August 2, 2008
I was not clued into the RECT 78-83 yahoo group forum until a few months ago. I just kept in touch (mostly, infrequent) with a handful of friends from those days. T Suresh, S. Muralidharan, Dinakaran, A.S. Ravishankar, R Krishnan, Toughie (AN Ravikumar), Gandhi (Subbu Vempati), Nipun, Blacks (Sridhar Ananthachari) to name a few.
When I got myself into the yahoo group, I was besieged with a flurry of emails with people talking profusely with each other and making a lot of connections with their long lost friends. The number of pairs of connections with 200 people in the batch quickly stacks up.
I was very enthusiastic about making it there and actually made it there for a day. Most of the morning was spent by wandering around the hotel and meeting and recognizing old faces. It was a lot of fun!
I met a few more friends over breakfast and travelled by bus (much like old times) to the campus. Though it seemed to have changed a lot due to our faded memories, perhaps, nothing much has changed at all. Bhelec, Amutham restaurant, dry and derelict roadside and the good old clock tower. We were greeted by a liveried band!
I offered to make a trip down the memory lane and speak a few thoughts that were busily buzzing in my mind since I started making preparations to attend the reunion. After the old Princi and the new Princi had their time on the stage and cooled down on amicable terms after their debate regarding REC's education philosophy and uniqueness, I was called upon the stage to speak on behalf of the batch.
What follows is a rough transcription from my memory:
"Friends, Families and Sirs,
I was not on Yahoo group of our batch till 3-4 months ago. Once I had signed up to it and caught up with the flurry of emails among many classmates, the names and faces of several people kept popping up in my head. I have been able to recognize about 60% of the people so far and I am still working on the rest of them!
As I look around this hall, there are a number of people wiser and greyer, bigger, better and richer. I am sure that we have all come to this stage over the last 25 years mostly due to our efforts and some luck of being at the right place at the right time.
But, if we look back at the eventful 5 years that we spent at REC before the 25 years which seemed to have quickly passed by, we accomplished success because of not only what we did in the 25 years but also what we learnt in those 5 years between 1978 - 1983. The 5 years were eventful and formative at a very critical juncture of our lives. I am not just referring to the Engineering education alone and the degree that readily gave us some status in life.
I thought I would talk about the things I had learned and what these 5 years meant to my life. I am sure that several of you will be able to relate to some of these and perhaps, have some more of your own.
I vividly remember many vigorous vocabulary sessions with friends exploring the histories of the words we had come across that day. I met here some of the most brilliant people who had come from interior parts of TN and the rest of India. To this day, several words come to me with very vivid stories.
If it were not for REC, I would not have been bitten by the reading bug. I came from nameless, brandless schools across A.P. I was not very exposed to reading. When I came to REC, I remember loving the big, well-stocked and peaceful library and spending many an evening there.
If it were not for REC, I would not have sensed my first taste of independence and being in charge, of myself. At the time, my family was about 36 hours and 3 trains/1 bus away from Trichy. Planning and doing that arduous journey was a lesson in itself. Making a home away from home, living with friends, for 5 long years and taking care of day-to-day life along with studies was a great lesson.
If it were not for REC, I would not have visited Tiruvayyaru situated on the musically fertile Cauvery belt. I still remember very clearly. A friend, KB Balachander, who is not present here at the moment, literally dragged me to Tiruvayyaru in January 1983. I was not very intersted in Carnatic music at all. I went there, partook the festivities, visited Tyagaraja's house and the shrine before which he composed numerous Kritis. It so happened, later, that I became a very passionate student of Carnatic Music. In retrospect, I knew that my visit to Tiruvayyaru was momentous. I never was able to go to Tiruvayyaru again for one reason or the other.
If it were not for REC, I would not have learnt Tamil. I don't know why, but, I fell in love with the language. I did not know a trace of Tamil before I came to Trichy. When I expressed a little interest, several friends of mine, Sankar (EEE), Kandasamy (Mech), Balasubramaniam (Chem) to name a few, were too eager to drill Tirukkural, Tiruppugal into me! Now, when I make my annual pilgrimage to Chennai for the music season in December, I mix in completely and act, feel like a local!
