On one occasion Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati were gifted a fruit by the other Gods. Both their sons, Ganesha and Karthikeya wished to have the fruit. There was just one fruit and two them wished to have it. The two did not want to have it half. So, finally Lord Shiva decided to solve the dispute by finding out who is the eldest of both. It was not about the age, but about the intelligence that the competition was based on. So Lord Shiva decided that the two would compete on a challenge. The challenge was to go around the world thrice and return back the earliest. The one who finishes the task and returns to them the fastest will win the fruit.
The race started and Karthikeya got over his peacock. Peacock was his vehicle on which Karthikeya used to roam around. He flew all around the earth. On the way he also stopped and paid his homage to the sacred spots and offered prayers for the well being of his family. However, what surprised him the most was that at every stop, he would see Ganesha far ahead of him. Karthikeya was puzzled at that.
Ganesha’s vehicle was the mouse. He very well knew that a mouse and a peacock cannot compete. The peacock would easily beat the mouse in the race. In that sense, he will never be able to win the race.
Ganesha thought for sometime and finally came up with some solution. Instead of circling the world he started walking around his parents, Lord Shiva and Parvati. He completed three rounds with his hands folded. His parents were confused at the sight. They asked the reason why he was revolving around them. On this Ganesha replied that for him his parents mean the world. He need not travel around the world. Ganesha completed his revolution around his parents.
Sometime passed by, and they saw Karthikeya returning on his peacock. He managed to circle the earth on his vehicle. But, when he came back he got to know that Ganesha had already won the competition. Lord Shiva explained to him that Ganesha had won the race on the basis of his quick thinking and intelligence and not on the basis of his strength.
Karthikeya accepted his defeat and bowed in front of Ganesha was his intelligence.
