Prem Purana Read online

  ‘You sought a boon that the one who killed you should have the power to defeat the eight asuras, not that he should kill them all before killing you,’ Ganesha replied. ‘I have slain six, as you just admitted—Matsaryasura, Madasura, Mohasura, Lobhasura, Krodhasura, Mamasura—and you will be next. As for the last one, Abhimanasura, I will vanquish him in Kali Yuga when I am born as Dhumraketu. To convince you of this, allow me take you into the future and show you his death as well. You will then realize that you have truly reached the end of your wretched life.’

  Kamasura saw a vision then of Ganesha as Dhumraketu, the god with the smoke-coloured banner, who embodied the destructive rage of Shiva at the end of the world. He had two arms and a human head, and rode across the universe on an ash-coloured horse. He wielded a mighty sword with which he struck off Abhimanasura’s head. Then he killed all the sinners who populated the world in dark Kali Yuga, growing angrier by the moment as he saw how evil had spread far and wide.

  His rage grew and grew until it heated up all the earth. The mighty Adisesha, who bore the universe on his head, was unable to bear the heat and began to emit poisonous flames from his thousand mouths. The earth was scorched by the dual attack and smoke rose to the skies to form dense clouds. Torrential rains poured for a hundred years and the deluge submerged all creation.

  The gods prayed fervently for a thousand years, and finally Adi Vinayaka rose in vishvarupa to remove the darkness and usher in the light of a new kalpa. A new Satya Yuga was born and would be followed in time by Treta, Dwapara and Kali Yuga.

  Seeing the mighty god in his primordial form after he had destroyed all the obstacles to enlightenment, Kamasura prostrated himself before him. ‘Dauntless Ganesha, I have seen your form as the supreme god with infinite heads, unnumbered eyes and limitless powers,’ he said. ‘I have watched as you straddled the universe and extended beyond, transcending the past, present and future. The vision has transformed me, destroying the evil within and creating a new gana—your true devotee. Allow me, great god, to atone for my sins by spending the rest of my life at your feet.’

  Siddhi looked at Ganesha’s face, wondering if he would show mercy. Was it necessary to kill the asura in order to fulfil his mission?

  10

  A Lost Cause?

  Ganesha smiled at Siddhi. Did she even have to ask him what he was going to do? She smiled back. The gracious god would certainly forgive his devotee. Moreover, had Kamasura not been the instrument to bring them together? He raised a hand in blessing over the asura prince.

  The survivors from the demon army had long vanished into the forest. Riddhi and Buddhi came running when they saw the asura fall at Ganesha’s feet. Kapila and his students followed, raising their voices in praise of their valiant saviour. The chastened asura returned the gem he had stolen from the sage.

  ‘Do me the honour of accepting the Chintamani, Ganesha!’ said Kapila. ‘I no longer wish for this gem when I see before me the god who is the source of all blessings.’

  The rishi installed Ganesha’s idol in a sacred spot and offered him worship. Devotees from far and wide flocked to pay obeisance to the lord who soon became known as Kapila Vinayaka.

  The devas had been in hiding for long due to their fear of the asura. As they were the embodiments of the panchabhootas, the natural elements too had been in disarray, and chaos had reigned over the universe. But now that Kamasura had been vanquished, the gods resumed their duties and restored balance in nature.

  ‘O Ganapati!’ they chanted in unison. ‘You are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. You are Indra. You are fire and air. You are the sun and the moon. You are Brahman, the supreme soul. You are earth, space and heaven. You are Om!’

  The rivers now flowed crystal clear, babbling joyously that evil had been vanquished. Trees grew lush and green and birds trilled happily that life was sweet once more. Bountiful rains revived the parched earth, which blossomed with rich crops, fruits and flowers. Men shed the sickness of spirit that had held them captive and looked to the sages once more for guidance. The Vedas were sung, the gods were worshipped and bliss enveloped the ravaged world.

  Kapila smiled at the sisters and told them that they could find no better husband than Ganesha. ‘You must seek out and worship the idol of Ganesha made of another gem,’ he said. ‘The Chandrakanta or moonstone symbolizes the third eye of enlightenment. When Vishnu fought and killed the pious emperor Bali, he broke the asura’s body into several pieces that fell to the earth as different jewels. The Chandrakanta is believed to have been created from the gleam of Bali’s eyes.’

