Once, there was a great sage. He was from the lineage of Angiras. He had a son named Jada. But Jada didn't like doing what everyone else did. He didn’t want to get married, so he pretended to be silly and slow. People thought he didn’t know much, and they called him 'Jada,' which means dull.

Jada’s father taught him how to do daily prayers, but Jada always forgot purposefully. He didn’t want to be like everyone else. He just wanted to think about Lord Ganesha all the time.

After some time, Jada’s father and mother passed away. Jada went to live with his nine brothers and their wives. But his brothers and their wives were not nice to him. They gave him dirty clothes and burnt food. Jada didn’t mind. He ate the food and wore the clothes, always happy and thinking of Ganesha.

One day, the brothers told Jada to guard the rice fields at night. He did what they said without complaining. But some thieves came to the field. They took Jada away and wanted to offer him as a sacrifice to a goddess Kali.

The thieves took Jada to their chief. The chief prayed to the goddess Kali and said, 'I will give you this boy if you give me treasure.' The thieves prepared to kill Jada. But Jada didn’t cry. He stayed calm and prayed to Lord Ganesha.

Just when the thieves were about to hurt Jada, something amazing happened! The goddess Kali appeared, very angry. She took the sword from the chief’s hand and cut off his head! She also destroyed all the other thieves.

Jada watched calmly. The goddess Kali saved him because he was a nice boy. After all the bad people were gone, Jada thanked her and Lord Ganesha. He then walked away, happy and free.

Jada didn’t care about fancy things or rich food. He just wandered from place to place, asking for only food. He always thought of Lord Ganesha, and that made him happy. He lived a peaceful life, not caring what others thought about him.

And so, Jada’s love for Ganesha kept him safe, and he lived his life full of peace and devotion.

The story shows how being a devotee of Ganesha is a great blessing. Jada loved Ganesha so much that he always prayed to him, even when bad things were happening. Because Jada trusted Ganesha, he didn’t feel scared, even when the thieves wanted to hurt him.

The most special part is that Ganesha didn’t just help Jada by himself. Ganesha made Goddess Kali come and save Jada! Even though Kali is very strong and powerful, she listened to Ganesha. She helped Jada because he was a true devotee of Ganesha.

So, this story tells us that if you love Ganesha and pray to him, he will protect you. He can even ask other gods and goddesses to help you. Ganesha is very caring, and if you trust him, you don’t need to be afraid.

Learnings - 

1. Strong faith can shield you from suffering and danger. It brings divine intervention during difficult times.
2. The divine intervention shows that pure devotion always succeeds.
3. Jada's focus on Lord Ganesha helped him manage all pressures.
4. Through detachment and devotion, you can develop great spiritual power.

Knowledge Bank

How many chapters are there in Yoga Vasishta?

1. Vairagya prakarana. 2. Mumukshu vyavahara prakarana. 3. Utpatti prakarana. 4. Sthiti prakarana 5. Upashama prakarana. 6. Nirvana prakarana.

Why Kamsa was killed?

Kamsa was the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna. He was very cruel and wicked. Lord Krishna's mother was Devaki. At the time of her wedding, an oracle was heard that her son would kill Kamsa, Kamsa imprisoned Devaki and her husband Vasudeva. He killed their first six sons. The seventh pregnancy was transplanted to Rohini the second wife of Vasudeva and was born as Balarama. The eighth child was Krishna. His father carried him to Gokula secretly and left him in the custody of Yashoda and Nandagopa. Kamsa came to know later that his slayer was still alive and was growing up in Gokula. He sent several Asuras to Gokula to take the life of Krishna but failed every time. In the meantime, Kamsa imprisoned his own father Ugrasena, and took over the rulership. He perpetrated atrocities upon the people of Mathura. Many prominent Yadavas fled to safety. Krishna had to release Mathura from the clutches of Kamsa. That's why the Lord killed him.