Lord Ganesh

Lord Ganesh is the elephant-headed God, who is known as Lord of Beginnings and the Lord of Obstacles. He is regarded as the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The image of the Lord has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His charioteer is a tiny mouse, which shows a unique combination of wisdom, intelligence and presence of mind. Lord Ganesh is worshipped before starting any new venture. In fact, his names and aarti are recited before starting any auspicious work, in order to achieve success in it.

Origin
It is said that Lord Ganapati originated from the mud of Goddess Partvati's Body. She placed Him at the entrance of the house, as the door-keeper, while she took a bath. It so happened that Lord Shiva came to visit the Goddess at that time and Ganesha did not allow him to enter the house. This made Lord Shiva angry and he beheaded Ganesh. When Shiva came to know about the truth, he fixed the head of an elephant in place of Ganesha's head. With this, image of Lord Ganesha became as we know of today.

Names
Lord Ganesh is known by 108 names, given in relation to his appearance, nature and charioteer. These names are:

Akhurath, Alampata, Amit, Anantachidrupamayam, Avaneesh, Avighna, Balaganapati, Bhalchandra, Bheema, Bhupati, Bhuvanpati, Buddhinath, Buddhipriya, Buddhividhata, Chaturbhuj, Devadeva, Devantakanashakarin, Devavrata, Devendrashika, Dharmik, Dhoomravarna, Durja, Dvaimatura, Ekaakshara, Ekadanta, Ekadrishta, Eshanputra, Gadadhara, Gajakarna, Gajanana, Gajananeti, Gajavakra, Gajavaktra, Ganadhakshya, Ganadhyakshina, Ganapati, Gaurisuta, Gunina, Haridra, Heramba, Kapila, Kaveesha, Kriti, Kripalu, Krishapingaksha, Kshamkaram, Kshipra, Lambakarna, Lambodara,Mahabala, Mahaganapati, Maheshwaram, Mangalamurti, Manomay, Mrityuanjaya, Mundakarama, Muktidaya, Musikvahana, Nadapratithishta, Namasthetu, Nandana, Nideeshwaram, Omkara, Pitambara, Pramoda, Prathameshwara, Purush, Rakta, Rudrapriya, Sarvadevatman, Sarvasiddhanta, Sarvatman, Hambhavi, Shashivarnam, Shoorpakarna, Shuban, Shubhagunakanan, Shweta, Siddhidhata, Siddhipriya, Skandapurvaja, Sumukha, Sureshwaram, Swaroop, Tarun, Uddanda, Umaputra, Vakratunda, Varaganapati, Varaprada, Varadavinayaka, Veeraganapati, Vidyavaridhi, Vighnahara, Vignaharta, Vighnaraja, Vighnarajendra, Vighnavinashanaya, Vigneshwara, Vikat, Vinayaka, Vishwamukha, Vishwaraja, Yagnakaya, Yashaskaram, Yashvasin, Yogadhipa and Siddhivinayaka.

Aarti of Lord Ganesha

Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva
Mata jaki Parvati, pita Mahadeva

Ek dant dayavant, char bhuja dhari
Mathe par tilak sohe, muse ki savari
Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva,
Mata jaki Parvati, pita Mahadeva...

Pan chadhe, phul chadhe, aur chadhe meva
Ladduan ka bhog lage, sant kare seva
Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva,
Mata jaki Parvati, pita Mahadeva...

Andhan ko ankh det, kodhin ko kaya
Banjhan ko putra det, nirdhan ko maya
Surya shaam sharan aye, safal kije seva
Jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh, jai Ganesh deva,
Mata jaki Parvati, Pita Mahadeva�

Translation of Aarti

Glory to you, O Lord Ganesha!
Born of Parvati, daughter of the Himalayas, and the great Shiva.
O Lord of compassion, you have a single tusk, four arms,
A vermilion mark of on your forehead, and ride on a mouse.
People offer you betel leaves, blossoms, fruits
And sweets, while saints and seers worship you.
Glory to you, O Lord Ganesha!
Born of Parvati, daughter of the Himalayas, and the great Shiva.
You bestow vision on the blind, chastened body on the leprous,
Children on the sterile and wealth on the destitute.
We pray to thee day and night, please bestow success upon us.
Glory to you, O Lord Ganesha!
Born of Parvati, daughter of the Himalayas, and the great Shiva.