Ganesha
God of good luck, prosperity and well being in Hinduism; First worshipped God; Son of Shiva and Parvati
Ganesha, or Ganesh (Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa, IPA: [ɡɐˈɳeːɕɐ]), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most revered and worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme god in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Ganesha also holds the Title of "Pratham Pujya" (the god to be worshipped initially before the worship of any other Deity). Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head and four arms. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of logic, intellect, and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked during writing sessions as a patron of letters and learning. Several texts relate anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits.
The public source identifies “Ganesha” as god of good luck, prosperity and well being in Hinduism; First worshipped God; Son of Shiva and Parvati. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ganesha, good and luck.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1579. VIAF identifies the subject as 15151050109533411915. The Library of Congress control number is n2017065815. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ganesha” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.