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reward. When they asked him whether he had gone round the world, he said, “All the worlds are contained within you; so if I go round you, it is as good as going round the world”. Pleased with his reply, Parameswara gave him the fruit and Ganapathi sat there eating it.
By the time Subrahmanya finished going round the world in full confidence that he would be the winner, arriving at the starting point, he found Ganapathi seated before Parvati and Parameswara, eating the fruit. When he asked Parameswara to give him the fruit for winning the race, Iswara said, “There it is, your elder brother is eating it.' When he asked his father how that could be fair, Iswara explained to him all that had happened. Subrahmanya then realised his vanity in thinking that he was a great sage, bowed before his parents, and asked to be pardoned. That is the story. The significance is that the ego which goes round like a whirlwind must get destroyed, and must get absorbed in Atma. That is Atma Pradakshina, said Bhagavan.
