One of the affectionate names by which Śrī Gaṇeśa is addressed is मोदकप्रिय (modakapriya), the One who is very fond of a particular kind of sweet coconut and rice dumpling called मोदक (modaka).
The word modaka means that which brings delight, joy – qualities that Śrī Gaṇeśa Himself embodies and infuses in the atmosphere around Him. So not only does Gaṇeśa have an endless appetite for the sweetness of joy, he also embodies this same delight, he radiates this delight, and the forms of his blessings are infused with this joy.
So naturally for this celebration of Śrī Gaṇeśa, modaka is the main प्रसाद (prasāda), the food that is offered in ritual worship, infused with blessings, then distributed as a conveyor of the benevolence of Lord Gaṇeśa.
In this lesson we will learn about the story behind these simple, delicious balls of sweetness, the significance of its ingredients from the seasonal health perspective of Ayurveda, and learn exactly how they are made. We will also learn about a special seasonal offering of medicinal herbs that is made during this celebration of Śrī Gaṇeśa.
In the languages of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, modak is the word used for this delicious sweet. In the various languages of South India, it is known as modhakam, kozhukattai, and kudumu. The names vary, but the traditional recipe is the same. Anyone who has tasted a warm modaka with fresh ghee on top looks forward to receiving this as prasāda.
The message here is not that Śrī Gaṇeśa craves sugar, but that he delights in the sweet bliss of immortality, and the sweetness of devotion and wisdom.
The ingredients are almost the same as those in the prasādas offered for the other two major festivals that occur during varṣa-ṛtu, the rainy, late summer season: coconut, rice, jaggery and cardamom. So from the perspective of Ayurveda, this delectable prasāda follows the recommendations for healthy eating during this season when our digestive strength is still low.
This perspective seems so appropriate when we are making a ritual offering with the intention of creating a deeper connection with the radiant embodiment of wisdom, Śrī Gaṇeśa.
There is a story about how Śrī Gaṇeśa came to be fond of these sweet rice and coconut dumplings. It is attributed to the Padma Purāṇa.
Lord Śiva and Goddess Pārvatī were once visited by a group of heavenly beings who brought them a celestial modaka as a gift. This sweet dumpling was infused with special powers: whoever ate it would become profoundly knowledgeable in all the sacred texts and mantras, all sciences, arts and writing.
Pārvatī wanted both her sons to receive these blessings, so she asked them to share this celestial gift. But Gaṇeśa and Kārtikeya were convinced that the blessings could only be received by eating the whole modaka, and they couldn’t agree who should eat it.
So Pārvatī created a contest to see which of them was most worthy to receive this gift. She said she would give it to the one who could give the best demonstration of true devotion. In an instant, Kārtikeya set off on his celestial peacock, and began visiting every sacred place, going from temples, to holy mountains, from sacred rivers, to the hermitages of sages. He offered worship everywhere he visited.
Meanwhile, Gaṇeśa sat on his little mouse, and reverently moved in a circle clockwise around his divine parents, Lord Śiva and Goddess Pārvatī. As he moved, he kept them on his right hand side, and remembered their divinity in his heart. This is known as प्रदक्षिण (pradakṣiṇa).
When he completed the circle, Gaṇeśa bowed before them with great devotion. With great humility, he explained that his divine parents, Lord Śiva and Goddess Pārvatī, embody Supreme Consciousness and Sacred Power, so they also embody the essence of all holy places. Therefore honoring them with undivided focus and devotion encompasses the worship of all other deities, sages, sacred rivers and mountains.
Moved by Gaṇeśa’s devotion and profound insight, Pārvatī and Śiva offered him the celestial modaka, filled with blessings. Indeed, Gaṇeśa became revered as an embodiment of wisdom, and such an excellent writer that the sage Veda Vyāsa chose him to be his scribe, when it was time to record the epic story of the Mahābhārata. And he remained tirelessly fond of eating modaka.
So the modakas we receive as prasāda during this festival are imbued with sacred possibilities and abundant blessings, in addition to being mouthwatering. Receive them with reverence, and relish them while remembering both that original celestial modaka, filled with the blessings of knowledge, and their ability to bring transcendent delight.
This celebration of Lord Gaṇeśa takes place late in the monsoon season, amidst green landscapes bursting with fresh growth. Thanks to many weeks of rain, trees, creepers, shrubs and herbs have sent out fresh shoots and are growing with renewed vigor.
