Ganesha’s Wives and Children: The Deep Significance

Hindu Gods and stories related to them are highly symbolic and also hold great significance. They bring out ideologies, universal principles, values, morals and heavenly spiritual truths for mortal earthly beings. They are supposed to learn and understand life from them.

With this concept in mind, we can, therefore, infer Ganesha having two wives and the stories of his marriage also have specific symbolism and significance attributed to them.

                                     

The higher sense of philosophy attached with Riddhi and Siddhi being Lord Ganesha’s wife is of great importance. We all know that Lord Ganesha is the Supreme Administrator of the cosmos and to maintain stable administration two things are important- the power of planning and the power of execution.

The former refers to intelligence and wisdom which are the inner domains of the brain. The latter refers to the implementation of the plans made by the planning done earlier. In the story of Lord Ganesha and his marriage to Riddhi and Siddhi, therefore refers to the intelligence which is provided by Riddhi and the execution and achievements of these plans are controlled by Siddhi.

If knowledge is not put through the right execution, all the planning however good it maybe will go in vain. Thus, putting knowledge and planning through correct execution is essential for universal administration.

Significance of Ganesha’s Children 

Now let us talk about the significance of Lord Ganesha’s children- Shubha (Auspiciousness), Labha (Profit) and Santoshi (Satisfaction). This means that through proper planning and formulation which is brought about by Riddhi and the execution brought about by Siddhi, the Supreme administrator nurtures Auspiciousness and Profit and therefore bringing about Satisfaction and stability in the entire cosmos.

Indian business community believes that keeping Subh Labh as a talisman in the business premises increases business fast. So, it is a common thing to see Subh Labh items in prosperous Indian businesses. 

Mouse as Ganesha vehicle

                                                           

                                              

There are different theories to this:

First, in ancient times, when agriculture was the primary mode of sustenance, rodents were one of the biggest obstacles to prosperity--as they are for farmers even today. Destroying crops, eating stored grains are all in a day's work for a rodent. Lord Ganesha, in having a mouse/rat as his vehicle, is symbolically shown to have conquered this pest, thus staying true to his name and work as the destroyer of obstacles, according to biodiversity of India.

Second, Lord Ganesha was able to reach all the nooks and crannies

 of the world--and do his duty as the destroyer of obstacles--because his vehicle was a mouse--because mice/rats can slither through tiny holes and narrow pathways.

Third,There was a demon (rakshasa) by the name Mushikasura. He was defeated by Ganesha in a battle. The dmon, in order to avoid punishment,offered to be Ganesh's vaahana (vehicle).   

Fourth, The mouse was a celestial musician by the name krauncha. Once, accidentally, he stepped on the foot of sage Vaamadeva who, in turn, cursed him to become a mouse. Krauncha assumed a huge from of mouse and started damaging everything in its path. Lord Ganesha humbled him by catching him in his noose; but before he could punish the mouse, krauncha begged for forgiveness. Consequently, the elephant god made him his vehicle for motion. Since the mouse could not take the weight of Ganesha, the latter reduced his size to accommodate krauncha. Somesay that the name of Ganesha's rat-vehicle is Anindya.

Lord Ganesha Marriage Story 2:

 

According to Hindu mythological references, there is another very interesting backstory to Lord Ganesha’s marriage. Lord Ganesha is known to be the eldest son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and he also had a younger brother named Karthikeya.

Karthikeyan was loved by all his devotees as he blessed them with the knowledge of Brahman. One day, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati sat down to think about marrying off their two sons as they were old enough for marriage. When they let them know about their decision, the two brothers began bickering over who should get married first.

To put their quarrelling to an end, Shiva and Parvati came up with a plan. They called them both and asked them to settle their quarrel over a race that they had devised. The plan was that whoever returned back first after going around the entire Mother Earth shall be married off first.

                                 The Great Race

On hearing this plan, Lord Kartikeya immediately set out on his peacock to go around Mother Earth. To Lord Shiva and Parvati’s wonder, he continued to stand right in front of them without even moving an inch. Instead of preparing to leave, he requested his divine parents to take a seat in front of him.

