Chaturthi Story: Past and Present- Memory lane of a sage

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Bhakti, Chaturthi, Fiction, Ganapati, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, kids stories, Short Stories

Once upon a time, deep inside a dense forest, under a vast Shami tree, a very old sage had just finished his fifteen years long sadhana of Ganapati. When he opened his eyes, he took a look around and found the forest to be as calm as his own mind. 

He had come to this forest around fifty years ago and had never left. Everytime he finished his one sankalp, he would take another sankalp and would never let himself leave the forest. He had become very familiar with the forest as if he himself was a part of it.  It was not the same always, though. At first, he almost ran away many times facing the difficulties. After all, a forest is not a place for one who has spent all his life in the comfort of his cozy house in the city. 

Many a times, the sage had spent his days feeling hungry and cold. He was bitten by insects badly and had no place to hide during intense rain. However, nothing could have been more difficult than the trauma that his cozy house had brought him. Within a night, he had lost his happy family. His wife and two kids, all died due to the roof collapse of the new apartment, he had bought just weeks before. The death of his loved ones made him question the purpose of life. He then had left everything and wandered around aimlessly for months. 

The sage smiled remembering how many times he had almost died in this forest.  But, perhaps his time hadn’t come yet. After losing his family, he had no hope left until one day he met his guru. A man who instead of being sympathetic towards his situation, had laughed at his condition. 

“You are crying over the past you cannot change?” The man had passed this comment at him carelessly and laughed as if he had witnessed something hilarious.

He had lost his mind hearing those words and had attacked upon the man. The man, though, wasn’t bothered from his fit. He just laughed and laughed. In the end the man spoke “Your wife and kids are not in pain. They left. Moved on. Why are you stuck?”

“What stuck? I don’t want to be stuck. I am just not brave enough to end this life.” He had replied.

“Then let me end it for you.” The guru spoke. 

Remembering that moment, the sage smiled again. The guru had touched his forehead and chanted something. That’s all. And that one touch had lifted all the burden from his heart and after a long time, he had felt like a curtain was removed from his eyes and he could see clearly. After that, he had followed his guru to this forest.

Here, he followed his guru’s instructions word by word and sat down to perform sadhana. His purpose was not to have darshana of a deity. He did not even know what a deity is or what power the deity held? He needed to understand that first. And so it began. 

It wasn’t easy. At first, he did not see any benefits. His mind would take him back to the family he had lost again and again. He kept questioning his sanity for being at such a god forsaken place. However, he would immediately debunk his question with another question, that what would he gain by going back? What for? Atleast, here he was all alone with his pain and noone to tell him to move on and start over. What kind of start over? Forget his wife and kids and marry again? What if he starts over and loses it all again? What then? Atleast, here in this forest, he was free from all kind of expectations & free advices. And the troubles this forest kept throwing at him were enough to distract him and focus at present. Sometimes he felt that the forest itself is the deity, Ganapati himself. And all the troubles are nothing but the challenges Ganapati threw at him to test his commitment. With time, he accepted it to be true and stopped being perturbed. After all, in the end either he was going to overcome the trouble or lose his life. It was nothing but a win win situation for him. 

It must be the blessings of Ganapati only, that now after fifty years of sadhana the past seemed like a movie scene he had seen once; that the forest that was hell bent to throw the outsider at any cost, has taken him as a part of itself; that his mind was as calm as the forest; that now all he wanted to do is take a sankalp and go back to the deep meditation that he was in minutes before.

Chaturthi Story: A Nightmare

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A Ganapati A Day, Chaturthi, Ganapati, Ganesha, Ganesha Chaturthi, Ganesha Stories, Short Stories

Once, the little girl, found herself in a boat without an oar. She saw the boat was in a vast ocean and was floating from an extremely bright area towards a completely dark one. The darkness was so heavy that the girl’s heart sank. She did not want to go there. She looked here and there to find a way to stop the boat, but found nothing. And even if she had found something, there was no visible shore to go to. The girl tried to stop the boat with her hands, but somehow, due to her struggle, the boat increased it’s speed. And within seconds, she arrived at the invisible border where the brightness met the darkness. The girl became so scared that she closed her eyes and yelled “No, I don’t want to go there. Help, Gampu bhai. I don’t want to go there.”

