Which material should the Ganesh murti be made of?

Anything which is in consonance with the scriptures proves to be ideal and beneficial. According to this rule, if the Murti of Shri Ganesh is sculpted as per adhyatmashastra and murtishastra then the pure spiritual particles of Shri Ganesh get attracted towards the Murti to a greater extent and those worshiping it are benefited. Unfortunately today, Murtis are worshiped in various forms and shapes based on one’s liking and imagination without taking into account the science behind the Murti. During Ganesh Chaturthi, the Ganesh Murti is worshiped on a large scale both, individually and in a collective manner. The non-conformity of the Murtis is conspicuous at this time. It is for this reason that it is discussed in depth as to how the Ganesh Murti should be sculpted for Ganesh Chaturthi, the benefits of doing so and the spiritual loss if not made in that manner.

1. The Dharmashastra reference for
use of mud Murti of Shri Ganesh Deity !

As per the religious scriptures, performing the ritualistic worship of a mud Murti of Shri Ganesh Deity as per Dharmashastra, gives maximum spiritual benefit.
Following rules have been mentioned in ‘Dharmasindhu’ in regards to how the Murti of Shri Ganesh should be.

तत्र मृण्मयादिमूर्तौ प्राणप्रतिष्ठापूर्वकं विनायकं षोडशोपचारैः सम्पूज्य…। – धर्मसिन्धु, परिच्छेद २
Meaning : On this day (Bhadrapad Shukla Paksha Chaturthi) ritualistic worship of a Murti of Shri Ganesh made from mud etc is done after doing the ‘pranpratishtha’….

Another reference is seen in the religious scripture ‘Smrutikaustubh’, where Shri Krushna asks Dharmaraja to perform the vow of Shri Siddhivinayak. In this a detailed explanation of how a Murti of Shri Ganesh should be has been mentioned.

स्वशक्त्या गणनाथस्य स्वर्णरौप्यमयाकृतिम् ।
अथवा मृण्मयी कार्या वित्तशाठ्यं न कारयेत् ॥ – स्मृतिकौस्तुभ

Meaning: For this Siddhivinayak vow, a Ganesh Murti can be made of Gold, Silver or Mud as per once capabilities. Do not be stingy while doing so.
A clear reference has been made here that the Ganesh Murti should be made either from Gold, Silver and Mud only and no other material. Thus, Murtis made from any other material are against the religious scriptures.

2. Making a Murti from mud

Shri Ganapati Murti

One should prepare the Ganesh Murti from mud. Nowadays, Murtis are made from plaster of Paris so that they become light weight and more attractive. There is a difference between Murtis made from mud and plaster of Paris. There are references in the Purans (mythological texts) that Ganapati was created from grime. Hence it is appropriate to use a Ganesh Murti made of mud for ritualistic worship. The pure spiritual particles (pavitraks) of Ganapati get attracted to a greater extent towards a Murti made of mud than to that made of plaster of Paris. The following points shall illustrate how it is improper as well as harmful to make Murtis from plaster of Paris or from substances other than mud.

A) Plaster of Paris does not dissolve easily in water and hence the Murti floats on water after immersion. Sometimes in cities, the remains of Murtis which have not dissolved in water for a long period are collected and a bulldozer is run over them to convert them into mud. This amounts to extreme denigration of the deity. The deity should be offered the same reverence when immersing it as when it is invoked. Since the Murti is not immersed properly, in a way it amounts to dishonouring the deity.

B) Mixing of the plaster of Paris in water pollutes the river, sea, lake, etc. and can have an adverse effect on the health of living beings.

C) Nowadays a wrong trend has set in whereby Murtis are even made from coconuts, bananas, betulnut, silver, coins, etc. Some of these objects do not dissolve in water after immersion of the Murti. The remains of such Murtis are used for other purposes or as toys by children.

2 A. Spiritual experiences of Murti makers when making Murtis of mud

Many Murti makers get the spiritual experience of the God principle when making Murtis of mud rather than of plaster of Paris. The spiritual experience of a Murti maker is given here as an example.

