In the presence of the assembled gods, the great soul gazed upon Umā, and a subtle question arose in his mind: By what reason are forms perceived in space? He pondered deeply—on earth, forms are seen, and in water, too, forms are visible. Even in fire and wind, some form can be discerned. Yet, why is it said that space is formless? Contemplating this mystery, the god smiled gently. As he beheld Umā, the embodiment of knowledge and power, Śambhu considered both what he saw in space and what Brahmā had previously declared: that the body is the attribute of embodied beings. The laughter of the supreme lord, what he had spoken before, and these deliberations—all were connected to the four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. From the laughter of the supreme lord, a radiant and exceedingly brilliant boy was born. His face blazed with light, illuminating all directions. Endowed with the qualities of the supreme lord, he appeared as another Rudra, a living embodiment of divine energy. As soon as he was born, his splendor, brilliance, form, and beauty bewildered the minds of the goddesses—such was the greatness of his soul. Umā, radiant and resplendent, gazed upon this supreme form of the boy with unblinking eyes, enraptured by his presence. Observing this, the god became angry. He reflected on the fickle nature of women and the enchanting beauty of the boy. Consumed by wrath, the supreme lord cursed him: “O boy, you shall have an elephant’s face and a large belly. You shall wear serpents as your sacred thread and belt.” Thus, in intense anger, he pronounced the curse. With half a crore of hairs standing on his body, the three-eyed, trident-bearing lord—his pores filled with sweat—shook his primordial form in fury. As he did so, the hairs fell to the earth like water, and other mysterious things descended as well. From these, many Vinayakas of various forms arose—each with elephant faces, resembling dark clouds or collyrium, and wielding diverse weapons. Their sudden appearance disturbed the minds of the gods. The gods wondered in astonishment, “What is this? This one, performing a marvelous deed, alone accomplishes something immense and unparalleled. Is this the fulfillment of the gods’ desire, or does something else surround him? Where does this come from?” As they pondered, the earth trembled under the presence of the Vinayakas. At that moment, the four-faced Brahmā, unrivaled, ascended his celestial chariot and spoke from the sky: “Blessed are you, O gods, for you have been favored by the three-eyed lord of wondrous form. You have been graced by the supreme lord, who has subdued the creators of obstacles, the enemies of the gods.” Having spoken thus, the great grandsire addressed the trident-bearing god: “O lord, the one who has arisen from your face shall be chief of the Vinayakas, and these others shall be his followers. You too, by your own boon, shall move among the gods in the sky in four forms. This expanse of space has been established in many ways by you, and none other is as worthy as you. Become the lord, bearing the trident, and grant these weapons and boons.” When Brahmā had departed, the three-eyed one addressed his son: “You are Vinayaka, remover of obstacles, elephant-faced, called Ganesha, the son of Bhava. All these fierce, cruel-eyed Vinayakas shall be your attendants, their bodies grown by consuming dry offerings, bestowing success in undertakings. Among the gods, in sacrifices and other great deeds, you shall be worshipped first because of your greatness; otherwise, you will destroy the success of the work.” Thus addressed by the supreme lord, and together with the gods, Ganesha’s body was anointed with water from golden vessels. Then, O king, he shone as the foremost among the Vinayakas. Seeing him being anointed as leader of the hosts, all the purified gods praised him in the presence of the trident-wielder. They proclaimed: “Salutations to you, elephant-faced one! Salutations to you, leader of the hosts! O Vinayaka, salutations to you, fierce in valor! Salutations to you, remover of obstacles! Salutations to you, who wears a serpent as a belt! Salutations to you, who arose from Rudra’s face, with a prominent belly! By the worship of all the gods, may you always remove obstacles.” Thus praised by the gods, the great-souled leader of the hosts, anointed, became the son of Rudra and Soma. This event, O king, occurred on the fourth lunar day, the day of the chief of hosts; therefore, this is the greatest and most excellent of all lunar days. Whoever, with devotion, eats sesame seeds and worships Ganapati on this day, the Lord is quickly pleased—of this, there is no doubt. Whoever recites or always listens to this hymn, for him obstacles do not arise, nor does sin, in any way, O king. At this point, the Earth herself addressed the lord of the gods, asking, “O Lord of the gods, how is it that, by contact with your body, the mighty serpents became embodied? What is the reason for this, O Upholder of the Earth?” Śrī Varāha replied: Hearing of the birth of the lord of hosts, the protector of creatures spoke with gentle words to the sage of firm vows. The Protector of Creatures asked, “O venerable one, how did the serpents, destined for Garuḍa, come to have bodies? Why did they become crooked? Please tell us.” The Great Ascetic explained: When Brahmā was creating the world, Marīci was the cause of procreation; first conceived in his mind, his son was Kaśyapa. Kaśyapa’s wife was Dakṣa’s daughter, named Kadrū, of pure smile. Marīci begot upon her sons of great might: Ananta, Vāsuki, the mighty Kambala, Karkoṭaka, and another serpent named Padma, as well as Mahāpadma, Śaṅkha, and the unconquered Kulika. These are the chief descendants of Kaśyapa. By their birth, the world became filled with serpents—crooked, of evil deeds, sharp-fanged and venomous. Seeing and biting humans, they could reduce them to ashes in a moment. Just as sound follows touch, so among humans, day after day, a most dreadful destruction would arise. Witnessing their own destruction, all creatures everywhere sought refuge with the supreme Lord, the ultimate shelter. For this reason, all the creatures addressed the lotus-born Viṣṇu, the ancient one, known as Brahmā, saying: “O Lord of gods, origin of the worlds, supreme Lord, save us from the great serpents with sharp fangs, O mighty one.