Lord
Ganesh
Lord Ganesh
is the elephant-headed God, with one tusk. The legend of how he got
his elephant head and one tusk is a fascinating one.
One day Parvati, Shiva’s beloved wife, instructed Shiva’s
attendant Nandi not to let anyone in while she was taking a bath. A
little later Shiva arrived wishing to enter. Nandi was in a dilemma
as how to stop his master. Shiva entered Parvati was not ready to
receive him. She was upset and wondered why Nandi had not obeyed
her command. She complained to Shiva but Shiva did not take the matter too
seriously. He was amused to hear that Parvati had asked
Nandi to stop him from entering his own home. Parvati was
annoyed. She shared her feelings with her friends. They teased Parvati
by saying that she had no attendant of her own. They all considered
Shiva their true master.
One of Parvati’s friends came up with the idea to create a
person who would owe his first allegiance to Parvati and not to Shiva.
So Parvati gathered the saffron paste (used at the time of
bathing), from her own body and created a boy. The boy was handsome and
strong. She gave the boy life and hugged him dearly.
"You are my son, my very own son, I do not have anyone else to call my
very own" said Parvati. Then Parvati gave the boy a staff and asked
him to guard the door, "Do not to allow any one to enter without my
permission."
A little later Shiva arrived and wondered who the boy could be and why
was he there. His attendants did not know either. As Shiva approached
the door, the boy stopped him. Shiva tried to explain to the boy that
he was Parvati’s husband and he had the right to enter without
asking any one. The boy said without hesitation, "Halt, no one enters
these halls without my mother’s permission." When Shiva ignored him, the
boy hit him with his staff. Shiva was furious. He tried to fight the young
boy to realize that he was no ordinary boy. Shiva asked his attendants
to capture the boy but single-handedly, the boy defeated all of them.
News reached Parvati through her friends and she thought, "Shiva
is after all my husband." But she instantly argued, "But why should he try
to force himself in without giving respect to the my privacy?" So she
firmly conveyed her feelings to her friend, and she took the message to
the boy, "Parvati has given definite instruction as not to allow
any one to enter the palace. The boy declared, "I am the son of
Parvati. I will give my life to carry out my mother’s orders. No
one can enter the palace without my mother’s permission."
The messenger returned to Shiva and humbly informed him what the
boy had said. Shiva’s pride was hurt. Shiva was so angry
that he sent his entire army to capture the boy. Parvati called for
her other powers, Kali and Durga. She asked them to stand
beside her son. Shiva’s army lost the battle and the attendants ran for
their lives. Shiva then called Vishnu to join him in defeating the small
boy. This was not a fair fight. While the boy was engaged in fighting with
Vishnu, Shiva threw his Trident and beheaded the boy. After the head
rolled off, Shiva realized his mistake.
When Parvati heard of the unfair fight she decided to destroy
the world. Brahma humbly approached Parvati, seeking for mercy
to save the world. Parvati agreed on two conditions, "My son must
regain his life and he shall be worshipped before any of the other gods."
By that time Shiva had calmed down and apologized for his rash behavior.
He agreed to bring the boy back to life. He asked Brahma to go North and
bring the head of the first creature that crossed his path. Brahma left
with his party and soon brought back the head of a strong elephant. The
head was then fitted to the body of the boy and Brahma sprinkled
water on it. The boy came to life with an elephant’s head on his shoulder.
Parvati embraced her son with joy. She then turned to Brahma to fulfill
her second condition. Indra and the other gods brought Shiva to
Parvati. Shiva apologized for his arrogance and declared "Hence
on, this valiant boy will be my son. He will be respected as any other
God and will be worshipped before any other God. He will be called Ganesh,
the chief of my Ganas or attendants, and also Vigneshwar,
the remover of all obstacles.
Shiva and Parvati once again began to live happily in their abode at
mount Kailash.
Many years later, Shiva was taking a nap when Ganesh was guarding him.
At that moment Parashuram, the Brahmin warrior, came to see Shiva. Much to
his dismay he was stopped by Ganesh. Parashuram was unwilling to take
orders from anyone. As a result, a big fight ensued. Finally, Parashuram
threw his powerful ax towards Ganesh. Ganesh stopped the ax with his tusk
which broke. Thus Ganesh lost one of his tusks and began to be known as
Eka-danta, or "One Toothed."
Today before any venture is undertaken, it is Ganesh who is invoked and
whose blessings are sought
Religion
