visited Lalbaugcha Raja to offer their prayers to lord Ganesha.

Compared to Mumbai, the pandals in Pune are generally more orthodox and they still adhere to Tilak’s principles. Want to have a look.

Check out Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore and see how diverse the celebrations are at each of the city.  

The West Coast of Ganesha

If we can count, and let me tell you that this is a herculean task though not impossible, the number of temple in India the maximum of such structure would probably be dedicated to Ganesha, Anjaneya and Rama.

Strangely, Ganesha seems to have caught the fancy of millions of people, including children, who adore Ganesha. He is one of the few gods along with Rama and Krishna whose stories have been told in books, cartoons and in serials on television.

Ganesha is so common that he is present in almost every town and city of India. He is worshipped by all sects and sub sects of Hindus and he is called by different names in different states.

In Karnataka and most of south India, he is known as Ganapathy or Ganesha and one of the most famous temples dedicated to this elephant god is in Idagunji and several other temples nearby. If Pune has the Asta Vinayak circuit (eight temples near Pune each of which represent a particular character and trait of Ganesha), this stretch too has its own Ganesha temples which can be seen in a day.  

The West Coast of India in this area is also popularly called the Ganesha Coast.

The coastline stretching from Kasargod to Gokarna is where these six temples are built. Since the residents of  the Western seaboard are ardent devotees of Ganesha, they visit all the six shrines in a day, which they say is an auspicious event.

No wonder, these six temple appear crowded all year around. The six temples are:  Madhur Mahaganapathy temple near Kasargod, Sharavu Mahaganapathy in Mangalore, Mahaganapathy at Kumbhashi or Ane Gudde, Siddi Vinayaka Hattiangadi at Kundapura, Dwibhuja Ganapathy at Idagunji and the Ganapaty at Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district.

Each of the six Ganapathy has its own legend to narrate and its own story to relate. Locals say if anybody visits all these temples in day between dawn and dusk along with his family, he will receive special blessings of the elephant god.  

It is for this reason that this stretch of beautiful coastline is also know as Ganesha Coast. In reality, it is Parashurama Kshetra or the land that was reclaimed by Lord Parashurama from the sea. The natural beauty of the coast, the magnificent Arabian sea, the calm looking Ganesha at these six places all present a wonderous sight.  The locals believe that it is Ganesha who is protecting this stretch of coast from natural calamities.

Incidentally, this faith is not misplaced. References to this coast can also found in the Ramayana (Threta Yuga). It is on this coast that Ganesha deceived Ravana, into placing the Atmalingam here itself instead of carrying it to Lanka.

If  Ravana had manage to carry the linga to Lanka, then he would become invincible and more powerful than all the gods put together. When Ganesha foiled Ravana in his mission, the enraged Asura hits him on the head.  

Even today the head of the Ganesha idol consecrated in the Mahaganapathi temple at Gokarna has a soft point, This is the place where Ravana hit Ganesha, says our puranas. Here, devotees can themselves perform abhisheka to Ganesha. Moreover, devotees are allowed to touch the God and also make his own offerings.  The distance between the Ganapathyu temple in Madhur and Gokarna is 270 kilometres and the road traverses across eleven  rivers including the Chandragiri and Sharavathi. The darshan of all the six Ganeshas can be accomplished in seven hours.

Madhur is just five kilometers from Kasargod, while Sharavu is in  Mangalore city. The town of Kumbhashi is just 500 metres from National Highway 17 and Hattiangadi is eight kms from NH 17. Idagunji is seven kilometres from NH 17 and Gokarna temple is about 10 km from the highway.

Devotees can start their journey early in the morning from Madhur where the temple opens at 5 a.m. Since the temple office opens only at 7-30 a.m., you may have to wait to perform seves. The next stop could be Mangalore and then Kumbhashi which is about 78 kms from Mangalore.

Kumbhashi to Hattiangadi is about 20 km and Hattiangadi to Idagunji is about 45 km.

The place where Mahabharata was written

This is the very place where one of the greatest epics of the world came to be written. It is also the place where there is a famous temple dedicated to Saraswathi, the Goddess of Learning and Music.

Locals say this is also the place where the Ramayana came to be written. They quote cantos from the Brahmanda Purana to buttress their point that Valmiki lived here and wrote his Ramayana.

The Mahabharata came to be dictated to Lord Ganesha by Veda Vyasa. The entire dictation took place in a cave and that structure still exists today.

The cave and the Gyana Saraswathi Temple are situated in Basara or Basar which is a small town near Nizamabad in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. Basar is 201 kms from Hyderabad and it is well connected by both rail and road. The holy river of  Godavari flows near the town.

It is famous for being home to one of the six major shrines of Saraswathi in India.

