Leprosy Cured by Lord Ganesha’s Grace

Once upon a time, in Saurashtra, there was a king called Somakantha. He was as brilliant as the moon. That’s why his name was Somakantha. An excellent ruler, very righteous, he followed Rajadharma and Neeti Shastra in letter and spirit. He was adored and respected by everyone in his country. His queen was Sudahrma, a very noble lady equally revered by everyone.

Suddenly, he became affected by leprosy. All of a sudden, pus and blood started oozing out from all over his body. The foul smell coming out of his body was unbearable. Everyone wondered, how can this happen to such a nice person?

Somakantha decided to hand over his royal responsibilities to his son and left for the forest along with Sudharma. They started roaming around in the forest, eating fruits and drinking river water. The pain was unbearable. Sudharma continued serving him in every way she could.

Wandering about, they reached a forest where Bhrigu Maharshi’s ashrama was located. Bhrigu Maharshi’s son was Chyavana, a young boy. He later became famous for his rasayana combination called Chyavanaprasha, which has great rejuvenating properties.

Seeing the plight of the king, Chyavana felt very sad. He went and told his father. Bhrigu Maharshi told him to bring them to the ashrama. When Somakantha saw that it was the great sage, he started pleading for some relief. He asked the Maharshi how this had befallen him since he had never committed anything wrong.

Bhrigu Maharshi told him, 'This is because of your purva karma, what you did in the past birth, not this one.' Somakantha, in his earlier birth, was born to the couple Chidrupa and Sulochana. Chidrupa was a trader. His name was Kamanda in the previous birth.

His parents were noble, but Kamanda grew up as a rogue. He had no respect for dharma. He got married to a nice girl. Soon his parents passed away. With no one to control him, he became even worse. There was no sin that he didn’t commit—drinking, gambling, beating up people, and extortion. When his atrocities became unbearable, he was extradited.

After going into the forest, he formed a gang of robbers. He would attack and rob passersby, kill birds and animals for no reason, and he killed hundreds of people. He was feared by everyone.

Once, a noble person called Gunavardhana was passing through the forest. Kamanda caught him and was going to kill him. Gunavardhana said, 'Why are you living like this? You will suffer for crores of years in Naraka if you continue like this. You can still reform. Get married and live a dharmic life.' Kamanda didn’t listen to him and killed Gunavardhana.

In a few years, Kamanda became old. His physical strength faded, and many diseases attacked him. Everyone in his gang left him. He became lonely and started repenting for whatever he had done. He realized that no one would be with him in his suffering.

He wanted to perform prayaschittas, pujas, and homas and approached munis. When they saw that he had become weak and no longer posed a threat, they turned him away. By doing yaaga for such a wicked person and taking dakshina from him, they believed they would also have to suffer.

Roaming around all alone, he found a dilapidated Ganesha temple inside the forest. He felt that he should restore this temple. With whatever money was left with him, he started doing this. Others cooperated because it was for a temple. He completed the restoration of the temple.

Restoring a dilapidated temple, even participating in this, is great punya karma.

So Kamanda died and reached Yamaloka. Yamaraja told him, 'All your life, you have done only evil acts. You will have to suffer for it, but this one thing that you did—restoration of the Ganesha temple—has earned you punya also. So, for you, there is both enjoyment and suffering. Which one do you want first?' Kamanda said, 'I want to undergo the result of my good karma first.'

Bhrigu Maharshi narrated all this to Somakantha. 'That’s how you became a king and had all royal comforts so far—because of the punya you earned by restoring a dilapidated Ganesha temple. Now your punya is exhausted, and the consequences of your bad karma have begun.'

Somakantha asked, 'Do I have any relief?'

Bhrigu Maharshi replied, 'Now that you have known your past and repentance has come to you, there is relief for you. Keep listening to the greatness of Lord Ganesha. Listen to his stories. If the Lord gets pleased, he can absolve you of your papas.'

Thereafter, Somakantha spent the rest of his life listening to and spreading the stories of Lord Ganesha. In the end, he achieved the divine abode of Lord Ganesha.

This much power is there in the stories of the greatness of Lord Ganesha. Whenever we get the opportunity, we should listen to them, read them, and tell them to others. They can purify, transform the way we think and behave, and take us to the ultimate destination.

Knowledge Bank

When is Angarki Chaturthy 2025 ?

Angarki Chaturthi in 2025 is on August 12, 2025.

Who were the parents of Nala and Neela in Ramayana?

Their father was Vishwakarma. Their mother was an apsara called Ghritachi. Vishwakarma had become a vanara due to a curse by Ritadhwja Muni. Nala and Neela were the architects of Rama Setu, the bridge that the vanara sena built to cross over to Lanka.