On the origin of the Ganges [ p. 846 ] 1-3. The Devarsi Nârada said :— O Thou, the foremost of the knowers of the Vedas! I have heard the excellent narration of Earth. Now I want to hear the anecdote of Gangâ. I heard, ere long, that Gangâ, of the nature of Visnu and appearing from the feet of Visnu, the Îs’varî of the Devas, appeared, due to the curse of Bhâratî, on Bhârata; why has she come to Bhârata; in which Yuga and asked by whom did she come to Bhârata? O Lord! Now describe to me this auspicious anecdote capable to destroy sins and yield religious merits.
4-38. Nârâyana said :— O Child! In ancient days there was born a prosperous Emperor King of Kings, in the Solar dynasty. He had two beautiful wives; one was named Vaidarbhî, and the other was named S’aivyâ. S’aivyâ delivered a very lovely son; his name was Asamanjâ. On the other hand, the queen Vaidarbhî desirous of getting a son, worshipped S’ankara, the Lord of Bhûtas who became pleased and granted her request; and Vaidarbhî became pregnant. After one hundred years of pregnancy she gave birth to one mass of flesh. Seeing this, the queen became very afflicted and taking refuge of Mahâdeva, began to cry loudly and very often. Bhagavân S’ankara, then, appeared there in a Brâhmin form and cut that mass of flesh into thousand pieces. Those thousand pieces turned out into thousand very powerful sons. Their bodies looked more brillant than the mid-day sun. But they were all burnt to ashes by the curse of Kapila Muni. And the King began to lament bitterly and he entered into the forest. Asamajâ practised tapasyâ to bring the Gangâ for one lakh years when he quitted his body in course of time. His son Ams’umân practised tapasyâ for one lakh years to bring Gangâ unto Bhârata and he, too, died. Then the son of Amsumân, the intelligent Bhagîratha, a great devotee of Visnu, free of old age and death and the store of many qualifications, practised tapasyâ for one lakh years to bring Gangâ on earth. At last he saw S’rî Krisna brilliant like ten millions of summer suns. He had two hands; there was a flute in his hand; be was full of youth in the dress of a cow-herd. A sight of His Gopâla Sundarî form, wearing a Sakhî’s dress, makes one think that He is ever ready to show grace on His devotees. He is Para Brahmâ, whose Substance is Will; be has no deficiencies. Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’vara and the other Devas and Munis, etc. all praise Him, who pervades everywhere. He is not concerned with anything; yet He is the Witness of all. He is beyond [ p. 847 ] the three gunas, higher than Prakriti. A sweet smile is always in his face, which makes it the more lovely. There is none equal to him in showing Grace to the Bhaktas. His raiment is purified (uninflammable) by fire and he is decorated with gems, jewels and ornaments. The King Bhagîratha saw that unforeseen appearance, bowed down and began to praise over and over again. His whole body was filled with ecstasy. Then he clearly told what he wanted for the deliverance of his family. Bhagavân S’rî Krisna then, addressed Gangâ and said :— “O Sures’varî! Go quickly and appear in Bhârata, under the curse of Bhâratî. By My command go quickly and purify the sons of Sagara. They will all be purified by the touch of the air in contact with the Ganges and rise up in divine aerial cars, assuming forms like Mine and they will come to My abode. They will there remain always as My attendants and they will not be involved in the sins that they committed in their previous births. O Nârada! It is stated thus in the Vedas, that if the human souls, taking their births in Bhârata, commit sins for millions and millions of births, the sins will be completely destroyed if they touch once the air in contact with and carrying the particles of the Ganges. The sight of the Ganges and the touch of the Ganges water give religious merits ten times more than the touch with the air in contact with the Ganges water. People become freed of their sins then and there especially if they bathe in the Ganges. It is heard in the S’rutis that the bathing in the Ganges, if done according to rules, destroys all the sins, e.g., the murder of a Brâhmin, etc., acquired in one thousand millions of births done consciously or unconsciously. The merits that are acquired by the bathing in the Ganges on a day of religious merit, cannot be described even by the Vedas. Whatever is mentioned in the Âgamas is but a mere trifle. Even Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a cannot describe fully the merits of the bathing in the Ganges. O Brâhmin! Such is the glory of ordinary bathing. Now I will describe the effect of the Ganges bath done with a Sankalpa (resolve); hear. Ten times more the result is obtained when the Ganges bathing is done with a resolve (Sankalpa) than ordinary bath and if one bathes on the day when the sun passes from one sign to another (in the Zodiac), thirty times more religious merits accrue. On the new Moon (Amâvyas) day, the Ganges bath gives the merits as above mentioned; but when the Sun is in his Southern course (Daksinâyana) double the merits are obtained and when the sun is in his Northern course, ten times more religious merits are obtained. The Ganges bathing in the time of Châturmâsya, full Moon day, Aksayâ Navamî or Aksayâ trittîyâ yields merits that cannot be measured. And if on the above Parva (particular periods of the year on which certain ceremonies are commanded) days both bathing, and making [ p. 848 ] over gifts are done, there is no limit to the religious merits acquired; hundred times more than ordinary bath, religious merits are obtained. Great religious merits accrue from the Ganges bath on Manvantarâ tithi, Yugâdyâ, S’uklâ seventh day of the month of Mâgha, Bhîsmâstamî day, As’okâstamî day, and S’rî Râma Navamî day. Again double the merits than those of the above arise from bathing in the Ganges during the Nandâ ceremony. The Gauges bath in the Das’aharâ tenth tithi gives merits equivalent to Yugâdyâ Snânam (bath). And if the bathing be done on Mahânandâ or in Mahâvârunî day, four times more religious merits accrue. Ten million times more religious merits accrue from the Ganges bathing on Mahâ Mahâ Vârunî day than ordinary bath. The Ganges bath in the Solar eclipse yields ten times more religious merits than in the Lunar eclipse. Again the Snânam in Ardhodaya Yoga yields hundred times more religious merits than that of the (solar) eclipse. Thus saying to Gangâ before Bhagîratha, the Lord of the Devas remained silent. The Devî Gangâ with her head bowed down with devotion, said :—
39-42. Gangâ said :— If I am after all, to go to Bhârata as Thou commandest and under the curse given previously by Bhâratî, then tell me how I would be freed of the sins that the sinners will cast on me. How long will I have to remain there? When, O Lord! Shall I be able to return to the Highest place of Visnu? O Thou, the Inner Self of all! O All Knowing! O Lord! Whatever else I desire, Thou knowest them all. So be pleased to instruct me on all these points.
43-69. Bhagavân S’rî Hari said :— O Sures’varî! I know all that you desire; when you will assume the liquid form, the Salt Ocean will be your husband. He is My part and you are of the nature of Laksmî; so the union of the lover with the love stricken in the world will turn out a happy and qualified one. Of all the rivers Sarasvatî and others in Bhârata, that go to mix with the ocean, you will be the best and highly fortunate of them all. From today you will have to remain in Bhârata for a period of five thousand years, under the curse of Bhâratî. You will be able to enjoy daily and always the pleasures with the Ocean. O Devî! As you are a clever lady, so He is also apt and expert. The inhabitants of Bhârata will praise Thee and worship Thee with great devotion by the stotra which Bhagîratha has composed. He will derive the fruit of one horse-sacrifice who will meditate on Thee as per Kânvas’âkhâ and worship, praise and bow down to Thee daily. Even if one utter “Gangâ,” “Gangâ,” though one is one hundred Yojanas away from the Ganges, one will be freed of all sins and go to Visnu-loka. Whatever sins will be cast in Thee by thousand sinners bathing in Thee will be destroyed by the touch of the devotees of Prakriti Devî. Even if [ p. 849 ] thousands and thousands of sinners touch the dead bodies and bath in Thee, all those will be destroyed when the Devî Bhaktas,the worshippers of Bhuvanes’varî and Mâyâ Vîja, will come and touch Thee. O Auspicious One! Thou wilt wash away the sins of the sinners, by Thy stay in Bhârata with other best rivers Sarasvatî and others. That will be at once a sacred place of pilgrimage where Thy glories will be chanted. By the touch of the dust of Thine, the sinner will be at once purified and he will dwell in the Devî-loka (Mani Dvîpa) for as many years as will be the dust there. All Hail to the Devî Bhuvanes’varî! He who will leave his body on Thy lap with full consciousness and remembering My name, will certainly go to My abode and will remain, as My chief attendant for an infinite period. He will see countless Prâkritik Layas (dissolutions of the Universe). Unless a man has collected hordes of religious merits, be cannot die in the Ganges; and if he dies on the Ganges he goes to Vaikuntha as long as the Sun rises in this world. I get many bodies for him where he can enjoy the fruits of his Karma and I then give him My Svârûpya (Form resembling Mine) and make him My attendant. If any ignorant man, void of any Jñânam, quits his body by touching merely Thy water, I give him Sâlokya (place in My region) and make him My attendant. Even if one quits one’s body in a far off place, uttering Thy Name, I give him place in My region for one life time of Brahmâ. And if he remembers Thee with devotion, and quits his mortal coil at another place, I give him Sârûpya (Form resembling Mine) for a period of endless Prâkritik Layas. He instantly gets on an aerial car made of jewels and goes with My attendants to the region of Goloka and gets form like Me. Those that worship daily My Mantra, that pass their day eating the remnant of the food offered to Me, they need not have any distinction whether they die in Tîrath or not. They themselves can easily purify the three worlds. Getting on the excellent and best aerial car built of jewels, they go to the region of Goloka. O Chaste One! Even if the friends of My devotees, be born in animal births, they also will be purified by the devotion shown towards Me and getting on a jewelled aerial car will be able to go to Goloka, so diffcult of access. Wherever the Bhaktas may be, if they simply remember Me with devotion, they will become liberated while living by the power of My Bhakti. Thus saying to Gangâ, Bhagavân S’rî Hari addressed Bhagîratha :— O Child! Now worship Gangâ Devî with devotion and chant hymns to Her. The pure Bhagîrata meditated with devotion as per Kauthuma S’âkhâ and worshipped the Devî and praised Her repeatedly. Then Gangâ and Bhagîratha bowed down to S’rî Krisna and He disappeared at once from their sight.
70. The Devarsi Nârada said :— “O Thou the foremost of the Knowers of the Vedas! How, by what Kuthuma S’âkhâ, the noble King Bhagi- [ p. 850 ] ratha meditated on the Devî Gangâ; what stotra did he recite and what was the method with which he worshipped the Ganges.
71-75. Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! One should first take one’s bath, and putting on a clean washed clothing should perform one’s daily duties. Then one should control oneself and with devotion worship the six Devatâs Ganes’a, Sun, Fire, Visnu, S’iva and S’ivânî. Thus one becomes entitled to worship. First worship is to be given to Ganes’a for the destruction of obstacles; the Sun is to be next worshipped for health; Fire, for purification; Visnu is then worshipped for getting wealth and power; S’iva is worshipped for knowledge and S’ivânî is worshipped for Mukti. When these Devatâs are worshipped, one is entitled to worship the Deity. Otherwise contrary become the effects. Now I am saying what Dhyânam (meditation) did Bhagîratha practise towards the Devî Gangâ .
Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on the origin of the Ganges in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the origin of Gangâ [ p. 850 ] 1-15. Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! Now about the meditation (Dhyân) of the Devî Gangâ as per Kânva S’âkhâ, which destroys all the sins, O Gange! Of white colour like white lotuses! Thou destroyest all the sins of men. Thou hast appeared from the body of S’rî Krisna. Thou art powerful like Him. Thou art very chaste and pure. Thou hast worn the raiment, uninflammable and decorated all over with ornaments made of jewels. Thou art more brilliant than one hundred autumnal Moons. Thou art also well pleased with a smile on Thy lips. And Thou art always of steady youthful beauty (that never wanes). Thou art dear to Nârâyana, calm and of peaceful temper, and proud of being His with His fortune. Thou bearest the braid of hair, decked with garlands of Mâlatî flowers; Thy cheeks are anointed with sandal dots, with Sindûra bindu (dots of red powder, vermilion) and well adorned with various artistic lines made of musk. Thy garment and Thy beautiful lips are more red than the ripe Bimba fruit (the red fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant); Thy teeth vie as it were, with the rows of pearls. How lovely are Thy eyes! How delightsome is Thy side-long glance! How close are Thy breasts like Bel fruits! Thy loins are thicker and more solid then the plantain trees. How do Thy feet look beautiful, defying the beauty of the Sthalapadma (ground Lotus)!
How do the red sandals look lovely with Kunkuma and alaktak (red powder)! What a red tinge Thy feet have shewn with the honey of [ p. 851 ] Pârijâta flower that is seen on the head of Indra. The Devas, the Siddhas, the Munis, offer always Arghyas (offerings of rice with Durba grass) at Thy feet; the ascetics bow down at Thy feet, and it seems as though so many lines of bees are on Thy lotus feet. O Mother! Thy lotus feet give liberation to those that want Mukti and enjoyment to those that want Bhukti (enjoyments). O Mother! Thou art the boon; Thou art the chief excellent; Thou grantest boons and Thou showest Thy favour to Thy devotees; Thou bestowest the Visnupadam (the place of Visnu); but Thou hast come from the feet of Visnu. Thus meditating on the Devî Gangâ flowing by three routes (in Heaven, earth and infernal regions), the bestower of good things one should offer to the Devî sixteen things :— Âsana, Pâdya, Arghya, water for bathing, ointment (anûlepana), Dhûpa (scents), Dîpa (lights), Naivedya (offerings of food), betel, cool water, clothings, ornaments garlands, sandal-paste, Âchamanîya (water for sipping), and beautiful beddings and worship Her with these. Then, with folded hands, one should perform stotra to Her and bow down to Her with devotion. Thus the worshipper gets the fruits of A’svamedha sacrifice.
