Legends of Lord Ganesha

The stories of God's divine pastimes look ordinary stories, but they could be elaborated on for years, eons, life after life, because they are related to you and me. They are not somebody else's story. They have great symbolic meaning but require thought with full mind and concentration. Whoever listens to these stories of God will be blessed with happiness and peace. Whoever understands the inner and outer meanings of these stories becomes free from ignorance and achieves his goal. There are innumerable legends about Ganesha. Few of them are given below

Ganesha's Birth

In every cycle (kaalpa), the story of the birth of Ganesha is told in different ways. The story of the birth of Ganesha in this cycle, Shveta-varaaha kalpa (Divine Boar Cycle), is narrated thus:

Jayaa and Vijayaa, two friends of Shakti Parvati, once discussed with Her that She should create a son to head all of the ganas of Shiva. Parvati, pleased with the suggestion, resolved to carry it out. The great goddess thought, "There must be a son of my own who will be expert in s his duties.

He must not disobey my orders." Thinking thus, goddess Parvati created a person by Her mere will from the dust or dirt of Her own cosmic body. She, being the primordial energy herself, created a boy from the three gunas or triple modes of nature known as sattva (poise), rajas (passion), and lamas (inertia). The boy was spotless and handsome in every limb of His body. He was huge in size and had the brilliance of a thousand suns. He was strong and full of valor.

Shakti Parvati blessed Him and said, "You are my beloved son. You shall carry out my orders obediently." Saying thus, Parvati presented Him with ornaments and clothes.

Ganesha made obeisance to Her and said, "My dear Mother, give me any duty. I shall accomplish whatever you command," Parvati said, "Ganesha, guard my gates from today onwards. You are my own son. Do not allow anyone into my home without my permission." Accordingly, She gave Him a hard stick, kissed and placed Him, armed with that staff, as the gatekeeper at the entrance to Her palace.

Now Parvati began taking Her bath free from worry, At this very moment, Lord Shiva, Her husband, returned to His home and was about to enter the gate, Ganesha stopped Him and said, "without my Mother's permission, you cannot go in now. She is bathing. Wait until She finishes Her bath so I might obtain Her permission for you."

Shiva flew into a rage and said, "Who are you, O wicked knave? Don't you know that I am Shiva, the Lord of the universe? I am the husband of Parvati. This is my abode. Who are you to forbid me to enter?" Speaking thus, Shiva attempted to go inside. Ganesha got angry and struck Him with his hard stick several times. Lord Shiva, furious, stood outside the home and commanded His ganas (attendants) to inquire into the matter. (While following these worldly conversations, we should not forget that the Lord is playing a wonderful sport or leela.) The Shivaganas came and stood to Ganesha. "Listen," they said, "we are the servants of Shiva. We have come here to inquire about you and throw you out. This is Shiva's abode. You had better go away from here."

Ganesha ignored their speech and stood at the gate fearlessly. At the command of Shiva, His ganas, gnashing their teeth and armed with different kinds of weapons, rushed toward him. Nandi the bull caught hold of one leg and began pulling it. Bhringi caught hold of His other leg. But before they could topple Him, Ganesha struck a blow at their hands and got His legs free.

Standing at the gate, He held a big iron mace and smashed the attendants of Shiva. With crushed foreheads, broken hands, smashed backs, shattered teeth, fractured knees and blasted shoulders, the ganas of Shiva, thousands in number, fled in different directions to protect themselves! Sage Narada, looking on, urged Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Indra to come there at once with all the devatas. Knowing this to be the leela, or the play of Shiva and Shakti, for a specific purpose, all the gods, headed by Brahma, came to attack Ganesha.

To assist Her son, Mother Parvati created two great shaktis. One shakti, assuming a fierce form, stood at the gate and opened her mouth as wide as the cavern of a mountain. The other shakti assumed a huge form as a terrible goddess ready to punish Ganesha's opponents.