The next minute the girl woke up with a jolt. She realized that she was just dreaming. What did the dream mean, the girl wondered? Was it a test? Did she pass? Whatever it was, the girl was really happy that her Gampu bhai saved her even in her dreams. Hence, even though, she had just woken up from a nightmare, a sense of relief spread over her face and she slept again peacefully.

Chaturthi Story- Self-pity, a dangerous emotion

Tags

Ganapati, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, Short Stories

Once upon a time, there was a man, who thought that life was too hard on him. From his childhood, he was subjected to violence and hardship. He lost his parents very early in life and had to survive on the mercy of his father’s relatives, who did not treat him well. 

Facing all the difficulties, the man found himself a small job. He left his relatives’ place and rented a small room for himself. The place was very near to a Ganapati temple. The man, who had never been introduced properly to the concept of deity, did not even bother to go have darshana at least once. Everyday, he would walk right past the front of the temple and would not care to stop. 

One day when the man was going to work, he noticed a monkey sitting in front of the temple. It was sitting in such a position, that it looked like it was bowing in front of the deity. The man stopped to confirm and his eyes fell on the deity. And as soon as it happened, it was as if the world stopped for a few minutes. The man could not move, he could not think. It was as if something clicked inside his mind and he forgot about the World around him.

This experience was so brilliant, that the man decided to go to the temple everyday, to feel it again. However, he could not experience the same. Instead, the pain inside him and the years of suffering would float in his mind and he would end up crying everyday.

Weeks passed and it became a ritual. Maybe, the man now deliberately started thinking about the past. He would sit there and cry for what he went through. One day, when he started thinking about how his uncle used to beat him for every minute mistake and his eyes started welling up, a voice from inside spoke “Self-pity is a dangerous emotion.”

The man stopped. His tears did not fall. The voice was so clear and powerful, that he immediately understood that it was the voice of the deity. He realized how idiotic his behavior was. He was crying for something, that had already passed. He had already overcome it. Why was he crying? He was sitting in front of a powerful deity. A deity who has millions of Worlds inside His stomach. A deity who knew everyone’s past, present and future. A deity who could shape his future, if he surrendered to Him. Then why was he wasting his time by thinking about those meaningless events and people who were no longer a part of his life. What would he gain by self-pitying?

The man changed. He stopped thinking about the past. He did not forget it, but he stopped pitying himself for it. He started doing sadhana and would spend all his time chanting Ganapati’s name. The World and it’s cruelty did not brother him any more. His own difficulty did not brother him any more. He accepted all the challenges with a calm mind and lived a peaceful life.

Chaturthi Story- Dilemma of a Vow-Taker

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Chaturthi, Dharma Stories, Ganapati, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, kids stories, Neeti Stories, Short Stories, Stories for children, Stories for kids

Long time ago, there lived a man who had taken a vow of Ahimsa after killing a man over a property dispute. It wasn’t his intension to kill, but the deed was done and the guilt was eating him up. For years, he wandered all over the country, visited temples, lived on begged food and slept on streets. After taking the vow, he had started the sadhana of Baala Ganapati, a baby form of Ganapati who carried fruits in His four hands, instead of weapons. 

He also visited various hermitage, met various gurus to quench his thirst of knowledge. He wanted to learn what is Dharma and when something considered to be Dharma is actually Adharma. He wanted to understand the concept of Ahimsa fully. Over years, he had heard many contradictory definitions and suggestions. But, one suggestion by a Jnani Sadhu had stuck with him for no apparent reason. The Jnani Sadhu had cautioned him to be very careful with his vow of Ahimsa, since it is a very tricky vow. He did not know what it mean, but he remained careful all the time.

One day, while he was travelling through a dense forest, he heard a painful howl and stopped to check who it was. After looking here and there for a few minutes, he found a lion, thin as a skeleton, licking it’s injured foot. The lion immediately felt his presence and looked at him fearfully.

“What happened to you?” The man asked pitifully.

“I had a fight with another lion. He was much stronger and I lost. I have too many injuries and can not hunt. Till now I was absolutely hopeless, but looks like gods have heard my prayers.” The lion replied and stood up with some difficulty. 

