GANESH BRASS411GRMS

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha’s elephant head makes him easy to identify.^[8] Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles,^[9] the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom.^[10] As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions.^[11][2] Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits.

Ganesha may have emerged as a deity as early as the 1st century BCE,^[12] but most certainly by the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta period, though he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors.^[13] Hindu mythology identifies him as the restored son of Parvati and Shiva of the Shaivism tradition, but he is a pan-Hindu god found in its various traditions.^[14][15] In the Ganapatya tradition of Hinduism, Ganesha is the supreme deity.^[16] The principal texts on Ganesha include the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Brahma Purana and Brahmanda Purana are other two Puranic genre encyclopaedic texts that deal with Ganesha.