Lord Ganesha is called the elephant-headed God of the Hindus. His cute face and that fat stature make him stand apart from the other Gods. A snake is tied around his huge stomach and his carriage is the mouse. In almost all his images, his trunk is turned towards the left and very rarely we find his trunk turned towards the right. He is depicted with four hands in all his images and idols. Three of his hands carry- a rope, a spear like weapon and a sweet while the forth one is raised in a blessing.
In the pantheon of 33 crores Hindu Gods and Goddesses, he is by far considered the most popular, bountiful and eternal God. He is the endower of joy, the God of knowledge and wisdom. Lord Ganesha is worshipped at the beginning of every Puja and his sacred name is invoked before starting any new venture. His qualities are best described by his manifold names.
His mother, Goddess Parvati gave him the name Vinayaka meaning the remover of all obstacles. This can be seen in his other names like Vigneshwara and Vignaharta. When he was given the head of an elephant, he got the name Gajanana (“Gaj” means elephant and “anan” means head). But when Lord Shiva made him the lord of his army (ganas) he came to be known by the names of Ganapati or Ganaadhish. He’s also known as “Ek Danta” because he has got only one single tusk, the other being lost when he killed the demon Gana.
