Most cherished Gods of the Indians Ganesha, the elephant God is the son of Shiva and Parvati .The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana which connotes group, multitude and isha meaning lord or master. Ganapati, Vinayaka, Vignesh are also referred to Ganesha and he is considered as the deity of good fortune, new ventures, wisdom and lord of and removal of obstacles (hence Vignakarta and Vignaharta). As he is known to be a remover of obstacles, he is worshipped before the beginning of any new venture whether it is the building of a new house, the writing of a book and the beginning of a journey or the starting of a new business. Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum also called Om, Omkara or Aumkara.Om in connection with Ganesha refers to this belief that he is the personification of the primal sound.

Ganesha is portrayed as a short, pot bellied figure with yellow skin, four arms and an elephant`s head with only one tusk (his earliest name was Ekdanta) .In his four hands he holds a shell, a chakra (discus), a mace and a water lily. Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, which is his Vahana. The rat represents the subjugated demon of vanity and importance .He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapatra which is one of his iconographic elements .He is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste, red flowers, durva grass among a host of other things.

Ganesha is the second son of Shiva and Parvati. There are many versions of how he was conceived .The most popular version that is circulated is that, Shiva and Parfait were leading a peaceful married life on mount Kailash, Shiva`s habitual abode. Parvati had nothing much to do throughout the day. Lord Shiva remained mostly immersed in deep meditation and to give him company there was Nandi, his bull and host of ghosts. Parvati in order to come out of this boredom wanted someone to give her company .She began to call upon Lord Vishnu to grant her a son. Vishnu soon granted her wish and Parvati gave birth to a beautiful boychild whom she named Ganesha.Ganesha was born with perfect features and body parts but how he got an elephant`s head is another story Parvati was so pleased at his birth and so proud of his beauty that she invited all the gods and goddesses to come to Kailash and admire him. All the celestial beings came and admired and blessed the boy except Sani (Saturn), Parvati`s own brother. This was because Sani had been cursed by his wife and the impact of the curse was that as soon as he looked at someone that person was instantly reduced to ashes.Sani was reluctant to see his nephew but Parvati was so elated that she pleaded Sani to atleast give one look .After much pestering and deference to Her wish Sani hesitantly cast his eyes on the baby .As soon as Sani saw him Ganesha`s head flew off .Parvati started crying bitterly . Brahma, who was present at this time, comforted her and said that if the head of the first creature that was found would be cut off and transplanted on Ganesha`s neck he would live.Vishnu went in search of creature He had to travel all the way down Mount Kailash and at the foothills, he found an elephant dozing on a riverbank. He immediately cut off the elephant`s head and came back.Thus, this is how Ganesha got his head.

Ganesha is shown with a pot -belly because it is the Hindu idea of beauty and signs of well-fed prosperity.It is believed that Ganesha`s head signifies Atman the Highest Reality while the body below the neck represents Maya ,the principle of phenomenal existence. Ganesha`s ears, which appear like large winnowing baskets, have a philosophical significance too. Just as a winnowing basket is used to separate grains from dirt, one must use discrimination (viveka) to separate the real (Brahman) from the unreal (maya) in life. Here the grains stand for Brahman and the dirt signifies maya. Or, Ganesha`s ears indicate that such discrimination between Brahman and Maya is to be gained by taking recourse to Sravana or hearing. Listening to the scriptures from a Guru will lead to proper discrimination and Brahman realisation.

Ganesha`s marital status also varies widely .One pattern of myth identifies Ganesha as a brahmacharin . Another view is that Buddhi( intellect) Siddhi (spiritual power )and Riddhi(prosperity) qualities which are often associated with Ganesha are sometimes considered to be Ganesha`s wives .In Bengal the prevalent view is that Ganesha is married with the banana tree or Kala Bou .

This elephant headed deity is said to have first appeared in the early fourth or fifth century during the Gupta period .The principal scriptures dedicated to his worship are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.Ganesha is also worshipped among the Jains ,Buddhists and beyond India

Ganesha is considered to be remover of every obstacle. So he is also called Vighnharta. He is prayed during Ganesh Chaturthi with a lot of pomp and show.