Chapter 36 - Brahma and Vishnu pay a visit of condolence to Siva

Summary: Brahma and Vishnu pay a visit of condolence to Siva.—They all invoice the spirit of Sati.

Brahma and Vishnu went to Kamarupa to see Siva. They saw him seated at a lonely place practising Yoga. Siva received them well, and, after exchange of greetings, all three sat together.

Then Brahma said,

“Siva you are omniscient, but for the sake of the friendship we bear to each other, allow me to tell you that you should give up your grief for Sati. Death must follow birth and we can not stop it. Everyone’s body is subject to decay, and we are no exception to the rule? You obtained Sati without effort once, and she will again strive to get you. Remember also that Sati is not yours only. She is the Mulaprakriti^[1], and can assume a form at will. She is helping all three of us as our wives, with this difference only that to you she manifests herself in full, but to us in parts only. If you wish it, we shall all pray to her here, and request her to meet you.”

Siva said,

“Narada has gone out in search of Sati. How can you show her to me today? I shall wait here till I meet her. I think she has taken birth somewhere, and I shall be united to her again.”

Brahma said,

“Narada will take a long time to come back. What is the use of our waiting till his return if we can meet her at once”?

Siva agreed to Brahma’s proposal, and, thereupon all three of them offered a long prayer to the goddess and entreated her to appear before Siva. While they were praying with great earnestness, they saw one thousand female forms appear before them. They were all young and beautiful, and their graceful bodies were bedecked with many ornaments and clothes. All of a sudden they changed their complexions from black to white, from white to red, and so on, and their ornaments and clothes disappeared and re-appeared in the same manner. They changed their forms from youth to age, and back again from age to youth. They danced, laughed, sang and played on musical instruments at will.

Brahma and his two companions were confused, and did not know what to say to them; or to which side to turn to speak to them, because they were constantly changing sides.

The goddess then took compassion on their helpless state, and assumed a single form which was not the same as that of Sati. Brahma and Vishnu requested her to come back to Siva, but she said she could not do so without a body.

She added,

“Had my last body been preserved I could have entered.it and come back, but you have destroyed it. It does not, however, matter much because I shall be born over again in due time and be Siva’s again. When Siva took my body on his head, I had nearly made up my mind to come back to it, but you destroyed it. Now that he has once borne me on his head, he will have to do so again when I am reborn. But, as my meeting With Siva has been retarded by you both, I ordain that you Brahma will have to die over and over again, and you Vishnu will fall asleep for four months every year. You, Brahma, will also go to sleep after each divine day, and make a new creation after each divine night”.

Brahma and Vishnu smiled respectfully and said with folded hands,

“Goddess, why have you spared Siva? He also deserves equal treatment with us.”

The Devi answered,

“You are quite right. I should curse Siva also. I ordain that he shall be fond of ghost-land, and, although rich in every respect, he will, to all appearances, be a beggar. But, as you three have satisfied me with prayers, I shall bless you also. You, Brahma, will create the different castes, and the men created by you will be adorable even by the gods. Vishnu, you will be worshipped by the gods and be the friend and protector of all beings. You will pervade the whole universe, and be worshipped in a thousand forms. You will become incarnate from time to time to establish Dharma^[2] and exterminate Adharma^[3]. Various sorts of Dharmas will be propagated by you, and I shall be your consort in the form of Lakshmi. I shall always accompany you in all your incarnations.

In the Krita Yuga, or golden age, your first incarnation will be that of a Brahamchari^[4].

In the second incarnation you will be Narada and introduce many rites and ceremonies.

Then you will become incarnate as a boar, and, rescuing the earth, kill the demon Hiranyaksha.

The next incarnation will be as Nara^[5] and Narayana when you will practise Tapasya^[6].

Thereafter you will descend on earth as Kapila to establish Sankya^[7] yoga.

Thereafter you will become incarnate successively as Dattatraya, Yajnavatara, and Rishabhadeva.

Then you will be born as Maharaja Prithu, and found many villages and cities.

Your tenth incarnation will be that of a fish in which form you will protect the gods.

In your next incarnation you will, in the shape of a tortoise, enter the sea where the gods will place the Mandara mountain on your back, as a churning stick, and churn the sea for nectar.

Thereafter you will become incarnate as Dhanvantari in order to reveal the medical science.

Then you will descend on earth as Narasimha^[8] and kill Hiranyakasipu, the demon king.

In your incarnation as Rama you will kill Ravana and Kumbha Kama.

As Vamana (dwarf) you will take possession of the kingdom of king Bali, and make it over to Indra.

Thereafter, incarnating yourself as Bhrigurama, you will destroy all the Kshatriyas of the earth.

Then you will come down as Valmiki and spread the poetical art.

You will then be born as Vyasa and compose the Puranas.

Then you will find the world full of Dharma-haters, and will become incarnate as Krishna and Balarama. You will kill Putna and many other demons with their chief, Kamsa. You will lift the Gobardhana hill and save the shepherds and shepherdesses from the wrath of Indra. In this incarnation my love to you will be at its highest.

Your incarnation as Buddha will stagger^[9] the whole world. You will kill Jarasandha with all his army and build a city in the midst of the sea which will be known as Dvarka [Dvaraka]. You will also teach householders their duties.

After killing Jarasandha and many others, you will join the Pandavas and will become Arjuna’s charioteer in order to destroy Duryodhana and other enemies of Dharma”^[10].

When this conversation was over, Sati disappeared, and Brahma and Vishnu also went away, but Siva remained there waiting for Narada.

Sati in due time was born as Ganga and Uma. Her parents were Himalaya and Menaka.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The primordial Nature or source of creation.

[2]:

See footnote at page 3.

[3]:

That which is contrary to Dharma.

[4]:

An ascetic who has taken the vow of celibacy.

[5]:

Nara=man, and Narayana=God. This pair of man and God have become incarnate together several times. Their last incarnations were Arjuna and Krishna, two most celebrated characters of the Mahabharata.

[6]:

Austerity.

[7]:

A system of Hindu philosophy. One of the six Darsanas, according to which creation is the result of the union of force and matter.

[8]:

Man and lion, i.e., half man and half lion.

[9]:

Probably through his exposing the fallacies of the then prevailing ways of thought.

[10]:

The order of incarnations given in this Purana is not strictly in accordance with that given in other Puranas.