Читать книгу Attila Kagan of the Huns from the kind of Velsung - Сергей Юрьевич Соловьев, Сергей Юрьевич Выхин - Страница 14

Ganesha, or Ganapati (Sansk. Gaṇeśa)) in Hinduism, the god of wisdom and prosperity. This is one of the most famous and revered gods of the Hindu pantheon. Often before his name is added the respectful prefix Sri-. One popular way of worshiping Ganesha is by chanting the Ganesha-sahasranama, the “thousand names of Ganesha”), each of which symbolizes a separate aspect of God, and the Ganapati-sukta un Shiva and Parvati. At the same time, the Puranic myths contradict each other, describing the birth of Ganesha. In some cases, it is said that Ganesha was created by Shiva, in others – it was created by Parvati, in the third – jointly by Shiva and Parvati. Variants are known in which Ganesha appeared to the world in an incomprehensible way and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati, who adopted him.

Brother Ganesha – Skanda (Kartikeya, Murugan). In the northern part of India, it is generally accepted that the eldest of the brothers is Skanda. In the southern part, the birth championship is attributed to Ganesha. Skanda was revered as an important warlike deity from the 5th century BC. e. according to the VI century AD e. Mass worship of Ganesha began after the sunset of the cult of Skanda. The opinions of myths also differ regarding the marital status of Ganesha. Some myths attribute Ganesha to the brahmacharyas who could not marry. This opinion is widespread in the south of India and, in part, in its northern part. According to another version, Ganesha is associated with such ideas as Buddhi (intellect, mind), Siddhi (success) and Riddhi (prosperity). Sometimes these ideas (concepts) were personified in the deities of the same name, which were recognized by the wives of Ganesha. Another option claims that the wife of Ganesha was the goddess of culture and arts of Saraswati, or the goddess of luck and prosperity Lakshmi. A version circulated in Bengal connects Ganesha with the banana tree of Cala Bo. According to one legend, the father of Ganesha was deprived of his father by the god Shiva. Ganesha did not let his father, inflamed with a passion for his wife, into the chambers where she was. Then Shiva angrily stripped his head, throwing it so far that no one sent could find her. The goddess was angry and refused to admit Shiva to him until he corrected the situation. To reassure his wife, Shiva sewed the head of a nearby elephant to Ganesha. According to another version, on the birthday of Ganesha they forgot to invite the god Shani (personification of the planet Saturn), and he, appearing without an invitation, incinerated the baby’s head with anger. Then the Brahmaposov advised Shiva to sew on the baby the head of the very first being that he met. This creature turned out to be the elephant of Indra – Ayravat. According to oral Indian myths, Saturn (Shani), being one of the relatives, was invited to honor the newborn son of Shiva: the mother of Ganesha, Parvati certainly wanted to show the powerful relative a beautiful baby. With a deadly look that he was unable to control, Shani refused the invitation for a long time, but he was still persuaded. First Shani’s look at the son of Shiva incinerated his head. According to another version, the head just fell off. Regarding the loss of one tusk, there are also several versions of legends. According to one of the legends of Ganesha, fighting the giant Hajamukkha himself broke his tusk and threw it at the enemy. The tusk possessed magical power, and Gajamukha turned into a rat, then becoming the animal of Ganesha. Another legend says that one day Shiva was visited by the sage Parasurama (avatar of Vishnu), but Shiva was sleeping at that time, and Ganesha refused to let him in. Then Parasurama threw his ax into Ganesha and cut off his right tusk. There is also a legend that, recording Mahabharata under the dictation of Vyasa, Ganesha broke his pen and, not wanting to miss a word, broke a tusk and began to write to them.

Ganesha is also the ruler of the Ghana (the army of Shiva’s retinue). There is a legend that Ganesha and Skanda (both are the sons of Shiva) fought for this post, and in the end Shiva decided that he would be the lord of the Ghana, who would run around the Galaxy faster. Skanda immediately took off and began his long journey, and Ganesha walked around his parents in a hurry in a circle, because it was Shiva and Parvati who were the personification of the Galaxy. And after that, Ganesha received the nickname “Ganapati” (the lord of the Ghans). Skanda (Sansk. “Poured out”), Kumara, Karttikeya, leader of the army of the gods, god of war in Hinduism. Depicted as a youth, often with six heads and twelve arms and legs. Other names: Sharavana, Mahasena, Guha, Subrahmanya. Its attributes are a bow, a spear and a banner depicting a rooster. His wahana (mount) is a peacock. It is also believed that Skanda protects not only warriors, but also thieves.

The origin of the name is due to one of the myths about his birth. According to this myth, the god Agni desired to unite with the wives of the seven sages, and the Matchmaker, burning with passion for Agni, took their image in turn (she could not accept the image of one of them, especially devoted to her husband). Each time after joining, she took Agni’s seed, turned into a bird, flew up to a high mountain and poured it into a golden vessel. After some time, the six-headed Skanda was born. According to another legend, Skanda was the son of Shiva and Parvati, born to destroy the demon Taraka, who, according to Brahma, could not be killed by anyone other than the son of Shiva. At conception, the seed of Shiva fell into the fire, but the fire god Agni could not hold him and threw him into the heavenly river Ganges. After that, the Ganges carried the seed to Mount Khimavat, where the born boy was brought up by Krittiki – the personification of the constellation Pleiades. Hence his middle name is Karttikeya. Over time, Skanda led the heavenly army, killed Taraka and many other demons.The cult of Skanda in the form of a special course of the kaumar is widespread in South India, where its image was identified with the Dravidian god of war Murugan.