Lord Ganesha is not an elephant-headed deity! Sadhguru explains

On September 7, India came together to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, welcoming Bappa into their homes with energy, love, and enthusiasm. ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ was the sound that echoed through every house and lane, and the happiness on people’s faces was evident beyond measure.

But, one thing we all noticed, not just this year but since childhood is that Lord Ganesha’s head is that of an elephant. He is not given human-like features, but rather the face of an elephant with a trunk too!

Since time immemorial, Lord Ganesha has been called the ‘elephant-headed deity’. From pictures to idols, it is shown that he has the features and face of a baby elephant, and through his immense strength and qualities, he removes any obstacles that come into his devotee’s way.
In place of a normal, human face and features like other Gods, Lord Ganesha has large ears, an elephant trunk, soulful eyes, and more.

According to popular lore and legends, Lord Ganesha was not born with an elephant head, but it was rather a necessity to give him one!
It is said that Lord Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati. She created Ganesha from the chandan on her body and assigned him the task of guarding her private quarters. When Lord Shiva returned, he was not aware of Ganesha and, not recognising him, tried to enter the home.
And when Lord Ganesha tried to stop him, in anger, Lord Shiva cut off his head.
When Mata Parvati came to know about this, she went into rage and fury, and Lord Shiva instructed his soldiers to find a child whose mother did not love him, and get its head for Ganesh. They found an elephant baby, whose mother was not around, cut off its head, and brought it to be added as Lord Ganesha’s head.

But, in between all the lores and stories, Sadhguru has a different take. According to Sadhguru, the story of Ganesha’s elephant head is not meant to be taken literally but symbolically. In one of his articles and videos, Sadhguru explains how artists and storytellers got lost in translation and myth and as time went on Lord Ganesha became an ‘elephant-headed’ deity.

A video doing rounds on the internet says that when Lord Shiva was on one of his trips, Mata Parvati created Lord Ganesha with sandalwood paste that was on her body and soil, and then she breathed life into him. About 10 years went by and when Lord Shiva came back he was denied entry to the home by Ganesha. In rage, Lord Shiva cut off the boy’s head which did not sit right with Mata Parvati. And so to calm her down, Sadhguru says that Shiva had to - “To settle the issue, Shiva took the head of one of the ganas and put it on the boy. Ganesh Chaturthi is the day this head transplant happened. Because he took the head off the leader of the ganas and put it on this boy, he said, “From now, you are a Ganapati. You are the head of ganas.”

‘Ganas’ were the men who accompanied Shiva on his journeys, and were a part of his close clan. ‘Gaja’ on the other hand is the Hindi term for ‘elephants’. And when thought about, it all makes sense when Lord Ganesha is referred to Ganapati, the head of Ganas, and not Gajapati, the head of elephants.
A bhajan dedicated to Lord Ganesha says ‘Gananayakaya Ganadaivataya Ganadhyakshaya Dhimahi’. Here too, we find the word ‘Gana’ and not ‘Gaja’, and so, this makes people wonder if the depictions of Lord Ganesha are accurate and if it is time to re-think some idols and pictures.