These are just a few of my recollections. I am sure you have several of your own. We are what we are due to our experiences. Every experience - small or big - has a lesson. Every mini lesson has a micro learning! We surely had our share over the last 30 years.
On behalf of all of you and myself, I would like to say 'Thanks' to the institution that has brought us this far."
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Ganesh Chaturthi Story - Translated from an old Telugu Book
Vinayaka Chathurthi – Story
Suta Maharshi started to explain the story of Vighneswara’s birth, the reason for problems if we ever see the moon and the remedy for the consequent ill effects in case any one catches the sight of the moon by mistake.
Once upon a time, there was a demon in the form of an elephant (Gajeswara) who did a severe penance for Shiva’s mercy. Pleased by this, Shiva appeared before him and asked the demon king to choose a boon. Gajeswara was thrilled by this and requested Lord Shiva to stay within his stomach always. Unable to say ‘No’ to his devotee, Lord Shiva entered the stomach of Gajeswara and made that his home for many years happily.
Meanwhile, in Kailasam, Parvathi was very anxious about the sudden disappearance of Lord Shiva and was searching for him everywhere, but, in vain.
After some time, she learned that Lord Shiva was living inside Gajeswara. Unable to determine a way out for Lord Shiva, She sought the help of Shri Vishnu. She pleaded to Lord Vishnu, “O! Great one! You had saved my consort from Bhasmasura once. Please come up with a solution now!” Vishnu consoled Parvathi and assured her of his earnest help. Later, Lord Vishnu called for Brahma and other Gods and confirmed that the best way to deal with Gajeswara was to use the ox (Nandi) and their special band. He got Lord Shiva’s vehicle Nandi decorated colourfully, got Brahma and others disguised as musicians of the band and got himself a Shehnai (reed instrument), small bells and eagerly entered the kingdom of Gajeswara and was captivating the citizens with the enchanting dance and music of the Ox band. (Gangireddula Melam). On hearing about these special dance heroics, Gajeswara sent word for them through the messengers to request them to play their magical music before him. Lord Vishnu presented a breath-taking set of dance movements accompanied by thrilling music to Gajeswara. Gajeswara was very pleased and asked them to select a boon in return.
Lord Vishnu approached him closely and thundered, “This Ox is none other than the Nandi, the divine vehicle (Vahanam’) of Lord Shiva and had come to find her Lord.” Gajeswara was taken by total surprise with this turn of events and soon realized that he neared his end. He promised them their boon, but, requested that his head should be made honorable and be worshiped by all the three worlds. Lord Vishnu agreed to this and nodded to Nandi to pierce and tear down the stomach of Gajeswara with his horns and release Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva stepped out of Gajeswara and praised Lord Vishnu for his innovative solution to a hard problem. Lord Vishnu chided Shiva for his ‘easy to please’ manner and advised all that nobody should give such boons to demons as the consequences will be like feeding milk to snakes (dangerous consequences). He bade farewell to Brahma and others while he himself headed off in the direction of Vaikuntham. Meanwhile, Shiva made a dash to Kailasam on his Nandi to see Parvathi.
Vinayaka’s Birth
Parvathi heard about the impending arrival of Lord Shiva from the Gods and wanted to be prepared and resolved to have an elaborate oil bath. She made a small image of a boy with the flour used for cleansing the body; she breathed life into it and stationed him as a guard at her door.
After the bath, she decorated herself beautifully and was eagerly waiting for Lord Shiva. Soon, Shiva arrived and rushed to go inside not wanting to waste any time in meeting Parvathi. He was enraged when the little boy promptly stopped him. In a fit of rage, Shiva killed the boy with his Trident (Trishulam) and went right inside. Parvathi was overjoyed to see Shiva, welcomed him with all due honours and was having a pleasant time with her consort. In due course, the matter of the little boy came up. On learning about the background of the little boy, Shiva deeply regretted his rash act. He made amends by attaching the head of Gajeswara and brought him back to life. Lord Shiva named him ‘Gajanana’ (One with the face of an Elephant). Parvathi raised him as her own son and showered her love on the little Gajanana. Gajanana also grew up with a lot of respect and love for his parents. Soon, Gajanana acquired a mouse called ‘Anindya’ as his vehicle. After a few years, Parvathi gave birth to another son called Subrahmanya/Muruga who had a peacock for his vehicle. Subrahmanya was extremely strong and earned a lot of name and fame as the general of the army of the Gods.
