पुष्पाणि हुत्वा विजयी भवति । महारसैर्हुत्वा परमानन्दनिर्भरो भवति । गणानां त्वा गणपतिं हवामहे कविं कवीनामुपमश्रवस्तमम् । ज्येष्ठराजं ब्रह्मणां ब्रह्मणस्पत आ नः श्रुण्वन्नूतिभिः सीद सादनम्
puṣpāṇi hutvā vijayī bhavati | mahārasairhutvā paramānandanirbharo bhavati | gaṇānāṃ tvā gaṇapatiṃ havāmahe kaviṃ kavīnāmupamaśravastamam | jyeṣṭharājaṃ brahmaṇāṃ brahmaṇaspata ā naḥ śruṇvannūtibhiḥ sīda sādanam
«Having poured flowers, becomes victorious; having poured great juices, becomes filled with the highest bliss. — «Thee, lord of the hosts, we invoke, the poet of poets, the most renowned, the eldest king of prayers — o lord of prayer, hearing us, with your aid, sit upon the seat».
7b1f9e38f97e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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A whole verse of the Ṛgveda (2.23.1) is cited — the very one with which every undertaking still begins today, addressed to Gaṇeśa. This verse is remarkable for containing not a single request for gain. Only one thing is asked: sīda sādanam, «sit upon the seat» — that is, come and sit. Everything else in the verse is a list of names: lord of the hosts, poet of poets, eldest king of prayers.
After lines about pits, dyes, and the subjugation of women, this ancient verse sounds like air from an open door. The difference between it and what came before is striking: there a person arranges things in order to get; here he calls, so that someone will come. The phrase ā naḥ śṛṇvan, «hearing us», completes the matter. One calls to one who hears; and the whole difference between a prayer and a spell fits within this participle. A spell works regardless of whether anyone hears it; a prayer without a listener is meaningless.
Worth noting too the words kavim kavīnām, «poet of poets». Kavi in the Vedas means not «composer of verses», but «seer, one who sees the hidden»; poetry and insight are denoted by one word. The Gītā calls Him Himself the same word — kavim purāṇam, «the ancient seer» (8.9).