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gbn0404281826: Frederic Shoberl, Hindoostan. Kavan Ratnatunga . 1822p. 4/29/2004. ok.

Sheeva had several sons: the first and most powerful is Ganesa, the god of wisdom, and who also presides over marriage. His statues, like those of the god Terminus, are placed by the side of roads and on the boundaries of townships and villages. He is adored, like Pan, under trees and in woods and on the coast of Coromandel he is the object of a particular worship, under the name of Polear. At Chinsura, divine honours are paid to the incarnation of Ganesa, under the figure of the god of that country ; and he is universally venerated throughout India.

When a person proposes to build a house or any other edifice, the first thing he does is to sanctify the spot, by strewing cow-dung and ashes over it; and in the next place he never fails to erect upon it a statue of Ganesa. In short, the god of wisdom is the most popular of all the deities of India, and has the nearest resemblance to the Lares, or household gods, of the ancients. Hanooman shares this attribute with him among the lower classes of the Hindoos. Like the Janus of the Romans, Ganesa bas two faces and sometimes four to indicate that nothing escapes prudence, and that it view at once the past, the present, and the future. The pious Hindoos begin all sacrifices, religious ceremonies, and prayers, not excepting such as are addressed to the superior divinities, and all business of any importance, with an invocation to Ganesa. There are few books to which are not prefixed the words, Hail Ganesa !

One of the attributes of Ganesa, that of patron of literature he has in common with the Appolo of the Greeks, though Krishna, one of the awatars, or incarnations of Vishnu, of which we shall treat presently bears a closer resemblance to the god of Delphi. Ganesa is depicted with a body of prodigious size, an elephant's head, commonly with four hands, and sometimes, as we have observed, with four faces. The animal which accompanies him is usually the rat, the emblem of foresight. The following story is related concerning it.

This rat was a giant, called Guedyemonga-Churin, on whom the gods had conferred immortality ; but he abused his power, and did much mischief to mankind, who implored the protection of Ganesa. The latter, pulling out one of his tusks, threw it with such force at Guedyemonga-Churin, that the tooth entered his stomach and overthrew him. The. giant instantly transformed himself into a rat as large as a mountain, and ran up to attack Ganesa, who leaped upon his back, saying: ``Thou shalt henceforth carry me.''

Ganesa is frequently seen with Sheeva and Parvati in the groves of Kailassa, where it is his employment to fan them with a chamara, or fan made of feathers, while Nareda plays on the vina (lyre) which is accompanied by the celestial choirs.

The Hindoos, when they adore Ganesa by the name of Polear, cross their arms, and strike themselves several blows with their closed fists on the temples ; then, still keeping their arms crossed, they lay hold of their ears and make three inclinations by bending the knee: after which they clasp their hands, strike their foreheads again, and address their prayers to the god. They entertain the highest veneration for him, place his image in all the temples, in the streets, the roads, the fields, and at the foot of trees, that every one may have opportunities of invoking him in case of need, and that travelers may be able to present their offerings to him before they pursue their route.