Ganesha's Secret: Food alone does not satisfy hunger

by Devdutt Pattanaik

There are many stories of Ganesha’s birth besides the one in which Shiva beheads Vinayaka. In one story, Ganesha is born when Shiva and Shakti make love taking the form of elephants. In another, Shiva creates a child of his own image for the pleasure of Shakti but since he looks too much like the father, Shakti replaces his head with that of an elephant.

All living creatures need food to survive; humans hoard food to allay imaginary fears of future starvation. From this desire to hoard comes the notion of wealth and the craving for property and gold. Kubera indulges this hunger of man. Ganesha focuses on what really matters — food!