Author: Aradhana Takhtani
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 3, 2006
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1951331.cms
Introduction: Aradhana Takhtani finds out
how Ganesha ended up in Indonesia, China, Cambodia and even Merico
This professional dealer in stamps, coins
and paper money is always on the lookout for treasure. But even he was not
prepared to find the God of Prosperity in perhaps his most real setting -
money. And not just that alone.
The more intriguing fact is that Rajendra
Maru found this widely worshipped Hindu deity sharing space with the former
Indonesian president, KI Hadjar Dewantara, in the country's national currency,
the rupiah.
Dated 1998, and valued at 20,000 rupiah (Rs
102), Maru, its new owner, says: "There are many more such notes with
Lord Ganesha issued in this Islamic country every year." It seemed like
a miracle to him.
How did this 'Remover of Obstacles and Provider
of Happiness,' transcend the country of his origin, India, and earn a place
in the social and economic fabric of a South-East Asian nation?
Historical notings on the existence of trade
between India and countries such as Mongolia, Indonesia, China and Sri Lanka
are aplenty. The story of Lord Ganesha's journey into these lands are most
likely buried here.
The Cultural Heritage of Ancient India by
Sachindra Kumar Maity talks about the exchange of commodities between China
and Cambodia with India. So does another record from a Chinese envoy, Chang
Chein, in about 138 BC.
Besides, the exporters who took the Silk Route
through China and Mongolia could have passed on this hugely popular pot-bellied
god too.
The spice trade in the southern part of India
and the maritime trade from Gujarat to the Middle-Eastern countries have always
been known to push art, culture and religious ideas to their trade partners.
According to historians though, while the
idea of Ganesha must have appealed to the foreign traders, the actual emmigration
happened when Buddhism travelled there via Tibet. Japan too did not remain
untouched.
So, today, you can find Mumbai ka Ganapati
worshipped as Sho-ten or Shoden (literally, Holy God) in many Buddhist temples
of Japan, where he is believed to confer happiness to his devotees.
He is also known as Kangi-ten (God of Joy
and Harmony) in Japan. In Sri Lanka, people call Him Pillaiyar (the Noble
Child). In Kung-Hsein, a site in China, sits Ganesha's stone image, two-armed,
holding the lotus in the right hand and a jewel in the other.
Though known as Kuan -shi t'ien or Ho Tei,
meaning the large-bellied God of Happiness, the jewel in the hand manifests
the image of the one who bestows rewards and provides for. A most recurring
leitmotif of Ganesha.
His versatility can also be gauged by the
number of countries he is worshipped in, as also by proofs of his presence
in far-off lands. It is not just China, Myanmar, Mongolia or other neighbouring
countries that revere him.
Ganesha is also embodied in various physical
forms and symbolic representations in Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia. Surprisingly,
several images of Ganesha have been discovered during excavations even in
farflung places like Central America and Mexico, where he is known as Virakosha.
Closer home, more evidence of his power are
increasingly coming to light. Stamps and legal documents from pre-independence
era showcase his grandeur.
Before the erstwhile states of Maharastra
- such as, Miraj, Kurundwad Junior and Sangli - merged with the Indian Union
in 1950, all the stamps used for government work carried his image.
According to Maru, who has collected many
such stamps, "This position of eminence for Ganesha could perhaps explain
how prosperity became the byword for Maharashtra."