  ‘Where will we find this temple, guru?’ asked Riddhi.

  ‘The Athisaya Vinayaka with a human face sits under a banyan tree in the south of Bharata Varsha. Devotees pray to him seeking true soulmates and virtuous children.’ He nodded meaningfully at the sisters.

  ‘I am expected to not only marry, but to also have children,’ murmured Siddhi. ‘I wonder if there is a goddess who chose not to have children . . .’

  ‘ . . . like Kanyakumari chose not to marry?’ asked Ganesha cheerfully. She flashed a warm smile at him, wondering how she could have ever thought of living her life without him.

  ‘Thank you, Krishna!’ Ganesha whispered to the heavens, only to have the sisters converge on him with questions.

  ‘I already promised Buddhi that I would reveal all,’ he smiled. ‘I was thanking Krishna for telling me how to win a woman’s heart!’ He paused, prolonging the suspense, watching the effect of his words on them. Riddhi lifted up a hand playfully as if to strike him, and he capitulated. ‘He told me that the secret of courtship is to make each girl feel that she is the only one for you; to make her think that you would die if she did not return your love!’

  ‘So you made each of us believe that we held your heart in our hands!’ said Siddhi, glowering at him. He held up his hands in laughing surrender.

  Ganesha had to leave them soon, however, in order to inform his parents formally that he had completed his mission on earth. He would have to also seek his mother’s consent and her help in arranging his marriage with Brahma’s daughters.

  When he reached Kailasa, Nandi welcomed him with the news that his father wished to see him and his brother. Karthikeya was already standing before their parents and Ganesha joined him to find out what his father had to say.

  ‘Brahma has come to me with a proposal of marriage,’ said Shiva. ‘His three daughters do not wish to be parted from one another and he thinks that one of you could make the ideal groom!’

  ‘Brahma’s daughters?’ Ganesha repeated, his eyes gleaming.

  ‘Yes. Buddhi, Riddhi and Siddhi. As their names signify, they embody jnana, ichchha and kriya. Whoever marries them will have all that he has ever desired.’

  ‘I will marry them, father,’ Ganesha said eagerly. ‘What greater bliss can there be than to obey your command?’

  ‘No! I will marry them, not you!’ asserted Karthikeya, moving forward with his chin thrust out. ‘I am the elder son after all, and should be married first.’

  ‘My devotees worship me as Skandapurvaja, elder to Skanda!’ Ganesha argued. ‘Maybe you have forgotten that your name is Skanda!’

  ‘Let us not fight over this, my sons,’ laughed Shiva. ‘Parvati and I love you both equally and we will hold a contest beginning at sunrise tomorrow to resolve the matter. Whoever circumambulates the three realms first will marry the maidens.’

  Ganesha was anxious when he heard his father’s mandate. He might have defeated countless asuras on earth, but here in Kailasa, he had to obey Shiva. He had to win a race with a brother who rode a fleet peacock while his own vehicle was a mouse. ‘I will find some way to win!’ Ganesha muttered to himself. ‘I cannot lose the girls who have captured my heart.’

  His task seemed impossible, to say the least. First, he had to win the race. Then he had to placate his mother who would be angry when she found out that her ‘little one’ wished to marry not one but three girls. And after all that, he w
ould have to cajole the maidens to accept him. Until now, neither Buddhi nor Siddhi had declared openly that they would marry him.

  He returned to Kapila’s ashram and shared the news of the race with Riddhi, trying not to show that he was anxious. ‘I will never marry your brother,’ she said candidly. ‘He seems to be angry all the time and always ready for battle. Besides, I have already chosen Sumukha as my groom. So you must do something. Ask your Krishna if you need to!’

  She tripped away lightly, hand in hand with her Sumukha, to gush and coo over him in their garden where wild flowers bloomed and swans floated in tranquil pools.

  Sumukha wove his usual magic with words. ‘You are Prakriti, the perfection of nature,’ he said in adoration. ‘You are Shakti, who spins dreams into reality. You are Maya, the delightful delusion!’ Riddhi reciprocated by ushering him through the gates of bliss with her kisses.

