Dvisahasri of Tembesvami (Summary and Study)
by Upadhyay Mihirkumar Sudhirbhai | 2012 | 54,976 words
This page relates ‘Dialogue between the married couple and the Holy Master’ of the study of the Dvisahasri by Tembesvami:—a Sanskrit epic poem (mahakavya) narrating the legend and activities of Lord Dattatreya, including details on his divine sports and incarnations. Also known as Datta, he is considered one of the Holy Masters in the Natha cult imparting spiritual knowledge and adequate practice to the aspirant.
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Chapter 17 - Dialogue between the married couple and the Holy Master
[Note: This page represents a summary English translation of the Dvisāhasrī by Ṭembesvāmī, chapter 17.—Now in order to destroy the evil actions the collection of 5 chapters (14-18) is being depicted for evoking detachment for those whose minds are impure.—In the 17th chapter He speaks about the greatness of the Rudrākṣa beads and the ashes followed by women being unqualified in chanting the Vedic formulas as well as the vow of Monday.]
17/01-03: Siddha spoke: The chaste wife asks who was the monk who gave the Rudrākṣa -beads and ashes?. Who was he? What is the importance of the Rudrākṣa -beads? (02-03).
17/04-15: Holy Master spoke: It was a test of her intention. He talks about the Rudrākṣa-beads that they are the ornaments of Lord Śiva. They bestow immortality and remove the sins. (05-08). One should put on a fixed number of the Rudrākṣa-beads[1] (09). He narrates the story of king Bhadrasena of Kashmir and the son of his minister who used to put on Rudrākṣa-beads since childhood and the reason is given by Parāśara through the story of a chaste harlot of Nandigrāma that she had a monkey and a cock decked with the Rudrākṣa-beads (10-12). Lord Śiva in the guise of a merchant wearing the jewelled bracelet and Śivaliṅga comes to test her (13). She asks them in lieu of being a chaste wife for three days (14). The Lord doubts about her truthfulness (15).
17/16-17: The harlot spoke: She promises to be a chaste wife.
17/18-46: The merchant spoke: He gives her bracelet and Śivaliṅga . She serves him, but during that time there is fire and the Śivali ṅga , the monkey and the cock are burnt. The merchant offers himself in the fire and she gets ready to follow him, just then Lord Śiva reveals Himself and being pleased offers a boon (19-24). She asks for the liberation (25). The monkey and the cock are also released, because they were devotees in the previous life (26).
Sage Parāśara continues that the prince would though die, Lord is the saviour (27-28). As per the dialogue between the Creator and the god of Death, Indra and Yama confer the fruit on the pious and the sinful The god of Death throws the sinners in hells. (29-31). The Rudrādhyāya of the Yajurveda is a sin-destroyer hymn (32-33). Yama may punish those who recite it disregarding the procedure (34-35). The king is asked to pray the Brahmins to perform a sacred bath on the Śivaliṅga for the longevity of his son. The king does so and his son is relieved from the adversities (36-39). The king pays respects to the Brahmins and to Parāśara also (40). Even sage Nārada arrives there and being asked by the king, reports that the god of Death had come and was defeated by Lord Śiva’s servants who inform about Citragupta’s writing of the life of a short term to be extended upto 10,000 years. Thus the prince is saved by Parāśara (41-45).
The Holy Master concludes with the remark about the greatness of holy places and the Rudrākṣa -beads (46).
17/47-48: Sāvitrī spoke: She requests for a sacred formula.
17/49-73: Holy Master spoke: Women are unquaqlified and if instructed it would be harmful to the instructor like Śukrācārya who during the war between the gods and the demons revives the killed demons. Indra reports Bṛhaspati who with a desire to receive the sacred formula, sends his son Kaca to Śukrācārya (50-55). Kaca goes there as a student (56). Śukrācārya’s daughter Devayānī is infatuated by Kaca (58). Demons realize his fraud and kill him three times, but Devayānī asks every time her father to revive him (59-62). Lastly the demons burn Kaca, mix his ashes in wine and give to Śukrācārya who drinks it (63). After kowing through the meditation when Śukrācārya shows his inability to revive Kaca any more, she requests him to instruct the formula to her so that she can revive Kaca and then to him (64-66). He does so. Kaca is revived (67). After she recites the formula and survives Śukrācārya, the formula becomes powerless (68). Kaca wants to go home (69). Devayānī requests him to marry but he believes that she is his sister because she has saved him as a sister and a mother (70-71). But she curses him to forget the formula. Kaca also curses her that a Brahmin won’t marry her (72). Śukrācārya gets dejected. Hence any sacred formula is not to be instructed to a woman (73).
17/74-75: Sāvitrī spoke: She requests to instruct for any vow (for a woman).
17/76-94: The Holy Master: The vow of the Monday is the best. A lady named Sīmantini gets her husband back by the power of the vow of Monday (77-78AB). King Citravarmā gets a girl by the grace of Lord Śiva. One of the astrologers predicts that she will be a widow in childhood. The girl asks Maitreyī who declares the means She says that Lord Śiva protects through the vow of Monday, but becomes angry if the vow is broken (81-83). Maitreyī enumerates the rewards offering different materials. The girl practises the vow (84- 86). The king gives her in marriage to Candrā ṅgada (87). The king gives him the necessary things (88). But Candrāṅgada dies while sporting in river Yamuna. She wants to follow her husband. She is not allowed to so, because the body of her dead husband is not found (89-90). She continues the vow (91). On the other side Candrā ṅgada’s father Indrasena is imprisoned by an enemy king and he loses the kingdom (92). The serpent girls have taken Candrāṅgada to Nāga-world, king Vāsuki asks about him (93-94).
17/95-98: Candrā ṅgada spoke: He tells everything and adds that he is lucky that he has seen him, as their family deity is Lord Śiva.
17/99-100: Vāsuki spoke: He may stay there and enjoy the divine pleasures.
17/101-105: Candrāṅgada spoke: He expresses his worry that his family may consider him dead and may die (102). Vāsuki allows him to return (103). When he reaches on the bank of river Yamunā, he sees a queen without any marital signs and asks her identity. She talks through her friend (104-105).
17/106-118: The female friend: She introduces her as Sīmantini and tells every thing adding that she is observing the vow of the Monday (107-108). Sīmantini is suspicious, but he assures her about the return of her husband within three days (109-110). As soon as Candrā ṅgada conveys his arrival to the enemy king, he frees Candrāṅgada‘s father (111-112). Candrā ṅgada comes to the city, asks permission to go to his father-in-law to remove his wife’s grief (113-114). All are happy thereafter (115).
The Holy Masters concludes with the greatness of the vow of the Monday. Sāvitrī and her husband practise the vow, visit Holy Master every year and attain worldly pleasures and liberation finally (116- 117). In this manner the Holy Master sanctifies the world with His Divine Sports (118).