Ganesha's scribing requirement to Vyasa

[Guest guest]

I'm curious about the significance of the condition that Ganesha put to

Vyasa for scribing the Mahabharata. As lore has it, Ganesha required

that Vyasa dictate the epic without a pause. Vyasa cleverly countered

with a requirement that Ganesha not write anything down until he fully

comprehended its meaning. Vyasa could then flood Ganesha with a complex

verse that took him a while to digest, and use that time to compose

further verses.

 

My question is this -- beyond an interesting anecdote of a friendly

contest of wits, what is the significance, if any, of this aspect of the

writing process?

 

Curious,

 

-Kartik