The Family of Shiva

Ganesha, Kartikeya, Ayyappa, the ganas, Nandi. The most loved stories in Hindu childhood, never just cute because each one carries a teaching. The family of Kailasa.

Lessons in this chapter

• Ganesha: Born of the Mother Alone — The son made from turmeric paste
• Gajamukha: The Beheading and the Elephant Head — Identity beyond the body
• Buddhi: Ganesha's Race and the Moon's Curse — Wisdom over speed, and why we avert the Ganesh Chaturthi moon
• Skanda: The Warrior Son with Six Faces — Born of Shiva's fire, nursed by six Krittikas
• Tarakasura Vadha: Devasena and Valli — The spear, the victory, two marriages
• Ayyappa: Son of Shiva and Mohini — The forest god of Sabarimala
• Ganas: Kailasa's Court and the Eleventh Rudra — Why Shiva's court has no caste, and Hanuman's secret
• Nandi: The One Who Waits — Shilada's tapas and the bull at the threshold

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