The weapons hurled by the gods and Shivaganas were swallowed by the goddess with the wide-open mouth. Lord Ganesha won the battle single-handed. Gasping frequently for breath, being utterly shaken by His blows, the devas retreated and gathered around Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva returned with a desire to fight Ganesha to the death. When Shiva lifted His trident, lord Ganesha.struck His hand with great power. The trident fell and with great anger, Lord Shiva took up His bow, Pinaka. Ganesha felled Shiva's bow to the ground with His iron club, and struck His five hands also. Shiva took up the trident with the other five hands. The five-faced Shiva with His ten arms could not manage to fight with this boy of great shakri. Securing permission from Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu created clouds of illusion and split the iron club of Ganesha by means of His discus. Then the son of Parvati took up His staff and struck Vishnu, who dramatizing great pain, fell to the ground. But He got up quickly and resumed the fight. Immediately, Lord Shiva saw His opportunity and cut off Ganesha 's head with His trident.

Sage Narada broke the sad news to Parvati of the death of Her son. Parvati came running to Shiva and cried bitterly. "Oh, what shall I do? Where shall I go? Alas! How can this great misery re dispelled now?"

Lamenting, goddess Parvati became furious and angrily created hundreds of thousands of shaktis out of Her body instantaneously. Speaking with great fury, she cried, "O shaktis, devour forcibly all these devatas, yabhas and other ganas who have assisted Shiva in killing my son!" ,

At once, the different kinds of shaktis, like Karalis (the terrific), Kubjakas (the hump-backed), Khanjas (the lame), Lambashirshas (the tall-headed) and the other multitudinous powers of goddess Parvati took up the gods with their hands and threw them into their mouths.

Seeing this, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Indra, the ganas and sages headed by Sage Narada, appealed to goddess Parvati. They bowed to Her again and again and propitiated Her with many hymns. They said this prayer, "O Universal Mother, be pleased. Obeisance to You. You are the primordial shakti, and the source of creation. By Your anger, the three worlds are scorched. Shower Your grace and bless the world with peace."

The Divine Mother was pleased with their prayer and said, "If my son Ganesha regains life, is given first place among the devas and is first to be worshipped, then there will be no more destruction. There will be universal peace. Give him the power that before any action, any endeavor, anywhere, if they remember Ganesha, and offer the prayers to him, their works will be successful, and they will have no trouble or problems."

The gods agreed and intimated to Lord Shiva the wish of Parvati. Lord Shiva said, "It shall be done according to Her wish for the peace of all. Now you devas wash the headless body of Ganesha and I will go in the southern direction. Whatever person or creature I meet first, I shall cut off his head and fit it to this body."

Lord Shiva rushed with His trident towards the southern direction. The great god knew there was a demon of darkness called Gajasura sleeping in the southern direction who had destroyed many sages and fire sacrifices. He cut off the head of the sleeping elephant demon (gajasura) and carried it back.

The devas retrieved the body of Ganesha and after washing it well, took the head of the elephant that Lord Shiva brought and fitted it to the body. After joining it, the gods made obeisance to Shiva. Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu, on the advice of Lord Shiva, sprinkled holy water upon the body of Ganesha. Immediately, the boy Ganesha woke up as if from a sleep.

Ganesha, with the face of an elephant, the trunk of a human and red complexion, gave joy to everyone. Goddess Parvati was delighted about Her son coming back to life and blessed the world with peace. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the holy Trinity, and all the gods (devatas) crowned Ganesha as the supreme leader of the ganas, the angels, archangels, siddhas, devas, planets, divine and human species.

Goddess Parvati bestowed on Him all the siddhis (supernatural powers) and blessed Him lovingly. She said, "My dear son, Ganesha, you will receive worship first before all the gods and even before the Trinity. Vermilion will be your color and you will be worshipped with vermilion (sindhwa) by all devotees everywhere. All wishes of human beings shall be fulfilled by worshipping you with the sixteen modes of worship. All obstacles of theirs shall come to an end."

Thus, Mother Parvati blessed Her son. Then, to show the way of worship of Ganesha, She herself offered worship to Him. By this worship, all obstacles of the devas came to an end. Peace reigned in all the lokas.

