Sankashti Chaturthi Mandal
A popular claim holds that Shree Ganesh once guarded the boundary of Patala, the underworld, specifically to prevent the demon king Bali from breaching its limits — a specific story this collection could not confirm in any established textual source, and so presents honestly rather than as settled fact.
What Is Actually Known About Bali
Bali himself is a genuinely significant and honored figure in Hindu tradition, a demon king celebrated for his righteousness and generosity, whose humility before Vishnu's Vamana avatar earned him rulership over Patala as a mark of honor rather than punishment — not confinement requiring an external guard.
A More Firmly Established Connection
This collection's Regional Sacred Stories already describe the more genuinely documented thread connecting Shree Ganesh to the underworld: his relationship with Shesha, the serpent-king upon whom Vishnu rests, whose devotion carries Shree Ganesh's presence into Patala indirectly, through faith rather than a stated guard duty.
What Devotees Seek
Devotees drawn to stories of Shree Ganesh's reach into every realm of creation are better served by this more firmly rooted connection through Shesha's devotion than by an unconfirmed guard-duty tale, honoring accuracy over embellishment even where embellishment might seem more dramatic.