Ganesha Statues (also called Rupas). Lord Ganesha is the elephant headed God of Wisdom and Success, and is one of the most popular Hindu deities throughout India. He is believed to help people with new beginnings and can help remove obstacles. As the God of Success, his image is to be worshiped before any other gods during Hindu rituals. Click on an image to see a larger picture and get more information about each individual statue. Or scroll down for more information about Ganesha. (By the way, you will often hear Ganesha refered to as Ganapati - very common in India - or as Ganesh).
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Lord Ganesh is the God of Success and New Beginnings. His common name "Ganapati," means Lord of Doors, as Ganesh is believed to be the gatekeeper who opens the door of success to all.
Ganesh is always shown with an elephant head. There are many stories as to why he has the head of an elephant. One story tells of how his mother, the Goddess Parvati,made Ganesh out of clay to guard the door to her bath as she was taking a bath. Her husband, Shiva, had been away on a meditation retreat, and when he came back home to see his wife, Ganesh would not let Shiva in. As Ganesh was created while Shiva was away, he did not recognize Ganesh, and promptly cut Ganesh's head off. Of course, Parvati was distraught, and Shiva promised her that the head would be replaced with the head of the first living thing she saw, which happened to be an elephant.
Another story has it that Parvati and Shiva had been unable to have a child, and Parvati performed many austerities and religious sacrifices so that they may be blessed with a child. |
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