Chapter 171 - Dialogue between Śāṇḍilī and the Sages

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

1-7. In order to see the said Brāhmaṇa who had been impaled on the stake, all the great sages went to Nārāyaṇa along with ascetics such as Nārada, Devala, Raibhya, Yama, Śātātapa, Aṅgiras, Vasiṣṭha, Jamadagni, Yājñavalkya, Bṛhaspati, Kaśyapa, Atri, Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra, Aruṇi, Muni and other groups of sages beginning with Vālakhilyas and the members of their family.

The eminent sages saw Māṇḍavya placed on the stake. They said to Brāhmaṇa Nārāyaṇa, “What shall we do to please you?”

All of them became agitated in the presence of the noble-souled Māṇḍavya. They came near him in great agitation and said, “Is he dead? Is he alive?”

On seeing his plight, they became excessively distressed. Unable to bear that sorrow mentally, they said: “Let him be asked. If he consents, reduce the king to ashes:”

On hearing this Nārāyaṇa spoke these words:

8-13. “Even when I am alive my brother has fallen into this plight. Fie upon my life! But yet there is the efficacy of the penance. On seeing my brother impaled on the stake, my mind is torn asunder. Yet I am going to do something whereby the entire kingdom including the king shall be reduced to ashes by me. Let me be pardoned by you all.”

After saying this, he took water into his hand and charged it with incantations.

Even as he surveyed in anger there was heard a Huṃkāra sound. The sages were dismayed thereby. They were taken aback by the Huṃkāra sound.

Those excellent Brāhmaṇas went near Māṇḍavya and asked him, “O Brāhmaṇa, do you wish to withold [withhold?] the curse that is sure to kill the king by whom a sinless person has been brought to the verge of death?”

On hearing the words of the sages Māṇḍavyaka said with great pain:

14-22. “O sages, welcome unto you always. I salute you all with my (bowed) head. Be seated here ye all who deserve Arghya, honour and adoration.”

With fully concentrated mind, Māṇḍavyaka spoke to all:

“The terrible misery which I am undergoing is the fruit of what was incurred in the previous life. Do not feel aggrieved over that. Indeed the sin committed has to be borne (by reaping the fruit thereof).”

The sages said:

What is the act which results in one’s taking up another birth? As a fruit of what Dāna or Dharma (charity and pious act) does one go to Svarga?

Māṇḍavya said:

Those who sustain themselves at the expense of other people’s fortune and those who do not make liberal donations are reborn.

O excellent Brāhmaṇas, these people fall into terrible hell and are reborn as Cāṇḍālas: those who do not take holy bath regularly; those who do not practise Japa, Homa, worship of Suras, hospitality to other people, performance of Pitṛ Śrāddha during Parvas and also regular Dāna. Again they become very poor and again they commit sins. They stay on in Naraka as a result of the power of the sins. For the same reason they undergo the experience of being born in the transmigratory mortal world that is the primary cause of life. They are reborn as worms and insects.

Those who regularly take the holy bath, those who are devoted to Brāhmaṇas and Devas, those who have conquered the sense-organs, those who invariably take pity on living beings, live in the worlds of Devas. Those who are always pious and who have conquered arrogance and anger live with great delight. Those who are well educated and polite, those who do not harass others, those who utterly exclude other men’s wives and remain contented with their own wives need not be afraid of anything in the world. They are innately pure and devoid of sins.

The sages said:

23-33. O great Brāhmaṇa, what was that sin committed by you in the previous birth? Wherefore was this suffering undergone, the despicable fact of being impaled on the stake?

All of us have assembled here on seeing that you are impaled on the stake. May we see you alive safely taken off from it? Despite the sufferings due to the pain and distress, you seem to be not feeling it at all?

Māṇḍavya said:

What is committed by oneself is to be borne (reaped) by oneself. No one else experiences (the fruits of) either merit or demerit of the previous actions.

Just as a calf finds out its mother from among thousands of cows, so also the previous action comes back to the perpetrator himself.

No one can shake off the actions except by experiencing the good or bad effect thereof. Neither his mother nor his father, neither his brother nor his wife, neither sons nor friends, can be expected to experience them.

I have been asked by you. May my statement be listened to. O Brāhmaṇas, during my earlier years of life, I used to wait long during my baths at the time of removing dirt. Due to my ignorance and puerile nature, the lice were pricked with thorns. When oil was applied over my head and all over the body the lice were not retained by me. I used to comb my hair and prick the lice with thorns. Since sin was committed in regard to them, this result has befallen me.

