Ganapati Atharvashirsa

The IAST|Śrī Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa is a Hindu religious text dedicated to the Hindu deity Ganesha (IAST|Gaṇeśa). It is a late upanishad that celebrates Ganesha as the embodiment of the ultimate Brahman.Courtright, Paul B. IAST|Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings. Appendix: "IAST|The Śrī Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa". (Oxford University Press: New York, 1985)] The text asserts its own status as an upanishad in its final line, which reads "Thus, the IAST|Śrī Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa Upanishad" (Sanskrit: _sa. इति श्रीगणपत्यथर्वशीर्षोपनिषद्; IAST|iti śrīgaṇapatyatharvaśīrṣopaniṣad). [This is verse 29 in the Chinmayananda variant. Text and verse numbering are given in Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 131.]

It is also referred to as the "Sri Ganapati Atharva Sirsha", the "Ganapati Atharvashirsha", the "Ganapati Atharvasirsa", or the "Ganapati Upanishad".

It is the most widely-recited Sanskrit text among devotees of Ganesha in Maharashtra. The entire text is written over the entrance to the temple hall in the IAST|aṣṭavināyaka Ganesha shrine at Ranjangaon.

Dating

There is some dispute regarding the dating of the text. Courtright reviews various views and concludes that it was probably composed during the sixteenth or seventeenth centuried A.D. [Courtright, op. cit., p. 252.] It was mentioned by IAST|Śrī Upaniṣad Brahma Yogin in his commentary on 108 upanishads in 1751. [Bühnemann, Gudrun. IAST|Budha-Kauśika's Rāmarakṣāstotra. Publications of the De Nobili Research Library, vol. 10. (Ed. Gerhard Oberhammer: Vienna, 1983), p. 103.] Ghurye notes its emergence in the early nineteenth century, corresponding to the rise of the Ganapati worship in Maharashtra among Brahmins centered in Pune. [Ghurye, G. S. Gods and Men. (Bombay: 1962) pp. 101-2.]

Internally the text asserts that it traces its own lineage to the Atharva Veda in a passage that Chinmayananda translates as "Thus says Atharvana" (Sanskrit: _sa. इत्यथर्वणवाक्यम्; IAST|ityatharṇavākyam). [This is verse 21 in the Chinmayananda variant. Chinmayanada notes that his version numbering may differ from that in other variants. Text and verse numbering are given in Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 130.] Courtright translates the verse as "This text was told by the Atharvan sage." [Courtright, op. cit., p. 254.] Chinmayananda comments on this claim of lineage saying that "it may or may not be so", noting that such an attribution of authorship is not found in the body of many of the upanishads. [Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 122.]

Textual variants

As is common with devotional works of this type, variations in the text are often found in manuscripts, which may differ from one another in significant ways. Many of the published works on the Ganapati Atharvashirsa use variant versions of the text, showing differences in content and line numbering, so it is necessary to review multiple editions. A "critical edition" of a Hindu scripture is a special type of scholarly edition in which many alternative readings from variant manuscripts have been reviewed and reconciled by scholars to produce a consensus text. A critical edition examining variants of the Sanskrit text was published in 1984 by Gudrun Bühnemann with a translation. [Bühnemann, Gudrun. Some Remarks on the Structure and Application of Hindu Sanskrit Stotras. "Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens" 28, pp. 73-104.]

A heavily-edited and abbreviated translation was done in the early nineteenth century by Vans Kennedy. [Kennedy, Vans. Researches into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology. (London: 1831) pp. 493-94.]

J. R. Sartha published a 1969 edition. [J. R. Sartha, ed., IAST|Śrī Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa. (Bombay, 1969).] In 1985 Courtright published an English translation based on the Sartha edition. [Courtright, op. cit., Appendix.]

Swami Chinmayananda published a variant of the Sanskrit text with an English translation in 1987. In his version of the source text he groups verses together to form sections that he calls "upamantras". He notes that as a result of this his line numbering and versification may differ from those given in other variants. [Swami Chinmayananda. Glory of Ganesha. (Central Chinmaya Mission Trust: Bombay, 1987). pp. 121-131. Other reprint editions: 1991, 1995.]

John Grimes provides a structural analysis including a version of the Sanskrit text and an English translation in his 1995 book on Ganapati. His version provides no line numbers. [Material on the IAST|Atharvaśīrṣa is pp. 21-36 in: Grimes, John A. Ganapati: Song of the Self. (State University of New York Press: Albany, 1995) ISBN 0-7914-2440-5 In his notes Grimes cites the Courtright and Chinmayananda editions, as well as Navaratnam, "IAST|Aum Gaṇeśa", 101-18.]

