| Ganesha
is the elephant-headed god of Hindu tradition. Some people think
he predates the Vedic era, and represents prehistoric ancestral connections
to the earth. Ganesha is the patron of writers and the protector
of new beginnings. An ancient Hindu story has it that the sage and
poet Vyasa made a pact with Ganesha. Vyasa would recite his epic
poem for the benefit of humankind, if Ganesha agreed to be his scribe.
But when Ganesha’s pen broke, and Vyasa kept on reciting, Ganesha broke
off his tusk and kept on writing. That is how the epic poem story,
the Mahabharata, is said to have been written.
How do you pronounce Ganesha? Well, that depends. If you are from northern India you will likely omit the 'a' at the end and pronounce the elephant-headed god's name Ganesh (Guh-naysh). People from the south retain the 'a' in a pronunciation closer to the original Sanskrit, Ganesha (Guh-naysh-uh). Things like this are no small potatoes. Just as people think the best mangoes are the ones they ate when they were kids, they're also convinced that their regional variation of Ganesha's name is the only correct one. Read more about Ganesha, and seventeen Ganesha stories, in Uma's book, The Broken Tusk. |