Skandapurana 5.213

Sūta said: / Likewise, there is another Gaṇanātha installed there by Viśvāmitra, / O best of brahmins, who grants all perfections to mortals. 1

Whoever worships him on the fourth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha / is freed from all obstacles for a year. 2

The seers said: / Now tell us, Sūta, the origin of Gaṇanātha: / how he was born, and what majesty is proclaimed of him. 3

Sūta said: / He was produced by Gaurī herself from the dirt of her own body / for sport, with human limbs and adorned with an elephant face, 4

endowed with four arms, mounted upon a rat as vehicle, / holding an axe in his hand, and rejoicing in eating sweetmeats; 5

he bestows all perfections in the world, especially to his devotees. / Formerly, in the battle caused by Tāraka, for the Lord's purpose, 6

he fought a fierce battle, such as had never been fought by anyone. / All the Dānavas were slain without number. 7

Then, being pleased, Śakra spoke to him, the lord of the battlefield, / whose limbs were all pierced and wounded, drenched with blood: 8

"Since you fought this battle for our sake, O auspicious Elephant-faced One, / and all the Dānavas have been slain without number, 9

therefore you shall be worthy of worship even by all the gods, / how much more so by mortals, who are constantly overcome by obstacles! 10

Whoever worships you everywhere at the commencement of undertakings, / their undertaking shall succeed—there is no doubt—by my word!" 11

Having spoken thus, the Thousand-eyed One then dismissed him, / honoring him with great respect, by the side of Gaurī and Śaṃkara. 12

This matter was asked long ago by the wise Rohitāśva / to the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya, for the removal of all brahmins' [affliction]. 13

I shall narrate that very matter to you truthfully, O fortunate ones; / listen attentively to all of that ancient event. 14

Rohitāśva said: / O Blessed One, here all mortals, even when pure, / are beset with obstacles in all auspicious actions. 15

And when undertakings are begun, especially those born of dharma, / such obstacles arise by which that undertaking does not succeed. 16

Therefore, prescribe to me some vow for the destruction of obstacles— / whether a vow, an observance, an austerity, or a gift— 17

by which, performed only once here, as long as a person lives, / no obstacle will arise from birth until death. 18

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Here I shall describe to you a vow that destroys all obstacles, / endowed with all virtues, destroying all sins, / which was formerly observed by the contemplative Viśvāmitra. 19

The glorious son of Gādhi was known as Viśvāmitra; / he had an enmity with the great-souled Vasiṣṭha. 20

Though of great austerities, he was never addressed by Vasiṣṭha / for the sake of brahminhood, as "You are a brahmin." Thence enmity arose. 21

Rohitāśva said: / Why did the brahmin Vasiṣṭha not address him [as such] at all, / whereas he was proclaimed a supreme brahmin even by Brahmā and the others themselves? 22

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Formerly, King Viśvāmitra was a kṣatriya. / Roaming about on hunting expeditions, he then entered the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha, / afflicted with hunger and thirst, and was hospitably honored by him. 23

He possessed a cow named Nandinī, who always granted all desires; / she would instantly yield whatever Vasiṣṭha desired. 24

By her power, that king, together with his servants, army, and mounts, / was then brought to supreme satisfaction by him with various sweet foods. (25)

Knowing, "This is a king," he [honored him] with guest-water and meals; / and he too, seeing that power and that all of it arose from the cow, / begged for her in exchange for prices consisting of elephants and horses. (26)

The brahmin did not give [her] up then by conciliation or by gift; / nor by division; therefore the king resorted to force. (27)

Then out of anger, that king drove that cow away. (28)

Being led away, she then said to Vasiṣṭha: "O lord, / have I been given by you to this king, since he leads me away by force?" (29)

Vasiṣṭha said: / "You have not been given by me to this king, O fortunate one. / If he takes you by force, do therefore what is fitting." (30)

Hearing that, Nandinī, the excellent cow, filled with rage, / yawned, directing herself toward the army belonging to that king. (31)

Thereupon a swirl of smoke arose from her mouth, and after that, / a fiercely terrible flame, and from that thousands of warriors, (32)

bearing various weapons, terrifying like the messengers of Yama— / Pulindas, Barbaras, Ābhīras, Kirātas, Yavanas, and Śakas. (33)

They said to her: "Tell us, O auspicious one, why have we been created?" (34)

Nandinī said: / "These sinful servants of the king who take me by force— / strike them down by my command! I desire nothing else." (35)

Then that army of Viśvāmitra was slain by them, / fighting in battle over ten nights, O great king. (36)

Viśvāmitra too, seeing that unsurpassed power of a brahmin, / made a vow there with a loud, clear voice: (37)

