Ganpati Bappa Morya! 7 Lesser Known Facts About Lord Ganesha That Will Simply Blow Your Mind

Symbolism behind Ganesha’s appearance: Lord Ganesha’s appearance reflects the dualism wherein the animal head represents material joys and the human body represents spiritual bliss

The contrasting purpose of worshipping Lord Ganesha and Karthikeya: Lord Ganesha's worship is associated with prosperity while Karthikeya’s reverence is believed to provide protection that are two completely opposite ends of the spectrum

The importance of North direction: Lord Ganesha is linked to the north because, according to a story, Lord Shiva told his followers to replace Ganesha's head with the first creature they found, which happened to be in the north. In Hinduism, the north direction is considered special because it's where the pole star is located, and North is also associated with qualities like stability, calmness, long-lasting life, and wisdom

The Wives of Ganesha: Brahma, created two daughters - Siddhi and Riddhi, to get Ganesha married. The two wives of Ganesha embody the two things associated with worshipping him - prosperity and wisdom. They represent the key desires of man - wealth and wisdom, visualized in female forms

Ganesha's link to Goddess duo Lakshmi & Saraswati: Lakshmi is the Goddess associated with prosperity and Saraswati is the Goddess of wisdom. Both the Goddesses are known as the quarreling sisters, where they never stay together for long. Hence it is believed that one needs to pray to Ganesha to enjoy the benefits of both Goddesses together, seeking a harmonious balance between wealth and wisdom

Ganesha the Vighnaharta: The Nava-Grahas are nine gods representing celestial bodies in astrology, and the Sapta-Matrikas are seven goddesses linked to children's diseases. When these planets align unfavorably, it can bring bad luck, and when the goddesses focus their attention on a home, it can cause trouble. People turned to Ganesha to help ward off these problems, making him the god who removes obstacles

8 avatars of Vignesh: In the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha takes 8 different forms to defeat eight demons, each representing a troublesome emotion. The 8 avatars of Ganesha are Vakratunda, Ekadanta, Mahodara, Gajanana, Lambodara, Vikata, Vighnaraja and Dhumravarna