6 - Permission for performing Punyaka Vrata 

Saunaka said - О sage, О mendicant, on hearing the words of Narayana, Narada felt delightful and enquired about the performing of the vrata. 

Narada said - О best of the sages accepting the command of the husband, how did Parvati perform the vrata, you kindly tell me. 

О Brahmana after completion of the vrata by Parvati how could Krishna be born out of her womb you kindly tell me. 

Narayana said - Shiva the creator of the tapas himself narrated the divine story about this vrata and the method of performing the same, after which he left the place, because he always remained anxious about performing the tapas of the lord. By taking to the form of the lord, he becomes Hari, he remains always engrossed in the devotion of Hari and as such he always adores Hari. He is blissful, all knowledgeable and eternal. By remaining engrossed in the reciting of the name of Hari, he becomes unmindful of day and night with the command of the husband. Parvati performed this vrata with a pleasant mind and she inspired her attendants and Brahmanas for the purpose. 

Parvati who always bestows fortunes summoned all the essentials for performing the vrata and started the same in an auspicious time. 

Sanathkumara, the son of Brahma, arrived there, who was shining with the divine lustre.

Brahma also delightfully arrived there with his wife and the great lord also arrived there. 

The four-armed lord Vishnu who dwells in the ocean of milk also arrived there. He is the preserver of the universe and controls it. He arrived there with his courtiers and Lakshmi mounted on a plane. He was wearing a garland of forest flowers having the complexion of dark clouds, adorned with all the gem-studded ornaments and had all the materials with him. 

О Narada, thereafter, Sanaka, Sananda, Kapila, Sanatana, Asuri Kratu, Hansa, Vodhu, Pancasikha, Aruni, Yati, Sumati, Vasistha with his disciples, Pulaha, Pulastya, Atri, Bhrgu, Angira, Agastya, Praceta, Durvasa, Cyavana, Marici, Kasyapa, Kanva, Jaratkaru, Gautama, Bruhaspati, Utathya, Samvarta, Saubhri, Jabali, Jamadagni, Jaigisavya, Devala, Gokamukha, Vakraratha, Paribhadra, Parasara, Vis'vamitra, Vamadeva, Rsyas'rnga, Vibhandaka, Markandeya, Mrkundu, Puskara, Lomas'a, Kautsa, Vatsa, Daksha, Balagni, Aghamarsana, Katyayana, Kanada, Panini, Sakatayana, Sanku, Apisali, Sakalya and Samkha also arrived there. 

О sage, besides the above several other sages also arrived there together with their disciples. Both myself and the son of Dharma besides Nara-Narayana also arrived there. 

In addition to the above the Dikpalas, the gods, the Yaksas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras and all the mountains also arrived there to participate in the vrata of Parvati. 

Himalaya the king of the mountains arrived there together with his wife and children, adorned with all the ornaments and also carried various types of material like valuables, gems, rubies, jewels and several other things required for the vrata including a lakh of elephants, three lakhs of the best of horses, ten lakhs of cows, a hundred lakhs of gems and an equal number of gold, gold coins, gems, touch stones four lakhs of pearls, a thousand kaustubha-gems, besides delicious eatables which were a lakh in number. Thus Himalaya, carrying all the gems with him arrived there to participate in the vrata of his daughter. 

In the vrata of Parvati many of the Brahmanas, sages, siddhas, Nagas, Vidyadharas, recluses, beggars and bards also arrived. 

Vidyadharis, the female dancers, the male dancers, Apsaras and the persons who played on musical instruments, also arrived there. 

At that point of time the king’s way of Kailasa was decorated with sandal trees, mango leaves, tied in cords, trunks of the banana trees, Durva grass, fried paddy, leaves and flowers, besides other scented materials. The invitees witnessed the same with interest. 

Shiva himself adored everyone and lodged them on high pedestals. All the dwellers of Kailasa were filled with ecstasy. 

In the vrata, Indra acted as the lord of charity, Kubera acted as the lord of riches, Surya issued all the commands, Varuna served the materials. There were a thousand streams of curd, a thousand of streams of milk and ghee, a hundred streams of raw sugar (guda), a thousand streams of beverages, a hundred streams of butter milk. 

О Narada a hundred lakhs of vases of nectar, sweets and sugar were stored in a lakh of heaps. О Narada, the flour of wheat and barley was also collected in the same quantity. A lakh of fried sweets, soaked in ghee and a lakh of balls of fried paddy mixed with guda were made available. 

There were ten crores of the preparation of fried rice. And the number of the rice preparations was beyond counting. 

О great sage, in the vrata of Parvati, there were mountains of gold, silver and gems, all the sweet preparation including payasam, cooked rice and other vegetables were prepared by Lakshmi herself.

Lord Narayana was taking his food together with Shiva and all the gods, a lakh of Brahmanas were engaged in serving the food. 

A lakh of clever Brahmanas were offering betels to the invitees who were seated on their seats gracefully. 

О Brahmana, lord Vishnu, the dweller of the ocean of milk, was seated on the gem-studded lion-throne. The courtiers were moving the white flywhisks on the lord. The sages and siddhas besides the gods were reciting the prayers, the blissful lord wore a serene smile on his face while the Vidyadharis kept on dancing accompanied by music. At that point of time Shiva at the instance of Brahma who was about to complete the vrata, asked Vishnu in the court, which was killed by gods and the sages. 

Mahadeva said - О lord, О Srinivasa, you are the form of tapas and also the one who bestows the result of the tapas. You kindly listen to my prayer. 

О lord, you are most adorable among the japam, yajnas and adorations. О Hari, you are a wish-fulfilling tree and the form of see for all. О Brahmana, Parvati is desirous of a son and as such she intends to perform a Punyaka-vrata with her heart filled with grief. 

The semen of Shiva had been destroyed because of the disturbance caused by the gods. She was very much worried. Thereafter, I spoke many nectar-like sweet words to the chaste lady and pacified her. 

In this vrata she is desirous of having a son besides seeking for welfare of her husband. She cannot be happy without either of them. She is prepared to lay down her life. 

In earlier times, the proud lady ended her life in the yajna of her father because of my denouncement there and she was reborn in the house of Himalaya. 

О well-versed in the tattvas, you are all knowledgeable and are aware of all the stories; what can I speak to you? You let me know your command. You kindly speak out your command which will result in our welfare. 

Because О lord, of all the people, the nature of ladies is quite unstable and the mind of the ladies cannot be read properly by yogis, siddhas, Tapasvis, who have controlled their senses and anger. A woman is a cause of illusion and a bundle of passions. 

Brahma had in earlier times created her to establish victory over Kamadeva. 

 She happens to be the door to moksha, an obstruction in the adoration of the lord, a cord binding one to the worldly bondage, the destroyer of Vairagya, who increases the illusion always, the dwelling place for the courageous people, the one in whom all the ills reside, the field of deceitfulness, all deceitful, the refuge of arrogance. Her life is a vase of nectar with poison plastered on the neck of it. She is beyond the reach of everybody, beyond adoration, well versed in establishing their own purpose and the seed for quarrel. 

О Brahmana, I have spoken everything; now you kindly do something to accomplish my task, speaking the words which may be practical and result in pleasure. 

Narayana said - Shiva after thus speaking looked at the face of Brahma and praying in favour of lord Vishnu he kept quiet. On hearing the words of Shiva, lord Jagadishvara smiled for a moment and spoke the words which were quite beneficial and appropriate. 

Vishnu said - Your chaste wife intends to perform the Supunyaka-vrata for begetting a son who should be the essence of all. 

О lord of Parvati, this vrata is very difficult to accomplish and could be performed with great trouble and devotion. It bestows the results of all the desires, is quite pleasant and is the essence of all the pleasures and bestows salvation. 

Sri Krishna is the lord of all, devoted to vratas and is adorable true vratas, beyond gunas, is lord of Goloka, complete Brahmana, everlasting, the great soul, witness of all, the form of flame, eternal, without any source, uninvolved, devoid of any degrees, spotless, life of the devotees, lord of the devotees and the one who always remains merciful towards the devotees. The things which are difficult to achieve by others, they can easily be achieved by his devotees. The lord is always controlled by his devotees. He accomplishes all the desires and is spotless. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva happen to be the rays of the same lord. Mahavirat too happens to be his ray. He is uninvolved, beyond Prakruti, indestructible, all watchful, terrific, takes to any form to protect his devotees; he is the terrific of all the planets and controls them also. He cannot meet with success without you in three crores of births. 

