Lord Ganesha owns the heart and devotion of all those who worship him. Each year, we wait with bated breath for Ganesh Chaturti, and on the day of his arrival, we celebrate with much pomp and splendour, along with dozens of his favourite dishes. The beloved elephant-headed god blesses us by ridding our path of obstacles and granting us happiness and prosperity. There are numerous stories of him and how he takes care of his devotees. One of the lesser heard stories of Lord Ganesha is that of Him and Lord Vishnu’s prized conch shell.
Lord Ganesha has a playful, mischievous side to him that doesn’t spare anybody – not even Lord Vishnu!
A little folktale says that Lord Vishnu found his precious conch to be missing one day. Along with his Sudarshana Chakra, the conch is one of Lord Vishnu’s most well-known and prized possessions. So naturally, Lord Vishnu was most puzzled and worried when he couldn’t locate it. After searching for it high and low all over Vaikuntha (Lord Vishnu’s abode), and after having all his attendants conduct a search for it to no avail, Lord Vishnu was well and truly stumped with the disappearance of the conch.
Just as he was about to give up all hope, Lord Vishnu heard the unmistakable sound of the conch being blown. The high, echoing waves of sound emanated from far away, but Vishnu correctly identified it at once. To his mounting perplexity, when he followed the sounds, he found himself on Mount Kailasha, the abode of Lord Shiva! And there, to his amazement, he found Lord Ganesha, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, blowing the conch shell as though it was his plaything.
Quickly assessing the situation as one beyond his control, Lord Vishnu approached Ganesha’s father, Lord Shiva. When Mahadev heard Lord Vishnu’s appeal, he regretfully informed him that even he couldn’t chastise Ganesha or take away something he had. Lord Ganesha truly was beyond anybody else’s control and the playful troublemaker was more than happy to demonstrate!
Shiva advised Vishnu to pray to Lord Ganesha with sincere devotion. After agreeing wholeheartedly, Lord Vishnu, master of the universe and everything beyond, humbly performed a puja with fragrant offerings to Lord Ganesha, putting his heart and soul into the prayers. Lord Ganesha is never one to disappoint his devotees, and Lord Vishnu was no exception. Pleased with Vishnu’s humble and sincere prayers, Lord Ganesha appeared before him and happily returned his conch shell to him with a smile. 
Even Lord Vishnu set aside his formidable prowess to bow humbly before Lord Ganesha. What pleases Lord Vinayak more than anything else is the humility and honest devotion that people make their offerings with. This Ganesh Chaturti, set your prayers and offerings before Lord Ganesha with sincerity and honesty…and maybe an extra modak or two!
