As per Hindu scriptures, yugas are cyclical time periods that define different ages of human civilizations. Each yuga has different incarnations of Demigods and Gods for helping, saving and teaching dharma to humanity. As per the Mudgal purana, Lord Ganesh had eight incarnations or avatars, vis-a-vis Vakratunda avatar, Ekdant avatar, Mahodar avatar, Gajanan avatar, Lambodar avatar, Vikata avatar, Vighnaraj avatar, Dhumravarna avatar.
Spread across different yuga, each of these manifestations helped to regain balance in the universe after the havoc created by asuras (the demon clan). Some of these demons or asuras personified sins – matsar (envy or rivalry), dambh (arrogance), mada (narcissism), moh (delusion), lobha (greed), krodh (anger), kam (lust), mamta (attachment), aham (pride).
Vakratunda avatar
As per the Ganesh Puran, Vakratunda avatar is the holder of the body of this universe (Deh-Brahma). Vakratunda means bent trunk. One of the incidents that relate to Vakratunda avatar is below.
Dev Indra’s rivalrous feeling gave birth to Matsarasur, who after a severe penance managed to get boon from Lord Shiva to be able to conquer the entire universe. He then conquered the 3 worlds and didn’t stop at that. His envy caused him to displace his boon-giver Lord Shiva from Kailash and then he also conquered Brahma Lok and Vaikuntha Lok.
Lord Dattatreya (or the divine trinity – Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) shared a remedy to end Matsarasur’s reign with the Devgans. He said, “There is one magical monosyllabic mantra – ‘Gam’. Recite this and Lord Ganesh will help”. Devgans along with the Lord Supremes started chanting ‘Gam‘ and Lord Ganesh appeared in Vakratunda avatar. This was a divine appearance, with Lord’s Vakratunda avatar riding on a mighty Lion.
Lord Vakratunda killed Matsarasur’s sons – Vishaypriya and Priya. Matsarasur, upon learning about this seeked his teacher Daityaguru Shukracharya’s (Asura Guru) advice. He requested forgiveness from Lord Vakratunda and promised to return everything back to normal by ruling in peace at Patal Lok and be satisfied with what he has.
Ekadant avatar
Lord Ekadant is the holder of the soul and body of this universe (Dehi-Brahma).
In this incarnation, Lord Ganesh has a broken tusk. Also unlike in Vakratunda avatar, he rides Mushak in this one. He has four arms and weapons Pharsa, Parshu, Lotus and Abhaymudra. He has a calm appearance.
As per the Ganesh Puran, there are many incidents and stories around this avatar. Our scriptures often associate the defeat of the asura named Madasur with Ekadant avatar.
Madasur was born out of carelessness of Maharshi Chyavan, who was Daityaguru Shukracharya’s brother. Under his advice, Madasur did a severe penance to please Goddess Bhagawati with the ‘Hrim‘ mantra for several years. When Goddess Bhagwati appeared riding Lion, she blessed him with his desired boon – “You will rule beyond limitations and all your wishes will always be satisfied”.
Madasur gets crowned as the king of all asuras in Patal Lok. He appoints Daityaguru Shukracharya as his main advisor. Madasur captured the three worlds only to get more addicted to his winning ability. He lost sense of control and this led to chaos in the universe.
Under Rishi Sanatkumar’s advice, Devgans prayed for Lord Ekadant’s help. Lord Ekadant disarmed all the war strategies that Madasur had. Madasur surrendered and promised to reside and rule only in the Patal Lok. Also he would leave all other pious events, people and locations out of his purview.
Mahodar avatar
Lord Mahodar, holds knowledge of the universe (Brahmagyan) in his big belly. He rides on Mushak.
One of the incidents of this avatar begins with Mohasur.
Once upon a time, everyone was trying to wake up Lord Shiva from his meditation. There was a crisis in the world, caused by Asura Tarakasur. Devgans and other Demigods, needed Lord Shiva’s help. He was deeply absorbed in Samadhi (meditative state) and no one could grab his attention. This is when Goddess Parvati, disguised as a young woman with Kamdev’s (God of Love and Lust) help tried to attract Lord Shiva to defy his meditative state. This definitely broke his meditation. But as Shivji woke up, the young girl disappeared and regained Parvati’s form. This release of delusive and lustful energy took the form of Mohasur.
Mohasur was crowned as the King of Patal Lok. He prayed to God Bhaskara (Sun) and earned boon to conquer the entire world. This created the imbalance in the universe and Gods went to God Surya for a solution, as it was him who gave such a destructive boon to Mohasur.
Under God Surya’s advice, Devgans and other Gods prayed to Lord Mahodar. Lord Mahodar announced, “the balance shall be restored and I will kill Mohasur”.
Rishi Narad (God-sage and son of Lord Brahma) shared this news with Mohasur. Even Guru Shukracharya instructed Mohasur to surrender to Lord Mahodar. Lord Vishnu disguised as Lord Mahodar’s doot (messenger) to further warn Mohasur. Finally he gave up.
