The Vinayaka Mahatmya is a late Puranic text which contains myths of eight of Gaṇeśa’s avatāras. It presents Gaṇeśa as the supreme deity who empowers Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva to perform their traditional activities of creation, preservation and destruction. It offers descriptions of many darśanas of Gaṇeśa and several stotras praising his worship. This book contains the first translation of this text into a modern European language and also includes a transliterated version of the Sanskrit text. Greg Bailey, formerly Reader in Sanskrit, is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Languages and Cultures, La Trobe University, Melbourne. He has published a translation of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa and studies of Hindu mythology, early Buddhist sociology, many articles on Sanskrit literature, a book on contemporary Australian culture and a novel on early Buddhism. He is currently working on the Mahābhārata in its early historical context and writing another novel about early Buddhism.