Story of Gokarna

Ravana was the king of Lanka. His mother wanted a Lingam which she could pray everyday. He decided to get one from Lord Shiva himself and started praying to him. His penance was extreme and Lord Shiva appeared in front of him. Ravana asked for the atma Lingam from Shiva. Without denying it, Shiva gave it to Ravana on one condition. The atma lingam once placed on the ground cannot be moved from there.

The Gods were worried, as Ravana would grow stronger with the atma lingam. They pleaded Ganesha for help. It was dusk, and Ravana was on his way back to Lanka with the atma Lingam. He wanted to perform his daily rituals to god which he could not miss. Ganesha came to Ravana in the form of a small boy. Ravana asked him to held the atma lingam till he performed his daily routine. Ganesha agreed to do so, but told him that if he is tired, he would call him thrice. In the meantime if he does not return, then he would keep the atma lingam on the ground. Ravana agreed for it and moved on.


Ganesha waited for some times and called Ravana three times. Ravana could not return by then, and so Ganesha placed the atma lingam on the ground. The lingam could not be moved from there now. Ravana with all his strength tried to lift it, but failed. While doing so the shape of the lingam also changes. 

This place is called as Gokarna, as the lingam takes the shape of the cow's ear( Gow -Cow, Karna -Ear).
Lord Shiva at this place is called as Mahabaleshwara, the one with great strength. There is a statue of Ganesha at this place, with a depression on his head. It seems that Ravana hit Ganesha on his head when he kept the lingam on the ground, which lead to the depression. 

Foolish Brahmin

Once upon a time, there lived a Brahman in a village with his wife, son and a Mongoose. His wife pampered the mongoose like their child and used to feed it daily. Gradually the mongoose become a part of the family.

One day, Brahman's wife went to the nearby well to get some water. She told him to take care of the child who was sleeping in the cradle. Meanwhile, the king's servants came in search of the Brahman. They said that the King is looking for him. Brahman could not say 'No' as it was the king's order and also could not leave the child as his wife had gone out. Finally he told the Mongoose, to stay with the kid and to take care of him.

After sometimes, a snake entered the house of the Brahman and stood near the cradle. The Mongoose noticed the snake and jumped on it. They both fought vigorously for sometimes and finally the Mongoose killed the snake. It was very happy that it could save the child from the snake. It heard the noise of the Brahman out side the house. It quickly ran towards the door. The Brahman came in and saw the mongoose with blood. He was furious and angry that it had killed his son. He quickly took a stick from the corner and hit the mongoose. The mongoose fell down and died. The Brahman ran inside to look at the child. The child was happily playing in the cradle. He saw a dead snake near the cradle and realized that the mongoose had killed the snake .

The story tells us not take decisions at haste and especially when we are angry. We should always understand the situation before taking the decisions.

Story of Ganesha

Parvathi, the goddess of shakthi, told Nandi to guard her apartment and asked him not to allow anybody without her permission. Lord Shiva came there and Nandi could not say no. Parvathi was unhappy thinking that there is nobody to obey her orders. With her special powers, she made an idol and gave life to it. It was very beautiful and she called him "Ganesha".

Ganesha obeyed every order of Parvathi. He was guarding her apartment one day when Lord Shiva came there. Ganesha did not allow Shiva to enter the apartment. Shiva was irritated with the fact that he was not allowed. He went back. He sent Nandi along with other sevakas to capture Ganesha. Ganesha was very brave and drove away everyone. Later, Indira and Shanmugha came forward to get Ganesha. But their attempt also was in vain.

Finally Shiva himself choose to capture Ganesha. Lord Vishnu accompanied him. While Vishnu and Ganesha was fighting, Shiva cut the head of Ganesha with his trishula from behind. Everyone was enjoying at the victory of Shiva. But he felt sad at that sight.

Parvathi who saw her son Ganesha dead, was furious and wanted to destroy the whole world. Lord Vishnu and Brahma met Parvathi to pacify her and promised to come back with a solution. Lord Shiva ordered them to go towards the North direction and get the head of any creature they saw first. Lord Vishnu found the elephant and bought its head. Brahma attached the head to the body of Ganesha and gave re-birth to him.

Parvathi was very happy and Shiva blessed him with a boon that henceforth, Ganesha would be worshiped before starting of any pooja.