as “Lord of Obstacles” (Vighneshvar),
who has the power both to remove and
to bestow difficulties, depending on
whether or not a person has pleased
him. Hindus invoke Ganesh at the start
of any important undertaking—whether
it is performing a religious ritual, start-
ing a business, performing a marriage,
building a home, or even taking a school
examination—so that through his grace,
potential obstacles may be removed or
avoided and the undertaking will pro-
ceed smoothly and successfully. This
power over obstacles is symbolized both
by his elephant head and his animal
vehicle, the rat. The elephant’s strength
allows it to break down any impedi-
ments, while the rat is able to slip
through the smallest cracks to gain
access to locked places. Ganesh’s ani-
conic imageis the threshold, the transi-
tional strip dividing and separating
different spaces, which further symbol-
izes his power to control transitions
from one state to another.
Ganesh is considered to be the son
of the god Shivaand his wife Parvati,
but he is born in an unusual manner.
One day when Parvati is bathing
(snana), she forms a child from the dirt
from her body, animates him, and
directs him to permit no one to enter
her bathing place. When Shiva comes
to the door Ganesh bars his way, and in
the ensuing battle Shiva cuts off
Ganesh’s head. Parvati is so upset that
Shiva promises to replace the missing
head with the head of the first animal
he encounters, which happens to be an
elephant. Upon reviving Ganesh, Shiva
appoints him as the leader of his troop
of followers. As a further boon, Shiva
tells Ganesh that he will be worshiped
before any other deity.
Ganesh’s elephant head has a broken
tusk, and there are differing myths
recounting how this happened. In one
story it comes from an altercation with
the Parashuram avatar, who tries to
enter Shiva’s chambers while Ganesh is
guarding the door. According to another
account, the injury is self-inflicted. In a
fit of rage at the moon, Ganesh breaks
off his tusk and throws it at the moon.
According to tradition, Ganesh uses
this tusk as a pen to write down the
text of theepic Mahabharataas it is
dictated by the sage Vyasa. For further
information on Ganesh and his cult,
see Paul Courtright, Ganesa, 1985;
other information can be found in
works on Hindu mythology.Ganesh Chaturthi
Festival falling on the fourth (chaturthi)
day of the bright or waxing half of
the lunar month of Bhadrapada
(August–September), dedicated to the
worshipof the god Ganesh. This festival
is observed throughout India, but is par-
ticularly celebrated in Maharashtra.
During this festival clay images of
Ganesh are consecrated and worshiped.
At the festival’s end the images are car-
ried in procession for ceremonial
immersion in bodies of water—whether
the sea, a river, or the village pond.
Although Ganesh is a relatively
minor deityin the Hindu pantheon,
his role as the Lord of Obstacles
(Vighneshvar) makes him important in
everyday life, since his involvement can
either further or hinder one’s efforts. For
this reason, Ganesh is always worshiped
at the start of any endeavor and at the
beginning of all religious ceremonies.
While Ganesh plays an important role in
people’s everyday lives, the festival
Ganesh Chaturthi gained prominence in
Maharashtra for political reasons. Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, one of the most
important figures in the nineteenth-
century Hindu renaissance, promoted
the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi as a
visible way to assert and celebrate a
Hindu nationalist identity during the
time of British imperial rule. Given the
power of British rule, outright rebellion
was simply impossible, and the British
government heavily restricted all forms
of political dissent. The Ganesh festival
provided a way to circumvent these
restrictions, since the British had a long-
standing policy of not interfering with
religious observances. The celebrationGanesh Chaturthi