Dancing Ganesh

Dancing Ganesh

Prathihara Dynasty, 10th Century AD


          With an ancient ancestry,  with deep philosophical symbolism, with a wide range of devotees internationally, Lord Ganesh blesses us all. Seals of Indus Valley Civilisation have a man - elephant  image. But as a god Lord Ganesh appears for the first time in the Deccan in post - Gupta period. Initially he is associated with crops and harvest, especially of sugar cane. He continues to be most popular in the sugarcane growing areas. Subsequently,  he is transformed into god of wisdom.
Since Elephants have the best memory in the animal world, the elephant is seen as a symbol of wisdom. The large ears symbolise the ability to hear well; the trunk, the flexibility of the mind to pick up the slightest things; the half broken tusk, the ability to write; the pot belly, the ability to digest knowledge; the snake, the ever changing, rejuvenating life; the dancing Ganesh, the permanence and the ever changing nature of the universe. Dance is full of motion and rhythm --life is full of turns and twists. Rhythm--the sense of Time. The Lord represents our lives, our experiences, our world, our universe.
           Lord Ganesh is not just confined to India, but is also worshipped in Indo-China, in Tibet, in Java, Sumatra, Bali and even in Japan.
          He has been depicted from the most profane to the most sacred images: from riding bicycles and sitting on a rocking chair or playing cricket to the most abstract images in rocks to elaborately carved statues of Hoysala temples.
         He continues to dance in our mind, heart and soul.