Chapter 49 - Description of Draupadāditya and Mayūkhāditya

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Note: Draupadāditya is in the west of Viśvanātha Temple and is under a tree. Mayūkhāditya is inside Maṅgalā Devī Temple.

Sūta said:

1. O Sage Vyāsa, O son of Parāśara, there was no daughter of Drupada when Kumāra (Skanda) narrated this story to the Pot-born Sage.

Vyāsa said:

2. The Purāṇasaṃhitā is proclaimed as the story of all the three aspects of time (past, present, future). No doubt is to be entertained in this regard, because everything is comprised therein.

Skanda said:

3. Listen, O sage. Formerly, the five-faced Hara divided himself in five forms and manifested on the earth for the sake of the welfare of the universe.

4. Umā, the mother of the universe, also manifested herself as a very beautiful lady from the sacrificial fire pit of king Drupada.

5. The five sons of Pāṇḍu were the embodied forms of Rudra taking incarnations on the earth from heaven for the destruction of the wicked ones.

6. Lord Nārāyaṇa attained the form of Kṛṣṇa and accompanied them as the suppressor of the activities of the evil-doers and the sustainer of the good.

7. Those sons of Pṛthā shone brilliantly and secured great prosperity and extinction of adversities.

8. Once those great warriors encountered great danger brought about by adversaries and they had to live in forests.

9. Pāñcālī, their wife, was distressed on account of the misery of her husbands. The lady of tender limbs, given to virtuous conduct, went to Kāśī to the Sun-god and assiduously propitiated him.

10. On being propitiated by the daughter of Drupada, the Sun-god gave her an inexhaustible vessel with a lid and a ladle.

11-18. Delighted in his mind the Sun-god said to the daughter of Drupada, who had propitiated him devoutly and whose mind was pure in every respect:

“O blessed lady, as long as you do not take food, all those who seek food, irrespective of their number, will become satisfied. This vessel, full of cooked food, the storehouse of delicious side dishes and the bestower of all the desired foodstuffs will become empty when you have taken food.”

14. This boon was attained by her at Kāśī. Another boon was also given to her by the lord, Sun-god.

Ravi said:

15. If a man propitiates me while standing on the right side of Viśveśvara and keeping you in front, he will never have distress due to hunger.

16. O chaste lady, another boon has been granted to me by Viśveśa who was pleased with my penance. Listen, I shall narrate it to you.

17. “O Ravi, if any man visits me after worshipping you at the outset, you will remove the darkness of his misery with your own rays.”

18. Hence, O righteous lady, after attaining this boon from Viśveśvara, I am dispelling forever the collection of sins of the creatures stationed at Kāśī.

19. To these people endowed with faith, who worship me with hands raised aloft to grant boon unto you, I will grant whatever they wish.

20-21. If men or women with great fervour worship you, the chaste wife of Yudhiṣṭhira, stationed near me in the vicinity of Daṇḍapāṇi towards the right (south) of Viśveśa, they will never experience the fear due to separation from the near and dear ones.

22. They will nowhere have fear of illness or that arising from the faults of hunger and thirst, O Draupadī, O sinless beloved of Dharmaputra, after visiting you.

23. After granting these boons, the Sun-god, the bestower of everything on the good, began to propitiate Śaṃbhu and Draupadī went back to Yudhiṣṭhira.

24. If any man listens with devotion to the story of Āditya propitiated by Draupadī, his sins will become dispelled.

Skanda said:

25. O Pot-born One, the greatness of Draupadāditya has been narrated succinctly by me. Listen to the greatness of Mayūkhāditya now.

26. Formerly, the thousand-rayed Sun-god performed a fierce penance in the holy spot of Pañcanada renowned in all the three worlds.

27-29. He installed the great Liṅga named Gabhastīśvara and Gaurī, the perpetual bestower of auspiciousness on the devotees, named Maṅgalā. He propitiated Lord Śiva who has made the crescent moon his crest jewel, along with Umā, O sage, for a period of a thousand celestial years multiplied by a hundred. By means of his natural refulgence the Sun is capable of scorching the three worlds. Hence he shone all the more brilliantly, O sage, due to his severe austerities.

