Ravana and Ganesha

To reward his devotion, Shiva gave Ravana the Atma-Linga. This Linga would endow Ravana with superhuman powers, but wherever he set it down, the Linga would stay forever.
To reach his home in Lanka, Ravana walked thousands of miles without putting the Linga down. He was almost home, but wanted to perform his prayers.
Then he noticed a young cowherd. "Hold this for just a minute!" he said.
The boy agreed, but when Ravana came back, he saw Ganesha, and he saw the Linga planted in the ground. Ganesha had thwarted Ravana's plan!
You can still see the Linga there.

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Inspired by: Stories of Lord Ganesha
Notes: You can read more about the Atma-Linga at Wikipedia in the article about Murdeshwar, home to the Murdeshwar Temple. You can also learn more about the Shiva Linga. Devdutt Pattanaik tells a version of this story in his Sita, p. 185, citing the Kashmiri Ramayana.

(the story of the Atma-Linga)