20 - The birth of Upabarhana from Kalavati the wife of a cowherd 

Sauti said—The Gandharva named Upabarhana delightfully spent time in the company of Malavati and other wives in the uninhabited forest for the rest of his life.

His father who was the lord of the Gandharvas also resided delightftilly with his wives. He performed many virtuous and the best of yajnas. 

His palace was like the abode of Kubera and he spent time there joyfully in the company of his chaste wife enjoying all the royal pleasures. 

Ultimately he left for his heavenly abode in the company of the river Ganga and ultimately reached Vaikuntha. 

He was a devotee of Shiva who graced him. His son, however, adored Vishnu, who also graced him. Because of all this he became four-armed attendant of lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha. 

О Brahmana, thereafter the Gandharva named Upabarhana performed the last rites of his parents distributing many riches to the Brahmana. 

О Saunaka, at the appropriate time the intelligent Gandharva left for his heavenly abode willingly and was reborn from the womb of a Sudra lady who had a Brahmana as her husband. 

Thereafter the chaste Malavati reaching the Pushkara region performed the yajna in the fire altar appropriately and ended her life there. 

Thereafter that chaste lady was reborn as the wife of the great king Srunjaya. But the memory of her earlier birth was available with her. Therefore, she always desired to have Gandharva Upabarhana as her husband. 

Saunaka said—Gandharva Upabarhana was bom with the Brahmana semen from his Sudra wife. You kindly tell me the entire story about them. 

Sauti said—There was a king named Drumila in the region of Kanyakubja. He had a chaste wife named Kalavati who was childless. 

She could not conceive because of some defect in her husband and as such during the menstrual period she with the permission of her husband went to Narada the son of sage Kashyapa in the wild forest. 

The great sage possessing divine glory was engrossed in meditation for lord Krishna. She stood before him adorning herself with all the costumes and ornaments. 

She could not remain aloof finding the sage there, who was illumining hke the lustre of the sun. She kept on standing at a distance from him. 

Thereafter the sage who was deeply devoted to lord Krishna looked at the lady from a distance. She had a fair complexion like that of the campaka flower. Her eyes resembled the lotus flower, his face was like the full moon of the winter season, she was adorned with all the ornaments; she was feeling disturbed with the weight of her breasts; she had developed thighs and buttocks. Her eyes were red and she was adorned in yellow garments, wearing a smile on her face. She developed a great passion for the sage as a result of which she started displaying her body. 

The saffron, the ornaments, beautiful colliriyum were adorning her body. She had a beautiful complexion. Her feed were painted red and she looked beautiful like Urvasi. Finding her alone in the lonely forest the sage asked her. “O beautiful one, who are you? Who is your husband? What for have you come here"? О damsel, tell me truthfully. On hearing the words of the sage, Kalavati felt panicky. She then spoke with humble words with her mind devoted to lord Hari. 

Kalavati said: “O best of the Brahmana, I am a cowherdesses by casts and happen to be the wife of the king Drumila. I have arrived here with the desire of getting a son from you. 

Therefore, you kindly grant me your semen. One should not disappoint a damsel coming for a company and the glorious people do not commit a sin by that, like the god of fire who consumes everything. 

On hearing these words of the damsel the sage was immensely enraged as a result of which his lips started of fluttering. He then spoke to her. 

Kashyapa said: “O lady, if a woman intends to bestow her favour on an outsider, it amounts to disowning her husband. This is ordained in the Vedas. 

Therefore, you will not hereafter be able to be of any use to your husband, the king Drumila. If by getting disinterested in you, he has himself disowned you, then how can he own you back? 

A Brahmana getting devoid of wisdom, when he enjoys the wife of a Sudra, he achieves Chandala-hood and is deprived of the privilege of performing any good deeds.

Не is unable to performed sraddhas, yajnas, adoration of the images and the gods. This is the command of Brahma, that such a person has no right in performing any religious deeds. 

Ultimately, he finds himself thrown in the Kumbhipaka hell and he destroys the ancestors of his own race besides the race of his maternal parents. He also destroys the coming ten generations as well. 

The tarpana perfonned by him is taken as urine and the Pindadana offered by him is turned into refuse. With the mere touch of Salagrama he has to observe for three nights and his family gods refuse to accept the food and water offered by him. For the recluses and the Brahmanas, the food offered by him is considered like a refuse. 