Vighneswara’s (Remover of Obstacles) ascendancy to the throne
One day, all the Gods and Rishis, after worshipping Parameshwara/Shiva, requested him to appoint one person as the representative for the removal of obstacles. Subrahmanya offered himself as a better candidate of the two as his elder brother Gajanana/Vinayaka was a dwarf and ineffective. Shiva threw them a challenge to take a dip in all the rivers of the three worlds and promised the position to whoever returns first.
Subrahmanya rode out immediately on his peacock without wasting a moment. However, Gajanana was taken aback by the difficulty of the challenge and pleaded with his father Shiva to offer him an alternative in light of his personal physical difficulties. Lord Shiva cast a kindly glance at Gajanana and said, “Sakrunnarayanetyuktvapuman Kalpashatathrayam! Gangaadi Sarva Thirtheshu Snaathobhavathi Putraka” He said, “Son! Chant Narayana Mantram once and you will reap the effect of taking a holy dip in the holy rivers for 300 kalpas (a long time period)”. Gajanana followed his father’s mantra upadesham (advice) and continued to stay in Kailasam.
Due to the effect of the mantram, Subrahmanya had the illusion of seeing his brother coming out of each of the 3,50,00,000 holy rivers just as he was coming out. This puzzled him and made him regret his ego. When he finally saw Gajanana already in Kailasam before his own return, he understood the strengths of his brother and requested Shiva to offer the position of the General to Gajanana. Lord Shiva promptly appointed Gajanana as the General (Ganesha) and anointed him as the Lord of the remover of obstacles (Vighneswara) on the day of the Bhadrapada Suddha Chavithi (today). On this day, people from all over the country worship Vighneswara to their hearts’ content with a lot of special offerings, such as Kudumulu, Apupamulu, coconuts, milk, honey, Bananas, Panakam, vadapappu etc.
On one such day, Vighneswara helped himself to several of these sweets and offered a few to Anindya and took a few for eating along the way. He walked slowly during twilight towards Kailasam and found it very difficult to bend and do a pranam to his parents. Seeing his difficulty, and his awkward posture, moon on Shiva’s head dress laughed loudly in mockery. As the saying “Rajadrishti Soki Naraalu Kuuda Nuggagu” goes, Vighneswara’s stomach split open and all the kudumulu etc. tumbled out and were strewn about the area. He too fell dead. Parvathi started to cry on seeing that and cursed moon vehemently, “O! Sinner! O! Person with bad intent! My son died today because your evil sight fell upon him. May any one who sees you get always accused of wrongful deeds!” and was continuing to regret the loss of her son.
How wives of Rishis get wrongly accused?
Around the same time, the sapta maharshis (7 great sages) were performing a yajnam (Fire ritual) and were circumambulating (pradakshinam) the great fire in the middle. The fire God (Agni) was fascinated by the wives of the Maharshis. With this distraction, he was declining in intensity. Seeing that, Agni’s wife (Swaha) took the form of all the Rishi Patnis (Wives) except Arundhati and cavorted him in deceit. The Maharshis believed that these were their wives in reality and were enraged. They distanced from their wives instantly. The maharshi wives were wrongfully accused of infidelity due to the effects of Parvathi’s curse as they had seen the moon that evening.
All the Gods and Rishis pleaded the pitiful case of the Rishi Patnis to Brahma. Vishnu, using divine intuition (divya drishti), understood that all this had happened due to Agni’s wife (Swaha) and explained the facts to the Saptarshis. Later, Brahma took them all to Kailasam and saw Ganesha lying unconscious and gave life back to him. Later, they pleaded with Parvathi, “O! Devi! Please withdraw your curse and its harmful effects or suggest a way of getting relief by people like less powerful Gods, Rishis, humans. Parvathi was consoled by Ganesha’s return to life and pronounced, “Whichever day the moon ridiculed Ganesha and laughed is the only day people need to avoid seeing the moon”. Brahma and his entourage were relieved a little and went back to their abodes and were living happily while being cautious about avoiding the moon on that one day.
