Everything about Gana totally explained
The word (
Devanagari: ), in
Sanskrit, means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series, class" (
Monier Williams's dictionary). It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims".
In
Hinduism, the
s (
Devanagari: ) are attendants of
Shiva and live in
Kailasa.
Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence
Ganesha's title or, "lord of the ".
The word "gana" can also refer to councils or assemblies convened to discuss matters of religion or other topics.
Ganas as Shiva's attendants
In
Hinduism, the gana or
bhutagana are attendants of
Shiva that reside in chthonic and liminal locations such as cemeteries and charnel grounds. The bhutagana also attend to Shiva on
Mount Kailash. The story of creation of
Virabhadra from the
Shiva’s lock and destruction of
Daksha by
Virabhadra and his ganas is a popular myth.
Thakur Deshraj has claimed that the story arose from a clan of
Jats named
Shivi who had a
republic ruled by democratic system of administration known as ganatantra.
Kshudrakas had formed a sangha with
Malavas. This view isn't mainstream
Ganas as assemblies
Many books of Sanskrit literature have used ganas and sanghas frequently. The famous Sanskrit scholar
Panini of
900 BCE has mentioned in his Sanskrit grammar known as
Aṣṭādhyāyī in the form of
shloka as जट झट संघाते or
Jat Jhat Sanghate. This means that the terms 'Jat' and 'democratic federation' are synonymous.
Panini in his
sanskrit grammar used gana as:
संघोद्घौ गण प्रशंसयो
Sanghoddhau gaṇa praśansayo
Narada smriti in
sanskrit mentions as:
आदि शब्दों गण संघादि समूह विपक्षया
Ādi śabdon gaṇa sanghadi samūh vipakshayā
It shows that the ganatantra (
republic) system of rule was prevalent in India since ancient period.
Ganas in Shanti Parva
A detailed analysis has been done about ganas in chapter 108 of
Shanti Parva in which
Yudhisthira asks
Bhisma about the ganas that how ganas increase, how they defend themselves from the dividing-policy of enemies, what are the techniques to conquer enemies and making the ganas friends, how they hide their secret mantras being in majority. The Bhisma’s answers to these questions have been recorded in the form of
shlokas (verses) from 16 – 32 in Shanti Parva.,
Ganas in Vedas
Ganas have been narrated in
Vedas in the form of assemblies of warriors as is clear from the following
sutras of
Rigveda (RV 3-26-6):
व्रातं व्रातं गणम् गणम्
Vrātam Vrātam gaṇam gaṇam
Gana in brief means an assembly. Ganatantra (republic) means a state run by assemblies.
The representative members of clans were known as ganas and their assembly as
sanghas, there chief as
ganadhipati or
Ganesha and
Ganapati.
Ganas in Buddhist literature
The Buddhist literature Mahabagga mentions that:
गण पूरकोवा भविस्सामीति
Gaṇa pūrkovā bhavissāmīti
It indicates that there was an officer who used to see the number of ganas and their koram in the Rajasabha (state assembly).
During Buddhist period, the Buddhist books like ‘
Pali-pitaka’,
Majjhamnikaya,
mahabagga,
Avadana shataka have mentioned ganas and sanghas many times. During Buddhas period there were 116 republics or ganasanghas in India.
In
Buddhist times,
Gaṇas were assemblies of the
Sanghas, early democratic republics known as
Gaṇa-rājyas, literally "rule of the assembly", a term paralleling
demo-kratia or
soviet republic. The term was revived in
Bhārata Gaṇarājya, the official name of the
Republic of India.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Gana'.
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