Svarṇashṭhīvi

The Svarṇashṭhīvi is a prince in the Bhavishya Purāṇa, in the Uttara Parva, chapter 23. Whatever saliva came from his mouth turned into pure gold. His birth became tied up with a rivalry between two great devarshis, Nārada Muni and Parvata Muni. The rivalry ended in curses between them, and Yama had a part in settling it. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa tells this account in the setting of the Jātismara Bhadra vrata.

The rivalry of Nārada and Parvata

Nārada Muni and Parvata Muni were two famous devarshis who often competed with each other. They competed for the favour of kings, for the worth of their knowledge and for the fruits of their tapas (austerity). Their rivalry became tied to the birth of an unusual child.

A king of a rich kingdom had a son who had a rare divine gift. Whatever saliva came out of his mouth turned into pure gold. This child, the Svarṇashṭhīvi, was therefore a living source of great wealth. Both Nārada and Parvata claimed a link with his birth through their blessings and their part in it.

The curses

The rivalry grew so strong that the two ṛshis cursed each other (śāpa). The pride of each had made him blind to the demands of dharma, and he forgot how wrong it is to let a private rivalry end in cursing.

The quarrel around the Svarṇashṭhīvi, and the curses, show the danger of envy (mātsarya), even among great ṛshis. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa stresses this in his teaching to Yudhishṭhira. Even those of great tapas and learning are not safe from the power of jealousy and hurt pride.

Yama’s part

Yamadharmarāja, who keeps the balance of dharma, took part in settling the quarrel. The boy’s unusual life and the struggle for power around him called for the order of the whole creation to step in. Through Yama’s oversight, each side received the proper fruits of its action, according to its karma, and the conflict came to an end.

The gold-spitting prince lived a life shaped by the power he had. The Purāṇa gives less weight to the details of his worldly life than to the lessons of karma and the spirit that the narrative holds for the listener.

The teaching

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa tells this narrative in the setting of the Jātismara Bhadra vrata. This vrata gives the one who keeps it jāti-smṛti, the memory of past lives. The account of the Svarṇashṭhīvi shows how the great results of karma from past births can appear in this life as unusual gifts. It also shows that gifted beings and great ṛshis remain subject to the results of their actions.

Sources

• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 23 (the Svarṇashṭhīvi; Nārada and Parvata; Yama; the Jātismara Bhadra vrata)