When Shiva heard this he was stricken by remorse. 'I will bring him back to life,' he promised Parvati. Shiva sent gods and men out in all directions, to bring back to him the head of the first creature they saw - human or animal.

As it happened, the first creature that anyone came across was a baby elephant in the forest. Its head was promptly cut off and brought back to Shiva who used his great power to fuse the elephant's head onto the body of his son, thereby bringing both back to life as one.

Parvati was overjoyed to have her son back again, even though he now had an elephant's head. The child combined in him the wisdom of the gods and that of the most intelligent creature on earth after man, the elephant. He grew to be the best loved of the gods. He is called Ganesh, or Ganapati.

Ganesh, Parvati's son
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See also:   A Trip Around the Universe