A long time ago, Indra, the king of the gods, became very proud of himself. From this pride, a demon named Matsarasura was born. Matsarasura wanted to be the most powerful being ever, so he went to Guru Shukracharya, the teacher of demons, for advice.
Shukracharya told him, “If you want great power, you must pray to Lord Shiva with all your heart.” Matsarasura listened and started doing very difficult prayers and penance to make Shiva happy.
After a long time, Lord Shiva appeared and said, “I am pleased with your devotion. Ask for a boon.” Matsarasura asked for a blessing that would make him almost impossible to defeat. Shiva granted his wish.
Now that Matsarasura was so powerful, he decided to take over the world. He defeated many kings, ruled over demons, and even forced the serpent king of Nagalok to obey him. Then, he became even greedier and attacked Amaravati, the home of the gods.
The gods, including Indra, couldn’t fight him because of Shiva’s boon. They fled and felt very sad. Matsarasura became the ruler of the heavens and put his family members in charge of all the realms, including Vaikuntha and Brahmaloka.
The gods didn’t know what to do, so they went to Brahma for help. Brahma told them to ask Lord Vishnu. Vishnu then said, “Go to Lord Shiva. He is the only one who can help.”
The gods gathered on Mount Kailash and begged Shiva to save them. Shiva listened and said, “Don’t worry, Matsarasura’s time will come.”
The gods also visited Sage Dattatreya for advice. He told them, “Pray to Lord Ganesha in his Vakratunda form and chant the mantra ‘Gam.’ This will help you.”
The gods followed his instructions, and soon Lord Ganesha appeared as Vakratunda, riding a powerful lion. Vakratunda went straight to Matsarasura and challenged him. Matsarasura tried to fight back, but he was no match for Vakratunda’s strength.
Realizing he had made a big mistake, Matsarasura bowed before Vakratunda and asked for forgiveness. Vakratunda forgave him but took away his powers, ending his rule.
With Matsarasura defeated, peace returned to the heavens, and the gods were happy again.