Then Mother Parvati placed Ganesha on her lap. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva blessed Ganesha and worshipped Him. They jointly declared to the devas, "Ganesha is the remover of all obstacles. He is the giver of all fruits from all rites---vidya (wisdom), riddhi (intelligence), and siddhis (the attainments or fulfillment). He shall be worshipped first and we shall be worshipped next or the fruit of all fire sacrifices and rites will be lost. This is the Truth."

Saying thus, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma worshipped Ganesha respectfully with flowers, rice, sandalwood paste, fruits, food, etc. Thereafter, all the devatas and ganas also worshipped Him with devotion. So it was that the entire kingdom of heaven, the Trinity and their wives and j I all the denizens of heaven, proclaimed Ganesha as the presiding deity over all beings.

Lord Shiva himself conferred very special boons on Lord Ganesha. "O Ganesha, whoever worships you devoutly with songs and acts of service will achieve success in all their endeavors. Their obstacles will be shattered. Your worship vow (vrita) could be observed by and people of all castes and especially by women for the welfare of their family and children. They a lot will all be blessed with prosperity and good fortune."

Thus Lord Shiva blessed Ganesha. Celestial musicians sang. Celestial nymphs danced and there were flowers showered upon Ganesha. With the installation of Ganesha as the foremost sun deity to be worshipped, the whole universe attained peace. Brahma, Vishnu and all the gods, after paying homage to Shiva and Parvati returned to their abodes.

Whoever listens to or reads this story of Ganesha shall have their wishes fulfilled. The sick will be healed, the poor will become rich, the childless will beget children. Those who want enlightenment and peace will obtain the same by the blessings of Lord Ganesha.

We are all like the image made by the Mother in this body. We are all given a job and a duty and as per the law, we do it. Then when the ego manifests, Shiva consciousness comes and cuts off our ego and darkness. A demon is sleeping in everyone of us, the demon of darkness and ignorance, and when that head is chopped off, the Light alone is brought and thereby kept so our head is filled with the light.

Ganesha's Marriage

 

Talasura Humbled

The Asuras (demons) used to trouble the gods often. Some of them used to grow strong by obtaining boons from Lord I Vishnu or Lord Ishwara or Lord Brahma after doing severe tapas (intense meditation and prayer). And because of the boons they used to become arrogant. They used to delight in torturing men and 'gods. Talasura was one such wicked asura. One day Ganesha humbled him.

Here is the story:

Talasura was the King of Ramanaka. He was very strong but wicked. He was a haughty and obstinate asura. The gods shivered at the very mention of his name.

Talasura had an eye on Devendra, the king of the gods for a long time. His greatest desire was to defeat Devendra in thebattle and become the Lord of all his wealth and splendor. One day his dream came true. Indra's assembly was in progress. The hall was filled with melodious music. Lovely nymphs were dancing. Indra and the other gods had forgotten themselves in the music and the dance. Seizing this oppor- tunity Talasura ordered his demon force to enter heaven, and attacked Indra's palace.

This unexpected attack caused great confusion in the assembly of the gods. They were totally unprepared for war. In the end, Talasura won the battle. The defeated Devendra and the other gods ran away like deer at the sight of the hunters.

After the battle Talasura became the master of all the wealth of the gods. He become Lord of Kalpavriksha (the tree that fulfils all desires), Kamadhenu (the divine cow which can give whatever a man seeks), Airavata (the white elephant of Indra), and such unique treasures.

Devendra lost everything and became miserable. He went into hiding lest Talasura should see him - he was so terrified. He also began to plan how to regain his wealth and kingdom from the wicked asura.

The Boon of Brahma

Once Talasura performed strict tapas because he wished to get boons from Brahma. Brahma appreciated his devotion. He appeared before him and said Talasura, I am pleased with your devotion. You can ask whatever you want." Talasura said, "Lord, grant that I may not be any body." Brahma thought for a while and said, "How can I grant such an absolute boon? You have to fear some species of living beings. Remember this and ask for a boon. There are four species - the gods, human beings, animals and birds. Whom would you fear?"