30. At that time the entire space between heaven and earth was overspread by the rays of the Sun, capable of burning the three worlds.

31. All movements (travel to and fro) through the firmament were abandoned by Devas moving about in aerial chariots, as if they were afraid of being reduced to the state of locust in the fierce heat of the Sun.

32. Above, below and obliquely too, only the rays of the Sun were seen and not the Sun himself as in the case of the Kadaṃba bud where the pericarp is not seen but only the petals.

33. The three worlds including the mobile and immobile beings trembled due to the fear of the flames of penance of the Sun, a mass of refulgence.

34. “The Sun is the very soul of this universe, mobile and immobile.” So it is said in the Vedas. If he himself were to be one who burns who can be our protector?

35. This Sun is the eye of the universe. This Bhāskara is the soul of the universe. He wakens up and enlivens the universe, almost dead (during night), every morning.

36. Rising up everyday, spreading his hands (rays) all-round, he lifts up the entire living beings that have fallen in the blinding well of darkness.

37. When the Sun rises, we rise up. When he sets, we lie down and rest. Hence Ravi is the cause of our rising and taking rest.

38. Viśveśvara, the protector of the universe, saw the entire universe agitated thus. So he went (there) to grant boons to the Sun.

39. On seeing the Sun with the full complement of rays remaining very steady, forgetting himself in mental absorption, he became wonder-struck in regard to his penance.

40. Śrīkaṇṭha, the destroyer of the distress of those who bow down, became pleased in his mind and said: “O Dyumaṇi (Crest-jewel of the firmament i.e. the Sun), O storehouse of refulgence, enough of your penance. Tell me the boon you wish to have.”

41. Since the Sun had controlled the activities of all the sense-organs through mental absorption and meditation he did not grasp the words of Śaṃbhu though repeated two or three times as though he had no ears.

42. Realizing that he had become a log of wood as it were, Śiva touched him with his hands shedding nectar, dispelling the distress due to the great penance.

43. Then the Sun (Viśvalocana—‘the eye of the universe’) opened his eyes like a cluster of lotuses (that open up their petals) in the morning when he himself rises.

44. With all his distress dispelled by the touch of the Lord, the Sun became glad like vegetation, the glory of which was tarnished by drought, becoming flourishing once again due to the clouds.

45. The Sun directly looked at the Three-eyed Lord who was visible in front, prostrated in front of him like a log of wood, and eulogized the Pināka-wielding Lord loudly:

Ravi said: (Prayer to Śiva: vv 46-53)

46. I bow unto you, O Lord of Devas, O Lord of the worlds, O all-powerful one, O Bharga (the bestower of happiness), O Bhīma (terrible), O Bhava (the place of origin), O lord having the moon as ornament, O lord of goblins, O destroyer of the fear of worldly existence, O bestower of the desired things on those who bow down!

47. O Candracūḍa, O Mṛḍa, O Dhūrjaṭi, O Hara, O Tryakṣa, O destroyer of the sacrifice of Dakṣa, O quiescent one, O everlasting Lord, O Śivā’s consort, O Śiva, I bow unto you, the giver of the desired things to those who bow down.

48. O Nīlalohita, O bestower of desired objects, O threeeyed one, O Virūpalocana, O Vyomakeśa, O destroyer of the bondage of living beings, I bow down unto you, the giver of the desired things to those who bow down.

49. O Vāmadeva, O Śrīkaṇṭha, O trident-bearing Lord with moon for crest-jewel, O Lord with serpents for ornaments, O Lord of souls bringing about the desired things, O Maheśvara, I bow unto you, the fulfiller of the desires of those who bow down.

50. O Tryaṃbaka, O Tripurasūdana, O Īśvara, O Trāṇakṛt (Saviour), O Trinayana, O Trayīmaya, O Kālakūṭadalana (‘one who rendered the poison ineffective’), O destroyer of the god of Death, I bow unto you, the bestower of the desires of those who bow down.

