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DHUMA KETU	Return to Articles Index
Dhuma Ketu is one of the names of Lord Ganeša included in the shodaša nãma for Him. It signifies that Lord Ganeša has dhuma (Smoke) as His banner. The story of how Lord Ganeša came to acquire this name is described in the Bhãrgava Purãna. Once there lived an asura by the name Dhumãsura. Although he had several of good virtues in him, some times he was over-powered by his demonic nature. As his name suggests, he was an adept in deploying dhumãstra (a weapon consisting of poisonous fumes) and he did not hesitate to use this weapon to destroy those he perceived as his enemies. It came to his knowledge that an amša (aspect) of Lord Vishnu was going to manifest in the child to be born to the pregnant queen of a nearby kingdom and that he was destined to be killed by that child. With the intention of pre-empting that eventuality, he ordered one of his lieutenants to proceed to the palace and do away with the queen before she could deliver the child. The lieutenant, however, was unwilling to kill a noble woman, particularly when she was pregnant. Therefore, he carried away the entire bed of the royal couple and abandoned them in a forest. Soon Dhumãsura came to know about this and immediately proceeded to the forest with the firm resolve to destroy the royal couple with his dhumãstras. When Dhumãsura reached the forest he found the queen had already delivered a baby, Who was none other than Lord Ganeša Himself, incarnated as an amša of Lord Vishnu. The asura began releasing his smoky weapons, but Lord Ganeša sucked in all the poisonous fumes and was holding them within Him. Soon Dhumãsura became tired and was unable to release any more weapons. At that moment Lord Ganeša decided to destroy the asura and sprayed him with the poisonous fumes He was holding within and instantly killed Dhumãsura. Thus, by merely using smoke as His weapon Lord Ganeša established victory over an asura and therefore, came to be known as Dhuma Ketu. May we all pray to Lord Ganeša, the Dhuma Ketu and receive His blessings.
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