Lord Ganesha is said to be the “God of the Beginning”. Be it any ritual or any new beginnings, nothing starts without the worship of Lord Ganesha. Ganesha has also taken different incarnations to save the world from evil. According to religious history and findings, Lord Ganesha took many different avatars to destroy evils that destroyed peace on Earth.
Just like Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu had taken many avatars, Lord Ganesha also had taken many different avatars. These 8 avatars of Lord Ganesha are symbols of protecting people from 8 kinds of doshas – Kaam, Krodh, Mad, Lobh, Matsar, Moh, Ahankara, and Agyana.
1. Ekdant
This avatar of Lord Ganesha was responsible for killing the demon Madasur who became the powerful demon and he started harassing the gods. When all the gods worshiped Lord Ganesha for saving them, he incarnated as Ekdant.
2. Vakratunda
Lord Ganesha took this avatar to kill the Matsrasur. Matsrasur was a dedicated devotee of Lord Shiva and he was blessed with ‘fearlessness’ against any living creature in the world. With Devguru Shukracharya’s permission, Matsrasur started harassing and torturing the gods.
3. Gajanana or Gajavaktra
Gajanan avatar of Ganesha defeated the Asura named Lobhasura. The gods, tyrannized by his demonic rule, approached sage Raibhya who helped them to pray to Lord Gajanana. Lord Vishnu then went to Lobhasur as a messenger of Lord Ganesha, apprising the demon of the latter’s strength. Convinced by his words, the demon surrendered without putting up a war.
4. Lambodar
At the time of Samudra Manthan, when God Vishnu had taken the form of Mohini; Lord Shiva got attracted towards her. He had ej**ulated that time and a devil called Krodhasur was born. Krodhasur worshiped to Sun, and back in blessing, he received the power to rule the world. The gods undertook recompense to request the grace of Lord Ganesha in the form of Lambodara.
5. Mahodar
When Lord Kartikeya had killed Tarkasur, who was the king of asuras, then Shukracharya created Mohasur to destroy Devalok and kill all the gods. To save Devlok and to get rid of Mohasur, all the Gods together worshiped Lord Ganesha and therefore he incarnated in this avatar.
6. Vikat
This avatar of Lord Ganesha was responsible for defeating the Kamasur monster.
7. Vighnaraj
This incarnation of Lord Ganesha defeated Mam, a demon who was born from Parvat (the mountains).
8. Dhumravarna
Ganesha’s mission this time was to defeat the Ahamkarasur, the demon of self-infatuation. The word “Aham” means the human ego, which further grips the human mind with cruelty and deception.