23. Malini and Birth of Ganesha

Here is one of lesser known stories related to the birth of Lord Ganesha.

Malini is a elephant headed Goddess who once dwelled in a forest near the banks of River Ganga.

Once Goddess Parvati came to stay with her parents on in the Himalayan mountains. She went to the banks of River Ganga and took bath there. This water was drunk by the Goddess Malini.

Goddess Malini under the miraculous effect of water from the body of Goddess Parvati, gave birth to a boy with five Elephant heads and four arms. Goddess Malini began loving the boy as her son. 

Days passed by. One day, Goddess Parvati came to the banks of River Ganga again. She sat on the river bank, playing with the water when he heard the cry of a child. Goddess Parvati was alerted. She went around to see and saw a child lying in the groove of a large tree. She took the boy in her arms and caressed it in its forehead. Seeing the infantry innocence Goddess Parvati was overcome by the feeling of motherhood. She took the child close to her heart.  

Suddenly, Malini appeared there. She carried food for the child in her trunk. She was startled to see the boy in Parvati's arm. When Parvati saw Malini she asked her, "O pious woman, is this boy yours? It was felt unattendent and was crying in the groove".

Malini nodded before Parvati asking her for the boy. She took the boy in her trunk lovingly. Leaving the child Parvati felt a gap. She returned to the palace in dismay. She was filled with some strange emptiness. 

Back in the palace, Parvati told her sisters about the little boy. One of the attendants who heard Parvati, came and told her the how the boy was born. Parvati was surprised to know that the water from her body could gestate an elephant. 

Next day, Parvati went to the riverside again. Malini was resting under a tree with her little boy. Time passed by as Parvati waited for them to wake up. 

When Malini woke up, Goddess Parvati went to her and asked, "Did you drink the water I bathed in?"

Malini nodded in agreement. She revealed, "This boy was born after I drank the water you bathed in". 

When Goddess Parvati came to know about the birth of boy was under the effect of water in which she bathed, she claimed that the boy was her son. She said, "Malini, thus is my son as he was born from the water I bathed in. Give him to me". However, Malini equally loved the child and refused. A terrible argument broke between Parvati and Malini.

At last they, they decided to approach Lord Shiva to resolve the issue. They both went to Mount Kailash with the boy. Lord Shiva heard the plea of Malini and Parvati. He decided that that boy belonged to Parvati as he was seeded by water washed off from Parvati's body. He fused the five heads of the boys into one and named the child as Vignesh meaning the remover of obstacles.

Malini wept after Shiva decided that the child belonged to Parvati. Lord Shiva blessed Malini  to be known as Vigneshwara, meaning the mother of Vignesh. She returned to her home near the bank of river Ganga where she came to be worshipped for giving birth to Lord Vignesh.