Maṅgala and Aṅgāraka Caturthi

This is the story of the birth of Maṅgala, also called Aṅgāraka, who is the planet Mars. It is told in the Upāsanā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Chapter 60. Maṅgala was the son of Bharadvāja Muni and the earth. He did tapas (austerity) for a thousand years on the bank of the Narmadā. On a Tuesday that was also the Māgha kṛshṇa caturthi, Bhagavān Gaṇeśa appeared to him and gave him his names and his place among the planets. From this came the holy observance of Aṅgāraka Caturthi, the caturthi that falls on a Tuesday.

The birth of Maṅgala

The great ṛshi Bharadvāja was doing hard tapas. In the course of it, his retas (vital essence) fell on the earth, the pṛthivī herself. From this meeting of the ṛshi’s energy and the body of the earth a child was born. He came out of the earth with a deep red glow, the colour of coral and fire together. This marked him from birth as a being of special kind.

The child was born of the earth (pārthiva) and of the gathered tapas energy of a great ṛshi. He was a being of Mars, the red planet, which is linked with fire, courage and the battlefield. But at birth he had no name, no place among the planets and no clear place in the order of the worlds.

Tapas on the Narmadā

The red child knew that he was unusual. He wanted to learn who he was and what his purpose was. He went to the bank of the holy Narmadā and began a tapas of one thousand years. He took Gaṇeśa as the object of his meditation. He fixed his mind on the form of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa and chanted the Gaṇeśa mantra without a break, by day and by night, for the whole time. The Narmadā, a river of great spiritual power, flowed beside him as witness and support.

Gaṇeśa’s darśana on Māgha kṛshṇa caturthi

When the thousand years were over, on one night, the Māgha kṛshṇa caturthi (the fourth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Māgha), at the moment of moonrise, Bhagavān Gaṇeśa appeared before the child. He shone with divine light. That night was also a Tuesday, Maṅgalavāra. So it was an Aṅgāraka Caturthi, a caturthi of special power.

The child bowed down in full surrender. He praised Gaṇeśa with a heartfelt stotra (hymn of praise). He called Gaṇeśa the source of all that exists and the giver of every aim.

Gaṇeśa gives him his names

Gaṇeśa was very pleased with the depth and length of the child’s tapas. He spoke to him with great love and gave him his true identity:

“O red-bodied one! You were born of the earth and of Bharadvāja’s tapas energy. Because you are born of the earth (bhūmi), you are her son, Bhūmi-putra. Because of your deep red (aṅgāra) colour, you will be known as Aṅgāraka. And because this day, the day of your liberation, is a Tuesday, you will for ever be linked with Maṅgalavāra, and your chief name will be Maṅgala. I set you among the nine planets (navagrahas), and you will hold the place of the planet Mars in the order of the worlds. All beings will seek your favour for courage, strength and victory in battle.”

Gaṇeśa then said that the caturthi that falls on a Tuesday, the Aṅgāraka Caturthi, would be a day of special weight in his worship. It carries the holy weight both of the story of Maṅgala’s birth and of his liberation by Gaṇeśa’s grace.

Cintāmaṇi at Pārinena-nagara

Maṅgala was grateful for this great darśana and for the gift of his place among the planets. At the holy spot of his tapas he set up a beautiful mūrti of Gaṇeśa. He set it up under the name Cintāmaṇi, the wish-fulfilling gem. Gaṇeśa had fulfilled every wish of Maṅgala’s heart by giving him his name, his place among the planets and his liberation.

The place of this installation was called Pārinena-nagara. The tradition identifies it with the area near the meeting of holy rivers west of the Deccan plateau. This is the kshetra now known as Theur, near Pune. It is still one of the Ashṭavinayaka pilgrimage places of Maharashtra, and Cintāmaṇi Gaṇeśa is the main mūrti there.

The Aṅgāraka Caturthi observance

From this account came the holy observance of Aṅgāraka Caturthi. Whenever a caturthi (the fourth day of either fortnight) falls on a Tuesday, it is held to be a day of great spiritual power for the worship of Gaṇeśa. Devotees keep the day with a special pūjā, an offering of twenty-one blades of dūrvā grass, and the chanting of Gaṇeśa’s names. They hold that on such a day the grace of Gaṇeśa and of Maṅgala flows together in rich measure.

The Māgha kṛshṇa caturthi is itself an important day in the calendar of the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata. When it falls on a Tuesday, its power is held to be greater still.

Sources

• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60