Gaṇeśa and the Elephant Head in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa
The Kedāra Khaṇḍa tells how Gaṇeśa came to be as the son of Māyā (Prakṛti). The account begins when the Kālakūṭa poison from the samudra-manthana (the churning of the ocean) burned the three worlds. Gaṇeśa fought Bhagavān Śiva and had his head cut off. He was then given the head of an elephant and made lord of all gaṇas and vighnas (obstacles).
The Kālakūṭa crisis
The Kālakūṭa poison from the churning of the ocean burned all three worlds to ash. It burned Brahmā, Vishṇu, and all the devas and asuras. Only the liṅga-rūpa (liṅga form) of Bhagavān Śiva was beyond destruction. One other also remained: Gaṇeśa, whom the text calls Vināyaka and Heramba, the son of Māyā (Prakṛti).
Gaṇeśa was born of Māyā, the first material energy beneath all creation. The liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva goes beyond even Māyā. So Gaṇeśa stayed on as the one who survived and saw it all.
Gaṇeśa as the son of Māyā
The Kedāra Khaṇḍa speaks of Gaṇeśa’s origin in terms of the great principles. Bhagavān Śiva is pure nirvikāra (changeless) awareness. Paraśakti, or Māyā, is his śakti as Prakṛti. Gaṇeśa was born of this Māyā. So he is rooted in the material ground of existence, and not in pure awareness.
He is the adhyaksha (lord) of all the gaṇas, the forces that work inside the shown universe. He is also the source of vighna (obstruction). Without the gatekeeper who makes obstacles, no spiritual discipline would be needed.
Gaṇeśa speaks to Bhagavān Śiva
When Kālakūṭa had dissolved everything, Gaṇeśa went to the liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva and made his plea. He said that the great dissolution was the vinoda (divine play) of Bhagavān Śiva. Bhagavān Śiva had made the Kālakūṭa as an unbeatable vighna on purpose. Beings who fail to honour Gaṇeśa, and through him Bhagavān Śiva, before great undertakings would meet just such a disaster.
Gaṇeśa said: “Whoever begins any work without first worshipping me will meet great kleśa (suffering). I am the obstruction that tests whether a person approaches the highest with proper respect.”
The battle between Bhagavān Śiva and Gaṇeśa
At this point the account shows a struggle between the absolute (Bhagavān Śiva as the liṅga) and the bound (Gaṇeśa as the son of Māyā). Gaṇeśa was born of Māyā, and he was himself under the māyā-moha (the delusion of Māyā) that he was meant to rule. In the pride of being lord of the vighnas, he challenged Bhagavān Śiva directly. He mounted his elephant and faced Bhagavān Śiva in battle.
The fight was long and fierce. The Kedāra Khaṇḍa says that Gaṇeśa could not be beaten by ordinary means. At last Bhagavān Śiva struck with his triśūla (trident). It threw down both Gaṇeśa and his elephant. With the triśūla, Bhagavān Śiva cut off Gaṇeśa’s first head.
Paraśakti pleads for her son
When the head fell, Paraśakti praised Bhagavān Śiva in a heartfelt stotra (hymn of praise). Paraśakti is the first Śakti of Bhagavān Śiva, and is also known as the mother-aspect of Māyā. She asked for a vara (boon): “The one you have killed is my son, the son of Prakṛti. He was born of Māyā and did not know your true nature. By your grace, bring him back to life.”
Bhagavān Śiva was pleased with her devotion, and with her naming of the cause, which is avidyā (lack of true knowledge). He agreed.
The elephant head and the new birth
The first head could not be put back. So Bhagavān Śiva placed on Gaṇeśa’s body the head of a gaja (elephant), the largest and strongest of the creatures of the earth. At that moment, by the prasāda (grace) of Bhagavān Śiva, Gaṇeśa was born anew. He was no longer only the son of Māyā caught in māyā-moha. He was now a jñānī (one who knows), who could see the liṅga and Prakṛti together.
The text gives these descriptions of him:
- Ātmajñāna-amṛta-tṛpta: always satisfied with the nectar of self-knowledge
- Dosharahita: free from all faults
- Samādhi-nishṭha: always settled in samādhi
- Raudra: having the fierceness of Rudra
- Kālakālāntaka: the destroyer even of Kāla (death and time)
Gaṇeśa’s one broken tusk is his writing instrument, or his yoga-daṇḍa. It shows that he has gone beyond the dvandvas (the pairs of opposites). He is described as lighting up Buddhi (intelligence) and Siddhi (attainment) as one.
Gaṇeśa is installed as lord of the gaṇas
Bhagavān Śiva formally installed Gaṇeśa as lord of all the gaṇas, all the vighnas and all the forces of the earth. In his full cosmic form Gaṇeśa is pañchamukha (five-faced), which shows the five aspects of Bhagavān Śiva.
In this place the Gaṇeśa pūjā vidhi (the exact way to worship Gaṇeśa before any undertaking) is taught. It is laid down that no yajña, pūjā, vrata or spiritual work may go forward without first pleasing Gaṇeśa. Those who neglect this meet vighna.
Gaṇeśa sees the whole cosmos
After his change, Gaṇeśa stood apart from Prakṛti and saw the whole cosmos. He saw the liṅga shining at the centre, with Prakṛti filled by it. He saw the countless brahmāṇḍas (cosmic eggs) melting into the liṅga and coming out of it again and again. He saw that Brahmā, Rudra, Vishṇu and Sadāśiva are all forms of this one liṅga-light.
Even Gaṇeśa, now filled with light, was for a moment overcome with wonder (vismaya) at this sight. Then he regained his calm, bowed to Bhagavān Śiva and Paraśakti, and took his place as the everlasting guardian of the thresholds of the cosmos.
Sources
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 10
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 10 and 11 (the installation as lord of the gaṇas and the Gaṇeśa pūjā vidhi)