Ganesa: The Enchanter of the Three Worlds by Paul Martin-Dubost (Author) & Michel Postel (Frwd) - 1997

Franco-Indian Pharmaceuticals, Ltd/MRML, 1997. First edition. Hardcover. New. 23 x 29 cm. To penetrate the interior of the great Hindu culture in company with Ganesa, the most popular God of the immense peninsula, is an adventure henceforth possible thanks to the book by Paul Martin-Dubost, who offers a complete study of this God with the elephant head, the dear son of Parvati and the great Lord Siva. We discover the legends which surround the stories of his birth, his prodigious exploits, his marriage, and all that touches upon his rites for more than 2,000 years. It is quite rare to find a literary text, a panegyric hymn or an iconographic text that does not mention Ganesa, the benevolent God, the God with innumerable forms; during ten years Paul Martin-Dubost has engaged himself with the God in the great Sanskrit texts as also in inscriptions. This work dissipates the erroneous conceptions, current since long, notably because of the limited scope of the previous studies. The reader, as also the scholar, will discover a complete study of the iconography of Ganesa, the chief of the ganas, in the light of recent archaeological works. A commentary accompanies each of the 450 photographs, which reveal the principal forms created between the 1st century B.C. and our own day. Ganesa the Enchanter of the Three Worlds, is the seventh book by Paul Martin-Dubost, who since more than thirty years has devoted himself to the thought and the art of India. His previous publications written about Kerala where he has lived and studied for a long time in a Brahmanical community have been published from 1973 in France. They deal with such subjects as the Vedanta, Vaisnava bhakti, les poemes de cour, ancient Sanskrit theatre, and the cult of the great goddess Durga. Ganesa, The Enchanter of the Three Worlds (Trilokyamohana) is the first complete and abundantly illustrated study of the iconography of the god with the elephant head. 1. The family of Siva, miniature of the Kangra school towards 1825, collection Michel Postel 2. Ganesa with six arms dancing, Kanauj, U.P., Gurjara Pratlhara, IXth century 3. Ganesa pampered by his consorts, miniature of the Kangra School, XVIIIth century, Chandigarh Museum 4. Ganesa covered with vermilion at the foot of a huge tree at Udaipur In this stone sculpture from Madhya Pradesh, we see Ganesa leaning tenderly towards his Sakti. His trunk comes and meets her hand at the plate of sweets she offers him. In one hand he holds the battle axe and in the other the radish. Printed Pages: 432.