16. Nârada said :— O Lord of the Devas! At present I am desirous to hear the sin-destroying and virtue-bestowing stotra (hymn) of Gangâ Devî, the Purifier of all those that are fallen from virtue, originated from the feet of Visnu, the Lord of world and the husband of Laksmî. Kindly narrate all these in detail.
17-41. Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! Now I am narrating the stotra of Gangâ Devî, that destroys all sins and bestows all religious merit. Hear. I bow down to the Ganges who appeared from the body of S’rî Krisna, enchanted by the music of S’iva, and, who was bathed with the perspiration (water coming out of the body) of S’rî Râdhâ. I bow down to Gangâ Devî who first appeared in the circular dance (Râsa Mândalam) in the region of Goloka and who always remains with S’ankara. My obeisance to the Devî Gangâ who remains in the auspicious grand utsab of Râdhâ (Râsa Mândalam), crowded with Gopas and Gopîs, in the Full Moon night of the month of Kârtik. She is one koti yojanas wide and one lakh times one koti yojanas long in the region of Goloka. My Obeisance to Her! In Vaikuntha, Gangâ is sixty lakh yojanas in width and four times that in length. My Obeisance to Her! In Brahmâ-loka, Gangâ is thirty lakh yojanas wide and five times as long. I bow down to Her. In S’iva-loka, She is thirty lakh yojanas wide and four times that in length. I bow down to Her. In Dhruva-loka, She is one lakh yojanas wide and seven times as long. I bow down to Her. In Chandra- [ p. 852 ] loka She is one lakh yojanas wide and five times as long. My obeisance to S’rî Gangâ Devî. I bow down to the Ganges who is sixty thousand yojanas wide in the Sûrya loka and ten times that in length. I bow down to Gangâ in Tapo-loka who is one lakh yojanas wide and five times that in length. My obeisance to Gangâ Devî in Janar-loka, who is one thousand yojanas wide and ten times that as long. I bow down to Gangâ in Mahar-loka who is ten lakh yojanas wide and five times that in length. My obeisance to Gangâ Devî in Kailâs’a who is one thousand yojanas wide and one hundred times as long. I bow down to Gangâ Devî who is known as Mandâkinî in Indra-loka, and who is one hundred yojanas wide and ten times than that in length. My obeisance to Gangâ Devî, known as Bhogavati in Pâtâla who is ten yojanas wide and five times as long. I bow down to Gangâ Devî, known as Alakanandâ in this earth, who is two miles wide, in some places more wide and in some places less wide. I bow down to Gangâ Devî who was of the colour of milk in Satya yuga, of the colour of Moon in Tretâ Yuga, of the colour of white sandal-paste in Dvâpara yuga. I bow down to S’rî Gangâ Devî who is as water in Kali yuga in this earth and as milk in Kali yuga in Heaven. O Child! By the touch of one molecule of the water of the Ganges, all the horrible sins incurred in ten million births, the murder of a Brâhmin and so forth, are burnt to ashes. Thus I have described in twenty-one verses the great stotra (human) of the sin-destroying and the virtue-increasing merits of Gangâ. He reaps the fruit of the A’svamedha sacrifice (Horse sacrifice), who daily sings this praise of Gangâ after worshipping Her with devotion. There is no doubt in this. The persons that are without any sons get sons hereby and those who have no wives get wives. The diseased get themselves free from their diseases, and the man who is under bondage, is liberated from that bondage. He who getting up early in the morning reads this stotra of Gangâ, becomes widely known even if he be not known at all and he becomes illumined with wisdom even if he be quite ignorant. Even if he sees a bad dream, he acquires the merit of bathing in the Ganges and of seeing good dreams.
42-44. S’rî Nârâyana spoke :— O Nârada! With this stotra (hymn) did Bhagîratha praise the Gangâ Devî. Who then went with him to the spot where the Sagara’s sons were burnt to ashes by the curse of Kapila. By the contact of the wind in touch with the particles of water of the Ganges, those sons of Sagara were instantly freed of their curses and they all repaired to Vaikuntha. She is named Bhâgirathî, because Bhagîratha brought Her to this earth. Thus I have described to you the story of the Ganges.
This anecdote is highly meritorious and the great step to liberation. What more do you now want to hear? Say. [ p. 853 ] 45-46. Nârada said :— O Lord! How did Gangâ come to flow through the three worlds by three routes, and thus purify them? How was she carried and to which places? How did the people of those localities accord respect to Her? Kindly describe all these in detail.
47-79. Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! On the Full Moon night of the month of Kârtik in the Râsa mândalam, at the great festivity in honour of Râdhâ, S’rî Krisna worshipped Râdhâ and remained there. Next Râdhâ, worshipped by S’rî Krisna, was worshipped by Brahmâ and the other Devas, by Saunaka and the other Risis, who also stopped there with much gladness. At this moment the Devî Sarasvatî, the Presiding Deity of the Science of Music began to sing lovely songs regarding Krisna, in tune with vocal and instrumental music. Brahmâ became glad and presented to Sarasvatî a necklace of jewels; Mahâ Deva gave her gems and jewels rare in this universe; Krisna presented the best Kaustubha jewel; Râdhikâ offered excellent invaluable necklace of jewels; Nârâyana presented to her the best and most excellent garland of jewels; Laksmî gave her invaluable golden earrings decked with gems; Visnu-Mâyâ Mûla Prakriti, Bhagvatî Durgâ, who is Nârâyanî, Îs’varî, Îs’ânî, presented Her devotion to Brahmâ, so very rare; Dharma gave her devotion to Dharma and high fame; Agni (fire) gave her excellent raiments purified by fire and Vâyu gave Her Nûpura (toe ornaments) made of gems and jewels. At this time, Mahes’vara, the Lord of Bhûtas (elements) began to sing, at the suggestion of Brahmâ, songs relating to S’rî Krisna’s grand Râsa festival. Hearing this, the Devas became very much enchanted and remained motionless like statues. With great difficulty, they regained their consciousness. Then they saw that there was no Râdhâ nor Krisna in this Râsa mândala; everything was deluged with water. The Gopas, Gopîs, Devas and Brâhmanas began to cry loudly. Brahmâ in his meditation then came to know that Râdhâ and Krisna both have assumed this liquid appearance for the deliverance of the people of the world. Brahmâ and others, all began to praise S’rî Krisna and said :— “O All prevading One! Now be pleased to show us Thy form and grant us our desired boons.” At that instant a sweet incorporeal voice was clearly heard by all, as coming from air above, that, “I am the Self of all, pervading all; and this my S’akti, Râdhâ, is also the Self of all, prevades all; so there is no separation of us from you all even for a moment. It is only to show our favour to the devotees that we assume special forms. For this reason only there is separation of us from you as regards this body! There is nothing else. Besides you have no necessity with our bodies. O Devas! Now if my Manus, men, Munis, Vaisnavas and you all, purified by Mantras desire very much to see My Form clearly, then I tell you to request Mahes’vara to carry out My word. O Brahmâ! O Creator! Better ask [ p. 854 ] Mahâdeva, the World Teacher, that He would better compose the beautiful Tantra S’âstra, in accordance with the limbs of the Vedas. And that the above S’âstra be full of Mantras, capable to yield desired fruits, Stotras (hymns) and Kavachas (protection mantras) and rules of due worship in proper order. And that also My Mantra, My Stotra, and My Kavacha be also given there in a hidden form. So that those people that are sinners might not understand their real meanings and thus turn out against Me. It may be that one in a thousand or in a hundred may worship My Mantra. And My Mantra worshippers, the saints, become purified and come to My Abode. If My S’âstra be not well made (i. e., if everyone be able to understand its meaning) and if everyone be able to go from Bhûrloka to Goloka, then Thy labour in this creation of the world will all be in vain. Therefore dost Thou better create different worlds according to the differences of Sâttvik, Râjasik, and Tamo Gunas; then some will be the inhabitants of this Bhûrloka, some will be the inhabitants of Dyuloka according to their Karmas. O Brâhman! If Mahâ Deva promises earnestly in this assembly of the Devas, I will then exhibit My True Form.” O Nârada! Thus speaking, the Eternal Purusa S’rî Krisna remained silent (i. e., the aerial incorporeal voice stopped). Hearing this, Brahmâ, the Creator of the world, gladly informed S’iva of this. When the Lord of Knowledge, the Foremost of the Jñânins, Bhûtanâtha heard the words of the Creator, He took the Ganges water in His hands and swore that “I will complete the Tantra S’astra, full of Râdhâ mantras and not opposed to the Vedas. If one touches the Ganges water and speaks lies, one remains in the terrible Kâlasutra hell for a period of one Brahmâ’s life time.” O Dvija! When Bhagavân S’ankara said this before the assembly of the Devas in the region of Goloka, S’rî Krisna appeared there with Râdhâ. The Devas became exceedingly glad to see Him. They praised Him, the Best Purusa and they were all filled with rapture and again engaged themselves in the grand Râsa Festival. Some time after, Mâhâ Deva lighted the Torch of Mukti, i.e., the Tantra S’âstra was published by Him, as promised. O Child! Thus I have disclosed to you this anecdote, so very secret, and hard to be attained. Thus S’rî Krisna Himself, is verily the liquid Gangâ sprung in the region of Goloka. This holy Gangâ, born of the bodies of Krisna and Râdhâ inseparable from each other, grants enjoyment, lordship and liberation. S’rî Krisna, the Highest Self, has placed Her in various places; so Gangâ is of the nature of S’rî Krisna and is everywhere, equally honoured everywhere in the Brahmânda (universe).
Here ends the Twelfth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the origin of Gangâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the anecdote of Gangâ [ p. 855 ] 1. Nârada said :— O Lord of the Devas! Kindly say in what Loka did Gangâ go after 5000 (five thousand) years of the Kali Yuga?
2-4. Nârâyana said :— The Bhâgîrathî Gangâ came down to Bhârata under the curse of Bhâratî; and when the term expired, She went back, by the Will of God, to the region of Vaikuntha. Also at the end of the period of their curses, Bhâratî and, Laksmî, too, left Bhârata and repaired to Nârâyana. Gangâ, Laksmî, and Sarasvatî, these three and Tulasî all these four are so very dear to S’rî Hari.
5-6. Nârada said :— How did Gangâ appear from the lotus feet of Visnu? Why did Brahmâ put Her in His Kamandalu? I have heard that Gangâ is the wife of S’iva; how then, came She to be the wife of Nârâyana? Kindly describe all these in detail to me.
7-8. Nârâyana said :— O Muni! In ancient times, in the region of Goloka, Gangâ assumed the liquid appearance. She was born of the bodies of Râdhâ and Krisna. So She is of the nature of both of them and their parts. Gangâ is the presiding deity of water. She is unequalled in Her beauty in this world. She is full of youth and adorned with all ornaments.
