The situation grew worse. Shiva summoned his son Karthikeya and held consultations with him as also with Brahma, Vishnu and Indra. They decided to remove the boy by force and mustered before the palace gate. Parvathy gauged the situation and created two furies in the nature of Deities by name Kali and Durga to help the boy.

There was a great melee at the gate. The boy was helped by Kali and Durga and Shiva was helped by the other Gods and his own attendants. The boy was invincible in a straight fight. So Shiva decided to kill the boy by an attack from behind. In this attack from behind Shiva severed the head of the boy. The situation which was confused got worse confounded. Parvathy decried this act of cowardice on the part of her consort. Shiva realizing the mistake began to repent. Brahma and Vishnu approached Parvathy for a solution and Parvathy dictated that the boy should be brought back to life and that the resurrected boy should be made a Deity and given precedence in the pantheon of Gods. She also hinted that if this is not done, she would herself start fighting to retrieve the situation.

Shiva was appraised of the terms of truce. He did not want any further confrontation with parvathy. So he advised Brahma and Vishnu to go towards North and bring the head of the first being they would meet. They did as they were told and met an elephant with a single tusk. Vishnu cut its head with his discus and brought it to Shiva and Shiva asked Brahma to transplant it on the headless body of the boy. This was done and the boy came to life again with the head of the elephant. There was all round jubilation. Shiva and Parvathy were reconciled. Shiva made the resurrected boy as the leader of his retinue and gave him the title of Vigneswara (Lord in control of all obstacles). After this investiture, it has become a practice that Ganesh's blessings are first invoked by one and all before any ceremony is begun.