THE HISTORY OF GANESHA - The Elephant God

THE HISTORY OF GANESHA

Hello dear friends of Steemit.

A few days ago I met a girl from India and we were talking a little about her culture and some interesting things that caught my attention among them is The Story of Ganesha.

That is why I wanted to share it with you.

Ganesha is one of the gods most adored by Hindus. Considered as a remover of difficulties, master of the arts, sciences and lord of abundance.

The name ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, a union of the word gaṇa ('group' or 'crowd') with the word īśa ('master' or 'lord').
The name ganapati (in Devanagari script: गणपति; in the letter AITS: gaṇapati) is composed of the word gaṇa ('group') and the word pati ('sir, sovereign, spouse')
The "desire"
The word gaṇa, in terms of its association with the deity, refers to the desire, a troop of semi-divine beings who are part of the entourage of Ganesha's father, Shiva.6 The term means, more generally, a category, class, community, association or corporation.5

Some commentators interpret the title Ganesha (Lord of the Ganas) as 'lord of the multitudes' or 'lord of created categories' (such as the elements)

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Now where does all of that come from? Here is his story.

One day Parvati, the divine wife of the god Shiva, took some of the ash that her husband had put on her chest, as all the men who dedicate themselves to the ascetic life do in India and added a few drops of water that picked up on his own body, after bathing. He united everything and made a beautiful baby, who soon grew up and became a young man with a human face, which was Ganesha.

Parvati's son showed a great filial love, an absolute submission to the orders of his superiors. It sometimes happened that the goddess wanted to be in her palace alone and that no one bothered her. Then Ganesha ordered him to stand at the door and not let anyone in without his authorization. So I was sure that no one would bother her without her consent.

But one day Shiva, who wanted to see his wife without delay, wanted to enter the palace of the goddess. Ganesha, who always respected the slogan, asked about the authorization he should have from his mother; and when he saw that his father did not have it, he denied him entry. Furious, Shiva drew his sword and with a single blow blew the head of his son. The head rolled down an incline, disappeared, and only the decapitated corpse of the unfortunate young man remained in front of the palace.

The noise of the altercation sent Parvati out, who greeted her husband. But suddenly he saw with horror the bloody body of his beloved son whose only fault had been to obey his mother's orders. She begged her husband to give her life back to the child born of the father's ashes and the maternal drops of water.

Shiva had a violent and irascible character, but his heart was good. The god called a server and told him:

-Go to bring me the first head you find.

And the first thing the servant found was an elephant.

He cut off his head and took it to Shiva, who placed it on the shoulders of his son, to resuscitate him.

Since then Ganesha has a plump body, a round belly, four arms and an elephant head with long trunk and big ears.

In India it is believed that the elephant is an animal of remarkable intelligence. Therefore, the elephant-headed god is considered to be the most intelligent of the gods.

As one must be intelligent to write a book, Ganesha is the god of writers, the god of literati. They make prayers before writing a novel or a poem. You also need to be smart to do business. Ganesha is the god of merchants. Give the wealth to those who deserve it for their work. They make prayers before starting a new company.

Intelligence always accompanies another virtue; the good sense It makes man love life. She orders him to resign himself to the inevitable pain, but he also advises him to enjoy all the innocent pleasures, such as good food, cakes, and sweets. Ganesha, god of good sense, is a greedy god and especially likes chocolates.

Most of the representations of the god have four arms, in each hand it has a different attribute that can vary, but generally it is about:

• a rope, to lead your devotees to higher goals and the spiritual path.

• an ax, to cut the perishable bonds of the devotees.

• a laddu (sweet made with chickpea flour, fried butter, condensed milk and dried fruit), which is his favorite sweet and which he uses to reward his devotees for their spiritual activities.

• a decorated gold mallet (representing self control).

• a snail horn, whose sound makes its devotees happy

• a piece of fang broken like a feather to write the Majabhárata dictated by the wise man Viasa

• a hand extended in the varada mudra ('gesture of blessing') to impart thanks to his devotees.

Your vajana ('vehicle') is a rat or giant bandicut. The rat represents worldly desires, which Ganesha is able to govern at will.

In his head is a halo (representing his divine condition).

His figure is unmistakable with an elephant head and a corpulent human body with an immense belly.

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I want to clarify that other versions may exist from this history, but their changes are minimal.

I found it very interesting to hear about this and to know the beliefs of other cultures. I am not saying with this that I am part of this belief. But it is always good to know beyond what we have.

If anyone knows more about this or belongs to this belief or some Hindu religion. Do not hesitate to write to me.

I have always found the Hindu culture and all the colors and legends of India very interesting and attractive.

Thank you for your support, I hope to continue publishing more content of this style and to show a little about the things we do not know and which are very interesting to know.

See you soon.