Since you asked about the mouse and Ganesha...here’s one of my all time favorite stories about Ganesha.
Ganesha is the son for Shiva and Parvati. One day the gods got together to decide who should be the king of the gods. Nobody could come up with a true test until Ganesha says, let’s go ask my dad, Shiva.
Shiva tells all the gods that they have to go around the universe three times. The first one who does the task will be crowned the king of the gods.
All the gods have their own vehicle. Some have eagles, tigers, lions, etc. Ganesh has a mouse. A itty-bitty mouse. And, Ganesha is of course an elephant.
The gods run off to circle the universe. Every god except Ganesha. He looks up at his mom, Parvati, and says, ‘look at my mouse! How can I ride him around the universe three times, and beat every other god? I will fail.’
Parvati says, ‘Ganesha, you are our son. Will we ever give you a task that you won’t succeed at?’
Just then, Ganesha got on the mouse and circled his parents three times. They were his universe. And, that’s why Ganesha wears a crown.
One of my all time favorite stories...
That’s sweet. I must say, I’m having a hard time finding Ganesh with a mouse. I was just over to a religious store that had Christian as well as Hindu art and bought a little Ganesh...but no mouse in any of the images.
The founder of the Living Theater, Judith Malina, was an expert in Hinduism and its texts.
I had not heard that one. THANK YOU!!! It’s wonderful!