The Eight Avatars Of Ganesha

Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, is the lord of auspiciousness, the remover of obstacles, and the ensurer of success. He is the knower of all the arts. The son of Lord Shiva is worshiped across the country and is a favourite of many. The stories of his moralistic attitude towards his parents and childish interests are known to all. He has blessed his devotees not only as the Ganesha we know today, but also in the form of various other incarnations. We will tell you about those forms of Ganesha through this article. Let us begin.

1. Vakratunda

Ganesha took this form for the destruction of a the demon Matsarasura. Matsarasura, had taken a boon from Lord Shiva after which he started creating nuisance in the lives of all the gods, as guided by Shukracharya, the teacher of demons. All the gods approached Lord Shiva who directed them to Ganesha. Ganesha took a form, which was known as Vakratunda and killed the demon.

2. Ekadanta

Maharishi Chayavan had a son named, Mada. He was born out of Yagna performed by the Maharishi. Madasura also was given education by Shukracharya, because of which he became excessively powerful. Ganesha took the Ekadanta form to protect the gods from Madasura's tortures. Her is shown with four hands, one teeth, a big belly and a head as big as that of an elephant.

3. Mahodar

When Ganesha's brother Kartikeya had killed Tarakasura, Shukracharya was enraged and he prepared Mohasura, to attack the gods. When Ganesha got to know about this, he immediately went to attack Mohasura. It is said that when he appeared before the demon Mohasura, the demon accepted his defeat without any fight. He even accepted Ganesha as his Ishta Deva, prime deity. Mahodar is depicted with a very huge belly.

4. Gajanan

A demon named Lobhasura was born from the body of Kubera. Upon Shukracharya's advice Lobhasura started worshiping Shiva. Therefore, Shiva gave him the blessing of fearlessness, implying that he would not fear anybody. The demon became so fearless, that he occupied the whole universe. It is said that even Shiva had to leave Kailash Parvat. Therefore, dear Ganesha took the form of Gajanan and destroyed the demon. Lobhasura too accepted defeat, upon the advice of Shukracharya before there any fight between them.

5. Lambodara

There was a demon named Krodhasura. He had a boon obtained from Surya Dev, that he could be victorious over the whole universe. As a result, the demon started attacking the gods. All the gods decided to kill him. Ganesha incarnated as Lambodara and brought an end to his seemingly unending powers.

6. Vikata

In order to kill Jalandhar, Lord Vishnu had destroyed the chastity of his wife Vrinda, by disguising as Jalandhar. A demon named Kamasura appeared then. Kamasura worshiped Shiva and sought the boon of Triloka Vijaya. Pleased by his penance Shiva gave him the blessing. However, he started disturbing the whole universe. To bring an end to him, Ganesha appeared in the from of Vikata and destroyed the demon. In this form Ganesha is depicted as sitting on a peacock.

7. Vighnaraja

There was a demon named Mamasura, he was born out of the laughter of Goddess Lakshmi. Mamasura went to a forest and met Shambrasura there. Shambrasura educated him about all the demonic powers. Mamasura even worshiped Ganesha and got the boon of ruling the whole universe. Later, Shambrasura got his daughter married to Mamasura. When one day Shukracharya was pleased at Mamasura, he declared him the king of demons. This made him even more powerful and he captured all the gods. Ganesha came to their rescue in the form of Vighnaraj.

8. Dhumravarna

According to another story there was a demon named Aham. The demon made Shukracharya his teacher. Upon acquiring all the knowledge he became Ahantasura. He worshiped Ganesha and got blessed, becoming even more powerful than ever. Taking advantage of the boon, he started destructive activities around the universe. Therefore, Ganesha took the form of Dhumravarna and killed the demon.

In this form, Ganesha appears smoky, with a Pash Astra in his hand, from which flames are seen emerging.