Sep 14th 2026
Today Ganesh chaturthi. Seek Lord Ganesh's blessings to remove any obstacles in life and give us good health, happiness and prosperity.
First, the well known facts about Lord Ganesh
1) Lord Ganesha is the first god.
Lord Ganedh is known as Pratham Pujya, which means the first deity to be worshipped before any prayer, ritual, or new beginning in Hinduism. This was a blessing given by Lord Shiva the Omkara to Lord Ganesha. Lets look at the symbolic meaning of this first worship. Lord Ganesha has an elephant head. An elephant represents both gyan shakti (wisdom) and karma shakti (effortless execution). Elephants don’t walk around or not stopped by obstacles. They just remove them and walk ahead – signifying effortlessness. So, when we worship Lord Ganesha we take on these qualities of wisdom and effortless execution.
2) God of auspicious Beginnings:
Devotees invoke his blessings before starting any new venture, exam, or major enterprise to ensure success. Hence he is worshipped
3) Ganesha the remover of obstacles.
4) God of wisdom and prosperity.
5) He’s the son of Shiva and Parvati. Brother of Karthikeya. His uncle is Lord Vishnu (brother of Goddess Parvati).
6) Ganesh Visarjan. During Ganesh Chaturthi we worship the clay idol and immerse the idol in water after few days symbolizing physical forms are temporary, while the divine energy stays in the heart.
Now some lesser known facts about Lord Ganesh
1) Lord Ganesh was created by Goddess Parvati, the divine consort of Lord Shiva.
According to Hindu mythology, Parvati made Ganesh from the sandalwood paste she used for bathing. She gave life to the idol and asked him to guard her while she bathed. When Shiva returned home and tried to enter, Ganesh, not knowing who he was, stopped him. This led to a fierce battle in which Shiva beheaded Ganesh. Realizing his mistake, Shiva brought him back to life by attaching an elephant’s head to his body. This marked the birth of the elephant-headed god we worship today. Gowri Ganesha, in Bangalore and Karnataka celebrates this Gowri-Ganesha mother-son bonding in a very big way.
2) Lord Ganesha showed wisdom is greater than pure physical power.
While Ganesh represents wisdom and calmness, his brother Kartikeya is the god of war and courage. According to one story, once both brothers were told to circle the world. Kartikeya took off on his peacock, flying across lands and oceans. Ganesh, however, simply walked around his parents and said, “You are my world.” This act of wisdom won him the competition. This story is often told to teach the value of intelligence over speed or physical power.
3) Lord Ganesha and Lord Ranganatha
Do you know Lord Ganesha helped Lord Ranganatha idol stay in India. In March 2022, I visited the உச்சி பிள்ளையார் uchi pillayar Ganesh temple in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, also called the Rockfort temple and learnt something new. It's perhaps one of the oldest Ganesh temple in india. The rock is geologically older than Himalayas. It's over billion years old. It's about 300 feet tall. Legend has it after the war and exile were over, Lord Rama gifted a statue of Lord Ranganatha, his Kula Deva to King Vibeshana, brother of King Ravana. Since Sage Agastya , did not want the statue to be taken from India, he requested Lord Ganesha to help. In the disguise of a small boy, he tricked Lord Vibishana to keep the Idol at Srirangam, which became affixed to the ground. Then all the way from Srirangam, Lord Ganesha was chased to the top of the small hill. After revealing his true identity, Lord Ganesha blessed King Vibeshana abundantly. Lord Ganesha also resides on top of the hill and blesses everyone who comes to visit him. From the temple, You get a beautiful view of the trichy city and cauvery river and the srirangam temple, which is the largest hindu temple in the world after Angor Wat.
