2022-09-09 01:57:14 by Kchitrapu
This page has been fully proofread twice.
It would be necessary to go back several centuries
in the Vedic period in order to assess the antiquity of the
Ganesha cult of worship. The popular Gods of the Vedic
Aryans reflected the sense of dependence of human welfare
on the powers of nature. Aryan religion and philosophy
tended to invest the then largely unknown forms of nature
with a divine form so that their gods and goddesses were
essentially nature-oriented. The Aryan Sky Father
DYAUSH PITA and Earth Mother PRITHVI MATA merely
typified the falling of the rain from the sky to help the
earth produce corn and fruits(4).
The concept of a cosmic force as the source of creation
in the form of a Great Mother Goddess and her male
counterpart, the Father God, is essentially an earlier
concept brought into India from Greece and Asia Minor.
The Aegean Mā or Kubala (Cybele) and Atthis or Hepit
and Teshunp was one of the basis of the Siva-Umā cult of
Hindu worship of the pre-Aryan period.
Aryan worship centred around the "Homa" or sacrificial
fire. Agni was the messenger to carry the oblations of the
Aryan devotee to his gods.
Pūja or worship to an image of a God with flowers,
leaves, fruits, water, etc. was a Dravidian usage and as
such frowned upon by the Aryans. The sanskrit word
'puūja' is derived from the Dravidian 'pū'=flower and
'ge' = to do, and means literally a flower ritual or
service.
Gradually with the process of synthesis, which is a
a characteristic of Hindu religion and culture, pūjā has
gained a firm foothold in every Hindu home and temple,
whereas Homa or sacrifice has receded into the background.
Ganesha was worshipped as a Vighna-hartā even prior
to the advent of the Aryans in India. Murugan or Murukan
was also worshipped as the Dravidian god of youth, wedded
to perpetual celibacy. Murugan, in course of time, was
adopted by the Brahminical Hindus and became Kumāra
viii
in the Vedic period in order to assess the antiquity of the
Ganesha cult of worship. The popular Gods of the Vedic
Aryans reflected the sense of dependence of human welfare
on the powers of nature. Aryan religion and philosophy
tended to invest the then largely unknown forms of nature
with a divine form so that their gods and goddesses were
essentially nature-oriented. The Aryan Sky Father
DYAUSH PITA and Earth Mother PRITHVI MATA merely
typified the falling of the rain from the sky to help the
earth produce corn and fruits(4).
The concept of a cosmic force as the source of creation
in the form of a Great Mother Goddess and her male
counterpart, the Father God, is essentially an earlier
concept brought into India from Greece and Asia Minor.
The Aegean Mā or Kubala (Cybele) and Atthis or Hepit
and Teshunp was one of the basis of the Siva-Umā cult of
Hindu worship of the pre-Aryan period.
Aryan worship centred around the "Homa" or sacrificial
fire. Agni was the messenger to carry the oblations of the
Aryan devotee to his gods.
Pūja or worship to an image of a God with flowers,
leaves, fruits, water, etc. was a Dravidian usage and as
such frowned upon by the Aryans. The sanskrit word
'p
'ge' = to do, and means literally a flower ritual or
service.
Gradually with the process of synthesis, which is a
a characteristic of Hindu religion and culture, pūjā has
gained a firm foothold in every Hindu home and temple,
whereas Homa or sacrifice has receded into the background.
Ganesha was worshipped as a Vighna-hartā even prior
to the advent of the Aryans in India. Murugan or Murukan
was also worshipped as the Dravidian god of youth, wedded
to perpetual celibacy. Murugan, in course of time, was
adopted by the Brahminical Hindus and became Kumāra
viii