The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. His elephant head denotes wisdom and his trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom.