Ganesha

Ganesha was born when his mother Parvati, wanting a loyal guardian, shaped a boy out of turmeric paste and breathed life into him. She put him at her door and said: let no one in. When Lord Shiva arrived and the boy refused him entry, Shiva — not knowing who the child was — lost his temper, and the boy lost his head. Seeing Parvati's grief, Shiva promised to make it right: he sent his helpers out to fetch the head of the first sleeping creature facing north, and they returned with an elephant's. A new elephant head was placed on the boy, and Ganesha was whole again.

One day the gods held a race: whoever circled the whole world fastest would win a wonderful prize. Kartikeya leapt onto his peacock and streaked off across the skies. Ganesha simply walked around his parents — once, slowly — and said, 'My parents are my whole world.' The gods loved this answer, and the wisdom prize was his.

Another time, the sage Vyasa needed someone to write down the great epic, the Mahabharata, as fast as he could speak it. Ganesha agreed — but his pen snapped mid-story. Without pausing, he broke off the tip of his own tusk and kept writing. He teaches that wisdom matters more than speed, and beginnings deserve a blessing.