BRAHMA VAIVARTHA PURAN
Once, Sage Durvasa was travelling from Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Vishnu to the abode of Lord Shiva, i.e., Kailash. He came upon Lord Indra, who was spending time with the Apsara Rambha. Lord Indra bowed before Sage Durvasa in reverence, and Sage Durvasa, who was pleased, handed him a Parijat flower, and spoke the following words: "O Indra, this is a flower given by the lord which removes all the obstructions and the person whose head it will be placed will be victorious all around. He will be adored by the people first of all and will be the foremost of all gods. Mahalakshmi will not part company from him and follow him like a shadow.
He will equate himself with Lord Vishnu in knowledge, wisdom, prowess. He will be more powerful than all gods and will be valorous like Vishnu."
Sage Durvasa left after this, and Lord Indra, still intoxicated by the presence of Rambha, placed the flower on the head of his elephant. The elephant thus got all the qualities that were ordained by the flower. The elephant then fought and defeated all other elephants and left Lord Indra. Thus destiny resulted in the elephant getting all the advantages associated with the blessings of the Parijat flower. If Indra had accepted the flower, he would have got all its qualities. But destiny, which was also a play of Vishnu, had other plans, and it waited for the birth of Ganesha.
The second part of this story is the occasion of the birth of Lord Ganesha and the conversation between Lady Parvati and Lord Shani. On the birth of Lord Ganesha, all the other gods visited Kailash to see him and bless him. Lord Shani also came to Kailash and requested Lady Parvati to let him see Lord Ganesha. She granted him permission, and Lord Shani stood there, casting his gaze downwards. He did not look at the child and was satisfied with just standing near Lord Ganesha. Lady Parvati enquired about the reason why he wasn't looking at Lord Ganesha, and Lord Shani replied with the following: "O chaste lady, all the people have to face the results of their deeds.
Whatever good or bad deeds are done, they cannot be washed away even after completion of crores of kalpas. The jiva is born as Brahma, Indra and Surya because of his deeds, and he is reborn as an animal because of his deeds." "One achieves hell because of his deeds and also heaven because of his deeds. He becomes a great king because of his own deeds and an ordinary servant because of his own deeds. He is born beautiful because of his own deeds, and he becomes sick the same way. O mother, because of his own deeds, he indulges in vices, and by his own deeds, he becomes detached from the world."
The people become rich because of their own deeds, and it is due to their own deeds that they become paupers. One gets a loving family because of his own deeds, and one gets a bad family because of his own deeds. Because of his own deeds, one gets the best spouse and kids, and because of his own deeds, he remains unmarried, or gets a wicked spouse or remains childless. O beloved of Shiva, I will tell you a secret story. In my childhood, I was a great devotee of Lord Krishna, and I was always devoted to him. I always recited his name. My father married me to the daughter of Chitraratha, but I was always devoted to tapas.
Once, when I was engrossed in meditation on Lord Krishna, she came to me seeking attention. I was unaware of her presence, being engrossed in meditation, and hence, I kept on performing tapas. She became annoyed and pronounced a curse in anger that whatever I cast my glance on would be destroyed. Thereafter after getting out of meditation, I calmed her and she repented. O mother, because of the curse, I cannot cast my gaze at anything, and in order to save creatures from destruction, I always cast my glance downwards." On hearing the words of Lord Shani, Lady Parvati laughed, and all the goddesses present also laughed.
Lady Parvati replied, "The entire universe moves according to the wishes of the Lord, more than the moves of destiny. You look at me and my child." Lord Shani was in a fix whether to look at the son of Parvati or not; he did not want to offend Lady Parvati, and at the same time, he did not want to cause any unintended harm. Finally, so as not to offend Lady Parvati, he looked only at Lord Ganesha and not the Lady. His mind was disturbed, and his throat, lips and palate were dried up. With the corner of his right eye, he glanced at the child's face. At his gaze, the head of the child was cut off, and Lord Shani closed his eyes at once, looking downwards and stood there. The severed head of the child went to Gokul and entered the body of Lord Krishna. Lady Parvati started lamenting and fainted. All the Gods and Goddesses panicked at this turn of events. Therefore, Lord Vishnu mounted on Garuda, went north, and reached the bank of the Pushpabhadra river. There, he found Indra's elephant, who was all powerful by virtue of the flower given by Sage Durvasa. Lord Vishnu cut off the head of the elephant by using the Sudarshan chakra. Lord Vishnu then brought the dead elephant back to life and returned him to Lord Indra. Lord Vishnu then lifted the elephant's head, which had been cut off and had special powers. He came back and joined the head of the elephant to the body of Lord Ganesha using his divine knowledge and brought the child back to life.
