Maṅgala

Maṅgala, also called Kujā or Aṅgāraka, is the deva who rules the planet Mars. The Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa says he was born from the union of Bhūmi-Devī (the earth devī) and Bhagavān Viṣṇu on the Malaya mountain. He is counted among the Navagrahas, the nine planetary devas.

Origin in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa

According to Chapters 5–8 of the Brahma Khaṇḍa, Maṅgala was born from the union of Bhūmi-Devī and Bhagavān Viṣṇu on the Malaya mountain. He is linked with power, energy for war and the fiery nature of the earth.

His place among the Navagrahas

Maṅgala is one of the nine planetary devas. In Vedic and Purāṇic jyotiṣa (the science of the stars), he rules the planet Mars (Maṅgala-graha) and the day Maṅgalavāra, Tuesday. He is linked with courage, power, firm will and the warrior (kṣatra) nature.

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa account: birth from Bhāradvāja and tapas on the Narmadā

The Upāsanā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa (Chapter 60) gives another account of his birth. In it, Maṅgala was born from the retas (vital seed) of the ṛṣi Bhāradvāja, which fell on the earth (pṛthvī) during strong tapas. He was born with a deep red (aṅgāra) colour, which became his sign. His mother was the earth herself, so his main name is Bhūmiputra, “son of the earth”.

He had no fixed place in the order of the worlds. He went to the banks of the Narmadā and did a thousand years of tapas, with Bhagavān Gaṇeśa as his iṣṭadevatā (chosen deva). He chanted the Gaṇeśa mantra without a break.

At the end, Bhagavān Gaṇeśa appeared to him on the Māgha kṛṣṇa caturthi, which also fell on a Maṅgalavāra, a Tuesday. This was a very auspicious meeting of two days. Bhagavān Gaṇeśa gave him the three names Maṅgala, Aṅgāraka and Bhūmiputra, and made him the navagraha of Mars.

Maṅgala was grateful. He installed the Cintāmaṇi image of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa at Pārinena-nagara (Theur). It became one of the famous Aṣṭavināyaka shrines of Maharashtra. Bhagavān Gaṇeśa also said that whenever a caturthi fell on Maṅgalavāra, the day would be called Aṅgāraka Caturthi and would carry special grace.

In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Maṅgala is born from Bhūmi-Devī and Bhagavān Viṣṇu on the Malaya mountain. In the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, his father is the ṛṣi Bhāradvāja and his mother is the earth.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 5–8
• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60