Why Ganesha choose mouse as his ‘vaahan’

Neha Mangal

Have you ever wondered why Lord Ganesha choose a mouse as his ride (vehicle or vahana)?

Well, the story goes that Ganesha asked the rat to be his vehicle, after a battle with Gajamukha demon who did severe penance and obtained invincible powers from Lord Shiva as per the advice of Guru Shukraachaarya – the spiritual guide of the asuras (demons). Once he got the powers demon Gajamukha started harassing the gods who turned to Lord Ganesha for help. Lord Ganesh battled with the demon but things were not all that easy considering Lord Shiva’s blessings which made in invincible. So Lord broke one of his tusks and threw it at Gajamukha cursing him to be transformed into a mouse. Lord Ganesha thereby got on to the back of the mouse and made it his vehicle. From then on it became Ganeshas Vaahan. The idea behind all this was to keep it under his control.

Another Puranic Story

According to another Puranic story, Ganeshas vaahan (rat) was actually Krauncha a Gandharva or a heavenly musician who was cursed by Vamadeva Muni. Once, while attending Lord Indra’s court, Krauncha accidentally stepped on sage Vaamadeva’s feet who got so annoyed that he cursed Krauncha to be transformed into a rat. Kraunch apologised to Muni but he could not take back his curse. So he gave Kraunch a boon that he would become the ride of Lord Ganesha.

But then Kraunch was a gigantic mouse who used to engulf huge mountains in minutes. He used to trouble the sages living in the forest. One day he entered Sage Paraashara’s ashram along with a large number of his friends and relatives and started causing havoc. Perturbed by this unexpected intrusion, Sage Paraashara appealed to Lord Ganesha seeking his help to save him and his disciples. Hence Lord Ganesha appeared and brought the rat under his control.

Hence it really makes no difference which Puranic story is true. The purpose of making the rat Lord Ganesha’s vehicle was to keep it under control and prevent it from causing any damage. The rat represents greed and uncontrollable desire that nibbles or destroys everything. Rats are a big problem for farmers in India. For farmers all over India, rats are their biggest enemy. By making rat his vehicle Ganesha keeps the rats in control and distracts them from damaging the crops and grains. It is only natural for Ganesha – the remover of all problems to solve this problem too.