86 - The Story of Vrunda

Nanda said- О lord with the resolve of the daughter of Kedara you have spelt out the result of the deed. I halve also learnt about the conduct of loose woman. Now you tell me in detail the story about Kedarakanya who was king Kedara and in which race was he born.

Sri Krishna said- In the earlier times Svayambhuvamanu was the son of Brahma who was married to Shatarupa who was quite graceful among the ladies. They had two sons named Priyavrata and Uttanapada. Out of them Uttanapada happened to be quite glorious and he had a son named Dhruva. Dhruva had a son named Nandasavarni and Kedara was the son of Nandasavarni. He happened to be the lord of all the seven continents and was a great Vaishnava.

The Sudarshana-chakra always remained present in his court. He used to give away in charity a lakh of cows of high breed whose horns were covered with gold plates, which were given to him by Varuna and covered with the best of garments purified fire, a lakh of gold coins and land with growing crops. The best of the gems, jewels, diamonds, a lakh of horses, a lakh of elephants, silver, rubies, sweet dishes and a hundred mountain-like heaps of paddy, besides gem-studded ornaments. He used to serve food to a hundred lakhs of Brahmanas daily. The king had all the vases made of gold. The gold vases for eating and the yajnopavita were of gold and had beautiful finger rings. He also gave away in charity the gem-studded seats delightfully to the Brahmanas. 

A lakh of Brahmanas were engaged by the king to serve in the kitchen for cooking food and serving it to the Brahmanas. 

He always had a huge stock of honey, curd, guda and milk. The king right from the morning till evening engaged himself in serving the fruits, roots and other eatables to the Brahmanas. He was a great Vaishnava who had controlled all the senses. He offered everything of his own to me and always recited my name throughout the day and night.

Once the cook came to him and told the king, "O king, ten lakhs of Brahmanas have, arrived to take food; Today the Brahmana are taking quite simple food. О lord you tell me kindly as to what should be done. О king the Brahmanas should take their food with pulses and other eatables.". 

The authority of the king spread up to the four yojanas and the one whose authority extended to hundred times more the area, he is considered to be a mandaleshvara. The one whose command is extended to ten times more than mandaleshvara is called Rajendra. In the court of Kedara five lakhs of kings always remained present who were adorned with gem-studded ornaments, the jewels and the diamonds and presented to the king the best of gems, horses and elephants. 

From the fire altar of the same king Lakshmi had appeared as a damsel, having lotus-like eyes, she was clad in the garments sanctified by fire and was adorned with gem-studded ornaments, 

she said to the king, О lord I am your daughter". On hearing this the king handed over the girl with devotion to his wife and stood there. Thereafter the girl humbly spoke to her parents and went for performing tapas at the bank of the Yamuna in an auspicious forest. Because of her performing the tapas there, the place was known as Vrundavana. After performing tapas, she desired to have me as her husband as a boon. Brahma then bestowed a boon to her, "You would achieve lord Krishna as the husband later.".

Once she was lying down in the spring season over the bank of the river in the flower bed, adorned with all the gem-studded ornaments, she wore a serene smile on her face while sleeping there. At the same time a Brahmana in order to test the chastity of the damsel arrived there. The girl also saw a beautiful young man having arrived there whose body was plastered with sandal-paste. He was adorned with gem-studded ornaments and was quite desirable by the damsels. He was quite young, beautiful and quite pleasant to look at. He appeared like a boy of sixteen, having the lustre of the molten gold, looking more beautiful than the crores of the gods of love, wearing pitambara, a face like the moon and the eyes like the lotus of the winter season. On finding the Brahmana boy there, the girl got up from her bed and made him sit beside her.

She adorned him with devotion and offered fruits and roots to him besides the fragrant water and then bowed in reverence to him О lord of Vraja, Dharma in the form of a Brahmana boy was shining with his eternal lustre. He delightfully accepted the adoration of the princess and spoke the words which were quite appropriate for the passionate women but were difficult for the chaste woman. 

Dharma said - О beautiful one, who is your father? What is your name? Why are you staying here in the lonely place? You tell me. О beautiful one, what for are you performing tapas? What is your desire? You will meet with welfare. You ask for a boon. 

Vrunda said- О Brahmana, I am the daughter of Kedara and my name is Vrunda. Residing in Vrundavana, I performed tapas in a secluded place in order to get lord Hari as my husband. О Brahmana, if you can bestow a boon on me then give the same to me. And if you are not competent enough to do so what is the use of putting a question to me? 

Dharma said- The lord is devoid of desires, beyond comprehension, the soul of all, the lord of all, without qualities, invisible, who becomes visible to shower his grace on his devotees; therefore, who else would be able to achieve him as her husband, except Sarasvati and Lakshmi? The four-armed lord Hari who sleeps in the Vaikuntha with two spouses and the two-armed lord who dwells in the Goloka holding a flute, appearing in the form of a cowherd, is lord Krishna and he has Radha as his spouse. The same Radha who is the form of eternal Brahmana, serves the dark-complexioned Krishna always, who possesses considerable mental prowess and fortunes, is peaceful and extremely beautiful. Her beautiful body puts to shame the bodies of crores of gods of love. He is adorned with invaluable gem studded ornaments, is the form of truth, imperishable, clad in pitambara and happens to be the bestower of all riches. 

The same Krishna who is two-armed in Goloka, resides in the Vaikuntha, having four arms. 

O Vrunda, with the fall of Brahma, lord Krishna winks his eye. After a lapse of twenty-five yugas. Indra comes to an end and after the fall of fourteen such Indras, a day of Brahma is counted, his life similarly is in lengthy.

Thirty such days make a month and twelve such months make a year. Brahma has the life of hundred such years. 

With the end of the life of Brahma, a second of lord Vishnu is counted, the sages like Sanaka and others serve him throughout life but even after performing tapas, for crores of kalpas, they never achieve his glance. The serpent Sesha having a thousand serpent-hoods adore him with devotion for an innumerable number of years but he is not able to get him. Brahma, the creator of the Vedas, who is the creator of the universe, bestows reward for all the deeds; bestower of all the fortunes, he always adores the lord who is eternal, the form of Brahmana, imperishable, with all the four mouths but the lord is beyond the description of the Vedas, is the death for the time and is the Yama for Yama, is not able to achieve him. 

The one who taking the form of Rudra destroys the universe, offers prayer with all his five faces. No one else is dearer to the lord than him but still he cannot be achieved even by such people; then what to speak of others. О Vrunda, Durga who is the form of all the prowess, destroys misfortune, the form of eternal Brahmana, Mulaprakruti, Ishvari, Narayani, Vishnumaya, Vaishnavi and the eternal force is influenced by the illusion of the lord always roamed about in the perishable universe. She has also been adoring the lord with great devotion; the elephant-faced Ganesha and six face Karttikeya always adore him according to their prowess. Lord Ganesha who is adored first of all, happens to be the lord of the gods and the teacher of the intellectuals. There is no one greater than Ganesha who could achieve the siddhis nor is there any other lord of the gods or a yogi or an intellectual comparable to Ganesha and who happens to be the lord of the gods, the same lord Ganesha adores him. Sarasvati the great goddess also adores him, Lakshmi serves at his lotus-like feet throughout the day and night with devotion. With the frowning of whom the whole universe is complete and meets with welfare, with the fear of whom, the wind blows, the sun burns, Indra pours the rain, the fire burns and the death roams about in the universe.

By serving him the earth has become the base of all and the store of all the riches, terrified from whom the ocean and the mountains remain within their limit.

By serving whose lotus-like feet, Ganga becomes the essence of all the holy places and redeems everyone. 

With the reciting of whose name, Tulasi gets purified and by whose glory, the nine planets and Dikpalas get frightened. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are present in all the globes besides the Sesha, other gods and sages. Some of them have the amshas of lord Krishna while others are the amshas of his amshas. О virtuous one, you intend to achieve the same lord as your husband who is beyond Prakruti but he could be achieved by Radha only in Goloka. No one wise can achieve her. 

Therefore, О virtuous one, О damsel, you accept me as your husband and enjoy all the pleasures. I happen to be the lord of all the gods and possess more prowess than the gods and the demons. О virtuous one, you can enjoy with me all the pleasures of the three worlds with my grace. There is no doubt about it. 

Beyond the seven oceans, Brahma has built up a sporting place for the gods which is quite charming and known as the city of Kancani.

O Rama, you will meet with welfare, let us go and enjoy the pleasure there. There is an orchard which is quite dear to Indra. 

The golden Lanka is adorned with the ornaments of gold. О beautiful one, you would meet with welfare; you get along with me there and let us enjoy the pleasure. 

There are the gardens named Vispandaka, Suvasana, Nandaka and Pusphabhadraka. О beautiful one, you go there and enjoy my company. 

О beautiful damsel, let us go to the beautiful caves of the Sumeru mountain and the bed of ocean of milk and enjoy my company there. 

Visiting Satyaloka, Brahmaloka and the charming lonely places enjoy my company there.

There is a beautiful place on the Malaya mountain built with the best of gems where the fragrant cool breeze blows, the jasmine flower and the flower of Ketaki, Madhavi and Champa creepers are also there. The place is filled with the sweet notes of the cuckoos and the hissing sound of the black-wasps. О beautiful one, you get along with me and enjoy my company there.

О goddess, the places of Indra, Varuna, Vayu, Yama, Kubera, Agni, Dharma and the moon are quite pleasant; you can enjoy my company at whichever place you like. We can visit Ratnadvipa, Manidvipa, Chandrasarovara which are quite beautiful. О beautiful one, you get along with me and enjoy my company.

О lord of Vraja, thus speaking Dharma in order to test the chastity of the daughter of Kedara advanced towards her deceitfully. 

The eyes of the damsels became red with anger and the princess spoke to him the words which were quite beneficial, truthful, appropriate and glorious. 

Vrunda said- О lord, be patient with all the castes, Brahmana is believed to be the supreme. The base of a Brahmana is tapas, truthfulness, the performing of vratas and patience. О Brahmana, it is not proper for noble people to cohabit with the wives of others. Because of sin, the wicked people have to face misfortune.

Thereafter he is vanquished by the enemies and then is completely destroyed. The one who rapes chaste woman forcibly, is surely described as the one cohabiting with his mother and earns the sin of a hundred Brahmahatyas. He stays in the Kumbhipaka hell for the life of the sun and the moon. He is thrown into the pan of boiling oil but because of his having an ethereal form he does not die; the Messengers of Yama strike on his head with iron rods. For a short-lived pleasure, he has to suffer pain for a long time. This happens to be the cause of total destruction. Therefore, the intellectuals never invite such a type of misfortune. 

О Brahmana, your knowledge is weak. Let you meet with welfare and you kindly excuse me. As a fire-fly hovers round the burning wick of a lamp, similarly fish and deer finding the sweet places at the mouth of a thorn swallow it, the hungry person consumes poisoned food.

A wicked person accepts milk filled with poison with pleasure; similarly, a wicked person turns around others' wives, having a pleasant face which results in total destruction. By looking at the face of a beautiful woman, a wicked person is filled with fallacy. The beautiful face of the damsels, the breasts and the pelvic region are the seeds for destruction. Filled with fluid and urine, the pelvic region is like an altar of hell. It is filled with bad smell, sinful and entitles one to receive punishment at the hands of Yama after men and women are united. Similarly, the men have to fall into the terrific hell for yugas. О Brahmana, finding me alone if you intend to rape me, then all the gods, the lokapalas, dharma who is the witness to all the deeds, lord Hari and the lord of Yama, lord Krishna, Maheshvara the abode of all intelligence, Durga, wisdom, mind, Brahma and all other gods would arrive. 

All these gods remaining witness to all the people remain present at all times in all the places. Therefore, О foolish Brahmana, which is the secret place and what is secretive? О Brahmana, therefore you excuse me; you leave the place and meet with your welfare. О son, the Brahmanas are not to be killed, therefore, you leave the place with pleasure; otherwise, I am competent enough to reduce you to ashes. I have been performing tapas for a hundred and eight yugas; therefore, there is no name or gotra for my father nor are my parents alive. 

О Brahmana, lord Krishna who is the soul of all always protects me and. the chakra of lord Krishna always protects me besides the sun, the moon, the wind, Agni, Brahma, Shiva and the goddess Durga always protects me. 

The one who has bestowed whiteness to the goose, greenness to the parrot, different colours to the peacock, the same lord will surely protect me, he is the lord of the orphan’s boys, as well as the old people. Therefore, taking me to be a woman, dharma cannot disown me. 

О son, you leave me alone and go to your place comfortably. Thus, the lady remained unmoved like the earth. 

In spite of speaking the truth to him, when she found that the Brahmana a was making advances to her, she then pronounced a curse on him, "O degraded Brahmana, you get destroyed, О sinful one, you get destroyed, О degraded one, you get destroyed Thus speaking when he was about to pronounce another curse, the sun prevented her from doing so with great effort. О father, in the meantime, Brahma the creator of the universe beside Shiva, Vishnu and other gods arrive there in panic and finding Dharma deduced to a single ray, all the gods started crying. О lord of Vraja, he picked up Dharma in his lap who was frightened from Uma like the fourteenth day of the black fortnight and was cursed by a chaste woman. His lustre was faded. The lord said- О Vrunda, you are my devotee and free from the birth, death and old age, you please forgive him. О chaste lady, bring Dharma back to life, you protect dharma who happens to be my devotees. 

Brahma said- without Dharma the entire universe has plunged into darkness, the moon, the sun, the earth and Sesha are all shaking. 

Mahadeva said- О beautiful one, without Dharma the entire universe has been destroyed. Therefore, О damsel, you will meet with welfare but you bring Dharma back to life. 

Surya said- О chaste damsel, you ask for a boon, you will meet with welfare by bringing back Dharma to life, you protect the universe. 

Ananta said- You earn dharma only by performing tapas then why do you destroy him; let you meet with welfare and bring Dharma back to life. As a result of this, all your dharmas could be well-protected. 

The moon said- Dharma in the form of a Brahmana and arrived before you at the instance of Brahma in order to test your devotion. Therefore, he has been killed without any fault of his own. 

