GNESH ANGEY MOON

 

Ganesha also has something of a reputation for greediness. One day, after eating a few too many modakas (sacrificial cakes), Ganesha decided to take a ride on his giant rat, Kroncha, to aid his digestion. However, the rat was surprised when he came across a large snake and, jumping back with fear, he threw off his mount. Ganesha landed on his full belly and it burst on hitting the ground. The cakes from his stomach rolled left, right and centre but Ganesha, unperturbed, carefully gathered them in, stuffed them all back into his belly and wound the snake around his midriff to keep it closed. Symbolic of Ganesha’s ability to overcome all obstacles, the snake, the cause of the accident in the first place, therefore provided the remedy for the damage it had caused.

Continuing on his night-ride, Ganesha suddenly heard a thunderous noise from the heavens. This was the laughing of the Moon and his wives, the twenty seven Constellations, unable to contain themselves on seeing Ganesha wrapped in a snake. Outraged, Ganesha broke off the end of one of his tusks and hurled it at the laughing Moon who, hit full in the face, was struck black. Without the light of the moon, the dark nights became the haunt of thieves and villains until honest people had had enough and pleaded with the gods to restore the silver light. The gods asked Ganesha to forgive the Moon but only a partial forgiveness was given. Consequently, only periodically, on one night, would the Moon give his full light and then he would slowly waste away. 

An alternative explanation of Ganesha’s broken tusk is that of Krishna throwing his axe at Ganesha after he blocked his entrance to the private apartments of his parents Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha allowed the axe to hit and break his tusk so that no-one could say that the axe, which was in fact his father’s, was not a fearsome weapon. Yet another but less picturesque explanation of Ganesha’s broken tusk was that he snapped it off in order to transcribe the epic poem Mahabharata, dictated by the sage Vyasa who wished to preserve the story for all time.  This version explains Ganesha’s association with writers and intellectuals.