Lord Ganesha’s Tools

• Shankha
  Conch

Ganesha listens to the puja conch’s loud sound, reminding Him of elephants’ trumpeting happily in the jungle. He summons, “Come one and all to Me and pray.”

• Ankusha
  Goad

Loving Ganesha’s deliberate mind prods dullards on in their birth karmas whenever they tarry. with His ankusha He goads forward all souls that are moving too slowly.

• Parashu
  Axe

Loving Ganesha knows there are difficult times ahead for some of His devotees. He protects them with His parashu in gentle ways from evils they have attracted.

• Pasha
  Noose

Loving Ganesha’s provident mind, like the noose, draws close those He loves most dearly and reaches out to encircle and save strayed ones in extraordinary ways.

• Vajratrishula
  Lightning Bolt

Loving Ganesha, like His brother Murugan, wields a sure weapon, the lightning bolt: spirit over mind, mind over matter, ruling both the higher and lower chakras.

• Chakra
  Discus

Loving Ganesha holds the discus, symbol of the sun and of the mind, as the moon symbolizes the emotions. Employed as a weapon, it is the intellect divinely empowered.

• Modakapatra
  Bowl of Sweets

Loving Ganesha is said to have a sweet tooth, or tusk. But the modaka ball is a symbol of what He loves most, moksha, liberation, the sweetest of all things sweet.

• Gada
  Mace

Loving Ganesha is decisive and commanding, as symbolized by gada, His mace. He casts karmas back on devotees for resolution, never letting up until completion.

• Chhuri
  Dagger

Loving Ganesha sometimes holds the dagger, keenly sharp, likened to the “razor’s edge,” the narrow and sometimes difficult path the spiritual aspirant must walk.

• Rudraksha Mala
  Prayer Beads

Loving Ganesha sits at Lord Siva’s holy feet with japa mala, His prayer beads, in hand, waiting for instruction from the Supreme Lord of all the Gods, His father.

• Pushpashara
  Flower Arrow

Loving Ganesha shoots flower-covered arrows from His sugar cane bow in guidance to devotees, so they will not wander too far from dharma’s path of true fulfillment.

• Amritakumbha
  Pot of Nectar

Loving Ganesha receives a bath whenever a worshiper knocks his temples with arms crossed. The amrita flows from the sahasrara down to His seat at the muladhara’s base.

• Padma
  Lotus

Ganesha wants devotees to learn confidence from the potential of the lotus flower: coming from the depths of the mud into the bud’s opening high above the water.

• Ikshukarmuka
  Sugar Cane Bow

Loving Ganesha shows His generous nature of giving all that is good to devotees. His sugar cane bow shoots the kindest arrows, which are projections of His thought.

• Shara
  Arrow

Loving Ganesha has power over thought, and each one hits its mark. Bow drawn, arrow aimed, He teaches us to precisely begin all undertakings with good intentions.

• Vina
  Indian Lute

Loving Ganesha is sound in all its beauty and meaning. Siva is the ocean; Ganesha is its sound. Siva, the wind God; Ganesha its sound. Listen to the vina within and hear.

• Asura
  Goblin

Loving Ganesha is not beyond frightening those who live in the chakra of fear by sending His ganas to lift them into a better life. Sometimes fear is a helpmate in need.

• Danda
  Stick

Ganesha carries a short stick, a sign of authority, warning all not to impede the noble ways of dharma and restraining those who have as much as the thought to do so.

• Chamara
  Fly-Whisk Fan

Loving Ganesha sits, as He always does, whisking away the past within the minds of devotees, young and old, rich and poor, educated and practical — because He is so wise.

• Kamandalu
  Water Vessel

Loving Ganesha, dear to sannyasins, keeps their water vessel full. Symbol of fullness, meeting all needs, kamandalu eternally pours out, never needing to be filled.

• Dhanush
  Bow

Loving Ganesha is discreet as He draws His bow and bends His thoughts into forms most helpful to His dear devotees. They all cherish all attentions with great ecstasy.

• Naga
  Serpent

Loving Ganesha has a snake as His pet. Many are afraid of such creatures; but He tells us that it is the kundalini within all, and each one can rise above all adversity.

• Shalipallava
  Rice Sprig

Loving Ganesha knows rice is the life-sustainer of villagers and city folk alike. Holding a sprig of paddy, He assures rains will come and all will be well at harvest time.

• Mudgara
  Hammer

Loving Ganesha wields a mallet, badge of His office as Patron of Arts and Crafts, protector of all who build and shape, chisel and sculpt for the benefit of society.

