Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c9.9

v1.c9.9

“ In the Matsya-purāṇa it is said that this figure of Gaṇapati was formed with the head of an elephant, while another tradition has it that one day, when she was bathing, Pārvatī formed the oil, ointments, and impurity that came from her body into the figure of a man, to which she gave life by sprinkling it with the water of the Ganges.”‡