First Worshiping of Lord Ganesha

Ganesha means the king of ganas or earthly deities. He is also known as Vighneshwara or the dispeller of all obstacles.

Ganesha is regarded as the lord of the earth, just as Vishnu is the lord of Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu, and Shiva of Mount Kailash. 

According to legend, Ganesha was born from the peeled-off waste that his mother, Goddess Parvati, rubbed off from her body one day, before taking her bath.

This goes to show that Ganesha is associated with the element of earth. For this reason, priests use a lump of earth in lieu of an image of Ganesha during certain rituals.

It is strongly believed that no human effort on earth is successful without the blessings of Lord Ganesha. Hence, he is propitiated before launching any new venture. Another reason to appease Ganesha first is that all human thoughts are expressed in the naad-bhasha or the language of words, but the language of gods, goddess and deities who live in the astral world is prakash-bhasha or the language of light. Ganesha is said to convert the naad-bhasha of human beings into the prakash-bhasha of the Divine so that human thoughts may reach the gods. Hence, he is worshipped first.

As the ruler of earth, Ganesha rules over the ten directions called disha. No divine power can descend on earth without his consent. Hence, for any divine force to bless human beings, Lord Ganesha is invoked to allow astral bodies to descend and bless people.

It is believed that when Lord Ganesha’s idols are immersed after ten days of puja, he carries away with him all the misfortunes of his devotees. Ganesha has two wives—Riddhi and Siddhi—and two sons—Shubha and Labha. 

The Shilpa Shastra, the shastra that lays down the principles of architecture, states that the colour of Lord Ganesha is red. There are seven energy centres in a human body called the sat chakras, and each chakra has a specific colour. The first energy centre is the muladhara or the root chakra, the energy centre at the base of the spine, and its colour is red. Lord Ganesha is the presiding deity of this centre, and therefore, the colour red is consonant with him. It is because of this reason that red flowers are offered to him as they are in harmony with the vibrations of Lord Ganesha.

Together with red flowers, red cloth and red sandalwood paste are also offered to him. Another offering that finds favour with Lord Ganesha are tender grass blades called drubh or durva. These are offered in uneven numbers—one or three or five or seven—or in the form of a grass blades’ garland. Grass blades are offered to Ganesha as it is believed that they have the power to attract Ganesha tatwa. The deity accepts these at once and the devotee is instantly blessed.

When red flowers, red cloth, red sandalwood, or durva grass blades are offered to Lord Ganesha, these enliven his idol, picture, or image. Therefore, to please Ganesha and to seek his blessings, he should only be offered such articles that give him pleasure.