Lord Ganesha, also known as ‘Vighnaharta’ and ‘Siddhi Vinayak’, is a highly revered deity in Hinduism. He is considered the god of beginnings, and is worshiped at the beginning of every auspicious work. The story of the origin of Ganesha is very interesting and mythological, which is the main source of faith and devotion for the devotees.
Story of Lord Ganesha
The main story of the origin of Lord Ganesha is described in Shiva Purana. According to this story, once Mother Parvati expressed her desire to meet Lord Shiva and felt the need for solitude to worship him. Mother Parvati decided to take a bath, but she felt the need for someone to guard the door so that no one could enter inside. For this purpose, Mother Parvati made an idol from the ubtan of her body and breathed life into it. Thus a beautiful and strong child was born, whom Mother Parvati considered her son and named him Ganesh. Mother Parvati ordered Ganesha to guard the door and not let anyone in until she finished bathing.
Cutting off the Head
When Lord Shiva returned home and tried to enter inside, Lord Ganesha stopped him. Shiva Ji asked for permission to enter inside by introducing himself as Lord Shiva, but Ganesh Ji did not let him in, following the mother’s order. Lord Shiva got angry at this and cut off Ganesha’s head with his trident. When Mother Parvati saw this, she became extremely sad and blamed Shiva Ji for this cruelty. Seeing Mother Parvati’s grief, Lord Shiva realized his mistake and promised to revive Ganesha. Lord Shiva immediately ordered his ganas to bring the head of a creature who was sleeping facing the north direction. The ganas found the head of an elephant and installed it on Ganesh Ji’s torso.
The Revival
Shiva revived Lord Ganesha, and accepted him as his son. Thus, Ganesha was reborn and got the name ‘Gajanan’, which means ‘elephant-headed god’. After this, Lord Shiva gave Ganesha the position of the first worshiper among all the gods and said that no worship or auspicious work will be considered complete unless Ganesha is worshiped first.
Control on Anger
This legend of Lord Ganesha gives us many important messages. The first message is to obey the parents. Ganesha even stopped Lord Shiva while obeying the command of Mother Parvati, which shows that the mother’s command was paramount for him. The second message is the importance of patience and discretion. Lord Shiva cut off Ganesha’s head in his anger, but later he realized his mistake. It teaches us that we should control our anger and act with discretion.
Vighnaharta
This story of the origin of Lord Ganesha has deep roots in Indian culture and religious faith. The worship of Ganesha and his mythology guides us in various aspects of life and inspires us to follow religion and duty in the true sense. His story also teaches us that by overcoming all obstacles, we should try to achieve the goals of our life, because Ganesha himself is ‘Vighnaharta’, who helps in removing all obstacles.
The story of the origin of Lord Ganesha, described in the Shiva Purana, is an important source of faith and devotion in Hinduism. This story not only shows the glory of Lord Ganesha, but also teaches us patience, discretion, and duty.
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