Why We Always Start With Ganesha

Before any puja, before anything new. Ganesha comes first. Here's why.

Before any wedding, any new house, any school exam, any new shop, families across India fold their hands and call Ganesha first. This lesson tells you why. It is the gift Shiva gave him on Mount Kailash, it is the promise he kept at his mother's door, and it is the simple shloka any child can learn to start their own day with him.

A Sticker on the New Notebook

It was the first day of school. A girl named Aanya was eight years old, with two black plaits and a brand-new green schoolbag. Her grandmother had bought her a fresh notebook the night before. Crisp white pages. A blue cover. It still smelled like a new book smells, sharp and a little bit like glue.

Aanya was about to put the notebook into her bag when her grandmother stopped her. "Wait, kanna," she said softly. "Bring it here first."

Grandma took out a small silver sticker from her purse. It was a little Ganesha. Round belly. Long trunk. One tiny hand raised in blessing. She peeled the sticker off carefully and pressed it onto the very first page of the notebook.

Then she folded Aanya's hands together. "Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha," she whispered. "Now you can take it to school."

Aanya looked up. "Why, Ajji? Why do we always do this first?"

Grandma smiled. "Sit down, kanna. Let me tell you."

The Promise on Mount Kailash

You already know the story. A boy was made from sandalwood paste. A boy stood at his mother's door. A boy kept his promise so well that even the most powerful god in the world could not get past him. And then there was a terrible mistake. And then there was a brand-new elephant head. And then there was a brand-new name.

That day, when Shiva placed his hand on the boy's head and called him Ganesha, he did not stop there. He made a promise.

"From today," Shiva said, "every family in every village will say your name first. Before any other god. Before anything new. Before a wedding, before a journey, before a school exam, before a brand-new notebook."