9-43. Her face was like the autumnal mid-day lotus and sweet smile was always reigning on Her lips; Her form was very beautiful; Her colour was as bright as melted gold and She looked brilliant like the Autumnal Moon. Eyes and mind get cool and become pleasant at Her beauty and radiance; She was of purely Suddha Sattva; Her loins were bulky and hard and She was covered with excellent clothings all over Her body. Her breasts were plump and prominent; they were raised, hard, and nicely round. Her eyes very fascinating, always casting sidelong glances. Her braids of hair situated a little oblique and the garland of Mâlatî flowers over it made Her look extremely handsome. The saudalpaste dot and the vermillion dot were seen on Her forehead. On Her cheeks the leaves of musk were drawn and Her lips were red like Bandhûka flowers and they looked enchanting. Her rows of teeth looked like rows of ripe pomegranates; the ends of Her cloth not inflammable by fire, worn in front in a knot round the waist. She sat by the side of Krisna, full of amorous desires, and abashed. She covered Her face with the end of Her cloth and was seeing, with a steadfast gaze the face of the Lord and She was drinking the nectar [ p. 856 ] of His face with great gladness. Her lotus face bloomed and became gladdened at the expectation of a first amorous embrace. She fainted on seeing the Form of Her Lord and a thrill of joy passed all over Her body. In the meanwhile Râdhikâ came up there. Râdhâ was attended by thirty kotis of Gopîs. She looked brilliant like tens of millions of Moons. Seeing Gangâ by the side of S’rî Krisna, Her face and eyes became reddened with anger like a red lotus. Her colour was yellow like champaka and Her gait was like a maddened elephant. She was adorned with various invaluable ornaments made of jewels. Her pair of clothings were tied round Her waist. They were decked with invaluable jewels and not inflammable by fire (fire-proof). The Arghya offered by S’rî Krisna was on Her lotus-feet of the colour of a flowering shrub, Hibiscus mutabilis, and She was going slowly step by step. The Risis began to fan Her with white Châmaras no sooner She, descending from the excellent aeroplane decked with jewels, began to walk. Below the point where the parting of the hairs on the head is done, there was the dot of Sindura on Her forehead. It looked brilliant like a bright lamp flame. On both sides of this Sindurabindu, the dot of musk and the dot of Sandal-paste were seen. When She began to quiver with anger, Her braid, with Pârijâta garland round it began to tremble also. Her lips adorned with beautiful colours, began to quiver also. She took Her seat angrily on a jewel throne by the side of S’rî Krisna. Her attendants took their seats in their allotted positions. Seeing Râdhâ, S’rî Krisna got up at once from His seat with reverence and addressed Her, smiling and began to converse with Her in sweet words. The Gopîs, very much afraid and with their heads bent low, began to chant hymns to Her with devotion. S’rî Krisna also began to praise Her with stotras. At this moment Gangâ Devî got up and praised Her with various hymns and asked Her welfare with fear and with humble words. Out of fear, Her throat, lips and palate were parched up. She took refuge humbly at S’rî Krisna’s feet. S’rî Krisna then, took Gangâ Devî on His breast when She became calm and quiet. At this interval Sures’varî Gangâ looked at Râdhâ, seated on a throne, lovely and sweet, as if She was burning with Brahmâ Fire. Since the beginning of creation, She is the Sole Lady of innumerable Brahmâs and She is Eternal. At the first sight, She looked young as if of twelve years old. Nowhere in any Universe can be seen a lady so beautiful and so qualified. She was peaceful, calm and quiet, lovely, infinite and having no beginning nor end. She was auspicious, well endowed with all auspicious signs, prosperous, and having the good fortune of having a best [ p. 857 ] husband. She was the foremost jewel amongst the ladies and appeared as if all the beauties were concentrated in Her. Râdhâ is the (left) half of S’rî Krisna’s body; whether in age or in strength or in beauty she was in every way perfectly equal to S’rî Krisna. Laksmî and the Lord of Laksmî both worship Râdhâ. The excellent brilliance of Srî Krisna was overpowered by the beauty of Râdhâ. Taking Her seat on the throne She began to chew betels offered by Her attendants (Sakhîs). She is the Mother of all the worlds; but no one is Her mother. She is fortunate, respected and proud. She is the Ruling Lady of S’rî Krisna’s Life and Soul and ever dearer to Him than His Prâna (vital breath). O Devarsi! Gangâ, the Governess of the Devas, looked at Her over and over again with a steadfast gaze; but Her eyes and mind were not at all satiated. At this moment, Râdhâ addressed smilingly to S’rî Krisna, the Lord of the world, humbly and in sweet words. O My Lord! Who is that Lady sitting by Thy side, looking askance, eager and with a smiling countenance. She is enchanted with Thy beauteous form and fainting away. Her whole body is excited with rapturous joy. Hiding Her face with cloth She is frequently looking at Thee. Thou also dost look on Her smilingly and with desires. What are all these? Even during My presence in this Goloka, all these bad practices are being rampant.
44-51. It is Thou that art doing all these bad things often and often! We are female sex; what shall we do? We are naturally, of a very pleasing temper, simple. I bore and forgave all these out of our love. O Licentious One! Take Thy Beloved and go away quickly from this Goloka. Otherwise these things will not bid fair to Thee. Firstly, one day I saw Thee, united with Virajâ Gopî, in Chandana (Sandal wood) forest. What to do? At the request of the S’akhîs, I did forgive Thee. Then, hearing My footsteps Thou didst fly away. Virajâ, out of shame, quitted Her body and assumed the form of a river. That is million Yojanas wide an four times as long. Even to this day that Virajâ is existing, testifying to Thy Glory (near Puri, Jagannâtha)! When I went back to My home Thou didst go to Virajâ again and cried aloud “O Viraje! O Viraje!” Hearing Your cry, Virajâ, the Siddha Yoginî arose from the waters, out of Her Yogic power, and when She showed Thee Her divine appearance decked with ornaments, Thou didst draw Her to Thy side and cast Thy seed in Her. It is owing to the casting of that seed in the womb of Virajâ that the seven oceans have come into existence!
52-107. Secondly, one day I saw Thee in actual intercourse with the Gopî named S’obhâ! Hearing My footsteps, Thou fled’st away that day also.
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Out of shame S’obhâ quitted Her body and departed to the sphere of Moon (Chandra Mandal). The cooling effect of the Moon is due to this S’obhâ. When S’obhâ was thus distressed, Thou didst divide Her and put some parts to gems and jewels, part to gold, partly to excellent pearls and gems, partly on the face of women, partly to the bodies of Kings, partly to the leaves of trees, partly to flowers, partly to ripe fruits, partly to corns, partly to palaces and temples, partly to purified materials, partly to young and tender shoots and foliage, and partly to milk. Thirdly, I saw Thee united with Prabhâ Gopî in Brindâban. Thou fled’st away, hearing My footsteps. Out of shame, Prabhâ quitted Her body and departed to the Solar atmosphere. This Prabhâ (lustre) is fierce luminosity of the Solar atmosphere. Out of the pangs of separation Thou criedest and didst divide Prabhâ and didst put some parts in Fire, partly amidst the Yaksas, partly into lions, among men, partly amongst the Devas, partly in Vaisnavas, partly in serpents, partly in Brâhmanas, partly in Munis, partly in ascetics, and partly in fortunate and prosperous ladies. Thou hadst to weep then after Thou hadst thus divided Prabhâ, for Her separation and and fourthly I saw Thee in love union with the Gopî S’ânti in Râsa Mandalam. On the coming of the spring season, one day Thou with garlands of flowers on Thy neck and with Thy body besmeared with sandal paste and decked with ornaments, wast sleeping on a bed of flowers with S’ânti Gopî, decked with gems, in a temple made of gems and pearls and illumined by a lamp of jewels and Thou wast chewing the betel, given by Thy beloved. Hearing My sound Thou fled’st away. S’ânti Gopî, too, out of fear and shame quitted Her body and disappeared in Thee. Therefore S’ânti is reckoned as one of the noblest qualities. Out of the pain of separation, Thou didst divide the body of S’ânti and distributed partly to forests, partly to Brahmâ, partly to Me, partly to S’uddha Sattvâ Laksmî, partly to Thy Mantra worshippers, partly to My Mantra worshippers, partly to the ascetics, partly to Dharma, and partly to the religious persons. Fifthly, dost Thou remember that one day anointing all over Thy body fully with the sandal paste and good scent and with garlands on Thy neck, well dressed, decked with jewels, Thou wast sleeping with Ksamâ (forgiveness) Gopî in ease and happiness, on a nice bedding interspersed with flowers and well scented. Thou wert so much over-powered by sleep after fresh intercourse that when I went and disturbed, then Thou two didst get up from the sweet sleep. I took away Thy yellow robes, the beautiful Muralî (flute), garlands made of forest flowers, Kaustubha gems, and invaluable earrings of pearls and gems. I gave it back to Thee at the earnest request of the S’akhîs. Thy body turned black with sin and dire shame, Ksamâ then quitted Her body out of shame and went down to the [ p. 859 ] earth. Therefore Ksamâ turned out to be the repository of best qualities. Out of affection to Her, Thou didst divide Her body and distributed them partly to Visnu, partly to the Vaisnavas, partly to Dharma, partly to the religious persons, partly to weak persons, partly to ascetics, partly to the Devas, and partly to the Pundits (literary persons). O Lord! Thus I have described Thy qualities as far as I know. What more dost thou want to hear? Thou hast many more qualities! But I am not aware of them. Having thus spoken, the red-lotus eyed Râdhâ began to rebuke Gangâ sitting by the side of S’rî Krisna with Her head bent low out of shame. At this time Gangâ, who was a Siddha Yoginî came to know all the mysteries, and instantly disappeared from the assembly in Her own water form.
The Siddha Yoginî Râdhâ came to know also, by Her Yogic power, the secrets of Gangâ and became ready to drink the whole water in one sip. Gangâ, knowing this intention of Râdhâ, by Her Yogic power, took refuge of Krisna and entered into His feet. Then Râdhâ began to look out for Gangâ everywhere :— First She searched in Goloka, then Vaikuntha, then Brahmâ-loka; then She searched all the Lokas one by one but no where did She find Gangâ. All the places in Goloka became void of of water; all turned out dried mud and all the aquatic animals died and fell to the ground. And Brahmâ, Visnu, S’iva, Ananta, Dharma, Indra, Moon, Sun, Manus, Munis, Siddhas, ascetics all became very thirsty and their throats became parched. They then went to Goloka, and bowed down with devotion to S’rî Krisna, Who was the Lord of all, beyond Prakriti, the Supreme, worthy to be worshipped, the Bestower of boons, the Best, and the Cause of boons; Who is the Lord of Gopas and Gopîs; Who is formless, without any desire, unattached, without refuge, attributeless, without any enthusiasm, changeless, and unstained; Who is All Will and who assumes forms to show favour to His devotees; Who is Sattva, the Lord of truth, the Witness and eternal Purusa and Who is the Highest, the Supreme Lord, the Best and Excellent, the Highest Self and the Supreme God. They began to hymn Him. All were filled with intense feelings with devotion; tears of love were flowing from their eyes and the bodies of all were filled with ecstasy, the hairs standing in ends. He was Para Brahmâ; His Substance was made of Transcendental Light, Who is the Cause of all Causes, who was seated in a wonderful throne, built of invaluable gems and jewels, who was being fanned by the Gopas with white chowries, who was seeing and hearing with great delight, and smiling countenance, the dancing and singing of the Gopîs, who was chewing the scented betel offered by Râdhâ and who [ p. 860 ] was residing in. the heart of His dearest S’rî Râdhâ, who was the Perfect, all pervading, and the Lord of the Râsa Circle. The Manus, Munis, and the ascetics all bowed down to S’rî Krisna, no sooner they beheld Him. Joy and wonder at once caught hold of their hearts. They then looked at one another and gave over to Brahmâ the task of communicating their feelings. The four faced Brahmâ, with Visnu on His right and Vâma Deva on His left, gradually came in front of S’rî Krisna. Wherever He cast His glance in the Râsa Mandalam, He saw S’rî Krisna, full of the Highest Bliss, of the nature of the Highest Bliss, sitting. All have turned out Krisnas; their seats were all uniform; all were two armed and with flutes in their hands; on every one’s neck is the forest garland; peacock’s tail was on the top of everyone’s crest and Kaustubha jewels were on all their breasts. The Forms of all of them were very beautiful; very lovely and very peaceful. No difference at all between them whether in form, or in qualities, or in ornaments, or in radiance, in age, in lustre, in no respect no one was inferior to another. No one was imperfect; no one was deficient in lordliness. It was indeed very difficult to make out who was the master and who was the servant. Sometimes He is seen in His Teja form as the Great Light, and there is nothing else; sometimes there is that Clear Divine Form; sometimes He comes Formless; sometimes with form; and again sometimes both with and without form. Sometimes there is no Râdhâ; there is only Krisna; And sometimes again in every seat there is the Yugal Murti Râdhâ and Krisna combined. Sometimes Râdhâ assumes the form of Krisna. So the Creator Brahmâ could not make out whether S’rî Krisna was a female or a male. At last He meditated on S’rî Krisna in his heart-lotus and began to chant hymns to Him with devotion and prayed for forgiveness for his misdoings. When S’rî Krisna got pleased, the Creator, opening His eyes, saw S’rî Krisna on the breast of S’rî Râdhâ. There were His attendants on all the sides and the Gopîs all around. Seeing this, Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’vara bowed down to Him and sang His praises.
108-113. S’rî Krisna, the Lord of Laksmî, the Omnipresent, Cause of all, the Lord of all, and the Internal Ruler of all, knew their intentions and, addressing them, separately said :— “O Brahmân! Is it all well with you? O Lord of Kamalâ! Come here. O Mahâdeva! Come here; let all be well to you. You all have come to me for Gangâ. Gangâ has taken refuge under My feet out of fear for Râdhâ. Seeing Gangâ by My side, Râdhâ wanted to drink Her up, However I [ p. 861 ] will give over Gangâ to the hands of you all; but you will have to pray to Râdhâ, so that Gangâ becomes fearless of Her.” The lotus born Brahmâ smiled at S’rî Krisna’s words and began to sing hymns to Râdhâ, Who is fit to be worshipped by all. The Creator Brahmâ, the Compiler of the Four Vedas, the Four-faced One praised Râdhâ with His Four heads, bent low and addressed Her thus :—
114-125. Brahmâ said :— “O Râdhe! Gangâ, appeared from Thee and the Lord S’rî Krisna. Both of you were transformed before into the liquid forms in the Râsâ Mandalam, on hearing the music of S’ankara. And That Lquid Form is Gangâ. So She is born of Thee and S’rî Krisna. Hence She is like Thy daughter and to be loved as such. She will be initiated in Thy Mantra and She will worship Thee. The four armed Lord of Vaikuntha will be Her husband. And when She will appear in parts on earth, the Salt Ocean will be Her husband. O Mother! The Gangâ that dwells in Goloka, is dwelling everywhere. O Governess of the Devas! Thou art Her mother; and She is always Thy Self born daughter.” Hearing thus, the words of Brahmâ, Râdhâ gave Her assent towards the protection of Gangâ. And then Gangâ appeared from the toe-tip of S’rî Krisna. The liquid Gangâ, then, assumed Her own form and, getting up from water, was received with great honour by the Devas. Bhagavân Brahmâ took a little of that Ganges water in His Kamandalu and Bhagavân Mahâdeva kept some of it in His own head.
