Hey, it is Ganesha here again, and welcome back! I am glad to see that you are back to hear another story about my family! In the last story, we talked a lot about myself, but today I would like to turn the focus to my brother, Kartikeya. He is a strong and fearless warrior now, and I do not dare to question his strength. However, I am more than capable of outwitting him, and I always have been. This following story highlights a friendly competition between the two of us. I hope you enjoy it!
One day at our home on the top of Mount Kailash, a sage by the name Narada visited my family. He brought with him a mango, and he said to my parents, "Give this mango to your better son." My parents, Shiva and Parvati, were unable to choose a favorite between my brother and me (as it should be a difficult task for any parent to choose a favorite child). In order to pick who should receive the mango Shiva devised a competition for us. He told us that "Whoever is the first to go around the world three times shall be declared the winner and receive this mango as a prize."
Now, I do not know about you, but that is a looong way to go for a mango! On top of that, this was hardly a fair competition. My brother's Vahana is far better suited for this competition than mine. He has a pet peacock capable of carrying him everywhere he goes, and what do I have? A RAT! How was my poor little baby going to carry an elephant man around the world! Anyways, I digress; I had to find a way to beat my brother, and quickly. He was already halfway around the world!
Kartikeya and his Peacock Vahana (Source).
The longer I thought about how I would surpass my brother, the more I began to realize that it would be impossible. In regards to our physical abilities, Kartikeya bested me in every way. I guess that is to be expected. After all, he is a god of war. As I sat there thinking, I realized that I did not need to circle the whole world, but rather the part that mattered to me. While my brother was halfway through with his third and final lap around the world, I gathered my parents in the room and I had them sit next to each other. From there I quickly, well as fast as I could, ran around them three times. My father, Shiva, asked me for the meaning of such a trivial display, so I told him, "The challenge only required us to go around the world three times. It did not specify which world. Since you are both the world to me, I have completed the challenge first."
Shiva erupted into laughter at my response, and there was no way that he was going to accept my solution alone. However, my display of affection for my parents had won over the heart of my mother Parvati. She began an argument with Shiva that seemed to go on forever. My brother soon returned, and we both observed the rest of the argument from a distance. We knew better than to interrupt our parents during an argument. Eventually, they came to an agreement, and I received the mango as a reward for the wit and cunning I displayed during the competition. My brother was quite upset. I would be too if I had been the one to circle the Earth three times without reason. He eventually got over his defeat, and I would like to think that my actions taught him a valuable lesson!
For the story about Kartikeya, I was left with two main options that I could cover. The first, the birth story of Kartikeya, or a story from his childhood. I chose the second option as I felt it fulfilled the family aspect of this storybook better than just covering Kartikeya's birth. I was also able to continue the story as a first person narrative from Ganesha.
This story focus on the differences between Ganesha and his brother Kartikeya. Both of them are Gods: Ganesha, a god of wisdom, and Kartikeya a god of war. Each brother has a different approach to solving problems. Kartikeya acts in a quick-thinking manner, performing the first actions that comes into his mind. Ganesha, on the other hand, maintains a slow and thoughtful approach. Ganesha's wit allowed him to win this competition over his brother's brawn.
There was very little dialogue provided in the source stories for how the family members interacted with each other. I attempted to add character flavors to the story through dialogue and actions. These portrayals may not be historically accurate. Additionally, like the story of Ganesha's birth there were several versions of this story, each with their own intricacies. As such, this story has been sourced from multiple versions and is now my version.