Ganesha's Missing Tusk

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Namaste Friends,

 

This is from:

 

http://cs.art.rmit.edu.au/projects/media/elephants/ganesha/tusk/ganesh

a.html

 

Ganesha's Missing Tusk

 

Once upon a time, there lived a kindly old god by the name of

Ganesha. He had four arms and hands, a head like an elephant's and an

extraordinarily large torso. Because he was so large, Genesha could

not move around very quickly, so he rode upon the back of a giant rat

bringing good luck, wealth and wisdom to everyone he met. All the

people of India loved him dearly, especially the shopkeepers and

merchants.

 

One day, while travelling through India, Ganesha met an old baker who

offered him anything he wanted in his shop.

"But sir," said Ganesha, "I cannot simply take food from your bakery

without repaying you in some way."

"I insist," replied the baker. "You have brought me much luck, wealth

and wisdom, I am indebted to you. Please accept my hospitality or I

shall feel insulted."

Ganesha, realising he could not insult the old man, entered the

bakery and immediately headed for the cake section - for he dearly

loved sweet foods. By the end of the day, he had eaten so many cakes

that he had a stomach ache and needed some fresh air.

 

The kindly god thanked the old baker and rode off into the night on

his rat. As he rode along, however, a snake slithered across hispath

and the rat reared up and threw Ganesha off his back. He hit the

ground with such a force that his stimach popped like a balloon and

the cakes fell onto the road. Not wishing the cakes to be wasted,

Ganesha picked them all up off the ground and pushed them back into

his sotmach. He grabbed the naughty snake that scared him and wound

it around his waist like a belt, so the cakes wouldn't fall out

again.

After he was finished, Ganesha was surprised to hear the sound of

loud laughter. He looked up into the sky and saw the moon and the

twenty-seven stars, who were all his wives, very amused at seeing

Ganesha stuffing cakes into his belly. Angry at being made fun of,

Ganesha pulled out one of his tusks and threw it at the smiling face

of the moon. He hit it so hard that its light was completely put out.

 

For many nights, there was no more moonlight and it was very dark.

This made it easy for robbers and people that do evil things to do

their jobs. The earth's people complained bitterly to the gods.

Finally, Ganesha decided he would allow the moon to shine on some

nights and put a curse on it so that every so often it would waste

away to nothing. However, he never found the tusk he had thrown at

the moon and now rides around the streets of India with only one

tusk. Rumour has it that a holy man found it on top of a hill and hid

it inside a temple somewhere in India.