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story of ganesha
The sudden departure of Krishna from the court of King
Satrajit had upset Princess Satyabhama more than her
father. She was expecting him to seek her hand in
marriage; but Satrajit told his daughter that what Krishna
wanted was the precious Symantaka gem in his
possession. And when the king refused to part with it,
Krishna had gone away without waiting even to meet
Satyabhama.
The princess was angry with her father, whom she
thought was more possessive of the gem than his daughter.
She doubted whether she had any place in the palace as
her father cared more for the jewel. Satyabhama who
had a lot of faith in Ganesa
waited for the next Vinayaka
Chathurthi day.
Back in Dwaraka,
Krishna wondered why his
consort Rukmini was looking
very happy. “My lord! I’m
very happy today. I am happy
because you found in
Satyabhama great devotion
for you. I sincerely feel that
she would have her desire
fulfilled soon.”
“All right, I agree with
you,” said Krishna, “but
you’re not saying anything
about me!”
“Who am I, my lord, but
the smallest of small
creatures, seeking only your blessings!” said Rukmini with
extreme modesty and humility.
“You seem to have taken words out of my mouth,
Rukmini,” remarked Krishna. “However, let me tell you
what I wish for.”
“The truth is, Satyabhama is full of love and affection
for you, but what I have for you is only devotion,”
responded Rukmini.
Meanwhile, a rumour was afloat that Krishna had
gone to the palace of Satrajit only to steal the Symantaka
gem! The person behind this mischief was none other
than the king himself. When the rumour reached the ears
of Krishna, he heaved a heavy sigh. ‘O Vinayaka! It is all
left to you to reveal the truth and absolve me from this ill
repute.’ Krishna left Dwaraka in search of Symantaka.
Satrajit had by now decided to marry his daughter
off to King Satadhvanu. He sent his brother Prasenajit to
meet Satadhvanu and take his acceptance of the proposal.
Prasenajit insisted on wearing the priceless gem and
started on his important mission.
As he was going through
a forest, a lion was dazzled by
the glitter from the gem. It
pounced on Prasenajit and
killed him and took the gem to
his den. Jambavat, the king of
bears, was attracted by the
bright rays emanating from the
cave. He attacked the lion,
who was mortally wounded,
and carried away the gem and
gave it to his daughter
Jambavati.
When Prasenajit did not
come back for a long time,
Satrajit presumed that Krishna
would have taken the gem and
spread the rumour. Satadhvanu
and Jarasandha, both of whom
were hoping to marry Satyabhama, assured Satrajit that
they would help him recover the Symantaka from Krishna.
Krishna, who had started in search of the precious
gem, saw Prasenajit lying dead. There was a lion, too,
lying dead near his body. He could also notice footprints
of Jambavat. Krishna followed the footprints which led
him to the cave where the bear was living. He found
Jambavati playing with the gem.
Jambavat had found Jambavati as a baby abandoned
in the forest. He picked her up and took her to his cave
and brought her up as his own daughter.
Krishna caught hold of the girl’s hand to take the
Symantaka. Jambavati was unable to free herself from
Krishna’s grip and looked at his eyes coyly. At that
moment, Jambavat came into the cave and attacked
Krishna.
A fierce fight ensued and Krishna hit Jambavat’s chest
with his powerful fist. The bear then realised that Krishna
was none other than the incarnation of Rama for whom
he had fought in Lanka. He prostrated before Krishna
and said, “O Krishna! As you had caught hold of my
daughter’s hand, I take it that you both wish to marry.
So, from now on, she is yours.” He once again placed
Jambavati’s hands in Krishna’s and gifted him the
Symantaka.
Krishna went back to Satrajit and explained how he
retrieved the Symantaka. Satrajit was now full of remorse
over his accusations about Krishna, who consoled him
that he had now washed away all sin by expressing regret
over his action. He gave back the gem to Satrajit, who
requested him to accept his daughter as his consort.
Satyabhama turned to her father and said, “Father,
do you now realise who is more precious for Krishna?
You were once showering your abuse on Vighneswara! I
have full faith in him. He has now fulfilled my wish.” She
then thought of Ganesa and worshipped him with great
devotion.
Vighneswara now appeared before Satyabhama and
Krishna and blessed them. “Truth will prevail always!”
he told them. “May the Lord shower his blessings on
you both!”
Satrajit pleaded for mercy, while Krishna expressed
his gratitude to Vighneswara. “It is all because of you
that I could clear all allegations against me,” said Krishna.
“Symantaka was responsible for bringing Satyabhama
to me.”
“Whoever listens to the story of the Symantaka and
Satyabhama will get absolved of all accusations!”
remarked Vighneswara before disappearing from
Satrajit’s palace.
Krishna went back to Dwaraka where he lived with
Rukmini, Satyabhama, and Jambavati. Along with them,
he worshipped Vighneswara and began observing
Vinayaka Chathurthi.
