3bob Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) "Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th century philosopher Śaṅkarācārya popularized the "worship of the five forms" (pañcāyatana pūjā) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition.[182] This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devī, and Sūrya.[183] Śaṅkarācārya instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity". (deleted my extra comments0 Edited October 23, 2012 by 3bob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
