Gaṇeśa

Gaṇeśa is the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, honoured by every Hindu denomination. Usually shown with four arms and a broken tusk, he is the Lord of Obstacles and the patron of learning and letters. He is invoked first at the start of any rite.

Texts mention him from the first centuries, and the Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana, probably composed between 1100 and 1400, make him the supreme being of the Ganapatya tradition.