The common legend I have been aware that Lord Ganesha broke hos tusk to write the Mahabharata at the bidding of Veda Vyasa.
There is another legend in Mudugala Purana.
Parashuarama is a Chiranjeevi, who lives forever, went to meet Lord Shiva , His Teacher in the Himalayas and was blocked by Ganesha who was guarding Kailasa.
Angry Parsashurama threw his axe at Ganapati and it broke His left Tusk.
Ganesha accepted this without making effort to stop it as the Axe was given to Parashurama by His father Shiva .
Furious Parvati, hurt at Ganesha being hurt,declared she would cut off the arms of Parashurama.
She took the form of Durga, becoming omnipotent, but at the last moment, Shiva was able to pacify her by making her see the avatar as her own son.
Ganesha without one tusk is considered as His second avatar by some.
Ganesha Gayatri gives importance to this aspect of single Tusk
‘Ekadanthaaya Vidhmahe Vakra Dhundaaya Dheemahi,
Thanno Danthi Prachothayaath’
Source.Mudugala Purana,which is classified as a Upapurana.
Vishnu blessed Ganesha that at each Puja, Vrata, or any Sacred Deed, the Prathama Puja must be performed to Ganesha only
He was named by Lord Vishnu and He also gave Hm the Eight names which we use in Ganesha Puja today.
The first puja, after Ganesha’s new Rupa emerged, was executed by Vishnu and he blessed Ganesha that at each Puja, Vrata, or any Sacred Deed, the Prathama Puja must be performed to Ganesha only and garlanded him with a Vanamaala.
Vishnu performed the ‘nama karana’ (name giving) in the presence of Devas, Maharshis and Munis; he gave eight names: Vighnesha, Ganesha, Heramba, Gajaanana, Lambodara, Ekadanta, Shurpa-karna and Vinayaka. Devi Parvati made Ganesha sit on a golden chair, gave ‘Padya’with the holy waters of Ganga, Godavari etc.; offered Akshatas, flowers, chandana, Kasturi, Agaru Dhupa, Deepa, and Naivedya with a variety of Bhakshya, Bhojya, Lehya, Choshya and Paniyas, besides a wide range of fruits.
Tri Murtis and their spouses, Devas and Devis, Menaka and Himalaya had all chanted the Mantra: OM Shreem Hreem Kleem Ganeswaraaya Brahma ruupaaya chaaravey, Sarvasiddhi pradeshaaya Vighneshaaya Namo namah/ Bhagavan Vishnu then recited the Sacred Ganesha Kavacha to Shanaischara as follows:
( This ‘Samsaara Mohana Kavacha’s Prajapati is Rishi, Brihati is the Chhanda, Swayam Lambodara Ganesha is Devata; Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha is the ‘Viniyoga’; this entire Kavacha is of great essence: Let the Mantra Om gam hum Shri Ganeshaaya swaaha safeguard my head; the Dwadashokshara Manta save my forehead; let Om Hreem Kleem Shreem Gam protect my netras / eyes; may Vighnesha protect my ear lobes; let the Mantra Om Hreem Shreem Kleem protect my nose; let the Mantra Goum Gam Shurpaanyaya Swaha guard my lips and tongue; let the Mantra Om Lam Shreem Lambodaraaya Swaaha secure my cheeks; may the Mantra Om Kleem Hreem Vighna naashaaya swaaha keep my ears safe; let Om Shreem Gam Gajaananaaya swaahaa secure my shoulders; may the Mantra Om Hreem Vinaayakaaya swaaha guard my rear part of my body; let Om Kleem Hreem protect my ‘kamkaal’/ skeleton and the Mantra Gam save my chest. Let Vighna-nihanta provide safety to my hands, feet and the entire body! May Lambodara save my Eastern side, Vighnanayaka the Agneya side, Vighnesha the Southern side, Gajaanana the Nirruti side, Parvati putra the West, Shankaraatmaja the Vaayavya side, Shri Krishna the North, Ekadanta the Ishaana kona, Heramba the Urthwa bhaga / skyward, and Ganaadhipa the ‘Adhobhaga’ the underground. May the ‘Yogi Guru’ procect my while asleep or awake. This is how I explained the whole ‘Samsara Mohana naama Kavacha’to you Suryanandana Shaneswara. This Kavacha was bestowed to me when I attended the ‘raasa leela’ convention at Goloka and this should be divulged to one and all. If a person wears the Kavacha after Guru Puja, it shall indeed safeguard him or her and bestows the boons of performing thousand Ashwamedha Yagnas and thousand Vaajapeya Yagnaas. The Siddhi of this Kavacha is attainable after hundred lakh japas of it.)
