He was born to Sage Kashyap and Aditi in the Krut era (yug). In this incarnation, He reinstated Righteousness (Dharma) by slaying the two demons, Devantak and Narantak and then ended this incarnation. 1.2 Gunesh In the Tretayug, Ganapati was born to Uma on the fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapad as Gunesh. In this incarnation, He slew the demon Sindhu and married Siddhi and Buddhi, the daughters of Lord Brahma. 1.3 Ganesh In the Dvaparyug, once again He was born to Parvati as Ganesh. Since He was ugly by birth, Parvati deserted Him in the forest and He was brought up by Sage Parashar. Ganesh then slew the demon Sindurasur and set free several kings and valorous men whom he had imprisoned. It is in this incarnation that Ganesh preached the eternal philosophy in the form of Ganeshgita to His devotee named Varenya. 1.4 Dhumraketu | 
Dhumravarna Ganesh Idol (Sanatan Sanstha)
| According to the Bhavishya Puran, the fourth incarnation of Ganesh by name Dhumraketu or Dhumravarna will take birth in the Kaliyug and destroy the evildoers. 2 Ganapati and others 2.1 Shiva and Ganapati 
Though currently it is believed that Ganapati belongs to the family of Lord Shiva and is His son, yet according to one school of thought, Shiva and Ganesh were formerly one and the same, that is Shiva was Ganesh and Ganesh was Shiva. In Shriganapati Atharvashirsha,Ganesh is referred to as, meaning "You are Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra as well". The similarities and prowess of Ganesh and Shiva are so outstanding that they can be easily perceived. The three special characteristics of Shiva, that is adorning the moon on the head, the third eye and embellishment with serpents are also seen in the idol of Ganesh. Ganesh is also named Bhalachandra, the one who adorns the moon on the head. He is also referred to as 'Trinetra (one with three eyes)' in the 'Gajavadanamchintyam', the holy verse of meditation on Ganesh. Ganesh too has a girdle of a serpent around His waist. A legend says that Lord Shankar wore ornaments of the Sun and adorned the moon on His head in order to cool down the intolerable heat generated after consuming poison. One comes across a similar story about Ganesh, in the Ganesh Puran. When the demon Analasur was destroying the world assuming the form of fire, Ganesh swallowed him. The deities then used cooling measures such as serpents, the moon, etc. to cool down the heat generated in Him. 2.2 Hanuman and Ganapati Both of them have a red complexion and the eight great supernatural powers (ashtamahasiddhi). In the worship of Hanuman, flowers of the milkweed (rui) are offered while in that of Ganapati, leaves of the coral (mandar) tree are offered. 2.3 Omkar and Ganapati If the Omkar is considered as the bijakshar from the Tantra path in the pre-Aryan times then it is but natural that Ganapati who is originally the deity of the tantriks should be endowed with the label of Omkar. One does not come across the Omkar anywhere in the Vedas. Rather, since the Vedic Aryans did not give much importance to the Omkar, naturally not even a single aphorism (sukta)or verse (rucha) on it was written in the Vedas. This implies that the Omkar was the bijakshar of the path of Tantra in the pre-Aryan era. Later, however the Aryans had to accept several spiritual tenets from the non-Aryans. It was possibly around that time that the bijakshar Omkar acquired acclaim as the pranav worship and consequently, in the later period Ganapati who was considered to be the origin of the entire animate and inanimate creation came to be associated with the origin of all the words, that is Omkar. 'When speaking about the philosophy of creation of the universe it is said, "Creation began with the sound Om ". The manifest form of this sound is described as "savai Gajakaraha", that is the sound Omkar is like the face of an elephant. Thus initially a sound was generated and that was Om. If viewed vertically, one will realise that the Omkar appears like the countenance of Ganapati. In short, Om and Ganapati are one and the same. Hence worship of Omkar is equivalent to that of Ganapati. At the time of creation of the universe, the two words Om and atha were emitted from the throat of Lord Brahma. Hence these two words are said to be auspicious. Omkar is the very nature of Ganapati.' 2.4 Kundalini (spiritual energy) and Ganapati 
In the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, Lord Ganesh has been described by the sage as meaning 'You dwell perpetually at the site of the Muladhar chakra in the body'. Lord Ganesh is considered to be the deity of the Muladhar chakra (a centre of the spiritual energy system). The Muladhar chakra and the lotus within it are both red in colour. Ganapati's complexion too is red. The Muladhar chakra being the first of the six chakras, spiritual progress starts only after its activation. Similarly before commencing any task, Lord Ganapati is worshipped. 3 Pervasiveness 1. The moon symbolises the head.