He then prayed to them and asked them to accept his worship. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati accepted to do what they were told only to see what Lord Ganesha’s plan was. To their surprise, Lord Ganesha began to worship them and went around them seven times.

At the end of his seventh salutation, Kartikeya came back after his journey around the entire Mother Earth only once. As he was the first one to arrive, he demanded to be married off first since Ganesha hadn’t even begun with his journey yet.

To this Lord Ganesha explained to Kartikeya and his divine parents that according to the Vedas, going around your parents while worshipping them is equivalent to going around the entire earth. And he goes around his divine parents not once but seven times means that he has gone around not only the entire mother earth but the whole universe.

Therefore, he should be married without any delay.

These intelligent and wise words of Ganesha pleased Lord Shiva and Parvati and immediately they decided to celebrate his marriage first. Riddhi and Siddhi, the two beautiful daughters of Prajapati Vishwaroop’s were selected to be Ganesha’s brides.

The entire heaven celebrated his marriage and Lord Ganesha soon had two sons and one daughter with his wives. His sons were named Shubha and Labh, while his daughter is known to be Goddess Santoshi.

The birth of Ganesha

One day Goddess Parvati was at home on Mt.Kailash preparing for a bath. As she didn’t want to be disturbed, she told Nandi, her husband Shiva’s Bull, to guard the door and let no one pass. Nandi faithfully took his post, intending to carry out Parvati’s wishes.

                                   

But, when Shiva came home and naturally wanted to come inside, Nandi had to let him pass, being loyal first to Shiva.

Parvati was angry at this slight, but even more than this, at the fact that she had no one as loyal to Herself as Nandi was to Shiva. Parvati was thinking on it while applying turmeric on her body. In  contemplation.

                               

she took turmeric from her body which was applying on her started molding into o little male doll by using her powers she gave life to that doll. Which turn into a small boy, declaring him to be her own loyal son.

                              

The next time Parvati wished to bath, she posted Ganesha on guard duty at the door. she told Gnesha, to guard the door and let no one pass. faithfully took his post, intending to carry out Parvati’s wishes.

                           

In due course, Shiva came home, only to find this strange boy telling him he couldn’t enter his own house! Furious, Shiva ordered his army to destroy the boy, but they all failed! Such power did Ganesha possess, being the son of Devi Herself!

                        

 This surprised Shiva. Seeing that this was no ordinary boy, the usually peaceful Shiva decided he would have to fight him, and in his divine fury severed Ganesha’s head,

                       

killing him instantly.

                         

When shiva through his trisula on boy to kill him the bo shout loudly. Parvati near the sound from inside and she come running outside to see, what was going on when she come out she saw the boy’s head separted from his body.

 

When Parvati learned of this, she was so enraged and insulted that she decided to destroy the entire Creation! Lord Brahma, being the Creator, naturally had his issues with this, and pleaded that she reconsider her drastic plan. She said she would, but only if two conditions were met: one, that Ganesha be brought back to life, and two, that he be forever worshipped before all the other gods.

Shiva, having cooled down by this time, and realizing his mistake, agreed to Parvati’s conditions. He sent Brahma and his army out with orders to bring back the head of the first creature he crosses that is laying with its head facing North. Brahma soon returned with the head of a strong and powerful elephant, which Shiva placed onto boy body and named him Ganesha

                             

Breathing new life into him, he declared Ganesha to be his own son as well and gave him the status of being foremost among the gods, and leader of all the ganas (classes of beings), Ganapati.

                                    

Wives of Lord Ganesha; Intriguing Married Life of Lord Ganesha

We all are aware of how Lord Ganesha is considered to be the most Supreme God in the Hindu religion. Well, he truly is. He is known to be the Bringer of Success, Joy and Prosperity and is also known as the Destroyer of Obstacles and Evils. But there is not too much info available on the wives of Lord Ganesha and his married life.

Who are his wives? What are stories about Lord Ganesha’s marriage? 

