Mudgalapurana 6.8: nānākṣetradevotpattivarṇanaṃ nāmāṣṭamo'dhyāyaḥ

Homage to the holy Gaṇeśa.

Bhṛśuṇḍi said: / The sacred field consisting of four gates has been told, O leaders of the gods; / now I will tell the extent of the gates in brief.

At the eastern gate stood the two deities Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa; / by them, manifold [creation] was created with reverence for the sake of their respective places.

Indeed, the various Vaiṣṇava sacred fields in the universe, / they were created by him formerly by the grace of Gaṇeśa.

Likewise, various sacred fields were created by Lakṣmī; / they are declared in accordance with scripture to make a dwelling for Lakṣmī.

And the two gods, Śakti and Śiva, who went to the southern gate, O immortals, / joined with the grace of Gaṇeśa, the supreme two made sacred fields.

Whatever Śaiva sacred fields are in the universe, Śaṅkara himself / created; and then Śakti [created] various Śākta ones.

Rati and Kāma, situated at the western gate, created / sacred fields through Māyā, by the power of the king of obstacles.

And the sacred fields of the Mothers were created with effort by Rati; / while those in the form of sacred fields of the guardians of the directions were created by Madana.

The Earth and the Boar, the supreme two situated at the northern gate, / created their own sacred fields, the supreme two, by the Māyā of Gaṇapa.

As many as were the sacred fields of Saṃjñā, they were created on earth; / and likewise the various Saura [sacred fields] were created by the Boar.

Accompanied by their retinues, the gods, knowers of the field, united with the fields / of the great-souled Gaṇeśa, performed great and supreme austerity.

By reciting various mantras alone, meditating upon god Gajānana, / they pleased him with intense devotion, constantly and especially.

Endowed with fasting, those sacred fields and those deities, / unagitated, worshipped Gaṇanāyaka who was present in the sacred field.

When one hundred years had thus elapsed, Gajānana became pleased; / he came to those gods, foremost with their fields, to grant boons.

Seeing him, rising up suddenly, they bowed to Gajānana; / they all worshipped and praised him, their necks bent in devotion.

The gods along with their fields said: / Homage to you, Brahman, king of obstacles, who abide in Svānanda, / devoid of beginning, middle, and end, whose form is the beginning, middle, and end!

Homage to you, Gaṇeśa, who grant worldly enjoyment and liberation, / who perform various sports, homage to you, Jyeṣṭharāja!

To the creator, destroyer, and protector of creation, who sets delusion in motion, / to the lord of qualities and mover of qualities, homage, homage!

To the supreme lord, the bestower of delusion upon the supreme lords, O Gajānana! / To the lord of yoga, consisting of all yoga, homage, homage!

To the master of perfection and intellect, to the one consisting of perfection and intellect, / to the bestower of perfection and intellect, to you, Cintāmaṇi, homage, homage!

To you having the form of Viṣṇu in the eastern part, having the nature of Śiva in the southern part, / and Māyā in the western part, to the Sun in the northern part!

Having created the fourfold [world], O lord Gaṇeśa, you play constantly / in various ways; who then would be capable of praising you?

'We are blessed, we are blessed, having seen Gajānana, / named Brahmaṇaspati, the supreme impeller of the Brahmans!

Whom even the Vedas along with their auxiliary branches are not capable of praising, O Gajānana, / how can we praise you, O Lord of gods? Therefore we bow down to you!'

Having thus praised Gaṇeśa, the gods, accompanied by the sacred places, / bowed to him with great joy, endowed with devotion.

Then the Gaṇanāyaka spoke this word to them, / the Supreme One who is fond of devotion, directly pleased by the austerity of the devotees:

The venerable Gaṇeśa said: / "Speak your wish, O highly fortunate principal gods with your sacred places! / Pleased by your austerity, devotion, and hymn of praise, I will give what is desired.

And whoever recites this hymn of praise to me composed by you, / he shall become dear to me, O gods; likewise he who hears it or causes it to be heard.

It bestows enjoyment and liberation, increases wealth and grain, / bestows sons and grandsons, and will be complete, granting genuine perfection.

Whoever, having come into my presence, recites this excellent hymn of praise, / obtains the merit arising from all sacred places; of this there is no doubt."

Having heard the words of Gaṇeśa, the gods, filled with joy, / (

section 6, chapter 8, page 18) bowed down to him and, along with their sacred places, spoke with devotion.

The gods with their sacred places said: / "If you grant boons with a gracious disposition, O Gajānana, / then may our devotion to your lotus feet be everlasting!

For what purpose were we all created? Tell us, O Gajānana! / Declare our duty; we shall perform it out of submission to your command.

Grant us a dwelling place in Svānanda for the purpose of residing, O Mahodara; / there we will worship you continually, endowed with devotion.

Make everyone endowed with their respective knowledge, O Lord of great wisdom! / As your own obedient servants, all endowed with knowledge, we worship you."

Bhṛśuṇḍi said: / Hearing their words, Gaṇeśa, the ocean of compassion, / spoke to those highly fortunate, great lords endowed with devotion.

The venerable Gaṇeśa said: / "Indeed, let my sacred places bestow dharma, wealth, pleasure, and liberation / upon their worshippers, made capable in their respective functions by the grant of my boon.

Some shall bestow dharma, and others wealth upon their worshippers; / according to their divisions, some shall bestow desires, and others liberation.

Some shall yield fruit immediately upon death in that very place, / while others shall grant the chief sacred place by gradual stages.

And the gods situated there will bestow fruit through worship; / in this way, through sight of them, they will embody love for their respective sacred places."

The Gaṇanātha assigned diverse names, / such as Kāśī, Prayāga, and others, which cannot even be fully spoken.

Again, he, Gaṇeśa, the ocean of compassion, said to them: / "O sacred places, you must abide in your own sites with a portion of your parts.

With your full portion, having taken up residence here in my sacred place whose nature is Svānanda, / you shall continually worship me forever.

Likewise, O gods, you should be present in your sacred places with a portion of your parts; / and here in this sacred place, O bestowers of honor, you should worship me with your full being.

You will indeed be skilled in your respective functions, there is no doubt, / endowed with devotion to me, along with your sacred places, and free of pride.

Wise men who duly visit all the sacred places on earth / and worship the gods according to rule—

by virtue of that purification, taking up residence in my sacred place, / they will become identified with Brahman when death occurs in my sacred place."

Having spoken thus, Gaṇeśa, the lord of Brahman, disappeared; / but the sacred places remained there, filled with joy.

Having worshipped Gaṇeśa, they went to their respective abodes; / all the deities along with their sacred places became endowed with knowledge.

As Gajānana had spoken, all the great lords / did accordingly, and with great joy they returned to Gaṇeśa.

Remaining there in diminutive form, the gods with their sacred places / all worshipped him continually with reverence in the sacred place of Svānanda.

Whoever hears or reads of this deed of the sacred places and the gods, / to him Vighneśa will grant residence in his sacred place.

Om tat sat. Thus ends the eighth chapter, named 'Description of the Origin of the Various Sacred Places and Gods,' in the story of Vikaṭa, in the sixth section of the glorious and venerable Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa, an Upaniṣad of the Purāṇa.

Section 6, chapter 9, page 19)