Durga Ganapathi Mantra
ॐ दुर्गागणपतये नमःIn Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.
Who Durga Ganapathi is
Durga Ganapathi is the manifestation of Ganesha who bears the name and the unobstructed radiance of the goddess Durga, appearing in the thirty-two-form lists as the lord who cannot himself be hindered. Eight-armed, golden in complexion and clothed in red, he holds a hook, an arrow, a rosary and his tusk in his right hands, and a noose, a bow, a wish-granting creeper and a rose-apple in his left. Tradition presents him as the point at which the elephant-headed remover of obstacles and the invincible goddess share a single fierce grace. He is the aspect approached when impediments have already defeated ordinary means, for the tradition assigns him the quality of undoing what is hard to overcome while never separating that quality from Ganesha’s essential nature. Separate festival images and subsidiary shrines in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra preserve this combined identity.
Golden, with Eight Arms
Durga Ganapathi is one of the thirty-two forms of Ganesha. The Mudgala Purana is the first text to list the thirty-two names, but it does not tell a separate story for each form; the detailed meditation verses come from the Sritattvanidhi, a nineteenth-century compilation. There he is described as golden in complexion and clothed in red, with eight arms. In his right hands he holds a hook, an arrow, a rosary and his own tusk; in his left hands a noose, a bow, a wish-granting creeper and a rose-apple. The bow and arrow recall the arsenal of the goddess, while the noose and hook are Ganesha’s own instruments of drawing near and directing. The name joins Ganapati to Durgā, whose own name means “hard to overcome”, and the form is approached in that spirit when an obstacle has resisted ordinary effort.
The mantra, in six scripts
The name mantra, and the form most devotees chant daily. No initiation is required — it is open to anyone, including a parent chanting for a child.
- ॐ
- oṃ — the sacred syllable
- दुर्गागणपतये
- durgāgaṇapataye — to Durga Ganapati
- नमः
- namaḥ — salutation
More Durga Ganapathi mantras
Durga Ganapathi Dhyana Shloka
The verse recited to picture the deity before japa.
- तप्तकाञ्चनसङ्काशश्
- taptakāñcanasaṅkāśaś — like molten gold
- च
- ca — and
- अष्टहस्तो
- aṣṭahasto — eight-armed
- महत्तनुः
- mahattanuḥ — of mighty body
- दीप्ताङ्कुशं
- dīptāṅkuśaṃ — a blazing goad
- शरं
- śaraṃ — an arrow
- च
- ca — and
- अक्षं
- akṣaṃ — a rosary
- दन्तं
- dantaṃ — his tusk
- दक्षे
- dakṣe — on the right
- वहन्
- vahan — bearing
- करैः
- karaiḥ — in his hands
- वामे
- vāme — on the left
- पाशं
- pāśaṃ — a noose
- कार्मुकं
- kārmukaṃ — a bow
- च
- ca — and
- लतां
- latāṃ — a creeper
- जम्बु
- jambu — a rose-apple
- दधत्
- dadhat — holding
- करैः
- karaiḥ — in his hands
- रक्तांशुकः
- raktāṃśukaḥ — clad in red
- सदा
- sadā — ever
- भूयाद्
- bhūyād — may he be
- दुर्गागणपतिर्
- durgāgaṇapatir — Durgā Gaṇapati
- मुदे
- mude — for joy
Source: Dhyāna śloka of this form in the Śrītattvanidhi's thirty-two Gaṇapati forms (no. 31 in the Stotranidhi list). Stotranidhi prints दन्तु, a misprint; Drik Panchang and Hindupedia read दन्तं (tusk), which is given.
The syllable people get wrong
In durgāgaṇapataye the opening syllable dur carries a short u that speakers frequently lengthen into dūr, producing a vowel closer to the word for distance. The u must remain brief and closed. The ā that ends the goddess’s name, durgā, is long and must be held before gaṇapataye begins; it is often clipped, turning the name into a plain durga.
When Durga Ganapathi is chanted
Weekday. Tuesday
Questions
Have your chart read before you decide
Chanting is yours to do, and free. But which deity your situation calls for — and whether a mantra alone is the right response — depends on your chart. Sometimes it is; sometimes it is not.
- Over 30 years in the Guru–Sishya Parampara, from the age of five
- He reads every chart himself — 60 minutes, one to one, never delegated
- Charts are read only between sunrise and sunset, following tradition
Related
How to Chant
Mala, counts, timing and the mistakes that apply to any mantra.
Ganapathi Mula Mantra
The foundational mantra. Chanted at the start of any undertaking.
Vidya Ganapathi Mantra
For study, examinations and retention of what is learned.
Ganapathi Homa
The fire ritual, performed for you and telecast live.
Chanting is yours to do. Some things are performed for you.
Where a matter carries real weight, devotees sponsor the homa alongside their own practice. Performed for you and any family members you name, at our Yagna Ashram, in your name and gotra, on a muhurta calculated from your chart, and telecast live so you can watch it done for you.