“What do you mean” though, the man asked, he understood completely the lion’s suggestion and took two steps back. His eyes fell on a sharp wooden stick nearby.

The lion’s eyes followed and he spoke “You wouldn’t. It is a great Adharma to kill someone who is injured and already on the verge of dying. You look like a person who knows dharma. So tell me human, is it not your dharma to let me have a full meal, so that I can heal quickly?”

“No, it’s not.” Saying so the man ran and took the stick.

“But, haven’t you taken a vow of Ahimsa?” The lion asked circling him.

The man was too panicked to ask how the lion knew about his vow. Instead, he spoke “Oh, I will break it.”

“Wouldn’t that be Adharma?”

“Of course not. A man’s first dharma is self-preservation. For if I die, who will follow my dharma?”

“Wouldn’t your ishta, Baala Ganapati be angry, if you break your vow?”

The man hesitated, but within a few seconds, his hold on the stick tightened. He replied nonchalantly “No, I am certain that cowardliness is not a quality He would appreciate.” 

The lion did not believe the man and jumped. The man did not hesitate and stabbed the lion with all his might. However, instead of dying, the lion turned into Ganapati. The stick from the man’s hand fell on ground. He was awestruck to see Ganapati standing in front of him. 

It was just a few seconds and then Ganapati disappeared. But, the man understood. Ganapati wasn’t angry. He had passed Ganapati’s test and his vow wasn’t broken. He now understood fully why Ahimsa was a tricky vow. People always confuse cowardliness with Ahimsa and forget that self-preservation comes first.

Chaturthi Story- Ganapati: The Punisher

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Ganapati, Ganapati Bappa Morya, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, Pratyasha Nithin, Short Stories, Vighnakarta, Vinayaka

Me- Gampu bhai, give me a story to write.
Gampu bhai – No
Me- You are always like this. I will make you the villain of my story.
Gampu bhai- That would be interesting. Do it. (And Gampu bhai disappeared.)
Me(startled)- Wow, I am so good at throwing axe on my feet. 😕

So here it goes

Once upon a time there was a young man whose dreams were invaded by a humongous elephant. Everytime, he slept, he saw that mad elephant attacking him, killing him instantly and then by putting his front feet on his chest, he would trumpet so loudly that it would shook the environment.

The man had a little idea why it was happening, however, his huge ego would not let him accept it. Days passed and then weeks, and the dreams continued. The man was too scared to sleep since even if he dozed a little, he would see the same dream. The lack of sleep started affecting his work. Little thing started irritating him so much that he started avoiding his family and friends. His attitude became so sore that his neighbors started calling police upon him.

Two months passed, and in between he went to different doctors, psychiatrists, even contacted sleep specialists. However, no body could tell him what was wrong with him. He knew, he knew very well in his heart that he had offended a deity. But, his atheist mind was not ready to accept his mistake. 

The man’s life was getting shattered bit by bit every day. He had lost his job, his wife had taken the kids and had applied for divorce. And there was noone who wanted to be around him. Even his mother was getting tired of his mood swings.

One day the man finally lost it and yelled “What exactly do you want from me? When will you stop? What are you waiting for? Kill me already!”

Nothing happened and his situation kept getting worse. He started hallucinating and even tried committing suicide. However his attempt failed and he was forcefully admitted to a mental hospital. 

One day when the man’s old mother was visiting him, she heard him repeating “It was just a joke. I did not mean to.”

Even though, it could have had been cosidered a baseless rant, his mother asked him softly “Then why did you do it?” She did not expect him to reply at all, but he did.
“We were drunk. We were just messing around. You have to believe me.”

“What did you do? Tell me clearly.” 

The man looked at his mother as if trying to recognize who she was. Then his expression changed and he started crying. He spoke with great difficulty “That man said that his Ganapati will always protect him. We just wanted to prove there is no such thing as God. We humiliated him a little and he couldn’t take it. Later we found out that he committee suicide. It was just a joke. We did not mean to push him to his limits.”

Her mother’s heart sank. “How did you humiliate him? Who was he?” She asked.
“A man we met when we were touring the old sites in Maharastra. He was our guide. He wanted to show us some temples, but we refused. When we told him that we were atheist, a debate started. In the end, we beat him a little, shaved his head and pushed him into a sewer. We asked him to call his Ganapati if he really exists and we laughed. Next day, we found out that he committed suicide. I know we went overboard, but we were drunk.”

“Drunk? This was the joke you played? Would you have loved it if someone played it on you?” The mother had become very angry hearing what her son had done. “And who are these we, you are talking about? Who was with you?”

The man told his mother about the two friends who were travelling with him. His mother wasted no time and left to find out what happened to those friends of her son. Turned out one of them died with heart attack in his sleep and the other was missing. The mother then tried to find out about the man whose death her son had caused. Turned out, he was the only child of his parents. His father was a poor brahmin and mother had gone through such shock from her son’s death that she had become paralysed. She tried to offer them some money, but they refused. They told her that their son did not speak a word after coming home that night, took the ganapati vigrah from their small temple to his room, closed the door and self-immolated with the vigrah. It was understandable that they would never going to forgive the man who caused their son’s death.

The mother had no idea what she should do next. She started doing sadhana of Ganapati, visited temples, begged many people to help her son, but nothing worked. Her son was now in an unrecognisable state. He has lost so much weight that he was literally just an skeleton. It broke her heart to see her son taking so many medicines, going through so many therapies and still not improving. 

In the end, the mother took a sankalp to fast till death. She started doing the sadhana of goddess Parvati and asked her to stop Her son from taking the life of her son.
A month later, the man’s health had significantly improved. However, his mother was dead, he was divorced and he had no job, and no friends. There was nothing in the world that interested him anymore. He felt extreme hatred towards Ganapati for destroying his life. He knew very well that he was the one who started it, but couldn’t the deity forgive him in the end? Weren’t these deities supposed to be forgiving? In his heart, an extremely strong desire was building up. He wanted to meet that deity. He wanted to ask how could He be that implacable? Wasn’t turning his life into disaster enough? Why did his mother, who was completely innocent, had to give her life? He knew the only way to meet that deity was through tapas. He would spend lives, if needed. But he would not stop. Not until Ganapati shows Himself and answer for His crimes.

——–
Gampu bhai- How am I a villain in this story? The man clearly started it.
Me- You were the villain for the man. I don’t care who started it. How else can I make someone who can never be unjust, a villain? Find someone who hates you to make a villain of his/her story. No, wait, please don’t. I can’t bear it. I can’t bear one word against you. ☹️

Gampu bhai gave a broad smile and a little pat on the little girl’s head and disappeared. 

Chaturthi Story- Does a Deity Not Care?

Tags

A Ganapati A Day, Bhakti, Chaturthi, Deity, Ganapati, Ganapati Bappa Morya, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, Pratyasha Nithin, Short Stories, Stories

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was very confused about the concept of a deity. She used to read news everyday and knew how so many people were suffering in one way or the other. There were people begging on streets, small children being kidnapped and separated from parents, abusive partners, molestation, murder, corruption and what not. If there was a God, why was there so much suffering?

If there was a God, why won’t He show himself? Why won’t He stop injustice? Did He not care? What would become of the World, if He started showing Himself. After all, just the way people are aware that if they commit a crime,  police will arrest them and they will be punished; if they could see the existence of God from their own eyes, won’t the crimes will stop completely. Who will dare to go against such a power?

The girl used to spend most of her time with her grandparents. Her parents used to work in corporate companies and had very little time.  Hence, she used to ask such questions to her Grandfather, who was easily available since he was retired. In return, her grandfather would simply agree with her. He never tried to engage in any reasoning with her and simply told her that even though her question was right, she should not lose Shraddha. And this would further irritate the girl. What Shraddha? Why should she have Shraddha on someone who did not care?

One day the girl decided to ask this question from her father, who had taken a leave for a few days. She knew that her father used to keep fast on every Chaturthi. He was a devotee of Ganapati and used to chant His name all the time. She had heard him often saying that his chanting was keeping him sane in the horrible corporate environment. 

“You say that the chanting of Ganapati keeps you sane in your office, does it really help?” The girl asked.

“Of course.” The father replied immediately.
“Is it that powerful?”

“Yes.”

“So if a begger chants the name of Ganapati, will He become rich?” The girl asked.

