Durva Ganapati Chaturthi Vrat Katha | Shravana Shukla Chaturthi Vrat Katha

Durva Ganapati Chaturthi Vrat Katha

King Dasharatha said to Guru Vashishtha - "O revered Guru! Even after listening to the Mahatmya of this Chaturthi which grants liberation and realization of Brahman, my heart is still not satisfied. Thus, O great sage! Please narrate the Mahatmya of the Shravana Shukla Chaturthi Vrat."

Sage Vashishtha said - "O king! In the Anga Kingdom, there was a city called Shramana Shatatara. King Ashvasena was the sovereign of that city who ruled it with righteousness and integrity. King Ashvasena was brave, courageous and valiant. He would make generous donations for various causes and devotedly observe fasts and religious rituals. Due to his piety, he was admired by Gods, Brahmins and his guests. He established his sovereignty on the entire earth with his unmatched skills in warfare and weaponry. He became renowned as Sarvabhauma, or the monarch of the entire earth. His glory became known in the three worlds. He successfully vanquished other kings with his valor and might and received tribute from his vassal states after conquering them. In this way, he established his kingdom on the entire earth.

In the course of time, King Ashvasena became afflicted with Jvara, i.e., a severe fever. As his affliction worsened, the king found it harder to sleep at night. Various measures were taken to treat the fever, but none alleviated his agony. One year passed but the king did not find any relief in his fever. Due to his illness, the king became emaciated and gradually lost his strength. To put an end to his suffering, the king decided to kill himself by consuming poison. But, at that precise moment, the greatest among Yogis, Sage Devala arrived there. Upon seeing Sage Devala before him, the king offered his respect by joining his palms and worshipped the sage with his kin and respectfully offered food and other offerings to the sage.

After the sage partook his food, the king reverently entered thus - 'O great sage! Today, I feel exceedingly blessed by getting your divine Darshan. My acts of devotion, worship, chanting and meditating, penance, Yajna, Homa, everything which I have performed has become meaningful. O venerable sage! I am suffering from a severe fever, and my affliction has aggravated so much that I decided to take my own life by consuming poison, but O great sage! You arrived at the precise moment, and I was blessed by your Darshan. Even if I die as a result of drinking poison, my death will not be suicide. Your Darshan alone has blessed me that I will attain liberation and the highest position at the Lord's feet.' Saying this, the king began to weep and lament bitterly.

Thereafter, the master of all scriptures Sage Devala said in an earnest voice - 'O king! Your kingdom has forsaken the glorious Vrat of Chaturthi. Due to the abandonment of Chaturthi Vrat, you are suffering from this illness in this life and upon death, you will suffer in the Naraka Loka. O king! This Vrat blesses the person with all four aims of human life known as Purushartha, that is, Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire) and Moksha (liberation). The abandonment of this glorious Vrat devoid the person with all auspiciousness and the fruits of good deeds. O king! All your good deeds will be devoid of all four Purushartha in the absence of this Vrat. Thus, no other Vrat but the Chaturthi Vrat only bestows the person with the four Purusharthas of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.'

Saying this, Sage Devala narrated a story about the Chaturthi Vrat to the king. Upon listening to the story, the king said to the sage - 'I have listened to the Mahatmya of the Chaturthi Vrat from your divine mouth. O great sage! Please narrate the Mahatmya of Lord Ganesha now.'

O king! the great Sage Devala said - 'I am incapable of describing the divine Mahatmya of Lord Ganesha. Yet, I will describe the divine form of Lord Ganesha endowed with attributes, as my father Sage Asita once narrated to me. I will now narrate to you the complete Mahatmya whose glory is such that it grants great success and illuminates the path towards Brahmayoga.

In ancient times, when I was absorbed in deep penance, Maharshi Jaigishavya appeared before me, who is the follower of Shaiva tradition. I offered my deepest respects to the Sage Jaigishavya and reverently worshipped him and sang hymns in his praise. Afterwards, he quietly seated himself on the seat I offered to him in my hermitage. When I worshipped him by following the proper rituals, I bowed down in front of him and said - 'O great sage! Please enlighten this poor disciple of yours about the path to attain liberation from Samsara. O compassionate one! I am stuck in this illusory realm of Samsara, the continuous cycle of life, death and rebirth. Please, liberate me from this illusion.'

Sage Jaigishavya said - 'O great sage! You are conscientious in your path, don't act violently in any circumstances. You must realize your true path by contemplating Aham Brahmasmi!, which means "I am Brahman" and by inculcating in yourself the qualities such as Sham, i.e., equanimity and Dam, i.e., discipline to become capable of suppressing your urges and desires at your will. You should contemplate the one you have the complete authority over. Then, you will be able to become Yogi in the entire world.'

