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Several stories exist as to how Lord Ganesha got His elephant head. Two most popular are listed below: 1. Any Indian child can tell you how the beloved god Ganesha got his elephant's head - now American children can know as well. For centuries Indian children have grown up hearing Ganesha's story - how his mother, Parvati (an incarnation of the great mother goddess), created a small boy from sandalwood soap and commanded that he guard the palace against all intruders while she took her bath. How her husband, Shiva (the fearsome god of destruction), didn't take kindly to being barred from his own home. How Shiva beheaded the boy during the cosmic war that followed, but then, when he realized that the balance of the entire universe was at stake, brought the boy back to life by grafting an elephant's head onto his body and made him the people's intercessor against the powers of destruction. When Ganesha was five weeks old, his mother (Parvati) decided to have a naming ceremony. All Gods praised the child, but Lord Shani didn’t even look at Him. When questioned by Parvati, He replied that that morning He had a quarrel with His wife, in which She cursed Him that on whichever newborn baby His sight fell, its head will fall apart from body. Goddess Parvati was so proud of her son, that She insisted Him to look at Her son. The minute Lord Shani looked at Him, His head came apart from His body. Crying Goddess Parvati went to Lord Shiva, Who beheaded an elephant and joined its head to the boy.

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