In this article, we will delve into the married life of Lord Ganesha and his wives. 

Very interesting and borderline controversial stories are heard about his marriage. While some stories of Hindu mythology claim him to be a bachelor God, there are prevalent stories about him being married. These stories claim that he was not only married but had two wives- Riddhi and Siddhi.

According to references in the Hindu Literatures, there are two fascinating backstories about Lord Ganesha’s marriage to Riddhi and Siddhi.

According to the Hindu Puranas, though Lord Ganesha is considered to be the most auspicious God in the Hindu Pantheon and is worshipped at the beginning of any holy ritual- especially weddings. But little do we know how difficult it was for Ganesha to find a bride for himself.

Here are two interesting stories. 

Lord Ganesha Marriage Story 1:

Ganesha is not only the most powerful and auspicious God in the Hindu religion but is also considered to be the most lovable, wise and intelligent God. Yet it was very difficult for Lord Ganesha to find a bride for himself as no girl was willing to marry an elephant-headed, pot-bellied man.

For a long long time, Ganesha kept looking for girls who would be ready to marry him, but all his efforts went in vain. This angered him a lot. He was so angry that he started acting out. Ganesha began to create problems and started to jeopardise the marriages of other Gods and demigods.

Especially, he was so mighty and powerful, his violent behaviour began to scare them. He ordered his rats to dig up holes in the path of the Gods procession to his bride’s house. The other Gods faced innumerable problems like this and grew afraid of Lord Ganesha’s anger.

Scared Gods Turns to Brahma for Help

They did not know how to stop him. So they all gathered in desperation trying to find out a solution to calm down the Superior Lord. So they all went to Lord Brahma- the Creator! At first, even Brahma did not know how to stop Lord Ganesha’s behavior. He thought hard and finally came up with a solution.

With his power of creating, Lord Brahma created two beautiful women- Riddhi (Goddess of wealth and prosperity) and Siddhi (Goddess of intellectual and spiritual powers) and called them his daughters. He then gave them away in marriage to Lord Ganesha.

Finally, Lord Ganesha was married and peace prevailed upon cosmos. This is why, many times we see figurines and idols of Lord Ganesha flanked by his wives, Riddhi and Siddhi, on his either side. It is said that Lord Ganesha had two sons and a daughter with Riddhi and Siddhi.

His sons were named Shubha meaning auspiciousness and Labha meaning profit. His daughter is Mata Santoshi who is known to be the Goddess of Satisfaction.

Mythological anecdotes of Ganesha

"Vakratunda Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha

 Nirvignhum Kurume Deva Sarvakareshu  Sarvada"

Ganapathi is one of the most important gods in Hindu Mythology, and he is also worshipped in Jainism and Buddhism. Ganapati is called by the names of Gajaana, Vinayaka, Ganesha, Ekadanta, Mooshakvahan, Lambodara, and many more. His image is found throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bali (Indonesia) and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. For the Ganapatya Hindu sect, Ganesha is the most important deity. Ganesha is highly recognizable with his elephant head and human body, representing the soul (atman) and the physical (maya) respectively. Ganapathi is the epitome of intelligence and time consciousness. He is also the patron of writers, travelers, students, commerce, and new projects (for which he removes obstacles from one's path thus he is called as Vignavinashaka) and is rather fond of sweets, to the slight detriment of his figure. 

Ganesha likely emerged as a deity in early 1st century CE, but most certainly by the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. Hindu mythology identifies him as the restored son of Parvati and Shiva of the Shaivism tradition, but he is a pan-Hindu god found in its various traditions In the Ganapatya tradition of Hinduism, Ganesha is the supreme deity. The principal texts on Ganesha include the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Brahma Purana and Brahmanda Purana are other two Puranic genre encyclopedic texts that deal with Ganesha.

We try to tell you more interesting stories through this series of articles. 

In these stories we will tell you about the birth of Ganapathi, How Ganapathi got elephant's head, some stories of his wisdom. Do not miss this series of articles for further stories.