Poster Ganesh Leela - Before Ganesh got his elephant head

This magnificent painting tells the story of how Ganesh got his elephant head. His mother Parvati was bathing and she asked her young son to guard the entrance area. Lord Shiva arrived on his bull Nandi and noticed this young man guarding his wife Parvati. So a fight ensued with Shiva's followers and the boy, The boy won, so Shiva asked Lord Indra to distract the boy while he comes up behind him. Shiva was successful and cut off the boys head, not knowing that this was his son because Shiva was away for a long while! Parvati had created this boy from her own mystic powers without the help of Shiva! Parvati screamed "what have you done, this is our son!" Shiva immediately left and came back with an elephant head (the nearest head he could find, because he had to act quickly) from an elephant that was a great devotee of Shiva. Shiva then, through his inconceivable mystic powers, attached the head on his son's form and breathed life back into him. Thus Ganesha has since had an elephant head with a human-like body. He is recognized as the god of success and remover of obstacles on the spiritual path.