He prayed to Lord Mahodar and decided to go in the righteous path for his own survival. Eventually, Mohasur became a lifelong devotee of Lord Mahodar.
Gajanan avatar
Gajanan avatar has got a special significance, as it holds the knowledge of infinite universes (Sankhya-Brahma). In Gajanan avatar, Lord Ganesh has blessed numerous Rishis with knowledge and attainment. In this avatar as well, Lord Ganesh rode on Mushak.
You must read the birth story of Gajanan avatar on the following link: https://mokshaverse.com/sindurvadan-the-story-behind-vermillion-clad-gajanan/
Below is one of the incidents where Lord Gajanan restored peace on earth in his avatar.
Kuber, the God of wealth and money, was once in Kailash. He got wrongfully attracted to Goddess Paravati’s appearance. Shivji got angry at this greed and he looked at Kuber with red-fiery eyes. Kuber’s fright gave birth to an asura named Lobha.
Lobhasur seeked Daityaguru Shukracharya’s guidance to further prevail in his life. He went on to do penance for ruling the 3 worlds with God Shiva’s blessings.
After conquering Devlok, defeating Lord Vishnu, Lobhasur next challenged Mahadev. Since God Shiva had himself given him this boon to rule the three worlds, Shiva took a step back and left Kailash.
Lobhasur became independent, arrogant and his greed to become Lord supreme intensified. He started interrupted Rishis, Munis and Brahmans on earth during their pious works and yagnas. The Rishi’s seeked Lord Gajanan’s help – he was very close to this fraternity and often worked with them to propagate knowledge, research and newer discoveries.
Lord Gajanan assured Devtas and Rishi-Munis of his help in getting back peace. He then requested Shivji to go and advise Lobhasur towards the righteous path – as the last warning. It was only wise of his advisors like Daityaguru Shukracharya and others, to help him understand the true meaning of his boon.
Lobhasur returned the possessions to respective owners and stopped harassing Rishi-Munis.
Lambodar avatar
In this avatar, Lord Ganesh signified the pious universe’s strength (satvic-Brahma shakti) and had Mushakraj as his vehicle. Lambodar means big belly.
Once Lord Shiva’s anger generated an infallible energy, which gave birth to a dark, copper eyed, powerful demon. He started walking immediately at birth and went to Daityaguru Shukracharya. Since he was born owing to the anger of Shiva, Daityaguru named him Krodhasura.
He married Shambarasur’s beautiful daughter Preeti and bacame extremely content with his life. Till one day, he realized he had to serve a better purpose. On Shukracharya’s advice, he prayed to God Bhaskara, i.e., Sun God. Krodhasura performed a strict penance to earn his wish – ‘to become strong, successful, rich, et al.’ God Bhaskara, slightly frightened and surprised by his intense will, also granted him his ‘wish to never fall sick or die.’
He returned to be crowned as the King of demons of Patal Lok. After conquering Patal Lok, he snatched earth, Amravati, Vaikunth Lok, Kailash and also Surya Lok.
Devgans seeked Lord Ganesh’s help. In the battlefield, Lord Ganesh appeared as Lambodar, riding a mouse and humbly wrapping a snake on his big belly. Krodhasur was offended by how he could be challenged by such a simple yet different being. During their intense fight, Krodhasur questioned Lord Lambodar about his appearance and how it justified the immense power that he claims he has.
Lord Lambodar said, “the belly that you see holds the entire universe’s positive strength. This body’s other parts hold mysteries of the universe that every living being seems to seek. It is not the form, but the soul that holds importance. All the living beings, whether devgans or asuras, are equal for me and I intend to kill no one. But, it is my duty to show the righteous path to everyone.” Lord Lambodar went on to answer all questions from Krodhasur.
Krodhasur humbled out and accepted defeat.
Vikata avatar
Vikata means humongous or difficult. In this Avatar, Lord Vikata signifies the solar nature of the universe (Saurabrahma) and rides a peacock., unlike riding a Lion Vakratunda avatar.
Once upon a time, an asura named Kamasur was born because of the lustful energy release. Hence the name Kamasur. Daityaguru Shukracharya advised him to chant the panchakshari mantra ‘Om Namah Shivay‘ and do penance.
He did a strict penance and Lord Shiva appeared to wish him. He asked for win over the three worlds and immunity for life. Lord Shiva said, “This is an unusual demand even for the Gods, but I shall still grant you your wish to get whatever you set an eye on.”
Once Kamasur gained this boon, he was crowned the ruler of demons and he married Mahishasur’s daughter Trushna. He started gathering his army for further conquests as he befriended other asuras to become undefeatable powerful because of his close allies. There was an established and centralized city named Ratid. Kamasur named it his headquarters and started expansion from there. He overpowered Earth rulers and moved to Amravati and captured Patal Lok as well. His reign meant the diminution of Dharma.
