Mudgalapurana 3.37: paraśurāmacaritakathanaṃ nāma saptatriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Homage to the glorious Gaṇeśa.

Mudgala said:
When a thousand years had passed while the two Bhārgavas were performing austerity, the lord arrived;
Vighneśvara, bestower of boons, spoke indeed to the two of them:

‘O Reṇukā, O Jamadagni, choose an excellent boon from me!
I am pleased by your austerity performed according to the rule of the single-syllable [mantra].’

Hearing those words of his, the two were filled with joy;
endowed with devotional feeling, they spoke to the king of gaṇas:

‘Blessed is our lineage, O Lord of Gaṇas, by the sight of you;
our austerity and Vedic study have thus borne fruit, of this there is no doubt.’

Having spoken thus, bowing to him and worshipping the lord of gaṇas,
with bristling hair they praised him with intense joy, O Prajāpati.

Reṇukā and Jamadagni said:
‘Homage to you, protector against obstacles, remover of obstacles for your devotees,
creator of obstacles for non-devotees, to you who have become Brahman, homage!’

‘To the beginningless one, indeed without support, having the form of Vakratuṇḍa;
O Lord of Gaṇas, homage to the master of endless gaṇas!’

‘To you who are endowed with various powers, the maker of various distinctions,
yet free from various distinctions; homage, homage to Heramba!’

‘To Ḍhuṇḍhi, the player through unmeasurable māyā,
to the companion of Siddhi and Buddhi, and the bestower of Siddhi and Buddhi!’

‘To the master of Svānanda, the giver of yoga to devotees;
homage, homage to the form of yoga, to yoga, to the giver of peace!’

‘To the embodiment of undivided bliss, the giver of enjoyment and liberation,
to the god Lambodara, and homage to you, Ekadanta!’

‘To Mahodara, the master of obstacles, the giver of happiness,
to you who have a mouse banner, homage, O mouse-mounted one!’

‘To the four-armed one, worshipped first of all, the enjoyer,
to Jyeṣṭharāja, who has the form of father and mother of all!’

‘Whom the Vedas, the gods headed by Śiva, and the yogins
are not able to praise—how can we two? Therefore, we bow to you.’

Having praised the Lord of Gaṇas thus, the two bowed down, praising him with devotion;
raising them both up, the Gaṇādhīśa spoke, filled with joy:

‘Choose a boon, my children, and I will grant what is desired by your mind,
whatever you two wish, O highly fortunate ones, for I am bound by devotion.’

Hearing the words of Gaṇeśa, the couple then spoke to him;
and bowing, touching his feet again, the two were filled with joy.

The two said:
‘If with a gracious disposition you are the bestower of boons, O Gajānana,
then grant us two bliss-giving devotion unto your lotus feet.’

‘And grant us, O Vighneśa, supreme yoga-peace, O lord of yoga,
which is dear to Gāṇapatyas and is always the bestower of bliss.’

Saying “Om,” the Gaṇādhyakṣa then spoke to them again,
’

seeing the devotion and feeling of the two, the bestower of happiness to devotees:

‘This hymn of praise composed by you for me shall bestow yoga;
whoever desires whatever, that I will give to him through the recitation of this hymn of praise.’

‘Jamadagni, be ever peaceful, the maker of devotion to me;
Reṇukā, endowed with a body, worship me, meditating on yoga.’

‘People will see you in the form of a head here, of that there is no doubt;
and the gods and others will see you with all your limbs through the eye of knowledge.’

Having spoken thus, that Gaṇeśa, the lord of Brahman, vanished;
and Reṇukā and Jamadagni remained in their own hermitage.

Then once, Rāma—the powerful Viṣṇu in visible form—
having bowed down with folded hands, spoke these words to his parents:

The glorious Rāma said:
‘I will kill Arjuna, and likewise rid the earth of kṣatriyas,
I shall do so without doubt, O parents, by your command!’

Then Jamadagni, filled with joy, said to him:
“Do not engage in useless violence, Rāma; cast away pride.”

Then Rāma, filled with humility, said to that descendant of Bhṛgu:
“O lord of sages, I made a vow before my mother.

Devoted to the reverence of my mother, I shall make it true,
or else, O sage, I shall abandon my body for that purpose.”

Seeing his persistence, he respectfully addressed his son:
“Go to Śaṅkara, O Rāma; he will fulfill your desire.”

Having bowed to the two of them, the powerful [Rāma] went to Śaṅkara on Kailāsa.
Bowing low before the great lord and praising him, he spoke [these] words:

“I will kill Kārtavīrya; I will rid the earth of kṣatriyas
twenty-one times. Tell me the means for that, O Lord!”

Then Śiva gave the single-syllable mantra of Gaṇeśa
to Rāma. Having received it, the mighty one went swiftly to the forest.

Recalling the austerity performed for the god Gaṇeśa in a previous birth
as Vāmana, he settled himself in that [same] austerity.

Subsisting on air, he then chanted the mantra, engaged in meditation;
with an exceedingly fierce absorption (samādhi), he pleased the lord of obstacles.

When a full hundred years had passed, Gajānana came to him,
to the devotee endowed with devotion and possessed of exceedingly fierce austerity.

He said to that fortunate descendant of Bhṛgu, the imperishable Viṣṇu:
“Choose a boon, O fortunate one; moved by devotion, I shall grant it.”

Hearing his delightful words, the twice-born stood up, bowed
to the lord of gaṇas on the ground like a staff, and worshipped him specifically.

