Vatapi Ganapatim
 Nadaswaram and Thavil (instrumental version)
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Vatapi Ganapatim, also known as Vatapi ganapatim bhaje ham or Vatapi ganapatim bhaje, is a Sanskrit kriti song by the South Indian poet-composer Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775–1835), one of the "Trinity of Carnatic music". The panegyrical hymn praises Vatapi Ganapati, Ganesha (Ganapati) worshipped in a shrine in Tiruchenkattankudi in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The hymn is composed in Hamsadhvani raga (musical mode), however in tradition of kritis, individual performers add their own variations in the tune. Vatapi Ganapatim is described as the best-known piece of Muthuswami Dikshitar as well as one of the most popular compositions of Carnatic music (South Indian classical music school). The hymn is traditionally sung at the beginning of many Carnatic music concerts.
Vatapi Ganapatim is a part of the series of hymns called Shodasa Ganapati kritis, a collection of songs dedicated to sixteen Ganesha icons located in shrines around Dikshitar's birthplace Thiruvarur.Vatapi Ganapatim is dedicated to the image of Vatapi Ganapati of Tiruchenkattankudi in Thiruvarur district, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
As per oral tradition, the icon of Vatapi Ganapati was brought booty from the Chalukyan capital of Vatapi (presently known as Badami in northern Karnataka) by Paranjothi, the commander-in-chief of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I (reign: 630–668 CE), following the conquest of Pallavas over the Chalukyas (642 CE). The icon was placed in Paranjothi's birthplace Tiruchenkattankudi. Later, Paranjothi renounced his violent ways and became a Shaiva monk known as Siruthondar, is venerated as a Nayanar saint today. However, no written records substantiate the oral tradition; the Ganesha icon is missing from list of war booty brought by the Pallava general.
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