Ganesh
GANESH
The genesis of his creation is multiple. In some of these legends he is the son born of the spirit (mansika putra) of Shiva, but in others he is a creation of Pârvatî.
The most common legend explains that Parvati, exasperated by Shiva's uneasiness and intrusions into his apartments, created Ganesh with the saffron paste that materialized on his body. She modeled a beautiful son and charged him to ensure that no one enters her home. Also, when Shiva tried to pass, he was pushed unceremoniously by Ganesh. Excited, He cut off the child's head with one blow of his trident. Parvati inconsolable ordered that his son be resurrected but his head remaining untraceable, Shiva took that of the first living being who passed and it was an elephant. Although the child was conceived without Him, Shiva assumes the paternity.
The genesis of his creation is multiple. In some of these legends he is the son born of the spirit (mansika putra) of Shiva, but in others he is a creation of Pârvatî.
The genesis of his creation is multiple. In some of these legends he is the son born of the spirit (mansika putra) of Shiva, but in others he is a creation of Pârvatî.
The most common legend explains that Parvati, exasperated by Shiva's uneasiness and intrusions into his apartments, created Ganesh with the saffron paste that materialized on his body. She modeled a beautiful son and charged him to ensure that no one enters her home. Also, when Shiva tried to pass, he was pushed unceremoniously by Ganesh. Excited, He cut off the child's head with one blow of his trident. Parvati inconsolable ordered that his son be resurrected but his head remaining untraceable, Shiva took that of the first living being who passed and it was an elephant. Although the child was conceived without Him, Shiva assumes the paternity.
According to the Linga-Purâna, Ganesh is created by Shiva to triumph over Asuras and other enemies of the gods; indeed, the Devas begged Almighty Shiva to come to their aid because they were being harassed by the demons.
Shiva consented to it and, with his wit, made a child burst forth with an elephant's head. Seeing this beautiful child, Pârvatî put it on his knee and decreed that no enterprise, human or divine, would be successful without first having a prayer. Shiva made him the leader of the celestial hordes, the Gana, calling him Ganapati, which means Chief of Ganas.
A more detailed variant repeats the episode of Parvati and his son guarding his house. Shiva, exhausted at not being able to pass, sent the army of his Ganas to the assault. But Ganesh rout them; Shiva then brings Brahma peacefully, in the form of a Brahman, trying to bring the boy back to his senses. In vain.
Then Shiva asks Kartikeya and Indra to intervene and raise their armies; Ganesh resists victoriously thanks to the support of Kali and Durga, called to the rescue by Pârvatî, furious that one attacks his dear son ...
Shiva consented to it and, with his wit, made a child burst forth with an elephant's head. Seeing this beautiful child, Pârvatî put it on his knee and decreed that no enterprise, human or divine, would be successful without first having a prayer. Shiva made him the leader of the celestial hordes, the Gana, calling him Ganapati, which means Chief of Ganas.
A more detailed variant repeats the episode of Parvati and his son guarding his house. Shiva, exhausted at not being able to pass, sent the army of his Ganas to the assault. But Ganesh rout them; Shiva then brings Brahma peacefully, in the form of a Brahman, trying to bring the boy back to his senses. In vain.
Then Shiva asks Kartikeya and Indra to intervene and raise their armies; Ganesh resists victoriously thanks to the support of Kali and Durga, called to the rescue by Pârvatî, furious that one attacks his dear son ...
Shiva finally decides to intervene himself and while Ganesh fights Vishnu, he treacherously attacks him and cuts off his head ... The revenge of Pârvatî is terrible: it creates innumerable Shakti and orders them to devour the Ganas and the Devas. Terrified, Brahma and Vishnu ask him for mercy; in exchange, Parvati demands that his son be brought back to life.
She also demands another compensation: henceforth, her son will have to be honored first, before all the other gods.
If we look at the defenses of Ganesh, we will notice that one of them is broken. It is said that one night Ganesh fell from his vehicle and broke a defense. Seeing this, the moon burst out laughing. Vexed, Ganesh threw him the broken defense, and since that day during processions in honor of Ganesh, one avoids looking at the moon. Other versions report that the head of the elephant substituted for that of the child already had a broken defense. The most common story is that Ganesh used the piece of his defense to write the Mahabaratha that the sage Vyasa dictated to him.
She also demands another compensation: henceforth, her son will have to be honored first, before all the other gods.
If we look at the defenses of Ganesh, we will notice that one of them is broken. It is said that one night Ganesh fell from his vehicle and broke a defense. Seeing this, the moon burst out laughing. Vexed, Ganesh threw him the broken defense, and since that day during processions in honor of Ganesh, one avoids looking at the moon. Other versions report that the head of the elephant substituted for that of the child already had a broken defense. The most common story is that Ganesh used the piece of his defense to write the Mahabaratha that the sage Vyasa dictated to him.
Another Puranic legend says that Pârvatî burned with the desire to have a child and shared it with Shiva. He asked her to follow a period of austerities (tapas or tapasya) called puñyaka for a year, and she did. The sage Sanatkumara made Parvati undergo various tests to ascertain the intensity of his wish. After that, she heard a voice from heaven telling her to go to her room to get her newborn child.
She ran there, saw it and could not believe her eyes because it was more beautiful than all the gods together, and her face shone like the rising sun. His joy knew no bounds.
All the gods and goddesses rushed to Mount Kailash, the abode of the divine parents, to contemplate this child of glory; they paid their respects and marveled at her beauty.
She ran there, saw it and could not believe her eyes because it was more beautiful than all the gods together, and her face shone like the rising sun. His joy knew no bounds.
All the gods and goddesses rushed to Mount Kailash, the abode of the divine parents, to contemplate this child of glory; they paid their respects and marveled at her beauty.
The nine planets, the Navagraha, also came to congratulate the divine couple and their beloved son. One of them, Shani did not want to look up at the child and asked that it be him who lowered the head.
Parvati was upset. Shani explained that his wife, jealous, had predicted that anyone he would look at with admiration would be destroyed!
Pârvatî would not believe it and demanded that Shani do as everyone and admire the baby. He executed himself and instantly Ganesh's head was separated from his body and flew into space until Goloka, the world of Krishna (for originally Ganesha was Krishna himself in human form, according to the Brahmavaivarta-Purâna).
Pârvatî cried, lamented loudly and created a great tumult. Vishnu, understanding the tragedy, immediately went on his vehicle Garuda in search of a head to replace the one that was lost.
One day to distract himself, Parvati modeled the image of a child with an elephant's head, using the ointments that covered his body, and then brought him to the Ganges. As soon as the water flooded the child, he turned into a resplendent being. It was Dvaimatura, the son-born-of-two-mothers, for Parvati as Ganga each thought it was their child.
Parvati was upset. Shani explained that his wife, jealous, had predicted that anyone he would look at with admiration would be destroyed!
Pârvatî would not believe it and demanded that Shani do as everyone and admire the baby. He executed himself and instantly Ganesh's head was separated from his body and flew into space until Goloka, the world of Krishna (for originally Ganesha was Krishna himself in human form, according to the Brahmavaivarta-Purâna).
Pârvatî cried, lamented loudly and created a great tumult. Vishnu, understanding the tragedy, immediately went on his vehicle Garuda in search of a head to replace the one that was lost.
One day to distract himself, Parvati modeled the image of a child with an elephant's head, using the ointments that covered his body, and then brought him to the Ganges. As soon as the water flooded the child, he turned into a resplendent being. It was Dvaimatura, the son-born-of-two-mothers, for Parvati as Ganga each thought it was their child.
