The Elephant God

A child who calls himself Captain Spark. The mysterious Machchli Baba. A stabbing in a dark alley... In Varanasi during the Durga Puja, a valuable statuette of Ganesh is stolen from the famous Ghoshal household. Before he can recover it, Feluda has to face the arch-villain Maganlal Meghraj, solve a murder case, and unmask a fraud sadhu. One of Feluda's most hair-raising adventures, this case puts all his skills to the test.

The magical story of how Ganesh, the son of Shiva and Parvati, was brought back to life with the head of an elephant • The story of one of the most beloved characters in Indian lore, made accessible for Western children • Illustrated throughout with paintings from the classic Indian tradition Any Indian child can tell you how the beloved god Ganesh got his elephant’s head--now American children can know as well. For centuries Indian children have grown up hearing Ganesh’s story--how his mother, Parvati (an incarnation of the great mother goddess), created a small boy from sandalwood soap and commanded that he guard the palace against all intruders while she took her bath. How her husband, Shiva (the fearsome god of destruction), didn’t take kindly to being barred from his own home. How Shiva beheaded the boy during the cosmic war that followed, but then, when he realized that the balance of the entire universe was at stake, brought the boy back to life by grafting an elephant’s head onto his body and made him the people’s intercessor against the powers of destruction. Ganesh’s timeless story teaches children about the steadfast power of dedication to duty, the awe-inspiring power of a mother’s love for her child, and the gentle power of compassion, which holds the world together. Accompanied by rich, color illustrations prepared according to the traditional Hindu canon, How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head will transport children to a magical world filled with ancient wisdom.

"The Elephant God" by Gordon Casserly. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Reproduction of the original: The Elephant God by Gordon Casserly

The worlds of gods, demons and humans meet and come alive in these twelve stories. The gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, birds, beasts, demons, monsters, sages and warriors that inhabit these classical tales deliver the enduring wisdom of Hindu folklore. The stories are amongst the oldest in the world and belong to children everywhere, regardless of religion or country of birth. Each tale is illustrated with dramatic black-and-white pictures by Margaret Jones. These evocative illustrations capture the wealth and strength of the culture behind the stories and give the tales a magnificent setting worthy of their power and drama.

Why is Ganesha such a popular god despite being only 1500 years old? Did you know he is the god associated with the maxmimum number of symbols? Why is his vehicle a rat? Why does he carry an axe? Because of Ganesha, the terrifying Kali becomes the maternal Gauri, and the sanyasi Shiav becomes a father and householder – Ganesha is the god of domestic life. His devotees can represent him as they wish – these days his potbelly has been replaced with six-pack abs! Ganpati’s own history, his changing roles, indicate how Indian society has changed over time – in Mumbai, Ganpati has taken on a form which didn’t exist 100 years ago! Find out more about this beloved god of good luck and auspiciousness this festive season in this short, sweet read from Devlok.

The divine player attempts to analyze the relationship between play and religion in the context of Hinduism. It focuses primarily on the youthful god Krsna. The first part part of the book surveys the role of play among the gods and concludes that play seems to be an intrinsic part of the divine in Hinduism. The second part of the book investigates the role of play in religious cult, again focusing on the various Krsna cults. This section concludes that, although playful themes pervade man`s religious activity in devotion to Krsna, cultiic activity may not be reduced to play, as some scholars have suggested. The final section of the book points to examples of divine and cultic play in non-Hindu traditions.