Sankashti Chaturthi Mandal
With an elephant's head secured, the gods turned to the delicate task of restoring life to Parvati's son — an act of divine restoration credited in the Shiva Purana's own telling primarily to Shiva himself.
Shiva's Own Act of Restoration
Rather than a separate act performed by other healing deities, the mainstream Shiva Purana account holds that Shiva, having caused this tragedy, took direct responsibility for its correction, placing the elephant's head upon his son's body and breathing new life into him with his own divine power.
A Union of Forms
This joining of elephant and human form, achieved through Shiva's own restorative power, produced the distinctive appearance devotees have come to know and love — a union that transformed what began as tragedy into one of Hindu tradition's most recognizable and beloved divine forms.
What This Restoration Reveals
By restoring his son personally, rather than leaving the task to others, Shiva's own act of healing carries the full weight of both his earlier mistake and his complete commitment to setting it right — a restoration that would soon be followed by an even greater honor still.