वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ। निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥

This two-line prayer to Ganesha is a traditional invocation, which means it is a popular devotional verse rather than a line taken from a particular scripture. It is among the first Sanskrit verses many children in Hindu households learn, because it is short, rhythmic and meant to be said at the start of anything new, whether a lesson, a journey, a puja or a business undertaking.

The key words are easy to pick out. Vakratunda means the one with a curved trunk, and mahakaya means the one with a large, imposing body. Surya-koti-sama-prabha describes a brilliance equal to ten million suns, using koti, the Indian figure for ten million, as a way of saying beyond measure. The second line makes the request. Nirvighnam kuru me deva means make my work free of obstacles, and sarva-karyeshu sarvada adds in all undertakings, at all times. The word vighna, obstacle, is the root of Ganesha's title Vighnaharta, the remover of obstacles.

In temple and home worship Ganesha is invoked first, before any other deity, and verses like this one are the usual way to do it. People commonly say it before opening a new account book, beginning an examination, or starting a pooja, and during Ganesh Chaturthi it is often among the verses sung at the household shrine. The verse asks for the removal of hindrances, not for success itself, so it is usually understood as a request for a clear path along which one's own effort can work.