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Ganesh
God of happiness

(Also Ganesa, Ganesha, Ganapati.) Ganesh means "Lord of Hosts", he who leads the Ganadevatas, Shiva's attendants. He removes obstacles. He is propitiated before starting any kind of project, large or small. He is the god of wisdom and prudence. He gives prosperity. Ganesh wrote Mahabharata after the dictation of the sage Vyasa. Ganesh is usually figured as a little fat man with four arms and an elephant's head with one tusk broken. His vehicle is a rat.

There are many different stories explaining why ha has an elephant's head. One goes like this:
Shiva used to surprise Parvati when she was taking a bath. She disliked this, so one day she scraped the scurf from her body, mixed it with oils and formed it to the body of a man. With water from the holy river Ganges she gave it life. The figure, Ganesh, was set outside the bathhouse door to guard it. When Shiva come he cut the head of Ganesh. Parvati became so upset when she found out that Shiva had killed her son, that Shiva had to send out his people to found a new head for Ganesh. The first creature they found was an elephant, so they brought its head and put it on Ganesh's shoulders.

Main source: Ions, V. 1983. Indian Mythology. London.

Sculpture of Ganesh in the Museum of Madras (Chennai), 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
Sculpture of Ganesh in the Government Museum of Chennai (Madras). Photo: Suzanne Wejland. 		Boy with a drawing of Ganesh, Kumarakom, 18 apr 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
Mr Viswanathan, junior, has made a drawing of Ganesh. Kumarakom, 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland. 		Sculpture of Ganesh in the Museum of Madras (Chennai), 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
A sculpture of Ganesh, 7th century, from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh photographed in the Government Museum of Chennai. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
A family praying to Ganesh, temple in Kanchipuram, Spring 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
A family praying to Ganesh, temple in Kanchipuram, Spring 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland. 		Old Delhi, Chandi Chowk, toy shop, 1985. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
Lamp for children with a Ganesh picture, toy shop in Old Delhi, 1985. Photo: Suzanne Wejland. 		Small samosa stand in front of a Ganesh Shrine, Old Delhi, 3 March 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
Small samosa stand in front of a Ganesh Shrine, Old Delhi, 3 March 1990. Photo: Suzanne Wejland.
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Updated July 7, 2002

Text & design: Suzanne Wejland (suzanne.wejland@telia.com) and Erik Åhlander (erik.ahlander@nrm.se)

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