The construction of the temple is ascribed to the sixth century by a King from Karnataka, Bijjala who had Nanded as his capital. Bijjala is supposed to have ruled over Nandagiri area.

The temple was subsequently repaired and renovated by the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas.

The temple is located in the Kumarachala hill ranges and the main deity is Saraswathi. There are deities to Lakshmi and Kali and Pathaleshwar and Papahareshwar.

The temple is unique in the sense that it does not have nay carvings. There is an interesting story behind the origin of the three idols of Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Kali. Veda Vyasa used to take bath at the Godavari nearby and meditate. After his bath, he used to take a fistful of sand from the river bed and place them at three places. With his mantra shakti, the three sand heaps transformed into the Goddesses of Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Kali.    

Behind the temple there is a hillock with few steps, which leads to a hill with several pillars. This structure almost resembles a cave which was believed to be the place where Veda Vyasa meditated.

According to legends, Veda Vyasa came here after the end of the Kurukshetra war with his disciples, including Shuka.

He meditated at the cave and sought the blessings of Saraswathi. Hence, the name Kumarachala. It is at this very place he sat down with Ganesha as his scribe and dictated the Mahabharata without a break.

There is an idol of Valmiki near the cave This, the locals say, is the pot where he wrote Ramayana. There is also a Samadhi believed to be that of Valmiki.

Children are brought here before they go to school for the Akshara Abhyasa. Thousands of devotees  descend on the town here during  Maha Shivaratri, Dassera  and Vasantha Panchami . Dvottes eat the turmeric paste which is applied to the deity of Saraswathi in the belief that it would enhance their mental prowess and give them more knowledge and wisdom.

The Vedavathi Sila, the Ashta Theertha are other places of interest nearby.

Accommodation is available at the temple itself. Pooja to Saraswathi commences at 4 a,m.

The name Basara is a corrupted form of the original word Vasara. The name Vasara originated from Vyasa.  Over the years,Vasara became Basara

The Ganesha that the Gods worship

Did you that the Holy Trinity of the Hindus, or the Triumvirate-Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara-together installed a God in India and that place is in Karnataka.

This is also the God that Rama worshipped before taking on Ravana and Krishna worshipped to get himself rid of the curse of Samyantaka Mani.

The place is Kurudumale and the temple here is dedicated to Ganesha. Kurudumale is in Kolar district and it is situated in Mulabagailu taluk. It is 12 kms from Mulabagilu and 110 kms from Bangalore.

Kurudumale is well known for the Saligrama Ganesha idol. This is one of the biggest Ganesha idols of its kind. It is 13.5 feet in height. This makes it much bigger than the Ganesha idol on Bull Temple Road in Bangalore.

The legend of this temple goes back to the Krita or Satya Yuga, which is the first of the four yugas. Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara built the temple so that the demon Tripurasura could be killed.

Tripurasura was a demon and he had become very powerful thanks to a  boon. He could only be killed by a person who gets married but also lives a life of a celibate.

The demon  soon became vain and began harassing people, sages and even gods. He lived a well-fortified forest and none dare take him on,  The Gods too did not know what to do, Tripurasura was becoming more and more powerful.

The Gods then got together and made Shakthi. They gave Shakthi in marriage to Ganesha. Shakti then transformed herself into weapons that Ganesha could use.

The weapons that Shakti herself transformed into can be seen in the idol here. Ganesha then takes on Tripurasara and kills him with

Shakti. Tired after the duel with the demon, Ganesh comes here and takes rest.

During the Ramayana period, Hanuman who could be forgetful, came here and prayed to Ganesha.

On Ganesha Chaturdashi and other festive occasions, more than 1,000 kgs of butter is needed to cover the statue.     

In earlier days, the idol was better known as Kotadri and the hill on which this idol is situated was Kotamale. This word  came to be corrupted to Kurudumale.

Infact this place is so holy that locals say that Gods and goddesses come here and worship the idol. Kaundanya Rishi too comes every midnight and worships the Ganesha.

The Vijayanagar Emperor Krishna Deveraya built the temple for Ganesha. It is said that Ganesha himself appeared in his dreams and asked to construct a temple. Krishna Deveraya also built the temple courtyard.

A little away from the Ganesha temple is a temple dedicated to Shiva. This is much older than the Ganesha Temple and it is known as the Someshwara temple.

The temple is believed to have been repaired by the Cholas. It is built without any foundation. Architecturally, this temple is unique as half the structure is built by Jakanacharya while the other half is by his son Dankanacharya.

This Ganesha is said to be very powerful. Whatever you wish for will come true, or so the saying goes,

By the way, our texts tell us that Kurudumale is the place where the Gods come from heaven to spend some time, Why don’t  you tare some tome off and visit the temple.