  Ganesha went looking for Buddhi and told her about his father’s command. She looked at him with huge, solemn eyes. ‘You must win the race somehow,’ she said. ‘When you do so, I will be yours—body, mind and soul!’

  His face broke into a delighted smile. Surely, no one could be happier than he was at that moment! His mind was already racing to find a solution to his problem.

  The new day dawned. Karthikeya shot into the skies on his trusty peacock and was soon lost to sight. The devas came to watch the drama unfold as they had already seen Ganesha courting the girls for many months. The girls were summoned to Kailasa by Parvati who welcomed them with great affection. They looked at her warily, wondering why she was treating them so differently from their last meeting.

  Parvati’s next words seemed to hold an answer. ‘It seems that you three are to wed Karthikeya and not my little Ganesha!’ she said in an outburst of joy. Then she added, looking at Siddhi, ‘I remember that you do not wish to marry anyone! I will speak to your father and make sure he accepts your decision.’ Did she still feel that way? Siddhi felt unsure now that her wish had been accepted.

  ‘Should we start a fire under Ganesha to make him follow his brother?’ whispered Buddhi, wondering why he had not yet set off.

  ‘Why are you still here?’ Riddhi asked him openly when he appeared before them after a leisurely bath. She saw that he had taken time to adorn himself in silk and gold, completely ignoring the fact that his brother was speeding ahead of him in the race.

  ‘Where is that lazy mouse of yours?’ asked Siddhi, looking around angrily.

  The young god merely furrowed his brow in thought and refused to answer. Parvati came behind her son and patted his head affectionately. ‘It is good that you are not interested in getting married, son,’ she said. ‘I will bring you some fresh modakas while you wait for your brother to return!’

  When she had disappeared, Buddhi came up to him and stared at him with accusing eyes. Ganesha merely sighed and went away to prepare two seats of durva grass.

  ‘What is this for? What is your plan?’ scolded Siddhi. He had pretended to court death for the sake of her love and now . . . now he was letting his brother win them in marriage.

  The girls watched impatiently as Ganesha seated his parents on the grass mats. Was he going to perform worship before embarking on the race? How did he expect to catch up with Karthikeya after all this while?

  The young god joined his hands together in reverence and walked ponderously around his parents, not once or twice but seven times, as Shiva and Parvati watched him indulgently.

  ‘I should have borrowed our mother’s swan and circled the world instead of him!’ muttered Riddhi.

  ‘Why a swan? We could have used the lion we rode during our battle with Kamasura!’ scowled Siddhi. ‘I regret now that I did not persist in my quest to become a sanyasin.’

  But Buddhi was hopeful still. Her Adi would not betray their trust. She had seen the honesty in his eyes and his determination to win the race, one way or another. She would place her faith in him and in their love.

  Ganesha had now come to a stop before his parents. ‘I have won the race, great Shiva!’ he said, a beaming smile on his face. ‘Bless me, father, and preside over my marriage to Brahma’s daughters.’

  Shiva laughed heartily at his claim while Parvati protested, ‘How could you have won when you have not yet begun the race, my son? If you hurry, you may still have a chance.’

  ‘No, mother,’ Ganesha replied. ‘You saw me circle the realms seven times already, for to me, you and father are my universe. The Vedas too state that we earn the greatest punya by serving at our parents’ feet and that to leave them to go on a pilgrimage is a sin equal to murder. Do our scriptures lie? Can we question their wisdom? Further, even the dullest of minds will acknowledge that the great Mahadeva and Jaganmata embody the world. So do not delay in upholding my claim, Divine One. Allow me to marry the maidens at once.’

  Shiva laughed again and nodded. Parvati glared at the girls who began to fear that she would end their lives that very moment. The great goddess summoned them closer.

  When they stood before her trembling, she gathered them into her embrace one by one and whispered that she had merely been playing with them. Ganesha watched with a relieved smile. His task was done. He had made the impossible possible. The elders would now make arrangements for the wedding.

  The youngsters soon returned to their forest, each girl joining her own Ganesha, ready to chastise him in her own way for putting her through such anxiety.

  ‘I presume then that you are willing to marry me,’ Ganesha said to Siddhi, concerned that she had still not expressed her consent. It was his turn to wait now as she gave the question serious thought.

