|
|
|
 |
| GANAPATI AND KUBER |
| The Puranas are ancient books, eighteen in number. They are a collection of old, traditional stories, mainly devoted to the three most powerful Hindu gods – Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh (Shiva). But other gods and goddesses also figure in these stories. So do kings, princes and heroes.
The following is a story from the Puranas. It centers around Ganapati(Ganesh), the son of Lord Shiva. Ganapati is believed to be short and plump, with the head of an elephant and the body of a man. Cheerful by nature, Ganapati is the god of wisdom and good beginnings. He is said to remove obstacles from the path of a devotee. That is why, before starting anything new, people pray to Ganapati and seek his blessings.
Kuber was the god of wealth. He was the owner of the all precious metals like gold and silver and all the gems like demands, rubies and emeralds found under the surface of the earth. Naturally, Kuber was very, very rich. He was richest of all the gods and richer than any man on earth.
Sad to say, all these riches had made Kuber very proud. He had only one desire – to show off his wealth so that he could impress people. Kuber displayed his wealth by building grand palaces and by throwing grand feasts to which thousands of people were invited. He gave lavish gifts to kings and princes. He also gave freely in charity to the poor. And when people talked about his great wealth or praised the grand style in which he lived, he was very happy. Strangely enough, Kuber’s wealth kept increasing all the time. He spent it night and day but it only kept growing. That is because he was a devotee of Lord Shiva. Pleased with his worship, Lord Shiva had granted him this boon.
Once it occurred to Kuber that he should invite all the gods in heaven to a feast. Since he was a devote of Shiva, he thought of inviting Shiva first of all, Kuber did not lose much time thinking about it. He mounted his golden chariot and promptly went to Mount Kailash, which was the abode of Lord Shiva.
Kuber bowed before Lord Shiva and touched his feet ‘O’ greatest of the great,’ said he, ‘how can I ever thank you enough for all that you have given me? Whatever I have today is a boon from you. If you had not been so kind, where would Kuber be today?
‘I have heard all that before,’ said lord Shiva with a smile. ' Now tell me the real reason why you came here.
‘O’ lord,’ said Kuber, ‘I have come to invite you to a feast at my place. I wish to make it a truly grand feast, the like of which nobody has ever seen before. Will you please do me the honor of accepting my invitation?
Lord Shiva smiled and said,’ my dear Kuber, leave me out of all this. I am not in the habit of attending feasts.’
‘Take pity on me, O lord, ‘ begged Kuber. ‘Don’t turn down my request. I have come all this way specially to invite you… Oh all right, if you really do not wish to come, please permit me to invite Goddess Parvati (Lord Shiva’s wife) and the children.’
Lord Shiva replied, ‘If I don’t go, my wife will not go either. As for the children, can you imagine them going anywhere with out their mother?
Now Kuber was getting really desperate. He fell at Shiva’s feet. ‘My lord’, he cried, ‘if nobody from your family comes to the feast, it will be a real disgrace for me. Before coming here I had announced with great pride that I was going to Mount Kailash to invite you. Now everyone will make fun of me.
Lord Shiva thought for a moment and said, ‘There’s only one-way out. I shall send my little son Ganapati to attend your feast.’ And with that Kuber had to be content. It was certainly not what he had in mind. He had wished to invite the great lord Shiva himself, so that everyone would talk about it for all time to come. But Ganapati? Oh no! He was still too small to be of much importance. Anyway, this was the best that could be done. So Kuber fixed a day for the feast, touched Lord Shiva’s feet and came away.
Back home, Kuber plunged into preparations for the feast of a lifetime. He wished to outdo both gods and human beings. The feast had to be made unforgettable so that the name of Kuber was covered with everlasting glory.
Since money was no problem, Kuber did things on a grand scale. He ordered the royal masons to build a massive hall, large enough to seat ten thousand guests. He also told them to build ten new kitchens. Each kitchen was to be spacious enough for twenty-five cooks and their helpers to work together. The royal goldsmiths and silversmiths were told to make brand new vessels of gold and silver for the guests to eat from. And the royal stores were filled to bursting with grain, ghee, spices and the choicest vegetables, fruit and nuts from all over heaven and earth. Kuber made sure he would have the best of everything and plenty of it too. After all, it was no joke. He had invited at one go all the gods and goddesses in heaven and all the rajas and maharajas on earth along with their families and friends!.
At last the great day arrived. Dressed in shimmering, skills and brocades and conversed with jewels, the guests began to pour in. They were welcomed at the ceremonial gate by Kuber and his family. Soon all the guests were seated. But the feast could not begin till Lord Shiva’s son Ganapati had arrived.
Ganapati came running. Nodding to Kuber and his family he declared, ‘I’ m hungry. Where’s the food?
This way, Maharaj,’ said Kuber, smiling at his little guest. He led Ganapati to the hall, which shone in the light of a thousand lamps. He offered Ganapati a golden mat to sit on. There were mounds of fruit on either side of Ganapati. And attendants ran to place before him gold platters full of fifty-six different dishes prepared with the utmost care by a team of expert cooks.
Ganapati sat down cross legged on the mat and began to eat. And the food began to disappear at top speed. Kuber was watching. When a few morsels were still left, Ganapati was served a second and much larger helping. This also he finished. If there was even the slightest delay, Ganapati would burst into loud complaints. Kuber was getting nervous. He ordered the attendants to go on piling food before Ganapati constantly, without a break, The attendants got worn out serving him but Ganapati did not get worn out eating. In a short while he had finished all the food means for thousands of people. But he was still hungry.
Kuber was in a panic. He ordered his cooks to prepare more food. But Ganapati wouldn’t stand any delay. ‘I want food’, he said. ‘And I want it now! I’m hungry!’ And with this he marched off towards Kuber’s palace. Kuber dashed after him.
Inside the place Ganapati made straight for the kitchen and finished all the food that he could lay his hands on. Then he marched from room to room, looking for more. In the end he stood at the palace gate and told Kuber, ‘Why did you invite me to your place at all? You didn’t even have enough food for me. I’m going to complain to my father that you never gave me enough to eat.’
There were many other people standing nearby and they all heard what Ganapati said. Kuber was covered with shame. What would people think of him? That he had the cheek to invite Ganapati himself and did not even feed him properly! But there was no time to think of all this. Ganapati had already set out for Mount Kailash and Kuber had to dash after him.
They found Lord Shiva seated on a snow – covered rock. Kuber fell at his feet. ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Lord Shiva.
Ganapati pulled a face, pointing a finger at Kuber. ‘This man invited me to a feast but didn’t even give me enough to eat! I’m telling you Father, I’m still hungry.’
Lord Shiva smiled. ‘Go in then and ask your mother to give you something to eat.’ Ganapati went in. ‘My dear Kuber,’ said Lord Shiva, ‘do come and sit down.’ But Kuber converted his face with both hands. He had been disgraced in front of thousands of pe0ople but he knew he deserved it. He had become too proud. Didn’t he wish to show off to everyone that he was rich and important and a special favourite of the great Lord Shiva?
Ashamed of his folly, Kuber fell at the feet of Lord Shiva and begged to be forgiven. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
