The single tusk is said to represent the oneness of the creator and the creation. It is believed that Ganesha broke His tusk and with it wrote the great epic Mahabharat. He is the God of education, knowledge, wisdom, literature and fine arts. Others believe that Ganesha broke one of His tusks and hurled it at the Moon to teach the latter a lesson in humility. The story goes that one evening, having eaten to His heart's content, Ganesha, was riding on His vehicle, the rat, when a snake came along the way. The rat bolted away in fright throwing Ganesha off on the ground. The impact with ground caused His stuffed stomach to burst open. Finding no other alternative, Ganesha replaced His gut into His abdomen and used the reptile as a rope to tie up His abdominal wall. The Moon, who had witnessed this all burst into peels of laughter. In anger, Ganesha ripped off His tusk and hurled it at the Moon and cursed it to a perpetual cycle of waxing and waning.

Ganesha has two pairs of arms. In one hand He holds a shell, in another a discuss, in the third a bowl of sweets and in the fourth a water lilly.