Posted:
6 years ago
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana (gaa), meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha (a), meaning lord or master.[17] The word gaa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva, Ganesha's father.[18] The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation.[19] Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements.[20] Ganapati (; gaapati), a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord".[19] Though the earliest mention of the word Ganapati is found in hymn 2.23.1 of the 2nd-millennium BCE Rigveda, it is however uncertain that the Vedic term referred specifically to Ganesha.[21][22] The Amarakosha,[23] an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha: Vinayaka, Vighnarja (equivalent to V