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Lord Ganesha: Remover of obstacles
By Prionka JhaLord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God of the Hindus. His face and a rather cute rotund stature makes him stand apart from other Gods. He has a snake tied around his big stomach and his `vahana`(carriage) is the mouse.
By Prionka Jha
Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God of the Hindus. His face and a rather cute rotund stature makes him stand apart from other Gods. He has a snake tied around his big stomach and his `vahana` (carriage) is the mouse. In most of his images, his trunk is turned towards the left and very rarely do we find images of Ganesha with trunk turned towards the right. He is usually depicted in images, as well as idols, with four hands (Chatur bhuja). Three of his hands carry a rope (pasha), a spear like weapon (Ankusha), a sweet (Modakao) and the fourth one is raised in a blessing.
By far the most popular in the pantheon of 33 crore Hindu Gods and Godesses, Lord Ganesha is considered to be bountiful and eternal. He is the God of joy, the God of knowledge and of wisdom. Lord Ganesha is worshipped at the beginning of every puja and his holy name is invoked before starting any venture. He is worshipped for `Siddhi` meaning success in any undertaking. His qualities are best described by his manifold names. His mother, Goddess Parvati gave him the name Vinayaka meaning the remover of all obstacles. This is the reason Lord Ganesh is invoked at the commencement of any important work. This is also depicted in his other names like Vigneshwara and Vignaharta. When he was given an elephant`s head, he got the name Gajanana (`Gaj` means `elephant` and `anan` means `head`). He came to be known as Ganapati or Ganaadhish, when Lord Shiva made him the Lord of his army (ganas). He has a single tusk, and according to one legend, he lost one of his tusks when he killed the demon Gana. So, he`s also known as `Ek Danta`, the one with a single tusk.
Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God of the Hindus. His face and a rather cute rotund stature makes him stand apart from other Gods. He has a snake tied around his big stomach and his `vahana` (carriage) is the mouse. In most of his images, his trunk is turned towards the left and very rarely do we find images of Ganesha with trunk turned towards the right. He is usually depicted in images, as well as idols, with four hands (Chatur bhuja). Three of his hands carry a rope (pasha), a spear like weapon (Ankusha), a sweet (Modakao) and the fourth one is raised in a blessing.
By far the most popular in the pantheon of 33 crore Hindu Gods and Godesses, Lord Ganesha is considered to be bountiful and eternal. He is the God of joy, the God of knowledge and of wisdom. Lord Ganesha is worshipped at the beginning of every puja and his holy name is invoked before starting any venture. He is worshipped for `Siddhi` meaning success in any undertaking. His qualities are best described by his manifold names. His mother, Goddess Parvati gave him the name Vinayaka meaning the remover of all obstacles. This is the reason Lord Ganesh is invoked at the commencement of any important work. This is also depicted in his other names like Vigneshwara and Vignaharta. When he was given an elephant`s head, he got the name Gajanana (`Gaj` means `elephant` and `anan` means `head`). He came to be known as Ganapati or Ganaadhish, when Lord Shiva made him the Lord of his army (ganas). He has a single tusk, and according to one legend, he lost one of his tusks when he killed the demon Gana. So, he`s also known as `Ek Danta`, the one with a single tusk.