Vishṇuśarmā and the Pārasamaṇi
Vishṇuśarmā · vishṇu-śarmā, “he whose refuge is Vishṇu”
Vishṇuśarmā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vishṇuśarmā.
Vishṇuśarmā and the Pārasamaṇi is told in the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, where Bṛhaspati tells Indra of the Sūrya of the month of Phālguna. Vishṇuśarmā was a brāhmaṇa master of the Veda and a bhakta of Bhagavān Vishṇu who lived by bhikshā (alms). A guest lent his wife a pārasamaṇi, the gem whose touch turns iron to gold. When Vishṇuśarmā saw the heap of gold, he threw it and the gem into the Sarayū. On the river bank he showed the guest many such gems, and the yati, receiving auspicious knowledge from him, attained moksha.
The guest and the gem
Bṛhaspati said: long ago there was a brāhmaṇa named Vishṇuśarmā, a master of the Veda. With a glad mind he did pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu, who holds all the devas in himself, and so the devas also honoured him. He lived by bhikshā, and he had a wife but no son.
One day a guest came to his house. Seeing the wife’s poor condition and her humility, that kind-hearted mahātmā gave her a pārasamaṇi for three days, and said that at its touch even iron becomes gold. “In these days I shall bathe in the Sarayū and return to you,” he said. After he left, the brāhmaṇī made plenty of gold with that gem.
Vishṇuśarmā refuses the gold
Meanwhile Vishṇuśarmā came home. Seeing his wife possessed of a boundless heap of gold, he said: “Go where the master of that pārasamaṇi has gone. I am akiñcana (one who owns nothing), a bhakta of Bhagavān Vishṇu. For fear of thieves and robbers I do not gather wealth.” At this his pativratā wife was afraid, handed the pārasamaṇi to him and turned again to serving him. The brāhmaṇa Vishṇuśarmā threw all that wealth and the gem into the Gharghara-Sarayū river.
The yati on the bank of the Ghāgharā
After three days the guest came and asked the brāhmaṇī: “Did you not make gold with the pārasamaṇi?” She said: “My husband took it in anger and threw it in the Ghāgharā. Since that day, for want of iron vessels, I have somehow been cooking food in the fire itself.”
Hearing this, the yati was astonished, and he stayed there all day. At evening when the brāhmaṇa came, he said in a harsh voice: “Brāhmaṇa, you appear to be deluded by daiva (fate), for you are poor and yet do not wish to gather wealth. So return my gem at once, or I shall give up my life.”
Vishṇuśarmā said: “Go to the bank of the Ghāgharā. There you will find your gem.” Saying this, he went there with the yati and showed him many pārasamaṇis covered with many thorns.
The yati bowed to the brāhmaṇa and said humbly: “I performed ārādhanā of Bhagavān Śiva well for twelve years, and then I obtained this auspicious gem. Best of vipras, by your mere darśana I, a greedy one, have today obtained many pārasamaṇis.” Saying this, he received auspicious knowledge from Vishṇuśarmā and attained moksha.
Vishṇuśarmā in the month of Phālguna
Vishṇuśarmā lived on earth for a thousand years, performed ārādhanā of Bhagavān Sūrya and attained Vishṇuloka. That same Vishṇuśarmā, bearing Vaishṇava tejas, shines through the three lokas in the month of Phālguna, accomplishing the work of the devas.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 10
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 10