The text is sometimes found on the Internet in the form of downloadable files or on web sites, but in such cases the reliability and versification of the variants cannot be determined.

Highlights of passages

Ganapati as the Supreme Deity

In the framework of Ganapatya devotion, Ganesha is regarded as the Supreme Deity, containing all other divine forms within himself. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa declares this in its opening passages as translated by Courtright:

Homage to Lord IAST|Gaṇeśa. "IAST|Oṃ". Reverence to IAST|Gaṇapati. You are indeed the visible "That Thou Art" [tattvamasi] . You indeed produce the universe. You indeed sustain it. You indeed destroy it. You indeed are the all pervading reality. You are the manifestation of the eternal self [ātman] . [Translation by Courtright, op. cit., p. 253]

A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows:

(O Lord Ganapati!) You alone are the visible manifestation of the Essence of the words "That thou art". You alone are the Doer. You alone are the Creator and the Sustainer (of the universe). You alone are the Destroyer. Verily You alone are all this - "idam sarvam" - in the creation, because You are Brahman. Your are the Eternal Atman in bodily form." [Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 125. In Chinmayananda's numbering system this is "upamantra" 1.]

Identification of Ganapati with other deities and with OM

Ganesha is identifiable with all other deities and with Om. This is celebrated as follows in the Courtright translation:

You are Brahmā, Vişņu, and Rudra [Śiva] . You are Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya. Your are Candrama. You are earth, space, and heaven. Yor are the manifestation of the "mantra" "IAST|Oṃ". [Translation by Courtright, op. cit., p. 253]

A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows:

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire and air. You are the sun and the moon. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka, Antariksha-loka, and Swargaloka. You are Om. (that is to say, You are all this). [Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 127. In Chinmayananda's numbering system this is "upamantra" 8.]

Ganapati resides in the Muladhara chakra

Some evidence that the work is of late origin with some Tantric influence is found in a passage which associates Ganapati with the Muladhara chakra. As translated by Courtright this passage reads:

You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [IAST|mūlādhāra cakra] . [Translation by Courtright, op. cit., p. 253]

A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows:

You have a permanent abode (in every being) at the place called "Muladhara". [Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 127. In Chinmayananda's numbering system this is part of "upamantra" 7.]

Ganapati's bija mantra

This text provides a detailed description of Ganesha's "bija" mantra "IAST|gaṃ" (Sanskrit: _sa. गं; IAST|gaṃ). When this mantra is written using simplified transliteration methods that do include diacritical marks to represent nasal sounds, it is written as "gam".

This "bija" mantra is also used in the Ganesha Purana which is generally dated as preceding the Ganapati Atharvasirsa. Courtright translates the passage as follows:

Having uttered the first letter of the word "IAST|gaṇa", "ga", then I utter the nasal sound "IAST|ṇa" which follows and appears beautifully like the crescent moon. This is your form. The "ga" forms the initial letter, the "a" forms the middle letter and the "IAST|ṇa" forms the final letter. To utter this sound [i.e., "IAST|gaṃ"] is to utter all sounds together. [Translation by Courtright, op. cit., p. 253]

A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows, using Devanāgarī to make the description more clear for those who are familiar with Sanskrit:

One should first utter the first syllable "ग" in the word "गण" followed by "अ" the first of the alphabets. Add an अनुस्वार (a nasal म् indicated by a dot above the line). Then adorn it by a crescent (also a nasal). Prefix ॐ to it. And this represents (O Lord Ganapati!) your terrestrial form endowed with "gunas". [Chinmayananda, op. cit., p. 127. In Chinmayananda's numbering system this is part of "upamantra" 9.]

References

Further reading

*Swami Chinmayananda. Glory of Ganesha. (Central Chinmaya Mission Trust: Bombay, 1987). pp. 121-131. Other reprint editions: 1991, 1995.
*Courtright, Paul B. IAST|Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings. Appendix: "The IAST|Śrī Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa". (Oxford University Press: New York, 1985) ISBN 0-19-505742-2
*Grimes, John A. Ganapati: Song of the Self. (State University of New York Press: Albany, 1995) ISBN 0-7914-2440-5
* [http://www.philhine.org.uk/writings/tt_ganupanishad.html An English Translation Of the Ganapati Upanishad]