Ganapati to Vakratunda
Bandhavi Brahma
Nagaraj Paturi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha#First_appearance
Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly-recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries CE.[155] Some of the earliest known Ganesha images include two images found in eastern Afghanistan. The first image was discovered in the ruins north of Kabul along with those of Surya and Shiva. It is dated to the 4th-century.[156] The second image found in Gardez has an inscription on Ganesha pedestal that has helped date it to the 5th-century.[156] Another Ganesha sculpture is embedded in the walls of Cave 6 of the Udayagiri Caves in Madhya Pradesh. This is dated to the 5th-century.[156] An early iconic image of Ganesha with elephant head, a bowl of sweets and a goddess sitting in his lap has been found in the ruins of the Bhumara Temple in Madhya Pradesh, and this is dated to the 5th-century Gupta period.[157][156][158] Other recent discoveries, such as one from Ramgarh Hill, are also dated to the 4th or 5th centuries.[156] An independent cult with Ganesha as the primary deity was well established by about the 10th century.[155] Narain summarises the lack of evidence about Ganesha's history before the 5th century as follows:[155]
The evidence for more ancient Ganesha, suggests Narain, may reside outside Brahmanic or Sanskritic traditions, or outside geocultural boundaries of India.[155] Ganesha appears in China by the 6th century, states Brown,[159] and his artistic images in temple setting as "remover of obstacles" in South Asia appear by about 400 CE.[160] He is, states Bailey, recognised as goddess Parvati's son and integrated into Shaivism theology by early centuries of the common era.[161]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha#Possible_influences
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The roots of Ganesha worship have been traced back to 3,000 BCE since the times of Indus Valley Civilisation.[164][165] In 1993, a metal plate depiction of an elephant-headed figure, interpreted as Ganesha, was discovered in Lorestan Province, Iran, dating back to 1,200 BCE.[166][167] First terracotta images of Ganesha are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram, and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with an elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique.[168] The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd–3rd centuries CE).[168]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha#Vedic_and_epic_literature
Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1)[182] and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1),[183] appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuṇḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification.[184] The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane,[185] and a club,[186] is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin".[187] However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions.[188] Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".[189]
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300.[197] Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed of c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.[198]
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:[199]
Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.[204]--
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G S S Murthy
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and also my Sanskrit blog :
Nagaraj Paturi
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K S Kannan
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V Subrahmanian
Valmiki Ramayan which refers to the birth of Kumara makes no reference to Ganesha. The only possible reference which occurs is not complimentary. "विनायकाश्च शाम्यन्ति" in phalashruti.
1. Balakanda, sarga 22, verse 11:
As they followed sage Viswamitra spreading radiance, they looked like sons of the god of fire, (Skanda and Visakhu) following the incomprehensible Siva.
Thanks and regardsMurthy
Hnbhat B.R.
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K S Kannan
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Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj Chair Professor, IIT-Madras.
Senior Fellow, ICSSR, New Delhi.
Academic Director, Swadeshi Indology.
Member, Academic Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthana.
Nominated Member, IIAS, Shimla.
Former Professor, CAHC, Jain University, Bangalore.Former Director, Karnataka Samskrit
University, Bangalore.
Former Head, Dept. of Sanskrit, The
National Colleges, Bangalore.
shankara
The Origin of Ganapati Cult by SM Michael 1983 (Asian Folklore Studies)
The Origins of Gaṇesa by Yuvraj Krishnan 1982 (Artibus Asiae)
For a detailed bibliography refer to 'Ganesa Lord of Obstacles Lord of Beginnings' by Paul B Courtright
shankara