4) Lord Ganesha and Mahabharata
Lord Ganesh transcribed the Mahabharata and knows Bhagavad Gita inside out. It's only Ganesh who literally wrote the Mahabharata story, when Sage Ved Vyasa narrated it. The Mahabharata also consists of many devotional and the philosophical Bhagavad Gita. Veda Vyasa worshipped and prayed to Lord Brahma, who advised Vyasa to request Lord Ganesha to act as the scribe. The Sage would dictate the Sanskrit epic in verse form. Ganesha obliged the wish of Lord Brahma decided to write the Mahabharata but with one condition. The condition stated that Veda Vyasa would dictate the epic constantly and continuously without any pause. The sage agreed but with his own condition that the elephant headed deity would write the epic only after understanding each and every word and thought and their implications. So Lord Ganesh knows Mahabharata and Gita inside out .
Mid-way through writing, Ganesha's pen broke.To avoid breaking his promise to write without pause, he snapped off his own tusk and used it as a pen. Thus he got his broken tusk.
5) Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi
According to popular folklore, Lord Ganesha is considered the adopted son of Goddess Lakshmi, which is why they are traditionally worshipped together during Diwali. Goddess Lakshmi once felt unfulfilled because she had no children, despite having all wealth and prosperity. She approached Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva to ask for one of their sons. Knowing her wise and gentle son Lord Ganesha could bring balance, Goddess Parvati agreed to let Lakshmi adopt him. Filled with joy, Goddess Lakshmi promised that anyone seeking her blessings for wealth must worship Lord Ganesha first. And she declared that all her wealth, luxury, and success would belong to Lord Ganesha.
6) Lord Ganesha and marriage.
South Indian traditions generally depict Ganesha as a celibate bachelor (brahmachari), while North Indian traditions worship him alongside his consorts, Riddhi and Siddhi, and sons, Shubh and Labh.
7) Lord Ganesha and the moon:
Ganesha once cursed the moon to Vanish because the moon laughed at him for falling over after eating too many sweets. Later he mollified the curse so the moon waxes and wanes instead of vanishing completely.
8) Lord Ganesha and Kubera
Lord Ganesha once humbled the proud god of wealth, Kubera, by showing an insatiable appetite that could only be satisfied with a humble handful of roasted rice.
9) Lord Ganesha and Tulasi
Tulsi leaves are never offered to Lord Ganesha because the two exchanged mutual curses after her marriage proposal was rejected. When Tulasi proposed, Ganesha politely refused, stating he was committed to a celibate life of meditation. Hurt and angered by the rejection, Tulsi cursed Ganesha, saying he would be forced to marry against his wishes not one but two girls. Hence Riddhi and Siddhi. Ganesha cursed Tulsi back, declaring she would turn into a plant. Ganesha later softened the curse to make her become deeply beloved by Lord Vishnu as the sacred Tulsi plant.
10) Lord Ganesh in Asia via Buddhism
Do you know Lord Ganesh is worshipped in Mahayana Buddism and hence many Asian countries like Japan, China, Thailand, Indonesia apart from India? In Japan he is known as Kangiten or vinayakaten. God of bliss. I was pleasently surprised to see Lord Ganesh statues along with Lord Indra in a few Buddisht temples of Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo during my visits over several years. Indonesia even has a currency note with Lord Ganesh depiction.
11) Symbolism of Lord Ganesh
Lord Ganesha's physical form and attributes like large belly, big ears etc symbolize profound spiritual truths, wisdom, and the mastery over the ego. See picture below for details.
Let me end this article with a sloka.
Muussika-Vaahana Modaka-Hasta
Caamara-Karnna Vilambita-Suutra |
Vaamana-Ruupa Mahesvara-Putra
Vighna-Vinaayaka Paada Namaste ||
Sloka Meaning:
1: Salutations to Sri Vighna Vinayaka whose Vehicle is the Mouse and Who has the Modaka in His Hand,
2: Whose Large Ears are like Fans and Who Wears a Long Sacred Thread,
3: Who is Short in Stature and is the Son of Sri Maheswara (Lord Shiva),
4: Prostrations at the Feet of Sri Vighna Vinayaka, the Remover of the Obstacles of His Devotees.
Jai Ganesh.
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