Lord Ganesha or “Gajanana” or "Ganapati" or "Vinayaka" (Hindi - गणेश | गजानन | गणपति | विनायक) (the deity with the head of an elephant) is one of the commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. The son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, Ganesha has an elephant head and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva & Durga being the other four) whose icon is glorified as the "panchayatana puja".

Ganesha symbolized the unity of the primeval forest denizen with man, the majesty of the elephant combining the physical energy of the Homo sapiens, embodying the qualities like royalty, benignity, prudence and compassion. In different forms Ganesha symbolizes different aspects, like Ekadanta is the conqueror of arrogance, Dhumravarna (smoke coloured) overcomes Pride, Vakratunda (curved trunk) is the vanquisher of jealousy, Mahodara (big belly) is lord of infatuation, Gajanana (elephant face) conquers greed, Lambodara (corpulent belly) overcomes anger, Vikata (deformed) conquers kama & lust, Vighnaraja (king of obstacles) prevails over ego.

Ganesha has been depicted with four hand and in one hand he holds an axe, which symbolizes the destruction of all desires and attachments and their consequent agitations and sorrow. In the other is a rope, which is meant to pull the seeker out of his worldly entanglements and bind him to the everlasting and enduring bliss of his own self. In the third, he holds a rice ball (modak), which represents the joyous rewards of spiritual seeking. In the fourth hand he holds a lotus (padma), which represents the supreme goal of human evolution.