“I don’t know. If he does it with complete devotion, he may become rich.” The father smiled.

“What if someday somebody kidnaps me, will Ganapati save me if I chant his name?”
The father was stunned hearing her question. “What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of questions are these? What is going on?” 

“I was just wondering why a deity doesn’t help those who are in dire need?”
“A deity always helps. You just don’t see it. If you are in dire need and you surrender to Him, He will take care of you.”

“So does it mean that a deity is self-obsessed?”

“No, it simply means that a deity would normally not interfere with the results of your own actions, be it of this birth or previous. But, if you completely surrender to Him, He will help you to overcome your situation. It’s possible that you would still suffer, however, He will help you go through with the situation.”

The girl was silent for a moment. She was pondering on her father’s words. Then she asked “How would I know that a deity has helped? If I come out of some trouble without much damage, it may be a coincidence. How do I know if it was a coincidence or a divine interference?”

“I want to say that you would know. It’s very simple. However, I would like to question you instead. How do you know that it was not a divine interference? Life is not that pretty to have coincidences all the time. And what is a coincidence, if not divine interference?”

The girl was astonished with her father’s arguments. However, she threw her next question since she did not want to lose this debate “Hmmm, I understand your point. However, I would not accept it as it is. Tell me, if Ganapati really exists, why doesn’t He show Himself? Won’t it be amazing, if everybody would be able to see Him and witness His powers? Won’t it make the world a better place?”

“No, it won’t. First of all, do you really think we have the adhikara i.e. capability and deservedness to see a deity. A being so pure, so powerful that a simple vision will change our life. We in our daily life commit so much adharma, intentionally or unintentionally, that we do not have the capacity to face a deity. Second, even though people know that there are laws, they commit crimes, since it is in their nature. So, perceiving a deity with our senses in itself will not prevent any crimes. Even when Krishna was in physical body , did not Duryodhana commit Adharma? Third, even if  a deity stands before you and claims that he is a deity, would you even believe Him? Chances are you will dismiss him as some trickster the way Duryodhana did.  This is not to say that one cannot have darshan of Bhagavan. The purpose of life is to follow dharma and purify our mind and heart such that we can eventually have Bhagavad Sakshatkara- a direct realization, not mere sense perception of Bhagavan. The goal of all spiritual paths, be it Karma, Bhakti or Jnana is to facilitate this.”

The girl listened to her father carefully. She had a lot to ponder upon. She was happy that her questions were finally being answered. She was not completely satisfied yet, however, this was definitely a start.

Chaturthi Story: Gajanana, the little Elephant calf

Tags

A Ganapati A Day, Chaturthi, Ganapati, Ganapati Bappa Morya, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, kids stories, Short Stories

Once upon a time, there was a Mahaut who used to take care of the beloved elephants of an old king. The king was very fond of one of his elephant called Padmaakshi. Padmaakshi was pregnant and the king was eagerly waiting for the little calf. 

When Padmaakshi gave birth to a male calf, the Mahaut was very happy and wanted to immediately inform the king. However, when he noticed that Padmaakshi had rejected the calf for some reason, he became worried. He knew that the king would cut off his head if something happened to the calf or Padmaakshi. He tried his best to sooth Padmaakshi, however every time he brought the calf near her, she would become violent. The calf too wasn’t ready to calm down and was crying nonstop. 

Somehow the news reached to the king and the Mahaut was informed that the king would visit the next morning. The Mahaut was warned to find a solution by then. 

By the dawn, the Mahaut was completely out of ideas. He knew that no matter what the calf was going to die without his mother and he too was going to lose his life. He decided to calm his heart down and spend the last few hours of his life chanting the name of his ishta Ganapati. He kept the little calf with him as the most pitiful in this situation was the calf. He kept patting the calf fondly while chanting.

When he was notified about the king’s arrival, the Mahaut closed his eyes and as a last wish spoke “O Gajanan, do not let this little Gajanan be deprived of the motherly affection. For, how can Gajanan  live without his mother?” Saying so, the Mahaut was ready to accept his fate. 

However, when he reached where the king was waiting, a news of king’s own elephant’s going berserk arrived. The Mahaut was ordered to help others in controlling the elephant. By the time, the elephant was calmed, the king had already visited the little calf. 

