Chapter 6 - The origin and activities of Alakṣmī

The sages said:

1-7. O Lomaharṣaṇa, the Māyā of the intelligent Viṣṇu, the lord of Devas has been listened to. How did Jyeṣṭhā (deity of Misfortune) originate from Viṣṇu the lord of Devas. It behoves you to recount it to us factually.

Sūta said:

In order to delude the universe, the glorious lord Viṣṇu who has neither beginning nor end and who is the lord of the universe, created this twofold aspect in the universe. Viṣṇu created one set consisting of brahmins, Vedas, Vedic virtues and Padma—Śrī. The lord of great refulgence made another set consisting of Jyeṣṭhā, Alakṣmī, the base men excluded from the Vedic sphere as well as sin. It was after creating Alakṣmī at the outset that Viṣṇu created Padmā afterwards. Therefore, Alakṣmī is Jyeṣṭhā (the elder), O excellent brahmins. At the outcome of nectar after the terribly potent poison, the inauspicious Jyeṣṭhā was born. So it is heard. Thereafter Śrī—Padmā was born who later become Viṣṇu’s wife.

8-14. A brahminical sage Duḥsaha married the inauspicious Jyeṣṭhā after seeing her fully stabilised mentally. Accompanied by her the delighted sage wandered all round the world. O brahmins, wherever there was a loud chanting sound of the names of Viṣṇu and Śiva the great Atman, wherever there was a loud sound of the Vedic mantras, wherever these was the column of smoke rising from sacrifices and wherever there were people with their limbs smeared with Bhasman, the deity of misfortune was extremely frightened. She used to close her ears and run about here and there. On seeing jyeṣṭhā behaving thus, sage Duḥsaha became confused and bewildered. Accompanied by her he went to the forest. In the terrible forest he performed a great penance. Saying “I will not perform the penance” the girl Jyeṣṭhā roamed about from house to house. The pious sage, the leading yogin, devoted to the practice of yoga and perfect wisdom saw the noble Mārkaṇḍeya coming there.^[1] Bowing down to the great sage, Duḥsaha said:

15-18. O saintly lord! this wife of mine will not stand me by any means. O brahminical sage, what shall I do with this wife? Where shall I enter and where shall I not enter?

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

O Duḥsaha listen; this inauspicious lady is called everywhere thus—Akīrti (Ill-repute), Alakṣmī (misfortune), Atulā (unbalanced, incomparable) and Jyeṣṭhā (the eldest). By no means enter those places where noble souls, devoted to Viṣṇu, following the Vedic path, as well as the devotees of Rudra who have dusted and smeared their bodies with Bhasman are present always.

19-23. By no means enter the precincts of the parks, cowpens, wealth and abodes of those delighted Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras who repeat the names and prayers of the lord as follows:—O Nārāyaṇa, O Hṛṣīkeśa, O Puṇḍarīkākṣa, O Mādhava, O Acyuta, O Ananta, O Govinda, O Vāsudeva, O Janārdana, O Rudra, O Rudra, obeisance, obeisance to Śiva; obeisance for ever to Śaṅkara the extremely auspicious one; O Mahādeva, obeisance to the consort of Umā, to the lord of gold; obeisance to you with golden arms; obeisance to the bull-emblemed lord; O Nṛsiṃha, O Vāmana, O incomprehensible one, O Mādhava.

24. Viṣṇu’s discus which is very terrible with clusters of flames and which resembles a thousand suns dispels their inauspiciousness for ever.

25-26. Avoid that house wherein there is Svāhākāra^[2] and Vaṣaṭkāra^[3] and go elsewhere. Eschew from a distance the places where there is a loud chanting of the Sāman hymns and where people engrossed in repeating the Vedic hymns, devoted to their daily rituals and engaged in worshipping Vāsudeva are ever present.

27-30. Avoid the houses where the holy rite of Agnihotra is performed, where the Liṅga is worshipped and where the idols of Vāsudeva and Caṇḍika are present. Avoid persons devoid of all sins and move away from them. Avoid persons who worship Maheśvara by means of Nitya (obligatory) and Naimittika^[4] (conditional) yajñas, O Duḥsaha and go elsewhere along with this lady; you must eschew those persons by whom brahmins well-versed in Śrutis, cows, preceptors, guests and the devotees of Rudra are always worshipped.

