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Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. [53] Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. [54] One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. [55]
She does not have a consistent name and is known by various names, Stri Ganesha ("female Ganesha" [3]), Vainayaki, Gajananā ("elephant-faced"), Vighneshvari ("Mistress of the remover of obstacles") and Ganeshani, all of them being feminine forms of Ganesha's epithets Vinayaka, Gajanana, Vighneshvara and Ganesha itself.
Ganesh Elephant Head. Hindu religion presents many stories, which explain how Ganesha obtained his elephant or gaja head. Often, the origin of this particular attribute is to be found in the same anecdotes which tell about his birth. The stories also reveal the origins of the enormous popularity of his cult.
Mahaganapati, folio from the Sritattvanidhi (19th century). Here he is depicted with ten arms and accompanied by a goddess. Mahaganapati (Sanskrit: महागणपति, mahā-gaṇapati), literally "Ganesha, the Great" [1]), also spelled as Maha Ganapati, and frequently called Mahaganadhipati, is an aspect of the Hindu god Ganesha.
He has four arms. While two of them hold sweet balls, his trunk holds his favourite sweet, the modaka and curves towards his open mouth, indicating that he is about to eat the sweet. [4] Bala Ganapati is also the first of the thirty-two forms of Ganesha listed in the Sritattvanidhi. [5] He has an elephant head and is depicted like a child. [6]
In addition, the eight guardian deities who preside over the points of the compass each sit on an elephant (world elephant). Each of these deities has an elephant that takes part in the defense and protection of its respective quarter. Chief among them is Airavata of Indra. There is a reference to Airavata in the Bhagavad Gita:
Masterfully taught to create, Suda has been working on her skills ever since she arrived at Mae Taeng Elephant Park in Chiangmai, Thailand. This elephant's painting skills will blow you away Skip ...
Ganesha is easily recognized from his elephant head. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India. India and Hinduism have influenced many countries in other parts South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia as a result of commercial and cultural contacts.