There are many stories that tell how Ganesha came to have the head of an elephant. According to a legend, there was a demon named Sindur. He had entered into Parvati’s body when she was carrying Ganesha. Because of his mischief, baby Ganesha was born headless. Sindur had cut off Ganesha’s head even before he made his arrival into the world. Everyone was shocked to see a baby, alive and kicking, but without a head! Parvati was inconsolable. Narad had also come to visit the newborn baby. He asked the infant to go and get a head for himself. Once, a king had been disrespectful towards Narad. Narad cursed him to turn into an elephant-shaped demon. This demon was called Gajasur (the elephant demon). Narad told Ganesha to slash off Gajasur’s head and fit it onto his own headless form. Ganesha cut off the elephant’s head of the demon with just one stroke. He stuck it onto himself and thenceforth came to be called Gajanan.
Elephant’s Head of Ganesha and Demon Sindur
