Vishṇu at Dharmāraṇya
This is the account of the great gathering of the devas at Dharmāraṇya, the holy region where Bhagavān Vishṇu came. It tells how Yama praised him, how he gave the vara (boon) of settling 18,000 brāhmaṇas there for all time, how the 24 gotras of these brāhmaṇas were set, and how the devas placed yoginīs as the guardians of their families. It is the first account of the brāhmaṇa community of Dharmāraṇya.
The gathering of the devas at Dharmāraṇya
Bhagavān Śiva told Skanda the holy history of Dharmāraṇya before the great gathering took place. At the start of this age, after the Mahāpralaya (the great dissolution) and the return of creation, Bhagavān Vishṇu lay on a banyan leaf on the first waters. Brahmā was born from the lotus on his navel. Brahmā then made all beings, including the 21 Prajāpatis.
Brahmā wondered at the holy qualities of Dharmāraṇya. He went to Vaikuṇṭha and himself invited Bhagavān Vishṇu and all the great devas to that kshetra (holy region). All the great ones gathered at Dharmāraṇya: Brahmā, Bhagavān Śiva, Bhagavān Vishṇu, Yama, Indra, and the whole gathering of devas. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 8)
Yama’s stotra to Vishṇu
When Bhagavān Vishṇu came to Dharmāraṇya, Yama, the lord of dharma, stepped forward in deep respect. Yama had first heard the story of Dharmāraṇya in Brahmā’s assembly. He offered a stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Vishṇu. This is the Yama-Vishṇu Stotra, a lovely hymn that praises Bhagavān Vishṇu as the guardian of all dharma. Bhagavān Vishṇu was very pleased with Yama’s devotion. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 9)
Vishṇu’s vara: eighteen thousand brāhmaṇas
Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased and offered a vara (a boon) to the devas who had gathered and to the kshetra. The great vara he gave was to settle 18,000 brāhmaṇas in Dharmāraṇya for all time. They were arranged in 24 gotras (family lines). Each had its pravaras (the ṛshi names of its ancestors) and its own qualities of learning and conduct.
Bhagavān Vishṇu said that these brāhmaṇas would be kept in the kshetra by the kājeśas (the merchant-rulers). They would keep Vedic learning and yajña (fire ritual) alive in Dharmāraṇya for all time. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 9)
The twenty-four brāhmaṇa gotras
The 24 brāhmaṇa gotras set at Dharmāraṇya, with their ṛshi pravaras, are:
- Bhāradvāja
- Valpa
- Kauśika
- Śuka
- Śāṇḍilya
- Kāśyapa
- Gautama
- Chandama
- Jāturī
- Vātsa
- Vasishṭha
- Dhāraṇa
- Ātreya
- Bhaṇḍila
- Laukara
- Kṛpāyāna
- Upamanya
- Gārya
- Mudgala
- Maushaka
- Puṇyāsana
- Parāśara
- Kauṇḍinya
- Gāvyāsana
Several secondary gotras are also named: Jamadagni, Māṇḍavya, Gārgya, Laukāksha, Śikana (of the Viśvāmitra line), Vātsāyana, Kauśakana, Tāśyapa, Śunaka, Āṅgirasa, Śāṇḍilasa and Ātreyasa.
Each gotra is described with its list of pravaras and its own marks of learning, conduct and nature. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 9)
The Yaksha Jṛmbhara
A Yaksha named Jṛmbhara began to trouble the brāhmaṇas who had been settled in Dharmāraṇya. He harassed them in many ways. The brāhmaṇas turned to the gathering of devas for help. The devas acted and ended the danger.
The yoginīs set up as kula-devīs
To guard each of the 24 brāhmaṇa gotras for all time against such dangers, the devas set up 25 yoginīs as kula-devīs (family devīs), one for the family line of each gotra. Each yoginī has her own name and form. They are the lasting guardian mothers of the brāhmaṇa families of Dharmāraṇya.
The list of kula-devīs is: Śrīmātā, Tāraṇī, Devī, Āśāpūrī, Gotrava, Icchā, Ārtināśinī, Pippalī, Tāraviśa, Jaganmātā, Mahāmātā, Siddha, Bhaṭṭārikā, Kadamba, Vikāramīta, Suvarṇavasuja, Mātaṅgī, Mahādevī, Vāṇī, Mukuṭeśvarī, Bhadrī, Mahāśaktisaṁhārī, Mahābala, Cāmuṇḍā and Mahādevī. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 9)
Sources
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 8–9