‘I made Murtis of plaster of Paris as well as mud for the Ganesh festival. I experienced immense Bliss (Anand) when making Murtis of mud. So also my repetition (chanting) of the Name of my family deity (kuladevata) was occurring continuously. I did not experience this when making plaster of Paris Murtis.’ – Mr. Lakshman Ahoman Chavhan, P.O. Dhule, Maharashtra

3. Sculpting a Murti is superior to using a mould

Nowadays, Murti making houses have taken the form of a vocation to earn money rather than considering it to be a holy mission or art. The Ganesh Murtis are made using a mould so that they can be made available for sale faster, merely keeping a commercial angle. However as far as possible, a readymade mould should not be used. The reasons for this are as follows. When making the Murti manually, Murti makers get an excellent opportunity to exhibit their artistic skill and consequently they obtain satisfaction. Besides, sculpting the Murti generates more spiritual emotion (bhav) in the sculptor and such a Murti is more sattvik (sattva predominant). From a sculptor’s viewpoint, the amount of spiritual emotion generated when sculpting the Murti is more important than making the Murti artistic and attractive. Hence as far as possible Murti makers should make Murtis manually. Sanatan’s perspective too is ‘Art for God realisation and not merely art for the sake of art or as business’.

4. Murtis should not be huge

Huge Ganapati Murti

Since 1980, there has been a considerable increase in the number of huge Murtis used in the Ganesh festival celebrations. Prior to that, the Murtis were made upto a maximum height of 5 feet. Nowadays Murtis of 11, 21, 51 feet height are made. The possible losses which can be incurred due to huge Murtis are given below.

A) According to the scriptures, the height of the Ganesh Murti should be limited. The Murti should have a maximum height of 1.5 metres because a Murti larger than that makes it difficult to perform ritualistic worship. The custom of keeping a small Murti for ritualistic worship and a huge Murti for exhibition is absolutely incorrect. Murtis of deities cannot be objects of exhibition.

B) As sufficient clay is not available to make huge Murtis, sometimes the Murtis are made from dry leaves and grass with a coating of clay over it. How much divinity will be present in such a Murti ?

C) When making huge Murtis, iron rods, bamboos, etc. are required to be inserted within them for support. It is improper to use such objects in the Murtis. Besides, if these Murtis surface above the water source after immersion, some people even break them and sell the iron rods and wooden plates found within.

D) It is very cumbersome and expensive to transport huge Murtis. Traffic congestion during transportation of these Murtis is a common phenomenon. There is also the risk of touching electric cables when transporting Murtis which are 51 feet high. At times, people even get injured while loading and unloading the huge Murtis from trucks.

E) Since transportation of huge Murtis is very slow, their arrival at the site of immersion is delayed. By then if there is high tide, one cannot go deep into the sea. By rule, the huge Ganesh Murtis should be taken into the sea for immersion before high tide, where the water is 10 to 15 feet deep. In reality however, the huge Murtis are immersed in water which is merely 6 to 7 feet deep. During immersion, the Murtis on trolleys are thrown into the water by fastening a rope around the neck of the Murti. Thus the Murti cracks and breaks down into several pieces. So also, sometimes the volunteers of the festival committees are so exhausted by singing and dancing in the procession that they are not prepared to immerse the Murti in deep water. They partially immerse the Murti in water, place it horizontally and leave.

F) The other Murtis and scenes kept along with the Ganesh Murti should not be huge in size. When offering obeisance, one should touch the feet of the deity by which one can derive greater benefit of the energy emitted by the deity. This is not possible in the case of huge Murtis. It would be worth knowing the experience of a devotee of Shri Ganesh who insisted on having a huge Murti. At Colval in Goa, a devotee obstinately made a Murti which was the biggest in the entire village. He had to break the door of his house to take the Murti inside! The government itself should enact a law to check the production of huge Murtis. If those making huge Murtis and Ganesh festival committees are fined heavily then it will curb this practice.

5.Form of the Murti should be according to the science behind the Murti

The form of the Murti should be such that devotion (bhakti) and spiritual emotion (bhav) towards the deity should be awakened instantly on seeing it. The Ganesh Murti should be made according to the science behind the Murti. The trunk of the Murti should be curved towards the left.

