50 free Ganesha trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Ganesha trivia for the most recognisable god in the Hindu pantheon. This quiz covers how he came by his elephant head, what his names Ganapati, Vinayaka, Ekadanta and Lambodara mean, why he is worshipped first before any other deity, his broken tusk and the story of writing down the Mahabharata for Vyasa, the mouse he rides, the sweets he loves and the objects in his four hands. It also looks at his family - Shiva and Parvati, his brother Kartikeya, the goddesses Buddhi, Siddhi and Riddhi - and at Ganesh Chaturthi: the ten-day festival, the clay idols and their immersion, Lokmanya Tilak's 1893 transformation of it into a public celebration, and Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple. The last questions follow Ganesha beyond India to Jains, Buddhists, Thailand and Japan. Questions run from easy to expert. Every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its source. See also our Shiva quiz.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Along with his elephant head, how many arms does Ganesha usually have?
Four
A large belly completes the standard image.
Q 02Ganesha is most widely revered as the remover of what?
Obstacles
He is also the god of beginnings, which is why he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies.
Q 03Ganesha is the son of which divine couple?
Shiva and Parvati
The Puranas give several birth stories, and in some he is created by one parent alone.
Q 04In the most common story, Ganesha received his animal head after which god beheaded him?
Shiva
Parvati had made the boy from clay to guard her; he stood between her and her husband and paid for it.
Q 05From what did Parvati create Ganesha in the best-known version of his birth?
Clay
In another version he sprang from Shiva's laughter and was given the animal head because he was too alluring.
Q 06Which small animal serves as Ganesha's usual vahana, or mount?
A mouse
The earliest images show no mount at all; some incarnations ride a lion or the serpent Shesha.
Q 07What sweet is most famously offered to Ganesha, who is often shown holding a bowl of them?
Modak
Laddus are offered too, and old statues show him curling his trunk left to taste one.
Q 08Ganesha's name Ekadanta refers to what feature?
His single tusk
It was his earliest name, and early images show him holding the missing piece in his hand.
Q 09Ganesha's name Lambodara means what?
One who has a hanging belly
It is one of eight synonyms listed in the ancient Sanskrit lexicon Amarakosha.
Q 10The name Ganesha combines gana, 'group or multitude', with isha, meaning what?
Lord or master
The ganas are the troop of semi-divine beings in Shiva's retinue, so he is their lord.
Q 11Which name for Ganesha is used in Tamil?
Pillaiyar
It means something like 'noble child'.
Q 12Ganesha holds the title Pratham Pujya, meaning he is what?
Worshipped first before any other god
The earliest inscription invoking him ahead of all other deities comes from a commercial community.
Q 13Which epic did Ganesha agree to write down as the sage Vyasa dictated it?
The Mahabharata
His condition was that Vyasa recite without pausing; Vyasa's was that Ganesha understand every verse before writing it.
Q 21Ganesh Chaturthi is a state festival of which Indian state?
Maharashtra
The Peshwas had already made it a public festival in their capital Pune in the 18th century.
Q 22Mumbai's famous Siddhivinayak temple stands in which neighbourhood?
Prabhadevi
It was built in 1801 by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil.
Q 23The Ashtavinayaka pilgrimage visits how many Ganesha temples around Pune?
Eight
The Sanskrit name simply means 'eight Ganeshas'; each shrine has its own form and lore.
Q 24In which sect of Hinduism is Ganesha worshipped as the Supreme Being?
Q 14What condition did Ganesha set before agreeing to be the sage's scribe?
Vyasa must recite without pausing
It is why he is associated with mental agility and learning.
Q 15Who is Ganesha's brother, the god of war?
Kartikeya
He is also called Skanda and Murugan; the north says he is the elder, the south says Ganesha is.
Q 16Buddhi, Siddhi and Riddhi, said in one tradition to be Ganesha's wives, personify what?
Intellect, spiritual power and prosperity
A rival tradition makes him a lifelong celibate brahmachari.
Q 17Which 1975 Hindi film invented a daughter for Ganesha, a goddess of satisfaction?
Jai Santoshi Maa
The story has no basis in the Puranas but her cult took off anyway.
Q 18Ganesha's annual festival, Ganesh Chaturthi, typically falls in which months?
August or September
It runs ten days and ends with the immersion of the idols.
Q 19What happens to the clay Ganesha idols at the end of the festival?
They are immersed in water
The immersion, visarjan, takes place on Ananta Chaturdashi; Mumbai alone immerses around 150,000.
Q 20Which Indian nationalist turned Ganesh Chaturthi into a grand public event in 1893?
Lokmanya Tilak
He chose Ganesha, 'the god for Everyman', as a rallying point against British rule.
Ganapatya
For everyone else he is a pan-Hindu god worshipped regardless of affiliation.
Q 25Ganesha is identified with which sacred sound, said to be his very form?
Om
The term omkarasvarupa means 'Om is his form'.
Q 26Ganesha's form Heramba-Ganapati has how many heads?
Five
Other head-counts exist too, but one is by far the norm.
Q 27In Ganesha's standard four-armed form, what does he hold in his lower-right hand?
His broken tusk
The lower-left hand holds a sweet, which he samples with his trunk.
Q 28Which two implements does Ganesha typically hold in his upper arms?
An axe or goad and a noose
The goad drives the devotee forward; the noose captures whatever stands in the way.
Q 29What colour is Ganesha most often described as?
Red
The Sritattvanidhi prescribes different colours for different meditation forms.
Q 30According to the Ganesha Purana, which serpent did Ganesha wrap around his neck?
Vasuki
Snakes also appear as his sacred thread, belt or throne.