Shakti Ganapathi Mantra
ॐ शक्तिगणपतये नमःIn Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.
Who Shakti Ganapathi is
Shakti Ganapathi is the form in which Ganesha is seated with his consort Shakti upon his left thigh, one of the thirty-two forms detailed in the Mudgala Purana. He is four-armed: the upper hands hold the goad and the noose, the lower right is raised in the gesture of freedom from fear, and the lower left encircles the goddess. A modaka is carried in the trunk. The paired figures mark this manifestation as the guardian of the household threshold, where the sustaining power of the home is gathered and kept unbroken. His complexion is the red of twilight. Contemplation of the form rests on the quiet integrity of domestic space and the inseparable presence of shakti within the remover of hindrances.
Goddess Seated on the Thigh
Shakti Ganapathi is one of the thirty-two forms of Ganesha whose dhyana verses are collected in the Sritattvanidhi, the nineteenth-century Mysore compendium popularly credited to the Mudgala Purana. The dhyana is a description for meditation rather than a story. It shows Ganesha seated with his consort on his left thigh, his lower left arm around her. The upper hands hold the goad and the noose, the lower right is raised in abhaya, the gesture that removes fear, and a sweet is held in the trunk. His colour is the red of twilight. The goad and noose guide and restrain whatever might disturb the domestic order; the abhaya steadies those who dwell within it. Because the goddess is held within the same figure rather than standing apart, the image is read as shakti kept inseparable from the remover of obstacles, and the form is approached for the protection of the household.
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
- शक्ति
- śakti — power, the consort
- गणपतये
- gaṇapataye — to the lord of the ganas
- नमः
- namaḥ — salutation
More Shakti Ganapathi mantras
Shakti Ganapathi Dhyana Shloka
The verse recited to picture the deity before japa.
- आलिङ्ग्य
- āliṅgya — embracing
- देवीं
- devīṃ — the goddess
- हरिताङ्गयष्टिं
- haritāṅgayaṣṭiṃ — of slender, green-hued form
- परस्पराश्लिष्टकटिप्रदेशम्
- parasparāśliṣṭakaṭipradeśam — their waists clasped to each other
- सन्ध्यारुणं
- sandhyāruṇaṃ — red as the evening twilight
- पाशसृणी
- pāśasṛṇī — the noose and the goad (dual)
- वहन्तं
- vahantaṃ — carrying
- भयापहं
- bhayāpahaṃ — remover of fear
- शक्तिगणेशम्
- śaktigaṇeśam — Śakti Gaṇeśa
- ईडे
- īḍe — I praise
Source: Śrītattvanidhi (which attributes it to the Mudgala Purāṇa), dhyāna of Shakti Ganapathi, no. 5 of the 32 forms
The syllable people get wrong
The initial śa of śakti is the palatal sibilant, formed with the tongue near the hard palate. It is commonly replaced by the dental sa, producing “sakti” and dulling the crisp clarity linked with the goddess energy the form enshrines. The conjunct kti that follows must be spoken as a single unbroken cluster, not divided into separate syllables.
When Shakti 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.