Heramba

Heramba Ganapati
Heramba Ganapati idol on display at The Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai. Idol dates back to 19 century CE; originating from Nepal.
Devanagari	हेरम्बा गणपति

Heramba (Sanskrit: हेरम्ब, Heraṃba), also known as Heramba Ganapati (Heraṃba-gaṇapati), is a five-headed iconographical form of the Hindu god Ganesha (Ganapati). This form is particularly popular in Nepal. This form is important in Tantric worship of Ganesha. He is one of the most popular of the thirty-two forms of Ganesha.

The Mudgala Purana mentions Heramba Ganapati as one of the thirty-two names of Ganesha. The Skanda Purana lists that Heramba Vinayaka as one of the 56 Vinayakas in the vicinity of Varanasi. Heramba also figures in the lists of Ganesha's names in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana (8 names), the Padma Purana (12 epithets) and the Cintyagama (16 Ganapatis). Heramba is also used as an epithet of Ganesha in the Ganesha Purana. The Brahma vaivarta Purana explains the meaning of Heramba: the syllable he denotes helpnessless or weakness, while ramba is protection of the weak, to save them from harm; thus Heramba means the "Protector of the weak".

Heramba is described having five elephant heads, four facing the cardinal directions while the fifth at the top looking upwards. The colours of Heramba's heads closely relate to four aspects of his father Shiva – Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojata. The five heads symbolize his power. He should be golden yellow in colour. Sometimes, he is described to be white in complexion.

The god rides his vahana, a mighty lion. The lion, represents the deity's royalty and fierce nature. The lion is said to be inherited from his mother Parvati, who often rides it. Though the lion primarily appears as the vahana of this aspect, the usual vahana of Ganesha - a rat or a mouse - may also be included in the depiction. In an 11th–13th-century depiction in Odisha, the rat is depicted on a pedestal besides the seated Heramba. In a depiction in Bhaktapur, Nepal; Heramba stands on two rats. In Nepal, Heramba is generally depicted with a lion as well as a rat.