The Hindu god Ganesha has the body of a man and the head of an elephant- he’s being celebrated this week in the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.
According to one Hindu myth, Ganesha acquired his elephant head as a young boy, after his father, Shiva, destroyed his son’s human head in a peak of anger. But the elephant headed Ganesha became one of the most popular deities in the Hindu pantheon, loved by children, and typically, a model of good behavior.
“The significance of the ears being large suggests that we must have large ears so we can listen to everybody.”
Uma Mysorekar is President of the Hindu Society of North America.
“The eyes are small which means you just concentrate on what you’re doing. The trunk which actually you can’t even see the mouth, it is a large trunk and the mouth is underneath that. It signifies that you close the mouth, you don’t open it unnecessarily unless it is called for. This is really the philosophical significance of elephant head for Ganesha.”
The young Ganesha and his brother were once instructed by their parents to travel around the world. The first brother to return would win a special prize.
“So Ganesha’s younger brother, took his vehicle and went around the world while Lord Ganesha stood there and went around his parents three times and he said, ‘Here I am.’ What is symbolizes that he regarded his parents as the universe. That gives a moral to the children and also to the adults that the parents mean as much.”
Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.