5 A. Murtis of Shri Ganesh should not have weird forms and attires

Shri Ganapati Murti made from vegetables

Nowadays, the custom of making Murtis of Shri Ganesh in varied forms and attires has become prevalent, e.g. Shri Ganesh attired in a loin cloth, resembling Shri Krushna adorning a peacock feather on the head, resembling Shri Dattatraya, attired as a child, etc. are seen. During the period of the freedom struggle, Ganesh Murtis would be made in the form of Gandhiji or Nehru on public demand. Similarly, Murtis resembling King Shivaji Maharaj or a saint are made today also. Murtis of Ganapati playing cricket or football, riding a motorcycle, etc. are also made. A Ganesh festival committee in Kalyan near Mumbai had made a Ganesh Murti from medical equipment, a syringe to depict the trunk, kidney trays were used for the ears, a bottle for the crown, gloves for the hands and capsules for eyes. An unnecessary and futile effort merely to combine imagination and modern lifestyle is seen when making such Murtis. This is totally erroneous because Shri Ganapati cannot be compared to a leader, soldier, sportsman, etc. The Ganesh Murti is humanised to gain cheap popularity and publicity. There is a difference between saints and Deities; hence Murtis should not be made in the form of saints too. In 1950, the Maharashtra government had imposed a ban on the variation in attires of Ganesh Murtis and their humanisation. However in the course of time, these rules were relaxed. Murtis in varied forms and attires adversely affect the faith (shraddha) and spiritual emotion (bhav) harboured by people towards the deity. So also, depicting the deity in such different forms amounts to disrespect for the deity. According to the science of Spirituality, each deity is a specific principle. According to the doctrine that the word, touch, form, taste, fragrance and the energy associated with them coexist, only if the Murti is made in accordance with the science behind the Murti, is the principle of the respective deity drawn towards it. If this doctrine is not followed when making the Murti then that principle is not imbibed in that Murti. Consequently, the devotee does not benefit spirituallyfrom that Murti from the view point of Spirituality.

5 B. Murti should be a seated one, not standing

If a guest pays a visit, we offer him a seat and not keep him standing. During Ganesh Chaturthi, we invoke Shri Ganapati, that is invite Him. One should offer Him a seat and proper hospitality. Harbouring the spiritual emotion (bhav) that Shri Ganapati has actually come to visit us. Besides due to the entire weight of the Murti resting on the feet, the Murti may even break if it is kept in the standing position for ten consecutive days. Hence one should make a Murti which is seated on a wooden seat (pat).

5 C. Murti makers should refuse to make Murtis not in consonance with science

Refusal by the Murti makers to make Murtis which are not in consonance with the science behind the Murti shows their commitment to Righteousness (Dharma) and their dutifulness. If Murti makers emphatically refuse to make such Murtis, such Murtis will not be made at all. It is now necessary that Murti makers themselves take the initiative to eliminate the ignorance of the society and the Ganesh festival committees about the science behind the Murti. They should not worry about losing customers and starvation because if we make a sacrifice for the sake of Righteousness then God will certainly take care of us. Sanatan launches a widespread campaign so that the Murti makers understand the science behind the Murti and make Murtis in accordance with it. Once this awareness is created in Murti makers, it will not be long before people too realise it.

6. Colour of the Murti

People have experience that a Murti made with natural colour looks more appealing and imparts more Bliss (Anand) than one made with artificial red colour.

7. Necessity of observing religious restrictions when making a Murti

According to the scriptures, prior to the commencement of making Ganesh Murtis, it is necessary to perform religious rituals such as ritualistic worship (puja), etc. It is vital that the Murti maker observes all the religious restrictions in the Murti making house when making the Murti. The Murti maker should observe restrictions such as abstaining from eating meat, not wearing foot wear, not allowing women having menses in the room where the Murtis are made, etc.

8. Making Murtis considering it to be a holy mission

The Murti maker should harbour the spiritual emotion (bhav) that it is not he who is making the Murti rather it is GodHimself who is getting it done through him. He should repose faith that making Murtis is not a vocation but a holy mission. When a Murti is made with this faith and with repeatition (chanting) of God’s Name along with observance of all the restrictions given above, it becomes more sattvik (sattva predominant).

9.The Murti should have a religious background

Many a time, scenes related to movies, prevalent geo-political events etc. are erected around the Murti. Such raja-tama items erected merely for public entertainment and cheap popularity adversely affect the overall sattvik atmosphere there. If at all any scenes are to be displayed in front of or behind the Murti of Shri Ganesh or other Murtis are to be kept there then they should be associated with Shri Ganapati. This helps to generate spiritual emotion (bhav) in the devotees.

Reference : Sanatan Sanstha’s Holy text ‘Shri Ganapati’