Duḥsaha said:

O excellent sage, mention to me those places where I can enter without fear at your instance.

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

31-37. Devoid of fear and accompanied by your wife you shall enter the house where husband and wife are at logger heads and where brahmins well-versed in the Vedic lore as well as cows, preceptors and guests are never present. Without the least tinge of fear enter that place where Rudra the lord of Devas, Mahādeva the lord of the three worlds is despised. O dear one, accompanied by your wife, enter the houses of the following:—Where there is no devotion to Vāsudeva; where Sadāśiva is not present; Japa, Homa, etc. are not performed; Bhasman is not kept in the house; where there is no worship of Rudra on ceremonious occasions and particularly on Caturdaśī (fourteenth) and Aṣṭamī (eighth) days of the dark halves; where people are devoid of Bhasman during the Sandhyas (at dawn and dusk); where they do not worship Mahādeva on Caturdaśī (fourteenth) days; where they are devoid of the names of Viṣṇu; where they associate with wicked men. Accompanied by your wife you shall enter the houses of even those brahmins who are deluded and wicked and who do not repeat thus—“Obeisance to Kṛṣṇa, to Śiva, to Śarva, to Parameṣṭhin”.

38. Accompanied by your wife you shall enter those places where there is no loud chanting of the Vedic mantras, where there is no worship of preceptors and where the people are devoid of rites relating to their -ancestors.

39. Devoid of fear and accompanied by this lady, always enter the house where every night, there is mutual quarrel among the inmates.

40. Fearlessly enter that place where there is no worship of Liṅga, where men do not perform japa and where devotion to Rudra is censured.

41. In the company of your wife enter that house where there is no guest well-versed in the Vedic lore, where there is no preceptor and where there is no Vaiṣṇava nor cows present.

42. With your wife, you delightedly enter that place where people eat foodstuffs without giving anything to children who keep on watching the same.

43. Always enter that place where people do not worship Mahādeva or Vāsudeva nor perform sacrifices duly.

44. Enter that house or realm where people are engaged in sinful activities, are deluded, have no mutual mercy and remain lethargic.

45. Approach that house where the housewife never keeps secret^[5] and destroys domestic felicity and is never worthy of praise. Always stay there with a delighted mind.

46-51. Accompanied by your wife enter that place where there are thorny trees, where there is the winding creeper of Niṣpāva^[6] and where there is Brahmavṛkṣa.^[7] If the following trees grow in the houses enter them accompanied by your wife Agastya^[8] tree, Arka^[9] plant, Bandhujīva,^[10] Karavīra^[11] in particular, Nandyāvarta^[12], Mallikā,^[13] the creeping plant Kanyā^[14] Drohi^[15] Jaṭī,^[16] the black^[17] plantain^[18] trees, Tāla,^[19] Tamāla,^[20] Bhalāta,^[21] Tintiḍīkhaṇḍa [Tittiḍīkhaṇḍa],^[22] Kadamba,^[23] Khadira,^[24] Nyagrodha,^[25] Aśvattha,^[26] Cūta,^[27] Udumbara^[28] and Panasa.^[29] If there is a Nimba^[30] tree in any park or house housing crows, enter that in the company of your wife. If there is a Daṇḍinī or a Muṇḍinī^[31] enter that place along with your wife.

52-56. Accompanied by your wife enter that house where there is a single maid-servant, three cows, five buffaloes, six horses or seven elephants. With your wife enter the house of that person whose household deity is Kālī, Ḍākinī,^[32] of the form of a ghost^[33] or Kṣetrapāla (guardian of the holy centre). Freely enter the house wherein there is the idol of a Buddhist mendicant^[34] (a buddhist anchorite)^[35] or the statue of Buddha.^[36] That house where the tongues of the inmates do not utter the name of Viṣṇu when going to bed, or taking up a seat, or moving about in the course of their activities such as taking food etc., is indeed yours. Enter that house along with your wife.

