Ganesh Chathurthi is a 10-day festival that starts with the installation of an idol of Lord Ganesha in most households and comes to an end with the idol procession that leads to Ganesha Visarjan which is immersing the idol of Ganesha in sea waters.

It is fascinating to note that the festival is celebrated across the country and everyone enjoys it during the celebration. Let’s first look into the story of the birth of Lord Ganesh.

Story of his birth:

• Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and has a unique story behind his birth. One day when Goddess Parvati wanted to take a bath she wanted someone to guard the door for her. On that day Lord Shiva wasn’t there to guard her. 
• As there was no one to guard she made a structure out of the turmeric paste that she generally used to clean her body with, and put life into that structure. This structure came into life and hence was born Lord Ganesha.

The story behind his elephant Head:

• When Ganesha came into birth he had a normal head, he didn’t always have an elephant head. Here goes the story behind his elephant head. 
• One day when goddess Parvati was going to take bath, she told Ganesha to guard the door for her. Lord Ganesha was so loyal that he stopped Lord Shiva from entering when he showed up at the door. 
• Also, at that time Lord Ganesha didn’t know who Lord Shiva was. At the same time, Lord Shiva who was furious also didn’t know who Ganesha was and ended up beheading him. When Parvati came out, she yelled out at Lord Shiva and threatened to destroy the universe if he didn’t bring back Ganesha.
• Lord Shiva realised his mistake and because of the same, he sent his troops into the forest and told them to get the head of the first animal they saw in the forest. The troops first came across an elephant and brought the head. This head was then placed over the body of Ganesha. 

This is how Ganesha came to be known as the god with an elephant head.

Story of Karthikeya and Ganesh:

• Another interesting and very popular story of Ganesha tells us how he won a competition against his younger sibling Karthikeya in the most simple manner. 
• Both kids of Lord Shiva and Paravati were asked to take three rounds all around the world. Whoever finishes first would receive a special fruit of wisdom and knowledge.
• Karthikeya – the younger sibling of Lord Ganesha, climbed his peacock at once and set off.  Whereas Ganesha made a wise decision and sought permission from his parents to take three rounds around them as he considered them as his universe. Hence, Ganesha won the fruit of wisdom.

Story of Ganesha and his one tusk:

• Ganesha, also known as ‘Ekdant’ got this name as he is said to have only one tusk. There are two stories behind his one tooth. 
• According to one story, he lost one of his tusks when sage Parshuram got into a fight with Ganesha. It was said that the sage was angry at Ganesha as he did not let him meet Lord Shiva, while he was guarding the door.
• According to another story, Ved Vyas who was the creator of Mahabharata approached Ganesha to write down Mahabharata for him. Ganesha agreed to write but put forth a condition that Vyas had to narrate it in one go and without any break. 
• As Ganesha started writing the story, there was one point when the quill with which he was writing broke down. So without wasting any time, he broke off one of his tusks and made it into a pen to continue writing the story.

God of Beginnings:

• Ganesha, according to Hindu traditions, is always prayed to before beginning any auspicious work. This is because he is revered as the God of Beginnings. Here’s the reason:
• Ganesha was once upset that he was not invited to the wedding of Lord Vishnu and also was called fat. As Ganesha wanted to attend the wedding he sent his army of mice and told them to dig the soil from inside. This would make a hollow on the way from where the marriage was happening.
• The army of mice dug the soil but the wheels of the chariot got stuck. As none of the gods was able to pull out the chariot they asked a passerby to help them pull out. The person who helped took the name of Lord Ganesha and the wheels came out! 
• When the gods asked the person for the reason for doing so, he said that he did so as he’s the God of beginnings who removes all the hurdles from life. All gods upon hearing this went back apologised to Ganesha and took him with them to attend the wedding.

These were the various stories behind Ganesha, his birth and other stories related to him. Please share your thoughts on this article in the comments section below.