6

I know that there are 8 immortals as per Hindu scriptures.

(e.g Ashwaththama, Mahabali, Vyasa, Hanuman, Vibhishan, Kripacharya, Parshurama, Markandeya)

But, is Lord Ganesha immortal? If not, is there any story of his death? Otherwise, how did he become immortal?

How about his brother Lord Kartikeya? Is there any story about them?

Pandya
  • 26,175
  • 10
  • 99
  • 243
Nishant Solanki
  • 855
  • 6
  • 12
  • 22
  • 1
    That is about humans (or apes in Hanuman's case) who are immortal. It's not about the gods. – Keshav Srinivasan May 19 '15 at 06:09
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Lord parshurama was god na? He was incarnation of lord Vishnu.. Also hanuman was incarnation of lord shiva.. And if we see about gods than lord rama and lord krishna have died .. – Nishant Solanki May 19 '15 at 06:12
  • @NishantSolanki Krishna and Rama are human avatars of vishnu but Ganesha is not a avatar but god by himself, made out of parvati not born in human form. – Ankit Sharma May 19 '15 at 06:57
  • @NishantSolanki As Ankit said, there's a difference between a god and an incarnation of a god. – Keshav Srinivasan May 19 '15 at 06:59
  • @KeshavSrinivasan oww ok..got it.. but only Tridev (brahma,vishnu and mahesh) are aadi-anadi even brahma dies after a mahakalpa?? – Nishant Solanki May 19 '15 at 07:11
  • @NishantSolanki Yeah, even Brahma dies eventually, but Vishnu at least is eternal; see this answer: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/256/36 – Keshav Srinivasan May 19 '15 at 07:15
  • @Nishat- All the gods including Ganesa, Kartikeya etc will not exist after the final pralaya happens. As Upanishads and vedas say only "Narayana alone existed and will exist". neither bramha, Siva, Indra none existed in the begining nor will exist after the final pralaya. Ganesa & Kartikeya also are born and are not in the same class as Siva or Brahma. If, Ganesa is god, why was his head cut off by his own so called father, Siva? Every thing from Brahma to the smallest grass will perish and get absorbed into Narayana. Only, NARAYANA, will exist as per vedas, upanishads and genuine scriptures. –  May 19 '15 at 07:20
  • @Krishna but still, is there any documentation in puranas or vedas about this?? – Nishant Solanki May 19 '15 at 08:58
  • @Nishant - The MahaNarayana Upaniahad , part of Taittriya aranya of Krisna Yajurveda, clearly says only Narayana Existed prior to creation. Also, upanishads clearly say all from Brahma to a blade of grass all are subjected to destruction. Also, the so called chirajeevis like Hanuman,Aswatthama etc also will also be subjected to death. The differencevis in the time scale. So, every thing from Brahma, rudra, indra, ganesa, kartikeya will be recycled. –  May 19 '15 at 09:26
  • Lord Ganesha is that immortal Brahman, who has no birth and no death. All the best. – Sai May 19 '15 at 14:29
  • Neither ganesa nor brahma nor siva nor rudra are immortal. They are also mere mortals but class above other ordinary mortals like us. All the very best –  May 19 '15 at 18:23
  • 2
    @Krishna If MahaNarayana Upanishad Tells that Everything is in mahavishnu then why does linga purana contradicts?? Why does it say that Shiva is the only adi anant Ishwara?? Because bramhan has many form there are many godheads you have to choose your suitable choice (Ishta devata) and then meditate upon him as swaroop of bramhan so that you can attain liberation moksha. The real part is bramhan is formless as well as wellformed you have to choose what do you like Bramhan comes in all flavours. – Yogi May 19 '15 at 19:30
  • @creator- well, if you think, linga purana is more valid than upanishads, then you are welcome to repose that mis conceivedc faith in linga purana. Before that, get some basic understanding of sanskrit because the meaning of Linga is identity or mark and so on. So, linga is not formless. –  May 20 '15 at 05:12
  • @creator- Adi Shankara's Nirguna brahman doesn't have name, atttributes, form. The momemt you say linga or Siva, your theory goes for a toss as you are giving form, name etc. Brahman, doesn't come in all flavors. But whoever you worship, it refers to the Narayana alone as he is the Antaryami of every thing. –  May 20 '15 at 05:17
  • @Creator- Shankara has clearly said in his principle works i.e. prastana traya, that Saguna brahman is Vishnu alone not siva, rudra, ganesa, parvati, etc. Nirguna brahman doesnt have name, form, attributes. so it is not Siva or Rudra, consort of parvati nor brahma, nor ganesa, nor kartikeya. The moment you give an identity or name, nirgunatva doesnt hold. –  May 20 '15 at 05:18
  • But everything what happens has a reason behind it, as lord parshurama is immortal because he has to give knowledge to lord kalki avatar, which yet has to be born.. lord krishna and lord rama has died because they have completed their work.. – Nishant Solanki May 20 '15 at 05:24
  • @Nishant- Who said Rama and Krishna dief? No scriptutes refer to Rama dying. It only says Rama along entered Sarayu river. He never gave up his divine body, as it is not karmic like humans and other gods. Regading, Krishna giving up his mortal coil, these are interpolations. Krishna used the pretext of jara hitting him with arrow to leave this earth. That he left his mortal coil is biggest hoax and interpolation. Please read Mahabharata/Vishnu purana/Srimad Bhagavatam to see through this interpolations. –  May 20 '15 at 08:09
  • @Krishna I think Krishna's many-armed divine body went up to the sky, but his two-armed body remained on earth; here's what the Mausala Parva of the Mahabharata says: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m16/m16007.htm "Searching out the bodies then of Rama and Vasudeva, Arjuna caused them to be burnt by persons skilled in that act. The son of Pandu, having next performed duly those sraddha rites that are done to the dead, quickly set out on the seventh day, mounting on his car." In fact, Krishna's heart is in the statue of the Puri Jagannath temple. – Keshav Srinivasan May 20 '15 at 22:11
  • @@Keshav- If you look at Ramanuja Geeta bhasya, in vishwaroopa chapter, Ramanuja clearly explains that krishna moved around in his chaturbhuja form. let us assume, Krishna's two handed form was left behind. Then who should perform the last rites, the great grandson Vajra who was still alive or vasudeva, father of Krishna, who was also alive at that time. Did Arjuna perform last rites only for krishna or balarama too? If, that is so some puranas say that Revati and other wives of Balarama held the body of Balarama and entered the pyre. Looks like interpolation for sure –  May 21 '15 at 08:50

