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Ganesha
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Ganesha Ganesha Ganesha and his vahana, a bandicoot rat Ganesha murti of the god Ganesha Shiva and his family
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Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
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Ganesha. Hinduism. Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, figure on external walls of a South Indian Temple in Kerala, India.
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Ganesha
Ganesha The god Indra worshipping the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, ink and opaque watercolor on paper, folio from the Tehri Garhwal series of the Gita Govinda from the Punjab Hills, Kingdom of Kangra or Guler, c. 1775-80.

Ganesha

Hindu deity
Also known as: Ganapati, Ganesh, Lord of the Ganas, Lord of the People(Show More)
Written by
Wendy Doniger
Wendy Doniger is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of the History of Religions in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Her research and teaching interests revolve around...
Wendy Doniger
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Ganesha, elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and is the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes, and authors. His name means both “Lord of the People” (gana means the common people) and “Lord of the Ganas” (Ganesha is the chief of the ganas, the goblin hosts of Shiva). Ganesha is potbellied and generally depicted as holding in his hand a few round Indian sweets, of which he is inordinately...

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