Candrasena and Śrīkara

King Candrasena ruled Ujjayinī, the city of Mahākāla. In the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, his account and that of a young cowherd, Śrīkara, are the first two examples of the Pradosha Māhātmya, the greatness of worshipping Bhagavān Śiva at Pradosha. One is a king with formal worship. The other is a child with a stone.

Candrasena and Mahākāla

Candrasena was the king of Ujjayinī. The city was known for Mahākāla, the supreme Śiva liṅga set up there and worshipped as the ruler of time. Candrasena was a deeply committed devotee of Mahākāla. He regularly performed pūjā (worship) at the great temple with a steady mind.

Maṇibhadra, one of the gaṇas (attendants) of Bhagavān Śiva, was pleased with Candrasena’s devotion. He gave the king the Cintāmaṇi, the wish-fulfilling jewel of great power. Candrasena received the gift with respect. His fame as a devotee of Śiva spread through the nearby kingdoms.

Śrīkara, the cowherd boy

A cowherd boy named Śrīkara (gopakumāra) came to Ujjayinī. He saw King Candrasena performing his deep pūjā of Mahākāla. The king’s devotion moved the boy.

Śrīkara found a stone. It was plain, uncut and not yet worshipped. With a child’s full sincerity he placed it before him and began to worship it as Bhagavān Śiva. The day was Śani-Pradosha, the Pradosha that falls on a Saturday.

Pradosha is the twilight time, about ninety minutes before and after sunset, on the Trayodaśī (the thirteenth lunar day) of each fortnight. At that time Bhagavān Śiva dances in joy on Mount Meru, and the devas and ṛshis gather to watch. Any worship done in this time is multiplied beyond measure.

Śrīkara’s pūjā of the stone on this Śani-Pradosha was complete and deeply absorbed. The stone itself changed. It became bright, auspicious and divine. Bhagavān Śiva received the worship of the child’s simple stone as if it had been done with the fullest ritual.

Hanumān appears and foretells

After the stone changed, Hanumān himself appeared before Śrīkara. Hanumān is the great devotee of Bhagavān Rāma and an immortal witness of time. He did not come to scold the boy. He came with a blessing and a prophecy.

Hanumān told Śrīkara that in the eighth generation of his line, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa would be born. The cowherd boy who worshipped a stone at Pradosha was thus a link in the family line through which Bhagavān Kṛshṇa of the Dvāpara Yuga would appear.

What the account establishes

The account of Candrasena and Śrīkara gives the base of the Pradosha Māhātmya. Whether a person is a king with a Cintāmaṇi or a cowherd boy with a stone, worship of Bhagavān Śiva at the Pradosha tithi (lunar day) with steady devotion gives great fruit. Śani-Pradosha is especially powerful. Even a plain, unplanned offering made in the Pradosha time reaches Bhagavān Śiva.

The account of Dharma Gupta of Vidarbha (Chapters 6 and 7) continues the Pradosha Māhātmya with a further example.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 5