Lord Ganesha says, “O mother Parvati, you will find the answers to your questions when you listen to this vrat katha.” This happens in Sat Yuga. A Brahmin called Rishi Sharma and his wife Sakshi live a life of comfort in king Harishchandra’s kingdom. They dote on their son Sumukha. Unfortunately, Rishi Sharma dies when Sumukha is 4 years old.
Sakshi is reduced to penury and has to beg for alms to sustain Sumukha and herself. She faces all her challenges with absolute faith in lord Ganesha. Yet things take a turn for the worse in her life during the month of Magha.
As usual, she observes a fast on this Sankashti too. Sakshi begs for alms and prepares 15 til laddoos. She then shapes an idol of Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati out of cow dung and places it on the Samanya deva Peetha. Sakshi sets aside 5 laddoos for the devatas and 5 for the brahmins who perform the pooja. Next she counts the loose change that she has with her. She has managed to save just enough to give dakshina to the brahmins. Now she sets aside the remaining five laddoos because she knows she will have to break her fast by eating them first.
When Sakshi is busy preparing for the evening pooja Sumukha amuses himself with the decorated photo of Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati. After a while, he slings it around his neck and goes out to play. When it is time to perform the pooja, Sakshi goes out in search of Sumukha. She searches for him everywhere. But there is no trace of Sumukha at all.
When Gopu, a crafty old potter sees Sumukha he clasps his huge palm around Sumukha’s mouth and carries him away to his furnace. Gopu can hear his heart thudding loudly against his chest. He falters. But only for a moment. He ignores the voice of his conscience.
Gopu quickly thrusts Sumukha into his huge furnace which was lined with all his wet clay pots and pans. He shuts the door of the furnace, latches it from outside and without thinking twice about his actions, sets his furnace alight.
Meanwhile, Sakshi goes berserk with grief. She knows intuitively that something has gone terribly wrong. With tears streaming down her face, she completes the pooja with only one prayer on her lips. She says, “O Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati, protect Sumukha from harm.” She then sings hymns in praise of Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati all through the night.
Gopu slinks out of his house in the wee hours of the morning hoping that all his earthenware pots and pans are baked perfectly this time around. He knows he will find only the charred remains of Sumukha. But he is shocked out of his wits when he finds knee-deep water in his furnace and Sumukha happily playing with the lord Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati’s photo oblivious to the rest of the world. Gopu starts shivering with fright when he witnesses a miracle like this.
Gopu goes to Harishchandra’s court and confesses his crime. He says, “O king. I have committed a grave crime. But please hear me out before you sentence me to death. For a long time now, no matter what I did, my pots and pans would never get baked properly. They would always have cracks in them. I was sure that someone had cast a spell over my business. So I asked a tantrik for a solution. And the tantrik told me that if I sacrificed a young lad by locking him in – in my furnace, I would never face this problem again.
Forgive me O king. I had to resort to these means after facing financial losses for several years. I have to get my daughter married soon. So I had to ensure that my pots and pans were baked perfectly every time. How else could I host her wedding? So I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing and went ahead with the tantrik’s suggestion.
All the children belonged to well off families. Their parents would have killed me alive had I harmed any one of their children. Sumukha alone had no father. He did not have much of a future either because his mother, Sakshi, survived by begging for alms. So I decided to sacrifice Sumukha.
I thought no one would ever find out about all this. But I was shocked to see Sumukha playing happily in my furnace. I think there is some black magic involved. I have come to you with the hope that you will help me find a solution to this strange problem before you sentence me to death.
King Harishchandra finds it difficult to believe this strange tale. So he goes to the potter’s furnace. He feels stunned when he sees Sumukha playing in it happily without the slightest trace of fear on his face. He had not eaten anything for over 14 hours yet he seemed content. Harishchandra wondered how the water had entered into the furnace for there was no source of water in the vicinity.
King Harishchandra asks his ministers to call Sakshi who comes running when she hears the news of Sumukha. She hugs him tightly and cries out in sheer relief. She curses Gopu and thanks Harishchandra for protecting Sumukha. Harishchandra narrates the entire tale to Sakshi and says, “I’m sure you must have done something to protect Sumukha. Do you practise witchcraft or black magic? Speak the truth now and I will pardon you. Else I will sentence you all to death.
Sakshi looks at Harishchandra directly and says, “I am the wife of Rishi Sharma O king. We are brahmins. We may be poor but we do not lie or sin to earn a living. I have been observing the vrat of Sankashti for several years now. Yesterday was a Sankashti and as usual, I fasted and followed all the rituals correctly.
Sumukha went missing just before the pooja. So I have been praying non-stop since then asking lord Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati to protect him from all harm. Lord Dwijapriya Maha Ganapati has answered my prayers. Sumukha is safe and that is what matters most to me.”
Harishchandra looks at Sakshi with respect in his eyes and says, “Will you tell me all about this vrat called Sankashti?” Sakshi says, “Yes, of course, O king. I will be happy to do so.” And on hearing all the details from Sakshi, Harishchandra too decides to fast on all Sankashtis.
The news spreads like wildfire. And soon all the people of Harishchandra’s kingdom too start fasting and performing all the rituals related to every Sankashti regularly.
Goddess Parvati’s gets the answers to all her questions when she listens to this tale. So she fasts on all Sankashtis. Lord Ganesha does fulfil her wishes and she goes on to marry Shiva.
Often things take a turn for the worse and we don’t know how to deal with the situation. At all. We can see all the doors snapping shut in our lives. And since we don’t have any other option, we dig into our innermost reserves of faith and ask Him to give us the strength to cope with what is coming our way. He comes. Always. In His own unique way. He creates miracles when we least expect it and blesses us with things that we truly deserve. Much to our relief. That is what this vrat katha and faith is all about.
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