Mudgalapurana 2.9: priyavratarājyaprāptivarṇanaṃ nāma navamo'dhyāyaḥ

Obeisance to glorious Gaṇeśa.

Sūta said: / Durvāsas, a portion of Śaṅkara, performed supreme austerity; / having arisen in the 'not this' (neti) Brahman, the great sage became identified with Brahman.

Seeing him endowed with immense anger, unrestful, yet yearning for peace, / the great sage Atri gave [him] knowledge just as [he had to] Datta.

In the holy place of Mayūreśa, he took up meditation on Gaṇeśa; / through his devotion, he was endowed with the yoga of peace by Gaṇarāja.

Beginning from that time, the great yogin Durvāsas bore peace; / with a nature free from anger, he became the best among knowers of Brahman.

This deeds of the sons of Atri has thus been told to you by me, / just as it was revealed to Dakṣa by Mudgala, O brāhmaṇa.

Now I shall tell the deeds of the progeny of Svāyambhuva [Manu], / which destroys all sins, as was related by Mudgala.

Śaunaka said: / How was the deeds of that wise one told by the brāhmaṇa Mudgala? / Tell me all just as it was heard by Dakṣa.

Sūta said: / Dakṣa, who was bewildered by a curse, having heard the deeds of yoga / arising from the son of Atri, spoke again to Mudgala.

Dakṣa said: / 'Blessed is Atri, whose sons indeed are Gāṇapatyas of great splendor, / yogins and givers of yoga; their deeds has been heard [by me].

Now tell me, O holy one, the ancient path of creation. / What did the two sons of Svāyambhuva Manu, endowed with great splendor, do?'

Sūta said: / Having heard the word of Dakṣa with a heart filled with joy, / the great yogin Mudgala, knower of the supreme truth, addressed him.

Mudgala said: / The two sons of Svāyambhuva Manu, perfectly righteous, / known by name as Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, were lords of progeny.

Devoted to spiritual practice, the eldest, Priyavrata, went to the forest, / regarding the body and the rest as perishable; then Manu became sorrowful.

Nārada went there swiftly; Manu said to him: / 'O brāhmaṇa, instruct my son Priyavrata according to proper ordinance.'

Saying 'So be it,' Nārada went there to his great hermitage; / seeing him, the royal sage arose and bowed with folded hands.

Perceiving in his mind that his son was intent upon obeying his command, / Nārada of great splendor addressed that best of kings.

(Section 2, Chapter 9, page 23) Nārada said: / 'Listen, O son, highly fortunate Priyavrata of great intellect! / That the body and the rest are all perishable has been understood by you—it is most wonderful.

Even so, this human body is accompanied by three debts; / action performed by the human body is the root of the entire world.

This human body is food for all, without doubt; / its nourishment must certainly be carried out by the embodied soul.

Only through the observance of one's own dharma according to the rules of caste and stage of life, / by the food that is merit made by the embodied one, is the universe nourished.

Through sacrifices and the like, the debt to the gods [is paid]; through śrāddhas and the like, that to the ancestors; / and through the path of procreating sons, the human [debt] will meet its end.

Now, laden with debt, why have you come to the forest? / Rule the kingdom, O highly fortunate one, delightfully devoted to your own duty.

Having established your own enduring kingdom upon your sons, / you may afterward enter the forest and be devoted to the practice of yoga.'

Mudgala said:
Having heard Nārada’s words, the best of kings was delighted; / with folded hands and full of faith, the son of Manu addressed him:

Priyavrata said:
“Master, I wish to ask; tell me, O noble-minded one: / by what means, O lord of yogins, does a man become one with Brahman?”

Nārada said:
“Listen, my son, I will declare that which grants the state of Brahmanhood; / by mastering the path, a man attains peace of his own accord.

Only by knowing Gaṇeśa, the embodiment of yoga and the master of Brahman, / does a living being become one with Brahman through practice, O wise one.

The word ‘gaṇa’ is declared to signify an aggregate; / and the aggregates are forms of yoga, distinguished into external and internal.

Through the aggregate of all foods, the food-made Brahman is spoken of in the Vedas, my son; / so too are various aggregates remembered.

In ancient times, knowing their lord, Gaṇeśa, yogins / especially attained peace, the supreme state consisting of the yoga of peace.

He, Gajānana, has become our family deity; / worship him diligently; then well-being will follow.

By worshipping the lord of qualities, the king of the gaṇas, with devotion, / our grandfather indeed became one with Brahman through devotion.

His sons are declared to be Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, / Sūrya, and Śakti—these five, enjoying all things, worshipped him;

Then they, the lords of the universe, attained absolute peace, my son. / And we, sons of Brahmā, worship that lord of gaṇas.

Consequently, we have become foremost among the lords of yogins, O Priyavrata, / endowed with all knowledge, and especially freed from bondage.

Therefore, O emperor, you too worship Gaṇeśa with devotion; / thenceforth everything will become easily attained for you, O sinless one.”

Then the great sage gave him the single-syllable mantra; / he carefully instructed him in the whole worship of Gaṇeśa.

At that moment, the wise Svāyambhuva Manu arrived there together with Brahmā; / seeing both his sons bowing down,

his grandson Priyavrata was deeply instructed once more by Brahmā; / then that royal sage departed with Manu to his own city.

Svāyambhuva installed his two sons in the kingdom and went to the forest; / filled with devotion, he worshipped Gaṇeśa through yoga.

Step by step he went beyond the five planes of the mind; / casting off the mind, that great yogin truly became one with Brahman.

Taking recourse to the yoga of peace, he indeed went to the world of Brahmā; / remaining right there, he was devoted to the worship of Gaṇeśa.

[Section 2, Chapter 10, Page 24] King Priyavrata himself protected the earth; / through dharma, the gift of just governance, and renunciation, he earned renown.

All people, abiding by their own dharma and their varnas and stages of life, / were delighted and devoted to truth while Priyavrata was on the throne.

“Oṃ tat sat.” Thus ends the ninth chapter, entitled “The Description of Priyavrata Attaining the Kingdom,” in the story of Ekadanta, in the second section of the glorious and supreme Mudgalapurāṇa, the Great Purāṇa, the Upaniṣad of the Purāṇas.