Mudgalapurana 2.32: gajāsurasainyavadho nāma dvātriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Homage to glorious Gaṇeśa.

Mudgala said: / Once, while that leader of the Daityas was seated in his assembly hall, / the sage Nārada, fond of curious spectacles, suddenly arrived there.

Honored by the Daitya, the great sage, clever, said to him: / 'Listen, wise lord of the Daityas, to a word of great benefit to you.

In the forest, Gaṇeśa was worshiped with devotion / by the sages and the gods, and has become the son of Parāśara for your destruction.'

Having spoken thus, Nārada of divine sight departed from there. / Filled with fury, the Daitya set his heart on slaying the divine sages.

Surrounded by all the Daityas of great strength and valor, the villain / arrived where the gods and sages were staying.

[Khaṇḍa 2, Adhyāya 32, Page 67]) Then, seizing all the gods together with the hosts of sages, that villain / took up a weapon to slay them; just then, they remembered Vighnapa.

As soon as he was remembered, Gaṇādhyakṣa confused the intellect / of the Daitya; because of that, the Daitya conceived a great idea in his mind:

'These Brahmins and gods are under my power, without a doubt; / a punishment must be inflicted on them by which their spirit will depart.

Later, after some time, I shall surely kill them by force.' / Having made this resolve, Gajāsura said to them:

Gajāsura said: / 'Let the gods and all the hosts of sages hear my beneficial words, / which you must quickly perform if you wish to live:

Holding your ears with both hands, / constantly knock your heads on the surface of the earth near my feet!

Then I shall release the lords of the gods and the best of sages, not otherwise; / and [if you do not,] I shall cut off the heads of all, without a doubt.

The god Gaṇeśa, beloved of the gods, who was prayed to by you, / has been born as the son of Parāśara; perform [this] together with him.'

Hearing his words, Viṣṇu respectfully said to him, / remembering Gaṇeśa in his mind, auspicious words mixed with conciliation:

'We shall perform the punishment that has been spoken by you. / Release all the gods and sages; we shall go to Gajānana.

Having brought the Lord of gods, together with him we shall diligently / and properly perform this every day at your lotus feet.'

Deluded by the illusory power of Gaṇeśa, the powerful king of Daityas / released all the gods accompanied by the sages.

'If on the arrival of the fifth day you have not come into my presence, / then I will slay you all along with Gaṇeśa.'

Saying 'So be it,' they all went toward the house of Parāśara. / Seeing Gajānana there, they bowed prostrate like a staff upon the ground.

Parāśara, astonished, personally honored them, / especially the sages and gods who had all arrived suddenly.

Joined with Parāśara, all of them then related / the deed of Gajāsura, after praising [Gajānana] with various hymns.

'O Lord of gods, holding our ears, how can we truly knock our heads / before the asura, bowed down at his feet, O Lord?

Indeed, death is considered better than bowing to a base person; / therefore, O Gajānana, slay either the gods and sages, or the Daityas!'

Mudgala said: / Hearing the words of the gods and others, the Lord smiled and spoke to them, / constrained by his loving disposition toward devotees, O Prajāpati.

Gaṇeśa said:
You should not worry at all; I will slay the asura in an instant. / Follow my pleasing word, which will bring happiness to all.

The very punishment prescribed by the king of Daityas is pleasing to me; / perform it with all your heart in the presence of my feet.

Then, before your very eyes, I shall slay that most terrifying Daitya / in half a moment, O best of beings; of this there is no doubt.

Hearing the pleasing words of Gaṇeśa, the best of divine sages / looked at one another’s faces with smiles.

There Śambhu spoke these beneficial words: / "He is our family deity; therefore, perform it, O best of beings."

Having said this, Śaṅkara himself, with both hands on his ears,

holding them, produced a sound at his feet with his head.

That sound produced with the head was soft and sweet; / hearing it, Gajānana was filled with supreme delight.

Then the same was done by the gods led by Viṣṇu and the sages headed by Bhṛgu, / O Dakṣa; then he rejoiced exceedingly.

Mounted upon his mouse and adorned with four weapons, / Gaṇapati himself set forth to slay Gajāsura.

Having arrived at the city named Mahiṣa, he let out a lion’s roar; / confounded by it were those asuras, as well as the elephant-Daitya himself.

Meanwhile, the asuras stationed at the outposts arrived there; / with their limbs mangled and broken, they reported the actions of the gods.

The asuras said:
"Accompanied by Gaṇeśa, the gods and hosts of sages, O lord, / have come filled with arrogance to fight exceedingly, O Gajāsura!"

Hearing their words, the mighty elephant-Daitya / commanded all the Daityas: "Get ready!"

Having made himself well prepared, he mounted his chariot and set out; / behind him, the commanders of the Daitya army and the Daityas went out from the city.

Gajānana, serene in spirit and inspiring fear even in Death, / beheld that Gajāsura accompanied by an endless army.

Then, in fury, Gajāsura commanded the Daityas: / "Destroy all the gods and sages, along with the Yakṣas and others!"

Commanded by the king of Daityas, the victorious asuras / violently afflicted the gods with their missile weapons and arms.

Overcome with rage and resolved to die, / the gods then struck down the Daityas with strikes of various kinds of weapons.

A most terrible battle, a tumultuous clash of mutual destruction, / took place there between the Daityas and the gods.

A river of blood flowed with a great torrent, stupefying the warriors; / the hosts of Daityas were broken there, sorely distressed by blows.

Casting away shame, the hosts of Daityas fled in the ten directions; / seeing that, O Prajāpati, the king of Daityas was astonished.

Then the cruel chiefs of the Daityas, headed by the ministers, entered the fray; / mighty in power, they struck down the army of the gods.

Then, engaging in a most dreadful fight with Indra and the others, / some were slain, some fainted, and some were struck down on the ground in battle.

Crying "Alas, alas!", the hosts of Daityas fled in the ten directions; / seeing that, the king of Daityas was seized with supreme amazement:

"I have seen the impossible, as if fire has turned cold, / since this entire army of mine has been routed by the gods!"

Thus burning in his mind, his eyes red with rage, / Gajāsura, mounted on his chariot, came out himself to fight.

Om tat sat. Thus ends the thirty-second chapter, entitled 'The Slaughter of Gajāsura's Army,' in the Ekadanta narrative of the second section of the glorious and supreme Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa, an Upaniṣad of the Purāṇas.

[Section 2, Chapter 33, Page 69]