THIS Indian temple has an idol of Lord Ganesha with his real face!

Lord Ganesha, also called Vighnaharta, Gannayak, Lambodar, Ekdanta, and by several other names, is the son of Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati, and the remover of obstacles and evil from a devotee’s life. He is the one people pray to to ensure positivity beginnings, obstacle free paths, and of course, abundance and prosperity. He is often seen sitting on a Lotus flower or a throne with a Modak in his hand, his ‘moosha’ (mouse) nearby, and some divine objects in hand.

Now, the most common depiction of Lord Ganesha is that he is elephant-headed. His face is that of an elephant’s head and trunk, and the story behind this features Maa Parvati and Lord Shiva’s anger. According to legend, Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati while Lord Shiva was away meditating. She created him and breathed life into him, and asked him to guard the gates while she was away. One day, as Ma Parvati prepared to bathe, Lord Shiva arrived and tried to enter. Not knowing who Shiva was, Lord Ganesha refused to let him in, and this led to an angry confrontation. Lord Shiva grew angry and in one blow cut off Ganesha’s head, separating it from his body.When Mata Parvati got to know about this, she told Lord Shiva that he has to restore life into Ganesha. And then it is said that Lord Shiva’s men went out to search for a living head, found an elephant baby, and brought his head to add to Lord Ganesha’s body.

Now, in a small temple in Tamil Nadu, Lord Ganesha has a very human-like face and many people claim that this face is his real face, not the one that was attached to his body by Lord Shiva. In Thilatharpanapuri, near Koothanur in Tamil Nadu, the Adhi Vinayagar temple has an idol of Lord Ganesha as ‘Nara Mukha Vinayaka’, which means ‘Vinayaka with a human head’. This temple has a five-foot-tall idol of Lord Ganesha, carved out of granite, is a masterpiece in itself. (Image: The Hindu Heritage/Facebook)

Another thing that not many people know is that there is a place where people believe that Lord Ganesha’s real head is kept, the one that was cut off by Lord Shiva in anger. According to tales and legends, a mystical cave in Uttarakhand, the Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave, is where the real head of Lord Ganesha is still kept.

One of the biggest doubts people have about Lord Ganesha is whether he is ‘Ganpati’ or ‘Gajapati’. Gaja, which means elephant in Hindi, is the name given to him as the Leader of elephants. And as many believed he had the head of an elephant, this name made more sense. But, what he is actually referred to is Ganpati, which means Leader of Ganas. And Ganas were basically the aides of Lord Shiva who walked with him and formed his team on the journeys he undertook. And thus, according to many thinkers and experts, including Sadhguru, Lord Ganesha was a Ganpati, and the head of one of Lord Shiva’s ‘Ganas’ was added to his body, as opposed to the popular lore of an elephant.