Uddanda Ganapati: The Enforcer of Dharma

Introduction

Uddanda Ganapati (उद्दण्ड गणपति) is the 24th of the 32 forms of Lord Ganesha. He is the bold “Enforcer of Dharma,” the laws of being. His hands hold a pot of gems, a blue lily, sugar cane, a mace, a lotus flower, a sprig of paddy, a pomegranate, a noose, a garland and his broken tusk.

Ud-danda means “with the staff raised”: the danda is the rod of justice that a king lifts to protect the good and restrain the wicked. Uddanda Ganapati is Ganesha as the upholder of dharma, the right order of the world.

The 32 forms are listed in the Mudgala Purana, and their meditation verses and paintings are preserved in the Sritattvanidhi, a nineteenth-century treatise from the court of Mysore.

The Form of Uddanda Ganapati

Red and many-armed

His meditation verse calls him śoṇāṅga, red-limbed. Red is the colour of energy and power. He is one of the most many-armed of the 32 forms: the Himalayan Academy describes ten hands, while his verse names about twelve objects. So many arms show how many ways he acts at once to keep the world in order.

His shakti

At his left sits his shakti, his divine power in female form. The verse describes her as fair-skinned, with a lovely lotus in her hand, embracing him. Even as the stern enforcer of dharma, Ganesha is never apart from grace.

What His Hands Hold

His hands hold symbols of both firmness and abundance:

• A mace (gada), the weapon of strength and authority, with which dharma is defended.
• A noose (pasha) and, in the verse, a goad (ankusha), to restrain and to guide.
• His broken tusk (danta), the sign of sacrifice.
• Sugar cane, in the verse a sugar cane bow, for the sweetness of a well-ordered life.
• A pot of gems and a sprig of paddy (in the verse, a vessel of rice): wealth and food, the prosperity that dharma brings.
• A pomegranate (in the verse the bijapura, a citron), full of seeds, for abundance.
• A blue lily, a lotus and a garland of flowers: purity, beauty and devotion.

The Meditation Verse

कल्हाराम्बुजबीजपूरकगदादन्तेक्षुचापं सुमं
बिभ्राणो मणिकुम्भशालिकलशौ पाशं सृणिं चाब्जकम् ।
गौराङ्ग्या रुचिरारविन्दकरया देव्या समालिङ्गितः
शोणाङ्गः शुभमातनोतु भजतामुद्दण्डविघ्नेश्वरः ॥

kalhārāmbuja-bījapūraka-gadā-dantekṣu-cāpaṃ sumaṃ / bibhrāṇo maṇikumbha-śāli-kalaśau pāśaṃ sṛṇiṃ cābjakam / gaurāṅgyā rucirāravinda-karayā devyā samāliṅgitaḥ / śoṇāṅgaḥ śubham ātanotu bhajatām uddaṇḍa-vighneśvaraḥ

In English: “Holding a white water lily, a lotus, a citron, a mace, his tusk, a sugar cane bow and a flower, a pot of gems and a vessel of rice, a noose, a goad and a lotus; embraced by the fair goddess with a lovely lotus in her hand: may red-limbed Uddanda Vighneshvara spread auspiciousness for those who worship him.”

Uddanda Vinayaka of Kashi

The name Uddanda belongs also to one of the 56 Vinayakas of Kashi (Varanasi). The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana describes 56 forms of Ganesha set in rings around the sacred city to guard it, with Dhundhiraj Vinayaka at the centre. Uddanda Vinayaka is one of them, in the outermost ring. His shrine stands on the Panchakroshi route, the pilgrimage path that circles Kashi. This Uddanda Vinayaka shares the name of the 24th form, though he is not necessarily the same image.

The Significance of Uddanda Ganapati

Devotees turn to Uddanda Ganapati for protection from evil and wrongdoing, for courage, and for justice. He reminds them that Ganesha does not only remove obstacles; he also places them in the path of those who would do harm. The pot of gems and the paddy in his hands show what follows when dharma is upheld: a world at peace and in plenty.

The 32 forms, Uddanda Ganapati among them, are carved in stone at the Srikanteshvara temple in Nanjangud and the Chamarajeshvara temple in Chamarajanagar, both in Karnataka, and in the Pazhavangadi Ganapathy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Conclusion

Uddanda Ganapati, red and many-armed, raises the rod of dharma. With mace and noose he restrains wrong; with gems, paddy and fruit he gives plenty; with his shakti beside him he joins strength to grace. His verse asks that he spread auspiciousness for all who worship him.

Read 32 Forms of Lord Ganesha >>