The most universally adored of all the Hindu gods, Ganesa, the ‘Lord of the Ganas’ also occupies a pride of place among the gods of the Hindu pantheon. It was because of his popularity as a magnificent god that he was known by the various epithets Vinayaka, Vighnesvara, Siddhidata, Heramba, etc., which stress his benevolent nature and his other names viz., Vakra-tunda, Ekadanta, Akhu-ratha, Lambodara, Gajanana, etc. connote his unusual physical and other attributes. In her illuminating study, Ganesa, A Monograph on the Elephant-faced God, Alice Getty has covered not only the various iconographical features of this god, but has marshalled all the available evidence and shown how the cult of Ganapati originated and spread into not only the various parts of India but into foreign lands as well. The book is divided into eight chapters besides an Introduction by Alfred Foucher. The first four chapters deal respectively with the Origin of Ganesa and Ganesa in Indian literature, Ganesa in Iconography from the Hindu texts and images, Ganesa in Hindu sculpture and paintings and Ganesa in Buddhism. The remaining four chapters deal with Ganesa in the countries neighbouring India such as Burma, Siam, Indo-China, Java, Borneo, China and Japan. In this important work of scholarship and research, Alice Getty has collected a mass of carefully arranged information on Ganesa. This monograph is, therefore, indispensable as a work of reference for the scholars interested in Indian iconography and religion. Carefully selected illustrations, including text-figures, colour and half-tone plates, bibliography, texts of Sanskrit, Tibetan and Japanese references glossary and index add to the usefulness of the volume.
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