| Ganesha is the youngest member of Lord Shiva's | | | | Bhavani and many more, Parvati is considered to be |
| family and is known to be very dear to all the Hindu | | | | very near to her son, Ganesha. |
| deities mentioned in the Hindu mythology. Though, | | | | As mentioned earlier, Parvati created Ganesha as a |
| there are many famous tales associated with the | | | | statue from clay to guard the quarters, while she |
| birth of Ganesha or Ganesh, the most popular is that | | | | went to take a bath. Apart from the story |
| in which his mother prepares a statue from clay and | | | | mentioned in the last section, another famous tale |
| blesses it with life. The statue turns into none other | | | | tells how Ganesha got an elephant head. Ganesha's |
| than Ganesha, who is known to be fond of sweets. | | | | head was turned to ashes, when the cursed God |
| The following information talks about other members | | | | Shani had a look at the newborn child. However, Lord |
| of the family to which Lord Ganesha belongs. | | | | Vishnu soon replaced Ganesh's head with one of |
| Shiva, the Destroyer | | | | elephant. |
| Lord Shiva, the father of Ganesha, is one of three | | | | Famous Ganesh gifts consist of portraits and statues, |
| supreme Hindu Gods, the other two being Lord | | | | depicting young Ganesha with his father and mother. |
| Vishnu and Lord Brahma. Known to reside at Kailasa | | | | Kartikeya, the Brother |
| Mountain, Shiva is worshipped with different names | | | | Kartikeya or Skanda is the brother of Ganesha, |
| like Sankara, Rudra, Neelkanth and many more. | | | | though their birth chronology is a matter of debate. |
| Shiva is held responsible for unknowingly cutting the | | | | Kartikeya is a popular deity among South Indians and |
| head of his own son, Ganesha, when the latter | | | | also the residents of countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia |
| denied him permission to enter the quarters of | | | | and Singapore. As per the legends, Ganesha once |
| Goddess Parvati, Shiva's wife. However, Shiva | | | | defeated his brother in a competition by acting wiser. |
| restored Ganesha to life after discovering the latter | | | | Riddhi and Siddhi |
| to be his own son. Apart from that, Shiva also | | | | Though Ganesha is believed to be a bachelor, in |
| announced that Ganesha would be worshipped | | | | some parts of India, he is believed to have two |
| before any other God or Goddess by people in the | | | | wives, named Riddhi, who represent prosperity and |
| universe during any type of ceremony. | | | | Siddhi, who represent the spiritual power. It is also |
| Parvati, the Shakti | | | | believed that the Lord has a third wife, named |
| Goddess Parvati, popularly known as Shakti, the | | | | Buddhi, representing wisdom. |
| power, is the mother of Ganesha. The Goddess is | | | | Shubha and Labha |
| considered to be the centre of whole of the energy | | | | Shubha and Labha are known to be the two sons of |
| prevailing in the universe. Parvati is believed to be the | | | | Lord Ganesha, the former representing |
| second incarnation of Sati, the first wife of Lord | | | | auspiciousness and the latter one representing profit. |
| Shiva. Kown by other names like Gauri, Bhairavi, | | | | |