Shamantaka (Gem) Story
During the dwapara age, in the town of Dwaraka, one day, Sri Narada visited Sri Krishna, exchanged some pleasantries and cautioned Krishna, “Swami! It is already evening now. Today is Vinayaka Chathurthi. We all need to avoid seeing the moon due to Parvathi’s curse. Please give me permission to go home.” Narada explained the entire background and went back to his home in heaven.
Sri Krishna, out of concern for his citizens, got this caution proclaimed all over the town. As Sri Krishna relished fresh milk, he went to the barn, all the while being careful to avoid seeing the moon and started milking the cow. However, he chanced upon the reflection of the moon in the clear, fresh milk. He regretted the unfortunate occurrence and was very anxious about consequences he may need to face in future and was living with trepidation. After a few days, king Satrajit obtained Shamantaka gem from the Sun as a boon and visited Sri Krishna in Dwaraka on his way back home. Sri Krishna received him well and expressed interest in the gem. Satrajit explained that the gem gives its owner 8 measures (Baaruvulu) of gold daily and that he would not ever part with it.
One day, Satrajit’s brother, Prasena wore the gem around his neck and went hunting in the forest. A lion mistook the gem for a chunk of meat, attacked Prasena fatally and was on its way its lair. On the way, a bear was fascinated by the gem, in turn, killed the lion for the gem and took the gem as a plaything for his daughter “Jaambavathi”.
Next day, on hearing his brother’s unfortunate demise, Satrajit suspected Sri Krishna behind this plot of forcefully acquiring the gem. Satrajit started accusing Krishna publicly. Krishna realized that this was all due to him seeing the moon on the day of Vinayaka Chathurthi and went searching for the gem in the forest. He found Prasena’s body; the trail left by the lion and traced the foot prints of the bear all the way to its cave. He went into the cave; found the gem tied to the cradle. He forcefully grabbed it and was about to rush out with it. On seeing the stranger, Jambavathi (child of Jambavan, the bear) started to cry aloud. This attracted Jambavan’s attention. Enraged by this, Jambavan, the great bear attacked Krishna with his claws and with all his strength. He put up a fierce fight and wrestled with trees and boulders for 28 days. However, this took a toll on Jambavan finally, but, Krishna was relentless. Jambavan became desperate and weak, and finally realized that the stranger was Vishnu’s avatar himself. (Vishnu in Rama’s incarnation defeated Ravana in the Tretayugam) and sought apology saying, “Deva! Protector of earnest devotees! I have realized that you were Rama in Tretayuga and defeated Ravana. You had affectionately asked me to choose a boon. I had foolishly asked that I wanted a duel with you. You had promised that it would happen in due course. I have been waiting for this to happen until you entered my cave today.” Jambavan pleaded to Krishna, “I have been defeated and brutally injured. Please protect me. I have no one else.” Krishna promised him protection, but, requested his ill-gotten gem. Jambavan was overjoyed, presented not only the gem but also his daughter to Sri Krishna.
Later Sri Krishna met his entourage who were anxiously waiting outside the cave just as they were dreading unforeseen harm to their beloved Krishna. On reaching Dwaraka, he assembled the citizens and Satrajit, recounted the entire story of how Shamantaka gem was lost and regained and how Parvathi’s curse was the cause of it all. Satrajit apologized profusely to Krishna and requested him to take his daughter Satyabhama as his wife.
Sri Krishna wedded both Jambavathi and Satyabhama on an auspicious day. The Rishis who were present at the divine ceremony, requested Krishna to suggest even a simpler recourse for this curse so that common people could protect themselves in future. They impressed upon Krishna that it is not easy for the common people to escape the clutches of the curse like this. Krishna declared that whoever listens to this story and wears the Mantrakshatas will be free from the ill-effects of the curse. Since then, every one started celebrating the day as Vinayaka Chathurthi, worshipping Lord Ganesha on the Bhadrapada Suddha Chavithi day with all due ceremony and ritual, every year to the best of their abilities.
Thus, Suta Maharshi narrated the story to Shaunaka and others and sauntered in the direction of his ashram.
