Ādi-Vināyaka (Ancient Ganeśa)

Reproduction of oil painting on canvas derived from vintage art. Giclée print on high-quality archival paper.

8 x 10 inches

Read about our archival printing process

Ganesha without a trunk! Have you ever wondered how Ganeśa looked with a human head? Would you believe that Ganeśa had a human head? In fact, he never had an elephant head even though he was endowed with elephantine memory.

A rare masterpiece, this painting is an exquisite reproduction of a fine art relic transformed into a stunning oil painting, bringing the altar of Ādi-Vināyaka (ancient Ganeśa) to life. Herein, Ādi-Vināyaka implies foremost form of Vināyaka, who is also known as Gaṇapati – the ruling lord of all humans and super-humans – who is the elder son of Lord Shiva (the ruling Lord of Time).

A small relic painting of the altar of Ādi-Vināyaka Temple was painted, remastered and transformed while highlighting the key features. His very human face is showing serenity. The right foot is touching the floor, while he is seated with left leg folded.

He is shown wearing a traditional South Indian cloth (adhovastram), with symbolic, energized decorative armours (āyudha) in the upper two hands; the lower right hand is in a blessing mūdrā while the lower left hand is resting with contentment.

This altar of Ādi-Vināyaka (nara-mukha) is a regularly worshiped shrine in the Muktheeswarar Temple near Thilatharpanapuri (Koothanoor in Mayavaram – Thiruvaroor Road) in Tamil Nadu, India.

This form of Vināyaka is considered to be the most ancient and is deeply embedded as part of the Tamil Shaivite culture just around the beginning of the Tamil Sangam - 1. The master scribe Vinayaka lived around 11225 BCE and at the request of the then sage, Vyasa, he scribed the entire Veda.