Grammar with Ganapati..A Beginner’s Lesson

Decoding Ganapati Atarvaseersham

With Ganapati standing at the threshold, ever gently repeating the patterns and lessons, this Suktam becomes a gentle guide. The declarations come in the second person — bringing closeness and warmth. A one-on-one talk!

Ganapati! Namah to you [Namaste Ganapati!]
You are indeed the first principles [tvam eva XYZ]
This world begins-and-ends in you [tvatto jayate.. tvayi pratyeti]
The Yogis worship you [tvaam]
These are the building blocks of your Mantra [tava manu-swaroopam]

Have marked a few vibhakti and verb patterns in this work.

Structure of the Work

The work is quite long. Takes about 10 minutes to chant. If we were to break it to chapters and make a map of the work. And this kind of map will help in identifying similar structures in other works. All this is just my imagination as I was learning to chant.

Shanti Mantra
Tatva Roopam
Self Declaration
Protect Me!
Tatva Roopam
Mantra Roopam
Signature
Gayatri Mantram
Dhyaanam
Phala Shruti

Shanti Mantra

ॐ भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाः ।
भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभिर्यजत्राः ।
स्थिरैरङ्गैस्तुष्टुवाग्‍ँसस्तनूभिः ।
व्यशेम देवहितं यदायुः ।

Body Parts as “Means and Instruments”: Vibhakti 3

With stable body parts.. with stable body.. with ears.. with eyes..
may we serve the divine!
कर्णेभिः
अक्षभिः
स्थिरैर् अङ्गैः
तनुभिः

Plural Verbs
may we hear good भद्रं शृणुयाम
may we see good भद्रं पश्येम

The next line asking for swasti from the Gods..

स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः ।
स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः ।
स्वस्ति नस्तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः ।
स्वस्ति नो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु ॥ ।

Note: A small rearrangement reveals the meaning beautifully:
स्वस्ति नः [ABCD] दधातु
May [Indra/Sun/Garuda/Guru] give us [नः] स्वस्ति

Note: Praising the four lords with befitting adjectives.. asking for wellness.

The famous Indra इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः
The Sun.. He is indeed the knower of the world as his light reveals things.. पूषा विश्ववेदाः
Garuḍa, who destroys harmful forces with deep uncanny vision स्तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः
बृहस्पतिः the Guru of the Gods
May you grant us Swasti..

A grand opening and declaration

ॐ अथ गणेश-अथर्वशीर्ष व्याख्यास्यामः ।

And thus, अथ
we shall expound this work गणेश-अथर्वशीर्ष व्याख्यास्यामः
(Note: syaam — the future tense marker)

A list of declarations: You are ABC

त्वमेव ABC असि.. you indeed are ABC
त्वमेव केवलं XYZ असि.. you alone are XYZ

You alone are कर्ता/धर्ता/हर्ता, you alone are the doer, holder and the cleaner

त्वमेव प्रत्यक्षं तत्त्वमसि ।
त्वमेव केवलं कर्तासि ।
त्वमेव केवलं धर्तासि ।
त्वमेव केवलं हर्तासि ।
त्वमेव सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्मासि ।
त्वं साक्षादात्मासि ॥ 1

I speak

An intent to seek the truth

वँ॒च्मि I speak

ऋतं वच्मि ।
सत्यं वच्मि ।। 2

You should protect: अव

अव त्वं माम्।
अव वक्तारम् ।अव श्रोतारम् ।
अव दातारम् । अव धातारम् ।
अवानूचानमव शिष्यम् ।

अव XYZ
Protect me
Protect the speaker and listener
Protect the giver and receiver

Protect from All fronts and Directions

अव पुरस्तात् ।
अव दक्षिणात्तात् ।
अव पश्चात्तात् ।
अवोत्तरात्तात् ।
अव चोर्ध्वात्तात् ।
अवाधरात्तात् ।

सर्वतो मां पाहि पाहि समन्तात् ॥ 3

Note 1: Vibhakti 5 like usage is seen for “protection from”. Hence the words have the त्तात् endings.

Pura, dakshina, paschat, uttara are the 4 cardinal directions East South West and North. urdhva adhara the top and bottom

From all ends सर्वतो, protect me, protect me!

Note 2: Notice असि अव पाहि — these are second person verbs, short and straight. Ganapati! You are X.. You protect me!

