Gāṇapatya

▪ Hindu sect

      member of an esoteric Hindu sect devoted to the worship of the elephant-headed Gaṇeśa (Ganesha) (also called Gaṇapati) as the supreme deity. The sect was at its height in about the 10th century and helped to establish Gaṇeśa as an important minor deity to be propitiated at the beginning of all important undertakings and religious ceremonies. The sect erected temples dedicated to Gaṇeśa, the largest of which is the Ucchi-piḷḷaiyar Kovil, a rock-cut temple near Tiruchchirāppalli in Tamil Nadu state.

      Gaṇeśa was worshiped both by meditating upon his image and by offering him fruit and flowers without meditation. Sect members wore a red circle on their foreheads and branded themselves on the shoulders with the mark of an elephant's face and tusk.

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