Mālavatī
Mālavatī was the eldest daughter of Citraratha, the chief of the gandharvas. She was the most devoted wife of Upabarhana, a gandharva who was an earlier birth of the divine ṛshi Nārada. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, in its Brahma Khaṇḍa, tells how she grieved when Upabarhana died suddenly in Brahmasabhā. She faced the devas and heard teaching from Vishṇu himself. Her recital of the Mahāpurusha stotra (hymn of praise) brought her husband back to life.
Who she was
Mālavatī was the daughter of Citraratha, the foremost of the gandharvas. Upabarhana had fifty gandharva wives, and she was his chief wife. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa describes her as very devoted to him and deeply attached to him. Her name Mālavatī means “she who wears or tends garlands”.
Grief and the devas
In Chapter 13, Upabarhana died by leaving his body through yoga in Brahmasabhā. Mālavatī rushed to the assembly and cried out in great grief. She threatened to lay a śāpa (a curse) on all the devas present. Then she fainted. The power of her grief and of her possible anger was so great that all the devas fled to the Kshīrasāgara (the ocean of milk) to ask Vishṇu for help. Brahmā, Śiva and others were among them.
Vishṇu as a brahmin boy
In Chapter 14, Vishṇu appeared before Mālavatī in the form of a brahmin boy. He gave her a long teaching on karma-phala, the law that every action bears its fruit. He explained that every being receives what its karma decides. Grief for the dead is natural, but it does not change this law. This teaching prepared Mālavatī to accept her husband’s state with understanding.
Questions to Yama and Kāla
In Chapters 15 and 16, Mālavatī also put questions to Yama, to Kāla (Time) and to Mṛtyu-kanyā (the daughter of Death). These questions led to a long teaching on Āyurveda. Vishṇu, in the form of the brahmin, explained that Brahmā had made Āyurveda the fifth Veda to protect life and health. He also explained that disease, above all jvara (fever), the king of diseases, comes from imbalances that proper Āyurvedic practice can set right.
The Mahāpurusha stotra
In Chapters 17 and 18, all the devas gathered and gave back to Upabarhana the parts of his life, one by one:
- Brahmā gave water from his kamaṇḍalu (water pot).
- Śiva gave jñāna (knowledge).
- Dharma gave dharma-jñāna (knowledge of dharma).
- Vishṇu, as the brahmin, gave the prāṇas (life breaths).
- Sūrya gave sight.
- Sarasvatī gave speech.
- Lakshmī gave kānti (radiance).
After this, Mālavatī recited the Mahāpurusha stotra. Her recital completed the full revival of Upabarhana’s body and mind. The stotra praises the Mahāpurusha, Śrī Kṛshṇa as the cosmic person, and was spoken in the heat of her devotion and grief.
Rebirth as Ratnamālā
Chapter 20 tells that Mālavatī was born again in the human world as Ratnamālā, the daughter of Sṛñjaya, who was born in the Manu line. In this life she is the woman whom Brahmā commands Nārada to marry. At the end of Chapter 30, Nārāyaṇa Muni confirms that Nārada should honour Brahmā’s command and marry Ratnamālā.
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 13–14, 20, 30
- Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 15–16 (questions to Yama, Kāla and Mṛtyu-kanyā)
- Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 17–18 (the devas and the Mahāpurusha stotra)