Ganesh Chaturthi 2021: 5 unique stories about Ganapati

(Image: AFP)

Ganesh Chaturthi 2021 will be celebrated on September 10 all across India and especially Maharashtra. The day is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He is the symbol of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.

However, this will be the second time, celebrations and festivities have been asked to be low key, due to the rising COVID-19 cases, especially in Maharashtra. So while most of you sit at home and celebrate the festival, here are five stories about the 'elephant god' you must know.

Story of his birth

The son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, Ganesha has a unique story behind his birth. One day Goddess Parvati wanted to take a bath and Lord Shiva wasn't there to guard the door for her. As there was no one, she made a structure out of the turmeric paste she used to clean her body with, and put life into it. And hence was born Ganesha.

Elephant Head

Ganesha didn't always have an elephant head, he infact had a normal human head. One day when goddess Parvati was going to take bath, she told Ganesha to guard the door and he was so loyal that when Lord Shiva showed up, he even stopped him from entering.

At the time, Ganesha didn't know who Lord Shiva was. Lord Shiva also didn't know who Ganesha was and got really furious and ended up beheading him. When Parvati came out, she lashed out at Lord Shiva and threatened to destroy the universe, if he didn't bring back Ganesha.

Shiva realised his mistake and sent his troops into the forest to get the head of the first animal they saw in the forest. The troops came across an elephant and brought his head which was then placed over Ganesha's body. And thus Ganesha came to be known as the god with an elephant head- son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Karthikeya and Ganesh:

A very popular story of Ganesha tells us how he won a competition against his younger sibling Karthikeya in the most simple manner. Both kids were asked to take three rounds around the world and the one who finishes first would receive a special fruit of wisdom and knowledge.

Karthikeya, at once, climbed his peacock and set off, but Ganesha took the wise decision and sought permission of his parents to revolve around them, because he considered them as his universe. Hence, Ganesha won the fruit.

Ganesha and his one tusk

Ganesha is also called by the name 'Ekdant' which literally translates to one tooth. There are two stories behind this. One story suggests that he lost one of his tusks when sage Parshuram got into a fight with him. The sage was angry at Ganesha for not letting him meet Lord Shiva, while he was guarding the door.

Another story suggests that Ved Vyas (creator of Mahabharata) approached Ganesha to write down Mahabharata for him, he agreed but kept a condition that Vyas had to narrate it in one go, without any break. As he started writing the story, there was one point when the quill he was writing with broke down and without wasting any time, he broke off one of his tusks and made it into a pen to continue writing.

God of Beginnings

According to Hindu traditions, Ganesha is always prayed to before beginning any auspicious work, as he is revered as the God of Beginnings. Here's why:

Ganesha was upset that he was not invited to Lord Vishnu's wedding and was called fat. He sent his army of mice to dig the soil from inside and make it hollow on the way from where the marriage procession was going to pass.

The army of mice dug the soil and the wheels of the chariot got stuck. None of the gods were able to pull out the chariot, so they asked a passerby to help them. He took Lord Ganesha's name and the wheels came out! When the gods asked him why did so, he said that he's the God of beginnings who removes all the hurdles from life. On hearing this, the gods went back, apologised to Ganesha and took him with them to the wedding.