• Shastra
  Scripture

Loving Ganesha studiously edits all the scriptures on this planet and on others, too. His ever-ready, potent pen writes and edits life’s ordinances and comments on their meanings.

• Kalpavriksha
  Wish-Fulfilling Tree

Loving Ganesha holds a sprig of the wish-fulfilling tree to tell us that all our wishes will be gratified. We have but to tell Him our needs, that is all, just tell Him.

• Parashvadha
  Battleaxe

Loving Ganesha knows sometimes strong measures must be taken to fulfill a righteous goal, like crashing through a jungle. He uses a battleaxe as a mind force.

• Mahaparashu
  Large Axe

Loving Ganesha often brandishes a big axe. This powerful weapon frightens off asuras and banishes malicious thoughts of those who intend harm to His devotees.

• Trishula
  Trident

Loving Ganesha makes His way through the mind’s vast complexities with His abilities represented by trishula, His three-fold power: Love, Wisdom and Action.

• Narikela
  Coconut

Loving Ganesha holds the coconut, symbol of the ego, soft and sweet inside, hard and rough outside. When we break a coconut to Him, we break the ego’s hold on us.

• Dhvaja
  Flag

Loving Ganesha is the spirit of mirth. On festival days, the saffron Hindu dhvaja flies proudly over His temples, bringing crowds from near and far.

• Bhagnadanta
  Broken Tusk

As the story goes, Ganesha broke off His right tusk in a sacrificial act to use it as a stylus while taking Vyasa’s dictation. Thus he teaches us that we must finish what we start.

• Pashanadarana
  Pick Axe

Loving Ganesha is not naive by any means. He knows that trials await devotees, and that He must, in order to respond to prayers, pick, pick, pick away their mental dross.

• Agni
  Fire

Loving Ganesha activates His fiery powers, capable of consuming our dross, of destroying our residual karmas, if we but consign our misdeeds to the purifying flames.

• Khadga
  Sword

Loving Ganesha has a sword bejeweled with precious gems. It gives notice to those who respond only to fear of His enmity to crime and His abhorrence of hurting.

• Phala
  Fruits

Loving Ganesha, dweller in the forest, enjoys all the Earth’s many life-sustaining fruits. He wants parents and children alike to stay healthy by eating lots of energy-giving fruits.

• Mulaka
  Radish

Loving Ganesha, by His partiality for the simple radish, makes us grow food that is good for us. He knows devotees may grow more than they need just to please Him.

• Khetaka
  Shield

Loving Ganesha holds the shield of divine security, symbol of His power to defend lands of the upright, to preserve traditions and to protect all souls on the spiritual path.

• Amra
  Mango

Loving Ganesha says of the mango: “It was given to Me from Lord Siva’s own hand after performing My first wisdom act. It represents the highest spiritual fruition.”

• Tritiyakshi
  Third Eye

Loving Ganesha, as do we all, has three eyes, not two, the third being the eye of the mind, of spiritual sight. With this eye He sees the reality behind the world’s seeming.

• Ratnakumbha
  Pot of Gems

Loving Ganesha knows the magical power resident in gems. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds are like human souls, each with a different color, faceting, loveliness and value.

• Garitra
  Grains

Loving Ganesha knows there are many kinds of people and they need variety in diet. He protects the cultivation of all kinds of grains that make their bodies strong.

• Ikshukanda
  Sugar Cane

Loving Ganesha is fond of sugar cane, in fact, of anything sweet. Being the Lord all children adore, it is His joy to see their happy eyes light up when offering sugar cane.

• Madhukumbha
  Pot of Honey

Loving Ganesha wears a wide smile across His face when offered a pot of sticky honey. It is, to Him, like moksha itself, the sweetest of all things sweet, worth any effort.

• Kadaliphala
  Banana

Loving Ganesha has in His hand the banana, ripe and ready to eat. He looks at it longingly, yet would give it up in a moment should a devotee smell its fragrance.

• Yogadanda
  Meditation Staff

Loving Ganesha rests His arm upon a short staff when talking to devotees and when in deep samadhi. He finds it helps Him meditate more effortlessly, more deeply.

• Trina
  Grasses

Loving Ganesha knows that there are many kinds of animals, little and big. Each needs a special environment and foods, so He protects the grasses, little flowers and seeds.

• Tila Gola
  Sesame Ball

Loving Ganesha teaches us that size may be immense but there is nothing too small to overlook. In His trunk is a sweet made of tiny sesame seeds, and He rides on a tiny mouse.

