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Story of Modak    Story of Durva   Story of Shami Patra
Story of Chaturthi   Story of God

Story of God of Gods
There was a demon called Gajasura. He was all-powerful and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He underwent penance for many years to receive special boons from Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, the god, who is easily pleased by prayers, is deeply moved by Gajasura's devotion. He blesses the demon and offers him a boon. But the devotee is not as innocent as Lord Shiva. He pleads with Lord Shiva to reside in his belly. Left with no option but to grant the boon, Lord Shiva gets into Gajasura's stomach.

Meanwhile on Mount Kailash, Parvati - Lord Shiva's wife becomes anxious not knowing the whereabouts of her husband for a long time. She searches through the whole universe but to no avail. Finally she approaches Lord Vishnu - the preserver of the world. Lord Vishnu assures Parvati to find Lord Shiva out. He disguises himself in the form of a street player along with Nandi - the sacred bull of Lord Shiva and sets out in search of Lord Shankar (another name for Lord Shiva). They go to Gajasura's kingdom and Nandi performs a dance to please the demon. The demon is delighted to see the bull dancing in his honor and wishes to reward the bull. The bull asks for Lord Shiva as a reward. Hearing this, the demon realises that the entertainer is none but Lord Vishnu himself. He also realises that Lord Shiva cannot be made to live in his stomach forever because he has his role to play in the world. He lets Lord Shiva out of his stomach. But he prays to him, that he be made immortal in the memories of people. To fulfill this wish, Lord Shiva severs Gajasura's head and frees him from the cycle of birth and death. He carries the head along with him. On Mount Kailash, in the Himalayas, Parvati comes to know of Lord Vishnu's victory and is very happy. She makes arrangements to receive her Lord and goes to bedeck herself. She wants somebody to stand guard. So she creates a doll out of the dough that she uses in her bath. She calls him Vinayak - the one who puts off all obstacles. This boy having never seen Lord Shiva, prevents his entry into the palace. In a fit of fury Lord Shiva beheads the boy and enters the palace. Parvati is unaware of the happenings and receivesLord Shiva with warmth, for he had returned after a long period. During the course of their conversation, Lord Shiva mentions the incident at the palace gates and tells her about severing the child's head. Parvati is shocked to hear the news and pleads with Lord Shiva to bring the child back to life for he is like a son to her.

Lord Shiva who has with him the head of Gajasura, immediately puts it on the torso of the dead child. Thus the child comes back to life. That day is Bhadrapad Chaturthi. Lord Shiva blesses him with a boon that the entire world would worship him on that day and also would propitiate him before any auspicious event.

At the same time, all the Gods approached Lord Shiva and requested for a leader. To select the best one of Ganseh and Kartikswami as a leader of all the Gods, Lord Shiva conducts a test between the two. He says that whoever makes three rounds of the earth sooner than the other, will be made the Ganaadhipati. Kartikswami seated on a peacock, his vahanam (vehicle), and starts off for the test. Vinayak is given a rat which moves swiftly. Vinayak realises that the test is not so easy but he cannot disobey his father. He reverently pays obeisance to his parents and goes around them three times and completes the test before Kartikswami. He says, " my parents pervade the whole universe and going around them, is more than going round the earth." Everybody is pleasantly surprised to hear Vinayak's logic and intelligence. Meanwhile, Kartik is amazed to see Ganesh completing the holy bath at each river that he reached at and ready for another round of the universe. When he comes back to Kailas, Lord Shiva had already declared Vinayak as the winner. He is blessed as the Supreme God of the universe. After this, Vinayak is called as Ganaadhish, Ganpati and Ganesh. All the gods worship him.
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