Namaskara!
Ganesha is a popular Hindu god and a favourite one, especially among children. He is the lord of wisdom, success and remover of all obstacles.
He is called by various names – Ganesha, Vinayaka,
Ganapati, Lambodar, Ekadanta, Vighnaraja, Mooshikavahana, Gajanana, Pillaiyar
and so on. He is the first and the foremost God to be worshipped by all before
starting any work… be it studies, work, business, ceremonies, art, music and
dance. In fact any puja or homa is performed by first offering prayers to Lord Ganesha.
Have you noticed? Ganesha has an
elephant head and a human body?? His belly looks like a big pot. His elephant
head, just like any elephant has big ears, a long trunk and tusks… Oh but did
you notice the tusk on his left side is broken? Now…….. why is his tusk broken?
Let us see the story behind his broken tusk.
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There was a sage by name Vyasa. He was the compiler of the 4 Vedas (namely the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva veda) which is why he was referred to as "Ved Vyasa". He was once instructed by Gods to write the epic Mahabharata. Sage Vyasa wanted it to be written by the most well-read person and sought help of Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma suggested him to seek permission from Lord Shiva to let his beloved son Ganesh help him pen down the epic. Ganesha, the lord of wisdom, readily agreed but on one condition. “You have to dictate the epic to me non-stop. The moment you stop, I’ll also stop and go away. I do not want to merely write it, but also understand every verse of it” said Ganesha.
The sage agreed to the condition and the long dictation began. Sage Vyasa was an old man. Continuous dictation tired him. Sometimes, he desperately needed a break. At such times, he would use a difficult bunch of words. Even Ganesha found them difficult. As Ganesha scratched his head, the old sage would take a deep breath and quickly gulp some water to regain strength. He would be ready with the next line by the time Ganesha figured out the meaning and wrote down the words. Ganesha proceeded to write at a fast speed. Those days bird feather was dipped in ink and used as a pen. Suddenly the feather with which Ganesha was writing, broke. Ganesha did not have the time to look for another feather to write nor he wanted to stop so he quickly broke his left tusk and continued to write with it using the tusk as a pen. Thus the Mahabharata story was completed. After this Ganesha was left with only one tusk. It is his right tusk. So people started calling Ganesha as “Ekadanta” (Meaning: single tusked god).
So children, now you know why Ganesha is seen with a broken tusk on his left side. Next time you see Lord Ganesha s picture or you visit His temple, do think of this story. Jai Shri Ganesh!
Stay safe and happy😊
Wish to listen to this story? Please click here: https://youtu.be/BzI_26Z1MCI