2. The earth symbolises the abdomen.
3. The seven nether worlds (saptapatal) symbolise the legs. Where will you find Swayambhu Ganapati and Mahaganapati? Swayambhu Ganapati, the famous Ganapati idols in India and Mahaganapati 1. Three and a half seats (piths) of Ganapati in Maharashtra
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2. Eight Vinayaks (Ashtavinayaks) in Maharashtra
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Ashtavinayaks (Eight Vinayaks )
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The eight Vinayaks are famous. The eight supernatural powers (ashta-siddhi) are the consorts of Ganapati. Each of the eight Vinayaks have become famous as being representative of one supernatural power. The eight Vinayaks are also associated with the eight directions.
3. Twenty-one seats of Ganapati according to the Purans
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4. Twelve famous Ganapati idols in India
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Maharashtra | | Mahabaleshvar,
Maharashtra , Gokarna |
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5. Mahaganapati
Ganapati along with Ruddhi-Siddhi [Divine Energy (Shakti)]. 'The Ganesh created by deity Parvati is an incarnation of Mahaganapati. She sculpted a form out of mud and invoked Ganapati into it. Before the creation of the universe, since The Supreme God (Mahat) principle existed in an unmanifest and eternal form, it is called Mahaganapati. When Mahaganapati is worshipped for acquisition of a particular supernatural power or purely for attainment of the Final Liberation (Moksha), it is customary to choose a Ganapati idol with the trunk curved towards the right. But in such circumstances, as far as possible the idol is made of earth. Rarely does one comes across gold and silver Ganapati idols with the trunk curved towards the right'.
'It is believed that every male deity has a specific Energy (Shakti), for example Brahma - Bharati, Vishnu - Lakshmi, Shiva - Parvati. Thus it is not surprising that devotees of Ganapati believe in one Energy of Ganapati in the Parabrahman form. There is a sculpture which portrays Ganapati embracing His Energy, seated on His lap. Even today one can see such paintings. So also, sculptures with "Siddhi" and "Buddhi", His two consorts seated on either side of Him are also available. In the science of Tantra, Ganapati along with His Energy is referred to as "Mahaganapati".'
What are the different variations of Ganesh idol?
1. Usual Idol
The science behind the idol of Lord Ganesh is given in the 'Shriganapatyatharvashirsha' as 'Ekadantam, Chaturhastam ....(एकदन्तं चतुर्हस्तं०)', meaning one who has only one tooth (ekadanta), four hands (chaturbhuj), adorns a noose (pash) and a goad (ankush), holds a (broken) tooth in one hand and holds the other hand in a posture bestowing blessings (varadmudra), whose flag bears the symbol of a mouse, who has a red complexion, a large abdomen (lambodar), whose ears are like sifting pans, who adorns red clothes, whose body is smeared with a paste of red sandalwood (raktachandan) and who is worshipped with red flowers.
2. Some Variations
1. Mudra : Sometimes one comes across Ganapati idols in the lotus posture (padmasan) or at times even in the dancing posture (nrutyamudra).
2. Mundkata Ganesh : There is a beheaded (Mundkata) Ganesh idol in the Himalaya . The name itself suggests that this idol is without a head. It is said that this is the idol of the son who was created by deity Parvati from the coating of sebum on Her body and who was later beheaded by Lord Shankar.
3. Other complexions : Haridraganapati and the Urdhvaganapati have a yellow complexion. The Pingalganapati is tawny (pingat) while the Lakshmiganapati is white in complexion...
4. Divine phallus (linga) : Just like the divine phallus of Lord Shiva, that of Ganapati too exists. It is called Ganpatyalinga. It is shaped like a pomegranate, lemon, white gourd or jamun.
5. Nude : In the Tantra path of worship, the Ganesh idol is mostly nude. The Energy (Shakti) of Ganesh too accompanies the idol.
6. Feminine form : 'In the Shakta sect, Lord Ganesh is worshipped in the feminine form. Some such examples are given below.
