Lord of the Hosts, Poet of Poets
The story
This is the oldest line in the set, and it was not written for him. In the Rig Veda it calls on Brahmanaspati, the lord of prayer, and "ganapati", lord of the hosts, is one of his titles. Centuries later, when Ganesha took that title as his name, the verse went with it. Priests now chant it to open a Ganesha puja.
गणानां त्वा गणपतिं हवामहे कविं कवीनामुपमश्रवस्तमम्।
gaṇānāṃ tvā gaṇapatiṃ havāmahe kaviṃ kavīnāmupamaśravastamam |
Rig Veda 2.23.1; our translation
The same moment, today
A corner grocery downtown still carries the name of a baker who retired thirty years ago. The new owners sell milk, newspapers and flowers instead of bread. They never took the wooden sign down, because everyone on the block already knew the place by that name. Nobody who walks in feels cheated, and the old name fits the new counter just fine.
This line has a history like that sign. It comes from the Rig Veda, the oldest Hindu scripture, composed roughly three thousand years ago, and the poet didn't write it for Ganesha. He wrote it for Brahmanaspati, the lord of prayer, and ganapati, leader of the hosts, was one of that god's titles. Centuries later Ganesha took Ganapati as his own name, and the verse came with it. Today a priest opening a Ganesha puja often chants it first, and everyone listening knows who it means.
The lesson
When old words change hands, it's worth knowing where they started. Knowing doesn't have to change how you use them.
Where this comes from
A borrowed title
The Rig Veda is a collection of more than a thousand hymns, composed roughly between 1500 and 1000 BCE and passed down by memory for centuries before anyone wrote them down. This verse is in the second book, the family book of the poet Gritsamada. In the Sanskrit it goes on to ask the lord of prayer to listen and come and sit in his place. Ganesha appears as a god in his own right much later, around the fourth or fifth century CE.
Old words can outlive the god they were written for and still be said with love.
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