genesis of ganesha, another version

[Guest guest]

dear friends

 

all of us follow the story of how ganesha (chief of ganas) was created by

parvati in the vinayak vrat on his birthday today. while celebrating the

birthday of lord ganesha, making him happy and seeking his grace, let me share

another version on the birth of ganesha as narrated in varaha purnaa, 23rd

chapter (all 36 slokas translated) which is given below. this version presents

a different view of the birth of ganehsa as vighna karaka and how he was created

from the mouth of lord shiva and the elephant shape as a curse of shiva. in a

different story elsewhere, the gods send vighnakaraka vinayaka to stop ravana

from taking a shivling to lanka as his job is to create vighnas to evils.

 

with best wishes and blessings

pandit arjun

www.rudraksharemedy.com

 

23rd chapter from varaha purana:

 

prajapala said: how did ganapati spring into a shaped existence, o excellent

one, pray do thou remove my anxiety bearing which i am under great stress.

 

mahatapas replied: in the past, all the dieties, sags and hermits commenced any

work they undertook in such a way that it was brought unfailingly to a

successful completion. but while the undertakings of the virtuous people were

completed passing through impediments, those of the evildoers were crowned with

success without any hurdle. therefore did all the dieties together with the

manes deliberated deeply as to how impediments might be created in the

performance of the action of the evildoers. as the gods, deliberated on the

matter, they came upon the idea of bowing down to the highly wise rudra and

seeking his counsel. thereupon, they went to the kailasadwelling master rudra

and bowing down to him, spoke with humility.

 

the dieties said: o thou god of the dieties, mahadeva, the tridentbearing

threeeyed lord, pray do thou create (somebody) for the hurdle in the way of the

deeds of the nondescript (demons).

 

entreated thus by the gods, the lord bhava, highly pleased in mind, looked at

uma with a fixed gaze. as he looked at uma in the presence of the gods, the

thought struck his mind as to how the sky may be seen as embodied. the earth

has a shape, so has water, likewise fire as well as air have got forms. while

no shape of the ether is found. pondering over it, the lord laughed. looking

at uma, the embodiment of knowledge as she is, the cognition came to sambhu that

a body is given unto those who possess the bodies sounds, as ordained by brahma

in the past. as the knowledge about the shape of the four, the earth and the

others, downed on him, the lord paramesthin gave a hearty laugh.

 

from the laugh of the lrod paramesthin sprang up a highly mighty youth, superbly

lustrous, possessed of a resplendent face and radiating the quarers, endowed

with all the qualities of the lord paramesthin, as a veritable second rudra.

even as he was produced, he fascinated the consorts of the gods by his grace,

resplendence, beauty and great personality. beholding the superbly handsome

youth, uma lovingly gazed at him with fixed eyes. seeing his lovely appearance

fascinating the fickleminded ladies, charming and enraptureing for the eyes, the

enraged paramount lord inflicted a curse on him, lest he might allure the

womenfolk.

 

though shalt be elephantfaced, o youth, with a belly hanging out, and furnished

with a sacred thread made of serpents. thus did the lord curse him under a

paroxysm of rage. five million pores of the body of the tridentwielding

threeeyed lord were filled with perspiration as he rose up trembling in intense

rage. the more the tridenebearing lord shook that original body of his, the

more drops of sweat water fell from the hair of his body down on earth. from

these drops sprang up multifarious elephant faced vinayakas, as dark as the

amala (tree) and blue collyrium, wielding various weapons, to the bewilderment

of the dieties. amazement, they said, when this single one alone can accomplish

great and amazing deeds for the gods, what is the use of this multitude. even

as the gods were thinking in this way, the earth was filled and agitated by the

hordes (of the vinayakas) while the four faced (brahma) the unrivalled lord,

riding on his celestial car came thither and spoke thus: ye are best, o

dieties, that ye have been favoured by the chief of the gods, the threeeyed

supreme lord of prodigious appearnace, by producing agents that would create

hurdles in the activities of the foes of gods.

 

saying this, the grandsire spoke to the trident bearing lord, these vinayakas, o

master, shall be the followers of the chief who was come out of thy mouth?

these embodied offsprings of thine shall move about in the sky which is

immensely vast and made distinguished by lending a form to it as is found in the

other four. the grandsire having departed after saying this, the threeeyed lord

spoke thus to his offspring: thou art vinayaka, the elephant faced one named as

ganesha, son of bhava and the creator of hurdles and these fierce and cruel eyed

vinayakas possessed of strong and sturdy bodies, be thy attendants, bringing

success to all deeds. among all the dieties and in all sacrifices and all other

religious deeds, thou shalt have priority over others in being worshipped,

failing which thou shalt destroy the undertaking altogether.

 

after the supreme lord had spoken thus, the chief of the vinayakas was bathed by

all the gods with water from golden jars and he shone resplendently. seeing the

chief of the ganas thus anointed in the presence of the tridentwielder, all the

gods grew highly pleased. the gods said: salutation to thee, the elephant faced

one, salutation to thee, o thee chief of the ganas, salutaitons be to thee, o

vinayaka, salutation to thee, possessed of vigorous prowess. salutation be to

thee, the creator of impediments, salutation to thee, o thou wearer of snakes as

thy girdle, salutation to thee, produced from the mouth of rudra, o thou

possessed of a hanging belly.

 

as we bow down to thee, o lord, pray do thou make every deed of ours free from

impediments. propititated in this manner by the gods, and also anointed as the

chif of the ganas, the noblesouled one acquired the sonhood of rudra, soma.

since the consecration of the chief of the ganas was conducted on the fourth

lunar day, o prince this day is deemed as the most auspicious day for the

worship of ganesha. he who lives on sesamum grains on this day and worships

ganapati devotedly, o prince, gets the diety immediatley pleased without

anydoubt. he who recites this eulogium daily or hears it being recited, o

princes is not confronted with any impediments and gets entirely free from all

sins.

 

thus ends the twenty third chapter.