"Now I will become a brahmin, there is no doubt in this, / so that such wondrous power may arise for me as well. (38)

Therefore I will perform austerity which is unachievable even by the gods." / Having placed his own son in his own position, he then undertook great austerity. (39)

For the sake of brahminhood, [he performed] extremely terrible, immense, and arduous austerity. / He did not attain brahminhood by that, [and] fell into supreme dejection. (40)

Then, having reached Kailāsa, he properly propitiated / the god of gods, Maheśvara, the Great Lord joined with Gaurī. (41)

"I will perform austerity for the sake of brahminhood, O Lord, / having taken refuge on your foremost mountain, Kailāsa. (42)

Therefore let the god of gods grant me protection from obstacle, / so that all this great austerity performed by us does not go to ruin." (43)

The Blessed Lord said: / "O best of kings, for purification and whatever task is to be done in this matter, / perform that worship which is dedicated to Vināyaka, (44)

by which your attainment arising from brahminhood will properly come to be." (45)

Viśvāmitra said: / "Tell that, O best of gods, so that I may perform / the prior worship of Gaṇeśa for the pacification of all obstacles." (46)

The Blessed Lord said: / "Formerly, having prepared unguent for her own limbs, Gaurī made him; / from the pure [paste] he was afterward made human-shaped, four-armed. (47)

For sport, this son of mine was fashioned in childhood form: / elephant-faced, huge-bodied, pot-bellied, with short thighs. / Then I was told by her: 'Let this one be brought to life, / so that my little son may become most worthy of worship in the world, O Lord.' (48–49)

Then, O king, he was touched by me with the hymn of creation, / [and] with the hymn of life he properly became endowed with breath. (50)

Then, delighted, I said to the goddess born of the Himālaya: / 'When the fourth day arrived, this one was fashioned by me today, (51)

as your son, O fortunate one, by the power of the hymn of life. / And he shall always be the leader of all my hosts, O queen of gods; / therefore, [he is] Gaṇanāyaka. (52)

And whoever, reciting the hymn of life, O beautiful one, / shall worship him with true devotion on the auspicious fourth day, (53)

for him, in all undertakings, all obstacles entirely / will perish, O goddess, just as darkness does at sunrise.' (54)

"Salutations to the Pot-Bellied One; and likewise salutations to the Lord of Hosts, / always to the Bearer of the Axe, and likewise to the One joined with Speech; (55)

salutations to the Eater of Sweetmeats; salutations to the Bearer of a Single Tusk." (56)

Having worshipped with these mantras, an auspicious offering of sweetmeats / is then to be given, and then one should offer the guest-water: / "Whatever work I shall undertake arising from Śambhu, / let it always be made free of obstacles by you there, O Lord." (57–58)

Then a meal of sweetmeats is to be given / to brahmins according to one's means; one should avoid stinginess with wealth. (59)

Thus it was spoken by me formerly myself, O best of kings, / regarding the Lord of Hosts, right in the presence of Gaurī. (60)

Then, delighted, that goddess spoke this speech: / "From this day forward, whoever my son, Gaṇanāyaka, (61)

properly worships according to this rite on the fourth day— / all his obstacles will go to destruction, without doubt. (62)

Having remembered or having worshipped [him], whoever undertakes tasks, / they will without doubt become unshakable for him; (63)

and without doubt his prosperity will be unwavering." (64)

The Blessed Lord said: / "Therefore, O highly fortunate one, perform properly on the fourth day / the worship directed to Vināyaka, so that you may obtain what is desired." (65)

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hearing that speech of his, Viśvāmitra, the king of the earth, / having performed as appropriate the worship dedicated to Gaṇanātha, (66)

performed vast austerity, free from all obstacles, / and then attained brahminhood, which is difficult even for all to attain. (67)

Therefore, O highly fortunate one, perform the worship born of Vināyaka, / especially when the fourth lunar day has arrived; / you will attain the great pleasures dwelling in your heart, there is no doubt about this. (68)

Meditating on whatever desire one might worship the lord of Gaṇas, / he obtains all of that, according to the word of Maheśvara. (69)

One without a son obtains a son; one devoid of wealth obtains great wealth; / he conquers enemies in battle, remembering that leader of Gaṇas. (70)

A woman abandoned by her husband, unfortunate and disfigured, / attains good fortune through the worship of the lord of Gaṇas. (71)

Whoever constantly recites this or hears it with concentrated mind, / no obstacle arises for him at any time in all his undertakings. (72)

Thus ends the two hundred and fourteenth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Procedure and Māhātmya of the Worship of Gaṇapati in the Context of the Story of Viśvāmitra', in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. (214)