42 - Death of Sati 

Vasistha said- The daughter of king Anaranya served the sage physically, mentally and by speech with utmost devotion like Lakshmi served Narayana. Once while she was going to, the bank of Ganga smilingly, for taking a bath, Dharma taking to the form of a beautiful king appeared before her in order to test her devotion. He started talking like a passionate person who was mounted over a gem-studded chariot, was adorned with gem- studded ornaments, was quite youthful and was as beautiful as the god of love. In order to test the inner feeling of the wife of the sage, Dharma spoke to her.

Dharma said- О beautiful one, you are as attractive as Lakshmi herself. О damsel, you are in youthful age and this youthful life is meant for the enjoyment of a king. Therefore, do you not feel disgraced by living with the sage who is pretty old. Getting your body plastered with sandal-paste and aguru you should adorn the lap of a king.

What is the use of that old Brahmana who is nearing death, is truthful and is always engaged in performing tapas? You disown him and look at me. I am a king. I am well-versed in the love-sport and presently I have been infested with passion. 

A beautiful damsel achieves a beautiful person because of the good deeds of her earlier birth.  She gets all her desires fulfilled with the embrace of a charming person. 

О dear one, I am well-versed in the scriptures on love, possess thousands of beautiful damsels. I shall disown all of them. О damsel you make me your slave. 

Accompanied with a charming damsel like you I shall roam about in the lonely places having no water, charming places, the mountains, the banks of the rivers and rivulets, flower orchards where the breeze is filled with the fragrance of flowers, besides the beautiful sandal-wood trees of the Malaya mountain. I am competent enough to subside the flame of passion arising in your body. You come along with me and enjoy my company making your present birth a success. 

Thus, speaking he descended from the chariot and he tried to catch hold of the hand of the princes. At this, the chaste-lady spoke to him denouncing him at the same time. 

Padma said- О degraded king you are extremely sinful therefore move away. In case you cast a voluptuous eye on me, you would surely be reduced to ashes. Pippalada is a sage who has, purified his body by great tapas. Leaving him, shall I enjoy company of a wicked person who has been defeated by the damsels.

You should realise it that with the touch of a person who is controlled by the women, one gets destroyed, there is no other greater sinner on earth like the one who is defeated by the ladies.  Therefore, you consider myself as your mother and should not speak like this, otherwise with the pronouncing of a curse by me, you would vanish. 

On hearing about the curse of a chaste women, Dharma at once shed away the form of a king and took to a real form and with a trembling voice, he spoke to Padma. 

Dharma said- О mother, take me to be Dharma, who is the teacher of all the teachers. О chaste lady I always look at the others wives like mothers. 

I had come to you in order to test your mind in spite of the fact that I know fully well about the mind of the chaste lady. But still moved by the destiny I arrived here to test your chastity, О chaste lady you have done well by denouncing me. It is not Improper; it is quite appropriate to put a person moving on the wrong path in the right direction. 

I bow in reverence to lord Krishna, who makes even Dharma to follow the Dharma and makes even the god of death to account for everything and is competent enough to create the creator of the worlds. 

He is the one who destroys at the appropriate time, creates the creator at the appropriate time. I how in reverence to lord Krishna. The one who can make the enemy as the friend and the friend as the enemy. He is the one who is competent enough to destroy the entire universe, I bow in reverence to lord Krishna. 

The one who is competent enough of pronounce curse on everyone bestows pleasure and pain, boons, riches and even the miseries, I bow in reverence to the same Krishna. 

The one who has created Prakruti, Mahavishnu, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and other gods I how in reverence to him. The one who in earlier times bestowed whiteness to the milk, coolness to the water, burning to Agni, I bow in reverence to the same Krishna. 

The one who is extremely illustrious and the form of tejas, I bow in reverence too the Krishna who happens to be full of qualities and even without qualities. 

The one who is form of all, the-seed of all, the soul of all, the friend of all, I bow in reverence to the same Krishna. 

О mountain, thus speaking Dharma the teacher of all, stood before the princess and the chaste lady also recognising him spoke. 

