Ved Vyasa was a great poet. He was instructed by Brahma to compose the world's greatest poem, the Mahabharata. Ved Vyasa told him that he needed someone to write it down while he composed it. Brahma asked him to pray to Ganesha, because only he could understand and write what Ved Vyasa would dictate. Ved Vyasa prayed to Ganesha. When Ganesha appeared, Veda Vyasa said, "Would you be able to write as fast as I dictate?"

Ganesha in turn challenged him, "Would you able to dictate as fast as I write ?" They made an agreement that once started, Ved Vyasa would not stop dictating and Ganesha would not stop writing and that he would only write what he understood. As they started the Mahabharata, whenever Ganesha wrote too fast, Ved Vyasa would dictate difficult verses. Ganesha would take time to understand them and in the meantime Ved Vyasa would compose more verses. Thus the great epic was written.