Ganesh

£575 In stock

Son of Shiva and Uma (Parvati). In Angkor Ganesh is a popular sculpture, though reliefs are uncommon. According to legend, Ganesh was born with a human head. Shiva was away at the time of his birth and when he returned he encountered an unfamiliar young man guarding Uma’s quarters. When Ganesh forbade him to enter, Shiva was so angry he beheaded him, not knowing he was his son. Uma pleaded with Shiva to save Ganesh’s life, so Shiva gave him the head of the next creature he encountered, which was an elephant.

Besides his elephant-shaped head, Ganesh has a corpulent human body. He is usually depicted with four arms, carrying three attributes – an elephant goad, a noose and a bowl of sweetmeats; his fourth arm is raised in a gesture of fearlessness. He is generally associated with wisdom. Ganesh is often depicted with a mouse, in a symbolic paradox in which the greatest and smallest converge in the Divine.

This example of a 12/13th century Ganesh, similar to a bronze now in Phnom Penh Museum, shows him holding one of his tusks, which he broke off to use as a pen to write the ‘Mahabharata’ epic.