The lotus born Brahmâ, then, initiated Gangâ into the Râdhâ Mantra and gave Her instructions, Râdhâ Stotra (hymn of Râdhâ) according to the Sâma Veda, Râdhâ Kavacha (protection mantras), Râdhâ Dhyân (meditation on Râdhâ), method of worship of Râdhâ, and Râdhâ’s purascharana. Gangâ worshipped Râdhâ according to those instructions and went to Vaikuntha. O Muni! Laksmî, Sarasvatî, Gangâ, and the world purifying Tulasî, these four became the wives of Nârâyana. Krisna, then, smiled and explained to Brahmâ the history of Time, hardly to be comprehended by others. He then spoke :— “O Brahmâ! O Visnu! O Mahes’vara! Now you better take Gangâ and I will now tell you what a change has been effected by this time. Hear.
126-136. You, the three Devas, the other Devas, Munis, Manus, Siddhas, and other Mahâtmâs that are present here, are living now. For this region of Goloka is not affected by Kâla (Time). Now the Kalpa is going to expire. So in the other regions than Goloka and Vaikuntha, the Brahmâs, etc., that were existing in all other Universes, have all now dissolved in My Body. O Lotus-born! Save Goloka and Vaikuntha, all are now under water, the pre-state of earth. Better go and create your own [ p. 862 ] Brahmândas and Gangâ will go to that newly created Brahmânda. I will also create other worlds and the Brahmâs thereof. Now you all better go with the Devas and do your own works respectively. You have waited here for a long interval. As many Brahmâs that have fallen all appear again.” Thus saying S’rî Krisna, the Lord of Râdhâ went to His Inner Chamber. The Devas also instantly retired from that spot and engaged themselves earnestly in the creation work. Gangâ remained as before till then in the region of Goloka, Vaikuntha, S’ivaloka, Brahmâ-loka, and in other places, by the command of S’rî Krisna. She is named Visnupadî, because She appeared from the feet of Visnu. Thus I have described to you this pleasant, essential story of Gangâ, leading to liberation. What more do you now want to hear? Say.
Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter on the anecdote of Gangâ in the Ninth Book in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the story of Gangâ becoming the wife of Nârâyana [ p. 862 ] 1-2. Nârada said :— O Lord! Gangâ, Laksmî, Sarasvatî, and the world purifying Tulasî, these four, are dearest to Nârâyana. Out of these, Gangâ went from the region of Goloka to Vaikuntha. So I have heard. But how did She come to be the wife of Nârâyana. I have not heard. Kindly describe this.
3. Nârâyana said :— Brahmâ came from Goloka to the region of Vaikuntha accompanied by Gangâ.
4-23. Brahmâ said to Nârâyana :— O Lord! Gangâ, born of the bodies of Râdhâ and Krisna, full of youth, modest, extraordinarily beautiful, of pure Suddha Sattva, and void of anger and egoism, does not like to marry anyone save Thee as She is born of Thee. But Râdhâ is of a very proud nature and very wrathful. She was even ready to drink up Gangâ. But Gangâ at once and intelligently took refuge into the feet of S’rî Krisna. So the whole Goloka became void of water. Seeing this, I have come here to know in particular the whole history of the case. Then S’rî Krisna, the Knower and the Ruler of the hearts of all, came to know my heart and instantly caused Gangâ to issue from His toe and handed Her over to me. I bowed down to S’rî Krisna and now I have come with Gangâ to Thee. Now Thou dost marry the Sures’varî Gangâ according to the Gândharva rule of marriage. As Thou art a Deva of taste and humorous in the assembly of the Devas, so Gangâ is. As Thou art a gem amongst the males, so She is the gem amongst the females. And the union of a humorous man with a humorous woman is exceedingly pleasant. Now marry this Lady who has come of Her own [ p. 863 ] accord to Thee. S’rî Mahâ Laksmî becomes annoyed with one who does not marry a woman who has come spontaneously. There is no doubt in this. The wise men do never insult the Prakriti. All the Purusas (males) are born of Prakriti and all the females are parts of Prakriti. So Prakriti and Purusa are both inseparable and verily one and the same. So these two should never insult each other. (If Thou sayest that Gangâ is attached to Krisna; how canst Thou marry Her. The reply is) As S’rî Krisna is beyond the attributes and beyond Prakriti, so Thou art also above Prakriti. The one-half of S’rî Krisna is two-armed; the other half of S’rî Krisna is four-armed. Râdhâ has appeared from the left side of S’rî Krisna. He Himself is the right half and Padmâ is His left-half. As there is no difference between Râdhâ and Kamalâ so there is no difference between S’rî Krisna and Thee. Therefore as Gangâ is born of Thy body, she wants to marry Thee. As Prakriti and Purusa are really one and the same without any difference, so the males and females are one. Thus speaking to Nârâyana, Brahmâ handed Gangâ over to Nârâyana and went away. Nârâyana, then, married Gangâ smeared with sandal paste and flowers, according to the rules of the Gandarbha marriage. The Lord of Laksmî then spent his time happily in enjoyment with Gangâ. Gangâ had to go to the earth (under the Bhârati’s curse) and afterwards returned to Vaikuntha. As Gangâ appeared from the feet of Visnu, She is denominated Visnupadî. Gangâ Devî was very much overpowered with enjoyment in Her first intercourse with Nârâyana; so much so that She remained motionless. Thus Gangâ spent the days happily with Nârâyana. Sarasvatî’s jealousy towards Gangâ did not disappear, though She was advised by Laksmî Devî not to do so. Sarasvatî cherished incessantly the feeling of jealousy towards Gangâ. But Gangâ had not the least feeling of jealousy towards Sarasvatî.
At last, one day, when vexed too much, Gangâ became angry and cursed Sarasvatî to take Her birth in Bhârata. So Laksmî, Sarasvatî and Gangâ were the wives of Nârâyana. Lastly Tulasî became the wife of Nârâyana. So the number of wives of Nârâyana amounted to four.
Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the story of Gangâ becoming the wife of Nârâyana in the Mahâpuranam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the anecdote of Tulasî [ p. 863 ] 1-6. Nârada said :— O Bhagavân! How came the pure chaste Tulasî to be the wife of Nârâyana? Where was Her birth place? And what was She in Her previous birth? What family did She belong to? Whose daughter was She? And what austerities did She practise, that She got [ p. 864 ] Nârâyana for Her husband, Who is above Prakriti, not liable to change without any effort, the Universal Self, Para Brahmâ and the Highest God; Who is the Lord of all, omniscient, the Cause of all, the Receptacle of all, Omnipresent, and the Preserver of all. And how did Tulasî, the chief Devî of Nârâyana, turn out into a tree? Herself quite innocent, how She was attacked by the fierce Asura? O Remover of all doubts! My mind, plain and simple, has become restless. I am eager to hear all this. So kindly cut asunder all my doubts.
7-40. Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! The Manu Daksa Sâvarni was very religious, devoted to Visnu, of wide renown, of a great name, and born with Visnu’s parts. Daksa Sâvarni’s son Brahmâ Sâvarni was also very religious, devoted to Visnu and of a pure S’uddha Sattva Guna. Brahmâ Sâvarni’s son, Dharma Sâvarni was devoted to Visnu and He was the master of his senses. Dharma Sâvarni’s sons Rudra Sâvarni was also a man of restraint and very devoted. Rudra Sâvarni’s son was Deva Sâvarni, devoted to Visnu. Deva Sâvarni’s son was Indra Sâvarni. He was a great Bhakta of Visnu. His son was Vrisadhvaja. But He was a fanatic S’aiva (devoted to S’iva). At his house S’iva Himself remained for three Yugas according to the Deva measure. So much so that Bhagavân Bhûtanâtha loved him more than His own son. Vrisadhvaja did not recognise Nârâyana, nor Laksmî nor Sarasvatî nor another body. He discarded the worship of all the Devas. He worshipped S’ankara only. The greatly exciting Laksmî Puja (worship of Mahâ Laksmî) in the month of Bhâdra and S’rî Pañchamî Puja in the month of Mâgha, which are approved of by the Vedas, Vrisadhvaja put an entire stop to these and the Sarasvatî Puja. At this the Sun became angry with the King Vrisadhvaja, the discarder of the holy thread, the hater of Visnu, and cursed Him thus :— “O King! As you are purely devoted to S’iva and S’iva alone, and as you do not recognise any other Devas, I say within no time, you will be deprived of all your wealth and prosperity.” S’ankara, hearing this curse, became very angry and taking His trident, ran after the Sun. The Sun, becoming afraid, accompanied His father Kas’yapa and took refuge of Brahmâ. Bhagavân S’ankara went to the Brahmâ Loka, with trident in His hands. Brahmâ became afraid of Mahâdeva and took Sun to the region of Vaikuntha. Out of terror, the throats of Brahmâ, Kas’yapa, and Sun became parched and dry and they all went afraid for refuge to Nârâyana, the Lord of all. They all bowed down to Him and praised Him frequently and finally informed Him of the cause of their coming and why they were so much afraid. Nârâyana showed them mercy and granted them “Abhaya” (no fear). O You! Who are afraid, take rest. What cause of fear there can be to you, when I am here!
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Whoever remembers Me, wherever he may be, involved in danger or fear, I go there with the Sudars’an disc in My hand and save him. O Devas! I am always the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of this universe. In the form of Visnu, I am the Preserver; in the form of Brahmâ, I am the Creator; and in the form of Mahes’a, I am the Destroyer. I am S’iva; I am you; and I am the Sûrya, composed of the three qualities. It is I who assumes many forms and preserves the universe. Better go to your respective places. What fear can ye suspect? I say, all your fears due to S’ankara, are verily removed from this day. Bhagavân S’ankara, the Lord of all, is the Lord of the Sâdhus. He always hears the words of His Bhaktas; and He is kind to them. He is their Self. Both the Sun and S’iva are dearer to Me than My life. No one is more energetic than S’ankara and the Sun. Mahâdeva can easily create ten million Suns and ten million Brahmâs. There is nothing impossible with S’ûlapâni. Having no consciousness of any outer thing, immersed, day and night, in meditating on Me with His whole heart concentrated, He is repeating with devotion My Mantra from His five faces and He always sings My glories. I am also thinking, day and night, of His welfare. Whoever worships Me in whichever way, I also favour him similarly. Bhagavân Mahâ Deva is of the nature of S’iva, all auspiciousness; He is the presiding deity of S’iva, that is, liberation. It is because liberation is obtained from Him, He is called S’iva. O dear Nârada! While Nârâyana was thus speaking, the trident bolder Mahâdeva, with his eyes red like reddened lotuses, mounting on His bull, came up there and getting down from His Bull, humbly bowed down with devotion to the Lord of Laksmî, peaceful and higher than the highest. Nârâyana was then seated on His throne, decked with jewel ornaments. There was a crown on His crest; two earrings were hanging from His ears; the disc was in His hand, forest flower’s garlands on His neck; of the colour of fresh blue rain cloud; His form exceedingly beautiful. The four-armed attendants were fanning Him with their four hands; His body smeared all over with sandal-paste and He is wearing the yellow garment. That Bhagavân, distressed with the thought of welfare for His Bhaktas, the Highest Self was sitting on a jewel throne and chewing the betel offered by Padmâ and with smiling countenance, seeing and hearing the dancing and singing of the Vidyâdharîs. When Mahâdeva bowed down to Nârâyana, Brahmâ also bowed down to Mahâdeva. The Sun, too, surprised, bowed down to Mahâdeva with devotion. Kas’yapa, too, bowed and with great bhakti, began to praise Mahâdeva. On the other hand, S’ankara praised Nârâyana and took His seat on [ p. 866 ] the throne. The attendants of Nârâyana began to fan Mahâdeva with white chowries. Then Visnu addressed Him with sweet nectar like voice and said :— “O Mahes’vara! What brings Thee here? Hast Thou been angry?”
41-45. Mahâdeva said : — “O Visnu! The King Vrisadhavaja is My great devotee; he is dearer to Me than My life. The Sun has cursed him and so I am angry. Out of the affection for a son I am ready to kill Sûrya. Sûrya took Brahmâ’s refuge and now he and Brahmâ have taken Thy refuge. And Those who being distressed take Thy refuge, either in mind or in word, become entirely safe and free from danger. They conquer death and old age. What to speak of them, then, of those who come personally to Thee and take Thy refuge. The remembrance of Hari takes away all dangers. All good comes to them. O Lord of the world! Now tell me what becomes of My stupid Bhakta who has become devoid of fortune and prosperity by the curse of Sûrya.”
