Is Lord Vinayaka a god or a demigod? Most of us would be having this question in our mind, since as per Vishnu Purana, Lord Vishnu is only considered as the superior god, and even gods like Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma are being considered only as demigods, or classified as minor deities.
Most of the Vaishnavites used to consider Lord Vinayaka as the commander-in-chief of Lord Vishnu’s army, and he is even named as “LORD VISHWAKSENA”, which means the head of Lord Vishnu’s Army. In some Vishnu Temples, we could find that in the forehead of the idol of Lord Vinayaka, the sacred Thiruman, also called as “NAMAM” would be applied, instead of the sacred ash, also called as “Thiruneeru”.
But Shaivites used to consider Lord Vinayaka as the supreme god, and as per Ganesha Purana, Lord Vinayaka is mentioned as the Chief among other gods and even the Trimurti and the Tridevi are considered as his Divine Assistants and in that Purana, it was also mentioned that Lord Vinayaka holds the entire universe on his stomach. Still, even some Shaivites worships Lord Vinayaka as the secondary god, by considering him only as a child god.
In one of the Holy Texts, the divine old woman, Ma Avvaiyar praises Lord Vinayaka, as “MUZHU MUDHAR KADAVULE”, which means, Lord Vinayaka is the first god, “VIKNANGALAI THEERPAVANE”, the remover of obstacles, “PARAMA PURUSHANE”, the Master of the entire universe. Likewise, the great Rishi Purushundi who was a staunch devotee of Lord Vinayaka also praises him as the “SUPERIOR GOD”, and as the most “BENEVOLENT GOD”.
According to me, instead of doing unnecessary research work about the powers of Lord Vinayaka, we have to worship him as the “FIRST GOD”, and as the remover of obstacles. Whoever worships him with sincerity would get his utmost grace, and thereafter they could be able to lead their life without any sufferings and tensions.
“OM SRI VINAYAKAYA NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR