Part 12: Episode of Bhāyala Svāmin

One day the king and the hunchback gave the sandalwood statue made by Vidyunmālin to Bhāyala Svāmin, a merchant from the city Vidiśā, for worship. This was an important thing for them always devoted to sense-objects. One day Bhāyala saw two men with bodies like masses of light and in their hands paraphernalia for making a pūjā. When he saw them pleasing to the sight and like friends from birth, Bhāyala asked, ‘Who are you?’ and they replied: ‘We are Nāgakumāras, named Kambala and Śambala, living in Pātāla. At the command of Indra Dharaṇa we have come to the shrine to worship the god of god’s statue made by Vidyunmālin and for this reason we have the paraphernalia for worship. By a path through the water of the river Vidiśā we constantly dive and come up here like swans.’

Bhāyala said: ‘Gods, show me, who have had recourse to the Blessed One, your houses in Pātāla today. By your favor let my desire to worship the eternal statues there be fulfilled. The sight of gods is not in vain.’ So Bhāyala was conducted by them, who had agreed, by that same path, leaving his pūjā half-finished from impatience. There Bhāyala worshipped the statues of the eternal Arhats. From pleasure at that Dharaṇa said to him, ‘Ask a favor.’ Bhāyala said: ‘Let it be so that my name is known everywhere. Verily, an eternal name is the only manly thing for men.’ Indra Dharaṇa said: ‘King Caṇḍapradyota will make a divine city there with your name. Because you came with a pūjā half-made, in the course of time the image, actually concealed, will be worshipped by heretics. Saying, “This is an Āditya named Bhāyala Svāmin,” they will set up outside a duplicate of it. Then the whole people, saying, “O Sūrya, Bhāyala Svāmin,” will perform a pūjā. Even deceit well arranged is not fruitless.’

Bhāyala replied: ‘Alas! I am wicked. Shame on me. A calamity has happened; that is a sin committed by me, that the statue of the god of gods will be worshipped by the wicked by means of a duplicate which they made and called an Āditya by my name.’ Dharaṇa replied: ‘Do not grieve. What difference does it make sinless one? For this is an amusement practiced by the time of duḥṣamā.’ Then Bhāyala was at once set down in the same place by the Nāgakumāras who conducted him by the same path, like one who had seen a dream.