• Shuka
  Parrot

Loving Ganesha delights when the parrot talks and shows he is happy. Perched in Ganesha’s hand, he greets all who come and go, giving his opinion when they are alone.

• Ananasa
  Pineapple

Loving Ganesha holds the pineapple and is ready to slice it to share with those in His aura. Giving and sharing is our lesson from the sweet pineapple that He gives us.

• Mushika
  Mouse

Ganesha’s companion, a mouse, attests to the all-pervasiveness of the elephant God. Mushika, the mount or vahana, carries Him into the mind’s every nook and cranny.

• Lambodara
  Big Belly

Loving Ganesha has this world and all the billions of galaxies in His abundant belly. All known and unknown universes are contained within His prodigious girth.

• Swastika
  Mark of Auspiciousness

Loving Ganesha’s good fortunes are represented by the swastika, a sign of luck and auspiciousness. Its crooked arms show how life is filled with change and indirection.

• Jambira
  Lime

Loving Ganesha is a practical God, and it is His wish that all who know Him drink the juice from one of His favorite fruits. He wants them to be healthy and enjoy life.

• Aum
  Cosmic Sound

Loving Ganesha is Aum. He is the A, the base sound of the universe; He is the U, the sound of the galaxies; and He is the M, the sound of the planets and the littlest stars.

• Shunda
  Elephant Trunk

Loving Ganesha has a versatile trunk, and makes it known that it is a symbol of His capacity to always love His devotees. With it He reaches out to touch each of them.

• Nilapadma
  Blue Water Lily

Loving Ganesha often sits by a lily pond, pondering the current state of the universe. His province is to see that all is in order until the next Great Dissolution, mahapralaya.

• Panasa Phala
  Jackfruit

Loving Ganesha’s favorite, jackfruit, is a potato-like vegetable, a chewy nut and sweet yellow fruit all in one. Like the jack’s stem, our attachments, though small, are strong.

• Prabhavali
  Fiery Arch

Loving Ganesha sits within an arch depicting creation, preservation and fiery dissolution. Above is the God of time, Mahakala, who ultimately claims everything.

• Dadima
  Pomegranate

Loving Ganesha knows we may be led astray by ways of worldly people who eat meat. He offers us red dadimas, as if saying: “Its many pink seeds are so much better than flesh.”

• Nagapasha
  Snake Cord

Loving Ganesha wears a snake around Him to tell us all that we have to be like Him and control our instinctive, animal mind. Yes, it is possible through the grace of this God.

• Kapittha
  Wood Apple

Loving Ganesha loves wood apples, kapittha, called the elephant fruit. Sweet to eat, packaged in a tough shell, it is a pharmacy of ayurveda’s secret medicinal potencies.

• Laddu
  Milk Sweet

Loving Ganesha was never accused of turning down a laddu, rich with milk, flour and sugar. Maybe it reminds Him of being young. Every young one loves sweets.

• Kavacha
  Armor

Loving Ganesha’s sculpted form in temples and shrines worldwide is encased on festival days in silver and gold facsimiles. He likes splendor, pomp and adulation.

• Shashikala
  Crescent Moon

Loving Ganesha, like His father, Siva, wears the crescent moon on His great head. It is a symbol of time’s passing, of auspicious moments and of the powers of the mind.

• Gam
  Mantra

Loving Ganesha is invoked by devotees through this mystery mantra. Upon hearing it, He immediately responds. Easy of access, He never delays in solving our problems.

• Yajnopavita
  Sacred Thread

Loving Ganesha wears across a massive shoulder the holy cord to remind us that we, too, can be twice born through His grace, that none is low and none is high.

• Jambu
  Rose Apple

Loving Ganesha loves the rose apple among many other wonderful fruits and vegetables. He shows us the path to good health, harmlessness to creatures and love.

• Payasa
  Pudding

Loving Ganesha is seen from time to time enjoying sweet tapioca pudding, likened to the love and kindness that comes from caring for others as one’s very own self.

• Sakti
  Consort

Loving Ganesha is often seen with two female consorts, or shaktis. They represent ida and pingala, the two life currents, emotion and intellect, that hold us close to Earth.

• Muladhara Chakra
  Base Center

Loving Ganesha, sitting on the four petaled muladhara, rules memory and knowledge as the gatekeeper to the six chakras above and the guard of the seven below.

• Vriksha
  Trees

Loving Ganesha is the giver of gifts from healing trees, the practitioner of ayurveda, the great doctor who helps us gain the knowledge of health from medicinal plants.

From Loving Ganesa
by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami