Mudgalapurana 4.7: bhādrapadaśuklacaturthīvratavarṇanaṃ nāma saptamo'dhyāyaḥ

Homage to Śrī Gaṇeśa.

Daśaratha said: / “The great narrative has been heard by me from you, O best among knowers of the Veda, / containing the essence of both fourth [tithis], endowed with [their] greatness.

Even so, tell me in detail, O Brahman, the separate narrative / originating from the vows: by whom was it performed formerly,

and what kind of perfection was attained, [and] by whom was Gajānana reached? / Hearing the greatness of the vow, I am not satiated, out of reverence.”

Mudgala said: / “Thus questioned, the great yogin Vasiṣṭha, knower of the supreme truth, / said to him: ‘O lord of subjects, hear that which is supreme and bestows happiness.’

Vasiṣṭha said: / “In the beginning, this unsurpassed vow was observed by Śambhu and the others, / who were devoted to fasting on the fourth of the dark and bright halves.

Then it was performed by Svāyambhuva and the others, granting all accomplishments; / then by all the hosts of sages, and by other living beings belonging to the [four] classes.

Now I shall narrate individually the meritorious greatness / arising from the vow, which grants all things; hear it in brief.

In ancient times, there was born the son of Duṣyanta named Bharata, / radiant, chief among heroes, knower of weapons and missiles, full of majesty.

Conquering the entire circle of the earth, he became a universal monarch; / endowed with dharma, he protected the earth with its seven continents.

In his country, through the workings of fate, a terrible drought / occurred; all those people became terrified.

Seeing the animate and inanimate world stricken with agony, the highly renowned king / reverently took refuge with Kaṇva, the peaceful, best of sages.

Bowing to that great soul, he worshipped him with devotion; / folding his hands, Bharata stood before him.

The great yogin Kaṇva, who was ever fond of the Gāṇapatyas / and devoted to the meaning of the Vedas, spoke to Bharata, the best of kings.

Kaṇva said: / ‘Why have you come, O King? Is all well with you, O noble-minded one, / regarding the conditions in your country and elsewhere? Sit on this excellent seat.’

Hearing Kaṇva's words, the ruler of the earth was filled with joy; / joining his palms, he sat down upon the seat offered by the sage.

Bharata, conversant with statecraft and endowed with special devotion, / spoke to that great soul Kaṇva, the best of the knowers of the Veda.”

Bharata said: / By your grace, O lord of yogins, my welfare continues. / Even so, by the course of destiny, I have arrived here distressed.

[Section 4, chapter 7, page 21] The earth was constantly protected by me, devoted to my own dharma, / to please the gods, observances, guests, and the wise, O best of yogins.

And all the people abide by the conduct of their social classes and stages of life. / Even so, this suffering born of sin has arrived; that I do not understand.

And a drought has arisen everywhere, O lord, bringing suffering. / The animate and inanimate [creation] has become agitated with fear through lack of moisture.

For that purpose, O great yogin, have I especially come to you. / By the merit born of the sight of you, my existence has become fruitful.

Now tell me the nature of this sin, that I may destroy it; / act, O giver of honor, so that full rain may fall.

Then the best of sages spoke to that tiger among kings; / Kaṇva, having heard the account, was naturally full of compassion.

Kaṇva said: / Listen, O king: a great sin has been set in motion in your realm; / by that, the suffering born of drought has manifested, without doubt.

Your realm has certainly become devoid of four virtues; / by all the people, though well-behaved, a terrible, great sin has been committed.

You exist with the disposition of a sinful nature, O lover of your people; / and you are devoid of dharma, wealth, pleasure, and liberation, O lowest of men!

The observance of Caturthī, dear child, which grants the accomplishment of all goals, / both the dark and the bright, highly renowned, has fallen into neglect in your realm, O king.

The entire world is fourfold, by the divisions of gross, subtle, and so forth. / Know that that itself is affliction, O leader of kings.

And it removes the fourfold affliction of the one who performs the observance; / that dark Saṅkaṣṭacaturthī has indeed been spoken of to you by me.

The bright one, which bestows the fourfold [fruits], is considered the boon-giver; / if there is no accumulated [merit], O king, for the person performing the observance.

He related in detail that greatness arising from Caturthī; / Kaṇva [related] that especially to Bharata, his own disciple.

Knowing that observances are indeed fruitless if devoid of Caturthī, / the king bowed to him and said, filled with joy:

Bharata said: / O master, tell me the greatness of Gaṇeśa, which grants all perfections. / Him, whose observance is of such a kind, I will worship constantly.

Kaṇva said: / Listen, O king, to the supreme greatness of Gaṇeśa that bestows everything, / which was told to me by Kratu, the wise son of Brahmā.

