gaṇapatyatharvaśīrṣam

O Deities! By ears may we hear what is auspicious; by eyes may we see what is auspicious; O Worshipped ones! With hale and hearty limbs may we live offering our praises (unto Thee). For the benefit of God may we live the entire span of life. May the ancient and famous Indra give blessings to us. May the all-knowing Sun give blessings to us. May the Lord of swift motion (Garuda), who removes our obstacles give blessings to us. May Brhaspati (Guru of deities) give blessings to us. Let there be peace, let there be peace, let there be peace.

Om. Prostration to Lord Ganapati who is of the nature of OM. You alone are the direct essence of the statement 'That thou art'. You alone indeed are the creator, sustainer and destroyer. You alone as Brahman are indeed all this. You are the directly experienced Self which is eternal.

I speak the Truth (as determined by the scriptures). I speak the Truth (as directly experienced and verified by myself). You please protect me. Please protect the speaker, the listener, the donor and the supporter. Please protect the teacher and the disciple. Please protect me from all four directions (east, west, north and south). Please protect me from the above and below. Please protect me totally from all directions.

You are the embodiment of speech. You are the embodiment of Consciousness. You are the embodiment of Bliss. You are the embodiment of infinitude. You are non-dual Existence-Consciousness Bliss. You are the self-evident Brahman/Reality. You are the embodiment of knowledge and wisdom.

This entire world is born from You. This entire world exists because of You. This entire world merges in You. This entire world appears in You. You are the earth, water, fire, air and space (the world of matter). You are the four kinds of speech (the world of speech).

You are beyond the three Gunas (qualities). You are beyond the three states of experience. You are beyond the three bodies. You are beyond the three periods of time. You are ever seated in the base (mūlādhāra). You are of the nature of the three-fold power. Yogis ever meditate on You. You are Brahmā, Visnu, Rudra, Indra, Fire, Air, Sun, Moon (divine deities). You are Brahman/Truth. You are the three worlds.

One should first utter the first syllable ‘ga’ in the word ‘gana’ followed by ‘a’ the first of alphabets, add an ‘anusvāra’ (a nasal ‘m’ indicated by a dot above the line); then adorn it by a crescent (also a nasal), prefix ‘Om’ to it. And this represents (O Lord Ganapati!) Your terrestrial form (endowed with guëas). ‘Ga’ is the first form, ‘a’ is the middle form, ‘anusvāra’ is the subsequent form and the dot ‘bindu’ – a nasal denoted by crescent – is the concluding form; the sound ‘nāda’ is the intermediary and ‘samhitā sandhi’ is the close connection (of syllable). This is Ganeśa Vidyā. The Sage or Seer (of this mantra) is Ganaka, ‘nicrt gayatri' is its metre. Ganapati is the deity (of this mantra). Salutation to (Lord) Ganapati!

We have heard (know) about the one-tusked one; we meditate on the one having a twisted trunk. May that Ganapati (one-tusked) inspire us (to meditate).

One who constantly meditates on Him, who has one (right) tusk, who has four hands, who holds a noose (in His upper right hand) and a goad (in the left), who holds a tusk in His (lower left) hand, who has held the fingers of His (right lower) hand in a posture bestowing blessing, whose flag bears the insignia of mouse, who is red in colour, who is big-bellied, whose ears have the form of a scuttle, who has worn red clothes, whose body is smeared with red sandal paste, who is well worshipped with red flowers, who is compassionate towards His devotees, who is self-effulgent, who is the cause of the world, who never has a fall from his nature, who manifested/existed even before creation and who is beyond prakrti and Purusha – the yogi who thus meditates on Him is the best among yogis.

Prostration to the Lord of all who earn through hard work (vrāta). Prostration to the Lord of all the groups (ganas). Prostration to the Lord of the special devotees of Lord Siva (pramathas). Prostration unto You who are big-bellied, one-tusked, destroyer of obstacles and the son of Siva. Prostration to the form who bestows all desires.

Now for the fruits from reading this hymn: Whoever meditates on this Atharva-Sirsha (Upanishad) becomes fit for the Realisation, ‘I am the infinite Truth'. He is not affected by any of the obstacles. He gains happiness everywhere, at all times, under all circumstances. He becomes free from the five great sins. One who chants this in the evening destroys all sins committed during the day. One who chants this in the morning destroys all sins committed during the night. The one who chants both in the morning and evening becomes sinless. One who chants everywhere (and all the time) encounters no obstacle, and gains all the four types of human accomplishments, namely religious merit (dharma), wealth (artha), desired objects (kāma) and Liberation (moksha). This Atharva-Sirsha (Upanishad) should not be given/taught to an unqualified student. One who does so due to any temptation/delusion/attachment will incur sin. One achieves the fulfilment of all his desires by the repetition of this (Upanishad) thousand times.

One who bathes Ganapati whilst chanting this Atharva-Sirsha (Upanishad) becomes an eloquent speaker (in due course). One who whilst fasting, repeats this Atharva-Sirsha (Upanishad), on (the auspicious day of) chaturthi (fourth day of lunar fortnight), becomes a knowledgeable person. Thus says Sage Atharvana. One should know Brahman/Truth and its inscrutable power (ādyā or māyā) along with its veiling power (āvarana shakti). (Thus) he does not fear at any time.

He who worships (Lord Ganapati) with blades of durvā grass becomes as rich as the God of wealth, Kubera. He who worships with parched grains, becomes famous (and successful); he becomes a very intelligent person. He who worships with a thousands modakas, gets his cherished desires fulfilled. One who performs sacrifices by offering wood together with ghee as oblation, gets everything. He gets everything.

One who makes eight good natured (noble) persons proficient in Atharva-Sirsha (Upanishad) becomes as glorious as the Sun. By chanting this Atharva-Sirsha (Upanishad) during solar eclipse, or by sitting on the banks of a sacred river, or by sitting in front of an idol (of Ganapati), a seeker or spiritual practitioner gets whatever that is promised in these mantras. (In particular) he becomes free from big obstacles, free from all negative tendencies and free from all sins (penalty for non-performance of obligatory duty). He who knows in this way (the true nature of Ganapati as said in this Upanishad) knows all. He indeed knows all. Thus (concludes) the Upanishad. oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.. (May this bring Peace to all at all the three levels - Adhibhautika, Adhidaivika and Adhyatmika)