yad adya kac ca vṛtrahann udagā abhi sūrya sarvam tad indra te vaśe
“O Vṛta-smiter, whatever today you have risen over, O Sun, all that is under your will, Indra.”
–Ṛgveda 8.93.4 (translation by Jamison and Brereton)
In this important Ṛgvedic mantra, Indra is praised as a destroyer of demons and a supreme controller whose will and power extends over all. The mantra is highly reminiscent of select aspects of Mahāgaṇapati’s mūlamantra सर्वजनं मे वशमानय sarvajanaṃ me vaśamānaya where Gaṇapati’s royal and all encompassing command is invoked to bind and control all the “obstructer elements” that may disturb a sādhaka’s practice. Initiation into his mantra, and his subsequent sādhana, constitutes the first, and in many ways most important, step in the life of an aspiring upāsaka. When this Ṛgvedic mantra combines in a special way with the Mahāgaṇapati mūlamantra and the Śrīvidyā Pañcadaśakṣarī, it forms a powerful mantra used by upāsakas for the fulfillment [kalpa] of desires [vāñchā].
Gaṇapati’s role in Śrīvidyā is crucial. Given his preeminence in related traditions, it comes as no surprise that he is also relegated a royal position in the family of Tripurasundarī’s maṇḍala. Not only is she his mother (…gaṇanāthāmbā LSN 442) who created him by merely glancing at Kāmeśvara (kāmeśvara mukhāloka kalpita śrī ganeśvarā LSN 77), but she delights in seeing him destroy obstacles and their vehicles (mahā gaṇeśa nirbhinna vighna yantra praharṣitā LSN 78).
The question as to why this particular Ṛgvedic mantra should be invoked with Mahāgaṇapati and Śrīvidyā may be found in that Indra, much like Gaṇapati is also a vanquisher of demons [and obstacles]. Indra is even referred to as “Gaṇapate” in the Ṛgveda 10.112.9 नि षु सीद गणपते गणेषु त्वाम् आहुर् विप्रतमं कवीनाम् ‘ni ṣu sīda gaṇapate gaṇeṣu tvām āhur vipratamaṃ kavīnām’ as he is requested to be seated as the lord of the Maruts (sons of Rudra). The connections between Indra and Mahāgaṇapati are likely many. Just as most precious knowledge may, at first, be shrouded in mystery and apparent contradiction, deeper knowledge and understanding is waiting to be uncovered and experienced in sādhana and continual learning.
śrī gurubhyo namaḥ
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