Part 9: The story of the weaver

In that city there was a weaver, named Vīra, exceedingly devoted to Viṣṇu. After he had seen Kṛṣṇa and paid homage to him, he ate, but not otherwise. Not being admitted to Mari’s house at that time, standing at the door, he made a pūjā directed to Had day after day. Sometimes he did not eat because he had not seen Viṣṇu. The rains over, Had left his house. All the kings and the miserable Vīra^[1] attended him; and Vāsudeva asked Vīraka, “Why are you emaciated?” The door-keepers told him the circumstances, the cause of emaciation, and Kṛṣṇa, compassionate, gave him free access to his house.

Then Kṛṣṇa went with his retinue to pay homage to Nemi and heard yatidharma (the duties of sādhus), and he said to the Master: “I am not able to bear asceticism, Lord. Nevertheless, let this be my decision: to have initiation taken by others and to approve them. Whoever wishes to become a mendicant, I shall not hinder him and shall hold a departure-festival for him like a son.”

With this resolution, Viṣṇu left; and said to his own marriageable daughters who had come to bow, “Will you be mistresses or slaves?” They told Śārṅgin, “We will be mistresses,” and Śārṅgin said, “In that case take initiation under Nemi, innocent girls.” So he made his daughters, suitable for marriage, become mendicants in turn.

One day one queen said to her daughter Ketumaṭjarī, “Asked by your father, child, say unhesitatingly, ‘I will be a slave, not a mistress, lord.’” When she was suitable for marriage, she went into her father’s presence, sent by her mother. She was asked in the same way by her father and she replied as instructed by her mother.

Kṛṣna thought: “My daughters will wander in the forest of existence and they will experience disrespect everywhere. That is not suitable. Let it be so that others do not say this.” With this thought, Hari said to the weaver Vīra, “Have you done anything unusual?” He said, “I have done nothing unusual,” and Hari said to him, “Nevertheless, consider and tell something.”

Vīra said: “In the past I made a lizard in a jujube fall down, hitting it with a stone, and it died. Water, flowing on the road in the track made by a chariot-wheel, was held back by me stepping in it with my left foot and it flowed far away. Flies that had entered a jar of sizing,^[2] buzzing, were kept imprisoned for a long time by me placing my left hand over the opening.”

On the next day in the council Kṛṣṇa said to the kings, “Sirs, the conduct of Vīraka is not in accordance with his family.” They, saying, “Long live!” began to listen attentively and again Kṛṣṇa said to them: “This weaver is a kṣatriya by whom a red-hooded serpent living in a grove of jujubes was killed with a weapon from the ground. This weaver is a kṣatriya by whom the Gaṅgā, carrying dirty water in a ditch made by a wheel, was restrained with his left foot. This weaver is a kṣatriya by whom a noisy army, living in Kalasīpura^[3] was cheeked with his left hand. He, with clearly heroic practices, is a suitable son-in-law for me.”

He said to Vīraka, “Take Ketumaṭjarī.” Unwilling but ordered by Kṛṣṇa with a frown, Vīraka married his daughter, Ketumaṭjarī, and took her to his house. Ketumaṭjarī reclined on a couch continually and Vīraka carried out her orders day and night. One day Śārṅgin asked him, “Does Ketumaṭjarī carry out your orders?” and Vīraka said, “I carry out her orders.” Kṛṣṇa said to him, “If you do not compel her do all your work, I shall throw you in prison.”

Knowing Kṛṣṇa’s intentions, Vīra went and said to Ketumaṭjarī, “Make a sizing for clothing. Why do you merely sit?” “You, a weaver, do not know (what is proper).” Fearlessly Vīraka beat her saying this angrily with the strings of a weaver’s brush. Weeping, she went to her father and told him her mistreatment. Kṛṣṇa said, “You, giving up mastery, chose servitude.” She said, “Now give me mastery.” Kṛṣṇa said, “Now you arc subject to Vīraka, not to me.” Begged earnestly by her, Kṛṣṇa restrained Vīraka, took her, and had her take initiation under nemi Svāmin.

One day Kṛṣṇa made the homage of the twelve āvarías to all the sādhus, but the other kings did not have strength (enough). Following Vāsudeva, Vīraka made the homage of the twelve āvartas^[4] to all the sādhus after him. Kṛṣṇa said to the Master: “I was not so tired from three hundred and sixty battles^[5] as from that homage.” The Omniscient said: “Kṛṣṇa, you have acquired much merit today, right-belief which arises from destruction of karma,^[6] and the bodymaking karma of a tīrthakṛt.^[7] Age-karma, suitable for the third hell, has been taken by you, having risen from the seventh hell, and at the end you will make it firm.”^[8]

Kṛṣṇa said: “Blessed One, I shall pay homage to you again so that my hellish-age karma will break completely, as before.” The Master said: “That would be material homage of yours from pious conduct, but fruit is obtained only from spiritual homage, not otherwise.” Kṛṣṇa asked about the fruit to Vīraka and the Lord said: “His fruit is bodily austerities. He pays homage in accordance with your wish.” After bowing to the Blessed One, meditating on the Blessed One’s words, Kṛṣṇa and his retinue went to the city Dvārakā.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

I think this is a case of the pejorative -ka.

[2]:

Pāta must be corrected to pāna in accordance with the MSS and 235 below, but ‘sizing’ is a conjecture. It would be suitable for a weaver to have a jar of sizing.

[3]:

With a play on kalaśī, ‘water-jar.’

[4]:

See above, p. 120.

[5]:

Pandit L. B. Gandhi says he has seen allusions to Kṛṣṇa lighting 360 battles. There were 18.000 sādhus in Neminātha’s train and if he did the āvartas to all, as it distinctly says, it would be quite a feat for Kṛṣṇa, to say nothing of Vīra.

[6]:

See I, p. 204.

[7]:

See I, p. 408.

[8]:

See I, pp. 402, 404, 409.