श्रीगणेशपुराणम्-Sriganeshpuranam

INTRODUCTION

Śrīganeśapurana was, perhaps, first publish ed in 1892 (Bombay, Gopala Narayana Press) in ms. form, as edited by Uddhavacarya Ainäpure and Krsna Šastri Pitrye. Ganesagită a section of this Purana was published in 1906 together with Nilakantha's commentary Ganapatibhavadīpikä (edited by the Pandits of the Anandasrama) by Anandaśrama Press, Poona.

This Purana finds a first place in Ganeša Grantha Section of the illustrious work Sri Ganešakośa (ed. Amarendra Gadgil, Śrīrāma Book Agency, Pune, second edition 1981).

The edition of the Purana together with Marathi translation by V.S.S. Vişnuśastri Bapat, published by Damodar Lakşmaņa Lele (Modavetta Chapakhana, Wai, 1905-6) was perhaps the first attempt to popularise this illustrious text on Ganesa. This has also been long out of print.

Thus it is quite in the fitness of things that M/S Nag Publishers should have thought of bringing out a reprint of Śrīganeša Purana one of the two Upapuranas (Mudgalapurana being the other one) solely dealing with Ganesa as the Supreme Divine Power.

The Ganesapurana itself describes itself as

an Upapurana: अन्यान्युपपुराणारि उन्नाव च।

गाणेश नारदीव च नृमहान्या1. 1. 8

It, is, however not listed among the eighteen upapuraņas mentioned in the Kürmapurāņas, as follows:

अन्यान्युपपुराणानि सुनिधि कधितावितु। अष्टादश पुराणानि श्रुत्वा सक्षेपतो दिजाः ।। आद्य सनत्कुमारीत नारसिहमत परम् । तृतीय' स्कान्टमुद्दिष्ट सुमारेण तु भाषितम् ।। चतुर्थ शिवधर्मारूय साक्षान्नन्दीशभाषितम्। दुर्वाससोतभावर्य नारदीयमतः परम् ।।

'कापिल वाभनञ्चैव सबैवोशनर्सरितम्।

माहेश्वर तथा साम्ब सौरन्ययम

पराशरोक मारीज तचैव भार्गवायम्।।

Preceding pada reads as दमन्य The variants noted in the footnote are from

the sabda-kalpaduma which defines Upapurana as "(उपमित पुराव्यामृष्णनानान्यादि प्रणीताष्टादश पुराणम् and quotes the above verses with variants from "पातभातकूर्मपुराणम् The lexicon also defines देव as देवीपुराणम् But the fact remains that neither the Venkateshvar press edition (Reprint, Nag l'ublisher, Delhi 1983) of the Kürmapurana nor the representative quota-tions therefrom as in the Sabdakalpadruma list Sriganeša-Purana as an upapurana. M W has slightly differernt a version of the Kürmapurana's listing of the upapuranas.