Ganesh Chaturthi

HI, children:  Today is Ganesh Chaturthi. You are busy worshiping Ganesha (Vinayaka,Gajaanana .. are a few of his other names ) , and consuming his favorite prasadams- Modaka and Laadu! And Elders in your house may be warning  you,not to see the crescent Chouti- moon, lest you get a false blame! There is a story of Ganesha connected with this Chouti-moon!

The story  is  briefly as below::-

Ganesha is very fond of modaka and Laadu. On one Ganesh Chouti day,he visited a number of his worshipers and he consumed a large quantity of these delicacies  and was slowly returning home by night. His belly was bulged and his dhoti was slipping down and he had difficulty holding it.! He heard someone laughing   He looked up and found a bright crescent moon looking down at him and giggling!! Ganesha was embarrassed and upset. He found a snake crawling towards the mouse he was riding on .He grabbed the snake and tied it on to his belly as a belt.This made the moon burst with laughter! Ganesha was furious, he cursed the crescent moon, that “anyone who sees this Chaturthi moon will get the blame of being a thief ,though he may be innocent “ Moon was very sorry that he would be the cause for many innocent persons getting blame of being  thief. He begged Ganesha to pardon him for his indiscretion and take back the curse. Ganesha relented He said “,Even Lord Krishna could not escape from the curse and had to struggle to prove that he was not a thief !  In future ,if any person who has seen the Chouti Moon, can get rid of the curse only if he or she listens to the story of Shyamantaka Mani and Krishna.” Called “Shyamantakopaakhyana.”

     .That story is very briefly as follows.

Once Sri Krishna happened to see the moon of Ganesh Chouti, Soon, he was accused of stealing the Shyamantaka Mani , a jewel belonging to prince Prasena’s brother. .Krishna had to go in search of the lost jewel and restore it, to get himself free from being called a thief of the Jewel’

    He found that it was last seen with Prince  Prasena wearing it and going to forest for hunting. He found that a lion had killed Prasena and carried away his body. He pursued the pug-marks of lion and soon found that a big bear had attacked and killed the lion. But the jewel was not there. So he pursued the foot-prints of bear which led him to its den. There he saw the bright jewel dangling over the cradle. As he entered the den, a big bear came out. When Krishna claimed the jewel, the bear said. I am Jambavan, the bear, and my daughter in the cradle is Jambavati. I have fought with a lion and secured this jewel and my daughter likes it very much. I cannot give this to you. When Krishna could not persuade Jambavan to give the jewel, he challenged the bear for a fight. A fierce fight ensued for forty days and nights ,yet neither could win.

 Krishna knew that Jambavanta was none other than the friend of Raama Bhakta  Hanumaan and  a devotee of Rama. So Krishna appeared before Jambavant  in the form of Rama which was his previous  Avatar . As soon as Jambavanta realized that the person he is fighting is none other than Rama himself, whom he worships, he stopped the fight and surrendered to Krishna. He gave away the Shyamantaka Mani and also offered his daughter Jaambavati in marriage to Krishna.

 At last, Krishna could restore the jewel to its owner and prove he was not a thief!

  This Shyamantakopakhyana story, if told or listened to, will ward off the  effect of seeing Chouti Moon .