As promised in last story, I am going to tell you the tragic
event happened to me right after my birth.
I mentioned last week that my dad Shiva was not around at the time of my birth. So he didn't know about my existence until later. I know it sounds so weird, but it gets weirder. Just keep reading.
I told you last week, my mom Parvati made me out of turmeric powder so I can be loyal to her and guard the door for her.
One day, my mom went to take a bath again. As usual, she wanted me to guard the door and let no one enter.
I stood right outside of the bathroom. Soon after, my dad Shiva came home.
Ganesha Guards the Door
Source: Image taken from Quora
As expected, he didn't recognize me, and I didn't know who he was either.
(This is kind off sorrowful.)
I remembered my mom's command and I didn't let him in.
He madly yelled, "I am God Shiva, the husband of Parvati. Can you explain why can't I enter my own house? Why am I supposed to take orders from a stranger?"
I replied innocently," Well, I am Parvati's son, Ganesha. I am here to obey my mom's command. I am not letting anybody in while she is taking her bath..."
My dad was enraged that a stranger blocked him. "Stop!" He was so upset that he didn't even hear me out.
Even after he explained that he was the husband of Parvati, I still didn't let him in. I promised my mom that I will only be loyal to her. I shall let no one pass.
Ganesha Stops Shiva From Entering His House
Source: An Image taken from Quora
He asked his army to take me down. They all failed, because they were repelled from one when they came near me due to the strong magnetic field that I had.
My dad was even more upset after seeing the unordinary power that I had. He decided that he will kill me himself. Then, he raised up his trident, cut off my head, and threw it far away.
Noooooo, my head!
Yep, my dad chopped off my head when he was unaware that I was his son.
My mom was then finished taking her bath. She came out and saw my dad chopped off the head of her beloved son. She was shocked and in such despair that she wanted to destroy the whole entire creation.
Lord Brahma, who was the the Creator god, didn't agree to this and asked my mom to reconsider her plan.
My mom firmly spoke,"In order for me to reconsider my plan, two conditions must be met. One, someone has to find my son a head and bring him back to life. Two, after he comes back to life, he should be worshipped before all Gods."
This sounds ridiculous, but what would be more ridiculous than a father killing his own son?
My dad was calmed down and wanted to pacify my mom. He ordered Lord Brahma to go out and bring back the first creature with his head facing north.
Lord Brahma followed his order. He brought back the first creature with his head facing north, which was a powerful elephant.
My dad attached the head of the elephant onto my body and breathed life into me.
I finally came back to life again!!!
My dad declared me to be his own son and asked everyone to worship me first before they worship other Gods.
Author's Note:
There are many different stories about how Lord Ganesha
got his elephant head. One says that Goddess Parvati wanted a soon so
badly that she pleaded to Lord Vishnu for a son. Lord Vishnu blessed Goddess
Parvati with Ganesha, but he later found out that his head was burnt. Then, he
traveled around the world and brought back an elephant head to fix onto Ganesha’s
body. Another one tells that the bath
water used by Parvati was thrown into the Ganges. The elephant-head Goddess
Malini later took a drink of the same water. Soon after, she gave birth to a
baby with four arms and five elephant heads. Lord Shiva declared the baby as
Parvati’s son for some reason. He then reduced his five heads into one and
gave him the ability to control all obstacles. Although these two stories are
pretty interesting too, I picked the most popular one to elaborate on. In
this most popular story, Lord Ganesha’s head was chopped off by his own father,
which made it more dramatic than others. His elephant head was taken down from an
elephant that had his head facing the north to fulfill one of Goddess Parvati’s
conditions. Then, Shiva also agreed that everyone will worship him at the beginning of things.
Bibliography. “Ganesha” by P. R. Ramachander. Website: Hindupedia.