Talasura thought over the question of Brahma. Then he said to him, "Father, my desire is to ruler over gods and men with pride of power. Therefore I should not have fear of death from them. But let me fear the elephant, the strongest of animals." Brahma granted the boon and disappeared.

Talasura was already a wicked fellow. Once he secured the boon from Brahma his arrogance knew no limits. Indra and the gods were in hiding. He began to search for them and to torture those whom he found.

Ganesha Can Subdue Him

One day Devendra, who could no longer bear the torture of Talasura, went to Brahma along with other gods. He explained to him the injustice and wicked deeds of Talasura. He begged Brahma to show a way to destroy Talasura. Brahma said, "Devendra, that wicked asura has grown strong because of my boon. No one can overcome him except an elephant. If you approach Ishwara, he can help you through his son Ganesha. Ganesha can easily subdue that asura as he has the head of an elephant."

Accordingly Devendra went to Kailasa. He explained the havoc caused by Talasura and the suggestion of Brahma.

He prayed, "Lord Parameshwara, please save us from this trouble soon."

Talasura Learns His Lesson

Ishwara was moved at the plight of Indra and other gods. Immediately he called Ganesha and said, "Ganesha, go at once to the city of Ramanaka and conquer Talasura, the wicked enemy of the gods."

Ganesha was all-powerful and the enemy of the asuras. So, as his father had commanded, he rushed to Ramanaka. He destroyed all the wealth of Talasura. He smashed his huge army. He challenged Talasura and waged a fierce fight with him. The great warrior Talasura also fought with great valor. However, he could do nothing against Ganesha. In the end, Ganesha lifted him bodily in his trunk and dashed him to the ground. The fierce blow made Uasura unconscious, and he vomited blood. When he regained consciousness he saw the angry Ganesha before him, with the shining Parighayudha in his hand. Talasura looked at him for a moment, his eyes filled with fear. Then he remembered that, according to the boon granted by Brahma, his life could be in danger from an elephant. At once his arrogance and strength melted away like butter melting before fire. He caught hold of the feet of the elephant faced Ganesha and begged him for mercy: "Vighneshwara, please excuse me and spare my life."

Ganapati is as kind as he is strong. He said to Talasura, "Talas you were proud of your strength Brahma's boon. You troubled all. You drove away Indra from the heaven. Only if you are going to learn lesson will I pardon you and let live." Talasura replied: "Vinayaka, I have done wrong. I will not trouble the gods. You have taught me a lesson. The pride that I am the strongest has now vanished. Pardon me." The kind Ganesha forgave him.

Ravanas Terror to Gods

Ganesha is known as Vighneshwara because the devotees believe that Ganesha roots out obstacles and difficulties. There are many stories, which narrate how he saved even the gods.

Ravana was the king of Lanka. He was very strong. Once there were indications that the gods would suffer at the hands of Ravana. Ravana was a devotee of Ishwara. Once he performed strict tapas. Pleased with his tapas Ishwara appeared before him and said, "What boon do you desire?" Ravana begged for Shiva’s Atmalinga (Shiva’s Atmalinga was the reflection of Shiva in the form of the Linga. The presence of this Linga is as good as that of Shiva Himself). It was Ravana’s conviction that nobody could defeat him, once he acquired the very power of Shiva.

Shiva had said, "Ask for whatever boon you choose." Therefore he was bound by his words and had to give away his Atmalinga. He, however, cautioned Ravana: "Don’t put this Atmalinga on the ground even for a moment; once you put it on the ground you cannot get it back." He then disappeared.

The gods trembled to see Shiva’s Atmalinga in the hands of Ravana, who was a menace to the world. Ravana was their bitter enemy; and now, with the Shivalinga itself in his possession, they were in great danger. They were troubled not knowing who could protect them. Then they remembered Ganesha. They went straight to him and explained to him their troubles. The kind Ganesha consoled them. He put courage into them saying, "I shall not allow Ravana to get Shiva’s Atmalinga Have no fears." The gods went away and Ganesha followed Ravana to carry out his mission.

