What Is The Symbolic Meaning of the Hindu God Ganesh?
Like all Hindu Gods, Lord Ganesh, or Ganesha is an archetype loaded with symbolism. Known as the remover of obstacles and associated with good fortune, the elephant-headed god is one of the most frequently invoked devas by Hindus.
Ganesh is the easiest god of the Hindu pantheon to recognise thanks to the elephant head, and it is typical to find statues of him in hotels and places of business throughout Hindu cultures.
This is due to the devas symbolic association as the remover of obstacles and new beginnings. It is believed Ganesh will bring good fortune to devotees.
It is also common for Hindus to pray on Ganesh before they embark on a journey or some form of undertaking which they want to go well like a school exam or ceremony.
Ganesh is also associated with aum, the primordial sound which was heard at the point the Universe was created. Essentially this means the beginning of a new cycle of life.
This makes more sense when you consider the origins of Ganesha’s name – Ga meaning Buddha intellect and Na meaning wisdom. When we have new found spiritual knowledge we tend to behave in different ways.
Thus Ganesh is also associated with wisdom and represents the ability to perceive the distinction between truth and ignorance. In some Hindu sects he symbolises the formless consciousness which is ever present in us even though we may not realise it.
The Ganapati Upanishad identifies the elephant-headed god with Brahman (the Universal soul) and Atman (the individual soul). The purpose of Hindus is to reunite Atman with Brahman and become one (moksha), which is why Ganesha is regarded as one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon.
Ganesh in Hindu myth
The most significant appearance of Ganesh in Hindu myth is the story of his creation taken from the Shiva Purana. There are several versions of this tale, but in general terms it goes something like this.
Parvati, the consort of Shiva wanted to bathe in private so she instructed a guard to stand at the entrance of her palace and instructed him not to let anybody in.
However, when Shiva arrived, the guard let him in knowing full well that he was the husband of his mistress and it would be okay. But Parvati did not see it that way and dismissed the guard. The goddess wanted somebody she could trust.
So she created a young boy out of turmeric (in other myths it is soil) and ordered him to stand guard and refuse anybody entry into her chambers. When Shiva arrived, the faithful young guard refuses to let the God enter.
In a fit of anger, Shiva strikes off the young boy’s head with his three-pronged Trishula. Parvati is distraught and orders her husband to restore the young boy back to life.
Shiva searches for the young boy’s head, but cannot find it so consults Brahma who suggests replacing the head with the head of the first living being found facing north. Shiva sends his celestial servants the Gana (from which Ganesha’s name is derived) out on a mission and they return with the head of an elephant.
Shiva uses the elephant head to restore the boy to life and Parvati names him Ganesh and bestows him god-like powers.
Parvati is the universal energy that creates the first sparks of life, and Shiva represents the destruction of ignorance. Ganesh is therefore recognised as an extension of Parvati and Shiva in that by acquiring faithfulness, wisdom and patience, we have the attributes to successfully embark on a new adventure.
Symbols of Lord Ganesha
Ganesha’s elephant head also has a deeper meaning. The big ears and small mouth are a reminder to listen more than you talk in order to acquire knowledge. It is with the acquisition of knowledge that you are able to put more trust in your ability to succeed.
In Hindu iconography, Ganesh is usually depicted with four or six hands which denotes the ambidextrous qualities we need to acquire knowledge and skills and put them into good use.
As we also see in other gods, the four arms represent qualities of consciousness that we need to master in order to continue self-development; the mind, intellect, ego and disciplined conscience.
Ganesh is a symbol of connecting the physical world with the spiritual world, reuniting the atma with brahman by dissolving the ego and not giving into desires.
We see this more succinctly by the animals Ganesh is associated with. A snake wrapped around his waist shows that he has mastered the sub-conscious mind and is no longer a victim of the shadow-ego that leads us to temptation.
His divine vehicle is a mouse, which seems at odds with his huge size, but, in ancient symbolism, mice also represent the ability to use knowledge and skill in a spiritual sense.
Because mice are known to live underground and in dark recesses of buildings, they are a symbol of ignorance that live in the dark. But when a mouse comes out into the light, it is a metaphor of illuminating the mind to conscious awareness of the inner-self.
But we also find another symbolic side to this unlikely pairing in the Ganeshapurana. The God of Music Kroncha accidently treads on the toe of Muni Vamadeva, who like all Munis is angered by this and turns him into a gigantic mouse.
As a mouse, Kroncha goes berserk and begins crashing into trees and mountains and wrecking everything in his path. Hearing the commotion, Ganesh takes out his pasha, a noose, and brings Kroncha under his control.
The mouse is therefore a reminder that we can all go off the rails and we need the strength, wisdom and patience of Ganesh to bring us back under control.
It is also the case that when we are out of our mind we create challenges for ourselves, but as the remover of obstacles, Ganesh can shed light on our failings and help us move forward along the path with fewer challenges.