There is a tradition that is not directly about prasāda, but which is interesting to look at in parallel here because of its association with Ayurveda and seasonal health wisdom. It also echoes the practice of bringing fresh mud from the riverbanks – or using powdered turmeric roots – to mold by hand into the form of Śrī Gaṇeśa. This practice in turn echoes Lord Gaṇeśa’s deep connection with the earth element and therefore the earth on which we live, his mother Pārvatī being the embodiment of Mother Earth.
In the tradition we are looking at now, people gather a fresh leaf from each of 21 medicinal herbs and trees, and offer these to Lord Gaṇeśa while chanting his names. It is called एकविंशति पत्रपूजा (ekaviṃśati patrapūjā.)
The spirit of this tradition is to make an offering to Lord Gaṇeśa of the first of these sacred, healing herbs as we cross the threshold into a new cycle of growth and into seasons when these herbs will be needed as home remedies. It is a fresh beginning, and by bringing these leaves as an offering to Lord Gaṇeśa, we seek to make it an auspicious beginning.
Some people no doubt make this offering because disease and pain are obstacles they pray to Gaṇeśa to help remove from their lives.
Another way to understand this ritual is through the awareness that Gaṇeśa is the embodiment of all wisdom, including the knowledge of nature, and every nuance of its qualities and powers. As you can imagine, this tradition is dear to the hearts of those who follow the wisdom of Ayurveda.
In the process of gathering these leaves, both from their own gardens and from the nearby forests, people identify where these important medicinal plants are currently growing, and where fresh plants have sprouted, since these herbs will be needed in the seasons that follow. Often a senior person will use this occasion to introduce a young person to the location of local herbs and how to identify them: another auspicious beginning for Gaṇeśa to bless.
The leaves that are typically offered include those from trees such as pomegranate, bilva (Bengal quince or wood apple), dhatūrā (white thorn apple, with poisonous trumpet-like flowers), āmalakī (the rejuvenating Indian gooseberry), arjuna (a well-known heart tonic), and pīpal (sacred fig). The pūjā also includes herbs such as tulasī (wonderful for respiratory health, but not offered to Gaṇeśa at other times), jasmine, and Gaṇeśa’s favorite, dūrvā or Bermuda grass, which in its wild form is a wonderful anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and detoxifying herb.
A full exploration of the medicinal qualities and ritual uses of these trees and plants would be fascinating but is too extensive to include here.
After the pūjā, these herbs are not usually offered to devotees as prasāda. They are offered to the local river or water body along with the clay form of Lord Gaṇeśa. The feeling is that these leaves will give the river a subtle healing quality. We can think of it as prasāda offered to the river.
This annual celebration of Lord Gaṇeśa occurs near the end of what is known as Varṣa-Ṛtu, the rainy season, in the Ayurveda tradition. This is the two month period from mid July to mid September, in the northern hemisphere. This season affects not only the weather conditions during this celebration, but also the kind of prasāda that is offered, since it is traditionally chosen to reflect the wisdom of healthy eating for this season.
Since we are part of the same ecology as the plants and environment in which we live, the rhythm of the seasons is reflected within us. It silently invites us to adjust our diet with care and wisdom in response to each season, so we avoid being susceptible to seasonal disorders, and aggravating existing imbalances.
Across the Indian subcontinent in varṣa-ṛtu, rain clouds burst day after day, reviving the parched environment with torrents of sweet water. In places like California though, not a drop of rain falls at this time, and the long summer continues. In yet other places, like the east coast of the United States, the continuing summer is interspersed with frequent thunderstorms and the air is heavy with humidity.
From the perspective of Ayurveda, there are common threads that run through the way we experience this season internally, and the measures we are encouraged to take to maintain the exquisite balance of good health.
As we saw in connection with the prasādas for Rakṣā Bandhan and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s birthday, whether the weather outside is hot and dry, raining constantly or intermittently, this is the time of year when our digestive fire is at its weakest, and वात-दोष, vāta-doṣa is the predominant force to balance internally. Vāta-doṣa is characteristically dry and cool, constantly moving and destabilizing. In this season, vāta-doṣa is aggravated thanks to the continued proximity of the sun directly over the northern hemisphere, and this is compounded by the seasonal weather conditions.
In order to balance the adverse effects of vāta-doṣa, we focus on specific flavors and qualities in selecting what to eat in this season: मधुर (madhura), mildly sweet in taste and nourishing, स्निग्ध (snigdha), softening and lubricating, and लघु (laghu), light to digest, and containing a balance of शीत (shīta), cooling and उष्ण (uṣṇa) warming properties.
