Sumati and Mālinī
The Nārada Mahā Purāṇa tells of Sumati, a righteous king of the Soma-vaṃśa (the lunar dynasty) in the Kṛta-yuga, and his queen Satyamatī. In an earlier birth they were a hunter named Mālinī and a woman named Kokila, both of very bad conduct. One night, without meaning to, they cleaned and repaired a ruined Vishṇu temple and danced before Bhagavān Vishṇu’s image. That act wiped out their past karma (the fruit of earlier deeds), and Bhagavān Vishṇu’s own messengers took them to Vishṇu-loka.
Sumati, the king who loved Hari
In the Kṛta-yuga, in the Soma-vaṃśa, there reigned a king named Sumati. He was a cakravartī (a king who rules the whole earth) and held sole rule over the seven dvīpas (island-continents). He was deeply truthful, of pure lineage, and ready to serve every guest (atithi-sevā). He had every auspicious mark, he had no pride (ahaṃkāra), he looked on all beings alike, he was grateful, and his fame lasted.
His wife Satyamatī was equally great. She was a pativratā (a wife wholly devoted to her husband).
The king and queen spent every day in Hari-pūjā (worship of Bhagavān Vishṇu). They remembered their past births. On every dvādaśī tithi (the twelfth day of the lunar fortnight), Sumati raised a great dhvaja (flag) at the Vishṇu temple with his own hands. Satyamatī spent her time dancing happily and singing softly in the temple grounds. Their conduct was so fine that even the devas sang their praise.
The ṛshi Vibhāṇḍaka once came to the kingdom with his disciples, drawn by the couple’s fame. Sumati welcomed him with full honour. Vibhāṇḍaka asked why, out of all the ways of serving Hari (Hari-sevā), they kept up two in particular: raising the flag (dhvajāropaṇa) and dancing in the temple (nṛtya). Sumati then told him the story of his past life.
The past life of Mālinī and Kokila
Sumati said: “In my last birth I was a śūdra named Mālinī, of the worst character. I stole temple property. I killed brāhmaṇas and cows. I always spoke harshly, I kept bad company, and I was given to many vices. My own relatives drove me out, and I fled to the forest in grief. I lived by hunting and by robbing travellers.”
“One day I was tormented by heat, hunger and thirst. In the empty forest I came upon a ruined Vishṇu temple. Near it was a lake full of birds, fruits and flowers. I drank the water, ate the fallen fruit, and made the ruined temple my home. I patched its broken walls. I mended the fallen parts with wood, vines and leaves. I cleaned the floor and plastered it. I lived there for twenty years as a hunter.”
“One day a woman came there. Her name was Kokila, and she was from a nishāda family of the Vindhya region. She too had been cast out by her kin after a loose life, and her husband had died, leaving her alone. I gave her food and water, and she stayed with me. For ten years we lived together in the forest, eating meat and forest fruits.”
“One night we both drank heavily. Quite drunk, we entered the temple. We ate meat there. We forgot our clothes and our shame, and we danced and laughed before the image of Bhagavān Vishṇu. At that very moment, because our prārabdha karma (the karma that had begun to bear fruit) had run out, the Yamadūtas (Yama’s messengers) arrived with chains in their hands. They had come to take us to the terrible judgment of Yama.”
The dispute between the Yamadūtas and the Vishṇudūtas
The fierce Yamadūtas had just seized the pair when the Vishṇudūtas (Bhagavān Vishṇu’s messengers) arrived. They had four arms and carried the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and padma (lotus). They shone like a thousand suns, wore crowns and garlands, and their brilliance lit every direction. They faced the Yamadūtas.
The Vishṇudūtas said: “O cruel ones! You act without discernment. These two are dear to Hari, so they are free from pāpa (sin). Release them.”
The Yamadūtas said: “These two are mahā-pāpins (people of great pāpa). Dharmarāja must judge them.”
The Vishṇudūtas said: “An assembly that judges dharma is touched by adharma when it fails in viveka (right discernment). Listen to what these two did. They cleaned the temple of Hari. They repaired its walls and floor and plastered it. They lit a lamp, and this woman danced before Bhagavān Vishṇu. One who lives even one muhūrta in Hari’s temple reaches the highest state (parama-pada). What then of those who lived there for thirty-two years? They swept and mopped the floor. They repaired what was broken. They poured water. They lit lamps. How can such people go to naraka (hell)? Even Hari-sevā done without intention removes all pāpa. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself sent us to protect them. Release them at once.”
The Vishṇudūtas cut the chains. They placed the couple in a divine vimāna (celestial chariot) and took them to Vishṇu-pada. There the two enjoyed every divine pleasure for countless deva-varshas (years of the devas). Then they were born again in the world of mortals, Mālinī as Sumati and Kokila as Satyamatī. They were born with wealth, virtue and divine grace, and they kept the memory of their past lives.
What Sumati taught
Sumati ended: “We received all this for an act done in delusion and drunkenness, without śraddhā (faith) and without intention. If even such unknowing Hari-sevā gives such immeasurable fruit, what can be said of loving worship done with full faith and bhakti (devotion)? That is why I raise the flag, and that is why Satyamatī dances in the presence of Bhagavān Vishṇu. These are the very acts that saved us in our past life.”
The Nārada Purāṇa gives this account to teach the following:
- Even one moment of unknowing Hari-sevā is greater than ritual done on purpose.
- Cleaning, repairing and keeping up Vishṇu temples is among the highest acts of puṇya (merit).
- Raising a flag (dhvajāropaṇa) and dancing in the temple (nṛtya) are named as acts that can destroy even the worst stored-up karma.
- Bhagavān Vishṇu’s care for his bhaktas goes beyond all ritual rules and the law of karma.
Vibhāṇḍaka heard all this and praised the couple warmly. Then he returned to his āśrama (hermitage).
Sources
- Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Poorvardha, Chapter 80