After spending some more time I will attain unailing liberation. O great sages, you all need not be distressed at all. While experiencing this plight, I shall not curse anyone, nor sin against any one. I shall cause the sin to be wiped off by remaining on the stake for a few days.

O Brāhmaṇas, I shall bear the brunt of the previous action committed by me and experience the result thereof. The king’s misdemeanour should be excused. Let the anger be dispelled.

34-44. On hearing the words of Māṇḍavya, the great sages derived great pleasure and esteemed him much and shouted, “Bravo!”

Nārāyaṇa said:

Where shall I drop this Mantra-charged water intended for the king’s being reduced to ash along with his priests and the kingdom?

Māṇḍavya said:

Preserve this water which is comparable to Kālakūṭa poison. I shall get it cast off into the ocean. The time for the task of Devas has arrived.

Thereupon all those sages beginning with Kaśyapa bowed down to Māṇḍavya. Taking leave of him, they went back to their abodes with great delight.

Even as they were preparing to leave, they were told, “O ascetics, promise to come back to my presence on the fifth day.”

“So, shall it be,” promised Nārada and others. When those leading Brāhmaṇas went out of sight, the female ascetic Śāṇḍilī came there on the second day. She was carrying her husband on her head and wandering about at night.

She did not see the sage (Māṇḍavya). O Yudhiṣṭhira, she was staggering due to the excess of burden. The Brāhmaṇa on the stake was not noticed by her. The chaste lady faltered and slipped down against the knees of the Brāhmaṇa on the stake.

Due to the fall of the faltering lady much pain was caused to the sage. Along with the previous predicament caused by fate, the present situation became will-nigh intolerable. He said: “A further infliction of the fruit of sin! Alas! My pain is great! O sinful lady, I have been further pained by you in a fruitless task. Why? I see you as a wanton woman wandering as you please. Are you a female thief or an ogress?” After saying this and lamenting again and again he fell into a swoon.

45-54. The sages and all the ascetics were agitated in their minds on being aware of the sufferings of the sage (Māṇḍavya). They then asked her, O Yudhiṣṭhira:

“Why do you wander about at night. What is it that you are carrying? Something weighty has been put into this sack. What is the purpose of your arrival here? You have caused pain to this sage, O lady, reeling in misery and going through sorrow after sorrow!

Śāṇḍilī said:

Know ye all that I am neither an Asurī nor a Gandharvī, neither a Piśācī nor a Rākṣasī. Understand that I am a chaste woman loyal to my husband and steadfast in my penance.

I am not overwhelmed with lust or anger, I have no enmity with anyone, nor am I afflicted by jealousy. I did falter and slip down due to ignorance and due to the fact that my eyes could not see properly. It behoves you to pardon me.

For the comfort of my husband, I carry him, as at day time he is troubled by his ailment. Please know that he who is always in the sack is my husband. I bear him, feed him, dress him as he is a patient. Know that this sage is the leader of Śaunaka clan and that I am his wife Śāṇḍilī. Please do not get angry with a chaste woman serving my husband righteously. Treat (us) as guest. It behoves you all to pardon me who have come near saintly persons like you.

The sages said:

Moving about at will, you appear to be unaware of other people’s distress and pain. In the morning as soon as the sun rises your husbad will die. O low-born woman, only your own misery you know and not that of any other person.

Śāṇḍilī became chagrined at those terrible words. Afflicted with grief, she was lost in meditation for a short while. Then her eyes became red with anger. Staring at the sages she spoke these words:

55-60. “When a good person visits the house, he should be accorded the adoration due to a guest with gentle and welcoming words. It seems, I have come to the house of you good people in the guise of one committing an offence. This is the type of hospitality accorded to me by you all! The righteous conduct conducive to heavenly pleasures and salvation was not at all noticed by you. I am a Prājāpatyā (the progeny of a patrichal family) but you see me like a barbarous woman. May you and the deities in heaven see women’s power in me today. My husband will not die. The sun will not rise. The entire universe will be covered with darkness. The night will not come to an end.”

When these words were uttered by her, the sun remained paralysed. Everything fell into gloom. All Vaṣaṭkāras and holy rites remained suspended. There was no Svāhākāra, or Svadhākāra or the rite of five Yajñas. There was no Snāna, Dāna or Japa. All Sandhyā rites stood suspended. For six months the rites of libation and the offer of balls of rice stood unperformed.