51. O Śarva, devoid of Māyā, O omnipresent one, O bestower of the happiness of the path of heaven, O enemy of the demon Andhaka, O Lord with matted hairs, I bow down unto you, the bestower of the desires of those who bow down.

52. O Śaṅkara, O Ugra, O Lord, O Lord of the Daughter of Mountain, O Viśvanātha, O Lord eulogized by Brahmā and Viṣṇu, O Lord capable of being known only through the Vedas, O Lord who have understood the internal thoughts and wishes of everyone, I bow unto you, the bestower of the desire of those who bow down.

53. O Viśvarūpa (omniformed god), O great one, O Lord devoid of forms, O Brahman, devoid of deception, O bestower of Amṛta (Nectar, freedom from death), O Lord beyond the ken of the mind and words, O Dūraga (‘one who has gone far’), I bow unto you, the bestower of the desires of those who bow down.

54. After praying to Lord Mṛḍa thus, Mārtaṇḍa (the Sun) who was delighted in his mind eulogized Mṛḍānikā who appropriated half the body of Śiva.

Ravi said: (Prayer to the goddess: vv 55-62)

55. O goddess, if anyone efficient in the activity of bowing down, renders his forehead grey by means of the dust particles of thy lotus-like feet, the beautiful digit of the moon makes his forehead all the more bright.

56. O Śrī Maṅgalā, the source of origin of every auspicious features, O Śrī Maṅgalā, the fire that burns all sins like cotton, O Śrī Maṅgalā, the dispeller of the arrogance of all the Dānavas, O Śrī Maṅgalā, protect this entire universe.

57. O Viśveśvarī (goddess of the universe), you are the creator of the people of all the worlds; you are the protectress and the destroyer at the time of the ultimate annihilation. The river of great pure merit arising out of the repetition of thy names dispels all the sins as though they were the trees on its banks.

58. O mother Bhavānī, O destroyer of the entire collection of the fierce miseries of worldly existence, you alone are the refuge. There is no one else. Only they are blessed in all the worlds, only they are worthy of honour, they, in whom your splendid glance of mercy falls and shines.

59. Those who remember you always, you who have the innate brilliance, who are stationed in Kāśī, who constitute the glory of salvation unto those who bow down, are remembered by Lord Smarahara (‘Destroyer of the god of Love’) as the people of pure intellect and clever and deserving to have salvation and protection.

60. O mother, if anyone retains in his heart the pair of your feet free from impurities, the entire universe is within the grasp of his hands. If, O Maṅgalā-Gaurī, anyone repeats your name everyday, the eight Siddhis never leave his house.

61. O goddess, you are of the form of Praṇava, the mother of Vedas; you are Gāyatrī; you are the wish-yielding cow of the twice-borns. You are the three Vyāhṛtis (Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ) here for the fulfilment of all Karmas. You are Svāhā, the giver of the satisfaction to Devas, and Svadhā, the giver of satisfaction to Pitṛs.

62. O Goddess, O mother, you are Gaurī in respect to the Moon-crested Lord; you are Sāvitrī in respect to Vedhas (Brahmā); you are the charming Lakṣmī in respect to the Discus-bearing Lord Viṣṇu. O fine-featured goddess, you, the glory of salvation in Kāśī, O Maṅgalā-Gaurī, you are my refuge.

63. After eulogizing the goddess who is the splendour of half of Śiva’s body, through the great prayer called Śrī Maṅgalāṣṭaka, the Sun circumambulated the goddess and the Lord many times, bowed down and stood silent in front of Śiva and Śivā.

The Lord of Devas said:

64. Rise up, rise up. Welfare unto you, O highly intelligent one, O Mitra, I am delighted. You are always present in my eye. I see the mobile and immobile beings (through you).

65. O Sūrya, you are my cosmic form. Be omniscient and omnipresent, the mass of all splendours, the knower of all the activities of everyone.

