A Hindu woman makes an offering to a golden rat in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal. In Hindu mythology, the rat is the vehicle of Ganesh, the Hindu God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles (or Vighnahara, Ganapati, or Buddhividhata). Ganesh is usually depicted as an elephant head figure with a large pot belly, with four hands, one hand always extended to bless people. Ganesh is one the most important Gods in the Hindu religion so that all sacrifices and religious ceremonies, all serious compositions in writing, and all worldly affairs of importance are begun with an invocation to Lord Ganesh. Like most other Hindu gods, he has a &lsquo;vehicle&rsquo;, the rat, which is usually shown at the foot of Ganesh, but sometimes he is astride the rat. This unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving rat vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.