О damsel, he is thrown in the terrific hell for twenty-one generations. This is the truth. 

Such of the Brahmana as consume the leftover of the Sudras become degraded like them. These are the words of the sage Angirasa. 

In case a Sudra accepts a Brahmana girl as wife, he is lodged in the kalasutra-hell for fourteen generations. 

And if a Brahmana girl is thrown in the same hell for the duration of the period of eighteen Indras she is bitten by insects in the hell. 

Thereafter the Brahmana girl is reborn in the family of Chandalas and the Sudra attracts leprosy and is discarded by his relatives. 

О Saunaka, thus speaking the best of the sages kept quiet. But the Sudra girl kept on standing before him. Her lips, throat and palate were dried up. By about the same time, Menaka passed by that way. Looking at the breasts and thighs of whom the semen of sage fell but the Sudra damsel consumed it delightfully and thereafter bowing in reverence to the sage delightfully went to her husband. 

Reaching there, she bowed in reverence of glorious Drumila and narrated to him the story of her conception. 

On hearing the words of Kalavati, Drumila was delighted and his face and eyes expressed pleasure. Thereafter he spoke pleasing and sweet words to his wife, thus.

Drumila said—The semen of a great Brahmana ascetic is enSrined in your womb and as such a Vaishnava child would be bom to you. You are quite fortunate and a chaste lady as well

Anyone by his semen, from whose womb a Viashnava child is bom, tlieir hundred generations achieve Vaikuntha. 

Both of them then mounted on the divine plane of Vishnu, studded with gems and arrived in the Vaikuntha where birth, death and old age disappear. 

О beautiful one, "you now go to the use of a Brahmana and thereafter you reach me in the abode of the gods.” 

Thus speaking the king of Gopas, took a bath, performed tarpana and adored his family gods and he distributed riches among the Brahmana. He gave away in charity four lakhs of horses, a lakh of ordinary elephants, a hundred intoxicated elephants to the Brahmanas. Besides this, he gave away five lakhs of horses bom in the race of Ucchaisrava, a thousand chariots, three lakhs of bullock-carts. 

He further gave away twelve lakhs of buffaloes, three lakh of geese to the Brahmana. 

О sage, he also gave away a lakh of slaves. He further gave away a thousand villages, two hundred cities and mountain—like heaps of rice and other cereal to the Brahmana. 

He further gave away to them a hundred crores of gold coins, a thousand gems and pitchers filled with coins numbering in crores. 

He further gave away innumerable shining vases and ornaments besides gems studded ornaments, adorning ladies. Thereafter he gave his own kingdom in charity and while reciting the name of Hari, the king Gopa reached the place of Badrikasrama with the speed of the mind. 

There, he performed tapas seated on the bank of the river Ganga for a month and then left for his heavenly abode by yogic practices. This was spotted by the great sages. 

Thereafter mounting the best of the planes studded with gems which belonged to lord Vishnu, he, accompanied with the messengers of the lord, arrived in Vaikuntha. There devoting his mind to the lord, he became the servant of the lord there. О Saunaka now you listen to the story of Kalavati after the departure of her husband. Kalavati started crying aloud and got ready to end her life by entering into fire but the Brahmana saved her. 

There, a Brahmana calling her to be his mother took her with him and in a movement he reached his abode filled with gems. In the house of that Brahmana, she gave birth to a son who had a lustre comparable to that of molten gold and the glory of Brahma. 

All the ladies of the place had a look at the child and the divine glory of the face of the child resembled that of the lustre of the sun at noon during the summer season. 

His beauty was far greater than that of the god of love. His face was more shining than the moon and his face emitted a lustre which could be compared with that of the full moon of the winter season. His hands, feet and cheeks, were quite beautiful and charming. His feet were embossed with the lotus and chakra symbols and were very bright.

Both his hands were extremely beautiful and were desirous of sucking the milk. He started crying and delighted all the ladies present there, who then dispersed to their respective homes gleefully. The Brahmana also started dancing in pleasure with his wife and sons. The child started growing in that place like the moon of the bright fortnight and the Brahmana started serving the lady like his own daughter taking good care of both of them.