Lord Ganesha holds a very significant place in the Hindu religion. He is usually worshipped as the remover of obstacles and all who desire their ambitions to be fulfilled and wishes gratified are recommended to worship him.
Any religious activity begins with the worship of Lord Ganesha. Of all the deities he is the most favourite. His wives are Riddhi and Siddhi.
According to the Hindu mythology, the elephant-headed deity of prudence Lord Ganesha is the elder son of Shiva and Parvati. It is said that Ganesha was actually a creation of Godesses Parvati.
She created him in the absence of Lord Shiva; One day she asked little Ganesh to keep a watch on the door and not to allow anybody in without her permission. Ganesha obeyed his mother.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
At that very time Lord Shiva came and obeying his mother he did not allow his father to enter the room. On this act many other deities tried to remove Ganesh from the door but in vain. Therefore, Lord Shiva cut Ganesha’s head by his trishula.
Just then there appeared Parvati, and seeing the condition of her son she got very angry. Then, Lord Shiva ordered the deities to place an elephant-head or Ganesha’s body and thus Ganesha was brought to life.
Owing to his head he is also known as Gajanan. His other famous name is Ekdant, Arunvarna, Lambodar, etc.
The full moon day of the month of Vaisakh is sacred to Ganesha and people observe fasting on this day. He is a jovial god who is very fond of his dinner and the main items of the vrata consist in offering plenty of food to the god.