Ganesani Discovering Ganesh Sandhyavandanam Yoga
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Issue 08 Volume 02-03 August-September 2008 GANESANI NARA ALLSOP DISCOVERING GANESH NAVARATRI SHANA DRESSLER H.H. SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA SANDHYAVANDANAM EVERYTHING IS TRUE WITH accompanying AUDIO HOOMAN MAJD SRIVATSA RAMASWAMI ROBERT BEER YOGA MANGA INTERVIEWED BY BARRY SILVER ROBERT SVOBODA DURGA PUJA DOUBLE TAKE DINESH KHANNA Publishers & Founding Editors Robert Moses & Eddie Stern Advisors Dr. Robert E. Svoboda Meenakshi Moses Jocelyne Stern Editors Meenakshi Moses Eddie Stern Design & Production Robert Moses Eddie Stern Diacritic Editors Vyaas Houston Isaac Murchie Circulation & Distribution Youngblood Roche Assistance from Deborah Harada Website Development Matt Alexander Kendal Kelly Robert Moses Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Sri Swami Vishnu-devananda Gaņeśanī, Tamil Nadu, South India. January 2007. Photograph by Robert Moses. 2 Issue 08 Volume 02 & 3 ISSUE 08 VOLUME 02 AUGUST 2008 ISSUE 08 VOLUME 03 SEPTEMBER 2008 GAŅEŚANĪ The Female Gaņeśa 4 DURGA PUJA or NAVARATRI 29 Nara Allsop H.H. Sri Swami Sivananda YOGA MANGA 6 EVERYTHING IS TRUE 33 Barry Silver Hooman Majd SANDHYAVĀNDANAM 8 AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT BEER 37 Srivatsa Ramaswami Dr. Robert E. Svoboda An audio file of Srivatsa Ramaswami chanting DOUBLETAKE the mantras in this rare article is available at: DURGA PUJA PANDAL 46 http://www.namarupa.org/volumes/vol02.php Dinesh Khanna DISCOVERING GANESHA 21 Shana Dressler NÄMARÇPA uses diacritical marks, as per the chart shown below, for the transliteration of all Saêskäta words. While many of the articles do contain these marks, it is not a universal occurrence in the magazine. In those cases where authors have elected not to use diacritics, Saêskäta words remain in their simple, romanized form. Chart by Vyaas Houston. अ आ इ ई उ ऊ a ā i ī u ū ए ऐ ओ औ e ai o au ऋ ॠ ऌ ॡ अं अः ŗ ř ļ ĺ ał aģ क ख ग घ ङ ka kha ga gha ńa च छ ज झ ञ ca cha ja jha ña ट ठ ड ढ ण ţa ţha ďa ďha ņa त थ द ध न ta tha da dha na प फ ब भ म pa pha ba bha ma य र ल व ya ra la va श ष स ह śa ša sa ha � � � kša tra ña August & September 2008 3 í®‰ÀŸ≤¤ Y GAŅEŚANĪZ THE FEMALE GAŅEŚA Artwork and Text by NARA ALLSOP 4 Issue 08 Volume 02 & 3 ndia is home to a variety of little- her bottom right hand) her broken left Gaņeśanī extends her left arm out in Iknown images of an elephant-headed tusk, a pink lotus, cakra (discus), śūla dance posture. Both hold lotus buds Goddess. The earliest currently known (trident), either an ańkuśa (elephant in their right hands. Why Gaņeśanī dates from the first century bc and goad) or mazhu (axe)–there is some has the lower half of a tiger or Vyāla was excavated in Rairh near Jaipur. It damage to the mural just where the is unknown as no textual description is a small terracotta and very rough. blade of either implement would has been discovered as yet. However, Although its identification is disputed, be–pāśa (three-corded noose), sugar it is interesting that Chidambaram one can certainly make out the goddess’ cane, ripened grain, a blue lotus and has historically been known as Puliyur image in the worn terracotta if one a fruit–possibly mango or citrus. In (Tigertown) due to Goddess Kālī’s wishes to! Such two-armed figures are addition, Gaņeśanī holds a golden chain patrolling the vicinity with the help of a sometimes considered to be Yakšīs– in her trunk. The trunk is right turning, tiger. The great devotee of Śiva Naţarāja, magical female nature spirits. which is said to indicate that the deity is also known as Vyāghrapāda, is given his There is also the elephant-headed suitable for tantric worship. Her skin is tiger legs as a boon from Śiva. This was Yoginī included in the iconographic vermillion and she wears a blue dress. to enable him to better reach the flowers programme of the tenth century he required for pūjā from the tree tops Chaunsaţha Yoginī temple in Hirapur, or the painting, I have translated of the ‘tillai’ forest of Chidambaram. Orissa. In various Purāņas groupings of Fthis mural from the simplistic but Vyāghrapāda Gaņeśanī, on the lower such Yoginīs are usually given as sixty- powerful Keralan style into the more right of the painting, is from a wooden four. The earlier conception of these visually complex Tamil idiom. The issue sculpture at Tirunelveli’s Nelliyapan forms is that of powerful, dangerous, over the object held in her upper right temple. She is marching forward with dreaded beings to be placated and hand being an axe or goad is resolved by gadai (mace), udaivall (sword), kedaya worshipped as grantors of magical depicting an implement that could serve (shield) and ańkuśa (goad). Not all Tamil