Regardless of which story people choose to believe, the preparing, offering, and eating of Modaks during Ganesh Chaturthi is essential and super fun! Upon learning what a Modak is, Parvati requested that all her son’s devotees offer exactly twenty-one Modaks to him, one for each burp Lord Shiva gave out. Parvati, stunned and curious as to what she had witnessed, asked Devi Anusuya for the recipe of the seemingly magical sweet. Interestingly, as Ganesh burped, so did Lord Shiva twenty-one times in fact. Ganesha released a loud burp, a sign of satisfaction. Interestingly, something happened after he swallowed it. However, Ganesha simply kept asking for more food! At the end of his meal, he was given a single sweet – the Modak. One day, Devi Anusuya called Lord Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha for a meal, stating that the others would only be fed once baby Ganesha was content and full. Published by the famous Amar Chitra Katha of India, these illustrated classics are endearing to both chil. Read some of the inspiring and adventurous tales of their exalted lives. The second legend explains why twenty-one Modaks are offered during Ganesh Chaturthi. Shiva and Parvati are the Divine Father and Mother of all creation, who took form to reside in the holy Mount Kailash. Requiring less time to make, she could satisfy Lord Ganesha, who gleefully ate them. This was unsustainable, and as he grew older and bigger, the Queen realised it was impossible to prepare laddoos as quickly as Ganpati could gobble them down. In her love for her grandson, Queen Menavati would tirelessly make laddoos to feed Ganesh’s growing appetite. The first folktale starts with Lord Ganesha’s maternal grandmother, Queen Menavati. Hindu mythology has various stories on the creation of Modaks and their importance to Ganesha, but we’ll focus on two. This jaggery stuffed sweet is an integral part of who Ganesh is, even resulting in the nickname ‘Modakpriya’, meaning the one who loves Modaks. But in any case I doubt you're looking for Hindu scriptures.Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations aren’t complete without an offering of twenty-one Modaks to Lord Ganesha. (The volumes are available online as well, but it's hard to access them so I may write a question and answer about them later.) There are also some stories of Shiva in the Bala Kanda of the Ramayana.
Note that Pattanaik likes to take some artistic license with the stories (and so does Amar Chitra Katha to some extent), but for the most part it's accurate and should give you a good idea of who Shiva is and what he's done.Īnd then on the other extreme, if you already know the stories of Shiva and you're seeking even more information and details, then you can of course read Hindu scripture itself, specifically the Shiva Purana, a four-volume work you can get here. And it's written by the author of "Jaya", the popular illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata. It's very easy to read and chock-full of famous artwork and statues featuring Shiva. It contains lots of information and stories about Shiva, both famous and obscure. If you don't like reading comic books, you can read the excellent book "Shiva - An Introduction" by Devdutt Pattanaik. I can also tell you more Shiva-related Amar Chitra Kathas if you're interested. Or if you prefer to buy them in ebook form, check out the Amar Chitra Katha app. It looks like you can buy all five comics here. Ganesha - the story of Parvati's son and how he got an elephant head Kartikeyya - the story of Shiva's six-headed son, born to defeat a powerful demon Shiva Parvati - the story of how Shiva remarried the next birth of Sati Sati and Shiva - the story of Shiva's first wife and her tragic death Tales of Shiva - stories of how Shiva has helped various devotees of his
Here are a few relevant Amar Chitra Katha comics, in no particular order:
I don't know your level of background, but if you know nothing at all you may want to start by reading the comic book series Amar Chitra Katha, which tells lots of stories of Shiva. Since you want to learn more about Shiva, there are many places you can start.