Devgans disturbed by all this, were scared for their lives. So, they hid in a secretive place. Rishi Mudgal advised them to go to Mayuresh, a pious place and pray to Lord Ganesh.
When Kamasur learned this, he attacked Rishis. This is when Lord Vikata appeared on a peacock to stop Kamasur. Shukracharya had warned Kamasur, that he needs to stop and surrender if ever Lord Ganesh comes to fight him. So, Kamasur did just that and prayed for mercy.
Vighnaraj avatar
Lord Vighnaraj signifies omnipresent and impersonal energy of the universe (Vishnu-Brahma). Apart from Vikata and Vakratunda avatar, this is the only other avatar of Lord Ganesh where he doesn’t ride a Mushak, but Sheshnag.
Once, Goddess Parvati had a disagreement with Lord Shiva and went to a forest with her friends. During this phase her laughter created an energy that gave birth to a peculiar demon – she named him Mamta, as he was born out of wrong sentiment around attachment. Mother Parvati advised Mamtasur to pray to Lord Ganesh and gain his blessings.
He went to the forest and started chanting ‘Vakratunday Hum’, when he met King of Demons Shambarasur. Shambarasur taught him demon knowledge and ill-advised to pray to Lord Ganesh for a boon – to rule the world and be immune to death.
Mamtasur gained the needed boon from Lord Ganesh himself. So, happily he started living with his newly-wed wife Mohini and had two sons – Dharma and Adharma.
But, Shambarasur was not yet happy. He encouraged Mamtasur to expand his reign. This led Mamtasur towards a path where Dharma got endangered.
He could only be stopped by Lord Vighnaraj in the end.
Dhumravarna avatar
Lord Dhumravarna signifies benevolence and essence of the universe (Shiva-Brahma) and he rode Mushak.
Once, Lord Brahma, aka Chaturanan appointed God Surya to the throne of Karmarajya. This was a coveted position and God Surya felt extremely happy about this. Soon he started developing more than pride about this and thought, “Karma is the main source for creation of the universe by Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu preserves the world by that and Lord Shiva also is capable to perform his world owing to that. Ma Shakti is also using Karma to preserve and protect Lord Shiva. This way everyone is responsible for their Karma and I am the one operating Karma itself”. This prideful thought generated an energy that gave birth to Ahamtasur, an asura.
Ahamtasur met Daityaguru Shukracharya. He taught him a mantra – ‘Om Gam Gaum Ganapatay Vighnavinashine Swaha’ and Ahamtasur did the penance.
When Lord Ganesh appeared after several years, Ahamtasur happily said, “Dear Lord, kindly accept me as your devotee and grant me a boon to fulfill all my wishes without any obstacles. Please grant me a boon to never die and live on to rule the universe.”
Lord Ganesh said, “Tathastu”.
Soon Ahamtasur won the three worlds – Earth, Patal and Swarg. He went on to peacefully reign from Patal Lok and led a happy life with his family. Until one day, asura named Adharmadharak appeared in his court and started instigating him against the Devgans and Rishis.
Ahamtasur agreed with Adharmadharak and started harassing Rishis and searching to kill the Devgans. He grew bolder and bolder each day. Soon immense pride encompassed him. He ordered his army to destroy all Ganesh idols and put his idol in its place.
On Devgan’s plea, Lord Ganesh appeared in an angry form in Ahamtasur’s dream and warned him to stop working against Dharma. But, when Ahamtasur discussed this with his consorts, they started praising his invincibility. Rishi Narad also delivered a message directly from Lord Dhumravarna to Ahamtasur. But, Ahamtasur ignored all the warnings and went on to kill the Gods.
Lord Dhumravarna promised all the Gods to break Ahamtasur’s pride. He sent his sons Garv and Shreshth to battle with Lord Dhumravarna. Lord Dhumravarna had released an illusive noose to kill whoever gets trapped. It was so quick that one-by-one Ahamtasur’s army and then his sons got killed by it.
Scared Ahamtasur went to Daityaguru Shukracharya to understand this, “How is my boon not working here? How am I losing and fearing for death?” To which his guru replied, “You are blinded by pride and rather forgetting the Lord Supreme, who was responsible for your boon.”
Ahamtasur surrendered to Lord Dhumravarna and asked for forgiveness. He remembered how devoted he was to Lord Ganesh earlier and what he has become now. Ahamtasur returned all the rightful things back to their owners and sealed his reign to Patal Lok. He went on to continue his devotion to Lord Dhumravarna.
Such are the eight avatars of Lord Ganesh manifesting around different Yugas. Whether it is Vakratunda avatar, or Gajanan avatar or Vikata avatar, Lord Ganesh always helped all his devotees, irrespective of their shapes, forms and types. He answers to prayers and helps to remove any obstacles that his devotees face. He is the protector and preacher of Dharma and humanity.
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