Gaṇeśa Upaniṣad
The Gaṇeśa Upaniṣad is one of the central texts of the Gāṇapatya Sampradāya, the groups of devotees for whom Gaṇeśa was the supreme divinity. These groups are thought to have arisen from the 10th century onwards, although there has been comparatively little written about them by contemporary scholars. The Gaṇeśa Upaniṣad belongs to the class of Hindu texts that are considered to be revelatory – śruti – “that which is heard”, and in some quarters, are held to be without ‘origin’. It is a manifestation of a particular ‘Truth’. Like other Upaniṣads, it is not merely to be studied as a written text, but to be spoken – the text not only functions as instructive scripture, but also as a performative liturgy – the act of speaking the Upanishad becomes a revelatory experience. This translation is by the late Mike Magee, and the footnotes are my own.
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