In Hinduism, Ganesh is one of the most renowned Gods who is worshiped in the beginning of every religious ritual,and special events. In Sanskrit, ‘Ga’ symbolizes Buddhi (intellect) and ‘Na’ symbolizes Gyan (wisdom).Thus, he is considered as the master of intellect and wisdom. He is the son of Shiva (God of Destroyer) and Parvati, often regarded as Shakti (feminine power).Ganesh is easy to identify because he has an elephant’s head. There are several myths about Ganesh having an elephant’s head.
Long time ago, Lord Shiva and Parvati used to live in the hilly mountains of Himalayas .One day Shiva decided to go to jungle for meditation. Parvati was alone at home. She wanted to take a bath, but there was no one around to guard her and stop people from accidentally entering the house while she was taking shower. So, she created an image out her body wastes and turmeric paste and gave life to it with her divine power. Thus, baby Ganesh was born.
Long time ago, Lord Shiva and Parvati used to live in the hilly mountains of Himalayas .One day Shiva decided to go to jungle for meditation. Parvati was alone at home. She wanted to take a bath, but there was no one around to guard her and stop people from accidentally entering the house while she was taking shower. So, she created an image out her body wastes and turmeric paste and gave life to it with her divine power. Thus, baby Ganesh was born.
Parvati ordered Ganesh to guard the house and asked him not allow anyone from entering the house.Ganesh obediently followed his mother’s command, standing right in front of the main door. After a while Lord Shiva returned from his meditation, and tried to enter into the house. But little Ganesh did not let him in. Since Shiva was unknown about the miracle birth of Ganesh, he tried to convince Ganesh that he was the husband of Parvati, and let him enter into his house. Faithful Ganesh didn’t listen whatever Shiva told him. Feeling insulted,Shiva lost his temper and cut the head of the Ganesh with his divide trident.
Parvati was distracted with loud noises coming out from outside. She ran outside and shocked to see dead body of her son .She lost her temper and started to cry .She asked Shiva to restore life of her son. Shiva was ,then, helpless, and left with no choice.
Shiva and his armies tried their best to find head of the Ganesh, but all the attempts went in vain.
Lord Shiva came up with an idea. He asked his armies to go north of Himalayas
and bring the head of anything which they would find on the way. After several hours, armies came back with a head of an elephant. Lord Shiva attached the head of an elephant to the Ganesh’s body and brought him back to life. Since then he was worshiped as Gajaraj, a God with an elephant’s head.
I have read and heard this story several times in my life. I don’ remember people telling this story to anyone at present,I mean since I left Nepal in 2006. This story was hidden on my subconscious mind .As I was typing this story today, several questions and curiosities aroused in my mind regarding Hindu culture and religion.
Since ancient time Hindu society has been a patriarchal society. According to this folk story, Shiva had an authority and a power of the universe. He had his own armies. He was praised and worshiped by everyone .He was considered justice lover even though he killed people in his bad temper.
Women were considered as weak, inferior, and insecure. Parvati was scared at her own home. She looked for someone to guard her house. It is an irony that woman who had power to create a baby out of turmeric, but did not have guts to guard herself.
Parvati was distracted with loud noises coming out from outside. She ran outside and shocked to see dead body of her son .She lost her temper and started to cry .She asked Shiva to restore life of her son. Shiva was ,then, helpless, and left with no choice.
Shiva and his armies tried their best to find head of the Ganesh, but all the attempts went in vain.
Lord Shiva came up with an idea. He asked his armies to go north of Himalayas
and bring the head of anything which they would find on the way. After several hours, armies came back with a head of an elephant. Lord Shiva attached the head of an elephant to the Ganesh’s body and brought him back to life. Since then he was worshiped as Gajaraj, a God with an elephant’s head.
I have read and heard this story several times in my life. I don’ remember people telling this story to anyone at present,I mean since I left Nepal in 2006. This story was hidden on my subconscious mind .As I was typing this story today, several questions and curiosities aroused in my mind regarding Hindu culture and religion.
Since ancient time Hindu society has been a patriarchal society. According to this folk story, Shiva had an authority and a power of the universe. He had his own armies. He was praised and worshiped by everyone .He was considered justice lover even though he killed people in his bad temper.
Women were considered as weak, inferior, and insecure. Parvati was scared at her own home. She looked for someone to guard her house. It is an irony that woman who had power to create a baby out of turmeric, but did not have guts to guard herself.
Video about birth of Ganesh
Very good analysis of the story. How would you write a contemporary retelling? What would it look like? How would the themes change? How would they remain the same?
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