Ganesha*01 (The Elephant God)

Sham S. Misri

The son of Ishwara and Parvati, Ganesha saved the gods when they were in trouble and helpless, by killing Talasura and outwitting Ravana. He is also worshiped as the God who grants success. Ganesha is the lord of wisdom.

Ganesha is the deity of auspiciousness. He is adorable not only to man but also to the gods. The word 'Ganesha' means the Lord of Ganas (the army of the gods), the leader of the army of Shiva. That is why he is also called Ganapati and Gananayaka.

Ganesha has an elephant face (Gaja vadana), winnowing pan like ears (Shoorpa-Karna), a huge belly (Lam bodara), four hands (Chaturbhuja) -three of them carrying Pasha (a rope), Ankusha (a spear-like weapon curved at one end) and Modaka (a pudding like sweet dish) - and the fourth held in a gesture which assures help and protection to the devotee, a beautiful body of red complexion - this is how he is pictured. And he rides a rat.

Ganesha's bulky head symbolizes his extraordinary intelligence. His ears are broad like winnowing pans.  Ganesha can distinguish between truth and untruth. It may also be said that the broad ears symbolize his capacity to listen to the prayers of all his devotees with great attention. While his ever-moving trunk teaches that one should be active always, his single tusk denotes single-mindedness in action. His huge belly signifies that the entire Brahmanda (universe) is hidden within Ganapati. He rides a rat. The rat personifies evil qualities like anger, too much of pride and selfishness. Riding on the rat shows that Ganesha checks these evil passions. Ganesha has many names,  Because of his elephant face he is called Gajanana ('Gaja' meaning elephant); as the leader of Shiva's Gana he is known as Gananayaka; he bestows boons on his devotees and so is Varasiddhi Vinayaka, he is Vidya Ganapati because he grants knowledge and wisdom; he is called Gowriputra because he was born by the grace of Parvati, Ekadanta because he has only one tusk, and Vighneshwara because he is the Lord of all obstacles - so he has many names. The belief that, Ganapati loves his devotees immensely is the reason for his worship everywhere. There are shrines dedicated to him in many countries, even outside India. Hundreds of years ago Hindu missionaries went to different countries. They carried with them the idols of Ganesha who was their supreme deity. They spread their ideas about his form, power and the symbolic significance of his form. Merchants used to carry the idols of Ganesha to foreign countries so that their journey and trade may be free from obstacles. 

Ganesha has different names, forms and symbolic significance in some countries. He is famous in different forms in Tibet, Nepal, Ceylon (now Srilanka), Afghanistan, China, Japan, Indonesia, - Cambodia, Thailand etc. In Burma there is one idol of Ganesha touching the ground with his hand. An idol of Vinayaka in Cambodia has only two shoulders. The idol of Ganapati in a Buddhist monastery at Kung-Hsien in China carries the Chintamani (a precious gem) in the left hand. (The Chintamani is believed to be capable of granting any boon.)

Kailasa is the abode of Lord Ishwara. Parvati is Ishwara's wife. Ishwara had thousands of servants like Nandi and Bhringi.

One day Parvati went to bathe, as usual, Nandi kept watch at the door. Parvati said to Nandi, "Don't let anyone enter" and went in. After a while Ishwara arrived. Nandi told, him that Parvati was bathing. Ishwara turned a deaf ear to him and entered. Parvati was displeased at the sudden entry of her husband. Next day it was time for Parvati to go to bathe. Then she made the figure of a boy with the dirt of her body and gave him life. It was this boy who later became Ganesha and Gajamukha.  Boy Ganesha was very handsome. He was equally strong. He bowed to his mother in reverence and devotion and said, "Mother, what shall I do?"Ganesha was more radiant than the sun and the moon. Parvati was overjoyed at the sight of the lad. She embraced him, and kissed him with affection. Then she gave him a thick stick and said, "Look, my child, I am now going for a bath. Don't allow anybody inside without my permission. "After some time Ishwara happened to come there. Ganesha stopped him at the door. Ishwara became angry, Moreover, Ishwara had never seen the boy. Glaring at him, he shouted, "Who are you? Don't you know that I am the master of Kailasa and that Parvati is my wife? You are trying to stop me! How dare you?"Ganesha replied: 'Whoever you may be, I am not afraid of you. Now mother is having a bath. Without her permission I cannot allow anybody inside. So now, go away!"Ishwara became angry. He decided to ignore him and took a step. The angry Ganesha pushed him aside and hit him with his stick. This was an insult to Ishwara. But soon he checked his anger. He thought that it was improper of him as the Lord of the Universe to punish a little boy, with his own hands. So, he decided to send his servants to advise the boy and left the place. Lord Ishwara's servants obeyed his command and came to Ganesha and gave him advice. They told the greatness and the power of Ishwara. They advised Ganesha saying, "Beg Lord Ishwara to pardon your misbehavior and seek his grace. " But Ganesha would not listen to them. Now Ishwara's servants lost patience. They were all enraging Ganesha. He held his stick firmly and quickly got ready for the battle. In the fight, Ganesha won. Ishwara's servants ran away, afraid of the dreadful blows of Ganesha.

The news of this defeat reached Ishwara. Already he was in a rage and now his anger knew no limits. But at the same time, the valor of the tiny boy surprised him. He sent all the gods to fight with Ganesha. They were also defeated by the boy hero fighting alone.

At last Ishwara Himself had to appear. He blew off the head of Ganesha using his trident Thrishula).

Parvati was full of grief when she heard the news of the death of her beloved son. Her anger rose as she remembered how all the gods had together attacked her son, fighting all alone. Using her divine power she created thousands of goddesses. She ordered them to go and destroy all those gods who were enemies of her son.

Obeying their mistress, the goddesses attacked the gods with dreadful weapons in their hands. They chopped off the heads of all they met. Some were butchered. The assembly of the gods trembled at the menace of these powerful deities.

Then, the great sage Narad and gods like Brahma, Vishnu and Indra came to Parvati with devotion. They prayed to her saying, "Mother Parvati, we beg of you, calm down. First withdraw your deities.  Save the gods who are being destroyed. "

Parvati replied, "I have lost my darling son. If he is brought back to life I will withdraw the deities. "

Now Narad, Brahma and others went to Ishwara. They calmed his anger and pacified him. They prayed to him saying, "Please revive Ganesha. Otherwise this menace will not end. Heaven cannot survive. “Then Ishwara grew calm. He called some gods and said, "Go, find someone laying down with his head towards the north. Cut off the head and bring it here. “Immediately the gods went and brought the head of an elephant, which was laying, with its head towards the north, Ishwara joined the elephant's head to the trunk of Ganesha and gave him life.