Lord Ganesha Annihilating Demon

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This exceptionally innovative image of Lord Ganesha, cast in fine brass revealing gold-like lustre, represents the elephant god as standing over the figure of a demon with long hair and a sword in hand. For suggesting the magnanimity of the divine action, and the size and strength of the demon the brass-smith conceiving the image has laid the demon’s figure stretching from one end to other of a mountain range consisting of many hills that in the image each rock symbolises. Totally overwhelmed the demon, with his shield fallen and the hand holding it rendered inert by Lord Ganesha’s ‘dand’ – rod, with dismay in eyes, and hair, fallen on the ground, helplessly lay under his feet. As stripped of all his powers, and perhaps also the will, he does not forbid, or even resist, the Lord’s mouse from tearing his body. A powerless mass, the serpent laid around Lord Ganesha’s neck holds one of the demon’s legs just by a little part of its tail and lifts it like a piece of dry wood.

A standing image of Lord Ganesha, in classical iconography or among contemporary forms, is not unusual; however, this commanding posture of the elephant god : a forward-inclining firm move, too straight a figure and a tough face, not a grain of dance blended into it, one of the most common elements of Ganapati imagery, looks more like an image of Lord Vishnu, one of the two most usual forms of his image, the other being a reclining posture. Apart, and unlike his usual image-form, in his normal left hand Lord Ganesha is carrying a mace with its apex laid over the demon’s body, again a commander’s mode of carrying it. Mace is one of the four basic attributes of Lord Vishnu. Hanuman is the other divinity to carry a mace but, while Hanuman a soldier-like carried it on his shoulder in readiness to strike, Vishnu held it like a commander, a formal attribute denotative of his rank and status, a standby thing. Obviously, while experimenting with the form of his image the artist has blended into it an element of Vaishnava imagery.

The form of the elephant god has been more extensively experimented with than that of any other divinity in any line or pantheon, or any form represented in visual arts, votive or aesthetic; however this image form representing him as trampling a demon under his feet and anger in eyes is not merely a new experiment in his image form but also a different aspect of Ganapati mythology. In the entire body of myths Ganesha is not known to have ever annihilated a demon. Such dimensions as taking away his father Lord Shiva’s mount Nandi, his bull, for a ride, some of his serpents, for his ornaments, or assisting him in grinding or grading ‘bhanga’ – his herbal drink, have often been exploited by medieval painters. Ganesha also inherited from his father the cult of dance his figure often manifesting it; however, despite that dance often defined the essence of his figure he danced only to delight, never to destroy, that is, he inherited from his father ‘lasya’ – the dance revealing aesthetic beauty, but not ‘tandava’ or ‘ananda-tandava’ – the dance to dissolve.

Strangely, this image represents him annihilating a demon by the very act of his body, not by his mere presence. Like his father he does not resort to dance, ‘tandava’ or any, for destroying him; however, except manifesting ‘tandava’ in his figure, especially in the gestures of his feet, hands and body’s other parts, the image is composed with some of the elements that are the essence of ‘tandava’. The image of Lord Ganesha has been installed under an artistically conceived ‘prabhavali’; however, two rings of the flames of fire : the inner and the outer, of which the ‘prabhavali’ mainly consists, look more like the divine energy radiating from his being. The flames of fire are symbolic of the energy that ‘tandava’ generates, and are its essence.

Though contained under his crown and differently styled, like Lord Shiva in ‘tandava’, his hair waves into air. The ecstasy of ‘tandava’ reveals in the gesture of his trunk, straightened and flung into space on his right. His trunk is usually turned to left and is as often knotted or folded. Though not an element of Shaivite iconography, in ‘tandava’ imagery lotus, in one form or other, more usually in the hands of Apasamarapurusha – the demon of inertia under his feet, symbolic of life and creation that follows ‘tandava’, is one of its other usual features. In this representation Lord Ganesha is himself carrying a lotus in his upper left hand besides a row of conventionalised lotus motifs around his halo. The upper right hand holding the battle-axe, his favourite attribute, and the normal right carrying a ‘dand’, and normal left, holding mace as also a conch like object, are also gesticulated to reveal a mind determined to destroy. Unlike as in dance, his majestic and gorgeous ‘antariya’ is elegantly worn. Besides his usual ‘nag-bandha’ – bellyband consisting of a serpent, he has a huge serpent laid over his neck.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.