Hindu mythology believes to have 33 crore Gods and
Goddesses! Different people and castes worship different deities. But, there is
one amongst these millions who is always worshipped before others, and he is
Lord Ganesha. He is considered to be the Lord of removing obstacles and
bringing auspicious fortunes into the lives of his devotees. He is the Lord who
is known by every Hindu and loved by all. The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is
celebrated with immense joy and enthusiasm not only in India, but by Hindus
present all across the globe.
Lord Ganesha is always seen to be in his cute and cuddly
form with an elephant head, a long trunk, two large ears, and a big round
belly. He is seen riding a mouse, which is considered his ‘vaahan’, and is always seen with his favourite modak. While all the other attributes he possesses can be
understood, the one unique element that cannot be empathized with is his
elephant head. Why is he seen with a human body and an elephant head? Hindu
mythology explains why Lord Ganesha bears an elephant head and why he is the first
Lord worshipped before commencing any Puja.
The story behind Lord
Ganesha’s elephant head
It was when Lord Shiva was away for meditation and his
consort, Goddess Parvati, was left alone in Mount Kailash. While going to
bathe, Goddess Parvati wanted someone to guard the door as Nandi was not at
Mount Kailash. So, she scrubbed the dirt and oil of her skin and created a
young human form figure, and breathed life into him. She asked him to guard the
door and not let anyone in until she finished her bath.
In the meantime, Lord Shiva returned home and found this
young child at the door, who stopped him from going in. Lord Shiva was
surprised and reasoned with the child that he was Goddess Parvati’s husband and
had every right to go within his home. However, the child, being very loyal to the
Goddess, did not let Lord Shiva in, saying that he was only performing his
duty. Furious with rage, Lord Shiva beheaded the boy with his trident, thus
killing him instantly.
When Goddess Parvati learned of this, she was so enraged
that she vowed to destroy the entire creation. Upon Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma
trying to calm her down, she agreed to reconsider her plan on two conditions. Her
first condition was that the boy should be brought back to life, and second
being that he should be prayed forever before every other God. They agreed and
Lord Shiva sent his clan to bring back the head of the first creature lying
with his head facing North. His clan returned with the head of a young
elephant, which was placed by Lord Shiva on the body of the boy, who was then
brought back to life. He then announced the boy to be the leader of all Ganas (tribes and classes), which
brought him the name ‘Ganpati’. Lord Brahma blessed him to be worshipped before
commencing any Puja for removing obstacles and bringing luck.
This story thus depicts why Lord Ganesha has his elephant
head and why he is the first God to be worshipped amongst all. This is why Lord
Ganesha is prayed to at the beginning of every Puja. For any kind of festival,
personal event, company event, problem solving and custom Pujas to be done, you
can get in touch with MakeMyPuja Pandits to help you get the most appropriate
Puja done, without failing to worship Lord Ganesha so that your Puja is done
without any glitches and the objective of your Puja is accomplished fruitfully.
Website: https://www.makemypuja.com/
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