Ganesa
Ganesa South and Central AsiaThe elephant-headed son of Shiva, who is the Hindu counterpart of Hermes, removes obstacles and vouchsafes wisdom. He is propitiated at the beginning of any important enterprise, and is invoked at the commencement of books. He often appears today on the covers of Indian students' notebooks.
Ganesa is represented as a short pot-bellied man of yellow colour, with four hands and a one-tusked elephant head, sometimes riding on a rat or attended by one. In one hand he holds a shell, in another a discus, in the third a club, and the fourth a water-lily. His temples are plentiful on the Deccan and he is depicted in many Shivite shrines.
A legend explains his elephant head as the result of a dispute. Parvati went to her bath and told her son to guard the door, which Ganesa tried to do even against Shiva. So upset was the goddess at the decapitation of their son that to pacify her Shiva replaced the head with an...
[The entire page is 242 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