You are full of: ‘maya’

त्वं वाङ्मयस्त्वं चिन्मयः ।
त्वमानन्दमयस्त्वं ब्रह्ममयः ।
त्वं सच्चिदानन्दाऽद्वितीयोऽसि ।
त्वं प्रत्यक्षं ब्रह्मासि ।
त्वं ज्ञानमयो विज्ञानमयोऽसि 4

त्वं A ‘maya’ त्वं B ‘maya’
त्वं C ‘maya’ त्वं D ‘maya’

vanmaya.. full of expression
anandamaya.. full of ananda

Note: These words ending with maya belong to a family of nouns that are derived from nouns. The tadditas.

You are full of expression.. full of chit
you are full of joy.. full of brahma
you are full of gyaan and full of its application

All this world सर्वं जगदिदं

सर्वं जगदिदं त्वत्तो जायते ।
सर्वं जगदिदं त्वत्तस्तिष्ठति ।
सर्वं जगदिदं त्वयि लयमेष्यति ।
सर्वं जगदिदं त्वयि प्रत्येति ।

Notice त्वत्त in the first 2 lines. It is in vibhakti 5.
All this world is born from you. All this world stands from you.

Notice त्वयि in the next 2 lines. It is in vibhakti 7.
All this world returns and finishes in you.

The 5 elements

त्वं भूमिरापोऽनलोऽनिलो नभः ।

You are bhumi aapa anila anala nabha.. [earth water fire water sky]

How incredible.. Everything in this world is an alchemy of the pancha bhutas. Notice this arrangement in increasing order of freedom.. From Solid liquid gas to space.

Beyond the triads

Again a list of declarations. Of beautiful first principles.

त्वं गुणत्रयातीतः ।
त्वं अवस्थात्रयातीतः ।
त्वं देहत्रयातीतः ।
त्वं कालत्रयातीतः ।

ABCD त्रयातीतः
Beyond the 3 gunas.. Beyond the 3 avasthas.
Beyond the 3 bodies.. Beyond the 3 tenses of time.

त्वां योगिनो ध्यायन्ति नित्यम् ।
The Yogis meditate you [त्वां, vibhakti 2]

The Gods and Forces You are

XYZ स्त्वं

Brahma Vishnu Rudra principles of creation maintenance and destruction you are.
Indra Agni Vayu you are
Surya Chandrama you are

त्वं ब्रह्मा त्वं विष्णुस्त्वं रुद्रस्त्वं
इन्द्रस्त्वमग्निस्त्वं वायुस्त्वं
सूर्यस्त्वं चन्द्रमास्त्वं

The absolute Brahman

ब्रह्म भूर्भुवस्सुवरोम् ॥६॥

The Mantra Roopam “ॐ गं” : The Sonic Lab

In two ways, the sound of the mantra has been described using the language of sequences.. at first, then, at the end, northbound.
The components: g a m preceded by Om..

गणादिं पूर्वमुच्चार्य वर्णादींस्तदनन्तरम् ।
अनुस्वारः परतरः ।
अर्धेन्दुलसितम् ।
तारेण ऋद्धम् ।
एतत्तव मनुस्वरूपम् 7

If we go back to phonetics..
In the consonants, there are various ganas.. The ka-varga, ca varga and so on.. The first soft letter is g right?

The varnamala is set of all letters; the first letter being a.

purvam we have [g], anantaram we have [a], परतरः followed by anuswaram[n] with embelishment of nasalisation [अर्धेन्दुलसितम्]

This sequence gives गं. When nasalised, and amped by Om we get the mantra roopam {ॐ गं}
तारेण ऋद्धम् । एतत्तव मनुस्वरूपम्

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The next verse is a more straight forward description..

गकारः पूर्वरूपम् ।
अकारो मध्यरूपम् ।
अनुस्वारश्चान्त्यरूपम् ।
बिन्दुरुत्तररूपम् ।

The parts beginning-middle-ending ie
पूर्वरूपम् मध्यरूपम् अन्त्यरूपम् being गकारः [g] अकारो [अ] अनुस्वार[m]

The northbound prefix being Om बिन्दु

Sandhi Fusion and Resonance

When sounds flow back to back -it is samhita. At the borders, sounds may modify to allow fluid movement. This is principle of Sandhi.

There is resonance and amplification of sound in the cavities of the body. That is naada anusandaana..

In this mantra “ॐ गं”, samhita, sandhi, nadanusandhana, all of it seen. A small lesson on phonetics and resonance. Ga being a low note at the threshold.

नादस्संधानम् ।
सग्ं‌हिता संधिः

The Signature

सैषा गणेशविद्या ।
गणक ऋषिः ।
निचृद्गायत्रीच्छन्दः ।
गणपतिर्देवता ।
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ॥9॥

This is Ganesha Vidya
Composed by Gaṇaka Rishi
in nichrut gayatrī chandas,
on Gaṇapati devata,
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः

Note: Gayatri meter is a cadence of 8 8 8 syllables..
This suktam is ‘nichrut gayatri’ which is one syllable short of the standard gayatri.
Perhaps in the first line, य वि counts as “1 syllable” ?
ek a dan tai vid ma he?