Padma said- You are Dharma for all, witness of all the actions, you are the inner soul of everyone, all knowledgeable and are well-versed in all the tattvas than why did you create the situation to know the mind of and insignificant slave girl like me? It is sinful, whatever I have spoken to you. О virtuous one, I spoke all that in anger, foolishness and because of the nature of women and cursed you also. Therefore, I am bow thinking about the curse. 

The sky, all the directions and the wind could be destroyed but the curse of a chaste lady could never be destroyed. And with your destruction, the entire universe would vanish. Thus, thinking I am standing here thoughtlessly. In spite of that I tell you that О king of the gods in the Satyayuga, the moon will shine with the full rays having four feet and you will illumine during the day and night. But, О lord in the Tretayuga, you will be deprived of one foot. О virtuous one, during the Dvapara you will have two feet only and during Kaliyuga your three feet could be destroyed. During the time of Kali, you will have the lustre of one foot only which would the multiplied by four times during Satyayuga, О virtuous one, during the Satyayuga you would remain all-pervading but in other yugas you would pervade partially. Now I am going to spell out the place of your abode. You will remain fully present with the Vaishnavas recluses, Brahmacharis, the chaste woken, intelligent people, Vanaprasthas, yogis, the religious rulers the noble people, the noble Vaishyas the Shudras who serve with devotion, the Brahmanas, Kshatriya and Vaishyas. You will be fully present with all of them, in every yuga wherever the noble souls will reside they would become your bases. 

You will remain present in the trees like pipala, banyan, wood-apple, Tulasi and sandal wood. You will always remain present on these trees while receiving Diksha, at the time of test, taking oaths cowsheds and the land for the cows, in the appropriate flowers and in trees of the gods, you will always remain present. You will also be present only in the temples, sacred places, houses of the noble people which would become your abode. 

At the time of the reciting or listening of the Vedas and the post Vedic literature, in the courts, the places were the name of Sri Krishna and his  glory are recited, while performing vratas, tapas, administering of justice, performing of yajnas and at the time of standing witness besides the abodes of cows, you would always remain  present, О Dharma, In these places you would appear with full rays without any short-coming  and in the places other than these, your  deficiency would be visible. Now you listen to me about the places which cannot be visited by you. 

You will not be accessible to the loose women, in the houses of the killers of human beings, the degraded people, those who steals the riches of the gods, the teacher, Brahmanas, the family gods and dependable people, those people having no character, the cheats, thieves, pleasure houses, gambling dens, the places of drinking and quarrelling. The places which are deprived  of ascetics, sacred scriptures and Puranas, the  places of robbers, the places of controversies, the  shade of tala trees, the arrogant people, those  who earn by the use of sword, while those who live with the use of ink, with the temple priests,  those who performed yajnas in every village,  those who plough the fields, the places of gold smiths, those who live on the killing of animals,  the places of women who denounce their  husbands the man who sells away his wife or  Salagrama or image of the gods or the sacred  books or sacred lands those who betray the faith  of their friends, who are ungrateful, who betray  the truthful person, those who kill the poor and  those who arrive to take refuge with them. Those who always utter falsehood, those who cross the limits or those who give false evidence because of passion, anger and grief, the places inhabited by the persons deprived of merits and those who oppose the performing of merits, you will hot be entitled to stay in such places. О lord in case such an arrangement is made, my words would be truthful. 

О father now I am going to the abode of my husband to serve him. you also revert to your own abode. After the chaste women spoke all the above words Dharma delightfully and meekly spoke to her. 

Dharma said- О lady you are quite graceful, you are devoted to your husband, you will always meet with welfare, you have protected me and therefore I shall grant a boon to you. You accept it. О girl, your husband would become youthful, would be well-versed in love-sport, beautiful, virtuous and will have and ever-lasting youth. О chaste lady by achieving all the riches and fortunes you would also remain ever young.  О daughter, your husband would live longer than Markandeya would possess more riches than Kubera, would have more fortunes than Indra, would be more devoted to Vishnu and would be a siddha greater than Kapila. Your husband would always enjoy fortunes through out his life. О chaste lady, you would achieve the palaces far greater than the palaces of Kubera, you would achieve ten sons who would be more virtuous and enjoy longer life than your virtuous husband.  There is no doubt about it. О mountain king, thus speaking is lord Dharma kept quiet.

