Padmā and Pippalāda

Padmā was the daughter of King Anaraṇya and the wife of the ṛshi Pippalāda. The Śiva Purāṇa tells of her in the Pārvatī Khaṇḍa. Vasishṭha tells it to Himavān and Menā when the Saptarshis come to ask for Pārvatī’s hand for Bhagavān Śiva. There are two parts. In the first, Anaraṇya gives Padmā to Pippalāda and later reaches Śivaloka. In the second, the deva Dharma comes to Padmā in disguise to test her devotion to her husband.

The setting

The Saptarshis visited the palace of Himavān to arrange the marriage of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī. Vasishṭha took on the task of advising Himavān and Menā, who did not want to agree. As part of his advice he told them of King Anaraṇya and his daughter Padmā. He wished to show the great puṇya (merit) of giving a daughter to a worthy husband, above all when that husband is a great tapasvī (one who does tapas). (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 33 to 35)

King Anaraṇya

Anaraṇya was a strong and just king. The ṛshi Pippalāda came to him, and the king gave his daughter Padmā in marriage to the ṛshi. The account does not say more here about why he gave her.

After he had given his daughter, Anaraṇya left the life of the world and went to the forest to do tapas. By his austerities and by the puṇya of giving his daughter to so great a ṛshi, Anaraṇya reached Śivaloka, the highest realm of Bhagavān Śiva’s grace. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 34)

Vasishṭha made this point to Himavān: to give a daughter to a great receiver, even one whose outward life looks hard, is a sādhanā (spiritual practice) of the highest kind, and it leads the father to moksha.

Padmā the devoted wife

After her marriage to Pippalāda, Padmā lived as a pativratā, a wife wholly devoted to her husband, of the highest kind. The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa tells of one time when the deva Dharma himself tested her devotion.

Dharma’s test

Dharma came to Padmā in disguise. In this form he could test how firm her devotion was. He put before her different situations and provocations, to find out whether her duty as a pativratā was without any condition, or held only in certain cases.

Padmā passed every test. Her devotion was complete. She did not waver and she did not give way. She did not look for easy ways out. She met the tests with a clear and pure mind.

At one point the disguised Dharma went too far. Padmā then pronounced a śāpa (a curse) on the figure before her. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 35)

Dharma shows himself and blesses Padmā

Dharma then showed his true form. Padmā learned that the one she had been speaking to, and had cursed, was Dharma himself. He was not angry about the śāpa. He was full of admiration for her steadiness and the purity of her devotion.

Dharma gave Padmā many blessings. The account does not list them here. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 35)

The time for the wedding

After telling these accounts, Vasishṭha turned to his own work as the priest of the party. He fixed the right time for the wedding of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī.

• Month: Mārgaśīrsha, also called Agrahāyaṇa (November to December)
• Day: Somavāra (Monday)
• Nakshatra (lunar star): Rohiṇī

Vasishṭha declared this to be the best time for the wedding of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 35)

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 33 to 35 (the story of Anaraṇya in Chapter 34, and Dharma’s test and the wedding time in Chapter 35)