Ganesha's Victory

Ravana was on his way to Lanka carrying Shiva's Atmalinga in his palms. He came to the west coast. By then it was evening. It was time for Ravana to perform I sandhyavandana' (the evening prayers). Ravana was in a fix. Ishwara himself had told him that the Linga should not touch the ground. How was he to perform sandhya- vandana, with the Atmalinga in his hands? There was no one in that deserted place that could help him. He stood there, thinking, 'I must perform sandhyavandana. What shall I do?'

Ganesha was following Ravana and was waiting for a chance. He understood Ravana's difficulty. He appeared before him in the guise of a small boy. When Ravana saw him he was as happy as if he had found water in a desert.

Ravana called him and said, "Little boy, will you hold this Linga till I perform sandhya- vandana and return?" Ganesha, in the guise of a boy, said, "It appears to be very heavy. Please put it on the ground and go." Ravana said, "No, I cannot do that. It should not be put on the ground. Please keep it in your hands, till I return."

The boy said, "Suppose it becomes too heavy for me?" Ravana spoke softly, "I will return quickly, my boy. You are a clever fellow, aren't you? Please hold it in your hands, my good boy." The boy agreed.

Ravana gave him the Atmalinga and said, "Don't forget. This should never be put on the ground." And then he went Towards the sea to perform sandhya- vandana. Hardly had Ravana started when Ganesha cried out, "Alas, it's too heavy! Too heavy!" Ravana was afraid. But, he could not return without completing sandhyavandana. Therefore, he cried out, "Boy, I shall be back soon. Don't put the Linga on the ground whatever may happen." By the time Ravana was offering holy water to the gods Ganesha cried aloud, "Oh, Ravana, I can no longer bear the weight of this Linga; I shall put it down here." So saying Ganesha put the Linga on the ground and ran away. Ravana completed sandhya- vandana in haste and ran back in fear. But Shiva's Atmalinga was firm in the earth. No matter how hard he tried, Ravana could not take it out.

It was not an easy task to prevent Ravana from getting Shiva's Atmalinga. With his sharp intellect, Ganesha did this difficult task easily.

Ganesha Curses the Moon

One day while travelling round the universe on his rat, Ganesha came to Chandraloka (the realm of the Moon). The Moon saw him. The Moon, very handsome, was proud of his appearance. On seeing the elephantfaced, big-bellied Ganapati riding on a rat, he- laughed at Ganesha with contempt.

This was an insult and Ganesha was very angry about the Moon. His eyes grew red. He pronounced a curse "Oh Moon, your handsome appearance has made you too vain. Fool, I am worshipped in all the worlds, but you laugh at me. Receive now the fruits of your foolish pride. Let your beauty, which is the cause for your arrogance and ignorance vanishing! From now on, whoever sees you on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada month, the day of my birth, will suffer because of unjust accusations."

The curse shattered the Moon's pride. He realized his mistake, and felt sorry. Standing devotedly with folded hands before Ganesha he prayed to him. "Sir, forgive me and my ignorance. Take back the curse and protect me."

Then the kind Ganesha grew calm. He consoled the unhappy Moon. He said, "Moon, you have realized your fault. What is important is the destruction of your pride. Anyhow, my curse cannot be in vain. But those who are subjected to false accusations will be saved and regain their good name if they see you on the second day of the bright fortnight also or listen to the story of the Syamantaka gem." The Moon was satisfied.

Krishna Worships Vinayaka

The story of the Syamantaka shows how powerful of the curse Ganesha is. Satrajita of Dwaraka had a gem called Syamantaka. It was dazzling. If it was worshipped with devotion it used to give plenty of gold every day.

Once Prasena, Satrajita's brother, went out hunting. He was wearing the Syamantaka. A - lion killed him and went to a cave, carrying the gem. A bear by name Jambavanta killed the lion and gave the Syamantaka to his child to play with.

This Jambavanta was not an ordinary bear; he was the heroic follower of Shree Rama. Prasena did not return to Dwaraka. Satrajita suspected that Krishna himself had killed him for the sake of the Syamantaka. The rumor soon spread. Krishna had not done anything wrong. So when he heard about Satrajita's suspicions he was unhappy. He went in search of Prasena.

