Vena, Pṛthu and the Vena Stava

Chapters 26 and 27 of the Saro Māhātmya in the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa tell of King Vena. The account gives his descent, his adharma (breaking of dharma), and his death at the hands of the ṛshis. It then tells how Vena was born again as a leprous mleccha (an outcast) near Sannihita Sarovara, how Pṛthu’s son grieved for him, and how a dog helped to purify him through the sacred water. It gives the long Vena Stava (Vena’s stotra to Bhagavān Śiva), the coming of Śiva and his promise to Vena, the freeing of the dog, and the final paramapada of all who took part.

Vena’s descent (Chapter 26)

The Saro Māhātmya traces Vena’s descent as follows: Bhagavān Vishṇu, then Brahmā, then Marīci, then Kaśyapa, then Sūrya, then Manu, then a king born from the mouth of Manu. This king, who is not named, married Bhayā, the daughter of Yama, who is also called Kāla. Their son was Vena. Vena thus came from Vishṇu and Brahmā through the line of Sūrya on one side and, through his mother, from Yama, the dharmarāja and lord of death.

Vena’s adharma and death

Vena was a king who fell into grave adharma. He forbade all yajñas in his kingdom and declared himself the only one worthy of pūjā. This turned the whole order of the Veda upside down. The ṛshis could not bear this attack on dharma and yajña. They struck him with consecrated kuśa grass, and the power of their mantras together killed him.

From the left hand of Vena came a dwarf-like figure together with a group of nishādas (people of mixed or low birth). They were the wrong in Vena, drawn out of him. From his right hand came the shining Pṛthu. He bore divine marks and was to be a great sovereign, the first true rājan, a king who gives the earth prosperity.

Vena’s rebirth and the grief of Pṛthu’s son

Pṛthu ruled with dharma and gained great puṇya (merit). Even so, his father Vena was born again in terrible conditions. He became a leprous, wasted mleccha living near Sannihita Sarovara in Kurukshetra. Pṛthu’s son, who was a virtuous king, learned of the fate of his grandfather Vena. He was overcome with grief. He went for advice to the ṛshi Nārada, who showed him the power of tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) to free a person.

Following Nārada’s advice, the son went on pilgrimage to Sannihita Sarovara and the sacred tīrthas of Kurukshetra. Every day he brought tīrtha-jala (holy water) from the tīrthas and poured it over his suffering grandfather in an abhisheka (water offering). He kept this up for many days.

The dog and the purification

A dog had a part in the account. In a past life this dog had been a temple attendant or ritual official. He had done wrong by taking and eating what belonged to the temple (deva-dravya-bhakshana). Because of this pāpa (sin), Yama had ordered him to be born as a dog near Sannihita Sarovara.

Driven by its nature, the dog went into the sarovara and bathed in the holy water of Sannihita. When it came out, water from its body was sprinkled on Vena, who was close by. That touch of tīrtha water, even by chance and at second hand, purified Vena at once. His body was cleansed of leprosy and he gained a divine form.

The text shows the power of Sannihita Sarovara as so great that even water shaken from the body of a dog that had bathed there was enough to purify a soul as heavily burdened as Vena.

The Vena Stava

Chapter 26 keeps the long Vena Stava, the stotra to Mahādeva Śiva which Vena composed and sang at Sannihita Sarovara after his purification. It is one of the longest stotras in the Saro Māhātmya and takes up much of the chapter.

In it Vena praises Śiva with many names, which cover every side of his nature. They include:

  • Triloka-pāla: protector of the three worlds
  • Bhūtabhavyabhavāśraya: the support of past, present and future
  • Cararācarajagadguru: teacher of all creation, moving and unmoving
  • Vaidyāsādhya-roganāśaka: destroyer of diseases that physicians cannot cure
  • Darucarmavāsa: the one who lives in a deerskin garment
  • Nitya: eternal
  • Aprameyavyādhināśaka: the immeasurable destroyer of afflictions
  • Sarvajīvapriya: beloved of all living beings
  • Yogeśvara: lord of yoga
  • Sarvapāpakshayakara: destroyer of all stored pāpa
  • Siddha: the perfected one

The stotra ends with Vena bowing down and asking for the grace of Śiva. He asks it for himself and also for the dog, whose chance touch had brought about his own purification.

Bhagavān Śiva appears and makes a promise (Chapter 27)

Bhagavān Śiva appeared before Vena, moved by the beauty and honesty of the Vena Stava. He spoke to Vena: “Well done, O king of excellent vows! I am pleased with your stotra.”

Śiva then told Vena what lay ahead in his coming births.

  1. Now: Vena would stay near Śiva for a long time, living close to the Sthāṇu-liṅga at Sannihita.
  2. Next birth: Because of his earlier adharma, including veda-nindā (abuse of the Veda), which was the root of his first fault, Vena would be born in the house of Hiraṇyāksha. This would be a birth in a daitya body, the natural result of having opposed the order of dharma.
  3. The turning point: In that daitya birth, when Vena would feel desire for the mother of the world, Jaganmātā Pārvatī, Śiva himself would pierce Vena’s body with his śūla (trident). That touch of Śiva would purify him.
  4. The end: After the touch of the trident, Vena would offer this same stotra to Śiva, as he was doing now at Sannihita. He would then gain the first place among the gaṇas of Śiva, called Bhṛṅgiriṭi.

The results of the Vena Stava

Śiva declared the fruit (phala) of the Vena Stava. Those who read it or hear it will have long life, free of everything inauspicious. Among all stotras the Vena Stava stands first, as Śiva stands first among all devas. It gives yaśas (fame), rājya-sukha (the happiness of rule), aiśvarya (prosperity), and dhana-gaurava (honour and wealth). Those who are afflicted, sick or afraid, and those in danger from thieves and kings, should hear this stotra. Those who have been removed from the king’s service will be freed from all fear. In houses where it is recited, rākshasas, piśācas, bhūtas and vighna-kārakāḥ (makers of obstacles) cannot cause any hindrance.

The freeing of the dog and of Vena

Vena asked Śiva for one more vara (a boon): the freeing of the dog. By its innocent bath at Sannihita the dog had been the means of Vena’s own purification. Śiva agreed. The dog’s contact with the tīrtha water, together with its having heard the Vena Stava, was enough to free it from its dog’s birth. The dog at once remembered its earlier life (pūrva-janma-smṛti) and stood before the king in a divine body.

Meanwhile Pṛthu’s son came back to the āśrama and found it empty. He wept, thinking his grandfather had died. Then Vena appeared before him in a shining divine form. He told him what had happened: how the tīrtha, the dog, the stotra and the grace of Śiva had all come together in his freeing. Vena said: “It is through a son like you that I have been rescued from the ocean of naraka (hell).”

How it ended

Out of thanks, Vena set up a mahāliṅga of Mahādeva Śiva at the Sthāṇu tīrtha and then went toward Śivaloka. The dog too reached the realm of Śiva by the grace of the tīrtha.

Pṛthu’s son ruled his kingdom well. He honoured brāhmaṇas, performed yajñas, and met the wishes of his wives and kinsmen. He gave his kingdom to his own son and went at last to Kurukshetra. There he did fierce tapas (austerity), did pūjā to Śiva, and gave up his body freely, reaching the highest state.

Sources

  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 26 (Vena’s descent, death and rebirth; the dog; the Vena Stava)
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 27 (Śiva’s appearance and promise; the results of the Vena Stava; the freeing of the dog and Vena; the end)