The Gayatri Mantra

एकदन्ताय विद्महे
वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि ।
तन्नो दन्तिः प्रचोदयात् ॥10॥

Notice the plural verbs विद्महे and धीमहि. It means
may we know (vid)
may we behold (dhi)

एकदन्ताय, वक्रतुण्डाय in vibhakti 5. May we pray, meditate, behold to him..

May we know Ekadanta..
May we behold his cosmic form VakratunDa..
May that danti bloom and raise(udaya) in us (nau)

Dhyaanam: Beholding the visual form

Previous sections were on Ganapati’s first principles, then on Ganapati’s mantra roopam. This section is dhyanam on his visual form.

एकदन्तं चतुर्हस्तं पाशमङ्कुशधारिणम् ।
रदं च वरदं हस्तैर्बिभ्राणं मूषकध्वजम् ॥
रक्तं लम्बोदरं शूर्पकर्णकं रक्तवाससम् ।
रक्तगन्धानुलिप्ताङ्गं रक्तपुष्पैस्सुपूजितम् ॥

The single toothed एकदन्तं,
the four handed चतुर्हस्तं,
the beholder of rope and ankusha पाशमङ्कुशधारिणम् , -elephant tusk and blessing mudra रदं च वरदं
holding these in his hands हस्तैर्बिभ्राणं

with mouse as his flag मूषकध्वजम्

a large red belly रक्तं लम्बोदरं
winnow like large ears शूर्प-कर्णकं
adorning red garments रक्त-वाससम्
body smeared by red sandal paste रक्तगन्धानुलिप्ताङ्गं rakta-gandha-anulipta-anga
worshipped by red flowers रक्त-पुष्पैस्सुपूजितम्

Notice: रक्तं appears four times. Red is the color of beginnings. All the words end in “m”, giving a sonorous sound.. And these are adjectives, describing the object of visual dhyaana.

भक्तानुकम्पिनं देवं जगत्कारणमच्युतम् ।
आविर्भूतं च सृष्ट्यादौ प्रकृतेः पुरुषात्परम् ।
एवं ध्यायति यो नित्यं स योगी योगिनां वरः

He who trembles with compassion towards his followers bhakta-anu-kampina
That lord.. That cause of the world.. He who is untouched pristine देवं जगत्कारणमच्युतम्
He who manifested at the beginning of creation आविर्भूतं च सृष्ट्यादौ
That absolute one पुरुषात्परम्

He who constanly meditates on the above ^^ ध्यायति यो नित्यं
he indeed is the best among the yogis स योगी योगिनां वरः

A final closing namaskaara

नमो व्रातपतये ।
नमो गणपतये ।
नमः प्रमथपतये ।

Namah to the lord of humans.. Namah to the lord of Ganas (Shiva’s troop).. Namah to the lord of ghosts under Shiva?

नमस्तेऽस्तु लम्बोदरायैकदन्ताय
विघ्ननाशिने शिवसुताय वरदमूर्तये नमः ॥12॥

May there be namah to you .. नमस्तेऽस्तु

नमः to the One with a Large Belly (Lambodara)
नमः to the One with a Single Tusk (Ekadanta),
नमः to the One Remover of all Obstacles (Vigna vinashin)
नमः to the Son of Lord Shiva (shiva suta)
नमः to the embodiment of Boon-Giving (varada-murti)

Phala Shruti: Meaning & Frequent Verbs

The prayer part is done. The next few blocks show the promise of this chant. The language is like
‘he who does it X’ ‘he reaps Y’
यो.. स

As the language is declarative, the tone is mostly flat with small modulation towards the end. Imagine a teacher telling the students the “ifs and buts” in a firm voice.

In group of five phrases, each block has a certain music, message, and modulation.

Block 1
He who studies [adhite] this atharva-seersham —
he is fit to merge with Brahman,
forever he is not tied by obstacles,
forever he is in the path of happiness,
he is freed from the five negatives paapa.

एतदथर्वशीर्षं योऽधीते
स ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ।
स सर्वविघ्नैर्न बाध्यते ।
स सर्वत्र सुखमेधते ।
स पञ्चमहापापात्प्रमुच्यते ।

Block 2

[Setbacks due to the past are removed]
Studying this work in the evenings will destroy the negativities and paapa incurred in the mornings. Studying in the mornings will destroy paapa incurred due to the eveings. Studying and contemplating all the time and everywhere will destroy all the paapa and the obstacles. And he gets the four fold dharma-artha-kaama-moksha.

