Śūrasena of Sahasrākhya-pura

Śūrasena was the king of Sahasrākhya-pura. He was devoted to Bhagavān Gaṇeśa and cared for the welfare of all his subjects. His account in the Upāsanā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa shows the power of the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata (a vow kept on the fourth day after the full moon). The dūtas (messengers) of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa came in a divine vimāna (aerial chariot) to take him to Gaṇeśa-loka. Śūrasena would not go up unless all his subjects went with him. By his selfless devotion and the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa, the whole city of Sahasrākhya-pura reached Gaṇeśa-loka together.

This Śūrasena is a different person from the Śūrasena of the Yādava line, the grandfather of Kṛshṇa, who is described in other Purāṇas.

The king and his city

Śūrasena ruled Sahasrākhya-pura, the “city of a thousand names”. He was a great devotee of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa and had kept the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata with complete sincerity. He was known for his deep care for his subjects. King and people were bound by a shared devotion that went beyond the usual tie between a ruler and those he rules. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 56)

Indra’s vimāna falls and the merchant with leprosy

An event came before the full showing of the holiness of Śūrasena’s city. Indra’s vimāna flew over Sahasrākhya-pura. It suddenly lost height and fell, brought low by the puṇya (merit) stored up in the city below. The event brought to light a merchant who suffered from kushṭha-roga (leprosy). Indra’s divine sight showed his past life. He had been a brāhmaṇa who killed another brāhmaṇa in an earlier birth, and the disease was the result. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 56–57)

“Gajānana” and the healing of the merchant

The name Gajānana is one of the names of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. It means “elephant-faced”. It was whispered into the merchant’s ear three times. At once his kushṭha-roga was cured. The disease melted away at the mere sound of the name of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. This showed that the whole city of Sahasrākhya-pura lived under the special protection of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. It also showed that the name Gajānana has the power to wipe away the debt of karma completely. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 57–58)

The dūtas of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa arrive

Śūrasena had great devotion and had gained much puṇya by keeping the Saṅkashṭa Caturthi vrata. In honour of this, Bhagavān Gaṇeśa sent his dūtas to Sahasrākhya-pura in a splendid divine vimāna. They came to take Śūrasena to Gaṇeśa-loka, the highest realm where Bhagavān Gaṇeśa is present. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 74–75)

The king’s refusal and the freedom of the whole city

The dūtas of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa asked him to go up into the vimāna, but Śūrasena refused. He did not refuse because he did not care for liberation. He refused out of deep compassion and because of what kingship meant to him. He said that he would not go to Gaṇeśa-loka alone. He would go only if all his subjects, every person living in Sahasrākhya-pura, received the same freedom.

This was what set Śūrasena apart. For him, being a king could not be separated from the welfare and final freedom of the people he ruled. He could not accept a personal mukti (liberation) that left his people behind.

Bhagavān Gaṇeśa was moved by such selfless devotion, and by his grace he met Śūrasena’s condition. The vimāna grew large enough to take in the whole city. All the people of Sahasrākhya-pura went up together. The whole city reached Gaṇeśa-loka through the boundless compassion of one king and the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 75–76)

Sources

• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 56–58 and 74–76