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Ganesha is a prominent Hindu god. He is the god of beginnings, wisdom and luck and worshipped as the remover of obstacles. Ganesha is easily recognized from his elephant head. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana (gaṇa), meaning a 'group, multitude, or categorical system' and isha (īśa), meaning 'lord or master'. [18] The word gaṇa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaṇas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva , Ganesha's ...
There was once an elephant named Gajendra who lived in a garden called Ṛtumat, which was created by Varuna. This garden was located on Mount Trikuta, the "Three-Peaked Mountain". Gajendra ruled over all the other elephants in the herd. One day, as usual, he went to the lake near by to pick lotus flowers to offer prayer to Vishnu.
Gajasura, an elephant demon from Hindu mythology; Gajendra, from the Sanskrit text Gajendra Moksha; Girimekhala, the elephant that carries Mara in Theravada Buddhism; Kasogonagá, a Toba deity described as either an elephant or an anteater. Supratika, a name for several elephants in Hindu mythology; Behemoth, a demon depicted as a round-bellied ...
Ganesha, a god with an elephant's head, has been an object of reverence and worship for more than two millennia. He is offered the epithet Gajānana (the elephant-faced one). Gajalakshmi is a form of Lakshmi who is accompanied by elephants, representing wealth and strength.
The god is generally depicted with four arms and holds a pasha, an ankusha and a ladoo or a modak (a sweet), while the fourth arm hugs the nude goddess around her hip. She holds a lotus or another flower in the left hand. [2] [5] Instead of his hands, the tip of his elephant trunk touches the yoni (vagina) of the goddess.
It is also called 'abhra-Matanga', meaning "elephant of the clouds"; 'Naga-malla', meaning "the fighting elephant"; and 'Arkasodara', meaning "brother of the sun". [2] 'Abhramu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata is also the third son of Iravati. In the Mahabharata he is listed as a great serpent. [3]
Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. [1] He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, [2] the patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom. [3] Stories about the birth of Ganesha are found in the later Puranas, composed from about 600 CE onwards. References to Ganesha in ...