Pulear or Ganesha

Pulear Or Ganesha

a divinity of Indian mythology, was the son of the wife of Siva, Parwati. She formed him, without the co-operation of her husband, by shaping into the frame of a vouth what was washed away from her body during her bath. Siva thought himself betrayed by Parwati, and in his wrath he struck off the head of the young god.

When he found out his mistake, he wished to heal his victim; but the head had been carried away by the waters of the Ganges, and had been eaten by fishes. Siva solved this difficulty by telling the son of his wife to cut off the head of the first creature he should meet and put it on his shoulders. as misfortune would have it, this creature was an elephant. Therefore Ganesha is always represented with all elephant's trunk. Ganesha sits astride of a mouse, which is nothing else than the metamorphosed giant Gedjemuyashurim, vanquished by him while warring against the gods. Ganesha is incredibly strong, and therefore of great use to the gods in their perpetual warfare against the daemnons. He is a great eater, and would eat the whole world if he had his own way: it is only in the sea of sugar, in which he has a floating abode, that he can, in some measure, satisfy the cravings of his hunger. Being the favorite son of Siva, he is worshipped like that god himself; and invoked first before every sacrifice. The Indians believed that he could at his will accumulate or remove obstacles: all Indian books commence with a prayer to him. His image is frequently found painted on the house doors, and almost every family has his statue in bronze, marble, or clay. Pulear is his name as god of matrimony: it was the natural question of his father at his first appearance in the world — Pulei- ar, i.e. Whose son?