Śobhana
Śobhana was the son of King Candrasena and the husband of Candrabhāgā, daughter of King Mucukunda. He is the main person of the Rāmā Ekādaśī account in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa. He was weak in body and could not bear hunger. Yet while staying at his father-in-law’s house, he decided to keep the Ekādaśī fast, because the rule of the house was strict. He died at sunrise the next morning from the strain of the fast.
The power of the vow, though he kept it without full faith, took him to a splendid divine city on the peak of Mount Mandara. Apsarās (celestial nymphs) and gandharvas attended him there. But the city was unsteady, because his vow lacked sincere faith. It became lasting only when his wife Candrabhāgā came and added her many years of faithful Ekādaśī puṇya (merit).
Who he was
Śobhana was the son of King Candrasena. He was married to Candrabhāgā, daughter of the royal ṛshi Mucukunda. Mucukunda was known for his strict Ekādaśī vow, and for his friendship with Indra, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera and Vibhīshaṇa. The Padma Purāṇa tells this in Uttara Khaṇḍa, chapter 60.
The vow that cost his life
Śobhana was visiting Mucukunda’s house when Rāmā Ekādaśī came. This is the Ekādaśī of the dark fortnight of Kārtika. Mucukunda’s rule was strict. When the drum announced the Ekādaśī, every living being in the kingdom, not only people but horses, elephants and their young, had to go without food and water.
Śobhana was very weak by nature and could not bear hunger. He heard the drum and asked Candrabhāgā what he should do. She told him plainly that no one in that house ate on the day of Bhagavān Vishṇu. She urged him to make his mind firm. Śobhana decided: “Whatever is ordained by destiny will take place.” He kept the fast, though he knew his body could not bear it.
Death and rise
Śobhana fasted through the Ekādaśī day in great distress. That night the devotees kept vigil with joy, but his night was full of pain. At sunrise the next morning Śobhana died. He had hardly lived through the Ekādaśī day before his body gave way.
King Mucukunda cremated him with the honours due to a king. Candrabhāgā did not follow her husband in death. She did his funeral rites and stayed in her father’s house.
Yet the power of the Rāmā Ekādaśī vow, even though he kept it in great pain and without full faith, took Śobhana to a splendid divine city on the peak of Mount Mandara. It had large houses with golden pillars, gems, lapis lazuli and crystals of many beautiful shapes. Gandharvas praised him and apsarās attended him. Śobhana sat on a throne with a white umbrella held over his head, and his crown and earrings shone.
The unsteady city
The brāhmaṇa Somaśarman, on a tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), reached the peak of Mandara and saw the splendid city. He knew Śobhana and greeted him. Śobhana rose in respect and asked about his father-in-law, about Candrabhāgā and about the state of the city.
Somaśarman asked how he had won such a city. Śobhana said: “In the dark fortnight of Kārtika falls the Ekādaśī called Rāmā. By fasting on that day I have won this city. O best brāhmaṇa, do that by which it will be stable, because at present this city is unstable.”
Somaśarman asked why. Śobhana said: “I kept this best vow without faith. So I think it is unstable. The very beautiful Candrabhāgā is Mucukunda’s daughter. Tell her this account. Then it will be stable.”
The city made lasting
Candrabhāgā came to the city. The ṛshi Vāmadeva had made her body divine by Vedic consecration, and she had the strength of her own lifelong Ekādaśī puṇya. Śobhana was filled with joy and seated her on his left. Through her stored puṇya from a lifetime of faithful keeping of the vow, since she was eight years old, the city became firm and lasting, “rich in all desired objects, until the final deluge”. Śobhana and Candrabhāgā lived there in joy on the peak of Mandara.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, chapter 60