57-61. Together with your wife enter that place where there are persons engaged in heretic activities, people excluded from the sacred rites laid down in the Vedas and Smṛtis, persons devoid of devotion to Viṣṇu, persons who censure Mahādeva, atheists and knaves. Accompanied by your wife enter the abode of the persons who do not believe in the superiority of the Pināka-bearing lord and who remember him only as an ordinary deity. It is only the wicked who do not say that Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Indra the ruler of Devas are all born by the grace of Rudra. Foolish persons of confounded mind would say that the glow-worm and the sun are on a par. They would say that Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Indra are equal to lord Śiva. Even if their houses are full and flourishing, enter them without fear and enjoy yourself along with this lady.

62-65. Enter the abode of those stupid persons of deluded minds who eat cooked rice by themselves and who are devoid of ablution and other auspicious rites. Enter their houses. Enter the abode of that woman who falls off from the ideal of cleanliness, who is devoid of purificatory rites of the body and who is continuously engaged in eating all kinds of foodstuff. Enter the houses of men who have dirty faces, who wear dirty clothes; whose teeth are full of dirt though they are householders; who do not wash their feet; who lie down and who take their food at dusk.

66b-68. Enter the abodes of men who are engaged in gluttony; who are addicted to too much of drinking; who are foolishly engrossed in gambling and arguing. Enter the houses of those who misappropriate the wealth of brahmins; who perform sacrifices on behalf of undeserving persons; who partake of the cooked rice served by Śūdras; who are addicted to drinking; who are sinners and who relish flesh-eating and who are enamoured of other men’s wives.

69b-75. Enter the houses of those who indulge in sexual intercourse by day; who are not engaged in worship on festival days and who enjoy sexual union at dusk In the company of your wife, enter the houses of those who cohabit through the anus like a dog or other animals or those who indulge in sexual intercourse under water. Enter the houses of those who carnally approach a woman in her menses, or a Cāṇḍāla woman or a virgin. Enter the houses of those who indulge in sexual intercourse in a cowpen. Of what use is much talk? Enter the houses of those who are excluded from their daily duties or those who are bereft of devotion to Rudra. Along with your wife enter the houses of those who smear their penis with powdered horns,^[37] petty or divine medicinal herbs and then cohabit with women causing the heat of the vaginal passage.

Sūta said:

After saying this, the glorious brahmin sage resembling Brahmā wiped his eyes and vanished there itself. Duḥsaha also went to the above-mentioned places.

76. In the company of his wife the leading sage went particularly to the abodes of those engaged in despising Viṣṇu, the lord of Devas.

This is the deity remembered as Jyeṣṭhā.

77-78. Once Duḥsaha said to her thus:—“You stay here in this hermitage on the banks of the lake. I will be entering the Nether worlds. After finding out a spot for our residence I will return to you again.” On being told thus, she said:

79-81. “O blessed one, what shall I eat? Who will give oblation unto me?”

On being asked thus the sage said: “Do not enter the houses of those women who worship you with oblations, flowers and incense.”

After saying this, he entered the nether worlds through a crevasse. Even now the sage remains submerged under the watery bed. The deity of inauspiciousness remains outside villages and mountains perpetually.

82. Casually, Viṣṇu, the lord of the chiefs of Devas, the overlord of the three worlds, was seen by her along with Lakṣmī. Alakṣmī said to Janārdana:

83. “O lord of long brawny arms, my husband has gone unto the crevasse after abandoning me. O lord of the universe, I am devoid of a leader and support. Give unto me the means of sustenance. Obeisance be to thee.”

Sūta said:

84. Lord Viṣṇu, the lord of Devas, the husband of Lakṣmī, the slayer of Madhu, laughed and said to her.

Lord Viṣṇu said:

85-87. “Yours indeed is the wealth of those persons who censure Rudra the sinless deity, Śarva, Nīlalohita, Śaṅkara; Ambā the daughter of the Himavān, the mother of all the worlds and my devotees. Even if my devotees censure Mahādeva and worship me they are stupid and unfortunate. Their wealth belongs to you. It is at his behest and due to his grace that Brahma and I exist.

88-92. Those who cause my enmity after despising my devotees are not my devotees even if they worship me. They are arrogant persons who seem to be my devotees. Yours indeed is their wealth, abode, field and meritorious deeds such as worship and digging wells and the like.”