____________________________________________________________________
Translated by Krishnaprasad Kamisetty (http://www.krishnaprasadkamisetty.blogspot.com/) in 2008 from ‘Vinayaka Vrata Kalpam’ published by Bhaskara Book Depot, Vijayawada.
Suta Maharshi started to explain the story of Vighneswara’s birth, the reason for problems if we ever see the moon and the remedy for the consequent ill effects in case any one catches the sight of the moon by mistake.
Once upon a time, there was a demon in the form of an elephant (Gajeswara) who did a severe penance for Shiva’s mercy. Pleased by this, Shiva appeared before him and asked the demon king to choose a boon. Gajeswara was thrilled by this and requested Lord Shiva to stay within his stomach always. Unable to say ‘No’ to his devotee, Lord Shiva entered the stomach of Gajeswara and made that his home for many years happily.
Meanwhile, in Kailasam, Parvathi was very anxious about the sudden disappearance of Lord Shiva and was searching for him everywhere, but, in vain.
After some time, she learned that Lord Shiva was living inside Gajeswara. Unable to determine a way out for Lord Shiva, She sought the help of Shri Vishnu. She pleaded to Lord Vishnu, “O! Great one! You had saved my consort from Bhasmasura once. Please come up with a solution now!” Vishnu consoled Parvathi and assured her of his earnest help. Later, Lord Vishnu called for Brahma and other Gods and confirmed that the best way to deal with Gajeswara was to use the ox (Nandi) and their special band. He got Lord Shiva’s vehicle Nandi decorated colourfully, got Brahma and others disguised as musicians of the band and got himself a Shehnai (reed instrument), small bells and eagerly entered the kingdom of Gajeswara and was captivating the citizens with the enchanting dance and music of the Ox band. (Gangireddula Melam). On hearing about these special dance heroics, Gajeswara sent word for them through the messengers to request them to play their magical music before him. Lord Vishnu presented a breath-taking set of dance movements accompanied by thrilling music to Gajeswara. Gajeswara was very pleased and asked them to select a boon in return.
Lord Vishnu approached him closely and thundered, “This Ox is none other than the Nandi, the divine vehicle (Vahanam’) of Lord Shiva and had come to find her Lord.” Gajeswara was taken by total surprise with this turn of events and soon realized that he neared his end. He promised them their boon, but, requested that his head should be made honorable and be worshiped by all the three worlds. Lord Vishnu agreed to this and nodded to Nandi to pierce and tear down the stomach of Gajeswara with his horns and release Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva stepped out of Gajeswara and praised Lord Vishnu for his innovative solution to a hard problem. Lord Vishnu chided Shiva for his ‘easy to please’ manner and advised all that nobody should give such boons to demons as the consequences will be like feeding milk to snakes (dangerous consequences). He bade farewell to Brahma and others while he himself headed off in the direction of Vaikuntham. Meanwhile, Shiva made a dash to Kailasam on his Nandi to see Parvathi.
Vinayaka’s Birth
Parvathi heard about the impending arrival of Lord Shiva from the Gods and wanted to be prepared and resolved to have an elaborate oil bath. She made a small image of a boy with the flour used for cleansing the body; she breathed life into it and stationed him as a guard at her door.
After the bath, she decorated herself beautifully and was eagerly waiting for Lord Shiva. Soon, Shiva arrived and rushed to go inside not wanting to waste any time in meeting Parvathi. He was enraged when the little boy promptly stopped him. In a fit of rage, Shiva killed the boy with his Trident (Trishulam) and went right inside. Parvathi was overjoyed to see Shiva, welcomed him with all due honours and was having a pleasant time with her consort. In due course, the matter of the little boy came up. On learning about the background of the little boy, Shiva deeply regretted his rash act. He made amends by attaching the head of Gajeswara and brought him back to life. Lord Shiva named him ‘Gajanana’ (One with the face of an Elephant). Parvathi raised him as her own son and showered her love on the little Gajanana. Gajanana also grew up with a lot of respect and love for his parents. Soon, Gajanana acquired a mouse called ‘Anindya’ as his vehicle. After a few years, Parvathi gave birth to another son called Subrahmanya/Muruga who had a peacock for his vehicle. Subrahmanya was extremely strong and earned a lot of name and fame as the general of the army of the Gods.
