Deva Women and the Gopikā Vara

During the years of Rāma-rājya, women who were drawn to Rāma by kāma (desire) came to him seeking his favour. Rāma refused them because of his firm vow to have one wife only (ekapatnī-vrata). But he gave them a vara (a boon): they would be born as gopikās in the Dvāpara Yuga and take part in the Rāsa dance with him at Vṛndāvana. This narrative is from the Vilāsa Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. It tells of Vyāsa’s visit, the plea of the deva-women, and Guṇavatī of Māyāpurī, who was born again as Satyabhāmā.

Vyāsa’s visit and the talk on the vow of one wife

In the month of Caitra the muni Vyāsa came to Ayodhyā with his disciples to bathe at Rāma-tīrtha. Rāma received him with full honour. He came out to meet him and led him to the palace. He fed Vyāsa and all the disciples with pāyasa and other food brought from Kāmadhenu. He gave tāmbūla and dakshiṇā. Then he stood before Vyāsa with folded hands and asked after his welfare.

Vyāsa was amazed at what he saw. He asked Rāma: “I have heard of many great kings of the past, Dilīpa, Manu and Sagara. But none of them kept the vow of one wife with true courage, not even for a short time. I look at you. You are young and strong, and you rule the seven dvīpas. How do you bear the burning of youth and hold to one wife alone? Is this possible for a human being?”

Rāma smiled and answered: “Muniśreshṭha, I have three vows. I made them at the very start of my life, and I will never break them. First, Sītā alone is my wife. Every other woman is to me like my mother Kausalyā. Second, when I am moved to anger, I will destroy the enemy with a single arrow. I will not need a second. Third, whatever word comes from my mouth, I will not take back or change. These three have always been my vows. Nothing can change them, not even your words now.”

Vyāsa’s words and the gift of images of Sītā

Vyāsa heard Rāma’s vow and said: “So be it. But the fruit of this vow of one wife in this life will ripen as many wives in your next birth. In Dvāpara, as Kṛshṇa, you will have many wives.”

Rāma asked: “If this is so, is there something I should do now, as a particular act, to secure this fruit?” Vyāsa answered: “Rāma, have sixteen golden images of Sītā made, each of the same weight as Sītā herself. Clothe each one in garments and ornaments. On the bank of the Sarayū, give all sixteen, one to each of sixteen worthy brāhmaṇas, with full dakshiṇā and gifts.”

Rāma at once had the sixteen images made and set in order. He called sixteen worthy brāhmaṇas to the bank of the Sarayū and gave them the mūrtis with respect. The brāhmaṇas received the great gift with joy and blessed Rāma: “Rāma, the puṇya (merit) of each of these mūrtis will grow a thousandfold. The fruit will come to you as sixteen thousand women. Of this there is no doubt.” Rāma bowed to receive their blessing, sent them away with honour, and took leave of Vyāsa.

The deva women come to Rāma

One day in Caitra, Sītā was keeping a time of ritual impurity (āśauca) and so was resting apart. At Rāma-tīrtha, thousands of beings had gathered for the Caitra bath (snāna). There were yakshas, yakshiṇīs, gandharvas, kinnaras, nāgas, pannagas, apsarasas, deva-patnīs (wives of the devas), munis, kings and many others.

The deva-patnīs saw Rāma’s shining form as they came for the bath. They were struck by the arrow of kāma (kāma-bāṇa). They gathered among themselves and agreed together to go to Rāma.

Rāma’s guards stopped them at night. The deva-women said: “We have come only for Rāma’s darśana. If we are not allowed, we will enter the river and end our lives.” The dāsīs (female attendants) carried their words to Rāma.

Rāma knew what was in their hearts. He came out and sat on the sandy bank. He called them all and gave them darśana. Then he spoke to them very clearly: “You know that in this life I am wholly bound to the vow of one wife. My vow is not false. Each one of you is like a mother to me in this life. Now hear what I will give you in place of what you seek.

“In the coming Dvāpara Yuga I will be born in Nanda’s house in Vṛndāvana as Śrī Kṛshṇa. By my vara, all the devas will be born as cowherds (gopas) in Nanda’s village. Indra himself will be Nanda. Each and every one of you will be born as a gopikā in that village. I will play with all of you in the Rāsa on the banks of the Kālindī (Yamunā) on many nights. All your wishes will be fulfilled then. Go now in peace and return to your places.”

