गणेश वंदना
Ganesh Vandana
Three traditional verses to Lord Ganesha
शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम्।
Shuklambaradharam Vishnum shashivarnam chaturbhujam.
प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये॥
Prasannavadanam dhyayet sarvavighnopashantaye.
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ।
Vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha.
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥
Nirvighnam kuru me deva sarvakaryeshu sarvada.
गजाननं भूतगणादि सेवितं कपित्थजम्बूफलसार भक्षितम्।
Gajananam bhutaganadi sevitam kapitthajambuphalasara bhakshitam.
उमासुतं शोकविनाशकारणं नमामि विघ्नेश्वर पादपङ्कजम्॥
Umasutam shokavinashakaranam namami Vighneshvara padapankajam.
When it is sung or recited
When it is recited: At the start of a puja, study, a journey or any new undertaking. Many families say these verses before Ganesh puja and aarti, especially on Wednesdays, on Chaturthi and on Ganesh Chaturthi.
Meaning
The first verse is a meditation on the deity dressed in white, moon-colored, four-armed and cheerful of face, for the calming of all obstacles. The second is a prayer: O Lord with the curved trunk and the large body, whose splendor equals millions of suns, please make all my undertakings free of obstacles, always. The third bows to the lotus feet of Vighneshvara, the elephant-faced son of Uma, who is served by hosts of attendant spirits, who enjoys the essence of the wood apple and rose apple fruits, and who removes sorrow.
Please note
All three verses are traditional and widely used at the start of Ganesh worship; we found no reliable information about who composed them. The first verse is read in two ways: as a prayer to Vishnu and as an invocation of Ganesha. The third verse has two common readings of its second half: sarabhakshitam with shokavinashakaranam (used here), and charubhakshanam with shokavinashakarakam (printed on some other websites). The meaning is nearly the same.
Text compared with: shlokam.org, balagokulam.hssus.org, hinduismoutlook.com, stotra.in, vedadhara.com, shubhpanchang.com, bhaktibharat.com. A comparison with printed editions is still in progress. Wording differs between sources, so follow your priest’s version.