  ‘There is a lot to be said for a life of asceticism,’ she said finally. ‘Earlier, I worried that my sisters would remain unmarried if I took an oath of celibacy. But now that they are marrying you, I can continue freely on my path without being burdened by marriage.’

  ‘But . . . but . . .’ stammered Ganesha, staring at her nonplussed. Had he come so far only to lose her?

  11

  A Wedding and a Dispute

  Siddhi began to laugh, unable to keep up the pretence any more. Ganesha looked into her eyes and saw his love reflected there. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to clasp her hand. ‘How did you finally agree to marry me?’ he asked, eager to hear her say that she loved his majestic form or the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, or that she had been enchanted by his grace in battle.

  But Siddhi was Siddhi and her answer was filled with deeper meaning. ‘I value the integrity that made you honour your word to me though your life and mission were put at risk,’ she said. ‘More than that, I appreciate the respect you gave me by not taking my consent for granted. You have dispelled my doubts and my distrust, dear Ganesha!’

  ‘How could I not respect someone who is so essential to my happiness, my success and my very being?’ he replied. ‘You are my Siddhi—infinite and eternal.’

  He plucked a hibiscus bud from the shrub near them, gorgeous with its glossy red petals and bright green stem, and offered it to her. When she took it from him, the bud turned into a garland and then into a necklace of rubies and emeralds. He fastened it lovingly around her neck.

  They heard devotees chant verses to Vinayaka and his Shakti who blessed the world with knowledge, prosperity and bliss.

  ‘He is creation, she its beauty. He is the battle, she its victory. He is the universe, she its energy. He is knowledge, she its liberating power. Together they embody the realms, and beyond them there is nothing!’ they sang.

  Riddhi and Buddhi came to them and on their necks too were necklaces like the one he had bestowed on their sister.

  ‘Whenever I am born on earth, you three are born with me,’ he said to them. ‘You take different forms and names; you are worshipped as one or many goddesses, or as part of me. Each devotee sees the gods in the form that he prefers, worshipping Krishna with Radha in Goloka or Vishnu with Sridevi and Bhudevi in Vaikunta. Not even the Trimurti can ac
t without their Shaktis who destroy evil and then redirect their powers to elevate minds and promote good.’

  The gods blessed them from above and said, ‘May your grace protect the devout from demons and delusions, from poison and perdition. May you keep them safe in forests and deserts, on battlefields and on the high seas.’

  Brahma appeared before the blithe god and worshipped him with a verse from the Vedas. ‘They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni; he is heavenly Garuda, with the beautiful wings. God is one, though the sages speak of him as many. Obeisance to you, the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe! I return to you the gifts that you bestowed on me,’ he said.

  Brahma saw that his daughters were mystified and showed them a vision of what had happened when he had begun his task of creation. ‘Nothing happened as it should,’ he said. ‘My efforts went awry as my creations turned out to be the opposite of what I had conceived. It was then that I realized that I had not sought the blessings of the Prathama, the first among the celestials. I invoked him by chanting “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha” for twelve continuous years. When he finally appeared before me, I sought the powers of wisdom, action and desire, which he bestowed on me in the form of my three daughters. And with these powers, I created the world.’

  The three girls watched awestruck as the sun emerged from Brahma’s eyes, the moon from his thoughts, the heavens from his head, the sky from his belly and the earth from his feet. Then they turned adoring eyes to the Adi Vinayaka with whom they were united for evermore.

  Ganesha’s marriage with Siddhi, Buddhi and Riddhi was performed with great pomp in Brahmaloka. The celestial architect Vishvakarma built a glittering new city with mansions, crystal ponds and lush gardens rich with fruits and flowers. The guardian deities of the eight directions—Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirurti, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera and Isana—arrived to bless the venue. The kinnaras and vidyadharas helped in decorating the hall and in setting up grand thrones studded with gems. The ganas travelled to the fourteen lokas to invite guests. The kalpavriksha and the divine Kamadhenu came to shower them with celestial gifts. The apsaras and gandharvas staged plays depicting Ganesha’s exploits. The mountains, the rivers, the stars and the sages arrived to witness the marriage of Brahma’s daughters to Shiva’s son, for there could be no greater bliss.