The legend of Mayureshwar Ganesha

Om Shri Ganeshaya Namah!

On this Ganesh Chaturthi day, I am pleased to narrate the story of Ganesha as Mayureshwar whose temple is at Morgaon, Maharashtra.

As per the Ganesha Purana, Bhagwan Ganesha assumed different forms in different yugas for specific purposes. In the Satya Yuga, He assumed the form of Mahotkata Vinayaka to slay Narantaka and Devantaka. You can read that story here. The stories of these forms of Ganesha are mentioned in the Mudgala Purana as well.

In the Treta Yuga, Ganesha assumed the form of Mayureshwar  to kill the Asura called Sindhurasur. His abode is also called Mayureshwar which later on came to be known as Morgaon. This is the first of the Ashtavinayak Shrines of Maharashtra. Ashtavinayak  shrines are a set of eight temples dedicated to Bhagwan Ganesha in Maharashtra. This is a religious circuit and the devotees of Ganesha generally visit all the eight temples as a fulfilment of a vow to Him. However, after the tour of the eight temples have been completed, the practice is to visit the Mayureshwar temple again to thank Ganesha.

In Treta Yuga, there lived near Mithila, an Asura king called Chakrapani with his queen Ugra. They did not have any heir. Both of them were very devoted to Bhagwan Surya. After long years of praying to Bhagwan Surya, they were blessed with a baby boy. But the heat and brilliance emanating from the baby was extremely unbearable for them. So, King Chakrapani cast away the baby in the ocean. After a few days, Varuna Deva , the deity of the oceans, went to the court of the king  and gave the child back to the king. The child was normal now and the king accepted the baby and named him Sindhu.

Born by the grace of Bhagwan Surya, Sindhu was also inclined to be devoted to Surya. When he was a young boy, he decided to do penance and propitiate Bhagwan Surya. Sindhu’s parents were very happy that their son was going to do Tapasya and they blessed him. Sindhu gave up all the comforts of the palace and went to a forest to perform penance. He gave up food and water and prayed to Bhagwan Surya with single minded focus. Surya Deva was pleased with his penance and appeared before Sindhu.

“I am pleased with your Tapas, Sindhu! What is it that you seek from me?” asked Surya Deva.

“I wish to be invincible forever!” said Sindhu.

Bhagwan Surya then manifested a pot of ‘Amrit’ the divine nectar and gave it to Sindhu. “Drink this Amrit. This will remain in your belly. As long as it remains there, you will be invincible” said Bhagwan Surya.

Sindhu drank the Amrit. Now that he knew he was invincible, as is the case with all Asuras, he became very arrogant and proud and started harassing people and torturing them to no end that he came to be known as Sindhurasura. He took on the Devas and chased them away from Devaloka. He went to the extent of troubling Brahmadev,  Sri Mahavishnu and even Bhagwan Shiva. Shri Mahavishnu was  forced by Sindhurasura to leave His abode and come and stay at Sindhurasura’s palace and Mahavishnu had no choice. Bhagwan Shiva and Parvati Devi were forced to relocate to Mount Meru from Mount Kailash on account of the troubles caused by Sindhu. Many of the devas were imprisoned too. The situation was becoming unbearable for all.

The Devas who were lucky enough not to be imprisoned performed a yagna along with many Rishis to invoke Bhagwan Ganesha. They prayed fervently to Ganesha imploring Him to put an end to their misery.

After a long time, pleased with their devotion, Bhagwan Ganesha appeared in front of them. He had a white complexion and had six arms with weapons in them. He was riding on a majestic peacock instead of His Mooshika. The Rishis and Devas were elated on seeing Ganesha in this resplendent form. They fell at His feet and paid their respects and praised Him through many Stotras.

Bhagwan Ganesha accepted their prayers.  “Do not worry!” He told the Devas and Rishis reassuringly. “I will alleviate your sufferings by putting an end to Sindhurasura.”

Meanwhile, Sindhurasura’s minister Kamalasura came to know of the Yagna being conducted by the Devas and the Rishis to seek Ganesha’s help. With an army he rushed to fight with Ganesha. Ganesha killed him in no time. Hearing this news, the two sons of Sindhurasura then rushed to fight with Ganesha. They were also promptly dispatched to the abode of Lord Yama by Ganesha in no time.

Bhagwan Ganesha then sent Nandi, the Shiva Gana as an emissary to Sindhurasura. He sent a clear message that the imprisoned Devas and Bhagwan Mahavishnu should be released and Sindhurasura should stop his atrocities forthwith. But the message was ignored by Sindhurasura. He was drunk with too much of arrogance due to his power.

Now, King Chakrapani advised his son. “Sindhu! It is better to listen to the words of Bhagwan Ganesha. There is no history of anyone coming back alive after going to battle with Ganesha” he said. But that advice also fell on deaf ears.

Sindhurasura  then left with a formidable army to where Bhagwan Ganesha was. A terrible battle ensued in which many warriors were killed. Sindhurasura fought very bravely but slowly was losing ground. Bhagwan Ganesha then aimed His ‘Parashu’ (axe) at Sindhurasura’s navel and threw it with great force. The axe ripped open Sindhurasura’s belly and the Amrit spilled to the ground. Sindhurasura died at the hands of Ganesha.

King Chakrapani then came to the battlefield and prayed to Bhagwan Ganesha to protect them all. Ganesha told him to let Bhagwan Mahavishnu go to his abode and also release all the Devas who were imprisoned. King Chakrapani obeyed the instructions. All the beings of the Universe were extremely happy and relieved.

Bhagwan Brahma built a temple for Ganesha and offered in marriage to Him his daughters Siddhi and Buddhi (also referred to as Riddhi and Siddhi). He requested  Ganesha to stay permanently in the temple built for Him and bless the people from there. Ganesha obliged and since He had a peacock as His Vahana, he was known as Mayureshwar. Ganesha, it is said, then gifted his peacock to His younger brother Kartikeya who has it as His ‘Vahana’ since.

The temple of Mayureshwar is situated in Pune district in Baramati Tehsil, in the place called Morgaon. It is near the Karha river and at a distance of about 80 kilometres from Pune city. It is also believed that lots of peacocks thrived in this place in ancient times and this place got its name. Peacock is ‘Mor’ in Marathi (and also in some other Indian languages) and Morgaon translates to ‘the village of the peacocks’. Mayureshwar Ganesha is fondly called as ‘Moraya’ as in  ‘Ganapati Bappa Moraya!’

Shri Moraya Gosavi was a great devotee of Shri Mayureshwar Ganesha. You can read his story here.

Let us all pray to Shri Mayureshwar Ganesha on this Chaturthi day to shower His abundant blessings on us.

Ganapati Bappa Moraya!!