Lord Ganesh – The Elephant Deity Riding A Mouse

Lord Ganapathi (also known as Ganesh, Vinayaka, Vigneshvara, or Pillaiar) is worshiped as the remover of obstacles, and as the God of wisdom and success. He is described as the eldest son of Shiva and Parvathi, and is most well-known and found in almost all temples.

The form of the elephant-headed deity is supposed to denote great physical strength tempered by gentleness, wisdom, and peace. His vehicle is a mouse, which is supposed to represent the ego.

He is the Lord of Success, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles.

He is also worshiped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom, and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.

The significance of the Ganesha Form

Ganesha’s head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand, Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha’s left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary on the other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs around his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

How Ganesha Got His Head

The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access and struck off the boy’s head in rage.

Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name ‘Ganapati’. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

Suggested Read: Sankata Nashanam Ganapati Stotram

However, there’s another less popular story of his origin, found in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana: Shiva asked Parvati to observe the punyaka vrata for a year to appease Vishnu in order to have a son. When a son was born to her, all the gods and goddesses assembled to rejoice in its birth. Lord Shani, the son of Surya (Sun-God), was also present but he refused to look at the infant. Perturbed at this behavior, Parvati asked him the reason, and Shani replied that his looking at the baby would harm the newborn.

However, on Parvati’s insistence when Shani eyed the baby, the child’s head was severed instantly. All the gods started to bemoan, whereupon Vishnu hurried to the bank of river Pushpabhadra and brought back the head of a young elephant, and joined it to the baby’s body, thus reviving it.

Ganesha, the Destroyer of Pride

Ganesha is also the destroyer of vanity, selfishness, and pride. He is the personification of the material universe in all its various magnificent manifestations. All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of their sectarian belief. He is both the beginning of the religion and the meeting ground for all Hindus. He is prayed to before any new beginnings or at the start of any pujas or ceremonies.

Suggested Read: Ganesh Chaturthi, Magh Sankashti