FULL ARTICLE Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, also called Ganapati, elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and is the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes, and authors. His name means both “Lord of the People” (gana means the common people) and “Lord of the Ganas” (Ganesha is the chief of the ganas, the goblin hosts of Shiva). Ganesha is potbellied and generally depicted as holding in his hand a few round Indian sweets, of which he is inordinately fond. His vehicle (vahana) is the large Indian bandicoot rat, which symbolizes Ganesha’s ability to overcome anything to get what he wants. Like a rat and like an elephant, Ganesha is a remover of obstacles. The 10-day late-summer (August–September) festival Ganesh Chaturthi is devoted to him. Ganesha Ganesha Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, figure on external walls of a South Indian temple in Kerala, India. AdstockRF Many different stories are told about the birth of Ganesha, including one in which Parvati makes her son out of a piece of cloth and asks her consort, Shiva, to bring him to life. One of the best-known myths, however, begins with Parvati taking a bath and longing for someone to keep Shiva from barging in on her, as was his habit. As she bathes, she kneads the dirt that she rubs off her body into the shape of a child, who comes to life. But when Shiva sees the handsome young boy—or when the inauspicious planet Saturn (Shani) glances at him, in some variants of the myth that attempt to absolve Shiva of the crime—he or one of his attendants cuts off the child’s head. When Shiva cuts off an elephant’s head to bestow it on the headless Ganesha, one of the tusks is shattered, and Ganesha is depicted holding the broken-off piece in his hand. According to this version of the myth, Ganesha is the child of Parvati alone—indeed, a child born despite Shiva’s negative intervention. Yet Ganesha is traditionally regarded as the child of both Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha Ganesha Statue of Ganesha, the Hindu god of beginnings. © Corbis Ganesha. Hinduism. Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, figure on external walls of a South Indian Temple in Kerala, India. BRITANNICA QUIZ Hindu Religion and Myth Quiz What is the name of the monkey commander of the monkey army mentioned in the Ramayana? Who is the Hindu goddess of wealth and good fortune? Test your knowledge. Take the quiz. In some parts of India Ganesha is depicted as celibate, but in others he is said to be married to both Buddhi (“Intelligence”) and Siddhi (“Success”). Yet other traditions give him a third wife, Riddhi (“Prosperity”). Wendy Doniger Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Ravana, the 10-headed demon king, detail from a Guler painting of the Ramayana, c. 1720. Hinduism: Other sources: the process of Sanskritization …and several popular gods—such as Ganesha, an elephant-headed god, and Hanuman, the monkey god—were incorporated into Hinduism and assimilated into the appropriate Vedic gods by this means. Similarly, the worship of many goddesses who are now regarded as the consorts of the great male Hindu gods, as well as the… Ravana, the 10-headed demon king, detail from a Guler painting of the Ramayana, c. 1720. Hinduism: The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism Shiva’s other son, the elephant-headed Ganesha, patron deity of commercial and literary enterprises, did not appear until the 5th century. Very important in this period was Surya, the sun god, in whose honour temples were built, though in modern times he is little regarded by most Hindus. The solar cult… Bal Gangadhar Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak: Early life and career Ganesha is the elephant-headed god worshipped by all Hindus, and Shivaji, the first Hindu hero to fight against Muslim power in India, was the founder of the Maratha state in the 17th century, which in the course of time overthrew Muslim power in India. But,… newsletter icon HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox! Email address Email address By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice. RELIGION ARTICLE Introduction & Quick Facts MEDIA ADDITIONAL INFO Home Philosophy & Religion Religious Beliefs Religion BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica View Edit History Charles Sprague Pearce: Religion Charles Sprague Pearce: Religion See all media Key People: John Milton Alfred-Victor, count de Vigny Zarathustra Sholem Asch Benjamin Constant Related Topics: Christianity Judaism Hinduism Buddhism Islam FULL ARTICLE Religion, human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. In many traditions, this relation and these concerns are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitude toward gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms of religion, they are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitudes toward the broader human community or the natural world. In many religions, texts are deemed to have scriptural status, and people are esteemed to be invested with spiritual or moral authority. Believers and worshippers participate in and are often enjoined to perform devotional or contemplative practices such as prayer, meditation, or particular rituals. Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life. The subject of religion is discussed in a number of articles. For treatment of major and historical religious traditions, see African religion; Anatolian religion; ancient Iranian religion; Arabian religion; Baltic religion; Buddhism; Calvinism; Celtic religion; Christianity; Confucianism; Daoism; Eastern Orthodoxy; Eastern rite church; Egyptian religion; Finno-Ugric religion; Germanic religion and mythology; Greek religion; Hellenistic religion; Hinduism; Islam; Jainism; Judaism; Mesopotamian religion; Middle Eastern religion; Mormon; mystery religion; Native American religions; Neo-Paganism; new religious movement; Old Catholic church; Orphic religion; prehistoric religion; Protestantism; Protestant Heritage, The; Roman Catholicism; Roman religion; Shintō; Sikhism; Slavic religion; Syrian and Palestinian religion; Vedic religion; Wicca; Zoroastrianism. For discussion of perspectives on the existence or role within human life of a supreme God or gods, see agnosticism; atheism; humanism; monotheism; pantheism; polytheism; theism. For cross-cultural discussion of religious beliefs, phenomena, and practices, see angel and demon; ceremonial object; covenant; creed; dietary law; doctrine and dogma; dualism, religious; eschatology; ethics; evil, problem of; feast; Five Ways, the; heaven; hell; Last Judgment; meditation; millennialism; miracle; monasticism; Moon worship; mysticism; myth; nature worship; prayer; priest; priesthood; prophecy; Providence; purgatory; purification rite; reincarnation; religious dress; religious symbolism and iconography; rite of passage; ritual; sacrament; sacrifice; sacred; sacred kingship; saint; salvation; scripture; shamanism; sin; soul; Sun worship; theology; worship. For a review of the efforts to systematically study the nature and classify the forms of religious behaviour, experience, and phenomena, see religion, phenomenology of; religion, philosophy of; religion, study of; religions, classification of; religious experience. Matsya avatar of Vishnu, 19th-century lithograph. Vishnu in his avatar of Matsya, a fish. Lithograph from L'Inde Francaise, Paris, 1828. Hindu trinity, Hinduism. BRITANNICA QUIZ World Religions: Fact or Fiction? Is Sikhism a branch of Buddhism? Are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible called the Torah? Sort out the facts in this quiz about world religions. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content. Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Encyclopædia Britannica: first edition, map of Europe history of Europe: Religion and its alternatives That need made itself felt ecumenically throughout Europe from the beginning of the 19th century. It had indeed been prepared by the writings of Rousseau as early as 1762 and in England by the even earlier preaching of John and Charles… Margaret Mead conducting fieldwork in Bali anthropology: The anthropological study of religion The anthropology of religion is the comparative study of religions in their cultural, social, historical, and material contexts.… mythological figure myth: Myth and religion The place of myth in various religious traditions differs.… newsletter icon HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox! Email address Email address By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.