Ganesh Chaturthi 2024

Stotra and translation provided by Dr. V.N. Muthukumar.

निवेद्येन त्रुप्तो गुडामोदकेन
मृदङ्गोदरं वक्रशुण्डेन हन्ति ।
स्फुरत्यक्षरैकेन सर्वं जगच्च
बिभन्मूषिकं स्वं हसत्येकदन्तः ॥

Pleased
by the modaka made with jaggery
offered to Him,
He strikes His belly
– that bulges like a mrdaṅga –
with His bent trunk;
and the entire universe throbs!
ॐ
Seeing His frightened rodent,
The single-tusked One
smiles.

When the sage Vyasa conceived the monumental epic Mahabharata, he faced a significant dilemma: where would he find the scribe to write down such an enormous work? Seeking guidance, he approached Lord Brahma, who, in turn, directed him to Lord Shiva who was at his abode at Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. Lord Shiva suggested the perfect candidate for the task — his son, Ganesha.

Ganesha agreed to transcribe the epic but imposed one condition: Vyasa had to dictate continuously without pausing. If Vyasa hesitated, Ganesha would pack up and leave.

This put Vyasa in a difficult position. How could he meet Ganesha’s demand, given that his epic – composed in poetic form – would be the longest ever written, consisting of over 100,000 shlokas (couplets), translating to 200,000 lines of verse?

Vyasa, however, devised a clever counter-condition: Ganesha would only write down each verse after fully understanding its meaning. This strategy allowed Vyasa purchase of valuable seconds during the narration. Whenever Vyasa felt overwhelmed, he composed a particularly complex line or two, forcing Ganesha to pause and contemplate before continuing.