Vighneswara’s (Remover of Obstacles) ascendancy to the throne
One day, all the Gods and Rishis, after worshipping Parameshwara/Shiva, requested him to appoint one person as the representative for the removal of obstacles. Subrahmanya offered himself as a better candidate of the two as his elder brother Gajanana/Vinayaka was a dwarf and ineffective. Shiva threw them a challenge to take a dip in all the rivers of the three worlds and promised the position to whoever returns first.
Subrahmanya rode out immediately on his peacock without wasting a moment. However, Gajanana was taken aback by the difficulty of the challenge and pleaded with his father Shiva to offer him an alternative in light of his personal physical difficulties. Lord Shiva cast a kindly glance at Gajanana and said, “Sakrunnarayanetyuktvapuman Kalpashatathrayam! Gangaadi Sarva Thirtheshu Snaathobhavathi Putraka” He said, “Son! Chant Narayana Mantram once and you will reap the effect of taking a holy dip in the holy rivers for 300 kalpas (a long time period)”. Gajanana followed his father’s mantra upadesham (advice) and continued to stay in Kailasam.
Due to the effect of the mantram, Subrahmanya had the illusion of seeing his brother coming out of each of the 3,50,00,000 holy rivers just as he was coming out. This puzzled him and made him regret his ego. When he finally saw Gajanana already in Kailasam before his own return, he understood the strengths of his brother and requested Shiva to offer the position of the General to Gajanana. Lord Shiva promptly appointed Gajanana as the General (Ganesha) and anointed him as the Lord of the remover of obstacles (Vighneswara) on the day of the Bhadrapada Suddha Chavithi (today). On this day, people from all over the country worship Vighneswara to their hearts’ content with a lot of special offerings, such as Kudumulu, Apupamulu, coconuts, milk, honey, Bananas, Panakam, vadapappu etc.
On one such day, Vighneswara helped himself to several of these sweets and offered a few to Anindya and took a few for eating along the way. He walked slowly during twilight towards Kailasam and found it very difficult to bend and do a pranam to his parents. Seeing his difficulty, and his awkward posture, moon on Shiva’s head dress laughed loudly in mockery. As the saying “Rajadrishti Soki Naraalu Kuuda Nuggagu” goes, Vighneswara’s stomach split open and all the kudumulu etc. tumbled out and were strewn about the area. He too fell dead. Parvathi started to cry on seeing that and cursed moon vehemently, “O! Sinner! O! Person with bad intent! My son died today because your evil sight fell upon him. May any one who sees you get always accused of wrongful deeds!” and was continuing to regret the loss of her son.
How wives of Rishis get wrongly accused?
Around the same time, the sapta maharshis (7 great sages) were performing a yajnam (Fire ritual) and were circumambulating (pradakshinam) the great fire in the middle. The fire God (Agni) was fascinated by the wives of the Maharshis. With this distraction, he was declining in intensity. Seeing that, Agni’s wife (Swaha) took the form of all the Rishi Patnis (Wives) except Arundhati and cavorted him in deceit. The Maharshis believed that these were their wives in reality and were enraged. They distanced from their wives instantly. The maharshi wives were wrongfully accused of infidelity due to the effects of Parvathi’s curse as they had seen the moon that evening.
All the Gods and Rishis pleaded the pitiful case of the Rishi Patnis to Brahma. Vishnu, using divine intuition (divya drishti), understood that all this had happened due to Agni’s wife (Swaha) and explained the facts to the Saptarshis. Later, Brahma took them all to Kailasam and saw Ganesha lying unconscious and gave life back to him. Later, they pleaded with Parvathi, “O! Devi! Please withdraw your curse and its harmful effects or suggest a way of getting relief by people like less powerful Gods, Rishis, humans. Parvathi was consoled by Ganesha’s return to life and pronounced, “Whichever day the moon ridiculed Ganesha and laughed is the only day people need to avoid seeing the moon”. Brahma and his entourage were relieved a little and went back to their abodes and were living happily while being cautious about avoiding the moon on that one day.
