Lord Gaṇeśa Writes the Mahābhārata

Moral of the story The Mahābhārata contains 100,000 verses and is the largest of all Vedic texts. The next largest Vedic text is Skanda Purāṇa (comprising 81,100 verses), named after Skanda, the son of Lord Śiva and Pārvati, also known as Kārtikeya or Murugan, and it comprises seven parts called Māheśvara, Vaiṣṇava, Brahma, Kāśī, Āvanti, Nāgara, and Prābhāsika Khanda. The first three comprise teachings coming down through the traditions of Lord Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Brahma, while the last four comprise the teachings of four major centers of learning, namely, Kāśī (also called Varanasi), Āvanti (also called Ujjain), Nagarahāra (a district in Afghanistan), and Prābhāsa (also called Somnāth). The compilation of such diverse traditions into a single book indicates the unity of Vedic teachings, but it also made them extremely voluminous. The Mahābhārata is an even more voluminous text and comprises 18 parts. It captures the life stories of great kings and dynasties of Bhārata. Just as the Skanda Purāṇa is named after one son of Lord Śiva and Pārvati (Kārtikeya), the Mahābhārata is written with the assistance of Gaṇeśa, the other son of Lord Śiva and Pārvati. Even as Vyāsadeva is the literary incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, he took the blessings of Lord Brahmā, and the help of Lord Gaṇeśa (indirect approval of Lord Śiva and Pārvati), who is called Vighnaharta or the remover of obstacles. This shows how great personalities take a cooperative, collaborative, consensual, humble, and respectful approach to great tasks. Since Lord Gaṇeśa can remove obstacles while doing great tasks, many people call him to remove hurdles in personal life. Engaging a great personality in our personal service is disrespectful and inappropriate. Great personalities should be requested only while undertaking tasks of widespread and long-lasting importance, like the writing of the Mahābhārata. Instead of thinking about our gains from calling Lord Gaṇeśa, we should think about whether he will be honored and pleased by doing the task for which we ask his help. Engaging a great personality in petty tasks for petty gains doesn’t give us their blessings; in fact, through insult, it removes their grace. Kārtikeya is a warrior, but he is invoked while compiling the teachings of diverse schools and traditions. Similarly, Gaṇeśa is an intellectual, but he is invoked while writing the stories of great kings and wars. This ensures that stories of kings and wars are not devoid of philosophy, and the discussion of the diverse schools and traditions is not devoid of the purpose of fighting misconceptions and illusions. This cooperation and collaboration are the result of having a single-minded focus on serving the Supreme Lord, Śri Kṛṣṇa. The so-called “God” or “gods” in other “religions” fight with other “God” or “gods” simply to prove their supremacy, without delivering the greatest good. Foolish people, including those pretending to follow the Vedic tradition, use all things (including “God” or “gods”) for selfish purposes. They feel insulted if their “God” or “gods” are called to serve, since their worship exists for their supremacy, not service. They cannot cooperate and collaborate for the greatest good because they live for their pleasure. Only enlightened and selfless people cooperate and collaborate to serve the Supreme Lord, and the greatest good of humanity, because they don’t have a self-interest separate from that of Śri Kṛṣṇa.