Ganesha is the most beloved deity in the Hindu pantheon, and in India his elephant-headed image is everywhere—on village walls, in cyber cafes, on handbags and commercial packaging, on the sides of trucks and rickshaws, in textiles and neon, and in the most sacred precincts of ancient temples. Abundantly illustrated with 150 glossy color photos—many of them filling two large pages—this book from the author of Karma Cola, A River Sutra, and Snakes and Ladders explores the rich religious and cultural meanings of Ganesha, including such aspects as his sacred trunk, his many arms, the serpent girding his round human belly, and the mouse he rides upon.