Candrabhāgā and Śobhana

This is the account of Candrabhāgā and Śobhana, from the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa. It goes with Rāmā Ekādaśī, the Ekādaśī of the dark fortnight of Kārtika. Śobhana, the son of King Candrasena, was weak and could not bear hunger. Yet he fasted on Ekādaśī in the house of his father-in-law, King Mucukunda, and died of it. The vow still took him to a grand divine city on Mandara mountain. His wife Candrabhāgā, who had kept Ekādaśī from childhood, came to him and made that city lasting.

Mucukunda’s household

King Mucukunda was a remarkable king. He was a friend of Indra himself, and also of Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera and Vibhīshaṇa. He was a great devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu and true to his word.

In his kingdom he kept a strict rule for Ekādaśī. As soon as the tenth day came, his drum was beaten through the city with the call that no one was to eat on the day of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Not only men but elephants, horses and even their young were to go without food and water.

Śobhana’s trouble

Mucukunda had a daughter named Candrabhāgā, as beautiful as the river Candrabhāgā. She was given in marriage to Śobhana, the son of King Candrasena. Once Śobhana came to visit his father-in-law’s house.

The very holy day of Ekādaśī came during his visit. Candrabhāgā was full of worry. Her husband was very weak and could not bear hunger, yet her father’s rule was firm and strict. Śobhana heard the drum announcing the day of fasting and asked Candrabhāgā what he should do.

She told him plainly that in this house no one, not even the animals, ate on the day of Bhagavān Vishṇu. If he ate that day, everyone would blame him. She urged him to make his mind firm.

Śobhana decided to keep the fast, though he knew his body could not bear it. He said: “Whatever is set by destiny will happen.”

Śobhana’s death and rise

Śobhana fasted through the day of Ekādaśī, his body pressed by hunger and in great pain. When night came, the devotees kept their vigil with joy in the pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu, but for Śobhana the same night was one of deep pain. At sunrise the next morning, having come through Ekādaśī, Śobhana died. The fast had killed him in body.

King Mucukunda had him cremated 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.

But the power of the Rāmā Ekādaśī vow, though kept under pressure and without full faith, carried Śobhana’s ātmā (soul) to a grand divine city on the peak of Mandara mountain. It had large houses with golden pillars, jewels and lapis lazuli, and crystals of many lovely shapes. Gandharvas sang his praise and celestial nymphs attended him. Śobhana sat on a throne with a white umbrella held over his head, his crown and earrings shining. He wore necklaces and bracelets and shone like a great king of kings.

Somaśarman finds Śobhana

A brāhmaṇa named Somaśarman, from Mucukunda’s city, was travelling as a pilgrim. He reached the peak of Mandara and saw the grand city. He knew Śobhana, the king’s son-in-law, seated there in royal splendour. Śobhana knew the brāhmaṇa too, and rose to greet him with honour. He asked about his father-in-law, about Candrabhāgā and about the city.

Somaśarman spoke of the wonder and asked Śobhana how he had won such a city. Śobhana answered: “In the dark fortnight of Kārtika falls the Ekādaśī called Rāmā. By fasting on that day I have gained this city. O best of brāhmaṇas, do that by which it will become stable, because at present this city is not stable.”

Somaśarman asked why it was not stable and how it could be made stable. Śobhana said: “I kept this best of vows without faith. So I think it is not stable. The very lovely Candrabhāgā is Mucukunda’s daughter. Tell her this. Then it will become stable.”

Candrabhāgā’s journey

The brāhmaṇa went back to Mucukunda’s city and told Candrabhāgā the whole account. She longed to see her husband and asked Somaśarman to take her there. She said: “By the puṇya (merit) of my vow I shall make the city stable.”

Somaśarman went with her to the āśrama of Vāmadeva, near Mandara mountain. Vāmadeva heard their whole account. He then sprinkled the bright Candrabhāgā with water, reciting Vedic mantras. By the power of this sprinkling and of her own Ekādaśī vow kept all her life, her body became divine. Her eyes opened wide with great joy. She went to her husband.

The city made lasting

Śobhana saw his wife come and was filled with joy. He seated her on his left. Candrabhāgā spoke the words that mattered: “Dear one, I have kept the Ekādaśī vow faithfully, in the way laid down and with a mind full of faith, since I passed my eighth year, while I lived in my father’s house. By the power of that gathered puṇya, the city will be stable, rich in all that is wished for, until the final pralaya (the dissolution at the end of time).”

So it was. The city became lasting. Śobhana and Candrabhāgā rejoiced together on the peak of Mandara mountain. He had a divine body by the power of the Rāmā Ekādaśī vow, and she had a divine form by the power of her own lifelong vow.

What Bhagavān Kṛshṇa says of this vow

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa describes this vow as “like the desire-yielding gem or the desire-yielding cow.” Śobhana kept it once, unwillingly and without full faith, and it gave a grand result, but the city was not stable. Candrabhāgā had kept Ekādaśī with full faith from childhood, and that gave the city its steady footing. His first act and her lasting devotion together made a divine home that does not end.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60