Vakratuṇḍa Avatāra Upākhyāna
Vakratuṇḍa is the form of Gaṇeśa with a twisted or curved trunk. It is not his usual elephant-faced form. The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells in Chapters 36 and 37 how the curse of Devī Sāvitrī fell on the devīs, how they did tapas in the forests of Karnāṭaka and how Gaṇeśa appeared before them as Vakratuṇḍa. Pārvatī named this form Heraṃba, and Rāma himself worshipped it.
Sāvitrī’s curse on the devīs
The events begin with a śāpa (curse) from Devī Sāvitrī. The chapters do not tell why she cursed them. Her curse fell on the devīs, the divine wives of the devas, and brought them trouble and loss of their places. They could not stay in their usual stations in the order of the worlds. They looked for a way out through tapas (austerity). (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 36)
The devīs’ tapas in Karnāṭaka
The devīs went to the forests of Karnāṭaka, a land linked with deep tapas and with the grace of Gaṇeśa, and did hard austerities there. Their aim was Gaṇeśa, whose grace alone could free them from the curse of Sāvitrī. This is the same land where the Heraṃba temple was set up in the account of Kīrti in the chapter just before (Chapter 35). (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 36)
Gaṇeśa appears as Vakratuṇḍa
Gaṇeśa was pleased with the tapas of the devīs and appeared before them. But he did not come in his usual Gaṇapati form with a straight or slightly curved trunk. He came in the Vakratuṇḍa form, the form with the twisted or curved trunk, which is one of his own special forms. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 37)
His appearance to the gathered devīs in the Vakratuṇḍa form was the moment of their freedom from the curse of Sāvitrī.
Pārvatī names the form Heraṃba
When Pārvatī, the mother of Gaṇeśa, saw this form, she named it Heraṃba. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 37)
Rāma’s worship of Vakratuṇḍa
The account says plainly that Rāma, the seventh avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, worshipped the Vakratuṇḍa form of Gaṇeśa, which is also called Heraṃba. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 37)
Sources
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 36–37
- Chapter 36: Sāvitrī’s curse and the tapas of the devīs in Karnāṭaka
- Chapter 37: Gaṇeśa appears as Vakratuṇḍa, Pārvatī names the form Heraṃba, and Rāma’s worship
- Chapter 35: the account of Kīrti, mentioned for the Heraṃba temple