Māhishmatī is an ancient city on the Narmadā river, in Dakshiṇāpatha, the southern land. It is the main human setting of the Dvāpara-yuga avatāra of Gajānana in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa.

King Varṇya ruled it, and his wife Pushpikā raised the infant Gajānana. The divine child lived here from his infancy through his mission. He set out from Māhishmatī to kill Sindūra. After the victory he stayed in its rāja-sadana (royal palace) and taught the Gaṇeśa Gītā to King Varṇya.

Place and king

Māhishmatī lies on the Narmadā, one of the great holy rivers of Dakshiṇāpatha. Its king in the Dvāpara-yuga was Varṇya, also called Vareṇya, a righteous ruler. His wife Pushpikā was chosen by Nandī to be the foster-mother of the divine infant. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 130–131)

Nandī comes with the infant

Gajānana was born to Pārvatī at the Paryalī mahāvana (great forest) on the Kṛshṇā river. Bhagavān Śiva sent Nandī to carry the infant to safety.

Nandī travelled to Māhishmatī. On the way, rākshasīs and gandharvas tried to stop him, and he fought them. He placed the infant in the house of Pushpikā, “in the sūtikā-gṛha (birthing chamber)”. She took the infant in and raised him. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 130–131)

Sindūra’s attack

Sindūra searched for the infant. In time he traced the child to Māhishmatī and entered the sūtikā-gṛha. He tried to throw the infant into the ocean, but the child became too heavy to move. He then threw the infant into the Narmadā. The infant lived and was found by Pārāśara.

Where the infant touched the river, the Gaṇeśakuṇḍa tīrtha (pilgrimage place) came into being. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 131–132)

Gajānana’s return and the Gaṇeśa Gītā

Gajānana defeated Sindūra near Ghṛshṇeśvara and then returned to Māhishmatī. King Varṇya knew the divine child he had raised, and he honoured him. Gajānana stayed at the rāja-sadana of Māhishmatī. Devas, ṛshis and kings came there for his darśana (sight of him).

Here he taught the Gaṇeśa Gītā to Varṇya. It is the great teaching of the Dvāpara yuga. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 137–148)

Kārtavīrya Arjuna and Agni’s protection

Māhishmatī was also the capital of the great Kārtavīrya Arjuna, also called Sahasrārjuna. He was the thousand-armed king who ruled in an earlier age by the grace of Dattātreya.

The city received a special divine protection from Agni, the deva of fire, during or through the time of Kārtavīrya Arjuna’s rule. This protection lasted. Any army that came near Māhishmatī with hostile aims found itself caught in fires that broke out on their own.

This was shown during Sahadeva’s southern digvijaya (tour of conquest) for the Rājasūya of Yudhishṭhira. When Sahadeva came to Māhishmatī, fires broke out of themselves and threatened to burn up his forces. Sahadeva saw that Agni himself was guarding the city. He made the proper offerings to please Agni. Only after this approach, which was right by dharma, did the fires die down. Nīla, who was then king, then agreed to send tribute to Yudhishṭhira’s Rājasūya. (Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapter 31)

Place in the old accounts

Māhishmatī is known from several Purāṇas and from the epic as a great ancient city on the Narmadā. It is linked with the Dvāpara-yuga account of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, with the reign of Kārtavīrya Arjuna, and with the digvijaya accounts of the Mahābhārata.

By tradition Māhishmatī is Maheshwar (Maheśvara) on the Narmadā in modern Madhya Pradesh. Its holy ground joins Śaiva, Vaishṇava and Gāṇapatya ties.

Sources

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 130–148
Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapter 31