Mahendra said- The dharma is earned by performing tapas and dharma alone bestows the reward of the tapas. In case Dharma is destroyed, how would one be able to achieve the result of his tapas. 

Varuna said- О religious one, by bringing back Dharma to life, you protect the eternal dharma. О religious one, all the deeds of the people would become infructuous without dharma. 

The wind god said- О beautiful one, you at once bring back Dharma to life and purify the universe. With the destruction of Dharma your tapas would also become infructuous. 

Agni said- О beautiful one, you have arrived in the land of Bharata, to earn Dharma and unknowingly you have killed Dharma. Therefore, you bring him back to life.

Yama said- О beautiful faced one. I bestow the reward to all the people of the universe for the deeds performed by them according to the Vedas. Therefore, you bring Dharma back to life immediately. 

On hearing the words of all the gods and the ascetics, chaste Vrunda got up and bowing in reverence to all the gods she said. 

Vrunda said- О gods I never knew about the true identity of Dharma who appeared to me in the form of a Brahmana, in order to test me. He has been destroyed by me in anger. By your grace, I shall surely bring him back to life". О lord of Vraja, thus speaking Vrunda said- In case my tapas are truthful, my devotion towards lord Vishnu is truthful then with the influence of that tapas the Brahmana should be relived of all the miseries. In case, I am truthful, my vrata is truthful, because of the influence of the same and with the influence of my tapas, this Brahmana should be freed from the misery. In case the eternal Narayana who happens to be the soul of all and Shiva the all knowledgeable one is also truthful; in that case the Brahmana should be relieved of the entire miseries. In case Brahmana is truthful beside the gods and the Prakruti, the yajna and the tapas then this Brahmana should be freed from all the sufferings. Thus, speaking Vrunda picked up Dharma and took him in her lap. Finding him reduced to the form of a mere ray, she started crying. 

In the meantime, Murti the wife of Dharma was filled with grief and she fell at the feet of lord Vishnu. 

Murti said- О lord, О ocean of mercy, you are the ere graceful to the down-trodden, compassionate, О compassionate lord of the universe, you bring, my husband back to life.

A woman who is deprived and her husband is considered to be a sinner in the ocean of universe. She becomes like a face without eyes and the body without life.

The parents, the brothers, the sons and the relatives can give only a limited comfort but the husband provides all the comforts. Thus speaking, the goddess stood there quietly and started crying. Thereafter, lord Vishnu spoke to Vrunda. 

Vishnu said- О beautiful one by performing tapas you have achieved the age comparable to Brahma. You bestow the same age to Dharma and go back to Goloka and stay there. 

You would achieve me with this body alone later on. О damsel, reaching Goloka in the Varaha-kalpa you would be born as a daughter Vrushabhanu and would be known as the reflection of Radha. In the Vrundavana Rayana would be born from my Goloka and would own you after marriage. While performing the divine dance you would meet me together with Radha and other cowherdesses. 

When Radha would be born as the daughter of Vrushabhanu due to the curse of Sridama, at that very moment, Radha would appear together with you as her reflection. At the time of the marriage Rayana would accept you because after entrusting the real Radha to you, he would disappear. Therefore, all the people of Gokula would treat you, as the real Radha but the cowherds would not be able to witness the lotus like feel of Radha in dream. Because Radha herself resides in my heart and her reflection would be the wife of Rayana. On hearing these words of Vishnu, the damsel gave away his life to Dharma. Thereafter Dharma got up in his full form with the complexion of molten gold and looked more illustrious than before; he then bowed in reverence to lord Vishnu. 

Vrunda said- О gods you listen to my words carefully which cannot be overlooked and can never untrue or false. In anger I pronounced the word kshyobhava thrice but when I was about to pronounce the same the fourth time, Surya prevented me from doing so. The same total effect of my curse would be that in Satyayuga, 

Dharma would be complete in all respects but in Tretayuga, he would have only three feet; in Dvapara only in two and in Kaliyuga only one; in the later part of Kaliyuga, only a small reflection of dharma would be visible thereafter in Satyayuga he would again appear in his full form. The words of destruction were spoken by me thrice and as such the effect of the same has also been pronounced by me. I was going to repeat the same the fourth time when Surya prevented me from doing so, therefore, I could not speak it out. Therefore, Dharma would remain in the last part of the Kaliyuga only in negligible form. 

O Nanda, in the meantime the gods witnessed the arrival of a chariot moving with great force which was quite beautiful to look at and was built with the best of gems, it had the doors of gems and was decorated with diamonds, rubies, precious gems, costumes, white fly-whisk, ornaments and beautiful mirrors. Vrunda after bowing in reverence to Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma beside other gods, mounted over to chariot and proceeded to Goloka. Thereafter the gods also went to their respective places. Now what else do you want to listen from me.