Birth of Lord Ganesha – Why did Shiva cut off Ganesha's head?

In ancient times, a great sin was committed by Indra, the king of the gods, which led to chaos and imbalance in society. Due to this sin, Lord Mahadev (Shiva) went into meditation, and Mother Parvati became lonely.

Mother Parvati's maternal instinct had awakened and the desire for a child started growing within her. To fulfill her loneliness and desire for motherhood, Mother Parvati decided to create a child herself. She mixed the sandalwood paste from her body with the soil and gave it the shape of a child and breathed life into it. Thus, a small child was born, whom Mother Parvati named "Vinayak".

Incident of Ganesh being beheaded by Shiva

After a few years, when Vinayak was about ten years old, Lord Shiva returned with his ganas. At that time Mother Parvati was taking a bath and she said to Vinayak, "Make sure that no one comes inside." Vinayak, following his mother's orders, guarded the gate. Since Vinayak had never seen Shiva, when Lord Shiva reached there, Vinayak stopped him.

Shiva's Ganas and Devtas tried to stop Vinayak, but he remained adamant. Seeing this, Lord Shiva became angry, and cut off Vinayak's head with his trident.

When Mother Parvati came out after bathing and saw her beloved son lying without a head, she became extremely angry. Her anger was so terrible that the creation started moving towards destruction. Shiva tried to calm her down, but Mother Parvati did not listen.

Mahadev and Rishi Kashyap's curse - Story of son separation

Mahadev had also beheaded his son Vinayak due to a curse. Lord Shiva had given death penalty to Sun God due to his arrogance and not performing his duty. Saddened by this, Sage Kashyap, who was the father of Sun God, cursed Lord Shiva in grief that in future you will also have to behead your own son and suffer the pain of son separation.

How was the elephant's head placed on Vinayak's head?

Seeing the possibility of destruction of the creation due to this fierce anger of Mother Parvati, Lord Brahma and Vishnu requested Mahadev to calm the mother. Mahadev immediately sent his followers Indra and Nandi to the north direction and said that the first creature found and whoever gives his head voluntarily, his head will be placed on Vinayak.

Indra and Nandi found an elephant in the north direction, whose name was Gajasur. Gajasur was a wise and great elephant, who was once blessed by Mahadev that he would always live on Kailash. Gajasur gladly handed over his head to Indra.

Lord Shiva attached Gajasur's head to Vinayak's body and Vinayak was thus reborn. He was renamed Ganesha, which means "Lord of the Ganas".

Interesting facts about Ganesha:

• Creation of Vinayaka: Goddess Parvati created Ganesha herself from sandalwood and mud from her own body, and then breathed life into him. This is the only instance where a deity was born in this way.
• First meeting of Shiva and Ganesha: Ganesha had never seen Lord Shiva, so when he returned for the first time, Vinayaka did not recognize him and prevented him from entering, which led to his beheading.
• Elephant head: After Ganesha was beheaded, Shiva sent Indra and Nandi to the north. The first creature they found was an elephant named Gajasur, who willingly gave his head for Ganesha. Thus Ganesha got the head of an elephant.
• Mahadev and Rishi Kashyap's curse: Mahadev had beheaded his son Vinayak due to a curse because he had given death penalty to Sun God due to his arrogance and not performing his duty. Due to which Rishi Kashyap cursed Shiva with the separation from his son.
• Symbol of maternal love: Ganesha's birth was the result of Goddess Parvati's feeling of deep maternal love. He was created by Parvati to satisfy her loneliness and maternal instinct.
• Name of Ganesha: Ganesha's name is made up of "Gan" and "Ish", which means "God of Ganas". He is considered the lord of all Ganas.
• Destruction of the universe: When Shiva cut off Ganesha's head, the universe started getting destroyed due to the anger of Mother Parvati. Brahma and Vishnu intervened and appealed to save the universe, after which Ganesha was reborn.
• Sacrifice of Gajasura: Gajasura, who gave his head for Ganesha, was already blessed by Mahadev that he would be able to live forever on Kailash. The sacrifice of Gajasura plays an important role in the rebirth of Ganesha.
• Appearance of Ganesha: Ganesha's big elephant head, small human body, and huge belly are considered a symbol of purity, intelligence, and prosperity in Hinduism.
• Significance of Ganesh Chaturthi: Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated due to the story of Ganesha's birth, in which he is worshipped specially. This festival is celebrated with special reverence across India.