Narratives from the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa

Maṅgala, born of Bharadvāja and the earth, gains his names and the place of the planet Mars from Bhagavān Gaṇeśa, and Aṅgāraka Caturthi begins.

A hunter and a brāhmaṇa place one śamī leaf on the Gaṇanātha mūrti at Kāśī and both reach Gaṇeśa-loka.

A Kaivartta hunter meets Mudgala Muni, chants Gaṇeśāya namaḥ for a thousand years, grows a trunk from his brow and reaches sārūpya-mukti.

In Daṇḍakāraṇya, the muni Bhrūśuṇḍī, who has a trunk between his brows, meets Mahotkaṭa, and the names Āśāpūraka and Gajānana are tied to this meeting.

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells how Candra laughed at Gaṇeśa, received a śāpa, did tapas for 120 years, and why the Moon is not seen on Bhādrapada śukla caturthi.

King Cāndraṅgada is held in pātāla by a Nāgakanyā and freed when his queen Indumatī keeps the Varada Gaṇeśa Vrata; Pārvatī keeps it too and is joined with Śiva.

Dairāsada attacks Kāśī, and Mahotkaṭa makes fifty-six Vināyakas in seven rings around the city, with Ḍhuṇḍhirāja at the centre.

Raudraketu's sons Devāntaka and Narāntaka gain a vara from Śiva, conquer the three worlds, and the devas turn to Gaṇeśa.

Devāntaka wages a second war on Kāśī, is revived by Raudraketu, and is killed by Mahotkaṭa at dawn with Mahotkaṭa's own broken tusk.

King Divodāsa rules Kāśī so well that Śiva cannot return; Ḍhuṇḍhirāja and Bhagavān Vishṇu as the Buddha bring about his renunciation and moksha.

Four accounts from the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa on the greatness of dūrvā grass offered to Gaṇeśa, and why twenty-one blades are offered.

How Gajānana was born at Paryalī, grew up in the care of Pushpikā and Pārāśara, and at nine years old slew the asura Sindūra.

Gajānana's teaching to King Varṇya in the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, the universal form, bhakti, the three guṇas and moksha.

Bhagavān Śiva tells Skanda how a poor kshatriya kept the Varada Gaṇeśa Vrata under Saubhari and was reborn as the rich King Kardama.

King Kāśirāja of Kāśī is taken by Gaṇeśa's gaṇas through all the lokas to Svānandabhuvana, the realm of Gaṇeśa in the Ikshusāgara.

After the pralaya, Kāśyapa keeps tapas to Gaṇeśa, is given the power of creation, and the Dvādaśanāma of Gaṇeśa is established.

How King Kṛtavīrya's limbless son became Kārtavīryārjuna, the king with a thousand arms, by the grace of Gaṇeśa.

The Kṛta-yuga avatāra of Gaṇeśa as Mahotkaṭa: his birth to Aditi, his deeds, his years in Kāśī, and his wars with Narāntaka and Devāntaka.

After Śiva burned him to ash, Manmatha did tapas to Gaṇeśa at Janasthāna and received four varas, including rebirth as Pradyumna.

The last battle between Māyūreśvara and the asura Sindhu: the cosmic form, Sindhu's death, Durgā's satī, and the darśana given to Cakrapāṇi.

After Sindhu's fall: the devas are freed, Māyūreśvara marries Siddhi and Buddhi, shows the Pañcāyatana Viśvarūpa, and gives his peacock to Kārttikeya.

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa says King Nala of Nishadha was born a king as the fruit of the Varada Gaṇeśa Vrata he kept in a past life.

Narāntaka burns Kāśī and takes Kāśirāja prisoner, until Mahōtkaṭa sends the Kālapurusha and shows his Virāṭ rūpa.

Rāma worships Gaṇeśa at Māyūreśvara and receives the paraśu from him, and so becomes Paraśurāma.

Rukmiṇī, Pradyumna and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa each keep the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata to win back a lost son.

Śesha is humbled by Bhagavān Śiva's trident, then wins his thousand hoods from Gaṇeśa after a thousand years of tapas.

Gṛtsamada gives the puṇya of his śamī pūjā to revive Queen Kīrti's poisoned son, who later becomes King Paraśubāhu.

Sindhu is born from the ocean to Queen Ugrā, wins a near-unbeatable vara from Sūrya and takes Indra's throne.

Sindūra is born from Brahmā's yawn, tries to take Pārvatī, rules the three worlds, and the devas win Gaṇeśa's promise to come as Gajānana.

King Somakānta is cured of leprosy by hearing the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa for a year, and his whole city of Devapura rises with him to Gaṇeśa's dhāma.

King Śūrasena of Sahasrākhya-pura sees a leper cured by Gaṇeśa's name and refuses to go to Gaṇeśa-loka unless all his people come too.

Tāraka wins a vara from Brahmā and rules the three worlds. Skanda is born, worships Gaṇeśa and slays him, as the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells.

Three asura brothers rule from three flying cities until Bhagavān Śiva worships Gaṇeśa and destroys them with one arrow.

Cursed by Sāvitrī, the devīs do tapas in Karnāṭaka and Gaṇeśa appears as Vakratuṇḍa. Pārvatī names the form Heraṃba, and Rāma worships it.

After twelve years of tapas, Vyāsa sees Gajānana, who enters his body and gives him the power to compose the Purāṇas.