Ganesha is a prominent Hindu god. He is the god of Beginnings, Wisdom and Luck and worshipped as the Remover of Obstacles. Ganesha is easily recognized from his elephant head. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
India and Hinduism has influenced many countries in other parts South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia as a result of commercial and cultural contacts. Ganesha is one of many Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.Nagar, p. 175.
Ganesha was a deity particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures.Nagar, p. 174. The period from approximately the 10th century CE onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds, and a resurgence of money circulation, and it was during this time that Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders.Thapan, p. 170. The earliest inscription where Ganesha is invoked before any other deity is by the merchant community.Thapan, p. 152.
Jainism
Ganesha is worshipped by only some Jainas, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera.Thapan, p. 157. Jaina connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up the worship of Ganesha as a result of commercial connections.Thapan, pp. 151, 158, 162, 164, 253.
The Jaina canonical literature does not mention Ganesha.Krishan, p. 121. The earliest literary reference to Ganesha in Jainism is in Abhidhāna chintāmani of Hemachandra (c.a. third quarter of the 12th century CE). It refers to several appellations of Ganesha such as Heramba, and Vinayaka and visualizes him as elephant headed, pot-bellied, bearing an axe and riding a mouse.Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God By Robert L. Brown p.101-102
The popularity is, however, not met with in Digambara texts. Except two medieval figures carved at Svetambara sites of Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves, Orissa and an early figure at Mathura, his representations are not found in any Digambara sites.
Buddhism
Ganesha also appears in Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god , but also portrayed as a Hindu deity form also called .Getty, pp. 37-45. "Chapter 4: Ganesha in Buddhism". His image may be found on Buddhist sculptures of the late Gupta period.Getty, 37. As the Buddhist god , he is often shown dancing, a form called Nṛtta Ganapati that was popular in North India and adopted in Nepal and then into Tibet.Getty, p. 38. A dancing Ganesha is evident in the Malay archipelago in the temple of Candi Sukuh.
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him.Nagar, p. 185. In one Tibetan form he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākala, a popular Tibetan deity.Getty, p. 42 Other depictions show him as a Buddhist deity, the Destroyer of Obstacles, sometimes shown dancing.Nagar, pp. 185-186.
Ganapati, Maha Rakta (Tibetan: ཚོགས་བདག tsog gi dag po, mar chen. English: The Great Red Lord of Hosts or Ganas) is a Tantric Buddhist form of Ganapati (Ganesha) related to the Chakrasamvara Cycle of Tantras. This form of Ganapati is regarded as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara.
In depictions of the six-armed protector Mahakala (Skt: Shad-bhuja Mahakala, Wylie: mGon po phyag drug pa), an elephant-headed figure usually addressed as Vinayaka is seen being trampled by the Dharma Protector, but he does not appear distressed. In Vajrayana and cognate Buddhist art, He is depicted as a subdued god trampled by deities like Aparajita (A form of Durga), or Parnasabari (Medicine God in Hinduism).
The Tibetan Ganesha appears, besides bronzes, in the resplendent Thangka paintings alongside the Buddha. In the Tibetan Ka'gyur tradition, it is said that the Buddha had taught the "Ganapati Hridaya Mantra" (or "Aryaganapatimantra") to disciple Ananda.
Japanese Buddhism
Vinayaka's inclusion in the two primary mandalas of East Asian esoteric Buddhism (Tangmi) - brought to Japan from Tang China by Kūkai (774–835), the founder of Shingon Buddhism - facilitated his introduction to Japan, where he (like most other Hindu deities assimilated into Buddhism) was first considered a minor deity. By the Heian period (794–1185 CE), an individualized cult centered around Vinayaka (as Shōten / Kangiten) emerged. He was then increasingly identified and conflated with a number of Buddhist and native Japanese deities, eventually being regarded in some texts in a henotheistic way as a kind of transcendent god who is the source of all the other gods. Although this development shares a number of parallels with the Buddhist tradition of Ganapatya, it does not seem that Shōten benefited from a group whose members defined themselves exclusively as his worshippers as Ganapatya did.
Although some traits are common to both Vinayaka (Shōten) and Ganesha, there are also some notable differences between the two. For instance, the Buddhist Vinayaka was originally negatively portrayed as the creator of obstacles and the leader of a horde (gaṇa) of obstructive demons called vinayakas; indeed, some legends portray him as originally being a malevolent demon king who was subjugated by the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Kannon in Japanese), who took the form of a vinayaka demoness to tame and reform him. As Shōten grew in stature, however, he was increasingly disassociated from his vinayaka underlings, ultimately becoming regarded as a manifestation of the cosmic buddha Vairocana. home.
Buddha as avatar of Ganesha in Hinduism
Buddha appears as a name of Ganesha in the second verse of the Ganesha Purana version of the Ganesha Sahasranama.. (, 1991). Includes the full source text and the commentary by Bhāskararāya in Sanskrit. The name "" is in verse 7 of the volume cited, which corresponds to verse 2 of the śasahasranāma proper. The positioning of this name at the beginning of the Ganesha Sahasranama indicates that the name was of importance to the authors of that scripture, who were Ganapatya Hindus.
