Mudgalapurana 1.6: prakṛtipuruṣavarapradānaṃ nāma ṣaṣṭho'dhyāyaḥ

Homage to the auspicious Gaṇeśa!

Śaunaka said:
Speak the dialogue between Pārvatī and Śiva, O highly intelligent one,
O omniscient disciple of Parāśara's son, knower of the true nature of all purposes!

Sūta said:
As it was spoken by Mudgala to Dakṣa to bring peace,
I shall recount that dialogue which took place between the two Śivas, O good sir.

The auspicious Śiva said:
Blessed are you, O noble goddess! No other is equal to you,
since by great merit your intellect is eager for the knowledge of Gaṇeśa.

By you, O Śakti, I have been made a true woman, there is no doubt of this;
this is indeed my great fortune, that [you] beloved of Gaṇeśa dwell in my house.

Having bowed to Gaṇeśa, I shall tell the story:
Know that in the beginning is that which consists of māyā, and beyond that is that which is beyond māyā.

Everything consisting of one's essential nature must always be known by the yogin
as twofold by means of the path of yoga, especially through practice.

In the beginning Brahman stood, O goddess, devoid of one, many, and the like;
from rising up of itself and from another, that very one appeared as twofold.

In rising up of itself, no corresponding differentiation was made;
with the thought 'I am', a distinct reflection emerged.

That which is non-different from all, formless by nature,
is always declared as 'I am', the eternal form of Brahman.

By that too, that essential nature of itself, supreme and consisting of the Self, was seen;
'What am I?'—such a differentiation was instantly made by delusion.

Those fourfold entities that stood in the form of yoga,
their undivided, supreme form consisting of the Self of all was seen.

Through māyā, this reflected form instantly arose, known by name;
māyā became that second reflection, because of holding delusion therein.

Merely by holding delusion, its own essential nature was forgotten;
for that god, desiring the pleasure of māyā, it instantly arose.

Another māyā arose twofold: having all forms and formless,
consisting of intellect, O noble lady; through it everything is understood.

Both the formless and that which has form are understood by people through the intellect;
whatever field is understood through the intellect is of the nature of intellect itself.

There delusion has form, while the Lord himself is formless;
the delusion 'free from delusion' arose twofold from the guṇas.

She is Siddhi, the maker of delusion, manifesting various errors;
and the one Buddhi is likewise active everywhere in duality.

Buddhi, completely deluded by Siddhi, became bewildered, O Pārvatī,
connected with delusion having form, and completely deluded by the formless.

Buddhi holds delusion, and Siddhi bestows delusion;
the giver of illumination to both of them became the Lord of Gaṇas himself.

He himself did not go there by name while bearing his own form;
due to the power of the reflection and the reflected, he vainly appears as such.

And that supreme reflection consisting of the Self of all was reflected right there;
the formless nature of the Self entered into conjunction with the two of them.

He alone is this king of Gaṇas, the Lord who performs the play of māyā;
by his will that twofold reality moves like puppets on a string.

Through delusion, the threefold reality became a single state, O Pārvatī;
by it the mental construction was made: 'May I, being one, become many.'

Through mental construction, it became twofold, consisting of the body and the embodied soul;
that which is declared as 'I am that Brahman' is indeed known by teachers of the Veda.

That is the very nature of the embodied soul, from warding off delusion regarding the body;
likewise, the nature of the body there is proclaimed to be a mere drop.

It is the ancient form of Brahman of the fourfold bodies;
(

Section 1, Chapter 6, page 16) and know it to be multiform, designated as the isolation of the body.

That single form of 'I am that Brahman' and the multiform containing the drop
were unable to perform their respective tasks, O Śivā, due to being devoid of existence.

By those two, severe austerity regarding their own essential nature was performed, O beautiful lady;
at the end of a thousand divine years, Gajānana became pleased.

He became visible there, resplendent with a staff-like trunk,
large-bellied, large-eared, four-armed, and bearing three eyes.

Merely upon seeing him, inspiration arose in the two of them then;
fully perceiving him through it, bowing down, they composed a hymn of praise.

Prakṛti and Puruṣa said:
Homage to you, the Lord of Gaṇas, who consist of what is self-luminous,
whose resplendent trunk indeed has a formless nature!

And whose body below the neck is spoken of as having form;
non-difference has arisen between these two; therefore you are indeed Gajānana!

