Śrutāvatī’s Tapas
Śrutāvatī was the daughter of the ṛshi Bharadvāja, born through the river Sarasvatī. She did very hard tapas (austerity) with one aim, to win Indra as her husband. She cooked badara (jujube) berries over a fire made from her own legs and did not flinch. Indra came, was pleased, gave her the vara (boon) she wished, and she left her body and went to Indra’s world. The tīrtha (pilgrimage place) called Badara-pācana, “the cooking of jujubes”, is named after this. Within the account is the tapas of Arundhatī, which Indra tells her.
Her birth
King Janamejaya asked about Śrutāvatī’s mother, and the Mahābhārata tells of her birth. The ṛshi Bharadvāja was offering tarpaṇa (water offering) in the river Sarasvatī. He saw the apsarā Ghṛtācī coming in great beauty. His seed was released without his will. He caught it in a cup made of a leaf and kept it. The river Sarasvatī, out of devotion to this great ṛshi, took the seed and carried the child in her womb. In due time she bore a daughter and gave the child to Bharadvāja at a gathering of ṛshis. Bharadvāja performed the birth rites and named her Śrutāvatī. Then he went away to the forests of the Himavat and left her in his āśrama (hermitage).
The tapas
Śrutāvatī grew up in the āśrama and gave herself to tapas with one aim, to win Indra as her husband. She kept strict vows and austerities. At one point in her tapas she took on an act of extreme self-denial. She put her own legs into the fire as fuel, using her flesh and bone as wood, and cooked badara berries over this fire she had made of herself.
The Mahābhārata tells that she showed no pain, her face did not change and her mind was undisturbed. She held to her aim with complete steadiness, and went on cooking the berries without flinching even as her legs burned.
Indra appears and gives the vara
Indra, the lord of the three worlds, saw this rare deed and was amazed and pleased. He appeared before her in his own form. He said: “O auspicious one! I am pleased with your bhakti (devotion), your tapas and your vow. So your heart’s wish will surely be met. You will leave this body and live with me in svarga. This tīrtha too will bear the name Badara-pācana, ‘the cooking of jujubes’. It will destroy all pāpa (sin) and stay in the world for ever. All brāhmaṇa ṛshis will bathe here.”
He then told her the account of Arundhatī, which is given below, and said: “O great-souled one! As Bhagavān Mahādeva gave a special vara to Arundhatī, so I too give you a special vara.” He also declared: “One who stays at this tīrtha for a single night with a steady heart, offering tarpaṇa to the devas, will obtain the fruit of 58 years of brahmacarya.”
When he had spoken, Indra went away. At once a great rain of flowers fell, with divine flowers and divine scents, and the deva-dundubhis (drums of the devas) sounded. Pure, sweet winds blew. Śrutāvatī left her body and became Indra’s wife.
Within the account: Arundhatī’s tapas
Indra himself tells Śrutāvatī the account of Arundhatī, as another example of tapas endured for a wished-for vara.
The Saptarshis (the seven great ṛshis) had left Arundhatī behind and gone to the Himavat region to gather fruits and roots. While they were away, a drought of twelve years came. The ṛshis made their home in the forests of the Himavat. Arundhatī stayed firm in her own āśrama, doing tapas without a break.
Bhagavān Mahādeva came to her in the form of a brāhmaṇa and asked for food. She said: “Brāhmaṇa, there is no cooked food. But there are badara berries here. I will cook them for you.” Bhagavān Mahādeva said, “Do so.” She put the berries on the fire, and as she cooked them, Bhagavān Śiva began to tell her wondrous divine kathās (accounts). She listened, absorbed, while the berries simmered. Twelve years went by. The drought ended. The ṛshis came back with fruits. What had felt like one day had been twelve years, through the power of Bhagavān Śiva’s kathās and the depth of her focus. The berries were still cooking, but she had felt no hunger, thirst or tiredness.
When the ṛshis came back, Bhagavān Mahādeva showed his true form and praised her tapas before the gathering. He said that her tapas in this one matter went beyond all that the ṛshis had done in their twelve years in the Himavat. He blessed her and returned to his loka (world).
The ṛshis were amazed at Arundhatī, who had stayed without food or rest for twelve years in undisturbed absorption. She reached the highest siddhi (attainment).
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapter 48