While the Mahaut was expecting a death sentence, he was rewarded with a beautiful pearl necklace the king was wearing. Before the Mahaut could speak anything, the king spoke “I heard how much effort you put in taking care of the calf. Even if Padmaakshi had not accepted the calf, I would not have punished you. I heard you named it Gajanan?”

The Mahaut could not understand what was happening. He hadn’t named the calf. He had assumed the king himself would name the calf. However, he remembered his own words when he had left the calf before coming here. He had unintentionally named the calf as Gajanana.

“Maharaj, I did not mean to.”

“I like it. What better name the little one could have other than Gajanana? Since your devotion to Ganapati has given Gajanana a new life, I will commission a grand Ganapati temple near this land especially for the Mahauts.” Saying so the king left with his bodyguards.

The Mahaut was still confused. A new life to Gajanana? What happened?

He immediately rushed to the place where he had left Gajanana and saw a very eye-pleasing scene. Padmaakshi, who was continuously going crazy everytime the calf was brought to her the previous night, was playing with her little calf as if nothing had happened. His last wish was fulfilled. Not only the calf was given a new life, his life too had been spared. The Mahaut did a sashtang namaskara to the calf-mother duo as if paying namaskara to the pair of Ganapati with His beloved mother Parvati. That day the Mahaut’s devotion towards Ganapati had multiplied many-folds.

Gampu Bhai and the Little girl series- Part 7

Tags

A Ganapati A Day, Chaturthi, Ganapati, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, Good Stories, Pratyasha Nithin, Short Stories

The little girl was scratching her head for a new story for the last few days, but without much success. She would keep asking her Gampu bhai to help her with it. However, Gampu bhai had decided not to help her this time.

“Gampu bhai, why aren’t you helping me? It’s almost Chaturthi and I have no story whatsoever.” The little girl complained.
There was no answer. The little girl became a bit worried.

“Are you angry with me, Gampu bhai? Did I do something wrong?”

There was still no answer. The girl tried asking the same question again and again. She was now on the verge of crying when she remembered that she hadn’t prepared the laddus she had promised to her Gampu bhai.

“Oh, so that’s why you are angry.” The little girl smiled. She looked at the annoyed face of her big brother who loved laddus and modakas. 

“I will prepare both.” She spoke with a wide grin on her face and noticed how her Gampu bhai’s expressions changed just for a second. She had guessed right. The little girl ran to the kitchen and started preparing laddus singing her Gampu bhai song.

Chaturthi Story- Ranchod: The King who Fled the Battlefield

Tags

Chaturthi, Dharma Stories, Ganapati, Ganapati Bappa Morya, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Ganesha Stories, kids stories, Short Stories, Story

Once upon a time, there was a king who had run away from a big war when he thought he would lose anyway. He started wandering in a dense forest. Sometimes, he felt guilty for abandoning his subjects. But, then, he would convince himself that the other king will rule justly and his subjects will be okay. 

However, his desire to rule had not become extinguished yet. A few days passed and the king decided to perform an extreme difficult tapasya to have a never-ending reign in his next life. The king sat down below an old tree in padmasana and started chanting the name of Ganapati. But, after a few thousand chants, he was attacked by a group of big violent elephants and was forced to run away. The same thing happened again and again.

In the end, the king got angry. He held his sword high to attack when a long noose caught his hand and the sword fell down. 

“So you finally regained your courage?” The voice came first and only then the king noticed a young boy riding an elephant.
“Who are you? Why are you interrupting my tapasya?” The king asked angrily.
“It seems you did not pay attention to my question. Anyways, I am just a Mahaut. These are my elephants. They don’t want you here. So you should leave.” The little boy spoke. 

“Boy, you do not know who you are talking to. Learn some manners otherwise” the king picked up his sword again and spoke arrogantly “I will teach you some.” 
“Is your courage only against little boys and defenseless animals? Aren’t you the king who ran away from the battle?” The boy replied.

The king was perplexed. “How do you……Who are you?” He asked again.
“Oh, we are back to the same question. Looks like you haven’t just lost your courage in that war, you have lost your mind too.” The young boy laughed.