1 Answers1

9

Advaita perspective:

Yes, Lord Ganesha is a form of the Eternal Brahman. Therefore He is eternal. The stories relating to the birth of Lord Ganesha are also of a deep spiritual significance. Here is what Veda and some saints have said about Lord Ganesha.

Symbolic meaning of Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesha is a form of the eternal Brahman. The form and stories of Lord Ganesha has a deep spiritual significance.

This is what Sri Swami Sivananda says about Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom and bliss. He is the Lord of Brahmacharins. He is the foremost among Brahmacharins or celibates.

He rides on the Vahana, the small mouse. He is the Presiding Deity of the Muladhara Chakra.

He is the Lord who removes all obstacles in the spiritual path and brings worldly success. So He is called Vighna Vinayaka. His Bijakshara is Gang. He is the Lord of harmony and peace.

Lord Ganesha represents OM or the Pranava. Pranava is the chief Mantra of the Hindus. Nothing can be done without uttering it. Hence the practice of invoking Lord Ganesha before beginning any rite or work. The two feet are His Jnana Sakti and Kriya Sakti. Lord Ganesha has the elephant-head as that is the one figure in nature which is of the form of Pranava.

Riding on the mouse represents that He has killed egoism. He holds Ankusa. This represents that He is the Ruler of the world. This is the emblem of Divine Royalty.

Ganesha is the first God, Adi-Deva. Mouse is a small creature. Elephant is the biggest of all animals. Riding on a mouse and wearing the head of an elephant denote that He is the Creator of all creatures, from the biggest elephant to the smallest mouse. Elephants are very wise. Wearing the head of an elephant indicates that Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom. It also denotes the process of evolution. The mouse gradually evolves into an elephant and finally becomes a man. That is the reason why Ganesha has a human body, the head of an elephant, and mouse as His vehicle. This is the symbolic philosophy of His form.

He is the Lord of Ganas or groups, such as the group of elements, the group of senses, the group of Tattwas. He is the head of the followers of Siva.

Ganesha as eternal Brahman

The Ganapathi Atharvasirsha says that Lord Ganesha is the imperishable Brahman

tvam vaangmayastvam chinmayah

tvamaanandamayastvam brahmamayah

tvam sachchidaanandaadvitiiyosi

tvam pratyaksham brahmaasi

tvam jnaanamayo vijnaanamayosi

You are the word, deed and thought . You are the truth, consciousness and bliss. You are the One only and non-dual Universal Self. You are the personified Brahma, appearing before us. You are the entire knowledge and wisdom.

Sri Shankaracharya on Lord Ganesha

In Sri Shankaracharya's work Ganesh Bhujangam, he says that Sri Ganesha is beginningless and Pranava.

Yamae Kaa Ksharam Nirmalam Nirvi Kalpam

Gunaa Teeta Maa Nanda Maa Kaara Shoonyam

Param Paara Mom Kaara Maan Maaya Garbham

Vathanthi Prakalpam Puraanam Tameed (Sanskrit version, English version)

I praise that Ganesha,

Who is the beginning of the universe, Who is pure,

Who is free from differences, Who is beyond the qualities,

Who is pure bliss, Who is formless, Who is beyond everything,

Who is OMkar, Who is the creator of illusions, and Whom eminent Purana sing.

Thus from advaita perspective, Lord Ganesha symbolizes the Eternal Omkara or Pranava, which is not different from Brahman Himself. All the best.

Community
  • 1
Sai
  • 4,435
  • 2
  • 19
  • 33