Gajānana Janana and Sindūra Vadha
Gajānana is the elephant-faced form in which Gaṇeśa was born to Pārvatī at Paryalī mahāvana. This account from the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa covers Chapters 130 to 137. It tells of his birth, his escape from the asura Sindūra, the mūshaka (mouse) that became his vehicle, his years in the āśrama of the ṛshi Pārāśara, and the slaying of Sindūra when he was nine years old.
Birth at Paryalī mahāvana
Gajānana was born to Pārvatī in Paryalī mahāvana on the Kṛshṇā river. The birth was a full divine appearance. The infant came forth four-armed (caturbhuja), red-bodied (raktavarṇa) and elephant-faced (gajamukha). In his four hands he held the paraśu (axe), the kamala (lotus), the mālā (garland) and the modaka (sweet).
An ākāśavāṇī (voice from the sky) rang out at the moment of birth. The infant at once told Pārvatī who he was and why he had come. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 130)
Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī saw that this avatāra (descent) was complete in itself. They stayed on at Paryalī vana. Nandī was sent to carry the infant to safety.
Nandī’s journey to Māhishmatī
Nandī carried the infant Gajānana from Paryalī vana towards Māhishmatī on the Narmadā. On the way, rākshasīs and gandharvas tried to stop him. Nandī fought each of them and defeated them. He reached Māhishmatī and placed the infant in the house of Pushpikā, the wife of King Varṇya. Pushpikā took the divine child and raised him as her own son. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 130–131)
Sindūra tries to destroy the infant
Sindūra knew that a divine child had been born to destroy him, and he searched step by step. He went first to Kailāsa, but the infant was not there. He went to Paryalī vana, but the infant had been taken away. At last he traced the infant to Māhishmatī and found him in the sūtikā-gṛha (the birth room).
First attempt. Sindūra tried to throw the infant into the ocean. The infant became so heavy that he could not be moved. The attempt failed.
Second attempt. Sindūra threw the infant into the Narmadā river. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 131–132)
Gaṇeśakuṇḍa and Pārāśara’s find
The infant fell into the Narmadā, or near it, close to a forest where munis lived. Where the divine body of Gajānana touched the river, the Gaṇeśakuṇḍa tīrtha came into being.
The ṛshi Pārāśara found the infant in the forest nearby. He knew the child was divine and brought him to his āśrama. Pārāśara’s wife nursed and cared for the infant. Gajānana stayed in Pārāśara’s āśrama through his early years. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 132–133)
The mūshaka: two accounts of its origin
While Gajānana was at Pārāśara’s āśrama, the mūshaka that would be his vehicle for ever arrived and was tamed. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa gives two accounts of where it came from.
First account: through the talk of Śukrācārya and Prahlāda
The gandharva Krauñca once stepped by mistake on the ṛshi Vāmadeva while passing through Indra’s sabhā (assembly hall). Vāmadeva gave him a śāpa (curse) to become a mūshaka. The way out of the curse was this: Gajānana would take him as his vehicle and free him. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 134)
Second account: through the ṛshi Saubhari
The gandharva Krauñca attacked Manomayī, the wife of the ṛshi Saubhari. Saubhari gave Krauñca a śāpa to become a mūshaka. The way out was that he would become the vehicle of Gajānana.
This mūshaka came to Pārāśara’s āśrama and caused great damage. He gnawed through the stores of grain and goods and upset the whole life of the āśrama.
The infant Gajānana threw his pāśa (divine noose) and caught the mūshaka. The mūshaka could not get away. He knew the divine child, offered a stotra (hymn of praise) of surrender, and was taken as Gaṇeśa’s eternal vāhana (vehicle). (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 135)
The slaying of Sindūra
When he was nine years old, Gajānana told Pārāśara that the time for his work had come. He received Pārāśara’s blessing, mounted the mūshaka and set out for Sindūra’s capital, Siddhasindūravādaka, which stood near Ghṛshṇeśvara.
The ambassadors. Gajānana sent ambassadors to Sindūra’s court to offer peace. Sindūra should set the devas free and restore the order of the worlds. Sindūra refused with scorn and came out himself to fight.
The battle. In single combat Gajānana showed his viśvarūpa (universal form) to Sindūra. Then he seized Sindūra by the throat and crushed him to death.
Sindūravadhana and Sindūrapriya. After the battle, Gajānana smeared the red blood (sindūra) of the fallen asura over his own body. From this act he received two names: Sindūravadhana (“he who slew Sindūra”) and Sindūrapriya (“he who loves sindūra”). This is why the mūrtis of Gaṇeśa are adorned with red sindūra in the daily pūjā. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 137)
After the victory at Māhishmatī
After the victory, King Varṇya of Māhishmatī came forward. He was Pushpikā’s husband and so the foster-father of Gajānana. He knew the divine child he had raised in his house. He honoured Gajānana with deep respect and gave him the rāja-sadana (royal palace) as his home.
Devas, ṛshis and kings came to Māhishmatī for darśana. In this setting Gajānana taught the Gaṇeśa Gītā to Varṇya. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 137)
Sources
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 130–137
- Chapter 130: birth at Paryalī mahāvana
- Chapters 130–131: Nandī’s journey, Pushpikā
- Chapters 131–132: Sindūra’s attempts
- Chapters 132–133: Gaṇeśakuṇḍa and Pārāśara
- Chapter 134: first account of the mūshaka
- Chapter 135: second account of the mūshaka
- Chapter 137: the slaying of Sindūra and the events at Māhishmatī