Manuscript ”Vidya Ganesha Tantra ” - A New light on Female Ganesha
Ancient Tantra books were dipected many kinds of Ganapathi , like 8-16-32- and 64 forms,but actually in ritual practice available systems are only limited to the 15 forms, remaining forms are only knowing through by name and Dhyana sloka. At this junture I found one rare manuscript in Adayar library namely “Kumara Samhita” bearing No-75579, it contains “vidya Ganapathi “ ritual practice in full details , but it is in the form of female Ganapathi , at present this is the only one practical ritual book on female Ganesha. Female Ganesha is mentioned in two books only,the first one is :SilpaRatnam” by Sukumara {16 th A.D} as the details the iconography of “Sakthi Ganapati”[ Who is from the neck upwards an elephant and whose lower body is of a youthful female has vermilion-red colour of the evening,a corpulent belly, the breasts which make the bodily frame bow down owing to their weight,and beautiful hips; is shining with two proboscises which are{like}two great chains of molten gold, is of the form of Five Seed-syllables and has ten splendid arms adorned with a criton,etc,”Chapetr:24-verse75] The second book is Buddhist text “Arya Manjusree Mulakalpa”. Above mentioned references are only prove the existence of the cult of the female ganesha.but in real there is no text for ritual practice [Mantra-Dhyana-Homa vidhana,etc.] We are fortunate, now we got the textual evidence of the ritual practice of vidya Ganapati in the form of female Ganesha.This manuscript name “Kumara Samhita” seems like kumara or kartikeya cult,actually it contains 10 adhyayas, last one is incomplete which describes “Vancha kalpalata mantra” . First to Nine chapters are completely available and these nine chapters are elaborately dipected the ritual practice of Vidya Ganesha. To obtain desired results some rituals are also described in this manuscript. Scholars are also requested to verify and add some more vistas on this matter. --sampath kumar 10:01, 4 August 2011 (UTC)