This, 200 to 250 years old bronze
statue of Lord Ganesh with its trunk turned rightward, is considered to
be of special type.
Generally, Lord Ganesh has two, four, six or ten arms. The bronze
image in this museum is ten-armed. It is a pretty image of Ganesh and
belongs to South India and it has a crown of three projections (trikoot-rnukut).
He is shown as holding in the hands on the right from below upwards, a
sweet-ball, mace, bow, trident and disc, respectively. Whereas on the
left, from the above downwards, are seen lotus-bud, noose, goad, arrow
and the remaining hand is in 'Abhay Mudra' i.e. gesture of assurance. On
the left lap of Ganesh, who is resting on a lotus pedestal, 'Shakti' is
shown seated, and the vehicle mouse is holding a 'Modak' (Sweet-ball) in
his front paws or legs.
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Lord Shri Ganesh who is worshipped at the outset on each important
occasion, is one of the five principal divinities. Ganesh, the most
popular deity, is considered to be the destroyer of impediments. He is
the son of Shiva and Parvati. In the ancient literature, Ganesh is the
God of Ghosts (Bhootas) and was connected with the ancient cult of
Yakshas. Like a Yaksha (a demi-god), Ganesh is the protector of
Goddesses and he guards the entrance of Shiva's abode. Generally, on the
main entrances of the Hindu houses, an icon of Ganesh is still
placed.
Lord Ganesh, described as above in Yajurveda and Smruti, is believed
to be the God of workers, potters, charioteers and hunters. In the 6th
century, Vara- harnihir described the icon of Ganesh as having elephant
head, two hands, a single tusk, pot-bellied, with bent face (Vakratunda)
and whose vehicle is the mouse. Representation of such icon is found in
different medium like paper, stone, wood, metal and terra-cotta.
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