In the recipe that follows, all the main ingredients are मधुर (madhura), mildly sweet in taste and nourishing, and स्निग्ध (snigdha), softening and lubricating. They contain a balance of cooling (coconut, rice and ghee) and warming (jaggery and cardamom) properties. Rice is particularly लघु (laghu), light to digest, and cardamom has pungent and penetrating qualities that help digest the other ingredients. Plus there is a little ghee to help boost good digestion.
While modaka is spoken of as a sweet, it is rich with nutrients, easy for most people to digest, and helps to create stability and balance in this season when vāta-doṣa is so often disturbed.
(For more details on varṣa-ṛtu, its effects in various environments, and how the ingredients in this prasāda promote health in this season by balancing the qualities of वात-दोष, vāta-doṣa, see the class on Rakṣā Bandhan prasāda.)
Traditionally, modaks are steamed, so they are light and moist. In some places people like to deep fry them so they will last longer. But as you can imagine, this undermines much of their seasonal health value. There are talented women who make an art of the way they fold the rice flour casing around the coconut filling. And there are practical people who use a mold to shape the dumplings to look like they have folds.
Since these molds are hard to find if you don’t live in India, here we will go step by step through the process of making them by hand. Even if they look a bit messy when you first try to make them, they will still be delicious and will have the ability to become vehicles for the blessings of Lord Gaṇeśa.
Devotees often get together to prepare fresh modakas, since those who offer formal pūjā to Lord Gaṇeśa during this festival will traditionally offer 21 modaks, and this can take quite some time to prepare if you are on your own.
Ingredients
Method
Teacher: Hema Patankar
Maitreya Larios is a scholar and practitioner of the ancient and living traditions of India. He has been a practitioner of Indian spirituality since he was 9 years old.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in classical Indology from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, where he is currently employed as a research fellow. He wrote his dissertation on the living Vedic traditions of Maharashtra, which will appear as a book in late 2015.
He is most excited about being a student of Sanskrit and philosophy and about igniting that enthusiasm in his students. His personal journey over the 26 years of studentship in this tradition has been a humbling experience, but it is a path that he assures brings the most amazing transformations.
Besides his area of expertise as a scholar of Indian culture and religion, Maitreya is passionate about photography, visual arts, traveling and vegan/vegetarian cooking.
He is happily married and a father to a beautiful boy named Kabīr.
Few artists have the power to create an indelible impact on the minds of their audiences through their art form and one such name in the world of Kathak is Shambhavi Dandekar. Shambhavi Dandekar as an accomplished Indian Kathak master performer, has carved a niche for herself through her sheer talent, unique performances and unparelled choreography, that has brought her recognition on the national as well as the international platforms.
As a young dancer, Shambhavi started her training under the able guidance of her own mother and renowned Guru Pandita Maneesha Sathe, a celebrated dancer and a teacher in her own right. Shambhavi then went on to complete her intense training in ‘laya and tala’ or rhythm and beats from Table virtuoso “Taalyogi” Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Along with her top-notch traditional dance training, Shambhavi also has a strong academic educational background with a Bachelors in Commerce and two Masters degrees in Dance. Furthermore, she also holds Diplomas both in French and Sanskrit.
Shambhavi has more than 20 years of teaching experience at an undergraduate and a graduate level at various dance education institutions in India. She has also started her own international school of dance in 2008, called ‘Shambhavi’s International School of Kathak’ or SISK. SISK is a prominent and a thriving international institution with five branches in India and the United States of America with over 400 students and a staff of 15 teachers who are trained by Shambhavi herself.
SISK has produced many a talented student over the years. Shambhavi’s years of experience, intellectual understanding and analysis of the nuances of the art form, has helped her create stellar performers out of her dedicated students. Many of her students are emerging as budding Kathak professionals. Shambhavi guides performers and students all over the world through workshops and master classes.
Shivani is a meditation teacher and multi-disciplinary artist, and the founder of Living Sanskrit. Born both American and into the yogic tradition, she is devoted to preserving and accurately practicing ancient indigenous wisdom in modern times and non-native contexts.
Shivani first heard Sanskrit in the womb, and not a day has gone by without it. She grew up immersed in dharma culture, yogic teachings, and sacred practices under the guidance of her spiritual teacher and also her grandmother.
