The Man from the Egg Read online

  This is why Bilva leaves are used as an offering to Shiva even today.

  The Legends of the Elephant God

  The God of Knowledge

  One day, Parvati happened to observe all the followers around Shiva from their abode on Mount Kailash. She remarked, ‘These people are all your devotees, my lord. They listen only to you and not to me.’

  ‘That can’t be true, Parvati,’ replied Shiva.

  Parvati did not say anything further, but she was convinced that she was right.

  A few days later, she called for Shiva’s white bull and said to him, ‘Nandi, I am going to take a bath. Please guard the door and make sure no one comes in till I am done.’

  When Shiva came home, he saw Nandi standing guard outside. ‘Where is Parvati?’ he asked.

  ‘She is taking a bath.’

  Shiva nodded and tried to step inside but Nandi stopped him, saying, ‘My lord, the goddess has ordered me not to allow anyone in until she is ready.’

  ‘That may be so, Nandi, but this is my house and I am your lord and her husband. I can go in and out as I please.’

  Convinced, Nandi moved aside and allowed Shiva to enter.

  When Parvati saw Shiva, she realized that Nandi was more loyal to his master than to her. She was overwhelmed by sadness, for she wanted somebody who’d be as faithful to her and follow her instructions without question.

  The next time Parvati wanted to bathe, instead of relying on someone else to guard her door, she decided to create a new person altogether. She sculpted the statue of a young boy with some mud and breathed life into him. She named him Ganesha.

  As soon as Ganesha came to life, he bowed and said, ‘Mother, I am here to do your bidding. Tell me, how may I help you today?’

  Parvati said gently, ‘My child, I am going to take a bath. Please don’t allow anyone inside the house until I am done.’

  Some time passed and Shiva came home. He was surprised to see the little boy standing guard outside his house.

  ‘Little one, who are you? Where are your parents and why are you standing here?’ asked Shiva.

  The boy replied boldly, ‘My name is Ganesha and I am Parvati’s son.’

  Shiva did not believe him. ‘Move aside and let me enter,’ he said.

  ‘No, I cannot do that. I must follow my mother’s orders. Please wait out here with me until she is done.’

  ‘Little boy, don’t you know who I am? I am Shiva and this is my home. You cannot stop me from entering my own home.’

  But Ganesha refused to be intimidated. He repeated,

  ‘I am sorry, but I can’t allow you inside until my mother says it is all right to do so.’

  Ganesha’s response irritated Shiva. He tried to reason with him again and again, but the boy would not budge.

  Finally, Shiva lost his temper and cut off Ganesha’s head with a single swish of his trishul. The sheer force of the blow sent the boy’s head flying out of the Himalayas.

  Hearing the commotion, Parvati rushed outside, but it was too late. Her child’s headless body lay on the white icy ground before her. Parvati cried out in despair and anger, ‘This is my son . . . my beloved child! Who has dared to do this to him?’

  By now Shiva had realized his folly. Feeling extremely remorseful for what he had done, he tried to console Parvati, saying, ‘I have made a huge mistake. I did not know that you had created him—I thought he was lying about being your son. Please forgive me—I will do everything I can to revive him.’

  Though her face remained streaked with tears, Parvati looked at Ganesha’s body and nodded silently.

  Shiva then instructed Nandi to go north and find the boy’s head.

  Nandi looked for the head everywhere, but in vain. He returned to Shiva and said, ‘My lord, the head is nowhere to be found. What should I do?’

  ‘Try again, Nandi,’ insisted Shiva. ‘Or . . . if you find anyone sleeping with his head towards the north, please remove their head and bring it to me.’

  Nandi rushed out to follow his master’s orders. He finally saw an elephant sleeping with its head towards the north. Without a moment’s hesitation, Nandi cut it off and brought it back.

  Shiva was pleased. He attached the head to Ganesha’s body, restoring his life, and accepted the boy as his own. Thus, Ganesha and Karthikeya became brothers.7

  Ganesha was now devoted to both his parents. One day, Shiva and Parvati called their two sons and said, ‘Let’s have a friendly contest. We will give the fruit of knowledge to whoever goes around the world in the least amount of time.’

  Karthikeya instantly mounted his peacock and began his journey around the world. Ganesha, on the other hand, did not hurry at all. He simply walked around his parents and then bowed before them.

  Parvati said affectionately, ‘My dear child, what are you doing? Your brother must be halfway across the world by now—you will surely lose this race!’

  Ganesha smiled at his parents with such warmth that it touched Parvati’s heart. ‘It does not matter, Mother. The two of you are my world and I have already encircled you. My journey is complete.’

  Shiva and Parvati smiled and handed him the fruit.

  ‘You are such a smart child, Ganesha,’ said Shiva. ‘You will always have my blessing. From this day on, you will be known as the god of knowledge.’

  The Mighty Mouse

  Krauncha was a celestial musician in Indra’s court. One day, he was running late for a performance and was walking rather hurriedly. Unfortunately, in his haste, he stepped on an old sage’s foot. The sage, whose name was Vamadeva, cursed Krauncha in a fit of fury and pain. ‘May you turn into a rodent that frantically scampers everywhere!’

  Poor Krauncha was immediately transformed into a huge mountain rat.

  As a rat he troubled many people, often creeping into farmers’ homes and eating their carefully stored grains or entering ashrams and destroying their food. When the people had had enough of his troublemaking, they called upon Ganesha to help them.

  Ganesha heard their pleas and threw his pasha, a noose, at the rat. But Krauncha managed to scamper away somehow.

  ‘I know you are quick and can creep into any place you want to because of your size and agility, but I am going to tie you up with this pasha so that you can’t trouble anyone,’ said Ganesha, determined. Adjusting the rope, he carefully aimed it at the rat and, this time, caught him. The noose was tightened and Krauncha could not escape.

  Krauncha pleaded with Ganesha, ‘Lord, I understand my mistake and I will never trouble anyone again. Please allow me to be your vehicle so that whenever you are worshipped, I will also be revered.’

  ‘But will you be able to bear my weight?’ asked the pot-bellied god in amusement.

  ‘That will not be a problem. I will adjust my size according to yours.’

  Ganesha agreed.

  And that is how Krauncha the rat became Ganesha’s primary vehicle, enabling him to move quickly and get rid of obstacles for his devotees.

  Durva

  A long, long time ago, there lived a fire-emitting asura named Analasura. Wherever he walked, fire burst forth, and Analasura took advantage of this great power, using it to torment people and cause widespread destruction. When he became uncontrollable, the people turned to Ganesha for help.

  ‘Don’t worry. I will take care of him,’ said Ganesha and went looking for Analasura.

  When Analasura saw Ganesha, he tried to swallow him. But Ganesha grew and grew, and kept growing until he was large enough to swallow the demon. The asura then promptly disappeared down Ganesha’s throat and into his stomach. Everyone celebrated the end of Analasura.

  Unfortunately, Ganesha soon began to suffer from excruciating pain. Analasura was using fire to wreak havoc inside his stomach!

  Seeing his son’s condition, Shiva released a serpent on Ganesha’s stomach. The serpent’s special powers were meant to have a cooling effect on Ganesha, but it was of no use. The pain persisted.

  Then Vishnu