Introduction to Ganesha
Ganesha: The Remover of Obstacles
Ganesha is one of the most popular gods in the Hindu pantheon. He is still widely worshiped today and is best known as the remover of obstacles. This story book will focus on the family life of Ganesha, including stories about his birth, his brother Kartikeya, and his parents Shiva and Parvati.
Ganesha's father Shiva is the supreme being within Shaivism, and as such he is the highest in power of all Hindu deities. He is responsible for the creation and destruction of the universe.
Ganesha's mother Parvati is the wife of Shiva. In the Shaktism tradition Parvati is considered to be of equal status as Shiva. She is characterized as the goddess of fertility, love and devotion. She is in many stories responsible for the creation of her son Ganesha, but this will be covered more in the next section.
Ganesha's brother Kartikeya is the Hindu god of war. Kartikeya also goes by the names of Kumara or Murugan. He is often pictured with or riding on his personal peacock as seen in the picture below.
The Symbols of Ganesha
Ganesha is primarily noticeable by his elephant head. Elephants are strong, large, and unstoppable. If there is an animal that is most capable of passing through barriers, then it would be an elephant.
In many artistic depictions Ganesha has four arms. In pictures that focus primarily on Ganesha each arm is typically holding a symbol that correlates to a vital aspect of what he stands for in Hinduism. See the picture above.
Vahanas
Ganesha and his family members each have a vahana that is unique to them. Ganesha's vahana is a pet rat. This is his vahana because rats in general represent the problems of life; they are pests in most situations, causing only problems. Yet Ganesha exhibits complete control over his vahana, thus exhibiting complete control over the problems of life. Shiva's vahana is the bull Nandi, who can be viewed as a pet of Ganesha's family. Parvati has varying vahanas, as it is dependent on her form. In her more violent stances her vahana is associated with a lion. However, in her more peaceful stances her vahana is often thought to be a parrot. As mentioned above Kartikeya has a pet peacock. This faithful companion of his also serves as his vahana. These vahanas - the bull, the rat, and the peacock - can all been seen in the family portrait below.
Ganesha's Family. (Left-to-Right: Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, Kartikeya)
Bibliography
Ganesha's Secret (Video)
Sacred Hindu Symbols Associated with Ganesha (Ganesha Image)
Kartikeya and his Peacock (Image)
Family Portrait (Image)
I have used the information from these links, as well as the image sources to write this document.