Saying thus, Sage Jaigishavya disappeared from sight. Following his words, I rejected violence and chose the path of Yoga. As I became committed to my Yogic path, my parents wept and anxiously said - 'Now Devala has abandoned his Karma by neglecting us. When Devala has renounced all his Karmas, then who will take care of us. We are left afflicted with hunger and thirst, completely helpless. Now, who will provide us with food and water?' I felt sad seeing my parents in such a miserable state and became determined to perform my Karma. Thereafter, I bowed down at the feet of my father Sage Asita, who is worshipped by the greatest of Yogis. Joining my palms in reverence, I asked him to enlighten me about the pure manifestation of Yogashanti, the eternal Brahman.

Thereafter, Sage Asita said to me - 'O son! You must meditate upon Lord Ganesha, who is revered among Yogis as the very manifestation of Yoga and the bestower of eternal peace. Because Lord Ganesha is the essence of both Samyoga, i.e., union and Ayoga, i.e., disunion. In the word Gana, the Gakara syllable represents union and Nakara syllable represents disunion and Lord Ganesha is realised by the wise ones through Yoga, i.e., integration of both the syllables.' Saying this, my father, who is a great devotee of Lord Ganesha, gave me the Ekakshar Mantra of Lord Ganesha and instructed me to immerse myself in the worship of Lord Ganesha.

O king! Thereafter, I respectfully offered my respect to him and returned to my hermitage. There, I immersed myself in the worship and meditation of Lord Ganesha. Due to my devoted worship of Lord Ganesha, I attained eternal inner peace in a short time and became revered among the great Yogis. Afterwards, I completely absorbed myself in the devotion of Lord Ganesha. After one year, Lord Ganesha, who is ever gracious to His devotees, appeared before me. I reverently worshipped Him and sang hymns in His praise. Lord Ganesha made me Ganapatya, His ardent devotee just like my father and returned to His abode Svanandakapura.'

Saying thus, Sage Devala bestowed upon King Ashvasena the Dashakshara Mantra of Lord Ganesha and disappeared from sight. Thereafter, the king immersed himself in the worship of Lord Ganesha. After some time, Shravana Shukla Paksha Chaturthi Tithi arrived there. The king, along with his subjects, observed the Chaturthi Vrat by following the proper rituals and broke the fast on Panchami Tithi. The blessings of Lord Ganesha's worship cured the fever and agony of the king. All the illnesses of his subjects also got cured. Everyone was blessed with health, progeny, wealth and prosperity. The king spread the glory of the Chaturthi Vrat in the entire world and every human being on the earth started observing the fast of Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha Chaturthi Tithi.

Eventually, the king attained inner peace and bestowed his kingdom upon his son. Then, he retired from his public duty to live in solitude and continued worshipping Lord Ganesha, along with his wife. Upon death, the king went to Svanandakapura and attained oneness with Brahman. Similarly, all human beings, who observed Chaturthi Vrat, attained oneness with Brahman, i.e., became Brahmalina."

Sage Vashishtha said - "O king Dasharatha! Thus, I have narrated to you the Mahatmya of the Chaturthi Vrat which is the bestower of all Siddhis. Now, O king! I will recite another story about this Vrat, please listen attentively.

Once, an emaciated Kshatriya man lived in Gujarat region, who indulged in sinful activities. That corrupted Kshatriya committed all sorts of sins in his life. He would commit heinous crimes such as sexually assaulting women, getting intoxicated and eating meat. Once, he even killed his Guru and fled to hide in a forest after stealing all his money. In this way, he indulged in various heinous crimes all his life. Once, that evil Kshatriya man suffered from severe fever. The anguish of his intense fever made him extremely restless. With some divine intervention, it was the day of Shravana Shukla Paksha Chaturthi Tithi. On that day, he had no food to eat and no water to drink. Thus, he observed, although inadvertently, the fast of Chaturthi Tithi. The next day, on Panchami Tithi, he ate food which gave him some nourishment. Due to the blessing of Chaturthi Vrat, he recovered from his illness, but he did not stop committing sins and again indulged in all sorts of crimes.

In due course, that evil man died and due to the blessing of Chaturthi Vrat that he observed unknowingly, the messengers of Lord Ganesha arrived to take him. The messengers of Lord Ganesha took him away with them and made him Brahmabhuta, the one who attained liberation, that is, oneness with Brahman. Thus, O king! When that evil Kshatriya attained eternal inner happiness by observing the Chaturthi Vrat unknowingly, then all those who would devotedly observe this glorious Vrat by following proper rituals would certainly attain Svananda, i.e., eternal inner happiness and oneness with Brahman. In this way, numerous human beings attained liberation and oneness with Brahman with the blessing of this glorious Chaturthi Vrat."

Sage Vashishtha said - "O king! This Mahatmya of Shravana Shukla Paksha Chaturthi Vrat which I have narrated, this Chaturthi is the bestower of all boons. All those who read or listen to the glorious Mahatmya of Shravana Shukla Paksha Chaturthi Vrat have all their wishes and desires fulfilled."