Earthpulse Blog

This is the ninth of a series of short articles on various deities. As I am not a Hindu myself, I would appreciate any feedback from Hindus.

---

Ganesha: an ambivalent deity

Ganesha, instantly recognisable, even to many non-Hindu’s, by his elephant’s head, was also known as Ganapati, Ganpati or Vighnesvara, master of obstacles. This latter title relates to his task of ensuring the smooth running of the earth and of producing wealth. However, he did not dispense his powers evenly, clearing the way for some while obstructing those who neglected him. His ambivalent nature is seen symbolised by his four arms, two in a peaceful pose, two bearing weapons. He was nevertheless a popular deity, invoked at the start of any project and worshipped in temples throughout India.

Master of intelligence; lover of rice

Ganesha was Shiva‘s and Parvati‘s son, created from the dirt of ablations left for his mother. He was well-developed and a master of intelligence, for which Brahma awarded him the task of copying the Mahabharata. He was patron of artists and writers.

A vegetarian, Ganesha is portrayed sitting on a soft cushion and consuming his favourite dish: rice. He travelled on a rat and his devotees offered him red flowers, bunches of twenty-one sprigs of herbs and little fig-shaped cakes.

Ganesha and Skanda – Sibling rivals

Ganesha had a brother, Skanda, who was blessed with great strength. The siblings were very competitive and when they wanted to marry, their parents agreed that whichever circled the world the fastest would be the first to wed. On receiving the challenge, impulsive Skanda raced ahead of his brother. The more thoughtful Ganesha first obeyed the Vedic ritual of circling his parents seven times to gain their leave. As a reward, he won the competition and was given two wives: Buddhi (intelligence) and Siddhi (success).

Why Ganesha has an elephant’s head

There are a few explanations but one of the most popular versions is as follows:-

After Shiva’s awakening, Parvati created Ganesha to protect the door to her retreat. But Shiva spies on his wife as she bathes and Ganesha attacks him. Vishnu came to Shiva’s aid by sending Maya (the illusory appearance of the dualistic world – my attempt at a definition) to confuse Ganesha. Shiva takes the opportunity to relieve his assailant of his head but, not unsurprisingly, Parvati raises a thousand goddesses to petition the gods for its return. Shiva relents but requests that, since he cannot find the original, he be allowed to use the head of the first living thing he encounters. This turns out to be an elephant.

---

Do you have any personal experience of or interest in Ganesha or Hinduism that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.

References/Sources used (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):

Comte, F. (1991) ‘The Wordsworth Dictionary of Mythology’, Wordsworth, Kent

Image attributions

Main image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 3.0 license by Durga
Smaller image is in the public domain.

---

Are you a Dream Spirit? Sign up for free!

In 2009 I launched a members site for those of you who are interested in dreams. It’s called Dream Spirit and has lots of free content, including a searchable dream dictionary and forum. To join, please click
here. There is also a summer offer of a third off for those who want to upgrade and a generous referral program. Check it out by July 31st!

---

Read your stars with Earthpulse

Click here to read your weekly stars.
Please note that my stars (as with all horoscopes of this nature) make use of limited, widely applicable astrological factors and can be interpreted in many ways. This does not reflect the full scope of the art and science of astrology.
NB. The rights to my horoscopes are currently for sale to other online or offline publications. Please contact me for more information.

---

Now on radio!

I am also on radio, approximately once a month, here in the UK. The radio station is ‘Magic 999′,part of the ‘Rock FM’ group and I take calls for about 40 minutes from 0830 on Jude’s Breakfast Show. The show broadcasts to Lancashire but non-Lancastrians can listen online on www.magic999.co.uk. My next show is likely to be in July 2010.

Coming next: The Hindu Deities: Skanda