Once there was a demon called Gajamugasuran. He was a great
devotee of Shiva and pleased with his presence, Shiva granted him some
boons. Gajamugasuran became very proud and powerful and he started
troubling the gods. Tired of his antics, the gods asked Shiva to save them
from Gajamugasaran. Shiva sent Ganesha to help the gods. Ganesha went
with several weapons such as bow and arrow, sword, and even an axe
to destroy Gajamugasuran. But the demon had been given boon that none of
these weapons could cause him harm, so Ganesha's attempts to destroy the
demon proved to be ineffective. Finally, Gajamugasuran took the form of a
small mouse and rushed towards Ganesha. Ganesha was very clever and
immediately sat on the little mouse. Gajamugasuran was defeated and
was forced to apologise for his deeds. Since then, Ganesha is always
accompanied by a mouse as his vehicle.
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