He is the mighty One who wields all weapons with powerful hands, subduing the demons, his face radiant with vermilion and his eyes blazing with fiery brilliance. The sound of his jeweled anklets resounds, and he is ever surrounded by rivers whose swift streams and countless droplets rush around him. At his lotus feet, hosts of wandering elephants bow in worship, and he is revered by Brahma, Achyuta, the great Rudra, and the foremost of the gods. All kinds of serpents, including the mighty Shesha, attend upon him, while the thunderous roar of five-faced lions echoes to the very peaks of the mountains. His mind is bewildered by the fierce cries of the gods—“Ha Ha” and “Hū Hū”—and his form is empowered by the fifty seed-syllables and mantras. The earth itself is flooded by the nectar-stream of Vedanta’s teachings, and the conch’s sound fills the realms from the netherworld up to the heavens. He is the wish-fulfilling gem, the great wrestler, holding a strong spear in his hand, powerful and victorious. He shines forth throughout the three worlds, illuminating them with the glory of the Krita and Treta ages. In Dvapara, he is the sole lord of the other world, the moonlight that dispels the darkness of karma, his form anointed with nectar and pervading the cosmic egg and all within it. He is radiant with the series of letters from 'A' to 'Kṣa', resounding with musical tones sung from 'A' and 'Ā', echoing with the highest note. He delights in the garland of mantras beginning with 'I' and 'E', joyfully whirling them, and is adorned with the dread serpent as a sacred thread, emerging from the utterance of 'U' and 'O'. He is adorned with the syllable 'ṛ', radiant with the pair of lotus-like 'ṝ' syllables, united with the 'lṛ' syllable, and fills all directions with the conch-like sound of 'lṝ'. He is skilled in drinking the milk from Girijā’s breast, symbolized by the letters 'e' and 'ai', and moves leisurely through the sequence of creation that begins with the universal syllables 'o' and 'au'. His head and limbs are pervaded by the series of syllables from 'aṃ' to 'aḥ'; he surpasses the celestials, his ears and palate filled with the exceedingly powerful wind. His feet are reddish, his crown adorned with gems, and his banner bears the lord of birds; his ears are ever intent on the songs of the proud Gandharvas. He is worshipped by the foremost gods and sages in the city of eloquence, borne by a mighty cloud. He is the radiant One-tusked Lord, resplendent with the nectar-stream of the syllable 'ṅa'. His beautiful form is adorned with sandalwood, saffron, and the red of jambāla fruit; his face is crowned with jewels, attended by a royal umbrella and fly-whisks. His matted locks are set with rows of priceless gems, and he is surrounded by the humming of swarms of bees, echoing with their melodious song. He wields a mace drenched in the blood of demons destroyed by the power of the syllable 'ña'; at the taste of the fruit of the syllable 'ṭaṅ', all his hair stands on end. He is pleased by the syllables ṭha, ḍha, ḍa, and ḍha, and is the nectar-bearing support of the immortal essence from the nine sacred letters. His forehead shines with the glow of coppery vermilion, and he delights the twice-born with the wealth of the syllable 'tha'. Within the lotus of his compassionate heart, he upholds the three worlds, and his lotus feet are served by great yakṣas such as Kubera. He is adorned with the jewels of all the gods’ crowns as they bow before him, and he is skilled in cutting off the paths leading to both lower and higher realms. He wears a garland around his neck resembling the hoods of serpents; with fierce, knitted brows, he terrifies both gods and demons. He is the sole moon who increases the joy in the heart of Bhavani, his single lotus hand swollen as if holding a vessel of wine. Armed and ever ready, he destroys all obstacles to sacrifice, increasing the radiance and fame of the beloved of the daughter of the ocean. With a great and formidable body and a large belly, he humbles the demons and is worshipped with offerings by Varuna and the other lords of the directions. His loving gaze brings joy to Śaṅkara alone, and he is skilled in singing melodious songs set to the sixteen svaras and tālas. He is the mighty boat rescuing all from the river of misfortune, reciting the hymns of Brahma, Vaikuṇṭha, and others, beginning with Hara. His heart-lotus is filled with forgiveness, protecting all moving and unmoving beings, and his radiant form is comprised solely of the syllables of the Tārā mantra. His form is adorned with knowledge from 'a' to 'kṣa': Om Śrīṃ Vināyaka, Om Hrīṃ Chief of Obstacles, Lord of the Gaṇas. He is Heramba, the enjoyer of modaka sweets with a curved trunk, known in the scriptures as Vidhismrita. He is praised in the Vedanta, a seeker of knowledge, pure in mantra, and the six-syllabled one. He is Ganesha, the bestower of boons, empowered by the twelve-syllabled mantra, his entire form infused with the great mantra of seventy million mantras. He is the son of Ganga, worshipped by the hosts of ganas: Om, Shrim, Dvaimatura, Shiva; Om, Hrim, Shrim, Klim, Glaum, Gam—the god, the great Ganapati, the Lord. The greatness of his thousand names—O Mahaganapati, this thousand of your names is remembered as secret, most confidential, hidden, and guarded in all the tantras. It is the divine treasury of all mantras, the destroyer of all obstacles, composed of the influences of planets and stars, adorned with the sequence of zodiacal signs and their colors. Consisting of all knowledge, it is the means for realizing Brahman, beloved of practitioners, the entire essence of Ganesha, the secret of the dwellers of heaven. It grants the desired fruits in the world, fulfills wishes, is endowed with the eight perfections, attainable, and bestows victory upon practitioners. No worship, no oblation, no ritual gestures, nor recitation are required—merely by remembering, it accomplishes the eight perfections beginning with aṇimā. On the fourth lunar day, at midnight, the practitioner should recite at a crossroads; O Goddess, he should write the thousand auspicious names on birch bark in sunlight. He should wear it on the fourteenth lunar day, at midday, either on his head or arm; a woman should tie it on her left arm, a man on his right arm. Thus is revealed the secret and supreme glory of Mahaganapati.