Mudgalapurana 8.26: māghamāsamāhātmye nānājanoddharaṇaṃ nāma ṣaḍviṃśatitamo'dhyāyaḥ

Obeisance to glorious Gaṇeśa.

Sūta said:
There was a certain Maudgala brāhmaṇa named Viśvasaha,
exceedingly devoted to Gāṇapatya [teachings], always longing for the company of the virtuous.

Once that fortunate one became devoted to the Māgha observance;
with devotion he daily worshipped the Gaṇeśa pentad.

As the twice-born arose in the morning and came to bathe,
a terrible rākṣasī saw him and rushed to devour him.

Seeing her with a hideous face, he was seized with fear;
uttering “Gaṇeśa!”, he sprinkled water with dūrvā grass.

The water with dūrvā struck her body, O great sage;
purified by it, she bowed to Viśvasaha and said:

The rākṣasī said:
“I have come to you for refuge; rescue me from the ocean of existence!
By the mere sight of you, my mind has become purified.

Hearing her words as she wept, filled with grief,
the glorious Viśvasaha, moved with compassion, spoke.

Viśvasaha said:
“Who are you, say, O most sinful one? What sinful deed
was done by you, O terrible one? Why do you weep in such distress?”

The rākṣasī said:
“In my previous birth, O lord of brāhmaṇas, I was a beautiful brāhmaṇa woman;
abandoning fidelity to my husband, I gave myself up to carnal pleasures.

Attached to sense-objects as I pleased, I lived devoted to sin;
when I died, I was seized by Yama's servants and placed in torment there.

Having suffered boundless misery, I was then made a rākṣasī;
continually overcome by hunger, I wandered here and there.

Constantly I ate meat of the low and the high,
yet the arising fire of digestion tortured me continually.

I eat boundless amounts, yet I remain hungry;
since my brāhmaṇa birth I have never once been satisfied.

Now, seeing you, I came in haste to devour you;
by the touch of your water, dear father, I remember my past births.

Save me, O fortunate one! You are capable, without a doubt;
otherwise I shall give up my life before you.”

Hearing her words, the wise Viśvasaha,
after reflecting and filled with compassion, rejoiced and spoke to her.

Viśvasaha said:
“The greatness of Gaṇeśa's name cannot be fully told;
what I heard in the Purāṇas is indeed truly so.

By the water with dūrvā grass you have now been made to remember your past lives;
now, for your salvation, I give you supreme merit.

I give to you the merit arising from the Māgha bath
performed on a single day, O fortunate one; go to your own city!”

Having spoken thus, that Maudgala bestowed upon her with water from his hand
the full merit arising from a single bath in the month of Māgha.

Then the messengers of the Lord of Gaṇas arrived there;
placing her in a celestial chariot, they went to the city of Svānanda.

Seeing that supreme wonder, the great sage Viśvasaha
performed his bath, and worshipped the leader of Gaṇas.

When that observance was concluded, the Lord Vināyaka came there
to bestow a boon upon the twice-born Maudgala especially.

Seeing that Gaṇādhyakṣa had arrived, he stood up and bowed to him. / Overcome with agitation, beside himself with love, he danced.

Seeing him in that state, the elephant-faced one spoke:
"Choose boons, fortunate one; I will grant what your heart desires."

Hearing Gaṇeśa's words, the great sage awakened [from his trance];
having worshipped him and restrained his joy, he spoke, O Śaunaka.

Viśvasaha said:
Blessed are my birth, deeds, and everything, blessed are both my parents and my sacred learning;
blessed is the foremost vow of Māgha, by which Gajānana has been seen.

The Vedas along with the Upaniṣads do not know you, O Lord of Gaṇas,
nor do yogins such as Śaṅkara and the rest; how then have you come in person?

I have completely accomplished my purpose by the sight of your pair of feet;
what boon shall I choose, O Lord of Gaṇas? Grant firm devotion unto you.

Homage to you, Vighneśa, and to the highest beyond the high;
homage to Heramba, Gaṇeśa, the lord of gaṇas.

Homage to the one whose body is made of illusion, whose head consists of illusion;
homage be to you, Gajānana, who possess an auspicious body through their union.

[Sec. 8, Ch. 26, p. 59] Homage to you, the passionate, the compassionate creator of the universe;
homage, homage to the virtuous, the eternal protector of all.

