There is more than one legend of Ganesh's beginnings. The most popular story, from the text of the Shiva Purana, has his mother, Goddess Parvati, fashioning him as a good-looking little boy out of a chunk of clay. Parvati, you see, was bored and lonely, as her husband, Shiva (a.k.a. the Destroyer of Worlds) would often forsake her for long, million-year stints, meditating in the mountains. So what better company than a child for her to nurture and play with? Lord Ganesha grew up a powerful, lovable boy, the apple of his mother's eye. Their idyll though, was rudely shattered when Lord Shiva returned from the wild. Ignorant of his "son's" existence, Shiv barged in, impatiently looking for his spouse. He came upon the boy, standing guard dutifully, as instructed by Parvati, who was taking a bath. Ganesha refused to permit the wild-eyed, dusty visitor, whereupon the enraged Destroyer lopped off the child's head. Hearing the commotion, Parvati came out... and you can imagine the scene that followed. A chastened Shiv, anxious to make amends, turned to Brahma the Creator for suggestion. The boy's severed head had flown too far off and was lost. Brahma suggested that Shiva replace the head with the first living being he could find whose head faced north. That happened to be a sleeping elephant! Parvati was mollified and she extracted two favors for her beloved son - that he be named the head of Shiva's army of ganas (hence his other popular name, Ganapati, or leader of the Ganas) and be invoked by all before they embarked upon any enterprise. In a different, less known tale, Ganesha was born to Goddess Parvati as an outcome of her prayers to God Vishnu, the Preserver. It was a happy occurrence when all the Gods came to bless Parvati's beautiful newborn. Everyone except poor Shani (Saturn), son of Surya, the sun-god, who was saddled with the curse of burning those upon whom his gaze fell. Foolishly, Parvati beseeched Shani's presence. When the dark god Shani glimpsed at Ganesha, the baby's head flew off it is said, to heaven. Seeing the grief-stricken parents, Vishnu mounted Garuda, his eagle, and flew away in search of an alternative. On the riverside of the Pushpabhadra River, he chanced upon an elephant, whose head he brought back and joined to the body of Parvati and Shiva's son. In a yet another story about how Ganesha acquired an elephant head the head belonged to a wild demon, Gajasura, who was also an ardent follower of Shiv. For all his awesome power as Destroyer of world, Shiva was easily delighted by his worshipers and granted them boons thoughtlessly, which led him to into some bad situations. This is exactly what happened with Gajasura. When Shiv asked the demon what he wanted, Gajasura replied, "I want you to reside in my body." Stumped, Shiva had no option but to comply. Parvati, after some time, realized exasperatedly that her husband had gone missing again. After a fruitless search, she approached Vishnu for help. Vishnu (who knows All) realized he had to trick Gajasura. Taking Nandi, Shiva's bull, he went to home as a piper and staged a spectacular performance. Gajasura was enchanted by the bull's dance and offered to grant the piper a wish. "Just name your wish, it shall be granted," said Gajasura pompously. "Release Shiv from your stomach - now!" Gajasura knew this was Vishnu in disguise; also, that his end was near. Letting Shiva burst out from his insides, the dying demon asked for forgiveness. His final wish? That he be remembered forever, by having his head worshipped. Once more, Shivrelented and placed the elephant head upon that of his own son, Ganesha.
Robert
Author Bio
Chip Tolaney is a artist and a writer. His work can be seen on Ganesh Statue site called Ganesh Mall. His other work can be seen at Ganesh Blog.. Visit The Story of Hinduism's Favorite God Ganesh's Birth.