A. Ganeshvari : An extremely attractive sculpted idol of Ganeshvari is found in the Suchindram temple in Tamilnadu.
B. Ardha Ganeshvari : It has a highly meaningful form in the Tantra path of spiritual practice.
C. Ganeshani : This female deity is found in an extremely rare form of worship performed by tantriks and mantriks (followers of the Path of Tantra and Mantra).'
7. Types of Ganapati idols: There are several types of Ganapati idols like the Saumyaganapati, Balganapati, Herambganapati, Lakshmiganapati, Haridraganapati, Uchchishtaganapati, Suryaganapati, Varadganapati, Dvibhujganapati, Dashbhujganapati, Nartanganapati, Uttishthitganapati, Ganapati with the trunk curved towards the right, etc.
Why is Ganapati with the right Sided trunk not commonly worshipped?
1. Entire idol: Omkar, the unmanifest (nirgun) principle
2. Trunk: It is a popular belief that an idol with the tip of the trunk pointing towards the right and left are called right-sided and left-sided idols respectively; however this is not the case. One should not decide whether the idol is right-sided or left-sided depending upon which side the trunk is directed. It should be decided depending on the direction in which the initial curve of the trunk points. If the initial curve of the trunk in a Ganesh idol points towards the right and the tip of the trunk points towards the left yet the idol should be considered a rightsided idol. The reason for this is that, the initial curve of the trunk pointing towards the right indicates that the right (that is Sun) channel (nadi) of Ganapati is active.
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Right Sided Trunk
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Right Sided Trunk Ganapati
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2.1 Right-sided trunk: An idol of Ganapati with the trunk curved towards the right is called dakshinmurti or dakshinabhimukhi murti (the idol facing the south). Dakshin means the southern direction or the right side... The southern direction leads to the region of Lord Yama (Yamalok), the deity of death while the right side belongs to the Surya nadi (Sun channel). One who is able to face the direction of the region of Yama is powerful. So also, one with an activated Surya nadi is also radiant. Thus in both senses, the Ganapati idol with the trunk curved towards the right is said to be 'active (jagrut)'.
One feels repulsed by the south direction because it is in that direction that scrutiny of one's sins and merits is carried out after death, in the region of Lord Yama. Scrutiny akin to that done in the south after death, begins when alive if one faces the south or sleeps with the legs directed towards the south. The dakshinabhimukhi idol is not worshipped ritualistically in the usual manner because tiryak (raja) frequencies are emitted from the south. The ritualistic worship of this idol is performed by observing all the norms of ritualistic worship meticulously. Consequently the sattva component is augmented and one is not distressed by the raja frequencies coming from the south.
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Left Sided Trunk
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Left Sided Trunk Ganapati
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2.2 Left-sided trunk: An idol of Ganapati with the trunk curved towards the left is called Vamamukhi. Vam means the northern direction or the left side. The Chandra nadi (Moon channel) is situated to the left. It bestows tranquility. Besides, since the northern direction is spiritually favourable and bestows Bliss (Anand), mostly the Vamamukhi Ganapati is worshipped. It is worshipped ritualistically in the usual manner.
3. Modak (a sweet delicacy)
3.1 'Moda' means Bliss (Anand) and 'ka' means a small part. So, modak is a small part of Bliss. A modak is shaped like a coconut, that is it is like the cavity 'kha' in the Brahmarandhra. When the kundalini (spiritual energy) reaches the 'kha' cavity, the spiritual experience of Bliss is obtained. The modak held in the hand signifies Bliss endowing energy.
3.2 'The modak symbolises spiritual knowledge (dnyan): hence it is also called dnyanmodak. Initially it seems that spiritual knowledge is little (the tip of the modak represents this); but as one starts studying Spirituality, one realises its vastness (the base of the modak symbolises this...) A modak is sweet in taste. The Bliss acquired through spiritual knowledge too is like that.'
4. Goad (ankush) : Destroyer of the energies which are harmful to the mission of acquisition of spiritual knowledge and Bliss.
5. Noose (pash): Worldly bondage. The noose wielded by Ganapati signifies that He will tie the noose around negative entities and take them away.
6. Serpent wound around the waist: The universal kundalini (spiritual energy)
7. Hood of the serpent: Activated (jagrut) spiritual energy
8. Rat: The rat which represents the raja component is within the control of Ganapati.
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