Lord Ganesh

Ganesh is the Hindu God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles or God of elimination of troubles. He is also called Ganapati (leader of people), Buddhividhata ( god of knowledge ), or Vighnahara (god to remove obstacles). In fact Lord Ganesh has at least 108 names. He is one the most important Gods in the Hindu religion so that all sacrifices and religious ceremonies, all serious compositions in writing, and all worldly affairs of importance are begun with an invocation to Lord Ganesh.

Ganesh is usually depicted as an elephant head figure with a large pot belly. He has four hands with one hand always extended to bless people. Like most other Hindu gods, he has a ‘vehicle’, in his case a rat: this rat is usually shown at the foot of the god, but sometimes Ganesh is astride the rat. This unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving rat vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.

Lord Shiva

Ganesh's father is Lord Shiva. Shiva is the third deity of the Hindu triad of great gods, the others being Brahma and Vishnu. He is called the Destroyer and personifies both the destructive and the procreative forces of the universe.

Goddess Parvati

Ganesh's mother is Parvati wife of Shiva and fertility goddess. She is thought to be the model Hindu wife. Shiva is also the god of asceticism (the practice of self denial) and Parvati by becoming his wife paved the way for the spread of peace and felicity in the world.

Elephant Head Legend

There are a number of stories about how Ganesh came to acquire an elephant head. Here is the most popular:

Parvati was rather disappointed that none of the guards she appointed out of Lord Shiva's army failed to stop him from barging into her private chambers. She decided to have someone who would be entirely her own and place no one above her. Hence, she created Lord Ganesh from dough that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Having created the figure, Parvati told him to ensure that nobody, but nobody entered her rooms while she bathed.

Lord Shiva soon came in and was stopped by Lord Ganesh. This enraged Lord Shiva and he beheaded the boy. This enraged Parvati to such an extent that she asked Goddess Durga & Goddess Kali to destroy everything and everyone. To appease her, Lord Shiva beheaded an elephant and attached the head to Lord Ganesh's slain torso. Lord Brahma brought the boy back to life and they took him to Parvati.

Parvati still had a few conditions to be fulfilled by the Gods for her son before she agreed to cease the havoc created by the Shaktis. She asked that he should be invincible, the giver of victory and God of wisdom. The person who worships him should gain success and property. She also wanted that nobody should be permitted to heaven before pleasing him and it should be compulsory to first invoke him before any other deity. These were all granted to Lord Ganesh, by the triumvirate of Gods, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva appointed Lord Ganesh as the leader of his gana (public) and called him Ganapati, literally meaning, leader of people. Ganapati represents all the qualities that a leader should have. A leader should listen to everybody, therefore the large ears. He should have nose to scent out the smallest problem, which a large trunk does with sensitivity. A large forehead is an indicator of a brilliant mind. It is important for the leader not to let out all that he knows or all that he has been told, that is why Lord Ganapati has large stomach.

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi, a ten day festival in August or September, is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesh. The Hindus believe that praying to Lord Ganesh during the festival will bring good luck and prosperity for the family.

Mantra (Hindu prayer) of Lord Ganesh

Mantra:

Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha
Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva
Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa

Translation:

O Lord Ganesha of Large body, curved trunk,
with the brilliance of a million suns,
please make all my work free of obstacles, always.

Literal translation:

Vakratunda	curved trunk
Mahakaaya	large bodied
Surya kotee	million suns
Sama Prabha	with the brilliance of
Nirvighnam	free of obstacles
Kuru	make
mey	my
Deva	Lord
Sarva Kaaryeshu	in all work
Sarvada	always