From your own bliss, it is declared fourfold in the Vedas:
one unmanifest form, and the second of equal form,

The third is the real nature, and the fourth is that which is ever unreal. / Your four hands have these as their form; therefore you are indeed four-armed.

Everything rests within your belly; therefore you are remembered as Lambodara. / And your two feet are twofold, having the nature of māyā and its possessor.

All these hosts (gaṇas) are yours, O Ḍhuṇḍhi, of this there is no doubt; / therefore you are celebrated forever by the name Gaṇanātha.

As such, this innate Self appeared in meditation to the two of us; / meditated upon as cognizable by oneself alone, conferring grace upon devotees,

He Himself assumed a body out of affection for His devotees. / Endowed with these characteristics, He bears the name Gaṇeśa.

Everything has been made blessed, O Lord, since You assumed a physical form. / Dwelling directly in Svānanda, become permanently fixed in [our] hearts!

Salutations to You, the King of Obstacles; salutations to You, the Remover of Obstacles! / Indeed, salutations to You, the Maker of Obstacles for non-devotees!

To the Giver of the fruit of actions, to the Bestower of perfection in forms of knowledge, / to You of immeasurable power, to You the foundation of all, salutations!

What is to be done, O Ocean of Compassion? Command just that, O Lord! / Grant us intense devotion to You, O Leader of the Hosts (Gaṇanāyaka)!

Hearing this praise, the Lord of the Hosts (Gaṇādhipa), fully pleased, / gladdening [them], then spoke in a voice deep as a thundercloud.

Śrī Gaṇeśa said: / Well done, well done, O fortunate ones, that this excellent hymn of praise was spoken! / It causes Me delight and will grant all desires.

It is the giver of dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation; it increases prosperity; / and through a hundred thousand recitations, it releases those kept in prison.

It is likewise the destroyer of lethal spells, expulsions, and other [sorceries]. / Whoever recites [it] twenty-one times up to twenty-one days,

if he recites with devotion, he will obtain his desired fruit. / And through desireless recitation, this brings about union with Brahman.

Pleased with the asceticism of you two, and delighted by this hymn of praise offered with devotion, / I shall grant completely whatever is desired by you both.

From that eternal Brahman which exists in the form of a mere point (bindu), / the fourfold universe will become manifest.

And from it emerged the creation (kṛti) of all things in an excellent manner (prakarṣeṇa); / therefore among people this name of yours will be Prakṛti.

Having created the fourfold universe, you will become free from bondage; / you will surely attain unwavering devotion to Me, O Prakṛti.

People who practice devotion to you with desire / [

Section 1, Chapter 6, page 17] or without desire, to them you will grant everything, O lovely one!

And he lies within this fourfold city, therefore he is Puruṣa; / consisting solely of 'I am He' (so'ham), may he abide everywhere as that name.

Free of all form, he will become bewildered in that [creation]; / by the nature of the reflector and reflected, he will be continually infatuated in Prakṛti.

He himself is free from infatuation, ever having the nature of 'I am He' (so'ham) alone; / through My grace he shall always be the blissful Brahman, 'I am He'.

Unwavering devotion to Me shall belong to you as well; / through it, free from bondage, you will likewise be revered.

People endowed with devotion will offer devotion to you; / to them you will give all their desired [fruits], of this there is no doubt.

And you will give the state of union with Brahman through the practice of yoga. / In your visible form of Puruṣa, become the essence of all existence!

Deposit into Prakṛti the seed that is the essence of all existence, O all-pervading one; / by that, she who brings forth all will create the universe, of this there is no doubt.

Having created all the fourfold [universe], protection as well as destruction / are to be performed by the conjunction of time; this is remembered as that which must be done.

Prakṛti is called the mother of all, and Puruṣa the father; / people will indeed conceive various forms and names [for you two].

Having spoken thus, the King of the Hosts (Gaṇarāja) vanished right there; / and Prakṛti and Puruṣa acted just as they had been commanded.

Om Tat Sat. Thus, in the glorious final Upaniṣad of the Purāṇas, in the glorious Mahāpurāṇa composed by Mudgala, in the first section on the deeds of Vakratuṇḍa, ends the sixth chapter entitled 'The Granting of Boons to Prakṛti and Puruṣa'.