A Hymn to Lord Ganesha
Agajanana Padmarkam
A short anonymous Ganesha verse, 'Agajanana padmarkam', in which devotees meditate on the elephant-faced, one-tusked Lord day and night.
Verses
We meditate day and night upon the one-tusked Lord, the elephant-faced deity, whose face is like the sun to the lotus of His mother, Parvati (Goddess of the mountains), who has many tusks yet appears with a single tusk for His devotees.
Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)
Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)
Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)
Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering
- Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home
Background
'Agajanana padmarkam' is a popular Ganesha shloka, often recited at the start of rituals, study or any new venture. Sanskrit Documents prints it as verse 5 of an unattributed collection titled Ganapati Stotram 4, and no author or parent scripture is established for it. It is not from the Ganapati Atharvashirsha (the Ganapati Upanishad), which does not contain it, although it is sometimes wrongly credited to that text. Devotees chant it for wisdom and the removal of hurdles.
Did You Know?
Source
No author or parent scripture is established for this verse. Sanskrit Documents prints it as verse 5 of the anonymous Ganapati Stotram 4, and it is not part of the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, a common mistaken attribution.
Poetic Imagery
'Aga' means 'mountain', so 'agaja' is the mountain's daughter, Parvati, and 'agajanana' is her face. 'Padma' is the lotus and 'arka' the sun, so Ganesha is the sun that makes the lotus of his mother's face bloom with joy.
Elephant Face
The word 'Gajanana' literally means 'elephant-faced'. Ganesha's elephant head symbolizes wisdom, patience, and strength, and the elephant is a symbol of royalty and auspiciousness in Indian culture.
The One Tusk
The verse sets 'anekadantam' beside 'ekadantam' (one tusk). Ganesha is famously shown with a single tusk; a popular story says he broke off the other to write down the Mahabharata as the sage Vyasa dictated, an act of self-sacrifice for knowledge.
Day and Night
'Aharnisham' (day and night) tells the worshipper that remembrance of Ganesha is not confined to ritual hours. Chanting it is believed to remove obstacles and grant wisdom.
Ganesh
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