Having worshipped him and bowed again, Rāma praised him with folded hands,
immersed in the very nectar of devotion, his eyes filled with tears.

Rāma said:
“Salutations to you, O lord of the gaṇas, who increase the joy of devotees!
O god who loves devotion, to Heramba salutations, salutations!

To the one whose form is known through the Vedānta, who consists of mind and speech,
and yet is devoid of mind and speech; salutations to you whose form is yoga!

Salutations indeed to you, the elephant-faced, who bear the self without attributes,
and who, with attributes below the neck, have a human form!

To the beginningless, to the one worthy of worship, to the giver of everything to all,
to the first-worshipped, O Vighneśa, mover of diverse obstacles!

To the destroyer of obstacles for good devotees, to the creator of obstacles for the wicked,
to the eternal lord of Svānanda, to Ḍhuṇḍhirāja, salutations to you!

Salutations to you, Vakratuṇḍa; O Lord, salutations indeed to Lambodara;
(

Section 3, Chapter 37, Page 83) salutations, salutations to the one who is constantly the embodiment of peace, the giver of peace!

Salutations to Mahodara, the master of siddhi and buddhi!
Salutations, salutations to you, the grantor of diverse powers, who produce delusion!

Salutations, salutations to the maker of delusion through diverse distinctions of knowledge,
who always removes confusion, delusion, and the like for good devotees, O Lord!

To the destroyer of diverse Daityas and the remover of the arrogance of the gods,
to the one consisting of gods and asuras, to the lord of Brahman, salutations, salutations!

Existing everywhere in the form of yoga, free from union and separation—
how am I to praise you thus present? Tell me, O Lord Vighneśa!

Even yogins, Śeṣa and others, are not capable [of praising] you, O Gaṇādhyakṣa,
nor are Śiva and the rest, nor the Vedas able to praise you.

How then can I praise that Gaṇādhīśa? Therefore I have bowed to you.
Pleased with that, O Lord, protect me who have sought your refuge.”

As he thus praised him with an attitude of devotion, O bestower of honor,
his hair bristled with devotion and his throat became choked.

Filled with supreme bliss, that foremost of the Bhṛgus danced,
then exclaiming: “Victory to Vighneśa, to Heramba, to Gaṇeśa!”

Seeing him thus immersed in devotion, the god Gajānana,
with tears in his eyes and hairs bristling, spoke, O Prajāpati:

“Rāma, Rāma, O fortunate one, hear my supreme word:
You are blessed in every way, my devotee who has attained total absorption.

This hymn of praise composed by you shall bestow the nectar of devotion;
and whoever reads this, or constantly listens to this supreme [hymn],

I shall constantly destroy all of that person’s distress.
Having enjoyed all pleasures here, in the end he will go to Svānanda.

Whatever he contemplates, O wise Keśava, that very thing I shall grant;
and he also will always be honored by me, there is no doubt of this.

Take my axe (paraśu); through it you will become equal to me.
You will conquer the mighty hero Arjuna surrounded by kings.

Likewise, you will rid the earth of kṣatriyas without doubt,
twenty-one times, always endowed with victory.

Your name will be renowned everywhere, bestowing auspiciousness,
called Paraśurāma, bestowing happiness through mere remembrance.

Having performed sacrifices, O fortunate one, and established your fame on earth,
you shall worship me continually, situated in peaceful yoga.”

Having spoken thus to the son of Jamadagni, that lord of Gaṇas disappeared.
Then Rāma had Gaṇeśa installed by brāhmaṇas.

Having worshipped him, Rāma went to his own home, filled with joy.
The wielder of the axe bowed to Reṇukā and Jamadagni.

Receiving their command, accompanied by his brothers,
he challenged that Kārtavīrya of mighty strength and valor.

All the kings arrived, equipped with perfected armors,
exceedingly powerful, invulnerable in every way to the gods and others.

By the boon-granting of Gaṇeśa and by the splendor of the axe, the lord
Rāma diligently slew all of them in battle.

Then, having fought an exceedingly dreadful battle with fierce rage,
he easily cut off the arms of Kārtavīrya and struck him down.

And Kārtavīrya died by means of the axe, O Prajāpati.
Then victorious Rāma, dedicated to the slaughter of the kṣatriyas,

filled with wrath, rid the earth of kṣatriyas there.
Again, through the semen of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas were born.

All those born of kṣatriya lineage were killed again by Rāma.
(

Section 3, Chapter 38, Page 84) O Dakṣa, he rid the earth of kṣatriyas again and again.

And having rid the earth of kṣatriyas twenty-one times,
he gratified his ancestors with the blood of the kṣatriyas.

Having performed a sacrifice, that illustrious one gave the earth to the brahmins. / Then, out of fear, the ocean gave land to him, O Dakṣa.

Residing there, this Rāma worships the Leader of the Ganas, / endowed with exclusive devotion, now a great Gāṇapatya.

This wondrous deeds of Kārtavīrya and of Rāma, / and of Jamadagni and Reṇukā, have been told by me to you.

Whatever man hears or recites this with devotion, to him will accrue / the supreme bestower of worldly enjoyment and liberation, granting desired objects, O Dakṣa.

Om tat sat. Thus, in the glorious final Upaniṣad of the Purāṇas, the glorious Mudgalapurāṇa, in the third section, in the exploits of Mahodara, the thirty-seventh chapter, entitled 'Narration of the Deeds of Paraśurāma'.