Pravāḷa Kshetra is a holy kshetra (sacred ground) in the Mahishmatī region, the heartland of the Haihaya kingdom that Kārtavīryārjuna ruled. Two great tapas (austerities) were done here. Kārtavīryārjuna did the first and received a thousand arms. Śesha did the second and received a thousand hoods. Two permanent shrines of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa stand here: Pravāḷa Gaṇapati, set up by Kārtavīryārjuna, and Dharaṇīdhara, set up by Śesha.

Location and character

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa names Pravāḷa Kshetra as the place of Kārtavīryārjuna’s tapas and the site of his capital city, Pravāḷanagara. A sacred lake lies at this spot. Bhagavān Gaṇeśa rose from it in a coral-red form, and so the place is known for a special showing of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa.

Kārtavīryārjuna’s tapas

Kārtavīryārjuna was born without limbs, because his father Kṛtavīrya had kept a vrata (vow) in an imperfect way. After Dattātreya gave him initiation, Kārtavīryārjuna did twelve years of tapas at this place with the Ekākshari mantra (the one-syllable mantra). Bhagavān Gaṇeśa then rose from the sacred lake in a coral-red (pravāḷa) form. By his grace Kārtavīryārjuna received a thousand arms.

The Pravāḷa Gaṇapati

After he received his thousand arms, Kārtavīryārjuna set up a divine image of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa at the sacred lake. The image is called Pravāḷa Gaṇapati, the coral-red Gaṇeśa, to remember the form in which Bhagavān Gaṇeśa had appeared. Its coral-red colour recalls the form that rose from the lake.

Kārtavīryārjuna built the city of Pravāḷanagara around this shrine. He ruled his great kingdom from it, with all his thousand arms. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells this in the Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 73.

Śesha’s tapas

Śesha was humbled after the trident of Bhagavān Śiva crushed his hoods. He did a thousand years of tapas at the same kshetra with the Shaḍakshari mantra (the six-syllable mantra). Bhagavān Gaṇeśa then appeared before him in a ten-armed form, riding a lion (Siṃhavāhana). By his grace Śesha received one thousand hoods and the power to bear the earth.

The Dharaṇīdhara

Śesha received his thousand hoods through the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. He then set up a second image of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa at this kshetra, named Dharaṇīdhara, “the bearer of the earth”. The name keeps in memory the vara (boon) he received: the strength and power to carry the weight of all creation on his hoods. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells this in the Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 91.

So two images of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa stand at this one kshetra. Two different beings set them up, at different times and for different reasons.

Meaning of the name

Pravāḷa means coral, the deep red gem from the sea.

Sources

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 73, 90–91