Ganesh of Newar

Elephants, the largest land mammal have been adorned and feared from pre-historic times. In Hinduism, elephants hold a special place due to being associated with the elephant-headed god- Ganesh. 

The concept of a standing elephant god has ancient roots and Rig Veda mentions Ganapati which is currently associated with elephant-headed giving an essence of the cult being extremely old. However, the earliest sculpture of Ganesh is only in the 5th century. CE and there are additional claims of even older Ganesh image of 1st cen. CE. The rarity of the elephant-headed god is evidence that Ganesh wasn’t a popular deity in the early common era. 

The Ganesh by the 7th century onwards gained a high level of status in the Newar community of Kathmandu Valley through a religious lamp known as Sukunda. 

A Newar settlement has multiple ganeshsthan (temple of Ganesh), the popular Ganeshsthan include Ashok Binayak temple, Chandra Binayak, Surya Binayak, Jal Binayak, Kamaladi Ganesh, Karya Binayak. 

Kathmandu is named Kashtamandap a wooden rest house; is also called Maru Sattal in the local Newari language after the Maru Ganedyo which is named after Ganesh temple. 

One of the strange customs of Newar is sacrificing animal to Ganesh who is taken as the slayer of demons. This tradition is sharply contrast to culture outside Kathmandu Valley where no meat is offered to Ganesh. 

The external world has heard about the living goddess of Nepal- Kumari but has rarely heard of the living gods of Nepal Ganesh and Bhairab. Unlike the Kumari tradition that is found in other part of Newar community, the Ganesh and Bhairab tradition is limited to the city of Kathmandu. 

Like Kumari, Ganesh has to fulfill a series of criteria and would get a separate chariot during Indrajatra. 

There doesn’t seem to be a long mythical story of the living gods- Ganesh and Bhairab, the tradition was created during the reign of Jaya Prakash Malla. There are some videos and documentaries, however, there remains a great potential for future documentaries. 

Newars, like other Hindus, have dedicated the day to worshiping Ganesh in Bhadra Shukla Chaturthi ( a day in the Hindu lunar calendar) which Newar calls Cha Tha. 

One of the Newar myths states that people shouldn’t view the moon on the day of Cha Tha, otherwise, they shall become a thief, Newar performs a special ceremony to worship the moon while calling it Ganesh’s birthday. 

There are multiple versions of this story, however, as a whole, these traditions reveal the importance of Ganesh in Newar culture.