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 The concept of the descent of godhood known as the avatar is a major
contribution of Indian culture. However the avatar phenomenon is not limited to
Vishnu, as many seem to think. Practically all the gods are represented as having
had avatars at some time or the other. In this category a rich source of mythology
are the avatars of Ganapati or Ganesha. We have already covered Ganesha in the Gods
section. This article will deal with further aspects of the elephant headed god,
specifically his many avatars.
The Ganesha Purana says that he has had four major avatars, one for each of the
four great ages known as Yugas. In the first Yuga known as the Satya Yuga or Krita
Yuga he incarnates as Vinayaka, the son of the divine sage couple Kashyapa
and Aditi. They are already the parents of the Adityas, the major gods of old Hinduism,
and in this story there seems to be some attempt at inserting the elephant headed
god into the mainstream status progenitors. He has ten arms, is red in color, rides
upon a lion and he incarnated for the purpose of slaying the demons, Davantaka,
Narantaka and Dhurmraksa. The first two were actually children of a pious rishi,
Rudraketu, but they had the misfortune of being blessed with invincibility to all
known forms of life. This made them power drunk and they soon forgot the worship
of Shiva which had given them this power. Ganapati's half human half elephant form
was the only way out of the dilemma, and he slew them in the famous holy city of
Kashi where they had established themselves. To die in Kashi is instant liberation,
so they did not suffer too much. Dhurmraksa was a demon who anticipated the doom
of the others and incautiously tried to prevent Ganapati from reaching Kashi. The
story has been regarded as an allegory of the trials and tribulations you face on
the spiritual path, i.e. the journey to Kashi, but once you reach the sacred space,
the evil is easily vanquished.
In the Treta Yuga, he incarnates as Mayureshwara, which means peacock rider.
This is an obvious attempt to graft the Ganapati myth onto the then extremely strong
Skanda cult, who used to ride upon a peacock too. Since Ganapati, like Skanda, is
also regarded as a son of Shiva, it was easy to do. In this version of the avatar,
the nectar of immortality of the gods is lost to a great demon king called Sindhu
who claimed it as the prize of his immensity of penance. He could not be refused
it, but was warned that if he lost the inexhaustible bowl in which the nectar was
kept, he would die. The smart demon swallowed it to make sure and then proceeded
on the expected universe conquering lines. Ganapati incarnated in a white form
with six arms, riding a peacock and slew the demon and his army with
the standard oceans of blood so familiar to Sanskrit myth. The parallels to the
Tarakasura story in the standard Skanda myth are by no means accidental.
 In the Dvapara Yuga, he incarnates as Gajanana, son of Shiva.
This time he has only four arms, a red complexion and he rides upon a supernatural
mouse who was an unfortunate celestial Gandharva who had been cursed
to become a demon. Ganapati defeats and redeems him, and the grateful celestial
requests to remain in his 'cursed' form and serve as the mount of the lord, a situation
that is much valued in Hindu myth. But his main exploit was to destroy the demon
Sindura, not to be confused with our old friend Sindhu, from the previous incarnation.
It is interesting to note that as the Yugas go by, Ganapati begins shedding superfluity
of limbs, the form becoming more and more spiritually powerful rather than physically
dominant. Sindura was actually a son of Brahma, born from an accidental yawn of
the Creator. This unthinking creation turned out to be a supernaturally beautiful
male child whose peals of laughter shook the three worlds. Brahma was captivated
by this delightful accident and named him Sindura, for the pink glow of his complexion,
and he granted the boy invincibility and the power to travel anywhere instantly.
Sindura was at first content to be a galaxy roamer, but in an evil instant he
 thought of testing his powers and soon realized that only
the great trinity were his match. Brahma cursed him for his folly and presumption
and predicted his doom at the hands of Ganesha. It was during this incarnation that
the discourses known as the Ganesha Gita were given.
The last incarnation is very interesting, for Ganapati will be born in the Kali
Yuga as Dhumraketu, slayer of Mlecchas. That last is an expansive word and
means roughly anybody who is not a Hindu. Since Hindu India has had to endure foreign
domination for many centuries, this was never going to be an unpopular concept in
theological terms. He has only two arms now, is ash-gray in complexion and rides
upon a horse. The links with the Kalki avatar are only too clear here.
The condition of the world as described here is almost a paraphrase of the gloomy
environment the Kalki Avatar will encounter, details of which can be found in our
Kalki Avatar article.
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