Ganesh Purana: Know The Various Aspects Of Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesh is worshiped before initiating any auspicious work. In Lord Satyanarayana’s story, Ganesha’s figure is made from cow dung and he is worshiped. Anything more said about Ganesh Puran is less. Ganesha Purana is considered quite significant amongst the various Puranas. Ganpati Puran is quite respected & revered amongst the various Puranas.

The Various Volumes of Ganesh Purana

Generally, Ganesh Purana is stated to have 5 volumes, but actually, this Puran has 9 volumes. Let us know about them here.

Ganesh Purana – The First Volume

The first section of Ganesha Purana is the introductory section. In this section, there are various stories of Sutji, the well-known sage. Sutji says that Shri Ganesh is capable of removing various obstacles and hence is called Vighan Harta. Amongst the various stories in the first chapter, there is also the mention of how Lord Ganesha became the 1st person to be worshipped.

While narrating the story here, Sutji says there is no merit in asking for rights, there should only be pure merit. When all the gods began doubting their importance, they went to Lord Shiva and asked him which god should be worshipped first? Hearing this, Shiva went into deep thinking. After that, he told all the gods that the one who is the first one to take a complete round of the world on his/her vehicle, will be the first god to be worshipped. After thinking a lot, Ganesha considers Lord Shiva to be the universe and sees the world in his image. Ganesha believes revolving around the world is equivalent to revolving around Lord Shiva. So, Lord Ganesha rode a rat and revolved around his parents.

Gradually, as all the gods were returning, they saw Ganesha was already there. When he was asked about whether he took a round of the world, he said he had taken a round of the world. Ganesha said that the entire world is present in Lord Shiva & goddess Parvati and by revolving around them, he had completed the circumambulation of the world.  So, Ganesha won the contest with his intellect. So, he came to be worshipped first among the pantheon of gods and goddesses.

Ganesh Purana – The Second Volume

The second section contains the Ganesha birth stories. These stories are cited from various other Puranas. There is also a description of the superpowers held by Lord Shiva. It also contains the description of the battle between Lord Shiva and Ganesha, in which Lord Shiva beheaded Lord Ganesha with his trident. Several gods are pleased by this development but goddess Uma (Parvati) becomes extremely angry and generates powers against this development. A massive calamity looms large on the orders of goddess Parvati.

Everyone goes to Brahmaji. Brahmaji tells them about how they can manage this calamity. He gives them suggestions as to how these powers emanated by goddess Parvati can be addressed and set to rest. All the gods go to convince the energies and powers emanated by the goddess Parvati. But those powers started biting the gods in their mouths. Everyone starts moving backwards. Later, Narada and all the gods and goddesses proceeded to the house of Goddess Parvati. Everyone reached there and they began to praise the Goddess. Parvati says that this crisis can be overcome if her son becomes alive. Then, Ganesha was revived by attaching an elephant’s head to Ganesha’s torso. Then goddess Parvati feels very good to see her son revive and takes back her energies and actions.

Ganesh Purana – The Third Volume

The third volume deals with goddess Parvati and her story. It describes the birth of Goddess Parvati as the daughter of the Himalayan mountain and her subsequent marriage to Lord Shiva. Herein, at the behest of Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati fasts to be blessed with a son and visits Brahmaji to procure blessings for the same. Brahmaji acknowledges the fast being kept by goddess Parvati. He also tells Parvati that the ceremony should start with the Trayodashi of Shukla paksha in the Magh month. During this ceremony, Parabrahma is worshipped, who provides all the joys and salvation. This fast was also performed by Param Sati Arundhati, Devamata Aditi, and Indrani Shachi, who too were blessed by virtuous sons.

Ganesh Purana – The Fourth Volume

The fourth section of Ganesh Purana is known as Yudh Khand. The story of how Ganesha became Ekadanta is mentioned in the first chapter of this section. There also is the mention of the war involving Maharishi Jamadagni and his subsequent death. This is followed by the arrival of his son Parashurama at the ashram. Thereafter, Parshuram’s mother and other people at the ashram try to convince Parashuram not to wage a war with the king. On this, Parashurama said that the son who does not kill his father’s killer goes to hell. There are 11 types of sinners, who go to hell as per the scriptures. There is also the mention of Parashurama going to Kailash and Ganesha preventing Parshuram from entering the place.

Ganesh Purana – The Fifth Volume

This section refers to the birth story of Devantaka-narantaka, his penance, blessings from Lord Shiva, and his dream of becoming a world conqueror. It also mentions the appearance of Mahottak. Moreover, it also describes the destruction of many Mahabali Asuras.

Why Ganesha Became Ekadanta (One Toothed One)

There are various stories behind Ganesha becoming Ekadant. The most popular story being that during the war with Lord Parshuram, one of Ganesha’s teeth got cut from his trunk. According to another belief, Kartikeya breaks his teeth. Another tale says that   Ganesha had to break one of his teeth in order to overcome Asura Gajmukhasur in the battle.

The Creation of Ganesh Purana

Ganesha Purana has been composed by Maharishi Ved Vyasa. The rishi Ved Vyas has composed numerous Puranas and one of them is Ganesh Purana. It contains other stories of Lord Ganesha including his various leelas, wars, Shiva-Parvati marriage, and so on.

Ganeshji Actually Composed the Mahabharata

We all know that Maharishi Vedavyasa composed the Mahabharata, but this scripture of Ved Vyasa was written by Ganesha. Ved Vyasa had composed it in mind, but it had to be moved on the paper and for this, a scholar was needed who was flawless in his approach. However, nobody suited this requirement. When Ved Vyasa asked for help from Brahma, he suggested the name of Ganesha.

Ved Vyas went to Ganesha and made this request. Lord Ganesha agreed to write Mahabharata but kept a condition that he would not stop in the middle and would stop only after completing it. To this, Vyasji had a thought for some time and after that, he also put a condition that before composing Mahabharata, the meaning of each verse will have to be understood, Vyasji did this in order to get some time. According to some experts, the Mahabharata was composed in a cave in the Mana village in Uttarakhand.

Conclusion

Ganesha is the first and foremost god in the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses. Originally, Ganesha Purana describes this significant supernatural entity. Indeed, it is a significant and enriching addition to the Indian folklore.