He found the corpse of Prasena. There were footprints of a lion nearby. Following these footprints, Krishna entered the cave of Jambavanta. He fought with Jambavanta for twenty-eight days. At last, Jambavanta understood that Shree Krishna was Shree Rama himself. Then he offered him the Syamantaka.

Krishna gave the Syamantaka to Satrajita and put an end to the evil rumors. However, he was surprised at what had happened. "How could such things be said of me even when I had not done anything wrong Great sages told him the story of Ganesha's curse and said, "You saw the Moon on the fourth day."

I Then Krishna worshipped Ganesha. Siddhi-Vinayaka Vrata-the worship of Ganesha-is performed on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada. The devotees believe that those who see the Moon on that day will not suffer, if they listen to the story of the Syamantaka.

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesha Chaturthi is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It falls on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada which falls in the months of August-September.

During one of His birthdays, His mother, Shakti Parvati, cooked for Him twenty-one types of delicious food and a lot of sweet porridge. Ganesha ate so much that even His big belly could bro not contain it. Mounting His little mouse, He embarked on His nightly rounds. His mouse suddenly stumbled upon seeing a huge snake. To adjust His belly, Ganesha put the snake as on as a belt 'round His stomach'.

All of a sudden, He heard from the sky someone laughing at Him. He looked up and saw the moon mocking Him. Ganesha, infuriated, broke off one of His two tusks and hurled it at the moon. The moon hid himself behind the clouds. Immediately Ganesha pronounced a curse on him saying, "Let no one look at your face on my birthday. If anyone, knowingly or unknowingly, looks at you, they will be completely misunderstood in the family circle and neighborhood for no reason whatsoever."

The symbology behind the mouse and snake and Ganesha's big belly and its relationship to the moon on His birthday is highly philosophic. The whole cosmos is like the belly of God. Shakti Parvati is the primordial energy who cooks twenty-one types of dishes, meaning twenty-one expansions: seven lokas above, seven lokas below and seven oceans, all of which are inside the cosmic belly of Ganesha, held together by the cosmic energy kundalini symbolized as a huge snake which Ganesha ties around Him.

The mouse is nothing but our ego. Ganesha, using the ego as vehicle, represents the fact in every one of us that our great Self or consciousness controls the ego and uses it as a vehicle or instrument in daily efforts. In other words, one who has controlled the ego has Ganesha consciousness or God-consciousness.

Now the moon on that day, that is, Ganesha's birthday, is malefic and will not allow the mind of man to concentrate on God. That is why Ganesha punished him with His tusk and made it well known to all people by warning them of the danger of looking at the moon on such an auspicious day as His birth. In other words, it is an astrological fact that on that day, the moon creates bad moods in human beings.

 

Vyasa Dictates to Ganesha

The Mahabharata is a great epic. It is one of the greatest epics in the world. Vyasa is the author. He was a great inani (one who has realized God) and a Maharshi. The Mahabharata War was fought between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Vyasa had seen the Pandavas and the Kauravas from the time of their grandfather and he had helped that clan very often. He knew all about the Mahabharata War.

Vyasa was thinking of dictating the epic, the Mahabharata, to some one. But he wanted some one capable of writing fast and without mistakes. Brahma decided that Ganapati was the only person equal to this great task. He sent Ganapati. He came to Vyasa and said, "Bhagavan, I will take down the story of the Mahabharata." Vyasa said, "My dear Ganesha, I shall dictate the poem quite fast. Can you take down without any mistakes? Ganesha threw a challenge in return: "Bhagavan, I shall write as fast as you dictate and that, correctly. But once you start dictating you should not stop till you complete it. Do you agree?" Vyasa Maharshi accepted the challenge.

After they had come to this agreement, Vyasa went on dictating the story and Ganapati wrote down what he said. So the world got the great epic.

• Ganesha's Birth
• Ganesha's Marriage
• Talasura Humbled
• Ravanas Terror To The Gods
• Ganesha Curse The Moon
• Krishna Worship Vinayaka
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Vyas Dictates to Ganesha