A popular Japanese animated television series Dragon Ball Super which released its fifth season Universe Survival Saga has faced criticism from a community leader from the US over the portrayal of Lord Ganesha as one of the eight ‘evil gods of destruction’.

“It is trivialisation of our highly revered deity and a distortion Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and was invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking,” said Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism in a statement on his website.

Stressing on the importance of the Lord Ganesha, Zed made it clear that Lord is worshipped in temples and homes and is not to be dragged as an evil character in a TV series for mercantile greed.

Expressing his dismay, Zed urged Toei Animation Company Limited of Tokyo, the producers, and FUNimation Entertainment of Texas to withdraw the character from the series which resembled Lord Ganesha.

“Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial purposes is not okay as it hurts the devotees,” he said.

“Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought. It should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled,” Zed indicated.

He further noted that such distorted images of Hindu deities will create misinformation and confusion among non-Hindus regarding Hinduism.