The Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties in Hindu mythology,[1] but who were easily propitiated.
[4] This Vināyaka-Ganapati is associated with another god called Dantin, "the one with the tusk," who is said to possess a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and who holds a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club.
She based this conclusion in part on the fact that in the Mānava-Gṛhyasūtra the Vināyakas are associated with various other beings, including three of the four Buddhist lokpālas (guardians of the quarters), as well as the deities Mahādeva and Mahāsena.
Mahādeva and Mahāsena were popular gods during the Aśokan period, a time when the spread of Buddhism must have posed a challenge to adherents of the Vedic tradition.
[13] Thapan notes that almost all of the references to the Vināyakas, Danti, and their related beings do not appear in the main body of the critical edition of the Mahābhārata, but are only mentioned in the Appendices.