Lord Ganesh is one of the most prominent deities in Hinduism. Ganesh has the unique distinction that his name is always invoked before any other God’s name in any prayer service.
Lord Ganesh received this distinction as a blessing from his parents, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Lord Ganesa is designated as the chief (-eesha) of all of Lord Shiva’s ganas (servers) – hence his name, Ganesh.
We begin with an invocation to Lord Ganesh – he of the single tusk, whose vehicle is the mouse and he who penned the Mahabharata with his own hands.
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सुर्यकोति समप्रभा |
निर्विघ्नंम् कुरुमेदेव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ||
vakratunda mahaakaaya suryakoti samaprabhaa
nirvighnam kurumedeva sarvakaaryeshu sarvadaa
Salutations to the supreme Lord Ganesh, whose curved trunk (vakra-tunda) and massive body (maha-kaayaa) shines like a million suns (surya-koti) and showers his blessings on everyone (sama-prabhaa). Oh my lord of lords Ganesh (kurume-deva), kindly remove all obstacles (nir-vighnam), always (sarva-) and forever (sarvadaa-) from all my activities and endeavors (sarva-kaaryeshu).
> Vakratunda Ganesha Mantra audio mp3 (118K)
This is an extract of the invocation to Lord Ganesh from a track on the Chants of India CD by Ravi Shankar.
Prayer for Prosperity to Lord Ganesh (Shubh Laabh Mantra)
AUM shrim gam saubhaagya ganpataye
varvard sarvajanm me vaShamaanya namh
The prayer for prosperity is based on the word, gam, which is the beej (seed) mantra for Lord Ganesh. We ask for good fortune (sau-bhaagya) and many blessings and wishes (var-vard) for our current and future life-times (sarva-janam-me.n). We bow in homage (namH) to Lord Ganesh who protects us with long lives (avaShamaanya) of health and happiness. A concise form of this mantra, suitable for multiple rapid repetitions is simply – “Aum gam Ganpataye Namh” – (ॐ गम गणपतये नम:)
> Shubh Laabh Ganesha Mantra audio mp3 (200K)
This is a beautiful rendition of the short version of the Shubh Laabh Mantra in mp3 format by Pandit Jasraaj.
Ganesh Gayatri Mantras
The Ganesh Gayatris are prayers to Lord Ganesh that are composed in the 24-syllable meter of the original Gayatri Mantra. Several variations of the Gayatri can be composed by invoking the various descriptive names of Ganesh in the appropriate place(s) of the original mantra.
ॐ तदपुरुष्हाय विद्धमहे
वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि
तन्नो दन्ति प्रचोदयातः
AUM tadapurushhaaya viddhamahe
vakratundaaya dhimahi
tanno danti prachodayaath
We pray to the supreme and perfect male (tadapurusḥāya) who is omnipresent (viddhamahe). We meditate upon and pray for greater intellect (dhīmahi) to the Lord with the curved, elephant-shaped trunk (vakratunḍāya). We bow before the one with the single-tusked elephant tooth (tanno danti) to illuminate our minds with wisdom (prachodayāt).
AUM ekadantaaya viddhamahe, vakratunDaaya dhimahi, tanno danti prachodayaath
We pray to the one with the single-tusked elephant tooth (ekadantāya) who is omnipresent (viddhamahe). We meditate upon and pray for greater intellect (dhīmahi) to the Lord with the curved, elephant-shaped trunk (vakratunḍāya). We bow before the one with the single-tusked elephant tooth (tanno danti) to illuminate our minds with wisdom (prachodayāt).
AUM lambodaraaya viddhamahe, mahodaraaya dhImahi, tanno danti prachodayaath
We pray to the one with the expandable belly (lambodarāya) who is omnipresent (viddhamahe). We meditate upon and pray for greater intellect (dhīmahi) to the Lord with the huge belly (mahodarāya). We bow before the one with the single-tusked elephant tooth (tanno danti) to illuminate our minds with wisdom (prachodayāt).