Why is the pursuit of knowledge attributed to Lord Ganesha?

 Lord Ganesha has been revered as one of the Shakti Devatha meaning, worshipping him would benefit the devotee in the same was as the worshiping Aadi Parashakti, Mahavishnu, Maharudra, Lalita.

Many stories in Purana attributes Lord Ganesha to intelligence and wisdom. Being married to Buddi and Siddhi, might also point at why the deity is the torchbearer for wisdom, mysticism, intelligence, power and Moksha.(salvation)

In another version of the Purana, they say that Wisdom and Intelligence are his consorts, eventually becoming his powers. Removing obstacles from to the process of knowledge gain, might also attribute to his Shakti of being the God of Knowledge pursuit.

Ganesha here represents the ego-bound Jiva. When the Lord comes, the Jiva, surrounded as it is with the murky cloud of ego, usually doesn’t recognize Him, and maybe even ends up arguing or fighting with Him! Therefore, it is the duty of the Lord, in the form of the Guru, to cut off the head of our ego! So powerful is this ego however, that at first the Guru’s instructions may not work, as Shiva’s armies failed to subdue Ganesha. It often requires a tougher approach, but, eventually the compassionate Guru, in His wisdom finds a way.

One of the seven chakras, Mooladhara, is supposed to have a treasure of knowledge from which the other chakras can be enlightened with the activation of Mooladhara, Kundalini.

Everything that’s depicted shouldn’t be taken at face value. Certain symbolism, and metaphors should be deciphered for the total understanding of what is, and why.

Ganesha is said to house both power of endowing wealth and knowledge. Siddhi is something that can be achieved through rituals pertaining to Atharvasheersha, and the instructions found in the Upanishad.

A story which explains the god’s association with intelligence and wisdom is his competition with Karthikeya to be the first to marry. They set up a challenge that whoever could first encircle the Earth would also find a bride first. Not wasting a second, Karthikeya swiftly mounted his blue peacock and immediately shot off around the world. Ganesha on the other hand, casually sauntered over to his parents’ house, embraced them and quoted the line from the sacred Vedas: “he who embraces his parents seven times (pradakshinas) gains the merit of encircling the world seven times”. Declared the winner, Ganesha promptly married not one but two daughters of Prajapati: Buddhi (Wisdom) and Siddhi (Success), with whom he had two sons: Kshema and Laabha.

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The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Brahma Purana andBrahmanda Purana are other two Puranic genre encyclopedic texts that deal with Ganesha.

Jai Ganesha.

Why are 21 Durva grass blades offered to Lord Ganesha?

 According to the Ganesha Purana, a ferocious demon named Analasura (whose name translates to "fire demon") terrorized the heavens by emitting blinding heat and fire from his eyes, destroying everything in his path. When the devas sought refuge with Lord Ganesha, Ganesha fought the demon and swallowed him whole to protect the universe. ​However, consuming the fiery demon caused severe burning and agony inside Ganesha's stomach. The devas tried cooling him with the moon, lotus flowers, and cold water, but nothing provided relief. Finally, a group of sages offered him 21 shoots of fresh, Durva grass. Upon consuming the grass, the intense heat immediately subsided. Pleased, Lord Ganesha declared that offering 21 Durva blades with devotion would grant his highest blessings.

After that the fire became cooler and honoured by the loads of durva grass, the supreme Self became satisfied. Realizing this they all worshipped Gajanana and Gajanana himself rejoiced because of the many loads of durva grass.

19-22. To the gods and sages he said, “Whether it be great or small, without blades of durva grass, devotion and worship performed for me is useless. Nobody will obtain the results of worship without blades of durva grass. Therefore, whether it be one piece or twenty-one, durva grass devoutly offered at dawn by my devotees will produce a great result. But that will not be brought about by one hundred sacrifices, gifts, masses of performances of sacred vows, fierce austerities and restraints undertaken over myriads of lives. It is gained because of durva grass, gods and sages.”

—Ganesha puran, chapter 65

Why do we always worship Lord Ganesha before starting something new or important?

 

Another name for Ganesha is Vigneshwara—the Lord of Obstacles. But what does that mean—being the Lord of obstacles?

Therein lies the secret.

Whenever we start a task, we naturally desire for it to proceed smoothly without obstacles and yield the desired outcome; we put in the effort to achieve this as well. However, divine grace is also essential for a successful result.

When embarking on important tasks, we pray to Lord Ganesha, asking Him to ensure the work is completed without any hindrances. Yet, some tasks get accomplished, while others do not.

We should not be overly distressed when things do not work out. This is because Lord Ganesha—in whom we place our faith—may have a different plan. Had that specific task been completed, we might have found ourselves entangled in future problems. Consequently, Ganesha ensures such tasks do not come to fruition; in other words, He creates obstacles to prevent them.

It is not just in our own lives; we often hear relatives or friends say, " Oh, we are lucky, if that task had been completed back then, we would have suffered greatly today."

Even though we pray for all our endeavors to succeed through sincere effort and devotion, Ganesha ensures the completion of only those tasks that are truly beneficial to us.

That is why, if a task does not work out, one should not be excessively upset. One should try a few more times. If it still does not happen, one should accept that it was not Lord Ganesha's will, let it go, and move forward.

Krishna Paramatma declared in the Gita:

karmanye-vadhikaraste
ma phaleshu kadachana "
- Bhagavad Gita 2:47

"You have the right to perform your duty, but not to the fruits thereof," the Supreme Lord told Arjuna.

We perform the work, but the outcome is not in our hands; it depends on many factors. When the desired result is not achieved, we should accept it as our destiny.

Even when we strive to complete a task, it is often for our own good that certain things do not come to fruition.

That is why we worship Lord Ganapati first—to ensure that only those tasks beneficial to us are successfully accomplished.

Subhamastu