Lord Ganesha is generally known to be a bachelor but it is accepted that he had two wives Riddhi and Siddhi. Much is not said about them. The story about his marriage goes like this. Shiva and Parvati had two sons Ganesha and Karthikeya. They said that the one who goes around the world three times will be married off with all auspiciousness. Karthikeya set off on his vehicle, the peacock while Ganesha sat thinking. Then he prepared a seat for his parents, seated them there and went round seven times. It is said that if you do circumambulation of your parents seven times you get all the benefits of going around the world three times. So saying he went devotedly went around his parents and declared him the winner.
Ganesha’s parents were surprised and pleased and got him married to the daughters of Brahma, Riddhi and Siddhi. Riddhi also is called as Buddhi sometimes. Buddhi means knowledge. Knowledge cannot be equated to information. When, what is learnt is put into practical use only then it becomes knowledge. Knowledge has to bring about significant changes into one’s life. When we look at the symbolism of Lord Ganesha we see that it is mostly related to knowledge. The big ears and stomach symbolises his penchant to receive and digest knowledge. The trunk is a fantastic instrument. It can uproot trees and pick up small objects too. It symbolises discrimination which comes out of knowledge.
It is placed between the two tusks. The two tusks symbolises good and the evil. Discrimination between the good and the evil happens only when there is proper knowledge. Therefore Ganesha is symbolised as an epitome of knowledge and having Riddhi as his wife only enhances his thirst for knowledge. During the Ganesh Chathurthi festival Ganesha is worshipped with his consorts and when we invoke Riddhi we are seeking the Lord to bless us with knowledge to live in this world intelligently.
