Friday, January 13, 2006

Confusion over Lord Ganesha's Shloka

I have not studied this matter in depth but these are some lingering thoughts in my mind that I should find out more about. Given that Lord Ganesha is Mumbai's "favorite" God and that half of Bollywood and even "telewood" go to the Siddhivinayak temple, I thought it might be time to pose this question.

I've heard at least 2 versions of the famous Lord Ganesha's shloka. Mind you, this is the same "mantra" that is recited at the beginning of every auspicious ceremony. The 2 versions differ by only a single word, but the change seems significant to me.

Here are the 2 versions, side by side:
Vakratunda mahakaya
Koti soorya samaprabha
Nirvighnam kurume deva
Sarva karyeshu sarvada
Vakratunda mahakaya
Koti soorya samaprabha
Nirvighnam kurume deva
Shubh karyeshu sarvada
These are 2 separate versions that I've heard or read. The difference is a single word. In one version, it is "Sarva", while in the other it is "Shubh". "Sarva" means all, while "Shubh" means auspicious.

Thus, the first mantra is probably meant for all tasks (auspicious or otherwise), whereas the second one seems to seek blessings before beginning an auspicous task.

I wonder which one is the original one and whether both mean the same. If you have to start a not-so-legal task, you now know which one to use.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Read your post, quite interesting as far as I know the verse goes as Vakratunda mahakaya
Koti soorya samaprabha
Nirvighnam kurume deva
Sarva karyeshu sarvada

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