Vidāruṇa and the Vetravatī

Chapter 134 of the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of King Vidāruṇa of the city of Campaka. He hated Bhagavān Vishṇu and lived against dharma, and he fell ill with leprosy. One day, while hunting, he drank water from the Vetravatī river because he was thirsty. The leprosy left him at once, and devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu rose in his heart.

The character of King Vidāruṇa

In the city of Campaka ruled a king named Vidāruṇa. He was wicked in form and in conduct. He troubled his people. He was without dharma, adharma itself in a body. He used to speak against Bhagavān Vishṇu. He did not respect the devas or the brāhmaṇas. He was hostile to the four āśramas (stages of life). He condemned the Vedas and was drawn to doctrines opposed to them. He wronged the wives of other men and was cruel at heart. Because he had spoken against brāhmaṇas, leprosy struck him.

The meeting with the river

One day King Vidāruṇa went hunting in a forest with his companions around him. In the chase thirst troubled him. He got down from his horse and drank water from the Vetravatī river. He did not know that the river was holy. He had no devotion. He had no wish to worship or to purify himself. He drank only because he was thirsty.

Yet the leprosy went away at once. His mind also became clear and calm. From that moment devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu rose in him of its own accord.

A new life

From the day he met the Vetravatī, King Vidāruṇa bathed in the river regularly. He became spotless and fair, and his character changed. He enjoyed the pleasures of life in a righteous way. He performed many yajñas (fire rituals) and gave gifts to brāhmaṇas as dharma asks. At the end of his life he reached the position of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

What Mahādeva teaches

Mahādeva tells this account to Pārvatī as part of the māhātmya (glory) of the Vetravatī. The river’s power to purify does not depend on anything in the one who comes. An outcast, a person who condemns the Vedas, or even a killer of a brāhmaṇa is freed from pāpa (sin) by bathing in the Vetravatī. This is most true at its meeting with the Śābhramatī. The healing of King Vidāruṇa shows that the Vetravatī asks for no intention, no worth and no earlier merit from those who come to its waters. It purifies by touch alone.

The Vetravatī has its origin in the tank of the asura Vṛtra.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 134