66-69a. You will dispel all the miseries of all the devotees. With my sixty-four names, you have uttered a prayer of eight verses. Any man will attain excellent devotion unto me by eulogizing me with this prayer. The eight verses of the prayer of Maṅgalāgaurī will be known as Maṅgalāṣṭaka. By eulogizing Maṅgalāgaurī with this prayer, one will acquire auspiciousness. The octave containing sixty-four names and this Maṅgalāṣṭaka are holy excellent prayers destructive of all sins.

69b-74a. Any excellent man in exile in far-off lands should repeat this thrice everyday. He shall become purified in soul and will attain Kāśī very rarely obtained. If these two prayers are repeated everyday by men, all their sins incurred everyday will be washed. There is no doubt about this. In the body of that embodied one no sin can stay, the one who repeats this splendid pair of hymns thrice a day always. Of what avail are the many prayers that could only grant transient glories to the men on being repeated? This pair of prayers shall accord the glory of salvation in Kāśī. Hence these two prayers should be assiduously repeated by men desirous of salvation by eschewing many other hymns.

74b-76. All this Prapañca (world) consisting of mobile and immobile beings, has evolved from us both. Hence by means of this eulogy of ours, people can be rid of the Prapañca. After attaining great prosperity along with sons and grandsons, the man who repeats this prayer acquires salvation in the end, O Saptāśva (‘one having seven horses’). O Divākara, the king of Planets, listen to something more.

77-80a. The Liṅga named Gabhastīśvara has been installed by you and served with devotional fervour. It will yield all Siddhis. The Liṅga will get the name Gabhastīśvara, O Sun, because the Liṅga of the Lord has been devoutly worshipped by you through clusters of rays having the lustre of Caṃpaka and lotuses. If a man takes his holy bath in Pañcanaḍa and adores Gabhastīśvara, he becomes rid of all sins. He is never born in any mother’s womb.

80b-86. Any devotee, man or woman, should worship Maṅgalāgaurī in the following manner. Fast is observed on the third lunar day in the bright half of Caitra. The deity is worshipped with all great means of services, silk clothes, ornaments etc. The devotee keeps awake in the night through dances, songs and holy discourses and the like. The next morning, twelve virgins are to be honoured with coverings (clothes) etc. They must be fed with excellent, sweet, cooked food. Others should be one given monetary gifts, accompanied by recitation of the Mantra beginning with Jātavedas (TA 1.18.1). In the dawn, there should be one hundred and eight Tila-Ājya Āhutis (offerings of gingelly seed and ghee into the fire). To a Brāhmaṇa burdened with a family, a pair of cows (or bulls) should be offered. A Brāhmaṇa couple should be embellished with ornaments faithfully and fed with rich, cooked foodstuffs accompained by uttering the recitation of the Mantra “May Maṅgalā and Īśvara be pleased”. The devotee breaks fast in the morning. This devotee never incurs wretchedness or poverty.

87. He never meets with break in the line of progeny. He never faces cessation of pleasures and enjoyments. The woman never attains widowhood. Nor does the man become separated from his wife.

88. All the sins become extinct. Heaps of Merits are acquired. Even a barren lady begets child after performing this Maṅgalāvrata.

89. Ugliness in form can always be warded off by performing this Vrata. A virgin gets a husband equipped with excellent qualities and handsome features.

90-93. A bachelor gets an excellent wife after performing this Vrata. There are many Vratas according riches and desires. But they will never be on a par with Maṅgalāvrata. The annual pilgrimage should be performed on that lunar day (third day in the bright half) in the month of Madhu by the men residing in Kāśī for the sake of subduing all obstacles. O Dyumaṇi (Sun-god), I shall mention another thing. While you were performing penance only the rays were seen and not your body. Hence, O son of Aditi, your name shall be Mayūkhāditya.

94. If you are adored, no sickness can afflict men. If you are visited on Sundays no one will incur poverty.

95. After granting many boons to Mayūkhāditya thus, Śiva vanished there and the Sun stood there itself.

96. If a man listens to this meritorious narrative of Mayūkhāditya along with that of Draupadāditya, he shall never go to hell.