Rājānuga-Mūsika

The Legend

Rājānuga-Mūsika

In the scriptures, Mūsika the mouse holds three roles: the vāhana that carries the god, the banner and emblem that marks him, and the willful ego that Lord Ganesha subdued and turned into a force in service of dharma. His tale begins with Krauncha, a gandharva of Indra's court. Having carelessly trodden on the foot of the sage Vāmadeva, he was cursed into a giant mouse and laid waste to the hermitage of the great sage Parāśara — until Ganesha caught him fast with his noose, the pāśa. Repentant, Krauncha begged forgiveness and was granted the honor of becoming the god's vehicle. In one beloved detail, when Ganesha settled upon his back, Krauncha could not bear the divine weight and pleaded with his lord to grow lighter. Ganesha obliged — and from that day the mouse has been his faithful mount.