Līlāvatī’s Lavaṇācala Dāna
This account is from the Padma Mahā Purāṇa. Līlāvatī was a courtesan and a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva. At the holy tīrtha of Pushkara she gave a lavaṇācala dāna, the gift of a mountain of salt, with trees of gold. Her goldsmith servant made the golden trees and refused all pay, for he saw the work as service to his guru. The Purāṇa tells what each of them became.
The courtesan and her great dāna
In an earlier age there lived a courtesan named Līlāvatī. She was a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva. Her bhakti (devotion) to Parameśvara never shook, and her heart was set on dharma, whatever her station in life.
When she came to the holy tīrtha of Pushkara, she gave the lavaṇācala dāna, a mountain of salt hung with golden trees. She followed the rules of the śāstras exactly. This dāna is counted among the forms of daśa-dhenu (the gift of ten cows) and śaila-dāna (the gift of mountains) that the Purāṇas describe.
The goldsmith’s service
A śūdra goldsmith served in Līlāvatī’s house. She gave him the task of making the golden trees and golden flowers for the dāna. He did the work with rare skill and devotion, shaping each tree and flower with care. In his heart this was not a job but a sacred duty, a form of dharma-karma (work of dharma) and guru-śushrūshā (service to a guru). So he would not take any wages. He thought the service was reward enough. This giving of himself, done with no hope of return, was itself tapas.
His wife made life hard for him in this time. Yet through poverty and trouble at home, he stayed true to his word and pure in heart.
The fruits of the dāna and the service
Līlāvatī finished the lavaṇācala dāna in full, as the śāstras direct. All her pāpa fell away. She lived a long time and then went to Śivaloka, the home of Parameśvara.
The goldsmith was born again as a king of great radiance, bright as the sun, and became lord of the seven islands (sapta-dvīpādhipati). His queen in that life was the same Līlāvatī, reborn as Bhānumatī. She was very beautiful and very fortunate, and her grace was equal to that of Lakshmī.
Vasishṭha Maharshi told this account to the king, Dharmamūrti. The king had asked why his body shone with such great tejas (radiance). Vasishṭha explained that the radiance came from the deeds of his earlier birth, described above: his own selfless service, and his queen’s devotion to Bhagavān Śiva shown in the dāna at Pushkara.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 21