Śrāddha at Bhāradvāja’s Āśrama

A śrāddha (a rite for the departed) was held at the āśrama of the ṛshi Bhāradvāja for Queen Kauśalyā. During it an old brāhmaṇa with a deformed body arrived unasked. He was Bhagavān Vishṇu in disguise. The brāhmaṇa Akatha also gave a teaching there on three kinds of worship materials. The chapter adds that Bhagavān Śiva came to live at Rāma’s palace for three years.

This happened after the Aśvamedha, while Rāma was still ruling Ayodhyā. It is told in the Pātāla Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.

The śrāddha at Bhāradvāja’s āśrama

The śrāddha was done at the āśrama of the revered ṛshi Bhāradvāja, for the puṇya (merit) of Queen Kauśalyā. Bhāradvāja’s āśrama was one of the most sacred in the region of the Gaṅgā, and a śrāddha done there carried great puṇya. The brāhmaṇas gathered for the rites that would bring well-being and moksha (liberation) to the queen.

At the end of the ceremony the invited brāhmaṇas were being honoured with food and gifts, as is the custom (atithi-sevā) after a śrāddha. Then an uninvited guest came. He was an old brāhmaṇa with a very deformed look. His body was bent and uneven. He did not look like the learned guest one would expect at so holy a gathering. Yet by the rules of dharma for a śrāddha, no guest, invited or not, may be turned away from the feast. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 117)

Vishṇu in disguise

The old deformed brāhmaṇa was honoured and seated with the other guests. It then became known that this plain figure was Bhagavān Vishṇu himself. He had taken this form to test the hospitality and to bless the occasion with his presence. The śrāddha at Bhāradvāja’s āśrama thus became a time when Bhagavān Vishṇu was present in person, hidden in the form of the most unlikely guest. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 117)

Akatha’s teaching on worship materials

During the gathering the brāhmaṇa Akatha taught about right and wrong conduct in worship. He named three kinds of offering, according to how the materials were obtained.

Materials gained justly. These are earned by one’s own work, received as a fair gift, or gathered without harming anyone. Worship done with them carries its full puṇya. The one worshipped accepts the offering fully, and the whole fruit goes to the worshipper.

Stolen materials. Flowers, fruits, ghee, incense or other offerings may be taken without the owner’s consent. Then the pāpa of theft clings to the act of worship. Worship done with stolen materials does not give the expected puṇya, and the pāpa of the theft spoils the rite. A stolen offering is not a pure offering, however sincere the worship.

Spoiled or faulty materials. The third kind is worship with materials that are defective, unclean or ruined. This may come from careless handling, contact with impurity or a breaking of ritual rules. Such materials are not a complete and worthy offering, and the worship lacks the full power it would have with well-prepared materials.

Akatha’s teaching was that how worship materials are gained and prepared is not a side matter. It is part of the worship itself. The sincerity of the worshipper cannot fully make up for a fault in the materials. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 117)

Śiva’s three years at Rāma’s palace

The chapter also records that Bhagavān Śiva himself came to Rāma’s palace in Ayodhyā and lived there for three years, during Rāma’s rule. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 117)

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 117