power and averters of disease and both functions. The facts that Gaņeśanī forms of Gaņeśanī are tiger-legged–a witchcraft, much in the same way as is three-eyed and holds her broken four-armed version is shown in relief Grāma-Devatās are regarded in small tusk indicate that she is the female at Suchindram’s Sthanumalaya Temple villages throughout India. These Yoginīs counterpart to Gaņeśa as opposed to within the Chempakaraman Mandapa are shown with all kinds of animal her being solely an independent Yoginī, seated on a throne in lalitāsana with her heads–snake, crane, goat, buffalo, lion, Matrika, or nature spirit, as some left leg extended. vulture and many more, including writers have suggested. Furthermore, elephant. So it would seem that this in the ten-armed form at Kuttipuram, hese are very exciting times is a separate identification to that of a the skin coloration matches that most Tfor the iconographic study female form of Gaņeśa. Of course, this popularly seen in Gaņeśa–vermillion, of Gaņeśanī and no doubt further is India and categorizations merge. The and also, the Deity wears the crescent discoveries are to be made as She Wills. later conception of the Yoginīs is that of moon on her crown. In addition, all of In my own research, I tentatively propose emanations of the Great Goddess Devī her implements are those commonly that the Goddess currently identified or servants of Devi. The Kālikā Purāņa held by South Indian forms of Gaņeśa. as Śaradā, who is seated on the lap of mentions ten million such Yoginīs. One further irrefutable piece of the peacock-mounted, three-trunked A feminine Gaņeśa may perhaps evidence toward a definite identification Ganesha, housed within the eighteenth be a later conception arising with the of a female Gaņeśa is the very recent century Trisunda Gaņapati Temple in explosion of Gaņeśa’s popularity in discovery by Dr. J.N. Pandey, History Pune, may, in fact, be Gaņeśanī. This medieval times. The Devī Sahasranāma Professor of Allahbad University, of a is due to what could be interpreted includes names of such feminized forms rock-cut sculpture of Gaņeśa seated as Her having a trunk, rather than as Lambodāri, Gaņeśvarī and Vainayakī. with Gaņeśanī at His side. Ganesha possessing an overly elongated Up until now, iconographic scholars who In the Vijayanagar period, Tamil trunk on his left, in comparison to the have written on the subject have been Nadu gives rise to the visually arresting central and right trunks. She can also silent or unaware of a spectacular ten- form of Gaņeśanī with the legs and be identified as Gaņeśanī because of her armed form of Gaņeśanī painted on the feet of a lion (Vyāla) or tiger (Vyāgra). pot belly and third eye. Anyway, it is an sanctum wall of the nineteenth century The two-armed Vyāgrapāda Gaņeśanī altogether highly unusual icon, as the Śiva temple in Parayil, Kuttipuram, at the bottom left of the painting is peacock-mounted Mayureśvara Gaņeśa Kerala. This image is of particular from a stone relief within the Madurai is, in every other case I know of, shown importance because no other ten-armed Śrī Mīnākšī Temple’s Kambattadi with only one trunk. form is known; all others recorded thus Maņďapa. A similar form is also seen at far are two- or four-armed. Not only Chidambaram’s Śiva Naţarāja temple. Nara Allsop a painter of deities, studied this, but her iconographic attributes are In our form, the Deity’s left arm is for five years with Robert Beer. Helives in nearly totally undamaged and visible. hanging by her side in dola hasta mudrā, Arizona under the auspices of his patron, Gaņeśanī is holding (clockwise from whereas Chidambaram’s Vyāghrapāda Lee Lozowick. August & September 2008 5 6 Issue 08 Volume 02 & 3 August & September 2008 7 Barry Silver teaches Ashtanga Yoga in Japan. SANDHYĀVANDANAM Ritualistic Gāyatri Meditation SRIVATSA RAMASWAMI Photographs by Badri Ramaswami 8 Issue 08 Volume 02 & 3 andhyāvandana is a structured rajas, and tamas–slowly deteriorates. (citta) becomes totally transformed Smeditation ritual centered on the Sattva becomes dormant and the mind (pariņāma). One can maintain a sattvic profound gāyatrī mantra. The gāyatrī becomes dominated by tamas and rajas. mind or a one-pointed mind (ekāgratā) is considered the mother of all vedic Once these two guņas take hold of the all through one’s life and use it to obtain mantras even as the praņava (Om) is mind and dominate it, they incline spiritual results as well. considered the origin of the Vedas. the mind to the same groove, the same sałskāra. According to sāmkhyas and andhyāvandana offers a struct- íŸæ&¤~~~~Ä ö≥Æ–ŸÄ ºŸ™Ÿ ÑÆÄ ∏˘“˜ ú‹Œ—∆ ≤Å | yogis, a tamasic mind tends to become Sured, regular and, sustained med- gāyatrīł chandasāł mātā stagnant and depressed.