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| LAMBODARA - THE POT BELLIED |
Ganesha and curse on the moon:
One day while traveling round the universe on his rat, Ganesha came to Chandraloka
(the realm of the Moon). The Moon saw him. The Moon, very handsome, was proud
of his appearance. On seeing the elephant faced, big-bellied Ganapati riding
on a rat, he laughed at Ganesha with contempt.
This was an insult and Ganesha was very angry about the Moon. His eyes grew red.
He pronounced a curse "Oh Moon, your handsome appearance has made you too
vain. Fool, I am worshipped in all the worlds, but you laugh at me. Receive now
the fruits of your foolish pride. Let your beauty, which is the cause for your
arrogance and ignorance vanish. From now on, whoever sees you on the fourth day
of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada month, the day of my birth, will suffer
because of unjust accusations."
The curse shattered the Moon's pride. He realized his mistake, and felt sorry.
Standing devotedly with folded hands before Ganesha he prayed to him. "Sir,
forgive me and my ignorance. Take back the curse and protect me."
Then the kind Ganesha grew calm. He consoled the unhappy Moon. He said, "Moon,
you have realized your fault. What is important is the destruction of your pride.
Anyhow, my curse cannot be in vain. But those who are subjected to false accusations
will be saved and regain their good name if they see you on the second day of
the bright fortnight also or listen to the story of the Syamantaka gem." The
Moon was satisfied.
The story of the Syamantaka shows the power of the curse.
Satrajita of Dwaraka had a gem called Syamantaka. It was dazzling. If it was
worshipped with devotion it used to give plenty of gold every day.
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| SIDDHI VINAYAKA - THE PROMINENT LEADER OF SUCCESS |
Once Prasena,
Satrajita's brother, went out hunting. He was wearing the Syamantaka. A lion
killed him and went to a cave, carrying the gem. A bear by name Jambavanta killed
the lion and gave the Syamantaka to his child to play with. This Jambavanta was
not an ordinary bear; he was the heroic follower of Shri Rama.
Prasena did not return to Dwaraka. Satrajita suspected that Krishna himself had
killed him for the sake of the Syamantaka. The rumor soon spread. Krishna had
not done anything wrong. So when he heard about Satrajita's suspicions he was
unhappy. He went in search of Prasena. He found the corpse of Prasena. There
were footprints of a lion nearby. Following these footprints, Krishna entered
the cave of Jambavanta. He fought with Jambavanta for twenty-eight days. At last,
Jambavanta understood that Shri Krishna was Shri Rama himself. Then he offered
him the Syamantaka.
Krishna gave the Syamantaka to Satrajita and put an end to the evil rumors. However,
he was surprised at what had happened. He asked the sages, "how could such
things be said of me even when I had not done anything wrong". Great sages
told him the story of Ganesha's curse and said, "You saw the Moon on the
fourth day."
Then Krishna worshipped Ganesha. Siddhi-Vinayaka Vrata, the worship of Ganesha
is performed on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada.
The devotees believe that those who see the Moon on that day will not suffer,
if they listen to the story of the Syamantaka.
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