The Almighty. The Invincible One. The All-seeing. Most Gods are known by these titles. But Ekdanta? Naah! Nothing so clichéd. He’s The Ubiquitous One. You bump into him wherever you go in India. As a humble, saffron-coloured blob under trees along national highways. At little wayside shrines near the trendiest of metro haunts. In every temple. And, of course, in every puja mandir in Hindu homes. While some of the other gods and goddesses in their varied avatars, are towering figures to be worshipped with respectful awe, Ekdanta is more approachable, a benevolent being, who reigns over our day-to-day activities and creeps into our hearts. If ever there were a contest for the title of “Most Adored God”, Ekdanta in all likelihood, would win hands down. Also, known as Vighnaharta, his task in the divine scheme of things is to remove obstacles. Not to forget that he also has the ability to be the vighnakarta, placing obstacles in the path of those who “need to be checked”, thus teaching them to rise above these obstacles and their own pettiness. It is his particular territory, and in a way, the very reason for his creation.” Ekdanta, in art, has often been portrayed standing, sitting, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing musical instruments, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations. Presenting to you Ekdanta, the “One-Tusked”, his broken tusk being symbolic of his knowledge, and his readiness for sacrifice to complete any accepted task, as it is believed that it is with this broken tusk that he wrote down the Mahabharata, in the capacity of a scribe, when it was recited to him by the sage Vyasa.