Bhaskararaya's commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama says that this name for Ganesha means that the Buddha was an incarnation (Avatar) of Ganesha.Bhaskararaya's commentary on the name Buddha with commentary verse number is: नित्यबुद्धस्वरूपत्वात् अविद्यावृत्तिनाशनः । यद्वा जिनावतारत्वाद् बुद्ध इत्यभिधीयते ॥ १५ ॥ This interpretation is not widely known even among Ganapatya, and the Buddha is not mentioned in the lists of Ganesha's incarnations given in the main sections of the Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana. Bhaskararaya also provides a more general interpretation of this name as simply meaning that Ganesha's very form is "eternal enlightenment" (), so he is named Buddha.
Indian subcontinent
Nepal
Nepal also celebrates the Ganesh Chaturthi where it is known as the Vinayak Chaturthi as Genesha is considered a symbol of auspiciousness and benefits along with Vighnaharta (destroyer of hurdles). Nepal has numerous Ganesha temples. In Kamaladi Ganesh Temple of Kathmandu Valley the Ganesha is also known as White Ganesha.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, where Ganesha is called Pillayar and worshipped in Tamil-dominated areas, there are 14 ancient temples of Lord Ganesha. Idols of Ganesha are also installed in many Buddhist temples built on the banks of Kelanya Ganga river near Colombo.
East Asia
China
In northern China, where Ganesha is called Kangiten or Kanjiten, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531 CE. The rock-cut temples, such as Mogao Caves (Caves of the Thousand Buddhas) with 500 temples in Dunhuang on the Silk Road in Gansu province, and Hanging Temple in Mount Heng in Datong city of Shanxi Province have the cut-cut images of Ganesha where other Vedic deities, such as the Surya (sun), the Chandra (moon), Kamadeva (cupid), and the Navagraha (nine planetary divinities).Ganesh worship in China and Japan, Indiatribune, 15 December 2010.
Japan
In Japan, where Ganesha is worshipped as the Kangiten or Shoten for luck and success, the first recorded mention of worship of Ganesh dates back to 806 CE. Japan has over 200 temples of Ganesha. Hōzan-ji Temple on Mount Ikoma outside Osaka city is Japan's largest Ganesha temple where Genesha is called Ikoma-Shōten (生駒聖天) and depicted as dual male-female in standing embrace.
Southeast Asia
Hindus spread through Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture with them, including Ganesha,Getty, p. 55. statues of whom are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences.Getty, pp. 55-66. The gradual emigration of Hindus to Indochina established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in Ganesha iconography of that region.Getty, p. 52.
Cambodia
In Cambodia, Ganesha is also featured in reliefs in the Cambodian temples.
Indonesia
History
In Indonesia, where European scholars call Ganesha the Indonesian God of Wisdom, a Ganesha statue from the 1st century CE was found on the summit of Mount Raksa in Panaitan island in the Ujung Kulon National Park or West Java. A 700-year-old Ganesha statue is still present near Mount Bromo in East Java. The 9th-century-CE statue of Ganesha resides in western cella (room) of Prambanan Hindu temple. An 11th-century-CE Ganesha statue (seen in the picture below) was found in eastern Java, Kediri is placed in The Museum of Indian Art (Museum für Indische Kunst), Berlin-Dahlem.
Worship
People in Indonesia worship Lord Ganesha as the pioneer of knowledge, wisdom and art. Lord Ganesha was worshipped as a Tantric deity on the island of Java in Indonesia in a tradition developed in the 14th and 15th centuries as a mixture of Buddhism and Shaivism. While there are no temples dedicated specifically to , he is found in every Śiva shrine throughout the islands.Loving : Hinduism's Endearing Elephant - Faced God By Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Subramuniya, P. 287
In Bali, instead of idol immersion, emphasis is given on symbolic worship. People go to temples, offer special prasad and pray.
In Bandung, there is a Ganesha Street.
Earlier there was a picture of Ganeshji on the 20 thousand rupee note here.
Myanmar
Derived from Mahāvināyaka, Ganesha is known as Mahāpeinne (မဟာပိန္နဲ) in Burmese. The worship of Mahāpeinne Nat started around the early Second Ava Period.https://mdn.gov.mm/en/node/149536 Konbaung king Mindon Min recognized the Mahapeinne Nat (Ganesh) alongside Thurathati (Sarasvati), Sandi (Dewi), Paramithwa (Siva), and Beithano (Visnu) as Natkyi (နတ်ကြီး) or greater Nat.
Thailand
In Thailand, Ganesha, called Phra Phikanet (พระพิฆเนศ) or Phra Phikanesuan (พระพิฆเนศวร) and worshipped as the deity of fortune and success, has a history dating back at least 1000 years. A 10th century bronze statue of Ganesha was excavated in Southwestern Thailand in Phang Nga. The world's tallest standing Ganesha statue, 39 metres high, is in Chachoengsao.Ganesh Chaturthi 2025: 10 दिनों का गणेश उत्सव शुरू... सिर्फ भारत ही नहीं, इन देशों में भी मनाया जाता है गणपति उत्सव... लेकिन कैसे... यहां जानिए, MSN, 27 Aug 2025.
Worship