Rukmiṇī and Pradyumna’s Vrata
The Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata (a vow kept on the fourth day after the full moon) is a vow to Gaṇeśa. The Upāsanā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells of three people in one family who keep it. Rukmiṇī keeps it four times to win back her son Pradyumna from the asura Śaṃbara. Pradyumna keeps it to find his son Aniruddha. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa keeps it before going to war with Bāṇāsura to free Aniruddha and Ushā.
Rukmiṇī’s four vratas and the return of Pradyumna
Pradyumna was the son of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Rukmiṇī. He was the rebirth of Manmatha. When he was a baby the asura Śaṃbara carried him off and threw him into the ocean. Rukmiṇī could not be comforted. The child had been taken soon after he was born, and for years no one knew what had become of him.
In that time of pain and not knowing, Rukmiṇī kept the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata with all her heart. She kept it not once but four times, on four different months, knowing that the puṇya (merit) of the vratas would in the end move Gaṇeśa to give back what was lost. Each time she did the shoḍaśopachāra pūjā (worship with sixteen offerings) and the worship with twenty-one names and special leaves. She made the chandra-arghya (the offering of water to the moon) with its mantra, and she kept the whole night awake.
By the fruit of these four vratas the grace of Gaṇeśa worked through events. Pradyumna had been brought up inside Śaṃbara’s house by the apsarā Māyāvatī, who was the rebirth of Rati. In time he came to know his own divine nature. He killed Śaṃbara and went home to Dvārakā with Māyāvatī as his wife. The meeting of mother and son had seemed impossible, but it came about through the anugraha (grace) of Gaṇeśa that flowed through Rukmiṇī’s four vratas. This is told in Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 70.
Pradyumna’s vrata and the search for Aniruddha
Aniruddha was the son of Pradyumna and so the grandson of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. He was held prisoner in the city of the asura Bāṇāsura, who had power over māyā. Aniruddha had gone into Bāṇāsura’s palace to see the beautiful Ushā, Bāṇāsura’s daughter, who had fallen in love with him through a dream. When their meeting was found out, Bāṇāsura bound Aniruddha with snake ropes (nāgapāśa), and Ushā too was kept shut in.
Pradyumna learned that his son was missing and in prison. He kept the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata and prayed that Aniruddha might be found and freed. The merit of the vrata opened the way for Bhagavān Kṛshṇa to act: through divine sight, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa came to know where Aniruddha was held. This is told in Chapter 70.
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s vrata and the fall of Bāṇāsura’s pride
Then Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself kept the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata before he marched against Bāṇāsura. Bāṇāsura was a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva. Bhagavān Śiva had given his word to be Bāṇāsura’s own guardian, and he stood by that word. So a battle between Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and an asura under Bhagavān Śiva’s protection was a very delicate matter. It would put Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Bhagavān Śiva in open conflict, and that could shake the order of dharma.
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa kept the vrata knowing that in such a hard case only the grace of Gaṇeśa, which stands above the line between Vaishṇava and Śaiva, could bring a right end without breaking the divine order. He kept it with the full rules, and with the prayer for Aniruddha’s freedom and for Ushā’s honour.
By the grace of Gaṇeśa the battle was fought and ended in a way that served the right purpose. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Bhagavān Śiva did come into conflict. But by Gaṇeśa’s grace Bhagavān Śiva was placed where he could step back from guarding Bāṇāsura, who had gone against dharma, without losing his honour. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa cut off all but four of Bāṇāsura’s thousand arms. This was by Bhagavān Śiva’s own request that Bāṇāsura be spared. Aniruddha was set free. Aniruddha and Ushā were married with rejoicing, and the great conflict ended with no lasting break between Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Vishṇu. This is told in Chapter 70.
Sources
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 70