Ekāksara-Gaṇapati

By Swami Harshananda

Ekākṣara-Gaṇapati literally means ‘Gaṇapati indicated by one letter’.

Gaṇapati or Gaṇeśa, the elephant faced deity, is one of the most popular deities. His bījākṣara^[1] is ‘gain’. The form of Gaṇapati which is associated with this letter is to be meditated upon while repeating it. It is called ‘Ekāksara-Gaṇapati’.

It is one of the eight famous aspects recommended for attaining siddhis or supernatural powers. Ekākṣara-Gaṇapati is described as stout and dwarfish. He is red in color and seated in padmāsana or lotus posture. In iconographical representation, his hand holds:

Bījāpura - pomegranate
Pāśa - lasso
Aṅkuśa - goad
Gesture of varada^[2]

This form is specially worshiped to attain happiness in life.

References[edit]

↑ Bījākṣara is the seed-letter containing his power and essence.
↑ Varada posture denotes bestowing boons.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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[1] Bījākṣara is the seed-letter containing his power and essence.

[2] Varada posture denotes bestowing boons.

[1]

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