Long ago, there was a Hindu Goddess named Parvati. Like me, she is also a Goddess of fertility and children as well as love, marriage, devotion and strength. Since Parvati and I share the fertility element in common, we became friends throughout the years, so when she asked for my blessing to ensure a healthy child, I eagerly agreed. You see, Parvati was a very powerful goddess, so powerful, in fact, that she created her son with her own bare hands. I was shocked when I found this out, but nothing was more shocking than what her husband did to her son right after she made her beautiful creation of a child!

Let me start from the beginning:

One night, Parvati was taking a bath. She began feeling uneasy being alone because her husband, Shiva, was at his palace deep in meditation, and she had no idea when he would return. She had been extra lonely since Shiva left, so she decided to create someone to protect her and keep her company. Within moments, out of oils and balm, emerged Parvati’s son, Ganesha.

Parvati was extremely proud that she had made such a beautiful and strong child. She asked her new son if he would guard the bathroom door for her while she finished up her bath. Ganesha agreed to keep watch for his mother outside of the bathroom door, and after a few minutes, he saw a figure approaching.

Shiva made his way into the palace and began searching for Parvati. He turned the corner and saw someone outside of Parvati’s bathroom door. Ganesha stood firm in front of the door as Shiva walked closer with an angry and confused look on his face. Before he knew it, Shiva had drawn his sword and severed Ganesha’s head from his body. Ganesha’s body fell to the floor as Shiva opened the door to check on his wife.

“SHIIIVAAA!” Parvati exclaimed. “I've missed you so much while you have been away. You’re finally back! Did you meet my son at the door?”

“Son?” Shiva said. “That man at the door did not look like a child.”

“Well, I needed someone to guard the door and protect me while you were gone all this time, and I’ve always wanted a child,” Parvati explained. “ He was meant to look older, so he would be able to scare off anyone who dared to approach the palace.”

“Oh… I may have made a big mistake… give me just a bit and I promise I will fix this," said Shiva.

Shiva quickly ran out of the bathroom in a panic, yelling for his men. He told his men to bring him the head of the first animal they run into. Shiva then called upon me, Shashthi, for help in bringing Ganesha back to life. I blessed Ganesha’s body, and once Shiva’s men arrived, they gave Shiva an elephant head to connect to Ganesha’s body. Thankfully, once we placed the elephant head onto Ganesha, he was immediately brought back to life.

Once Ganesha opened his eyes, he got up and ran into the bathroom to his mother. Parvati shrieked at the elephant-headed boy running straight towards her and demanded to know the identity of the intruder.

Ganesha promptly replied, "What do you mean? It's me, Ganesha, your son!"

Shocked, Parvati shakily asked "...Ganesha... is it really you? What happened to your precious face, my son?"

At that moment, Shiva barged in and said that he could explain all of this. "You see," Shiva nervously said, "I was looking for you and saw a stranger standing outside of your bathroom door, so I assumed that he was an intruder and... kind of... cut off his head..."

Parvati's eyes widened and filled with tears of rage.

Shiva quickly exclaimed, "Before you throw me out... Honey, I was only trying to protect you. You know I would have never done this had I known he was your son! I am eternally sorry, and I promise to be the best father to OUR son."

Shiva turned to Ganesha with tears in his eyes. "Ganesha, I know what I have done may be unforgivable, but now that I know that you are our child, I am begging you to let me repair our relationship the best that I can. I understand if you have trust issues after this... but just give me a chance!"

Ganesha responded by embracing Shiva and Parvati. Then he said, "Though this was a rough first day on earth, I am glad that you were both able to give me the gift of life. Mom created me in her image, and dad got to create a part of me too. Plus, I think I like my new head better than my old one anyway!"

Parvati looked at Shiva and Ganesha and decided to let it go. As long as everyone was healthy and happy there was nothing to be mad about anymore in Parvati's eyes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This story is based off of The Birth of Lord Ganesha from the book Stories of Ganesha. Because Ganesha is such an integral part of the creation of the Mahabharata, I decided that it was important to include his birth story within this storybook. The beginning of this story is kind of giving some background information about the Goddess Parvati, and I thought it would be fun for Shashthi and Parvati to have some history together since they are both goddesses of fertility. In the original story, Parvati created Ganesha to watch the door while she bathed, but I tried to give her more of a motherly vibe toward Ganesha in my retelling of this story. This birth story is very cool in the way that Parvati creates her child all by herself, and I think it's funny that Shiva had no idea that she had done this. Many people who look into Hindu culture and gods often wonder why Ganesha has an elephant head, so I thought I'd share the story through Shashthi's eyes.

Image Source:

Zee News India

Bibliography:

Stories of Ganesha