Sūta said:

After saying thus, Viṣṇu left Alakṣmī and went away with Lakṣmī. Lord Viṣṇu then performed the Japa of Rudra mantra for the sake of realizing the destruction of Alakṣmī.

Hence, O leading sage, perpetual oblation shall definitely be offered to her by the devotees of Viṣṇu by ail means. O brahmins, she should always be worshipped by women by means of oblations of different kinds.

He who reads, listens to or recounts this narrative of Alakṣmī to excellent brahmins, will become sinless and fortunate. He is sure to attain salvation.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

tatra—mohakāle Śivatoṣiṇī. when he was in delusion.

[2]:

svāhākāra—an exclamation used in offering oblations to the gods (with dat.); “indrāya svāhā, agnaye svāhā.”

[3]:

Vaṣaṭkāra—an exclamation used in offering oblations to the gods. (with dat. of the deity);—indrāya vaṣaṭ, agnaye vaṣaṭ.

[4]:

nitya-naimittika—obligatory and casual (sacrificial rites).

[5]:

prākārāgāravidhvaṃsā—or one who does not preserve the sanctity of the house, i.e. one who wanders at will, a characterless woman.

[6]:

Niṣpāva-vallarī—known as Pāvaṭā Śivatoṣiṇī.

[7]:

Brahma-vṛkṣa—pālāśa. Butea frondosa.

[8]:

Agastya—Agasti grandiflora.

[9]:

Arka—Calotropis gigantea, the larger leaves are used for sacrificial ceremonies.

[10]:

Bandhujīva—known as putrajīva.

[11]:

Karavīra—Oleander, a species of soma.

[12]:

Nandyāvarta—known as Tagara.

[13]:

Mallikā—Jasminum sambac [zambac].

[14]:

Kanyā—known as Aparājitā; Vallī known as Ajamodā. Śivatoṣiṇī. takes these as two different herbs.

[15]:

Drohi—a specie of Neema tree.

[16]:

Jaṭi—known as Jaṭāmāṃsī.

[17]:

Bahulā—the Indigo plant.

[18]:

Kadalī—the plantain tree.

[19]:

Tāla—the palmyra Palm, the mod. Tāl. Fails are made from its large fan-like leaves.

[20]:

Tamāla—It grows in the mountainous districts in India.

[21]:

Bhallāta or Bhallātaka—the nut tree. Beng. Bhel. It grows in the mountainous parts of India, with large particles of small greenish yellow flowers.

[22]:

Tintiḍī [Tittiḍī]—the Tamarind tree.

[23]:

Kadamba—a tree having orange-coloured fragrant blossoms. Nauclea gadamba.

[24]:

Khadira—Acacia catechu, mod. Khair or Khayar.

[25]:

Nyagrodha—the Baniyan Ficus indica. It belongs to the Kṣīra-Vṛkṣas. Its fibres descend from its branches to the earth and there take root and form new stems.

[26]:

Aśvattha—the holy fig tree, Ficus religiosa.

[27]:

Cūta—the mango tree.

[28]:

Udumbara—the tree Ficus glomerata.

[29]:

Panasa—the jack tree, mod. Kanthal.

[30]:

Nimba—the Neemb tree. Azadirachta indica. (its fruit is very bitter in taste).

[31]:

daṇḍinī muṇḍinī—this is not clear. It may refer to an image of staff-handed and bald Śiva considered to be inauspicious.

[32]:

ḍākinī—an image of a female imp. attending Kālī (feeding on human flesh).

[33]:

pretarūpā i.e. śākinī—an image of a female attendant on Durgā, supposed to be a demoness.

[34]:

bhikṣu bimba [bimbam]—an image of a religious mendicant who subsist! entirely on alms.

[35]:

Kṣapaṇaka [Kṣapaṇakam] (bimba)—an image of a religious mendicant who wears no garment.

[36]:

Bauddha bimba [bauddham bimbam]—an image of Buddha.

[37]:

śṛṅga [śṛṅgaiḥ]—kṛtrima-puṃścihna [puṃścihnaiḥ] Śivatoṣiṇī. artificial male organs.