View source for Biology:Heramba

{{short description|Aspect of the Hindu god Ganesha}}
{{Infobox deity<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology-->
| type             = Hindu
| image            = Heramba Ganapati.JPG
| caption          = Heramba Ganapati idol on display at The Prince of Wales Museum, {{wipe|Mumbai}}. Idol dates back to 19 century CE; originating from Nepal.
| name             = Heramba Ganapati
| Devanagari       = हेरम्बा गणपति
| affiliation      =  
| god_of           =  
| abode            =
| weapon           =
| consort          =
| mount            =
| mantra           =
}}

[[File:Nepal, ganesha, xviii sec.JPG|thumb|Heramba with consort, 18th-century Nepal]]
'''Heramba''' ({{lang-sa|हेरम्ब}}, {{IAST|Heraṃba}}), also known as '''Heramba Ganapati''' ({{IAST|Heraṃba-gaṇapati}}), is a five-headed iconographical form of the Hindu god [[Biology:Ganesha|Ganesha]] (Ganapati). This form is particularly popular in Nepal.<ref name="Grewal2009"/> This form is important in Tantric worship of Ganesha. He is one of the most popular of the [[Biology:Thirty-two forms of Ganesha|thirty-two forms of Ganesha]].

==As an epithet==
The ''[[Biology:Mudgala Purana|Mudgala Purana]]'' mentions Heramba Ganapati as one of the thirty-two names of Ganesha. The ''Skanda Purana'' lists that Heramba Vinayaka as one of the 56 Vinayakas in the vicinity of Varanasi. Heramba also figures in the lists of Ganesha's names in the ''Brahma Vaivarta Purana'' (8 names), the ''Padma Purana'' (12 epithets) and the ''Cintyagama'' (16 Ganapatis).<ref>{{Citation |series=SUNY Series in Religious Studies |last=Grimes |first=John A. |title=Ganapati: Song of the Self |year=1995 |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany |isbn=0-7914-2440-5 |pages = 52–59}}</ref> Heramba is also used as an epithet of Ganesha in the ''[[Biology:Ganesha Purana|Ganesha Purana]]''.<ref name="Bailey2008">{{cite book|author=Greg Bailey|title=Gaṇeśapurāṇa: Krīḍākhaṇḍa|year=2008|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05472-0|page=656}}</ref>

The ''Brahma vaivarta Purana'' explains the meaning of Heramba: the syllable ''he'' denotes helpnessless or weakness, while ''ramba'' is protection of the weak, to save them from harm; thus ''Heramba'' means the "Protector of the weak".<ref name="Rao">{{cite book|last=Rao|first=T.A. Gopinatha|title=Elements of Hindu Iconography |volume=1: Part I|year=1916|publisher=Law Printing House|location=Madras|pages=46–7, 57, 65}}</ref>

==Iconography==
{{double image|right|Heramba.JPG|200|Heramba ganapati.jpg|230|Heramba Ganapati, folio from the ''[[Biology:Sritattvanidhi|Sritattvanidhi]]'' (19th century).|An early 18th century Mewar painting}}
Heramba is described having five elephant heads, four facing the cardinal directions while the fifth at the top looking upwards.<ref name="Rao"/> The colours of Heramba's heads closely relate to four aspects of his father [[Religion:Shiva|Shiva]] &ndash; Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojata. The five heads symbolize his power.<ref name="Grewal2009"/> He should be golden yellow in colour.<ref name="Rao"/> Sometimes, he is described to be white in complexion.<ref name="Subramuniyaswami"/>

Heramba rides his ''vahana'', a mighty lion.<ref name="Rao"/> The lion, represents the deity's royalty and fierce nature.<ref name="Grewal2009"/> The lion is said to be inherited from his mother [[Religion:Parvati|Parvati]], who often rides it.<ref name="Grewal2009">{{cite book|author=Royina Grewal|title=Book of Ganesha|year=2009|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-091-3|pages=67–8}}</ref><ref name="Geer2008"/> Though the lion primarily appears as the vahana of this aspect, Dinka, the usual vahana of Ganesha - a rat or a mouse - may also be included in the depiction. In an 11th&ndash;13th-century depiction in Odisha, Dinka the rat is depicted on a pedestal besides the seated Heramba. In a depiction in Bhaktapur, Nepal; Heramba stands on two rats. In Nepal, Heramba is generally depicted with a lion as well as Dinka.<ref name="Geer2008">{{cite book|author=Alexandra Anna Enrica van der Geer|title=Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals, Sculptured Through Time|year=2008|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-16819-2|pages=78, 81, 335, 345}}</ref>

Heramba has ten arms. As per descriptions in iconographical treatises, he holds a ''[[Biology:Pasha (Hinduism)|pasha]]'' (noose), ''danta'' (his broken tusk), ''akshamala'' (rosary), a ''[[Engineering:Parashu|parashu]]'' (battle-axe), a three-headed ''mudgara'' (mallet) and the sweet [[Biology:Modak|modak]]. Two other arms are held in ''[[Philosophy:Varadamudra|Varadamudra]]'' (the boon-giving gesture) and ''[[Religion:Abhayamudra|Abhayamudra]]'' (a gesture denoting protection of the devotee).<ref name="Rao"/> Other descriptions add a garland and a fruit to the attributes in his hand.<ref name="Subramuniyaswami">{{cite book|author=Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami|title=Loving Ganesha|publisher=Himalayan Academy Publications|isbn=978-1-934145-17-3|page=69}}</ref> He may be depicted in sculpture holding a ''ankusha'' (an elephant goad) in one of his hands.<ref name="Rao"/> Sometimes, a consort may be depicted seated on his lap and one of Heramba's arms cuddles her.<ref name="Grewal2009"/>

==Worship==
Heramba is a protector of the weak. Heramba also has the power to confer fearlessness and bring defeat or destruction to one's enemies.<ref name="T.K.Jagannathan2009">{{cite book|author=T.K.Jagannathan|title=Sri Ganesha|publisher=Pustak Mahal|isbn=978-81-223-1054-2|page=104}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Martin-Dubost |first=Paul |title=Gaņeśa: The Enchanter of the Three Worlds |year=1997 |publisher=Project for Indian Cultural Studies |location=Mumbai |isbn= 81-900184-3-4|page=158}}</ref>

Heramba is popular in the [[Philosophy:Tantra|Tantric]] worship of Ganesha. The Hairamba or Heramba sect is a Tantric sect that worship Ganesha with [[Religion:Devi|Devi]] or Shakti (the Hindu goddess) as his consort; though usually she is considered his mother and consort of his father Shiva.
<ref name="Dalal2014">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT470|year=2014|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-277-9|page=470}}</ref> Like a number of other Hindu deities, Heramba was also associated with the six "fearful abhichara rites" (use of spells for malevolent purposes) by which an adept is said to gain the power to cause a victim to suffer delusions, be overcome with irresistible attraction or envy, or be enslaved, paralysed or killed.<ref name="Grewal2009"/>

==See also==
*[[Biology:Herambasuta|Herambasuta]]

==References==
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Ganesha]]

{{Sourceattribution|Heramba|1}}