Beautiful Bronze Idol of Ganesha as Ekakshara Statue
Ganesha is one of the principal deities and worshipped throughout India. Ganesha is the lord of obstacles. He is propitiated before commencement of any task for he removes any obstacle that may stand in the way of accomplishment of anything. He is son of Shiva and Parvati but really was created by Parvati alone out of the discard she obtained from her body after rubbing cleanser. So, since Ganesha was born without male (nayaka) participation he is also called Vinayaka - the prefix vi meaning ‘without ’. <br> <br>Ganesha is one of the principal deities and worshipped throughout India. Read about Ganesha in detail <a title="Read about Ganesha" href="https://www.cottage9.com/deity/know-about-ganesha-iconography-stories-buy-ganesha-art/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Ganesha has 32 forms. This beautiful bronze idol of Ganesha as Ekakshara is one of those 32 forms. This is also the most common form of Ganesha and most of his statues are of this form. Ekakshara is the 17th form of Ganesha among his 32 forms. <br> <br>Eka means ‘one ’ and Akshara means ‘letter ’. Ekakshara therefore means single letter and that is also the Beejakshara or the seed letter. This Beejakshara refers to the ‘Gam ’ of which Ganesha is the master or presiding deity. Ekakshara also refers to the Omkara which is the primordial sounds and also the single letter representing the supreme in sound form. Therefore Ganesha as Ekakshara is also Omkara personified. <br> <br>In this bronze Ekakshara Ganapati statue, Ganesha is seen four-armed. He holds (clockwise) ankush, pasha, modaka and danta; which respectively are, a goad, noose, a sweet and a fragment of Ganesha ’s own right tusk. He is pot bellied and wears a snake and a jewelled belt around his belly. This statue would be one of the most traditionally South Indian Ganesha statues in terms of pose, jewellery and iconography. The crown, style of trunk and sitting pose are all very traditional. <br> <br>A miniature mouse, Ganesha ’s mount, accompanies the idol. The form of Ganesha looks very concise and contained and sits on a double pedestal. This is a small bronze idol and yet very well carved with details.