The magical talisman
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” Grandmother was woken up at midnight by the shrieks of her
grandson Rahul. She sat up in her bed, and then went to the boy, who was screaming in his sleep. She woke him up,
gave him some water, and put him back to sleep.
Rahul was ten years old. He lived with his mother and grandmother in an old house in Rampur. He was a very
timid boy. He would howl in fright at the mere sight of an ant. He never ventured out after sunset.
Every night, before Rahul went to bed, he would shut the windows of his room, for he feared ghosts
might enter through them and scare him.
If his mother wished to send him on an errand after dusk, he would say, “Ma, I can see a lion behind
the banyan tree. I’m afraid to go alone! Please come with me!” or he would imagine a bandit hiding in
the branches of the mango tree ready to pounce on him.
He never went out to play with the other boys in the village. They laughed and jibed at him. Not
knowing how to retaliate, he would simply go home crying.
Rahul’s mother and grandmother were sick of his snivelling ways. They did not know how to help
him overcome his fears.
One evening, when Rahul was doing his homework, a fly buzzed up and began
bothering him. He shrieked in fear. His mother came running. “What happened, Rahul?
Are you all right?”
He showed her the fly and said, sobbing, “If it bites me, I might get dengue
fever!”
She was disgusted. “Rahul! Can’t you shoo away a fly? Must you scream
for help? When will you learn to fend for yourself without fear?”
At that time, Rahul’s grandmother was clearing an old steel trunk. She could
hear the conversation between mother and son. ‘What are we going to do with
this boy?’ she wondered. ‘Wonder what will make him brave?’ As she pulled
out some old clothes and an old pair of spectacles, a bunch of yellowed
letters and other knick-knacks, something slipped and fell to the ground.
She glanced down impatiently. It was a piece of thick black string. She
was about to throw it away, when an idea struck her, ‘Why throw this
away? Let’s see if this can cure Rahul!’
She immediately called, “Rahul, come here fast. See what I
found in the old box – a talisman! It is a very powerful one. This
is actually your grandfather’s. After wearing this, he became
very brave and joined Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s
Indian National Army and fought against the
British. You too will become brave if you
wear this.”
Saying so, Grandmother
tied the thread around his
neck. Rahul immediately felt as
if his nerves had received a
jolt. He started to feel brave.When he went out that day,
he saw a dog.
Usually he ran away at the sight of dogs. But today,
he felt bold enough to stand there and stare at it. It was
the dog that ran away! This gave him more confidence.
Now he felt bold enough to venture out. ‘This is all because
of the talisman grandma gave me. The dog ran away,
instead of barking at me.’
Rahul now felt that the magical talisman had some
power. He went out and played with his friends. When
they tried to overpower him, he fought fearlessly. His
friends were surprised by his newfound courage.
Soon Rahul was not afraid of going out even after
dark. He feared no one
and saw the trees in the
backyard only as trees
and would not imagine
the presence of ghosts
on them.
One night, Rahul
was awakened by
some noise. Not
wanting to wake his
mother or grand-
mother, he silently went
round the house to
investigate. As he
peeped out through the
front door, he saw a
gang of four robbers
trying to enter the house. He heard the gang planning to
split themselves and enter the house independently. Rahul
knew that he had to do something.
Rahul immediately ran into the kitchen. He grabbed
the chilli powder jar.
One of the robbers headed for the kitchen window.
Rahul stationed himself in the kitchen and threw some
chilli powder into the eyes of the robber as soon as he
jumped in. The man did not shout, fearing that he might
wake up the inmates of the house. Rahul immediately
locked him up in the kitchen and ran out.
He then saw another robber jumping from the
compound wall to the wall of the well. Rahul went behind
him and pushed him into the well. ‘Just two more robbers
to go,’ thought Rahul. He went in search of the other
two. He found one trying to open the cupboard in the
puja room. He locked the room from outside.
The fourth man suddenly realised that his mates had
not reached their respective positions. He guessed that
something had gone amiss and went in search of them.
Rahul noticed him as he crept out of the house. Rahul ran
out through the back door and pulled out the ropes his
grandmother used to tie their cows.
He tied the ropes between the two posts at a place
towards which the robber seemed to be heading. True
enough, the robber came there and tripped over it. Rahul
immediately tied him to
one of the posts.
Rahul then went and
woke his mother and
asked her to keep an eye
on them. He ran to the
police station and
narrated how he had
caught four robbers.
Soon the four were in
police custody.
The Inspector was
surprised by Rahul’s
courage. He praised him
profusely.
He also arranged
for Rahul to get a
scholarship for further studies. Rahul was now the talk of
the village.
That night, Rahul went up to his grandmother and
said, “Grandmother, all this praise must really go to you.
It was you who gave me this magical talisman. I became
brave only after I started wearing it.”
Grandmother began laughing. She said, “Do you
really think that there is something magical about this
talisman? You needed faith in yourself. I just gave you
that in the form of a talisman. That is no magical talisman.
Nor was it ever worn by your grandfather. It is just some
old thread. You don’t need it any more. It has served its
purpose! Throw it away!”
