Varṇya

Varṇya, also called Vareṇya (“the worthy one” or “the excellent one”), was the king of Māhiṣmatī on the Narmadā in the Dvāpara yuga. He was the direct disciple to whom Gajānana gave the Gaṇeśa Gītā. His wife Puṣpikā raised the baby Gajānana after Nandī brought the divine child to Māhiṣmatī. This made Varṇya Gajānana’s “second father” (pālaka-pitā, foster-father). After Sindūra was defeated, Varṇya knew Gajānana and honoured him in his royal palace. Gajānana gave him a direct viśvarūpa darśana (sight of his form as the whole cosmos) and a full teaching. At the end of the teaching, Varṇya gave up his kingdom, went to the forest and attained mokṣa (liberation).

Family and kingdom

Varṇya ruled Māhiṣmatī, the great city on the river Narmadā. His wife Puṣpikā had an important part in the account of the Dvāpara avatāra (descent). Nandī carried the newborn Gajānana from Paryalī vana to safety and brought the baby to her house. Puṣpikā took in the divine child and raised him as her own son. So Varṇya became the foster-father of Gajānana, and this is why he was the one to receive the Gaṇeśa Gītā. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, chapters 130 and 131)

Recognising Gajānana after Sindūra’s death

The nine-year-old Gajānana defeated and killed Sindūra at Siddhasindūravādaka near Ghṛṣṇeśvara. The devas and ṛṣis came for his darśana. Varṇya also came forward and knew Gajānana as the divine child his wife had raised. He honoured Gajānana with great respect, offered him the rāja-sadana (royal palace) as his home, and stayed in attendance. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, chapter 137)

Receiving the Gaṇeśa Gītā

Varṇya came to Gajānana with a sincere question. He asked about the nature of yoga, the ātman (the self), dharma and the path to mokṣa. Gajānana taught him over eleven chapters, chapters 138 to 148 of the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa. Gajānana was the teacher and Varṇya the student, as in the Bhagavad Gītā.

The teaching covered these subjects:

  • The meaning of yoga, and why karma-yoga (the yoga of action) is better than renunciation alone
  • Jñāna-yoga (the yoga of knowledge) and the nature of the ātman
  • Sāṃkhya: the list of the tattvas (principles of creation)
  • The practice of aṣṭāṅga yoga: āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi
  • Gajānana’s viśvarūpa darśana, the showing of the whole cosmos within his form
  • Why sākāra upāsanā (devotion to a form) is better than nirākāra (devotion to the formless), that is, saguṇa over nirguṇa bhakti
  • Three kinds of tapas, dāna, karma, kartā (the doer) and sukha (happiness)
  • The daivī, āsurī and rākṣasī natures (prakṛtis)
  • The oneness of the pañcadevatā: Gaṇeśa, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Śakti and Sūrya
  • Varṇa dharma
  • The instruction: “worship me with full bhakti and surrender all karma to me”

Gajānana gave Varṇya divya-cakṣus (divine eyes) so that he could see the viśvarūpa, just as Kṛṣṇa gave Arjuna the same in the Bhagavad Gītā. The viśvarūpa darśana filled Varṇya with awe and devotion. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, chapters 138 to 148)

Renunciation and mokṣa

At the end of the teaching, Gajānana told Varṇya to keep this yoga teaching secret (deva-rahasya) and to practise it. Brahmā, telling the story to Vyāsa, says: “That mahātmā king, on hearing these words of the pleased Gajānana, did exactly as he was told. He gave up his kingdom and his family at that very moment and went to the forest. By practising yoga as taught, he attained mokṣa.”

Those who hear this teaching with sincere hearts are also said to become yoga-siddha (perfected in yoga). (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, chapter 148)

Sources

  • Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 130–148