46-51. Visnu said :— “O S’ankara! Twenty-one yugas elapsed within this one-half Ghatikâ, by the coincidence of Fate (Daiva). Now go quickly to Thy abode. Through the unavoidable coincidence of the cruel Fate, Vrisadhvaja died. His son Rathadhvaja, too, died. Rathadhvaja had two noble sons Dharmadhvaja and Kus’adhvaja. Both of them are great Vaisnavas; but, through Sûrya’s curse, they have become luckless. Their kingdoms are lost; they have become destitute of all property, prosperity and they are now engaged in worshipping Mahâ Laksmî. Mahâ Laksmî will be born in parts of their two wives. Then again, by the grace of Laksmî, Dharmadhvaja and Kus’adhvaja will be prosperous and become great Kings. O S’ambhu Your worshipper Vrisadhvaja is dead. Therefore Thou dost go back to Thy place. O Brahmâ, O Sun! O Kas’yapa! You all also better go to your places respectively.” O Nârada! Thus saying, Bhagavân Visnu went with His wife to the inner rooms. The Devas also went gladly to their own places respectively. And Mahâdeva, too, Who is always quite full within Himself, departed quickly to perform His Tapas.
Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter on the question of anecdote of Tulasî in the Ninth Book in the Mahâpuranam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the incarnation of Mahâ Laksmî in the house of Kus’adhvaja [ p. 866 ] 1-30. S’rî Nârâyana said :— O Muni! Dharmadhvaja and Kus’adhvaja practised severe tapasyâs and worshipped Laksmî. They then got separately their desired boons. By the boon of Mahâ Laksmî, they [ p. 867 ] became again the rulers of the earth. They acquired great religious merits and they also had their children. The wife of Kus’adhvaja was named Mâlâvatî. After a long time, the chaste wife delivered one daughter, born of the parts of Kamalâ. The daughter, on being born, became full of wisdom. On being born, the baby began to sing clearly the Vedic mantrams from the lying-in-chamber. Therefore She was named Vedavatî by the Pundits. She bathed after her birth and became ready to go to the forest to practise severe tapas. Everyone then, tried earnestly to dissuade her, devoted to Nârâyana, from the enterprise. But she did not listen to anybody. She went to Puskara and practised hard tapasyâ for one Manvantara. Yet her body did not get lean a bit; rather she grew more plumpy and fatter. By degrees her youth began to show signs in her body; one day she heard an incorporeal voice from the air above, “O Fair One! In your next birth S’rî Hari, adored by Brahmâ and other gods, will be your husband.” Hearing this, her joy knew no bounds. She went to the solitary caves in the Gandhamâdan mountain to practise tapas again. When a long time passed away in this tapasyâ, one day the irresistible Râvana came there as guest. No sooner Vedavatî saw the guest, then she gave him, out of devotion to the guest, water to wash feet, delicious fruits, and cool water for his drink. The villain accept the hospitality and sitting there, began to ask :— “O Auspicious One! Who are you?” Seeing the fair smiling lady, with beautiful teeth, her face blooming like the autumnal lotus, of heavy loins, and of full breast, that villain became passionate. He lost entirely all consciousness and became ready to make violence on Her. Seeing this, the chaste Vedavatî, became angry and out of her tapas influence, astounded him and made him insensible to move. He remained motionless like an inanimate body. He could not move his hands nor feet nor could he speak. That wicked fellow then mentally recited praises to her. And the praise of the Higher S’akti can never go futile. She became pleased and granted him religious merits in the next world. But she also pronounced this curse :— “That when you have touch my body out of passion, then you will be ruined with your whole family for my sake. Now see my power.” O Nârada! Thus saying to Râvana, Vedavatî left her body by her yogic power. Then Râvana took her body and delivered it to the Ganges and he then returned to his own home. But Râvana thought over the matter repeatedly and exclaimed, “What wonder have I seen! Oh! What a miracle this lady has wrought!” Râvana thus lamented. This Vedavatî, of pure character, took her birth afterwards as Sîtâ, the daughter of [ p. 868 ] Janaka. For the sake of this Sîtâ, Râvana was ruined with his whole family. By the religious merits of her previous birth, the ascetic lady got Bhagavân Hari S’rî Râma Chandra, the Fullest of the Full, for her husband and remained for a long time in great enjoyment with the Lord of the world; a thing very difficult to be attained! Though she was a Jâtismarâ (one who knows all about her past lives), she did not feel any pain due to her practising severe austerities in her previous birth; for when the pains end in success, the pains are not then felt at all. Sîtâ, in Her fresh youth enjoyed various pleasures in the company of her husband, handsome, peaceful, humorous and witty, the chief of the Devas, loved by the female sex, well-qualified, and just what she desired. But the all-powerful Time is irresistible; the truthful Râmachandra, the scion of the Raghu’s family, had to keep up the promise made by his father and so he had to go to the forest, ordained by Time. He remained with Sîtâ and Laksmana near the sea. Once the God Fire appeared to Him in the form of a Brâhmana. Fire, in a Brâhmin-form, saw Râma Chandra morose and became himself mortified. Then the Truthful Fire addressed the truthful Râmachandra :— “O Bhagavân Râmachandra! I now speak to you how time is now coming to you. Now has come the time when your Sîtâ will be stolen.
31-48. The course of Destiny is irresistible; none else is more powerful than Time, Fate. So give over your Sîtâ, the World Mother to me and keep with you this Chhâyâ Sîtâ (the shadow Sîtâ; the false Sîtâ). When the time of Sîtâ’s ordeal by fire will take place I will give Her back to you. The Devas united have sent me to you. I am not really a Brâhmin; but I am Agni Deva (eater of oblations).” Râmachandra heard Fire and gave his assent. But his heart shattered. He did not speak of this to Laksmana. By the yogic power Agni (Fire) created a Mâyâ Sîtâ. This Mâyâ Sîtâ, O Nârada, was perfectly equal to the real Sîtâ. Fire, then, handed this Mâyâ Sîtâ to the hands of Râmachandra. Hûtâsana (fire) took the real Sîtâ and said, “Never divulge this to any other body” and went away. What to speak of divulging the secret to any other body, Laksmana even could not know it. By this time Râma saw one deer, made of all gold. To bring that deer carefully to her, Sîtâ sent Râmachandra with great eagerness. Putting Sîtâ under Laksmana’s care, in that forest, Râma went himself immediately and pierced the deer by one arrow. That Mâyâ mrîga (the deer created by magic powers) on being pierced, cried out “Ha Laksmana!” and seeing Hari before him and remembering the name of Hari, quitted [ p. 869 ] his life. The deer body then vanished; and a divine body made its appearance in its stead. This new body mounting on an aerial car made of jewels, ascended to Vaikuntha. That Mâyik (magic) deer was in its previous birth, a servant, of the two gate-keepers of Vaikuntha; but, for the sake of some emergency, he had to take up this Râkhsasa birth. He again became the servant of two door-keepers of Vaikuntha. On the other hand Sîtâ Devî, hearing the cry “Ha Laksmana!” became very distressed and sent Laksmana in search of Râma. No sooner did Laksmana get out of the hermitage, the irresistible Râvana took away Sîtâ gladly to the city of Lanka (Ceylon). Now Râmachandra, seeing Laksmana on the way in the forest, became merged in the ocean of sorrows and without losing any time came hurriedly to the hermitage where he could not find Sîtâ. Instantly he fell unconscious, on the ground; and, after a long time, when he regained his consciousness, he lamented and wandered here and there in search of Her. After some days on the banks of the river Godâvarî, getting the information of Sîtâ, he built a bridge across the ocean with the help of His monkey armies. Then he entered with his army into Lanka and slew Râvana with arrows with all his friends. When Sîtâ’s ordeal by fire came, Agni (Fire) handed over the real Sîtâ to Râmachandra. The Shadow Sîtâ then humbly addressed Agni and Râma Chandra, “O Lord! What am I to do now? Settle my case.”
49-53. Agni and Râmachandra both of them then said to Chhâyâ Sîtâ :— “O Devî! Go to Puskara and practise tapasyâ there; that place is the giver of religious merits and then you will be the Svarga Laksmî (Laksmî of Heaven).” Hearing this, the Chhâyâ Sîtâ went and practised tapasyâ for the three divine lakh years and became Mahâ Laksmî. This Svarga Laksmî appeared at one time from the sacrificial Kunda (pit). She was known as the daughter of Drupada and became the wife of the five Pândavas. She was Veda Vatî, the daughter of Kus’adhvaja in the Satya Yuga; Sîtâ, the wife of Râma and the daughter of Janaka in Tretâ Yuga; and Draupadî, the daughter of Drupada, in the Dvâpara Yuga. As she existed in the Satya, Tretâ, and Dvâpara Yugas, the Three Yugas, hence She is Trihâyanî.
54. Nârada said :— “O Chief of Munis! O Remover of doubts! Why had Draupadî five husbands? A great doubt has arisen in my mind on this point. Remove my doubt.”
55-63. Nârâyana said :— O Devarsi! When, in the city of Lanka, the real Sîtâ came before Râma, then Chhâyâ Sîtâ, full of youth and beauty, became very anxious. Agni Deva and Râmachandra both told [ p. 870 ] Her to go to Puskara and worship S’amkara. While this Chhâyâ Sîtâ was practising austerities in Puskara, She became very anxious to get a good husband and asked from MahâDeva the boon “Grant me a husband” and repeated it five times. S’iva, the chief among the humorous, witty persons, hearing this, said, “O Dear! You will get five husbands” and thus granted her the boon. Therefore She became the dearest wife of the five Pândavas. Now hear other facts. When the war at Lanka was over, S’rî Râmachandra got his own dear wife Sîtâ, and installing Vibhîsana on the throne of Lanka, returned to Ayodhyâ. He ruled for eleven thousand years in Bhârata and finally went to Vaikuntha with his all his subjects. Vedavatî, the incarnation in part of Laksmî dissolved in the body of Kamalâ. Thus I have described to you the pure anecdote of Vedavatî. Hearing this destroys sins and increases virtue. The four Vedas reigned incarnate, in their true forms, on the lips of Vedavatî; hence She was named Vedavatî. Thus I have told you the anecdote of the daughter of Kus’adhvaja. Now hear the story of Tulasî, the daughter of Dharmadhvaja.
Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the incarnation of Mahâ Laksmî in the house of Kus’adhvaja in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the anecdote of Tulasî [ p. 870 ] 1-19. S’rî Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! The wife of Dharmadhvaja was Mâdhavî. Going to the Gandhamâdan mountain, She began to enjoy, with great gladness, the pleasures with the king Dharmadhvaja. The bed was prepared, strewn with flowers and scented with sandal-paste. She smeared all over her body with sandal-paste. The flowers and cool breeze in contact with the sweet scent of sandal-paste began to cool the bodies. Mâdhavî was the jewel amongst women. Her whole body was very elegant. Besides it was adorned all over with jewel ornaments. As she was humorous, so the king was very expert in that respect. It seemed as if the Creator created especially for Dharmadhvaja, the humorous lady Mâdhavî expert in amorous affairs. Both of them were skilled in amorous sports. So no one did like to desist from amorous enjoyments. One hundred divine years passed in this way, day and night passed unnoticed. The king then got back his consciousness and desisted from his amorous embraces. But the lustful woman did not find herself satisfied. However, by the Deva’s influence, she became pregnant and conceived for one hundred years. In the womb there was the incarnation of Laksmî; and the body’s lustre increased day by day. Then, on an auspicious day, on an auspicious moment, auspicious Yoga, auspicious Lagna, auspicious Amsa, and on an auspicious combination of planetary [ p. 871 ] rulers and their houses, she delivered on the full moon night of the month of Kârtik one beautiful daughter, the incarnation in part of Laksmî. The face of the baby looked like the autumnal moon; Her two eyes resembled autumnal lotuses and her upper and lower lips looked beautiful like ripe Bimba fruits. The daughter began, no sooner it was born, to look on all sides of the lying-in-room. The palm and lower part of feet were red. The navel was deep and below that there were three wrinkles. Her loins were circular. Her body was hot in the winter and cold in the summer and pleasant to touch. Her hairs on the head were hanging like the roots of the fig tree. Her colour was bright like Champaka; She was a jewel amongst women. Men and women cannot compare her beauty. The holy wise men named Her Tulasî. As soon as she was born, she looked of the female sex, full in every way. Though prevented repeatedly by all, She went to the forest of Badarî for practising Tapasyâ. There she practised hard Tapasyâ for one lakh divine years. Her main object was to get Nârâyana for her husband. In summer she practise Panchatapâ (surrounded by fire on four sides and on the top); in the winter she remained in water and in the rainy season she remained in the open air and endured the showers of the rain, twenty thousand years. She passed away thus in eating fruits and water. For thirty thousand years she subsisted only on the leaves of trees. When the forty thousandth year came, she subsisted only on air and her body became thinner and thinner day by day. Then for ten thousand years afterwards she left eating anything whatsoever and without any aim, stood on only one leg. At this time the lotus-born Brahmâ, seeing this, appeared there to grant her boons. On seeing Him, Tulasî immediately bowed down to Brahmâ, the Four-faced One riding on His vehicle, the Swan. [Note: — The vehicle theory of the Devas came from Egypt. The Devas were without vehicles at first and were faced half-beasts. Then they were rendered men and their vehicles were fancied as beasts. The face of the Dûrgâ Devî was thought of as that of a tiger.]
