Statue of Ganesha

Item Information

Title:
Statue of Ganesha
Description:
This lantern slide, “Statue of Ganesha,” shows a statue of the Hindu god Ganesha (also called Ganesa, Ganesh, Pillaiyar, Ganapati, and Vinayaka) photographed somewhere in India. Ganesha is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is almost always depicted with an elephant head. Ganesha’s physical attributes are themselves rich in symbolism: he is normally shown with one hand in the abhaya pose of protection and refuge and the second holding a sweet (modaka), symbolic of the sweetness of the realized inner self. In the two hands behind him he often holds an ankusha (elephant goad) and a pasha (noose). The noose is to convey that worldly attachments and desires are a noose. The goad is to prod man to the path of righteousness and truth. With this goad, Ganesha can repel obstacles. His pot belly signifies the bounty of nature and that Ganesha swallows the sorrows of the Universe and protects the world. Revered as the Remover of Obstacles, the Lord of Beginnings, the patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom, he emerged as a distinct deity in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Creator:
Hawkes, Joseph
Date:
[1910?–1930?]
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
International Young Men's Christian Association
Lantern slides
Elephants
Gods
Hinduism
Idols
Extent:
3.25x3.25 in
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/3245
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Notes:
The Y.M.C.A. began working in India in 1889, when they sent a young American named David McConaughy to Madras to serve as the first foreign secretary in India. McConaughy encouraged the development of pre-existing Associations and held the first National Convention in 1891, resulting in the formation of the National Council of India, Burma, and Ceylon. The Association’s most notable contribution in India was its rural development work, first begun by K. T. Paul in 1913. Paul established microloan programs that freed the rural poor from the grips of moneylenders and won many converts among India's lower classes. Joseph Hawkes, the slide’s creator, spent much of his life producing and coloring lantern slides from his home in New York. This slide is part of Springfield College’s lantern slide series depicting Y.M.C.A. work in India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar in the early twentieth century. The series was prepared by the Foreign Division of the American and Canadian Y.M.C.A, which established self-sustaining associations staffed by trained secretaries in foreign lands.
Text on border reads, "Made by Joseph Hawkes; 9; India Elephant 900."
Part of the Y.M.C.A. Work in India and Sri Lanka Lantern Slide Series
Identifier:
LS-09A-10