Things to remember: Ganesha is the bringer of good luck and remover of obstacles (also a patron of wisdom and learning). Many stories about him, such as this one: Shiva’s wife Parvati asked their son Ganesha to guard the door while she took a bath. Shiva came home from a long meditation visit and didn’t know that Ganesha was his son (and Ganesha didn’t know his dad). Shiva couldn’t get by Ganesha so he cut off his head. When told by Parvati that Ganesha was their son, he looked for a head to replace on the body, and an elephant volunteered. Shiva cut off its head, placed it on Ganesha, and brought him back to life. Moral: The story is about self-sacrifice in the service of the divine, like Ganesha and the elephant did.
Widely held that the sage Vyasa dictated the Mahabharata to Ganesh. A mouse (or rat) often appears with Ganesh (his vahana or vehicle).
Things to remember: Ganesha is the bringer of good luck and remover of obstacles (also a patron of wisdom and learning). Many stories about him, such as this one: Shiva’s wife Parvati asked their son Ganesha to guard the door while she took a bath. Shiva came home from a long meditation visit and didn’t know that Ganesha was his son (and Ganesha didn’t know his dad). Shiva couldn’t get by Ganesha so he cut off his head. When told by Parvati that Ganesha was their son, he looked for a head to replace on the body, and an elephant volunteered. Shiva cut off its head, placed it on Ganesha, and brought him back to life. Moral: The story is about self-sacrifice in the service of the divine, like Ganesha and the elephant did.
Widely held that the sage Vyasa dictated the Mahabharata to Ganesh. A mouse (or rat) often appears with Ganesh (his vahana or vehicle).