LORD GANESHA – PRATHAMPUJYA (FIRST GOD TO BE WORSHIPPED).
Lord Ganesha is son of lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. He is not biological son he was created by Goddess Parvati from statue so that he can guard when she was taking bath. During this incident lord Ganesha was very serious about not letting anyone in even if it was Mahadev. Since Mahadev and other gods were unaware of him, they thought him to be hostile force so war took between gods and lord Ganesha but lord Ganesha was so mighty that he defeated all gods so it was finally lord Mahadev used trident to severe head of lord Ganesha. So, when Mata Parvati came to know about this, he was again given life by inserting head of elephant.
Now lets took a look at what is so special in him that he is first God to be worshipped, God of wisdom, destroyer of all obstacles.
First, he is Prathampujya because of the following incident. Once lord Ganesha was guarding Kailasha. So, lord Parashurama came to meet lord shiva. Lord Parashuraam is sixth incarnation of lord Vishnu. He was also disciple of lord Mahadev. But lord Ganesha was strictly told by lord Mahadeva to not let anyone in. so war took place between Parashuraam and lord Ganesha. During this fight Parashuram broke one tooth of lord Ganesha with his Parasu so he is called Ekdantaya. So, Mata Parvati got very angry and asked lord shiva to punish Parashuram but lord Ganesha insisted that lord Parashuram to be forgiven so seeing his wisdom and tolerance lord Vishnu gave him upadhi of prathampujya since then he is the first God to be worshipped. During any yagna, puja or any auspicious event he is always the first God to be worshipped.
Second, he was also known for his wisdom, I will explain with an example. Mata Parvati had 2 sons so as they were about to get married, she told both of them that whoever circles the whole universe first and comes back he will get married first. So, lord Kartikeya (God of war) went to encircle whole universe with peacock as his carrier. But lord Ganesha used his wisdom and encircled his parents saying they are his universe. So impressed by this lord Ganesha got married with 2 wives Ridhi and Sidhi. But lord Kartikeya when he came back, he got angry and decided that he will never get married and is believed to be living somewhere in Tamil-Nadu.
Third important story related to lord Ganesha is when he stopped Ravana from taking Atmalinga (a part of lord shiva energy) to Lanka. Ravana impressed lord shiva with his devotion and asked him to give his Atamalinga. Lord shiva gave away with just one condition that he should not place it in ground till he reaches Lanka. So, while travelling to Lanka he was taking break for routine activities during which lord Ganesha came disguised as cowherd boy. So, Ravana handed over Atmalinga to lord Ganesha till he comes back. But lord Ganesha using his wisdom cleverly put it down on ground before Ravana came back. This event is significant because if Ravana would have taken Atmalinga to Lanka he could have become invincible. So, lord Ganesha played an important role in establishing dharma by the above-mentioned act.
Fourth one important act of lord Ganesha is he wrote whole Mahabharata as dictated by Ved Vyas in single sitting without any break and without any mistakes. He was master in knowledge and writing. He wrote all in Sanskrit which is very difficult language.
Actually, there are many stories about lord Ganesha like he has defeated many demons, helped gods with his wisdom whenever they required it. He is also adopted son of Mata Lakshmi. So, he is worshipped with goddess Lakshmi. He is Vignaharta (destroyer of obstacles), God of wisdom, first God to be worshipped. He has many other names and accolades to his credit. He is one of the most important god in Hinduism. He is also worshipped in Indonesia.