20. He then addressed her and said :— “O Tulasî! Ask a boon that you like. Whether it be devotion to Hari, servantship to Hari, freedom from old age or freedom from death, I will grant that to you.”
21-27. Tulasî said :— “Father! I now say you my mind. Hear. What is the use of hiding away my views out of fear or shame to One who knows everything reigning in One’s Heart.
I am Tulasî Gopî (cowherdess); I used to dwell before in the Goloka. I was a dear she-servant of Radhikâ, the beloved of Krisna. I was also born of Her in part, Her Sakhis (female attendants) used to love me. Once in Râsa Mandalam I was enjoyed by Govinda; but I was not satiated and while [ p. 872 ] I was lying down in an unconscious state, Râdhâ, the Governess-in-chief of the Râsa circle, came there and saw me in that state. She rebuked Gobinda and, out of anger, cursed me :— ‘Go at once and be born as a human being.’ At this Govinda spoke to me :— ‘If you go and practise Tapas in Bhârata, Brahmâ will get pleased and He will grant you boon. When you will get Nârâyana, the Four-armed, born of Me in part as your husband.’ O Father! Thus speaking, S’rî Krisna disappeared out of sight. Out of Râdhâ’s fear, I quitted my body and am now born in this world. Now grant me this boon that I get the peaceful, lovely, beautiful Nara for my husband.”
28-37. Brahmâ said :— “O Child Tulasî! The Gopa (cowherd) Sudâmâ was born of S’rî Krisna’s body. At the present time he is very energetic, He too, under the curse of Râdhâ, has come and taken his birth amongst the Dânavas. He is named S’ankha Chûda. No one is equal to him in strength. In Goloka, when he saw you before, he was overpowered with passion for you. Only out of Râdhâ’s influence, he could not embrace you. That Sudâmâ is Jâtismara (knows all about his previous births); and you, too, are Jâti Smarâ. There is nothing unknown to you. O Beautiful One! You will now be his wife. Afterwards you will get Nârâyana, the Beautiful and Lovely for your husband. Thus under the curse of Nârâyana, you will be transformed into the world purifying Tulasî tree. You will be the foremost amongst the flowers and will be dearer to Nârâyana than His life. No one’s worship will be complete without Thee as leaf. You will remain as a tree in Bindrâban and you will be widely known as Vrindâbanî. The Gopas and Gopis will worship Mâdhava with Your leaves. Being the Presiding Deity of the Tulasî tree, you will always enjoy the company of Krisna, the best of the Gopas.” O Nârada! Thus bearing Brahmâ’s words, the Devî Tulasî became very glad. Smile appeared in her face. She then bowed down to the Creator and said :—
38-40. “O Father! I speak now truly to Thee that I am not as devoted to the four-armed Nârâyana as I am devoted to S’yâma Sundara, the two-armed. For my intercourse with Govinda S’rî Krisna was suddenly interrupted and my desire was not gratified. It is because of S’rî Govinda’s words that I prayed for the four-armed. Now it appears certain that by Thy grace I will get again my Govinda, very hard to be attained. But, O Father! Do this that I be not afraid of Râdhâ.”
41-48. Brahmâ said :— “O Child! I now give you the sixteen lettered Râdhâ mantra to you. By Her Grace you will be dear to Râdhâ as Her life. Râdhikâ will not be able to know anything of your secret [ p. 873 ] dealings. O Fortunate! You will be dear to Govinda like Râdhâ.” Thus saying, Brahmâ, the Creator of the world, gave her the sixteen lettered Râdhâ mantra, stotra, Kavacha and mode of worship and puras’charana and He blessed her. Tulasî, then, engaged herself in worshipping Râdhâ, as directed. By the boon of Brahmâ, Tulasî attained Siddhi (success) like Laksmî. Out of the power of the Siddha mantra, She got her desired boon. She became fortunate in getting various pleasures, hard to be attained in this world. Her mind became quiet. All the toils of Tapasyâ disappeared. When one gets the fruit of one’s labour, all the troubles then transform to happiness. She then finished her food and drink and slept on a beautiful bed strewn with flowers and scented with sandal paste.
Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Tulasî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the union of S’ankhachûda with Tulasî [ p. 873 ] 1-26. Nârâyana said :— Thus highly pleased, Tulasî went to sleep with a gladdened-heart. She, the daughter of Vrisadhvaja, was then in her blooming youth and while asleep, the Cupid, the God of five arrows, shot at her five arrows (by which one gets enchanted and swooned). Though the Devî was smeared with sandal paste and She slept on a bed strewn with flowers, her body was felt as if being burnt. Out of joy, the hairs stood on their ends all over her body; her eyes were reddened and her body began to quiver. Sometimes She felt uneasiness, sometimes dryness; sometimes She got faint; sometimes drowsiness and sometimes again pleasantness; sometimes she became conscious, sometimes sorrowful. Sometimes she got up from her bed; sometimes she sat; and sometimes she fell again to sleep. The flower-bed, strewn with sandal-paste, appeared to her full of thorns; nice delicious fruits and cold water appeared to her like poison. Her house appeared to her like a hole in a ground and her fine garments seemed to her like fire. The mark of Sindûra on her forehead appeared, as it were, a boil, a sore. She began to see in her dreams that one beautiful, well clothed, humorous, young man with smile in his lips, appeared to her. His body was besmeared with sandal-paste and decked with excellent jewels; garlands of forest flowers were suspending from his neck. Coming there, he was drinking the honey of her lotus face. He was speaking on love themes and on various other sweet topics. As if he was embracing amorously and enjoying the pleasures of intercourse. After the intercourse he was going away; again he was coming near.
[ p. 874 ]
The lady was addressing him, “O Darling! O Lord of my heart! Where do you go. Come close.” Again when she became conscious, she began to lament bitterly. Thus on entering in her youth, the Devî Tulasî began to live in the hermitage of Badari (Plum fruit, it may signify womb. Those who visit Badari are not to enter again in any womb). On the other hand the great Yogi S’ankhachûda obtained the Krisna Mantra from Maharsi Jaigîsavya and got siddhi (success) in Puskara Tîrtha (sacred place of pilgrimage where one crosses the world). Holding on his neck the Kavacha named Sarvamangalamaya and obtaining the boon from Brahmâ as he desired, he arrived at Badari, by Brahmâ’s command. The signs of the blooming youth had just begun to be visible in the body of S’ankhachûda as if the God of Love incarnated in his body; his colour resembled that of white Champakas and all his body was decked with jewelled ornaments. His face resembled the autumnal full moon; his eyes were extended like the lotus leaves. The beautiful form was seen to sit in an excellent aerial car, made of pearls and jewels. Two jewel earrings, nice and elegant, suspended upto his cheek; his neck was adorned with Pârijâta flower garlands; and his body was smeared with Kumkum and scented sandal-paste. O Nârada! Seeing S’ankhachûda coming near to her, Tulasî covered her face by her clothing and she, with a smiling countenance, cast repeatedly sidelong glances at him and bent her head low abashed in the expectation of a fresh intercourse. How beautiful was that clear face of her! It put down the autumnal moon in the background. The invaluable jewelled ornament were on her toes. Her braid of hair was surrounded by sweet scented Mâlatî garlands. The invaluable jewelled wonderful earrings like the shape of a shark were hanging up to her cheek. Extraordinarily beautiful necklaces were seen being suspended to the middle of her breasts and added to the beauty thereof; on her arms and hand were jewelled bangles and conch ornaments; jewelled armlets and on fingers; excellent jewelled rings were seen. O Muni! Seeing that lovely beautiful chaste woman of good nature, S’ankhachûda came to her and taking his seat addressed her as follows :—
27. “O Proud One! O Auspicious One! Who are you? Whose daughter are you? You look fortunate and blessed among women. I am your silent slave. Talk with me.”
28-30. That beautiful eyed Tulasî, full of love, replied to S’ankhachûda with smiling countenance and face bent low :— “I am the daughter of the great king Vrisadhvaja. I have come to this forest for tapasyâ and am engaged in this. Who are you? What business have you to talk with me? You can go away wherever you like. I have heard [ p. 875 ] in the S’âstras that persons born of a noble family never speak with ladies of a respectable family in privacy.
31-71. Only those that are lewd, void of any knowledge in the Dharma S’âstras, void of the Vedic knowledge and who are not Kulînas, like to speak with women in privacy. And those woman, too, that look externally beautiful but very passionate and the Death of males, who are sweet tongued but filled with venom in their hearts, those who are sweet externally but like a sword internally, those that are always bent in achieving their own selfish ends and those that become obedient to their husbands for their own selfish ends otherwise behaving as they like, those that are filled inside with dirty things and outside looking pleasant in their faces and eyes, whose characters are pronounced as defiled, what intelligent, learned and noble-minded man can trust them? Those women do not discriminate who are their friends or who are their enemies; they want always new persons. Whenever they see a man well dressed, they want to satisfy their own passions. And they pretend with great care that they are very chaste. They are the vessels of passion; they always attract the minds of others and they are very enthusiastic in satisfying their own lust. They verbally shew that they want other men to go away but at hearts, feelings for intercourse remain preponderant; whenever they see their paramours in private, they laugh and become very glad but externally their shame, knows no bounds. When they do not have their intercourses with their paramours, they become self-conceited; their bodies burn with anger and they begin to quarrel. When their passions are satisfied fully, they become glad and when there is a deficiency in that, they become sorrowful. For the sake of good and sweet food and cold drinks, they want beautiful young persons, qualified and humorous. They consider witty young persons clever in holding intercourses, more dearly than their sons. And if that beloved one becomes incapable or aged, then he is considered as an enemy. Quarrels and anger then ensue. They devour these men as serpents eat rats. They are boldness personified and they are the source of all evils and vices. Even Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a remain deluded before them. They cannot find out any clue of their minds. They are the greatest obstacle in the path of tapasyâ and the closed doors for liberation. Devotion to Hari cannot reach those women. They are the repositories of Mâyâ and they hold men fast by iron chains in this word. They are like magicians and false like dreams. They enchant others by external beauty; their lower parts are very ugly and filled with excrements, faeces, of foul scent and very unholy and smeared with blood. The Creator Bhagavân has created them as such, the Mâyâ to [ p. 876 ] the Mâyâvis and the venom to those who want liberation, and as invisible to those that want to have them.” Thus saying Tulasî stopped. O Nârada! S’ankhachûda, then smilingly addressed her as follows :— “O Devî! What you have spoken is not wholly false; partly it is true and partly it is false. Now hear. The Creator has created this all-enchanting female form into two parts. One is praiseworthy and the other is not. He has created Laksmî, Sarasvatî, Durgâ, Sâvitrî and Râdhâ and others as the primary causes of creation; so there are the prime creations: Those women that are born of their parts, are auspicious, glorious and much praiseworthy. S’atarûpâ, Devahûtî, Svadhâ, Svâhâ, Daksinâ Chhâyâvatî, Rohinî, Varunânî, S’achî, the wife of Kuvera, Diti, Aditi, Lopâmudrâ, Anasûyâ, Kautabhî (Kotarî), Tulasî, Ahalyâ, Arundhatî, Menâ, Tarâ, Mandodarî, Damayantî, Vedavatî, Gangâ, Manasâ, Pusti, Tusti, Smriti, Medhâ, Kâlikâ, Vasundharâ, Sasthî, Mangalachandî, Mûrti, wife of Dharma. Svasti, S’raddhâ; S’ânti, Kânti, Ksânti, Nidrâ, Tandrâ, Ksudhâ, Pipâsâ, Sandhyâ, Râtri, Divâ, Sampatti, Dhriti, Kîrtî, Krîyâ, S’obhâ, Prabhâ, S’ivâ, and other women born of the Prime Prakritis, all are excellent in every Yuga. The prostitutes of the heavens are also born of the above women in their parts and parts of parts. They are not praiseworthy in the universe; they are all regarded as unchaste women. Those women that are of Sâttva Gunas are all excellent and endowed with influence. In the universe they are good, chaste and praiseworthy. This is not false. The Pandits declare them excellent. Those that are of Râjo Gunas, and Tâmo Gunas are not so praiseworthy. Those women that are of Râjo Gunas are known as middling. They are always fond of enjoyments, yield to them, and always ready to achieve their own ends. These women are generally insincere, delusive, and outside the pale of religious duties. Therefore they are generally unchaste. The Pandits consider them as middling. Those women that are of Tâmo Gunas are considered as worst. Those born of noble families, can never speak with other wives in a private place or when they are alone. By Brahmâ’s command I have come to you. O Fair One! I will marry you now according to the Gandharba method. My name is S’ankhachûda. The Devas fly away from me out of terror. Before I was the intimate S’akhâ (friend) of S’rî Hari, by the name of Sudâmâ. Now, by Râdhikâ’s curse I am born in the family of the Dânavas. I was a Pârisad (attendant) of S’rî Krisna and the chief of the eight Gopas. Now, by Râdhikâ’s curse I am born as S’ankhachûda, the Indra of the Dânavas. By S’rî Krisna’s grace and by His mantra, I am Jâtismarâ (know of my past births). You, too, are Jâtismarâ Tulasî. S’rî Krisna enjoyed you before. By [ p. 877 ] Râdhikâ’s anger, you are now born in Bhârata. I was very eager to enjoy you then; out of Râdhikâ’s fear I could not.”