The king became angry once again. He roared “Boy, I would mind my tone if I were you. Why don’t you come down and then dare to speak to me in that tone.”

The boy shrugged his shoulders and jumped down. He smiled and spoke “Here king, I am on your level now. What will you do now?”

The king was too angry to think straight. He charged towards the boy with his sword. But, once again the boy threw his noose and pulled the sword out of his hands. The sword fell down at the boy’s feet.

The king was trained in sword fighting since he was a young boy. He was an expert. And the boy was a little Mahaut. There was no way a little boy could have disarmed him so easily. The king realized that he wasn’t facing a random little boy. He brought some humility in his voice and by joining his hands in namaskaar mudra, asked  “You are no little boy. Please show me your real form. Please tell me why were you interrupting my tapasya? Are you Ganapati Maharaj? Am I that lucky to have the darshana of my ishta with such a little effort?”

The little boy laughed. “No king, I am not Ganapati Maharaj. But you are right, I am not a little boy either.” He then turned into an elephant-headed, dark-complexioned, terrible-looking being. With him, the elephants too turned into similar forms. Some were carrying noose, some goads, some tridents. The one who was in the form of boy, spoke “I was thinking of having more fun, but you recognized me. We are the Ganas of Ganapati Maharaj. O king, you were performing a tapas of our Ganapati Maharaj for an everlasting kingdom. Do you really think you deserve it? You abandoned the kingdom you already had. You abandoned your subjects. You lack the qualities of a king. Hence, you should stop wasting your time.”

“But, I was anyway going to lose. And the other king, I have heard about him, he is just. He will take care of my subjects.” The king replied hesitantly.

The Ganas laughed. Even their laughter was terrible. One of them spoke “You still don’t understand. It is not about the qualities of the other king. He may be just, he may be unjust. It is about you. You acted with cowardice. You abandoned those loyal to you. A king should protect his subjects like a father protects his children. By abandoning them you have committed great adharma. 
The king was already conflicted when he had started the tapas. He knew what he had done was adharma. He fell at the feet of the Ganas and asked for forgiveness. He spoke “What you are saying is true. But, it’s already done. I cannot change it.”

“You can and you must. Doesn’t matter if it takes years,” Another Gana spoke. “Gather your courage and gather those who are still loyal to you. Do not rest. Fight with all your strength and leave the rest on Ganapati Maharaj.” Saying so they smiled and took their previous forms. The boy climbed up and sat down on his elephant again when the king spoke “Will I ever have the darshana of Ganapati maharaj?”

“Depends on what path you choose next.” Replied the boy and left with his elephants.

Chaturthi Story- The Bird Which Lived In Ganapati’s Ear

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Chaturthi, Gampufortheday, Ganapati, Ganapati Bappa Morya, Ganapati stories, Ganesha, Good Stories, kids stories, Short Stories

Once upon a time, there was a little bird, who lived in the ear of a giant moorti of Ganapati, which was built inside a temple’s premesis. Everyday, she heard people doing puja-archana to it. Everyday, she saw people offering food to the moorti. Sometimes some people used big stairs and cleaned the moorti here and there. 

Once, the temple caretakers found out that she was living in the ear of the moorti. She heard people talking about removing her nest from there and got really scared. The whole day, the bird cried and did not leave her nest even to search for food. 

The next day, when someone climbed up to remove her nest, she decided not to fly away. She was ready to die in her home. However, the next moment, she heard the archaka stopping the caretaker who had almost reached to her nest. 

It turned out, that the archaka had a dream in which this giant moorti was telling him not to disturb the bird’s nest. The moorti told the archaka that if they tried to remove the nest, He too will leave the temple’s premesis. 

The bird was really surprised to hear that. Did Ganapati hear her crying? Did he care about her? Did he really appeared in the archaka’s dream just to protect her? 

The bird noticed that from that day, people started putting some water and grains nearby the moorti. They, in fact, started calling her with love and affection. The bird too would now take the grains and water without worrying about the people. Whenever, she saw the archaka doing archana, she would come down and sit nearby to witness everything. Even though, she wasn’t a human, she understood that she had received abhaya from the Ganapati Himself. From that day, the bird wished to become the bird who lived in the Ganapati’s ear in her every life.