Once, engaged in asceticism, I was dwelling in my hermitage in the past; / subsisting on air alone, I practiced great asceticism.

Everything was pervaded by my asceticism, O ruler of men; / yet, having resorted to yoga, I remained firmly established [in practice].

Then Prajāpati himself came to my hermitage: / Kratu, praiseworthy by the lords of yogins, a Gāṇapatya of great renown.

Bowing to that great soul, having worshipped him standing before me / with joined palms, he, affectionate to his devotees, spoke to me in that manner.

Kratu said: / Child, sit on the seat given by me; why [stand], O noble-minded one? / Tell me your desire, dear child, and I will indeed fulfill it for you.

Hearing that speech of his, I was delighted, O ruler of men; / having seated him on a seat, I spoke to him with humility:

Kaṇva said: / Merely by the sight of you, I have now accomplished my purpose; / nevertheless, tell me the complete yoga that bestows peace, O treasure of compassion.

Kratu said: / You have asked well, child, about the highest of the high, the great [truth]; / I will tell you, O fortunate one, what was heard by me from Brahmā.

[Section 4, chapter 7, page 22] Formerly, having abandoned asceticism, dear child, and devoted to the path of yoga, / I did not obtain peace there while mastering the stages of yoga.

Then, having gone to my father Brahmā, the knower of all, / who is worthy of praise, I asked him with humility for the peace of yoga:

O master, tell me what kind of Brahman bestows peace, O lord. / Through what yoga might it be attainable? [Tell me], full of compassion.

Brahmā said: / Know the Brahman that bestows the peace of yoga to be Gāṇeśa, O son; / abandon everything composed of mind and speech through the practice of yoga.

Whatever is devoid of mind and speech, that alone is regarded as such; / I am not different from Gaṇeśa; he is remembered as the lord of the Brahmans.

The syllable 'ga' is declared to consist of mind and speech, according to Vedic doctrine; / and the syllable 'ṇa' is accepted by all to be devoid of mind and speech.

The lord of both is Gaṇeśa, when by name he is Gaṇapati; / the union of the syllable 'ga' and the syllable 'ṇa' is established by the authority of the Veda.

That which is attained through samādhi and through the mind, O noble-minded one, / is the knowledge situated in the syllable 'ga', to be known from Vedic doctrine.

That which cannot be attained by the mind, know that to be the syllable 'ṇa', O giver of honor; / having abandoned the mind composed of knowledge and ignorance, you will attain peace.

This supreme secret which bestows peace has been declared by me; / for that purpose, worship Gaṇarāja with sincere devotion.

Receive the single-syllable great mantra, O noble-minded one; / through the yoga of meditation you will attain Vighneśa, without doubt.

Having spoken thus, he gave me the great mantra according to rule; / having bowed to him, dear child, I went to the forest for the sake of yoga.

Gradually relinquishing the yoga of the levels of the mind, / I cast my supreme mind upon the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, O son, through contemplation of his form.

Then I became one worshipped by the lords of yogins; even so, constantly / I remained engaged in meditation upon Gaṇeśa out of a desire for devotion to him.

Then the lord of obstacles visibly gave me his vision; / praised and worshipped by me, he also granted his supreme devotion.

From that time forward, I became a Gāṇapatya, praised by all; / therefore, worship that Gaṇarāja out of a desire for yoga.

Kaṇva said: / Having spoken thus, the great yogin then gave me the single-syllable mantra / according to the proper manner, and then vanished.

Having thus especially accomplished Gaṇeśa, / I attained peace; nevertheless, I worship him with undivided mind.

Therefore, you also, O king of kings, constantly worship the lord of obstacles; / endowed with the Caturthī observance, you will become one with Brahman.

Then the great sage gave him the single-syllable mantra. / Bowing to Kaṇva, the royal sage went at that time to his own city.

At that time, that bright fourth lunar day of the month of Bhādrapada arrived. / Indeed, he observed it with deep devotion together with the people dwelling in the city.

Then a proclamation was made everywhere by that ruler of the earth: / "Whoever does not regularly observe the bright and the dark fourth lunar day,

they must indeed be punished with penalties." Then all the people / became observers of the vow; from this religious merit, rain indeed fell.

O prince, all the people became delighted and prosperous by means of it; / free from afflictions such as disease, they worshipped that Gananāyaka.

King Bharata worshipped Gaṇeśa with an undivided mind; / endowed with devotion, he was dear to the Gāṇapatyas.

Entrusting that mighty kingdom to his son, he went to the forest. / (

Section 4, Chapter 8, page 23) In the end, going to Svānanda, he indeed became one with Brahman.