One achieves the devotion of the lord by taking birth in the sacred land of Bharata. By adoring small gods and getting their blessing one achieves the mantra of Surya. After adoring Surya-mantra for three births he achieves for the first time the mantra of lord Shiva. After serving at your feet for seven births and adoring you, he achieves the maya-mantra by the grace of your lotus-like feet. Thereafter he adores the Narayani-maya. 

In this sacred land of Bharata which is difficult to get, by serving the ray of Narayana, he achieves the devotion of lord Krishna which is achieved only by coming into contact with his devotees. 

Achieving the upright devotion, he moves around in the company of the devotees of the lord and gets maturity. О Shiva at that point of time with the grace of the devotees and the gods, he achieves salvation by receiving the Krishna mantra. 

The vrata of Krishna as well as his mantra always bestows welfare. After serving the lord for a long time, he becomes like Krishna himself. 

During the time of dissolution, all the people vanish but those who are devotees of lord Krishna they become eternal and do not face destruction. 

О Shiva in this everlasting Goloka the attendants of lord Krishna always remain blissful and getting reassured they laugh at the gods like Brahma and others. 

О Maheshwara, you destroy all except the devotees of the lord; the illusion can influence everyone but by my grace it does not influence my devotees. 

The Narayani illusion happens to be the mother of all and by serving the illusion one cannot achieve the devotion of lord Krishna. 

The same illusion of Narayana is given the name of Mulaprakruti. Is'hvari who is the beloved of lord Krishna, is devoted to him and is eternal like him. 

She is the form of tejas and takes to human form at will; she was born of the tejas of gods at the time of the war with the demons. 

 After killing the demons, she was born in the house of Daksha who had performed great tapas for several births, and she appeared as his daughter from his wife. 

Thereafter the chaste lady listened to the denouncement of her husband in the yajna of her father and ended her life. She then, as the eternal source of lord Krishna, went back to Goloka. 

О Shiva, you got upset and carrying the dead body of Sati on your shoulders wandered over the earth. 

Thereafter on the Sris'aila mountain, I made you realise your worth on the bank of the river. Then after a short time the goddess was reborn as the daughter of Himalaya from his wife Mena. 

Therefore, О Shiva, the chaste lady and noble hearted Parvati should surely perform the Punyaka-vrata because after performing the same, one gets the merit of performing a thousand Rajasuya-yajnas. 

О three-eyed Shiva, for performing a vrata if one has to spend wealth equivalent to performing of a thousand Rajasuya-yajnas, the performing of such a vrata will be beyond the reach of all chaste women. 

With the influence of the Punyaka-vrata, lord Krishna will be born as your son from the womb of Parvati. 

О merciful one, since you yourself are the lord of Vaishnavas he will be known by the name of Ganesha in the three worlds, by remembering whom all the obstructions will disappear. He will, therefore, be called Vighnes'vara in the universe. 

In this Punyaka-vrata many things will have to be given in charity and because of consuming the same, he will be known as Lambodara. 

At the glance of Shani his head will be severed, and the head of an elephant will be planted on the trunk and as such he will be known as Gajanana (elephant faced). One of his tusks will be cut-off by Parasurama and as such he will be known as Ekadanta (possessing one tusk only). 

He will be adored by all the gods and the universe and because of my blessings he will be adored first of all. At the time of adoring the gods he will be adored first and whosoever does so he will be successful, otherwise he will have to face failure. Therefore, after adoring Dinesha, Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Agni and Durga, all other gods should be adored thereafter. 

By adoring Ganesha all the obstructions of the universe disappear. By adoring Surya, one is freed from ailment, by adoring Vishnu one gets purified and by adoring Shiva one gets moksha and all his sins vanish. He achieves the best of glory, riches, divine knowledge and the seeds of beautiful tattvas. 

It is treated that by adoring the lord Agni, the mind is purified. By adoring Agni properly, one achieves one's blissful end. 

By adoring Shiva and Agni a person becomes the giver of alms and enjoys pleasures and the blissful adoration of Durga bestows the worship of the lord. 

In all the three worlds performing any puja without the adoration of these gods will be of no consequence. О Mahadeva such a practice had been in vogue in all the kalpas. 

They are the gods of the earth and always remain present on earth. They appear at the command of the lord and thereafter they disappear. 

Thus, speaking in the court, lord Hari kept quiet and listening to the discourse of lord Vishnu, all the gods, Brahmanas, Shiva and Parvati felt happy.