16 Names of Ganesha - Ganesha Shodasa nama stotram

Ganesha, as you know, is the Lord of all Ganas. He is the Pratham Poojya Lord. You need to worship him at first before performing any worship or ritual. By doing so, it is believed that all your efforts and desires get fulfilled without any hindrance or failure. Such are the powers of this Lord Ganesha.

But, most of us may not be familiar with the fact that Ganesha bears sixteen wonderful names to his credit which are being recited by each one of us during the Ganesh Chauth puja performance. He gets worshiped with those names even by Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, and all the angels, etc. before performing any auspicious or important work.

Here is the full verse that contains these sixteen names.

sumukha schaikadantascha kapilO gajakarNakah |
lambOdarascha vikatO vighnarAjO gaNAdhipah |
dhoomakEtur gaNadhyakshah phAlachandrO gajAnanah |
vakratunda shsoorpakarNah hEramba sskandapoorvajah |
shOdashaitAni nAmAni yah paTEh shruNuyAdapi ||
vidyArambhE vivAhEcha pravEshE nirgamE tathA |
samgrAmE sarvakAryESu vighnastanya najAyatE |
abhiipsitArtha sidhyartham poojitO yassurairapi |
sarvavighnachchidE tasmai shri gaNAdhipatayE namah ||

In the above verse, each line of the First Four Lines contains four names each of Ganesha thus totaling to the sixteen names (shodashaitaani naamaani) of Lord Ganesha as follows:

16 Names of Ganesha

1)Sumukha (beautiful-faced)
2)Ekadanta (one possessing a single tusk)
3)Kapila (of reddish-brown-colored)
4)Gajakarnaka (elephant-eared)
5)Lambodara (possessor of large stomach or belly)
6)Vikata (ferocious and misshapen))
7)Vighnaraja (lord of obstacles)
8)Ganadhipa (leader of ganas)
9)Dhumaketu (smoky-flag bearer)
10)Ganadyaksha (lord of ganas)
11)Phalachandra (bearing Moon-Like Face)
12)Gajanana (elephant-faced or headed)
13)Vakratunda (of twisted-tusk)
14)Shoorpakarna (Having large fan-shaped ears)
15)Heramba (protector of the weak)
16)Skandapoorvaja (Born before Skanda)

The remaining lines of the above verse signify the benefits of uttering these above-mentioned sixteen names of Lord Ganesha.

5th line tells us that these are the sixteen names that need to be recited or listened to.
6th line tells this should be done at the start of introducing a child to school or at marriages and at all occasions of the beginning of any work or accomplishment of rituals, etc.
7th line refers to all battles or fights during daily life and at all work involvements that it should be applied for getting protection from failures.
8th line tells that even the angels, demons, and all celestial and other inhabitants practice this for fulfilling their desires.
The 9th line expresses gratitude to Lord Ganesha for destroying and driving away all those vighnas or obstructions from our life.