The Story of Ganesa: 1. The advent of an incarnation | INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

The Story of Ganesa: 1. The advent of an incarnation | INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

The Story of Ganesa: 

1. The advent of an incarnation

Long, long ago, at a time which nobody can visualise, Lord Brahma sat on a lotus in Satya Loka. He was busy at Creation, and after some time, he felt tired and yawned. His yawn triggered the mountain peaks to crack and tumble down. Fire erupted from the cracks and the flames leaped to great heights. As sleep overcame him, his eyes welled, and the tears came down in torrents causing great floods. When Brahma closed his eyes, the universe was enveloped in darkness. It was night.

Soon it was time for the day to break. The universe was slowly lit with brightness. The Lord’s consort, Devi Saraswati, took up her veena and played the raga Bhoopalam. The music that emanated from the veena awoke Brahma and he got up. His four faces looked in the four directions - north, south, east, and west.

The Lord saw that the floods below had risen to a great height. He saw a streak of bright light amidst the layers of waves rising from the waters, and it was moving. Floating on the waters was a big banyan leaf, and on it lay a baby as bright as the full moon. The infant was sucking its thumb. As the leaf came closer, he noticed that the infant had a head like that of the elephant. The trunk was playing with the toes. Its face was brilliantly lit. Brahma looked at its four hands with fascination. As he was looking at the infant with great intent, the leaf disappeared along with the infant on it. Water receded from the place where the leaf disappeared. It was surrounded by oceans and seas. It was the earth.

The Lord began his activity of creation again. As mountains arose, he sprinkled water from his kamandalu on them. The water took spring and flowed down as rivers. Soon trees and plants took roots on the earth which was then endowed with rich elements like gems and gold. Brahma created animals and birds, insects and reptiles to live on the earth, and gifted the seas and oceans with fishes of innumerable varieties. Once again he poured water from his jug and mixed it with clay. Lo and behold, the shape he gave to it was that of a man. Yet another shape, and it was that of a woman.

All this while, Saraswati was playing on the veena. Suddenly, the divine instrument struck a discordant note, and the Devi wondered what would have happened. She looked at her lord and saw that Brahma’s faces had suddenly turned pale. He rose from the lotus and looked down on the earth. His eight eyes met with some strange sights. He was perplexed to see that everything had turned topsy-turvy.

The mountain-peaks had dived into the earth and the base of the mountains shielded the sun from shining on the earth. Trees stood upside down with the roots protruding out into the sky. The birds were flying backwards, and the fishes stood stock-still in the seas and oceans. The animals suddenly changed their size and shape. They appeared grotesque as some of them were without head, some sans limbs or eyes or nose, and some of them had their tail attached to their face!

Brahma was horrified. Now this was not how he had imagined and created them. With trepidation his eyes turned to the human beings. Some of them had two heads - one of a male and the other female. Some men had stunted legs, while some women’s legs were as long as tall trees. Some men had their heads facing backwards. Some others had four legs, while some others went about hopping on single legs. Some men had no head on their shoulders. All these living beings - humans, animals, birds, and others - were crying, weeping, howling, or shouting as if they were finding fault with their Creator. “O Lord Brahma! You have four heads, but none of them seems to be all right! Otherwise, how could you make all of us so ugly looking?”

The Lord felt that his head was reeling. He thought his eyes were getting blinded with darkness. He looked at Saraswati with some fear. Would she also appear ugly? Brahma asked aloud: “Why and how have my creations turned so distorted? I had conceived their shape and size, color and character, and had created them accordingly. I can’t believe these inexplicable changes!”

Brahma spoke so loudly that his words echoed from all corners of the universe. As he looked around, he once again saw a streak of light coming towards him. It was from a figure which had an elephant-head, and four hands which held a string of rope, a pot, an axe, and a goad. The face was as bright as the moon. The brilliance had spread up to the skies.

Saraswati was then playing Aum (omkaram), the supreme sound, which reverberated all over the universe. As she saw the brilliant figure, her fingers spontaneously strummed a hymn of salutation to the elephant-headed figure. Later, she played several ragas, Hamsadhwani last of all.

The elephant-headed figure blessed Brahma, who now acquired a lustrous aura around him. Brahma’s hands folded automatically into a namaskar. He paid obeisance to the figure and said: “O Benevolent One, may I know who you are. Please forgive me, for, I am not able to recognise you. Kindly shower your blessings on me!”

“My son, Brahma deva!” said the figure affectionately. “You may conceive many things, and resolve to do many things but all of them may not happen, because there could be obstacles. I am the one who removes obstacles to help fruition of whatever one imagines or desires to happen. I am, therefore, called Vighneswara or Remover of obstacles. I am the master of what are known as Panchabhootas or five ganas, who are the attendants of Siva. Therefore, I am also known as Ganapati. I can control and rein in even mighty destroyers like the mad elephants that trample over ripe fields and grasslands. You may call me Vigneshwara in future.”

Brahma now requested that he be told why all that he had created from his imagination had suddenly become distorted. “Please tell me how my creations can be perfect,” he requested.

“That was to teach you about obstacles,” said Vighneswara. “When I first appeared to you as an infant on a leaf, you did not understand the significance of the vision that you saw. And so you did not care to think of me, the Remover of obstacles. It did not occur to you to pray to me. If you want to remove obstacles, you must first offer prayers to me. As I told you, I control and check all hurdles. If anyone prays to me before attempting any activity, then that activity will proceed smooth.

“Do you know what it means to be thinking of me before commencing on a task? It only means that you must launch into a task with your eyes fully open. That you must know the obstacles you are likely to face on your way, of the hurdles that you may be called upon to cross.

“When I say pray to me before you start a new venture, I actually mean that you should go into your venture fully aware of the pitfalls and the problems that you are likely to face. I am nothing but the personification of that knowledge of obstructions and difficulties.

“Whoever starts a new task, be it Brahma himself or a mere man, it is important that he knows the full extent of his work, the risks and responsibilities that go along with it. Only one who is forewarned and forearmed can even dream of success.

“The elephant tests the strength of the ground with its trunk before moving forward. Among the animals, the elephant is the largest and the most intelligent. It is vital to be as intelligent as an elephant and it is to indicate this that I have assumed the head of an elephant. As I am elephant-headed, I am also known as Gajanana.

“While you were asleep, a demon called Somakasura had stolen the four Vedas and hidden them somewhere in the ocean. Lord Vishnu then incarnated as a fish and killed the demon and retrieved the Vedas, and gave them to me. After I hand them to you, you will not face any obstacles to your activity.”

Lord Brahma gratefully accepted the four vedas that were handed to him by the elephant-headed god. He began singing in praise of Vighneswara, and promised that he would offer prayers to him before he started his activity. “Please bless me so that my task proceeds smoothly.”

Vighneswara turned to Brahma, saying, “Here, I take back all your creations till now. Creation is an art, and should not be made a degrading activity. You must make the universe a creation of beauty. I am born as the son of Siva and Parvati and have incarnated as Ganapati, lord of all ganas, Vinayaka as one without a peer, and as Vighneswara, to save your creations from obstacles, protect them, and accept their prayers.”After blessing Brahma, the elephant-headed figure disappeared. At that time, Saraswati was playing raga Hindolam. The sky was lit with a bright light. Lord Brahma once again started creation after chanting “Aum Vighneswaraya namaha!” His chanting was heard all over the universe. All that he created now were perfect in shape and size, and looked beautiful. After seeing the creations, Saraswati was inspired to play different ragas.