Ganesha in world religions

[2] The period from approximately the 10th century CE onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds, and a resurgence of money circulation, and it was during this time that Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders.

It refers to several appellations of Ganesha such as Heramba, Ganavigneṣa and Vinayaka and visualizes him as elephant headed, pot-bellied, bearing an axe and riding a mouse.

[10] As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing, a form called Nṛtta Ganapati that was popular in North India and adopted in Nepal and then into Tibet.

English: The Great Red Lord of Hosts or Ganas) is a Tantric Buddhist form of Ganapati (Ganesha) related to the Chakrasamvara Cycle of Tantras.

Although this development shares a number of parallels with the Hindu tradition of Ganapatya, it does not seem that Shōten benefited from a group whose members defined themselves exclusively as his worshippers as Ganesha did.

[17] As Shōten grew in stature, however, he was increasingly disassociated from his vinayaka underlings, ultimately becoming regarded as a manifestation of the cosmic buddha Vairocana.

[18] Also, unlike his Hindu counterpart, whose image is prominently displayed and venerated in temples and homes, Shōten is regarded as a 'hidden' god too sacred to be seen: images of the deity in temples are permanently kept hidden from public view, rituals centered on him are performed in private by qualified monks, and lay devotees are discouraged from venerating iconographic depictions of the god at home.

Regarded as a god who grants all wishes (including impossible ones), he is widely worshipped for success in love, relationships, and business.

[19][20] He is usually offered daikon, sake, and a deep-fried sweet confection called Kangidan (歓喜団, "bliss bun"), which is based on the Indian modak, said to be a favorite of Ganesha.

Hindus spread through Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture with them, including Ganesha,[23] statues of whom are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries.

The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences.

One of the most revered shrines is the Royal Brahmin Temple in central Bangkok by the Giant Swing, where some of the oldest images can be found.

The Hindu temple Wat Phra Sri Umadevi in Silom also houses a Ganesha image which was transported from India in the late 19th century.

As lord of business and diplomacy, he sits on a high pedestal outside Bangkok's CentralWorld (formerly World Trade Center), where people offer flowers, incense and a reverential sawasdee.

In Thai version, there was an Apsara who committed a crime and was reborn as a water elephant named Asurapangki (อสุรภังคี) who was very powerful, causing trouble throughout all three worlds.

The ceremony was held at Mount Kailash, Phra Phrom (Brahma in Thai version) is invited and Vishnu came to join as well.

A Ganesha statue from the 1st century CE was found on the summit of Mount Raksa in Panaitan Island, the Ujung Kulon National Park, West Java.

In 1785, William Jones drew a close comparison between a particular form of Ganesha, known as Dwimukhi-Ganesha, and Janus, the two-headed Roman god.

[33] This speculation was repeated by Volney in his Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires (1791), in which he noted the phonetic similarity between the names "Ganesha" and "Janus" and both gods' association with beginnings;[34] and by Moor in The Hindu Pantheon (1810).

[35] Moor expanded the claims of an association based on functional grounds, noting that Janus, like Ganesha, was invoked at the beginning of undertakings, a liminal god who was the guardian of gates.

[36] These fanciful connections proposed by early Indologists no longer appear in modern academic reviews of Ganesha's history.

[33] Yamblique nous avertit qui tout livre composé par les prêtres était dédié à ce dieu, qui, à titre de génie ou décan oeuvreur du zodiaque, présidait à l'ouverture de tout entreprise: c'est le Janus des Romains, le Guianesa des Indiens, et il est remarquable que Yanus et Guianes sont homonymes.