72-87. Thus saying, S’ankhachûda stopped. Then Tulasî gladly and smilingly replied :— “Such persons (like you) are famous in this world; good women desire such husbands. Really, I am now defeated by you in argument. The man who is conquered by woman is very impure and blamed by the community. The Pitri Lokas, the Deva Lokas, and the Gandharba Loka, too, look upon men, overpowered by women, as mean, despicable. Even father, mother, brother, etc., hate them mentally. It is said in the Vedas that the impurities during birth and death are expiated by a ten days observances for the Brâhmanas, by twelve days observances for the Ksattriyas, by fifteen days observances for the Vais’yas and by one month’s observances for the S’ûdras and other low castes. But the impurity of the man who is conquered by women cannot be expiated by any other means except (his dead body) being burned in the funeral pyre. The Pitris never accept willingly the pindas and offerings of water (Tarpanas) offered by the women-conquered men. So much so that the Devas even hesitate to accept flowers, water, etc., offered by them on their names. Those whose hearts are entirely subdued by men, do not acquire any fruits from their knowledge, Tapasyâ, Japam, fire sacrifices, worship, learning and fame. I tested you to ascertain your strength in learning. It is highly advisable to choose one’s husband by examining his merits and defects. Sin equivalent to the murder of a Brâhmin is committed if one gives in marriage one’s daughter to one void of all qualifications, to an old man, to one who is ignorant, to a poor, illiterate, diseased, ugly, very angry, very harsh, lame, devoid of limbs, deaf, dumb, inanimate like, and who is impotent. If one gives in marriage a daughter to a young man of good character, learned, well qualified and of a peaceful temper, one acquires the fruits of performing ten horse sacrifices. If one nourishes a daughter and sells her out of greed for money, one falls to the Kumbhîpâka hell. That sinner drinks the urine and eats the excrements of that daughter, remaining in that hell. For a period equal to the fourteen Indra’s life-periods they are bitten by worms and crows. At the expiry of this period, they will have to be born in this world of men as diseased persons. In their human births they will have to earn their livelihood by selling flesh and carrying flesh.”
88-100. Thus saying, when Tulasî stopped, Brahmâ appeared on the scene and addressed S’ankachûda :— O S’ankhachûda! Why are you spending uselessly your time in vain talks with Tulasî? Marry her soon by the Gandharba method. As you are a gem amongst [ p. 878 ] males, so She is a gem amongst females. It is a very happy union between a humorous lover and a humorous beloved. O King! Who despises the great happiness when it is at one’s hand! He who forsakes the pleasure is worse than a beast in this world. O Tulasî! And what for are you testing the nobly qualified person who is the tormentor of the Devas, Asuras and Dânavas. O Child! As Laksmî Devî is of Nârâyana, as Râdhikâ is of Krisna; as is My Sâvîtrî, as Bhava’s is Bhavânî, as Boar’s is Earth, as Yajña’s is Daksînâ, Atri’s Anasûyâ, Gautama’s Ahalyâ, Moon’s Rohinî, Brihaspati’s Târâ, Manu’s S’atarûpâ, Kandarpa’s Rati, Kas’yapa’s Aditi, Vas’istha’s Arundhatî, Karddama’s Devahûti, Fire’s Svâhâ, Indra’s S’achî, Ganes’a’s Pusti, Skanda’s Devasenâ, and Dharma’s Mûrti, so let you be the dear wife of S’ankhachûda. Let you remain with S’ankhachûda, beautiful as he is, for a long time, and enjoy with him in various places as you like. When S’ankhachûda will quit his mortal frame, you would go to Goloka and enjoy easily with the two-armed S’rî Krisna, and in Vaikuntha with the four-armed Krisna and with great gladness.
Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the union of S’ankhachûda with Tulasî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the going of the Devas to Vaikuntha after Tulasî’s marriage with S’ankhachûda [ p. 878 ] 1. Nârada said :— “O Bhâgavân! Wonderful is the story that has been now recited by you. My ears are not satisfied. So tell me what happened afterwards.”
2-94. Nârâyana said :— O Nârada! The Creator Brahmâ, blessing them, departed to His own abode. The Dânava married Tulasî under the Gandharba method. The celestial drums sounded and the flowers were showered. In the beautiful lovely house the Dânavendra, remained in perfect enjoyment. Tulasî, too, being busy with fresh intercourses, became almost mad after them. The chaste Tulasî and S’ankhachûda both became deeply immersed in the ocean of bliss in their sexual union and began to enjoy sixty-four sorts of amorous sports. In the S’âstras on love affairs, all the connections of limbs with limbs that are described, as the lover and the loved desire, they both enjoyed those with perfect freedom and pleasure. The place was solitary; to add to it, the scenery was grand and lovely; so nothing remained untasted of the several tastes of amorous pleasures. On the banks of the river, in flower-gardens, they slept on the flower beds smeared with sandal-paste, and enjoyed the amorous pleasures. Both were adorned with [ p. 879 ] jewel ornaments; both were skilled in amorous practices; so no one desisted. The chaste Tulasî out of her nimbleness due to young age, easily stole into the heart of her husband. S’ankhachûda, too, a great expert in knowing other’s amorous sentiments, attracted the heart of Tulasî. Tulasî obliterated the sandal marks from the breast of the King and the sign of tilak from his nose. The King also wiped away the dot of Sindur and Alakâ (vermillion) marks from Tulasî’s forehead and put marks of nails on her round plump breasts. Tulasî also hurt the King’s left side by her bracelets. Then the King bit the lips of Tulasî. Thus each one embraced the other, kissed each other and each one began to champoo the thighs, legs, etc. When both of them thus spent their time in amorous sports, they got up and began to dress themselves as they desired. Tulasî smeared S’ankhachûda’s nose with red sandal-paste mixed with kumkum (saffron), smeared his body with sweet-scented sandal-paste, offered sweet-scented betels in his mouth, made him put on celestial garments (fireproof; brought from Fire) put unto his neck the wonderful garland of Pârijâta flowers, destructive of disease and old age, invaluable jewel rings on his hand and offering him excellent gems, rare in the three worlds, said :— “O Lord! I am your maidservant” and uttering this repeatedly bowed down to the feet of her husband with devotion. She then got up and with smiling countenance began to look on his face with a steadfast gaze. The king S’ankhachûda then attracted his dear Tulasî to his breast and took off the veil fully from her face and began to look on that, next moment he kissed on her cheek and lips and gave her a pair of garments brought from the Varuna’s house, a necklace of jewels, hard to get in the three worlds, the tinklets of Svâhâ, the wife of Agni, the Keyura (armlets) of the Sun’s wife Chhâyâ, the two earrings of Rohinî, the wife of the Moon, the finger rings of Rati, the wife of Kâmadeva, and the wonderfully beautiful conch, given by Vis’va Karmâ, excellent bedding studded with pearls and jewels and various ornaments; and when he gave her all these things, he smiled. The king then put garlands on Tulasî’s braid of hair, nicely variegated Alakâs on her cheek, three crescent lines of sweet-scented sandal paste within the Alakâs, dots of saffron all around that, the brilliant Sindura mark looking like a flame, and red Âltâ on the feet and toes; he then placed those feet on his breast and utterred repeatedly :— “I am your servant” and then held her on his breast. They then left the hermitage, in that state and began to travel in various places. In the Malaya mountain, in mountains after mountains, in solitary flower gardens, in the mountain caves, in beautiful sea-beaches, on the banks of the Puspabhadrâ river, cool with [ p. 880 ] watery breeze, in various rivers and riversides, in Vispandana forest echoed with sweet songs of the birds of the vernal season. They then went from Vispandana forest to the Surasana forest, from the Surasana, forest to the Nandana forest, from the Nandana forest to the nice Chandana forests, from Chandana forest to Champaka, Ketakî; Mâdhavî Kunda, Mâlatî, and Kumuda and lotus forests; thence they went to the forest of desire gratifying trees (Kalpavriksa forest,) and Pârijâta trees. They then went to the solitary place Kânchan, thence to the Kânchî (forest) they then went to the Kîñjalaka forest, thence to the Kânchanâkar (the gold mine), thence to Kanchuka and various other forests echoed with the sweet sounds of cuckoos. There, on beds strewn with flowers and scented with sandal paste they both enjoyed each other to their hearts content and with great pleasure. But none of them, whether S’ankhachûda or Tulasî, got quenched with their thirst. Rather their passions were inflamed like the fire on which clarified butter is poured (in sacrifices). The King of the Dânavas, then, brought Tulasî to his own kingdom and, there, in his own beautiful garden house, he incessantly enjoyed her. Thus the powerful king of the Dânavas passed away one Manvantara in the enjoyment of his kingdom. He spread his sway over the Devatâs, Asuras, Dânavas, Gandharbas, Kinnaras, and Râksasas. The Devas, dispossessed of their realms, wandered everywhere like beggars. At last they united in a body and went to the Brahmâ’s assembly and there they began to cry and then related the whole history how the Dânava S’ankhachûda oppressed them. Hearing all this, Brahmâ took them to S’ankara and informed Him of the whole history of the case. When Mahâdeva heard all this, He took them all to the highest place, Vaikuntha devoid of old age and death. Going towards the first entrance of Nârâyana’s abode, they saw the gate-keepers watching the gate, taking their seats on jewel thrones. They all looked brilliant, clothed with the yellow garments, adorned with jewel ornaments, garlanded with forest flowers, all of S’yâma Sundara (dark blue, very beautiful) bodies. They were four-armed, holding on their hands, conch, mace, discus and lotus; sweet smile was on their faces and eyes beautiful like lotus leaves. On Brahmâ asking them for entrance to the assembly, they nodded their assent. He, then, accompanied by the Devas, passed one by one, sixteen gates and at last came before Nârâyana. On reaching there, He saw that the assembly was completely filled with Devarsis, and four-armed Nârâyanlike Pârisadas (attendants), decked with Kaustubba jewels. The sight of the Sabhâ (assembly) makes one think that the Moon has just arisen, shedding effulgent rays all round. By the will of S’rî Hari, excellent diamonds, invaluable gems and necklaces of gems and jewels were [ p. 881 ] placed at various places. At other places rows of pearls were shedding their splendour and brilliance like the garlands of gems and jewels. At others, the mirrors were placed in a circle; and at various other places, the endless wonderful artistic picture lines were drawn. Again at other places the jewels called Padmarâgas were artistically arranged as if the lotuses were there spreading their lustrous beauty all around. At many other places rows of steps were made of wonderful Syamantak jewels. All around the assembly, there were the excellent pillars, built of Indranîlam jewels. Over those pillars, sandal leaves strung on strings from to pillar to pillar, were suspended. Golden jars, all brimful with water were located at various places. All around, the garlands of Pârijâta flowers were seen. The hall was decorated with sweet scented sandal trees, red like saffron and musk. Sweet scents were being emitted all round. The Vidyadhâris were dancing at places. The assembly hall measured one thousand Yojanas. Countless servants were engaged all over on various works. Brahmâ, S’ankara, and the other Gods saw there S’rî Hari seated in the centre on an invaluable jewel throne, as a Moon looks surrounded by stars. There were the crown on His head, the ear-rings on His ears; garlands made of wild flowers were on his neck and His body was smeared all over with sandal paste and He was holding Kelipadma (a sort of lotus) in His hand. He was seeing, with a smiling countenance, the dancing and music before Him. He was full of peace, the Lord of Sarasvatî. Laksmî was holding gently His lotus feet and He was chewing the sweet scented betel offered by Her. Gangâ also was fanning Him devotedly with a white Châmara and the others were singing hymns to Him with their heads bent low with devotion. Brahmâ and the other Gods all bowed down to Him; their bodies were all filled with Pulaka (excessive joy causing hair stand on end); tears flowed from their eyes and their
voices were choked out of emotion. The creator Brahmâ, then, with clasped hands informed Him, with head bowed down, of the whole history of S’ankhachûda. Hearing this, the omniscient Hari, knowing the minds of all, smiled and spoke to Brahmâ all the interesting secrets :— O Lotus born! I know all about S’ankhachûda. He was in his previous birth My great devotee, an energetic Gopa. Now I speak to you the ancient history of Goloka; hear. This story about Goloka is sin destroying and highly meritorious. S’ankhachûda, in his previous birth was the Gopa Sudâmâ, My chief Pârisad (attendant). He has now become a Dânava on account of the dire curse pronounced by S’rî
Râdhâ. One day when I went from My abode, accompanied by Virajâ Gopî, to the Râsa Mandala, My beloved Râdhâ, hearing this news from a maid servant, came up at once with Her whole host of Sakhîs [ p. 882 ] wrathful, to the Râsa Mandalam (ball dance in Goloka) and, not being able to see Me, saw Virajâ turned into a river, She thought that I had disappeared. So She went back to Her own abode with Her Sakhîs. But when I returned to the house with Sudâmâ, Râdhâ rebuked Me very much. I remained silent. But Sudâmâ could not bear and he rebuked Râdhâ in My presence, a thing quite intolerable to Her dignity! On hearing this rebuke, Râdhâ’s eyes became red with anger and She immediately ordered Her Sakhîs to drive him away. Sudâmâ began to tremble with fear. Immediately on Her command lakhs and lakhs of Sakhîs got up immediately and drove that hot irresistible Sudâmâ away. Sudâmâ repeated his chafings and roarings. On hearing these, She cursed him :— “You better be born in the womb of a Dânavî.” Hearing the terrible curse, Sudâmâ bowed down to Me and went away crying; then Râdhâ, who was all-mercy, became melted with mercy. And She prevented him repeatedly, not to go away. Râdhâ wept and told him, “O Child! Wait. Where are you going? No more you will have to go; return.” Thus saying She became very distressed. The Gopas and Gopîs also began to weep. I then explained to them, “In about half a moment Sudâmâ will come back, fulfilling the conditions of the curse. O Sudâmâ! Come here when the curse expires.” Then he appeased Râdhâ also. “Know that one moment (Ksan) in Goloka is equal to one Manvantara on earth. The Yogi S’ankhachûda, expert in Mâyâ and very powerful will soon return from the earth. Take this My weapon S’ûla and go early to Bhârata. S’iva will slay the Dânava by this S’ûlâstra. The Dânava holds always on his neck My auspicious Kavacha and will therefore become the conqueror of the universe. No one will he able to kill him as long as be holds the above Kavacha. So, first of all, I will go to him in the form of a Brâhmana and ask from him the Kavacha. O Creator! Thou also didst give him the boon that his death would occur when the chastity of of his wife would be destroyed. I will go and hold intercourse with his wife. Then his death will occur without fail. His wife after her death will come and become My dearest wife. Thus saying, Nârâyana gave over to Mahâdeva the S’ûlâstra. Then He went gladly to His inner compartments. On the other hand, Brahmâ and Rudra and the other Devas incarnated themselves in Bhârata.
Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter on the going of the Devas to Vaikuntha after Tulasî’s marriage with S’ankhachûda in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the war preparations of S’ankhachûda with the Devas [ p. 883 ] 1-21. Nârâyana said :— Brahmâ, then putting S’iva to the task of killing S’ankhachûda went to His own abode. The other Devas returned to their homes. Here under the beautiful Bata tree, on the banks of the river Chandrabhâgâ, Mahâdeva pitched His big tent and encamped Himself to get the victory of the Devas. He then sent Chitraratha, the Lord of the Gandharbhas, as a messenger to S’ankhachûda, the Lord of the Dânavas. By the command of Mahâdeva, Chitraratha went to the city of the king of Daityas, more beautiful than Indra’s place and more wealthy than the mansion of Kuvera. The city was five yojanas wide and twice as much in length. It was built of crystals of pearls and jewels. There were roadways on all sides. There were seven trenches, hard to be crossed, one after another, encircling the city. The city was built of countless rubies and gems, brilliant like flames. There were hundreds of roadways and markets and stalls, in the wonderful Vedis (raised platforms) built of jewels. All around were splendid palatial buildings of traders and merchantmen, filled with various articles. There were hundreds and kotis of beautiful buildings, adorned with various ornaments and built of variegated red stones looking like Sindûras. Thus he went on and saw, in the middle, the building of S’ankhachûda, circular like the lunar sphere. Four ditches all filled with fiery flames, encircled one after another, his house. So the enemies could not in any way cross them; but the friend could easily go there. On the top were seen turrets built of jewels, rising high to the heavens. The gate-keepers were watching the twelve gates. In the centre were situated lakhs and lakhs of excellent jewel built houses. In every room there were jewelled steps and staircases and the pillars were all built of gems and jewels, and pearls. Puspadanta (Chitraratha) saw all this and then went to the first gate and saw one terrible person, copper coloured, with tawny eyes, sitting with a trident in his hand and with a smiling countenance. He told he had come as a messenger and got his entrance. Thus Chitraratha went one afer another to all the entries, not being prohibited at all though he told that he had come as a messenger on war service. The Gandharbha reached one after another, the last door and said :— “O Door keeper! Go quickly and inform the Lord of the Dânavas all about the impending war.” When the messenger had spoken thus, the gate-keeper allowed him to go inside. Going inside, the Gandarbha saw S’ankhachûda, of excellent form, seated in the middle of the royal assembly, on a golden [ p. 884 ] throne. One servant was holding on the king’s head an umbrella, decked with divine excellent gems, the inner rod of the umbrella being made up of jewels, and decorated with expanded artificial flowers made of gems. The attendants were fanning him with beautiful white châmaras; he was nicely dressed, beautiful and lovely and adorned with jewel ornaments. He was nicely garlanded, and wore fine celestial garments. Three Koti Dânavas were surrounding him; and seven Koti Dânavas, all armed, were walking to and fro.
22-53. Puspadanta was thunderstruck when he saw thus the Dânava and he addressed him thus :— O King! I am a servant of S’iva; My name is Puspadanta; hear what S’iva has commanded me to tell you. You better now give back, to the Devas, the rights that they had before. The Devas went to S’rî Hari and had taken His refuge. S’rî Hari gave over to S’iva one S’ûla weapon and asked the Devas to depart. At present, the three eyed Deva is residing under the shade of a Bata tree on the banks of the Puspabhadrâ river. He told me to speak this to you, “Either give over to the Devas their rights, or fight with me. Please reply and I will speak to Him accordingly.” S’ankhachûda, hearing the messenger’s words laughed and said, “Tomorrow morning I will start, ready for war. Better go away today.” The messenger went back to S’iva and replied to Him accordingly. In the meantime the following personages joined S’iva and remained seated on excellent aerial cars, built of jewels and gems. The following were the persons :— Skanda, Vîrabhadra, Nandî, Mahâkâla, Subhadraka, Vis’âlâksa, Bâna, Pingalâksa, Vikampana, Virûpa, Vikriti, Manibhadra, Vâskâla, Kapilâksa, Dîrgha Dangstra, Vikata, Tâmralochana, Kâlâkantha, Balîbhadra, Kâlajîhba, Kutîchara, Balonmatta, Ranas’lâghî, Durjaya, Durgama, (these eight Bhairavas), eleven Rudras, eight Vasus, Indra, the twelve Âdityas, fire, moon, Vis’vakarmâ, the two As’vins, Kuvera, Yama, Jayanta, Nala Kûbara, Vâyu, Varuna, Budha, Mangala, Dharma, S’anî, Is’âna, the powerful Kâmadeva. Ugradamstrâ, Ugrachandâ, Kotarâ, Kaitabhî, and the eight armed terrible Devî Bhadrakâlî. Kâlî wore the bloody red clothings and She smeared red sandal paste all over Her body.
Dancing, laughing; singing songs in tune, very jolly, She bids Her devotees discard all fear, and terrifies the enemies. Her lip is terrible, lolling, and extends to one Yojana. On Her eight arms She holds conch, disc, mace, lotus, axe, skin, bow and arrows. She was holding in Her hands, the bowl shaped human skull; that was very deep and one Yojana wide. Her trident reached up to the Heavens; Her weapon called S’akti (dart) extended to one Yojana. Besides there were Mudgara
[ p. 885 ]
(mace), Musala (club), Vajra (thunderbolt), Kheta (club), brilliant Phalaka (shield), the Vaisnava weapon, the Varuna weapon, the Âgneyâstra (the fire weapon), Nâgapâs’a (the noose of serpents), the Nârâyanâstra, the Gandharva’s weapons, the Brahmâ’s weapons, the Gadudâstram, the Pârjanayâstram, the Pâs’upatâstram, the Jrimbhañâstram, the Pârvatâstram, the Mahes’varâstram, the Vâyavyâstram, and the Sanmohanam rod and various other infallible divine weapons. Besides hundreds of other divine weapons were with Her. Three Kotis of Yoginîs and three Kotis and a half of terrible Dâkinîs were attending Bhadrakâlî. Bhûtas, (demons) Pretas, Pis’âchas, Kusmândas, Brahma Râksasas, Râkhsasas, Vetâlas, Yaksas and Kinnaras also were there in countless numbers. At this time Kârtikeya came there and bowed down to his father Mahâdeva. He asked him to take his seat on His left side an asked him to help. Then the army remained there in military array. On the other hand, when S’iva’s messenger departed, S’ankhachûda went to the zenana and informed Tulasî of the news of an impending war. No sooner She heard than her throat and lips and palate became dried. She then with a sorrowful heart spoke in sweet words :— “O my Lord! O my Friend! O the Ruler of My life! Wait for a moment and take your seat on My heart. Instil life in Me for a moment. Satisfy My desire of human birth. Let me behold you fully so that my eyes be satisfled. My breath is now very agitated. I saw by the end of the night one bad dream. Therefore I feel an internal burning.” Thus at the words of Tulasî, the king S’ankhachûda finished his meals and began to address her, in good and true words, beneficent to her :— “O My Lady! It is Kâla (the time that brings out these various combinations by which the Karmic fruit is enjoyed; it is Kâla that awards auspicious and inauspicious things; the Kâla is the Sole Master to impart pain, fear, and good and bad things.
54-84. Trees grow up in time; their branches, etc., come out in time; flowers appear in time and fruits come out in time. Fruits are ripen in time and after giving the fruits, they die out also in time. O Fair One! The universe comes into existence in time and dies away in time. The Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer of the universe, are creating, preserving and destroying the worlds with the help of time. Time guides them in every way. But the Highest Prakriti is the God of Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a (i.e., the Creatrix of Time). This Highest Prakriti, the Highest God is creating, preserving and destroying this universe. She makes the Time dance. By Her mere Will, She has converted Her inseparable Prakriti into Mâyâ and is thus creating all things, moving and unmoving. She is the Ruler of all; the Form of all, and She is the Highest God. By Her is being done this creation of [ p. 886 ] persons by persons, this preservation of persons by persons, and this destruction of persons by persons. So you better now take refuge of the Highest Lord. Know it is by Her command the wind is blowing, by Her command the Sun is giving heat in due time, by Her command Indra is showering rains; by Her command, Death is striding over the beings; by Her command fire is burning all things and by Her command the cooling Moon is revolving. She is the Death of death, the Time of time, Yama of yama (the God of death), the Fire of fire and the Destroyer of the destroyer. So take Her refuge. You cannot find and fix who is whose friend in the world; so pray to Her, the Highest God, Who is the Friend of All. Oh! Who am I? And who are you either? The Creator is the combiner of us two and so He will dissociate us two by our Karma. When difficulty arises, the ignorant fools become overwhelmed with sorrow; but the intelligent Pundits do not get at all deluded or become distressed. By the Wheel of Time, the beings are led sometimes into happiness; sometimes into pain. You will certainly get Nârâyana for your husband; for which you practised Tapas before, in the hermitage of Vadari (the source of the Ganges, the feet of Visnu). I pleased Brahmâ by my Tapasyâ and have, by his boon, got you as my wife. But the object for which you did your Tapasyâ, that you may get Hari as your husband; will certainly be fulfilled. You will get Gobinda in Vrindâbana and in the region of Goloka. I will also go there when I forsake this, my Demon body. Now I am talking with you here; afterwards we will meet again in the region of Goloka. By the curse of Râdhikâ, I have come to this Bhârata, hard to be attained. You, too, will quit this body and, assuming the divine form will go to S’rî Hari. So, O Beloved! You need not be sorry.” O Muni! Thus these conversations took them the whole day and led them to the evening time. The king of the demons, S’ankhachûda then slept with Tulasî on a nicely decorated bed, strewn with flowers, and smeared with sandal paste, in the Ratna Mandir (temple built of jewels.) This jewel temple was adorned with various wealth and riches. The jewel lamps were lighted. S’ankhachûda passed the night with his wife in various sports. The thin bellied Tulasî was weeping with a very sorrowful heart, without having taken any food. The king, who knew the reality of existence, took her to his breast and appeased her in various ways. What religious instructions he had received in Bhândîra forest from S’rî Krisna, those Tattvas, capable to destroy all sorrows and delusions, he now spoke carefully to Tulasî. Then Tulasî’s joy knew no bounds. She then began to consider, everything as transient and began to play with a gladdened heart. Both became drowned in the ocean of bliss; and the bodies of both of them were filled with joy [ p. 887 ] and the hairs stood on their ends. Both of them, then, desirous to have amorous sports, joined themselves and became like Ardhanâris’vara and so one body. As Tulasî considered S’ankhachûda, to be her lord, so the Dânava King considered Tulasî the darling of his life. They became senseless with pleasureable feelings arising out of their amorous intercourses. Next moment they regained their tenaciousness and both began to converse on amorous matters. Thus both spent their time sometimes in sweet conversations, sometimes laughing and joking, sometimes maddened with amorous sentiments. As S’ankhachûda was clever in amorous affairs, so Tulasî was very expert. So none felt satiated with love affairs and no one was defeated by the other.
Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the war preparations of S’ankhachûda with the Devas in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.