Ganapati (Buddhist) | Ganapati Outline Page | Ganesha (Shaiva Hindu) | Shiva (Shaiva Hindu) | Shiva (Lha Chenpo)
Ganesh/Ganesha is the name most commonly used by modern Shaiva and Vaishnava Hindu religious followers for the elephant headed god. The name Ganapati is also used. Ganesha is the more proper Sanskrit pronunciation and Ganesh follows the modern Hindi pronunciation. Vinayaka is another name commonly used for the elephant headed god.
For Tibetan and Tantric Buddhists Ganapati is the Sanskrit name commonly used and the word found in Tibetan literature. The two words Ganesha and Ganapati have the same basic meaning in English: lord of hosts (meaning the hosts of Shiva). For Hindus the names are interchangeable. For Buddhists the names are partially, or generally interchangeable, but the specific Sanskrit word Ganesh/Ganesha is not typically found in Tibetan Texts, or in the Tantric Buddhist mantras or praises.
It is also important to know that the Buddhist Ganapati is not the same individual or entity as the Shaiva Ganesha, son of Parvati, and lord of Shiva's hosts of followers. The Tantric Buddhist Ganapati is Avalokiteshvara who after killing the Shaiva Hindu Ganesha then cut off the elephant head and placed it on top of his own, thus taking on the appearance of the defeated Ganesha.
The Buddhist protector Mahakala (Shadbhuja) in the six-armed form is also an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. In this form he stands atop an elephant headed supine figure. The name of the figure varies from ritual text to ritual text but is commonly referred to as Vinayaka. In the lower classification sets of Buddhist Tantra, such as the Tattvasamgraha Tantra, Ganapati/Ganesha can be found as a retinue figure along with other Vaishnava and Shaiva Hindu gods. In these instances the elephant headed god is not associated with Avalokiteshvara, but is also never depicted as a central or principal figure in Himalayan art.
