Page 491 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

with only one tusk, and a snake encircling his
torso. He is either yellow or red, and his four or
more hands hold various attributes, including a
shell or water lily, a discus, a club (or ax), and a
ball of sweet rice (modaka), his favorite food,
believed to contain the essences of his wisdom.
His snake cincture is explained by a delightful
tale: one day while riding his usual vehicle, the
rat, the tired charger was terrified by a large snake
and tripped. Ganesa, who had crammed his belly
with modakas, fell off. His vast belly burst, and
the sweets poured out. Unperturbed, Ganesa
stuffed them back in and sealed his paunch by
wrapping it with the snake that had caused the
accident. The single tusk resulted from a fight
with Parasurama (known for ax-throwing) or with
an angry rishi (holy man), who pulled out the
other tusk when Ganesa tried to keep him away
from Siva, who was meditating.
Here Ganesa, also known as Ganapata (the lord
of the Ganas, dwarf like troops of minor deities), is
shown dancing on a lotus platform, with one hand
free to maintain balance and his trunk reaching
for a modaka. His infectious happy mood, as
much as his other good qualities, accounts for his
great popularity. In Indian thought, however,
there is always ambivalence, perhaps because the
vital monsoon rains are so fickle, sometimes
bringing famine and pestilence as well as plenty.
Happy is he who faces Ganesa, but woe unto
anyone on whom the god turns his back. From the
front, Ganesa spreads benevolence and geniality;
from the back terror and destruction issue forth.
In this late but vital continuation of Chola
period prototypes, tendencies toward metaphorical
abstraction of form are apparent. Characteristi-
cally Indian are the full moonlike roundness of
the belly, the fishtail leanness of the trunk, and
the leaf-shaped eyes of this genial dancer. He
seems to be spoofing Siva's demonically powerful
tdndava dance, symbolic of the world's unfolding,
play, and destruction. We should remember,
however, that Ganesa may have originated not as
349 a remover of obstacles but as a bringer of catas-
trophe, madness, and misfortune. Even now, he is
DANCING GANESA (NRITTA-GANAPATI) God Siva and the Goddess Parvati was conceived worshiped by some through extreme antinomian
when the divine couple saw a pair of elephants meditations. In Hinduism, meanings are forever
i$th century mating and decided to enjoy each other "in the alive and changing; one never knows quite what
Indian, Karnataka elephant mode/ as a result of which he was born
bronze with this unexpected head. to expect, and of course one's anticipations are
50.3 x 32.9 (19% xi}) always right as well as wrong. s.c.w.
reference: Pal 1988, 156, 157, no. 134 The legends of Ganesa are infinite in number
and vary somewhat: his pachydermic look is also
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Purchase, ascribed to a crisis in infancy during which his
Harry and Yvonne Lenart Funds human head was cut off, then replaced by the one
closest at hand, which happened to be that of an
Ganesa is admired as the god of learning and good elephant. According to another tale, Ganesa was
fortune, and as a destroyer of obstacles. His name the son of Siva and another wife, Durga, whose
is invoked at the beginning of all undertakings name means "far" or "inaccessible" and who was
and is inscribed by devotees as the opening lines noted as a slayer of monsters. Yet another tale
of literary and scholarly works. In Hindu temples, maintains that Ganesa was created by Parvati
shrines, and households, his image is usually alone when Siva had been persuaded by the other
placed near the entrance to welcome visitors. gods to beget no more children. He is invariably
Some believe that the elephant-headed son of the represented as a potbellied, elephant-headed god

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