Myths and Legends of ganesha -INDIA

Q1. Myths and LegendsWhat are myths?A simple definition of a myth is 'a story handed down through history, often through oral tradition, that explains or gives value to the unknown'.

Myths are often stories told by a particular people such as Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and others. They are especially linked to religious beliefs and rituals.

What are legends?Legends are about people and their actions or deeds. The people lived in more recent times and are mentioned in history. The stories are told for a purpose and are based on facts, but they are not completely true. Legends are also stories that have been made up, but they are different from myths. Myths answer questions about how the natural world works, and are set in a time long-ago, before history was written. Either the person never really did what the story says, or the historical events were changed. The purpose was to make the story more interesting or convincing, or to teach a lesson, like knowing right from wrong.

MYTHS AND LEGENDS• MYTHS:-

• According the very well

known Shiva-Purâna version, the Shiva's wife, Pârvatî the Mountaineer, was disturbed once by her husband who entered the house, even though she was taking her bath.

• The goddess felt annoyed, because she didn't have any personal servant to guard her door. So, she rub her body skin and, with the perfumed unguents obtained, she molded the shape of a young boy, as glorious as daylight.

LEGENDS

•Lord Ganesha is treated with a lot of reverence and respect among Hindus..

•Lord Ganesha is the God of knowledge wisdom, and fine arts. He is worshipped before the start of a new venture, because he unfolds the secrets of spirituality as well as life. We can learn the secrets of life management from lord Ganesha.

According to one story, Shiva struck off the boy's head, either because Ganesha prevented him from approaching Parvati or because Shiva believed that his son was doomeSome gods have more than one name. Shiva is also known as Shankar, Mahadev, Natraj, Mahesh and many other names. Ganesh is also called Ganpati. God. Others worship only Shiva. Many of these Goddess worshipers worship Parvati in her images as Kali or Durga. Vishnu worshipers (Vaishnaites) also worship his appearances. Shiva's worshipers (Shaivites) also worship images of bull called Nandi, who was Shiva's carrier and a unique stone design connected to Shiva. There are some Gods who are worshiped all over India like Rama and Krishna and other Gods who are worshiped more in one region than the other like Ganesh who is worshiped mainly in west India. Hindus also worship Gods according to their personal needs. People who engage in wrestling, body building and other physical sports worship Hanuman, who in Hindu legends was an ape with lot of physical strength. Businessmen worship Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth to die.

Q3.HOW DO THE TRAITS OF A LORD GANESHA EXEMPLIFY THE VALUES OF THE CULTURE FROM WHICH THE LEGEND ORGINATE

The Birth of Ganesha . Shiva's wife, Parvati, produced Ganesha—and did so without any help from Shiva, according to many accounts. Some say that Shiva, being immortal, had no desire for a son, but Parvati wanted a child and produced the boy from her own body. In other versions, Shiva gave Parvati a doll that at her touch magically came to life as a baby.

Q4..IN WHAT WAY DO MYTHS ILLISTRATE THE BELIEF SYSTEMS AND CUSTOMS OF THE CULTURE THAT CREATE THEM ?

Q5.CHARACTER PICTURE ALONG WITH THEIR SYMBOLS

Ganesha is the formless Divinity - encapsulated in a magnificent form, for the benefit of the devotee.Gan means group. The universe is a group of atoms and different energies. This universe would be in chaos if there was no supreme law governing these diverse groups of entities.The Lord of all these groups of atoms and energies is Ganesha.He is the supreme consciousness that pervades all and brings order in this universe.

Mythology is all around us! Have you seen it.

There are many mythological anecdotes of Ganesha Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom.

DIFFERENTIATE

Lord Ganesha Stories of Oral Tradition Hindu mythology is basically an oral tradition. The mythical stories are told several times even before they were scripted. That is why, it is common to have many versions of the same mythical story. There are several versions of Lord Ganesha birth story. In some version, it is said that Ganesha is the manasika putra (mind-born son) of Lord Shiva, in others he is the creation of Parvathi. But commonly, he is the son of Shiva and Parvathi

Parvathi Created GaneshaOne day Goddess Parvathi was at home on Kailash (Shiva’s abode) preparing for a bath. She told Nandi (Shiva’s Bull) to guard the door and let no one enter in. Nandi faithfully guarded the door. But, after Shiva’s arrival to Kailash, being himself loyal to Shiva first, Nandi had to let him pass.After this incident, Parvathi wanted someone as loyal to Herself as Nandi was to Shiva. The next time, while taking her bath, in the desire of owning a loyal son, Parvathi rubbed off the dust, oil, sandalwood, turmeric paste from her body and created the figure of a young boy using this material. She breath life into this figure, whom she called Ganesha, declaring him to be her own loyal son.

LORD GANESHAMay Lord Ganesha Give Us A Rainbow for every storm ,A smile for every tear , A promise for every care ,And an answer to every prayer !

‘Made by:BHOOMI SHAH JIYA SHAHHANISHI SHAH VANSHIKA SHAH MAHEK SHAHVEERTI SHAHLESHA SHAHTANISHA SHAHISHA SAVANT

THANK YOU