गणेश: (Ganesha)

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सुर्यकोटि समप्रभ |

निर्विघ्नम् कुरुमेदेव सर्व कार्येषु सर्वदा ||

vakratunda mahAkAya suryakOTi samaprabha |

nirvighnam kurumEdEva sarva kAryEshu sarvadA ||

(हे) देव, (हे) वक्रतुण्ड, (हे) महाकाय, (हे) सुर्यकोटि समप्रभ, सर्व कार्येषु सर्वदा निर्विघ्नम् मे कुरु

देव (dEva) - God; वक्र (vakra) - bent; तुण्ड (tunda) - trunk; महा (mahA) - big; काय (kAya) - body; सुर्य (sUrya) - sun; कोटि (kOti) - ten million; सम (sama) - equal to; प्रभ (prabha) - brilliance; सर्व (sarva) - all; कार्येषु (kAryEshu) - in the work; सर्वदा (sarvadA) - all the time; निर्विघ्नम् (nirvighnam) - without obstacles; मे (mE) - for me; कुरु (kuru) - do

Oh deva (Ganesha), who is in the form of an elephant (big body and benkt trunk), and one who shines brilliantly as millions of suns put together, please allow activities that I undertake at all times to be uninterrupted (without obstacles) for me.

• What action is being asked in this shlOka?

  • kuru: (You) do

• You do what?

  • nirvighnam kuru: Remove obstacles

• Remove obstacles for whom?

  • nirvighnam me kuru: Remove obstacles for me

• Remove obstacles for you when?

  • saravadA nirvighnam me kuru: Remove obstacles for me all the time

• Remove obstacles for you when doing what?

  • sarva kAryEshu sarvadA nirvighnam kuru: Remove obstacles for me all the time in all actions that I perform

• Who are you asking this?

  • deva: God

• What kind of God?

  • vakratunda: God who has a bent trunk

  • mahAkAya: God has a big body (elephant)

  • suryakoti samaprabha deva: God who shines brilliant like a million suns put together`

गजाननं भूतगणादि सेवितम् कपित्थजम्बू फलसारभक्षितम् |

उमासुतं शोकविनाशकारणं नमामि विघ्नेश्वर पादपङ्कजम् ||

gajAnanam bhUtagaNAdi sEvitam kapittha jambU phalasAra bhakshitam |

umAsutam shOkavinAsha kAraNam namAmi vighnEshwara pAda pankajam ||

गजाननं भूतगणादिसेवितं कपित्थजम्बूफलसारभक्षितम् उमासुतं शोकविनाशकारणं विघ्नेश्वरपादपङ्कजं नमामि

गजाननं (gajAnanam) - to the one who has the face of an elephant; भूतगणादिसेवितं (bhUta-gaNa-Adi-sEvitam) - to the one who is worshipped by the attendants of Shiva (bhUtagaNas - collection of beings) and all others; कपित्थजम्बूफलसारभक्षितम् (kapittha-jambU-phala-sAra-bhakshitam) - one who consumes the essence of the kapittha (wood apple) and jambU (wax apple / java apple) fruits; उमासुतं (umA-sutam) - to the son of umA or pArvatI; शोकविनाशकारणं (shOka-vinAsha-kAraNam) - to the one who is the cause of destruction of sorrows; विघ्नेश्वरपादपङ्कजं (vighnEshwara-pAda-pankajam) - to the lotus-like feet of vighnEshwara; नमामि (namAmi) - I worship (I offer namaskArams)

I offer namaskArams to the lotus feet of vighnEshvara, to the one with the face of an elephant, to the one who is worshipped by bhutagaNas and all others, to the one who consumes the essence of the kapittha and jambU fruits, to the one who is the son of umA, and to the one who is the cause of the destruction of sorrows.

• What action is being asked in this shlOka?

  • namAmi: I offer my prayers

• I offer prayers to who?

  • gajAnanam: To the one who has the face of an elephantt

  • bhUtagaNAdi sevitam: To the one who is worshipped by the bhUtagaNas and all others

  • kapittha jambu phala sAra bhakshitam: To the one who consumes / relishes the essence of the kapittha (wood apple) and jambu (wax apple / Java apple) fruits

  • umAsutam: To the one who is the son of umA

  • shOkavinAshakAraNam: To the one who is the cause of the destruction of sorrows

  • vighnEshwarapAdapankajam: To the lotus-like feet of vighnEshwara

Now, one might ask the question - why are two specific fruits singled out in this shlOka among all other offerings to ganesha?

One interesting explanation has been offered by a Dr. Jayashree Saranathan, who postulates that these trees are indicators of the presence of water resources at a location and over time, the image / idol of ganesha was established near such water resources to preserve and protect them for future generations.

The kapittha and jambu fruits are also purported to have medicinal benefits per ayurveda texts - primarily having anti-toxic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic qualities. India is also referred to as jambudvIpa in texts - meaning the land where jambu trees are abundant.

गजाननं चन्द्रसमानवर्णं स्वदन्तपाशाङ्कुश लद्दुकानि |

हस्तैर् दधानं कमलासनस्थं विघ्नेश्वरं नौमिसदाप्रसन्नं ||

gajAnanam chandrasamAnavarNam svadanta pAshAnkusha laddukAni

hastair dadhAnam kamalAsanastham vighneshwaram naumisadAprasannam

(अहं) गजाननम् चन्द्रसमनवर्णं स्वदन्त-पाशाङ्कुश-लद्दुकानि-हस्तैः-दधानं कमलासनस्थं विघ्नेश्वरं नौमि

गजाननं (gajAnanam) - one who has the face of an elephant; चन्द्रसमनवर्णं (chandra-samAna-varNam) - one whose complexion is similar to that of the moon; स्वदन्त-पाशं-अङ्कुशं-लद्दुकानि-दधानं (svadanta-pAsham-ankusham-laddukAni-hastaiH-dadhAnam) - one who holds his tusk (for writing Mahabharata), net / noose, hook, and sweets (laddus) in his hands; कमलासनस्थं (kamalAsanastham) - one who has a lotus as his throne / seat; विघ्नेश्वरं (vighneshwaram) - one who controls all obstacles (and thus, is capable of removing them); नौमि (naumi) - I worship.

I worship the one who has the face of an elephant, whose complexion is similar to that of the moon, one who holds his tusk, a net, a hook, and sweets in his hands, one who sits on a lotus seat, and one who removes obstacles.

• What action is being asked in this shlOka?

  • naumi: I worship

• I worship who?

  • gajAnanam: One who has the face of an elephantt

  • chandra-samAna-varNam: One whose complexion is bright as the moon

  • svadanta-pAsham-ankusham-laddukAni-hastaiH-dadhAnam: One who holds his tusk, a net, a hook, and sweets in his (four) hands

  • kamalAsanastham: One who sits on a lotus seat

  • vighna-Ishwaram: One who controls (and thereby, is capable of removing) all obstacles

In this slOka, there are four objects depicted in the hands of vighnEshwara. Why the four specifically?

1. sva-danta: One's own teeth / tusk. This signifies that ganEsha was the scribe of the mahAbhArata which in turn, embodies the essence of dharma. Here, it symbolizes knowledge.

2. pAsham: Net. This represents the bondage a person has with the material world. Here, it symbolizes that ganEsha is capable of freeing those who worship him from the bondage of the material world and provide mOksha.

3. ankusha: Hook. Like how a hook guides the elephant in the right path, Ganesha guides his devotees in the right direction, away from obstacles.

4. laddukAni: Many laddus (sweets). This represents prosperity.