The Smartest Answer Wins

Ganesha and Kartikeya both wanted the prize. Only one of them figured out the trick.

A magical fruit arrives on Mount Kailasa and only one son can have it. Shiva sets a contest. Whoever circles the whole world first wins. Kartikeya jumps on his peacock and shoots off into the sky. Ganesha sits very still, thinks for a moment, and does something nobody expected. He walks once around his parents and bows. He wins, because he understood something his bigger brother had not.

A Strange Fruit on Mount Kailasa

It was a clear morning on Mount Kailasa. The snow on the peaks was pink with sunrise. Cranes were calling above the lake. And outside the door of Shiva and Parvati's home, a thin old sage was waiting with something cupped in both his hands.

The sage was Narada, who travels everywhere with his vina and his stories. In his palms was one yellow fruit. Just one. It was glowing, faintly, the way a piece of gold might glow if you held it up to a lamp.

Shiva opened the door. Parvati came up beside him. Their two boys, Ganesha and Kartikeya, peeked out from behind their mother's saree.

"What is that?" Kartikeya asked. He was the older-looking one. Tall, sharp-eyed, six faces all curious at once.

"This," said Narada, smiling a thin smile, "is no ordinary fruit. Whoever eats it becomes the wisest being in all three worlds. Forever."

The whole family stared.

There was just one problem. The fruit could not be cut. If you split it, the magic split too, and then the wisdom would be no good to anyone. Only one person could eat it. Only one.

Shiva looked at Parvati. Parvati looked at Shiva. And both of them slowly turned and looked at their two sons, who were already starting to glare at each other.

Two Brothers, One Prize

Kartikeya stood up to his full height. He was the warrior of the family. His vahana, his ride, was a peacock with a tail that opened like a fan of stars. He was fast. He was brave. He was used to winning.

"I'll have it," Kartikeya said, holding out his hand.

Ganesha frowned. He was the round, slow, friendly one. Big belly, broken tusk, one little mouse for a vahana. He never got picked first for anything. But he was nobody's fool.