सायमधीयानो दिवसकृतं पापं नाशयति ।
प्रातरधीयानो रात्रिकृतं पापं नाशयति ।
सायं प्रातः प्रयुञ्जानो पापोऽपापो भवति ।
सर्वत्राधीयानोऽपविघ्नो भवति ।
धर्मार्थकाममोक्षं च विन्दति

Notice the word ‘adhiyano’ appearing many times in this block as well as next blocks.

Block 3 Warning

This atharva-seersham should not be given to someone not qualified [not interested/ cynical / does not have the needed understanding etc], he goes backward and incurs paapa.

इदमथर्वशीर्षमशिष्याय न देयम् ।
यो यदि मोहाद्दास्यति स पापीयान् भवति ।

Block 4

Contemplating on this chant a 1000 times, he he who does that.. he he shall become accomplished.
By abhishekam through chant, one shall become an effluent orator.
On Chaurti day, by fasting and doing japam, he shall become vidyavaan.
This is word of AtarvaNam
By having shield of the ancient Brahma Vidya, he shall not have fear anymore!

सहस्रावर्तनाद्यं यं काममधीते तं तमनेन साधयेत्
अनेन गणपतिमभिषिञ्चति स वाग्मी भवति ।
चतुर्थ्यामनश्नन् जपति स विद्यावान् भवति ।
इत्यथर्वणवाक्यम् ।
ब्रह्माद्यावरणं विद्यान्न बिभेति कदाचनेति

Block 7

He becomes knower of all.. He becomes knower of all..[brahman]
This indeed is is Veda
Thus ends this Upanishad [Notice the tonal changes.. like a signature it goes zig-zag]

स सर्वविद् भवति स सर्वविद् भवति ।
य एवं वेद ।
इत्युपनिषत्

Frequent Verbs

In fact, one gets to see repeating verbs in the PhalaShruti. These are in 3rd person in present tense. One might as well as cache them :)

He who studies.. He who does abhisheka.. He who does japa.. He who does yagya

He becomes X.. He becomes Y.
He gets X.. He gets Y.

He who

एतदथर्वशीर्षं योऽधीते [reads]
अनेन गणपतिमभिषिञ्चति [does abhisheka]
चतुर्थ्यामनश्नन् जपति [does Japa]

र्यजति does yagya
यो दूर्वाङ्कुरै-र्यजति
यो लाजै-र्यजति
यो मोदकसहस्रेण यजति
यस्साज्यसमिद्भिर्यजति

~

नाशयति destroys
दिवसकृतं पापं नाशयति ।
रात्रिकृतं पापं नाशयति ।

भवति becomes

स विद्यावान् भवति ।
स वाग्मी भवति
स वैश्रवणोपमो भवति ।
स यशोवान् भवति ।
स मेधावान् भवति ।
सूर्यवर्चस्वी भवति ।
सिद्धमन्त्रो भवति ।
स सर्वविद् भवति स सर्वविद् भवति ।

प्रमुच्यते frees

महाविघ्नात् प्रमुच्यते ।
महादोषात् प्रमुच्यते ।
महाप्रत्यवायात् प्रमुच्यते ।

Obtain

स वाञ्छितफलमवाप्नोति [aapnoti obtains]
स सर्वं लभते स सर्वं लभते [labate gets]

Gerunds

अष्टौ ब्राह्मणान् सम्यग् ग्राहयित्वा [having grasped the meaning, he becomes X]
सूर्यग्रहेमहानद्यां प्रतिमासन्निधौ वा जप्त्वा [having meditated]

Vibhakti 3: “By Means of” “with”

सहस्रावर्तनाद्यं यं काममधीते तं तमनेन साधयेत्.. By 1000 cycles of study, one can obtain
अनेन गणपतिमभिषिञ्चति स वाग्मी भवति.. By chanting abhisheka, one becomes an orator

By does yagya with green shoots.. with rice puffs.. with modaka.. with ghee and sticks..

यो दूर्वाङ्कुरैर्यजति
यो लाजैर्यजति
यो मोदकसहस्रेण यजति
यस्साज्यसमिद्भिर्यजति

Hope the exaggerations and poetic freedom has helped connect with the work. I’m myself a student learning to chant.. These were some thoughts on the structureon the go. They are formative, and there is room for error.

Namaste!
Shree gurubhyoh namah!

https://greenmesg.org/stotras/ganesha/ganapati_atharvashirsha.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com