Padma than went round him and offered her salutation to him and then left for her abode. Dharma also reverted to his abode pronouncing boon on her. 

Dharamraja praised the chaste lady in every assembly. Thereafter Padma accompanied by her youthful husband started living delight fully. 

Thereafter the noble sons were born to her who were more virtuous than their father. О king of the mountains, I have narrated to you the entire-ancient story. 

The king Anaranya after giving away his daughter, protected all his kingdom and riches. You also give away your daughter to Shiva who is the lord of all and protect your kingdom together with all your relatives. 

О lord of Mahalaksmi, after a week an auspicious time would come when the moon would reach in Lagnesha and accompanied with his son Budha. All the moon and the stars would be quite favourable and auspicious it could be Monday of Margasira month. This lagna is without any blemish, all the planets favourably look at the king and there would be no unkind planet. It would be the best time and would bestower of progeny, would provide long life to the husband, deprive of widowhood, would bestow pleasure in all the births, would never make the husband and wife to separate. This would thus be the best of the combination. At that point of time you give away four daughters who happens to be the MulaPrakruti, Ishvari, is the form of the tejas of all the gods, adored by all the gods, mother of the universe while Mahadeva who happens to be the father of the universe and become graceful. 

In the earlier kalpa for the protection of the gods MulaPrakruti had emerged out of the lustre of the gods illumining all the ten directions. 

О lord of the mountains, many of the demons were reduce to ashes with her lustre and many of them fled away in panic. Some of them were reduce to ashes over on earth and some of them fled away to neither world. Some of them fainted and some of them took refuge with the goddess keeping a straw in their teeth. 

Some of them threw away the weapon, some of them were surprised and some of them achieved the eternal heaven after fighting for sometime. 

By her grace the gods were rid of the enemies.  The same Jagadamba alter the change of kalpa, at the command of lord Krishna was born as the daughter of Daksha. Daksha, on his part gave away the daughter in marriage to Shiva the holder of trident. О mountain, thereafter in the yajna of my father there was an assembly of gods, there developed a great row between Shiva and Daksha, as a result of which Shiva offering his salutation to Brahma left this place. 

Daksha also getting annoyed left the place with his attendants and reached his abode thereafter Daksha in anger collected the material for yajna and organise a great yajna. Out of jealousy, Daksha did not invite Shiva in the yajna Finding this Sati developed a great rage against her father.  Her eyes became red and with a painful heart she went to the place of her fathers yajna and from there she went to her mother. 

Thereafter the all knowledgeable and the best  of all the goddesses Sati spoke to her mother all  the happening of the future in which the  destruction of the yajna the insult of her father  and the running away of all the gods towards Himalaya the fleeing of the sages and the  performers of the yajna, besides the mountains,  the victory of the ganas of Shiva, her own death  and the wandering of Shiva infested with the grief  of the separation of his wife-in all the directions  forming of a lake with the tears flowing from the  eyes of Shiva the consoling of Shiva by Janardana  and his composing himself, her own rebirth in  the abode of Himalaya and marriage with Shiva. Thus, she narrated everything to her mother.  Thereafter, Sati with a painful heart left the place in spite of being dissuaded to do so by her sisters. 

She was a Siddhayogini and with the application of the yogic practices, she disappeared from the sight of everyone, she went to the bank of the Ganga and devoting her mind at the feet of Shiva and adoring him, she concentrated her mind at the feet of Shiva and then ended her life. After shedding the body of Sati, she entered in the cave of Gandhamadana mountain and entered the divine form in the cave, she in fact entered the same divine form by which she had killed the demons in earlier times, All the gods were completely surprised at the sight and started crying in panic. The army of Shiva arrived in the abode of Daksha and destroyed the yajna of Daksha. Getting filled with grief, they rushed back to Shiva and conveyed the news to him. On hearing this, Shiva went to the bank of the Ganga and found the body of Parvati lying there.