Living Sanskrit is the culmination of a long-held dream to keep this tradition alive and share its magnificent gifts with the world.
Shivani started teaching meditation in 2001, and professionally a few years later at the suggestion of her spiritual teacher. Since then, Shivani has shared meditation with thousands of people at venues that range from corporate offices to hospitals to schools. From 2008-2014, Shivani was a Fellow with the Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness and Law, leading retreats and weekly meditation sessions at Berkeley Law School.
Alongside teaching, Shivani is a prolific artist, photographer, and writer. She is a graduate of the Waterfront Conservatory and Playhouse, a member of the California Bar, and has a J.D. from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Rhetoric with minors in Theater, Business Administration, and South Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
She lives with her beloved husband Nick in Redwood City, California, where she can often be found dancing, gardening, listening to birdsong, and hiking in nature.
Ekabhumi is an award-winning poet, author, illustrator, yoga instructor and arts educator with 18 years of international teaching experience. Through a ritualized and meditative creative method, he makes artworks for ceremonial and educational use that help people deepen their spiritual practice, recognize the divinity of common experiences, and find meaning in the beauty of our world. His artworks may be found in yoga studios, private homes, and on altars around the world. He is currently part of the core faculty of livingsanskrit.com.
His name was given by his first guru during a formal initiation ceremony into a tantric yoga lineage in 2005. Since that time, he has studied with many spiritual teachers and traditional artists both in India and the States. His art teachers include eminent western figurative painters like Domenic Cretara, as well as Newar artist Dinesh Charan Shrestha, Bikaner-style miniature painter Mahaveer Swami, Thangka painter Andy Weber, and yantra painter Mavis Gewant.
Ekabhumi’s writing and artwork has been published widely, appearing in anthologies and journals like The Poetry of Yoga, Berkeley Fiction Review, and Pearl, as well as books like Tantra Illuminated by Christopher Hareesh Wallis and Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton. His instructional Shakti Coloring Book and the uplifting Bhakti Coloring Book are now available world-wide from Sounds True Press.
Though his first love is the arts, he has a wide range of interests that are reflected in his many past occupations: event producer, stock options broker, handyman, journalist, ski boot fitter, competitive surfer and champion sailor. He toured internationally as a performance poet, and the poets he coached won numerous regional and national titles. He facilitated writer’s groups, hosted poetry readings, and organized spoken-word festivals for nearly 20 years, culminating in the acclaimed 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam.
Ekabhumi is an inspiring, playful yet methodical teacher who helps students cultivate deeper intuitive states. For nearly two decades, he variously taught yoga, painting, public speaking, and creative writing to students ranging from kindergarten to post-graduate level. Much of his time is now spent creating educational material about interpreting, making, and utilizing sacred art of the dharma traditions. On weekends, he can be found in his garden practicing silence and learning directly from Nature.
Hema Patankar has spent her life immersed in study, practice and service to the Vedic tradition. It began when she was a teenager irresistibly attracted to the sound of Sanskrit and images of yogis who had become profoundly wise and blissful through meditation.
An alumni of a gurukula in Western India, Hema spent over 30 years intimately engaged with the traditions that have emerged from the Vedas. She worked on research, translation, and editorial projects in the company of learned pandits and scholars. She assisted with yajnas – ancient fire ceremonies – and rituals, which allowed her to get extraordinarily close to the living practice of Vedic traditions. She immersed herself in the sādhana of singing Sanskrit hymns and the songs of the poet saints, which she studied intensively with her Gurus and traditional devotional singers. She became known for devotional singing, and taught students from around the world.
Hema has a passion for the preservation of sacred Vedic heritage. For several years she was the Executive Director of the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute. There she spearheaded the development of an extensive online collection of rare Sanskrit texts. She nurtured the establishment of a traditional Vedic school where an endangered branch of the Vedas is preserved. She also directed the video documentation of remarkable Vedic rituals and brought rare texts on Śaiva philosophy and Vedic ritual to publication.
She later studied traditional Āyūrveda and earned a Vaidya Bhusana (vaidyabhūṣaṇa) Ayurvedic Practitioner degree. She is President of the Board of Trustees of Vedika Global, a school for the study and practice of traditional Āyūrveda and Vedic sciences. She has published articles on Āyūrveda, the Bhakti tradition, and the preservation of Vedic manuscripts. Most recently she edited a text on Vedic full and new moon rituals. Her current writing focuses on the intersection of living Ayurveda with the rituals and philosophy of the Vedic tradition.