Shamantaka (Gem) Story
During the dwapara age, in the town of Dwaraka, one day, Sri Narada visited Sri Krishna, exchanged some pleasantries and cautioned Krishna, “Swami! It is already evening now. Today is Vinayaka Chathurthi. We all need to avoid seeing the moon due to Parvathi’s curse. Please give me permission to go home.” Narada explained the entire background and went back to his home in heaven.
Sri Krishna, out of concern for his citizens, got this caution proclaimed all over the town. As Sri Krishna relished fresh milk, he went to the barn, all the while being careful to avoid seeing the moon and started milking the cow. However, he chanced upon the reflection of the moon in the clear, fresh milk. He regretted the unfortunate occurrence and was very anxious about consequences he may need to face in future and was living with trepidation. After a few days, king Satrajit obtained Shamantaka gem from the Sun as a boon and visited Sri Krishna in Dwaraka on his way back home. Sri Krishna received him well and expressed interest in the gem. Satrajit explained that the gem gives its owner 8 measures (Baaruvulu) of gold daily and that he would not ever part with it.
One day, Satrajit’s brother, Prasena wore the gem around his neck and went hunting in the forest. A lion mistook the gem for a chunk of meat, attacked Prasena fatally and was on its way its lair. On the way, a bear was fascinated by the gem, in turn, killed the lion for the gem and took the gem as a plaything for his daughter “Jaambavathi”.
Next day, on hearing his brother’s unfortunate demise, Satrajit suspected Sri Krishna behind this plot of forcefully acquiring the gem. Satrajit started accusing Krishna publicly. Krishna realized that this was all due to him seeing the moon on the day of Vinayaka Chathurthi and went searching for the gem in the forest. He found Prasena’s body; the trail left by the lion and traced the foot prints of the bear all the way to its cave. He went into the cave; found the gem tied to the cradle. He forcefully grabbed it and was about to rush out with it. On seeing the stranger, Jambavathi (child of Jambavan, the bear) started to cry aloud. This attracted Jambavan’s attention. Enraged by this, Jambavan, the great bear attacked Krishna with his claws and with all his strength. He put up a fierce fight and wrestled with trees and boulders for 28 days. However, this took a toll on Jambavan finally, but, Krishna was relentless. Jambavan became desperate and weak, and finally realized that the stranger was Vishnu’s avatar himself. (Vishnu in Rama’s incarnation defeated Ravana in the Tretayugam) and sought apology saying, “Deva! Protector of earnest devotees! I have realized that you were Rama in Tretayuga and defeated Ravana. You had affectionately asked me to choose a boon. I had foolishly asked that I wanted a duel with you. You had promised that it would happen in due course. I have been waiting for this to happen until you entered my cave today.” Jambavan pleaded to Krishna, “I have been defeated and brutally injured. Please protect me. I have no one else.” Krishna promised him protection, but, requested his ill-gotten gem. Jambavan was overjoyed, presented not only the gem but also his daughter to Sri Krishna.
Later Sri Krishna met his entourage who were anxiously waiting outside the cave just as they were dreading unforeseen harm to their beloved Krishna. On reaching Dwaraka, he assembled the citizens and Satrajit, recounted the entire story of how Shamantaka gem was lost and regained and how Parvathi’s curse was the cause of it all. Satrajit apologized profusely to Krishna and requested him to take his daughter Satyabhama as his wife.
Sri Krishna wedded both Jambavathi and Satyabhama on an auspicious day. The Rishis who were present at the divine ceremony, requested Krishna to suggest even a simpler recourse for this curse so that common people could protect themselves in future. They impressed upon Krishna that it is not easy for the common people to escape the clutches of the curse like this. Krishna declared that whoever listens to this story and wears the Mantrakshatas will be free from the ill-effects of the curse. Since then, every one started celebrating the day as Vinayaka Chathurthi, worshipping Lord Ganesha on the Bhadrapada Suddha Chavithi day with all due ceremony and ritual, every year to the best of their abilities.
Thus, Suta Maharshi narrated the story to Shaunaka and others and sauntered in the direction of his ashram.
____________________________________________________________________
Translated by Krishnaprasad Kamisetty (http://www.krishnaprasadkamisetty.blogspot.com/) in 2008 from ‘Vinayaka Vrata Kalpam’ published by Bhaskara Book Depot, Vijayawada.
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