The deva-women had fainted on the sand in their grief. Hearing Rāma’s words, which were like amṛta, they woke up. They were somewhat comforted. They bowed to Rāma and went back to their own realms.

Guṇavatī and the promise of Satyabhāmā

In Māyāpurī (also called Māyāpura) there lived a brāhmaṇa named Devāśarmā, of the Ātreya gotra. He was a devotee of Bhagavān Sūrya from his birth. Every day he did Sūrya-pūjā, kept the agnihotra fire, and gave food and care to guests (atithi-satkāra). By these disciplines he gained a radiance like the sun’s. He had a daughter named Guṇavatī, whose character matched her name. He had no son. So he gave Guṇavatī in marriage to his own disciple Candru, a learned and good young man who loved and cared for Devāśarmā as his own father.

One day Devāśarmā and Candru both went into the forests of the Himālaya to gather kuśa grass and samidha (sacred firewood). In those wild heights they met a fearsome rākshasa, who killed them both. Their deaths were sudden and cruel. But the puṇya they had gained from their devotion to Bhagavān Sūrya was enough to please Bhagavān Vishṇu. His gaṇas (attendants) carried the two of them to Vaikuṇṭha. There they lived in divine bliss, bright as the sun, served by apsarasas and surrounded by divine fragrance.

Guṇavatī was left a widow in Māyāpurī, and she was heartbroken. She used all that she had to perform the right rites and funeral offerings for her father and her husband. Then she lived alone in complete devotion. For the rest of her life she kept eight vratas:

She wore no tilaka or ornament.
She took a ritual bath every day.
She did japa every day.
She gave dīpa-dāna (the gift of a lamp) every day.
She gave a gift in charity every day.
She kept the Kārtika Ekādaśī upavāsa (fast) every year.
She took the snānas of Māgha, Caitra, Vaiśākha and Kārtika every year.
She cleaned and decorated the temple of Bhagavān Vishṇu every day.

One day a reciter of Purāṇas (Purāṇa-pāṭhaka) told her that the Caitra bath at Rāma-tīrtha in Ayodhyā was the highest means to kaivalya. She travelled to Ayodhyā and came to the sandy bank of the Sarayū, where Rāma and Sītā were resting in a cottage made of tents. She went in with respect, holding a pūjā-pātra (a vessel for worship) in her hands.

Rāma was sitting on a jewelled couch with Sītā, playing dice with her. Lakshmaṇa, Bharata, Śatrughna and their wives were with them, and beautiful attendants waved cāmaras (fans). Guṇavatī bowed. Rāma was pleased with her simple devotion and purity. He asked: “Tell me your wish.”

Guṇavatī said: “Rāma, you have thousands of dāsīs here. I ask only to be counted as one of them. Accept me as your servant.”

Rāma smiled gently and said: “O woman of pure vows, you are a brāhmaṇī. Why would you serve me in this way? Listen to what I tell you. In the Dvāpara Yuga, in Dvārakā, I will be born again as Kṛshṇa. Your father Devāśarmā will then be born as Satrājit. Candru, your husband, will be born as Akrūra, one of my dearest friends. And you will be born as Satyabhāmā, my beloved wife. Then you will serve me in all the ways you wish. You will receive everything you ask for.”

Guṇavatī was full of joy and content. She bowed again and again and left.

She went to Haridvāra and spent the rest of her life there in devotion. She fell ill with fever, bathed in the Gaṅgā in that state, and left her body while she was in the water. She went up to svarga. In time she was born again in the Dvāpara Yuga as Satyabhāmā, the daughter of Satrājit, in the great city of Dvārakā.

What the two accounts lead to

The longing of the deva-women in the Tretā Yuga, left unmet, is fulfilled in the Rāsa of the gopikās in the Dvāpara Yuga.
Guṇavatī’s life as a widow, with her vratas kept without fail in the Tretā Yuga, leads to Satyabhāmā’s deep love for Kṛshṇa in the Dvāpara Yuga.
Devāśarmā becomes Satrājit.
Candru, faithful as the disciple of Devāśarmā, becomes Akrūra, Kṛshṇa’s friend and elder.

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa also tells of this earlier life of Guṇavatī. In its account the Kārtika vrata is the main practice.

Sources

Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vilāsa Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7
Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 88–89