By Swami Harshananda
Bhakta-Vighneśvara literally means ‘Lord of obstacles, dear to the devotees’.
Gaṇapati or Gaṇeśa, the elephant-faced god of the pantheon is one of the most popular and widely worshiped deities. He has a very large variety of aspects and Bhakta-Vighneśvara, also called as Bhakta-Gaṇapati, is one of them.
Iconographical works describe him as shining like the autumnal moon. He has four hands in which he carries a coconut, a mango fruit, a lump of sugar and a cup of pāyasa (pudding). In some descriptions a plantain replaces the lump of sugar.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore