AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FIFTY-SIX VINAYAKAS IN BANARAS AND THEIR ORIGINS Isabelle Bermijn Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London September 1999 Department of the Study of Religions School of Oriental and African Studies ProQuest Number: 10731430 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731430 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis investigates a unique and hitherto unresearched phenomenon in the sacred city of Banaras: the fifty-six Vinayakas. These Vinayakas are arranged throughout the city in seven notional concentric circles with eight directionally oriented images in each. The Vinayakas are fully documented for the first time: each one is photographed, drawn, described and analysed. Textual references are given for each and a methodology is developed for dating them into four periods over twelve centuries. The grouping is situated within the evolution of the city, within the religious history of the origins and development of Ganesa, the textual and scriptural history of Banaras, and symbolically and ritually within the concept of the maiidala. The Mahatmya in which they are first described, the Kasi Khanda, is dated and analysed. The text, which establishes the Lordship of Visvanatha, relates the religious histoiy of Banaras chronologically through a series of myths which simultaneously effect the cosmologisation of Kasi. The concept of the mandala is examined and it is found that although the Vinayakas meet all die criteria of a physical mandala they are not themselves a mandala. The only mandala is Kasi itself which the Vinayakas mark out and protect. The origin of the Vinayakas is investigated and the dynasty and ruler responsible for their installation is putatively identified. Because the establishment of the Vinayakas is effectively the introduction of the concept of Kasi as a complete microcosm and the beginning of the process of its cosmologisation, the dating of the group of Vinayakas permits the dating of a major chapter in the religious history of north India. 2 Acknowledgements Whatever the conventions, this thesis must first acknowledge and salute Ganesa, my companion and inspiration for three years. In her foreword to Courtright's book, Ganesa: Lord o f Obstacles, Lord o f Beginnings, Wendy Doniger described her feelings about writing a book on Ganesa: 'A book about Ganesa, what fun would that be!' -and fun it was, from the moment I started doing research 011 GaneSa, to completion, and I have nobody to acknowledge for consoling me during difficult times: there have not been any. In India the enterprise was received with much enthusiasm and over the years many have taken a keen interest in the progress of this research. The fact that I was researching an unknown aspect of Ganesa worship added an extra dimension. Over the years many people took the role of 'Vinayakas1 by removing the obstacles I encountered when writing this thesis and when doing fieldwork in India. The main reason I enjoyed the last three years so much was because they all gave me a wonderful time and proved that even when doing research one is permitted enjoyment. I would therefore like to thank everybody who, throughout, has contributed to this thesis. I would like to thank the following scholars in Banaras who have shared their vast knowledge of the city and its secrets with me: Professor N.P. Joshi, Professor M. N. Tiwari (Plead of the Department of Arts, Banaras Hindu University (BPIU)), Professor Rao (Telugu Department, BHU), Banu Shankar Mehta, A. IC. Narain, Sukhdev Singh and Rachana Sharma. I would like to thank the staff in the American Institute for Indian Studies for facilitating some of the photos in this thesis, in particular Mr J. Yadav for his kind cooperation and Dr M. A. Dhaky for the interest he showed and for our Saturday afternoon discussions. I am also grateful to Kedamath Vyas for his excellent guidance 011 the temples and shrines and for all the time he spent discussing various aspects of the PancakrosI Yatra.1 Invaluable, too, was the knowledge Professor Rana P. B. Singh shared with me. Many thanks to him for taking me 011 two PancakrosI Yatras, for the help he gave me regarding the geography of the city and for giving me permission to use his wonderful maps in this thesis. For translating a part of the Ganesa Purana into English, I would like to thank Bruce J. Graham and Devanath Tnpathi. Many thanks to all those 'scholars-to-be' in Banaras who provided constant company and stimulation: Annika, Bruce, Corvin, Dan, Elaine, Jason, Jeanne, Loriliai, Manon, Marilyn, Mia, Signe, Tavis and Uma. Last but not least, I would like to express my special gratitude to Mr Virendra Singh, Sushila Mausi, Kashilca, Annu, Suju, Santu and their family in Jaipur for all the Hindi they taught me, and above all for accepting me as a daughter and sister. 1 When rendered in Hindi, the Sanskrit panca-krosi often seems to lose the V okrosi f as well as the final ’a' of panca. Occasionally, therefore, in this thesis, and especially in the Bibliography where it occurs in the titles of publications, it will be written as pahc-ko§i. 3 In Bombay special thanks go to Dr Devangana Desai for the keen interest she took in the iconographic aspect of this thesis and for introducing me to many Ganesa lovers in the city such as Mr and Mrs Haridas Svali, who shared with me their passion for art and Ganesa. I also would like to take this opportunity to thank all my friends in Bombay who have been my friends since the first time I came to India in 1991, especially Neha Majumdar, without whom I might never have been interested in India or Ganesa, and whose family spoiled me whenever I was around. Gratitude and many thanks also to Kumud Aunty and Bhupat Uncle, Meenal, Ajay and Hetal for all their affection and fun! I would like to thank the Mathur family in Delhi for their hospitality, and special thanks to Copal and Dipali for sharing their knowledge of 'naughty' Ganesa stories with me. In London I would like to thank everyone who made the change from India bearable and enjoyable: Chris for her friendship, sharing her home and for all the support she gave me; Alison, for proof-reading, making valuable suggestions and for making these years unforgettable; Anne, for her support and the encouragement throughout the last year of my research; and Simon Brodbeck and Sian Hawthorne for proofreading the whole thesis. I feel I have been privileged to do research in one of the most dynamic and enthusiastic departments of SOAS; many thanks to Dr Judith Coney, the postgraduate tutor and to Maryjayne Hillman, the ever-enthusiastic secretary. Many words of gratitude must also go to Mr Simon Weightman, my supervisor and ’Remover of Obstacles', for the kilos of chocolate biscuits, the enthusiasm, interest, and creative energy. My thanks are also due to the Rotaiy Foundation-Belgium, the British Academy and the Trustees of the Jordan Travel Fellowship in the Department of the Study of Religions at SOAS for providing financial support. 4 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Table of Contents 5 Orthographical Notes 6 List of Figures 7 Introduction 8 Chapter One: Banaras and its History: Contextualising the Vinayakas Historically. 12 Chapter Two: The Origins and Developments of Vinayaka-GaneSa. 45 Chapter Three: Sources for the Study of Vinayaka-Ganesa in Banaras. 84 Chapter Four: Description of the fifty-six Vinayakas. 117 Chapter Five: The fifty-six Vinayakas as a Mandala. 175 Conclusion 204 Glossary 212 Bibliography 221 An Appendix to this thesis is bound separately for convenience of reference. 5 Orthographical Notes Words, nouns as well as personal names, taken from Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic and Persian are given with diacritics.2 However, for clarity's sake the names of places and of rivers are given in anglicised form where appropriate. In the glossary these words appear with full diacritics. English words derived from non-English ones, such as ‘Puranic’ and ‘Brahmanic’, are given without diacritics. The difference between the expression of final 'a' in Sanskrit and Hindi constitutes a problem for transliteration. In Sanskrit a final 'a' is expressed, but it is mute in Hindi. Words such as ' mandala', 'Vinayaka', 'l<unda' and 'Ganesa' will be spelt as in Sanskrit unless, through their use in Hindi, such a spelling looks and sounds incongruous or inappropriate. For example 'ghata' will be written ghat Personal names such as ICubemath and Kedamath will not be written with a final 'a'. No single convention is capable of handling all of the situations which occur in the course of this thesis without producing anomalies or absurdities. It is possible that to apply common sense, as is implied in the rule above, may leave too much to discretion. If, however, the rule is applied consistently, as it is believed to be here, it is doubtful if any reader will mistake what is intended. All non-English terms are given in italics, as are the titles of texts referred to.