Gradually, the people who dwelt on the earth went to Svānanda / through the connection with the merit of the fourth lunar day, just as those dedicated to yoga do.

Merely through Bharata's touch, O king, even worms and other creatures / became embodied merit, and in the end they went to Svānanda.

By such a king were people rendered meritorious, / by whom, performing meritorious deeds, the entire earth was adorned with sacrifices.

O king, no one was equal to Bharata / in knowledge, personal power, fame, or adherence to dharma.

The greatness of the bright fourth lunar day of Bhādrapada has been told by me, / endowed with the fruits of the four aims of life and granting the state of identity with Brahman.

If anyone hears or recites the greatness / of the bright fourth lunar day of Bhādrapada, O best of kings, it will surely grant him everything.

On the bright fourth lunar day of Bhādrapada, the Lord indeed / manifested in the heart of Śaṅkara at midday; born of meditation, he became his son.

From then on, that lunar day became paramount, bearing the birth / of Gaṇeśa, granting the state of identity with Brahman; there is no doubt.

At the beginning of creation, the supreme image of the Lord of Gaṇas / was installed at Mayūra by the five lords of the gods at midday on the lunar day occurring in Bhādrapada.

The incarnation as Mayūreśa occurred in Bhādrapada / at midday in the house of Śaṅkara on the fourth lunar day in the bright fortnight.

On it, those men and others who worship an earthen image, / and the gods led by Śaṅkara, devoted to the great festival,

all become free of obstacles and enjoy happiness. / In the end, O king, they go to Svānanda and become one with Brahman.

Worship of Gaṇeśa at midday is declared especially / by those who observe the vow on the fourth lunar day, joined with fasting.

Breaking the fast on the fifth lunar day together with twice-born persons, O noble-minded one, / having released that venerable earthen image, one should immerse it in water.

If they do not worship an earthen image on the fourth lunar day in Bhādrapada, / indeed all their ritual acts will be completely fruitless.

People desiring their own welfare must not look upon them; / they are considered fallen in the scriptures, and therefore become hell-dwellers.

In this world, they are beset with obstacles, afflicted with various diseases, / and joined with poverty and the like; they are considered great sinners, O king.

On the fourth lunar day in Bhādrapada, Gajānana in clay / is to be worshipped by people of all classes; they become free from obstacles and their actions bear fruit.

This is the fourth lunar day in the bright half of the month of Bhādrapada; / its primeval conduct has been told to you in concise form.

Here I shall describe an ancient story to you; / listen to that great [tale] born of the vow of the fourth lunar day, O fortunate one.

In the city of Drāviḍa, O king, there was a certain sinful cāṇḍāla / entirely afflicted with leprosy and lusting after other men's wives.

On the fourth lunar day in the month of Bhādrapada, he was seized with fever; / he was severely afflicted by the pain of fever, O best of kings.

By the power of fate, he was bereft of both food and water; / when death came on the fifth lunar day, he departed on a celestial chariot.

From the contact with his body, the wind blew to the realm of Yama; / touched by it, all the men dwelling in hell all around—

having mounted aerial vehicles, they all went to the city of Svānanda; / seeing Gaṇapati together with them, he became one with Brahman.

Thus, even [performed] unintentionally, this vow is considered fruit-granting; / (

Section 4, Chapter 8, page 24) What wonder can there be in the case of one by whom it is performed according to rule, ah!

This greatness of the fourth lunar day cannot be fully described; / and the four aims of human life are obtained merely by the vow.

Mudgala said: / Having heard Vasiṣṭha's word, Daśaratha said to him: / Listen, O Dakṣa, highly fortunate master, to that purifying tale.

Daśaratha said: / The cāṇḍāla did not worship the earthen image of the Lord of Gaṇas. / Being a transgressor, O master, how did he become one with Brahman?

Vasiṣṭha said: / It has been properly asked by you, O king; listen to what destroys doubt. / I will tell you knowledge that will bring benefit to the world.

The wicked cāṇḍāla had no knowledge of the fourth lunar day; / hence there was no worship by him, nor was there any intentional violation.

Therefore, free from fault, he came to dwell in Svānanda; / he was exempt from both worship and violation, because of the state of his knowledge.

In this way, having experienced various pleasures in this world, / various people in the end went to Svānanda, O king, merely through the vow.

A single [instance] has been recounted; even in ten thousand years / it could not be fully told; the greatness has been set forth in brief.

Om tat sat. Thus ends the seventh chapter, titled "The Description of the Vow of the Bright Fourth Lunar Day of Bhādrapada," in the story of Gajānana, in the fourth section of the glorious Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa, the final Purāṇa-Upaniṣad.