The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesh is considered the remover of obstacles and is the first god invoked at the beginning of a new enterprise. He is a patron of letters and learning, and is the legendary scribe who wrote the Mahabharata from Vyasa's dictation. He is also called the chief of the ganas (attendants of Siva). Ganesh is usually depicted colored red, pot-bellied, one tusk broken, and with four arms that may hold a noose, goad, pot of rice (or sweetmeats), and his broken tusk. He may bestow boons or protection, and rides on a rat.

One account of his birth is that Parvati formed him from the rubbings of her body to stand guard at the door while she bathed. Shiva approached, and unaware that this was his son, became enraged at being kept away from his wife. Shiva then sent his attendants against Ganesh, whose head was cut off in the battle. To ease Parvati's grief, Shiva promised to cut off the head of the first living creature he saw and join it to the body. The first living creature Shiva saw was an elephant.

Ganesh-caturthi, the festival celebrating his birth, falls on the fourth day of the lunar month Bhadrapada (August-September), and is observed with particular enthusiasm in the state of Maharashtra.