Homage to the dark one, the destroyer of creatures, having the form of Time;
homage to action, possessing three forms, bearing egoism.

To the activator, the bestower of great delusion, having the form of power;
homage to you, the lord of qualities, the very ground of existence of the qualities.

To the one whose body is merely the point, to the embodied soul possessing the sense of "I am that";
homage, homage to consciousness, abiding in nature, the playful one.

Homage be to you, bodiless, supreme lord, Svānanda;
homage, homage to non-yoga, the perfectly tranquil one, the lord of yoga.

How can I praise you, O Gaṇādhyakṣa, whose nature is yoga and peace?
I have praised you solely through the knowledge born of seeing you.

Having spoken thus, Viśvasaha bowed down to Gajānana;
raising him up, the Gaṇādhīśa spoke beneficial words to him.

The venerable Gaṇeśa said:
This hymn of praise to me composed by you shall grant everything;
to those who recite or hear it continually, it is supreme, increasing devotion.

Whatever one desires, that very thing I will grant through the recitation of this hymn of praise;
from hearing it, it bestows worldly enjoyment and liberation, granting Brahman.

Firm devotion to me shall indeed be yours, bestowing happiness;
whatever you desire, may all that always bear fruit for you.

Having spoken thus, the Gaṇādhīśa vanished before his very eyes;
Viśvasaha became intent upon the worship of Gaṇeśa.

He too became a foremost leader of the Gāṇapatyas, equal to Mudgala,
always established in the vow of Māgha, devoted to the Gāṇeśa pentad.

Hear another great, wondrous story originating from that month;
O twice-born one, it removes all sins, and from hearing it, happiness arises.

A certain cāṇḍāla named Nīla, hearing the story of Gaṇapati,
became devoted to the Māgha bath and carried on his livelihood.

Having bathed in the morning, he then engaged in his occupation;
at night he continually sang songs to Gaṇeśa.

Thus singing songs in the month of Māgha, having gone to the temple of the god Gaṇeśa,
he sang, and then engaged again in supporting his family.

Once, during the month of Māgha, he was occupied with work;
when only one watch of the night had passed, he went to the Lord of Gaṇas.

Having bowed to the remover of obstacles and sung a song, he went to his house;
as he was on the road, five piśācas approached him.

Seeing those exceedingly cruel beings, he remembered the leader of gaṇas;
merely by the remembrance of Gaṇeśa, the piśācas became paralyzed.

Then, greatly astonished, all the piśācas looked upon him;
by the merit of looking at him, their hearts became purified.

Full of distress, the piśācas spoke these words to Nīla:
"Deliver us, O fortunate one, us piśācas, from transmigratory existence.

Merely by your sight we have indeed become purified;
give us the fruit of your singing; by that we shall become liberated."

Hearing their words, Nīla, who knew the highest truth, was filled with joy
and spoke to those piśācas of sinful disposition.

Nīla said:
"I will not give you the full fruit born of the songs to Gaṇeśa;
by the fruit of just one song, all that moves and is motionless would be delivered.

Therefore I will give the eternal fruit of a single quarter-verse;
by that even you shall become liberated, there is no doubt."

Having spoken thus, he gave them the fruit born of a single quarter-verse of a song;
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[Sec. 8, Ch. 27, p. 60] By that, O sage, all of them became bearers of celestial bodies.

Mounting celestial chariots, they went to the city of Svānanda;
the astonished cāṇḍāla Nīla then went to his own home.

Thereafter, O great sage, he performed even greater devotion to Gaṇeśa;
in the end, he too went to the Lord of Gaṇas along with crores of his family members.

Thus, by a rule of single-minded purpose, especially in the month of Māgha,
countless living beings attained the Lord of Gaṇas.

The wondrous greatness born of the vow of the month of Māgha has been told by me;
from hearing or reciting it, it grants worldly enjoyment and liberation to men.

It bestows wealth and grain, increases sons, grandsons, and good fortune,
and immediately removes various diseases. What more do you wish to hear?

Om Tat Sat. Thus, in the glorious, final Purāṇopaniṣad, in the glorious, great Maudgala-purāṇa, in the eighth section, in the exploits of Dhūmravarṇa, in the greatness of the month of Māgha, the twenty-sixth chapter, named 'The Deliverance of Various People'.