Ganesha

Sources identify Ganesha as son of the god Shiva and goddess Parvati within mainstream Hindu narrative frameworks; he is linguistically and narratively associated with the gaṇas (Shiva's troop) and is named as their lord. Textual attestations of Ganesha occur in a range of Hindu literature, with mentions between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE and expanded cultic presence by the 4th–6th centuries CE. Principal devotional and liturgical texts named in the sources include the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvasirsha, and the Ganapatya sect regards him as Supreme.

Ganesha is readily identified by an elephant head, a typically large belly, and commonly four arms; iconography often shows him holding his broken tusk in one hand and a sweet (a delicacy) which he samples with his trunk. He appears in many postures and contexts — seated, standing, dancing, as a child, in martial form — and regional/iconographic variation is widespread; his trunk commonly curves and is often depicted curving to the left in many images.

Across the supplied sources Ganesha's primary functions are as remover and master of obstacles (Vighnesha/Vighneshvara), patron of the arts and sciences, deva of intellect, logic, and wisdom, and god of beginnings; he is customarily invoked at the start of rites, ceremonies, and writing sessions. Devotional literature and Puranic texts contain narratives of his birth and exploits and form the basis for liturgies and mantras associated with him.