The practice of taking a vow to smash a Coconut, this is different from breaking the Coconut in the Temple, here the Coconut is thrown at a Stone in the Temple in front of the Idol, in many Temples there are enclosures for this and the broken pieces are picked up by the people around.
This custom has been there in most of the Tamil Brahmin Homes.
This is not restricted to retrieving the lost objects alone,
This practice is followed for success in any endeavour or for successful completion of any major event like Marriage and even for a safe journey.
My mother used to follow this custom so regularly I use to remark that In Lord Shiva‘s House every one will suffer from dsentery because of the Number of Coconuts e break for Ganesha.!(Those ho collect the smashed pieces either eat them ra and many use this for preparing Coconut Chutney)
May be it is irrational to perform this, but this works for us, and for many more irrational people like me,
So long something works for me it is fine.
I do not look into the rationality behind it.
After all Life itself is irrational.
We use the same technic with Garuda for additional support!
Auspiciousness to those who hear —- thus the Santi.
1. Om Gam. I bow to Ganapati.
2. You clearly are the tattva. You alone are the creator. You alone are the maintainer. You alone are the destroyer. Of all this you certainly are Brahman. You plainly are the essence.
3. Always I speak amrta. The truth I speak.
4. Protect me. Protect the speakers. Protect the hearers. Protect the givers. Protect the holders. Protect the disciple that repeats. Protect that in the east. Protect that in the south. Protect that in the west. Protect that in the north. Protect that above. Protect that below. Everywhere protect! Protect me everywhere!
5. You are speech. You are consciousness. You are bliss. You are Brahman. You are being-consciousness-bliss. You are the non-dual. You are plainly Brahman. You are knowledge. You are intelligence.
6. You create all this world. You maintain all this world. All this world is seen in you. You are earth, water, air, fire, ether. You are beyond the four measures of speech. You are beyond the three gunas. You are beyond the three bodies. You are beyond the three times. You are always situated in the muladhara. You are the being of the three Saktis. You are always meditated on by yogins. You are Brahma, you are Visnu, you are Rudra, you are Agni, you are Vayu, you are the sun, you are the moon, you are Brahma, bhur-bhuvah-svar.
7 Ga is the first syllable, after that the first letter, beyond that m, then the half-moon all together. Joined with m, this is the mantra form.
8 The letter ga is the first form, letter a the middle form, m the last form. Bindu the higher form, nada the joining together, samhita the junction. This is the vidya of Lord Ganesa.
9 Ganaka is the seer, nricad-gayatri the metre, Sri Mahaganapati the devata. Om ganapataye namah.
10 Let us think of the one-toothed, let us meditate on the crooked trunk, may that tusk direct us.
11. One tusk, four arms, carrying noose and goad, with his hands dispelling fear and granting boons, with a mouse as his banner.
12. Red, with a big belly, with ears like winnowing baskets, wearing red, with limbs smeared with red scent, truly worshipped with red flowers.
13. To the devoted a merciful deva, the maker of the world, the prime cause, who at the beginning of creation was greater than nature and man.
14. He who always meditates thus is a yogin above yogins.
15. Hail to the lord of vows, hail to Ganapati, hail to the first lord, hail unto you, to the big-bellied, one-tusked, obstacle-destroyer, the son of Siva, to the boon-giver, hail, hail!
16. He who studies this atharva text moves towards Brahma. He is always blissful. He is not bound by any obstacles. He is liberated from the five greater and the five lesser sins. Evening meditation destroys the unmeritorious actions of the night. At both evening and morning he is liberated from the bad and he attains dharma, artha, kama and moksa.
17. This atharva text should not be given to those not pupils. If from delusion a person so gives, he is a bad person.
18. He who wants something may accomplish it by 1,000 recitations of this. He who sprinkles Ganapati with this becomes eloquent. He who recites this on a fourth day becomes a knower of vidya. This is an artharva saying: ‘‘He who moves towards Brahmavidya is never afraid.’’ He who worships with fried grains becomes famous and becomes intelligent. He who worships with sweet-meat (modaka) gains the desired fruit. He who worships with samit and ghee by him all is attained, all is gained by him. He who makes eight brahmËnas understand this becomes like the sun’s rays. In a solar eclipse, in a great river, or in front of an image having recited (this) he gets accomplished in the mantra. He becomes liberated from great obstacles. He is freed from great misfortunes.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Eka Danta, Ganesha with one tusk.
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