Saubhāgyā (River)

Saubhāgyā · saubhāgyā, “good fortune in marriage”

Saubhāgyā, “good fortune in marriage”, is a holy river that joins the Gaṅgā, the Gautamī (the Godāvarī). It flowed out of the body of Ilā when she bathed in the Gautamī and King Ila regained his manhood by the grace of Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Gaurī. With it flowed two other rivers, Nṛtyā (“dance”) and Gītā (“song”): the arts the Yakshiṇī had taught Ilā left her body with the water and entered the Gaṅgā. Brahmā tells Nārada the account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. A holy bath and dāna at these three confluences give the reward of the kingdom of the devas.

How the river came to be

King Ila of the line of Vivasvān, of the family of the Ikshvākus, went hunting in the forest of the Himālaya and stayed in the cave of Samanyu, lord of the yakshas, whose yakshas he had slain. To draw him out, the Yakshiṇī, Samanyu’s wife, took the form of a hind and entered the forest Umāvana, and Ila followed her. Long ago Maheśvara had declared that any man who came within that forest would become a woman, and so the king became Ilā. The Yakshiṇī told her not to strive to regain manhood, and taught her the graces and arts of a woman: dance, song, charm and the rest. Ilā met Budha, and their son was Purūravas.

When Purūravas learned all that had happened, he asked his mother what he should do for her, and Ilā said she wished for the excellent state of manhood. Budha told their son that the śāpa would be removed only by the grace of Śambhu and Umā: “Go to the Gautamī. The glorious Śiva, who removes śāpas and grants varas, dwells there always with Umā.” So Purūravas, Ilā and Budha came from Himavat to the Gautamī. They bathed there, performed tapas for a short while, and praised Devī Gaurī and Śaṅkara with three stotras, first Budha, then Ilā, then Purūravas.

The great Devī said: “What do you wish for? You have done what is hard even for the devas.” Purūravas asked: “King Ila entered your forest unknowingly, O Ambikā. Forgive him and grant him manhood.” The Devī, who abides by the wish of Bhava, said, “So be it,” and Bhagavān Śiva, ever devoted to the words of the Devī, said: “Let this king regain his manhood merely by a holy plunge here.”

As Ilā took her holy dip, water flowed out from her body. Whatever she had received from the Yakshiṇī, dance, song, graceful charm and the rest, entered the waters of the Gaṅgā with that steady flow, and three rivers issued forth: Nṛtyā, Gītā and Saubhāgyā. These too joined the Gaṅgā.

The phala

• The three confluences of Nṛtyā, Gītā and Saubhāgyā with the Gaṅgā are very holy. A holy bath and dāna there give the reward of the kingdom of the devas.
• Sixteen thousand tīrthas arose on both banks of the Gautamī: where King Ila performed his yajñas, where he met his sons after regaining manhood, and where these rivers given by the Yakshiṇī joined the Gaṅgā. Bhagavān Śambhu is called Ileśvara there. A holy bath, dāna and the like in these tīrthas give the reward of all yajñas.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 38

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 38