Varāha Mahā Purana
69 - The Wonder of Närãyana
Bhadräshva said:
1. O Sage, be pleased to tell me what happened to you in your body that you are long-lived.
Agastya said:
2. O king, this body of mine is associated with many interesting things. It is purified by Vedic knowledge and it wil remain for numerous kalpas.
3. Wandering over the whole world, O king, I once went to the great land Ilävruta near mount Meru.
4. There I saw a beautiful lake, near it a great hermitage and within it a frail sage performing penance.
5. Seeing him who was reduced to a skeleton and was wearing torn bark garment, I was wondering who he was.
6. In order to gain his confidence, I exclaimed: ‘‘O sage, I have come to you, please give me something”.
7. The sage said: “Welcome to you, O great Brahmin, please remain here. I shall show hospitality to you”.
8. At these words of his, I entered the hermitage and saw the sage glowing with lustre.
9. Seeing me standing on the floor, the sage hummed and immediately there arose splitting the earth five virgins.
10. One of them took a golden seat and offered it to me. Another held water in her hand and a third began to wash my feet with it.
11. Two others holding fans stood on my sides. The sage again hummed.
12. As a result, a large golden canoe appeared in that lake beautifully floating.
13. In that canoe were hundreds of virgins holding golden pots. Seeing them the sage told me:
14. “O Brahmin, all this is for your bath. Please enter the canoe and have your bath”.
15. Then I entered that canoe, but soon the canoe sank into the lake.
16. When I was thus immersed in water, I saw that place, that sage and myself at the top of mount Meru.
17. O king, I then saw the seven oceans, the seven principal mountains, and the seven islands constituting the earth.
18. Even now I remain thinking of that glorious world and how and when I could get there (again).
19. I have now satisfied your curiosity regarding the great lord and what happened to my person. What else do you wish to ask?
Summary of chapter 69 of the Varāha Mahā Purana is as follows:
The supreme moment arrives as Bhagavān Vishṇu takes birth from the sanctified womb of Mother Aditi as the divine dwarf brāhmaṇa, Vāmana Prabhu, on the auspicious Vijayā Dvādaśī tithi. Celestial drums resound across the heavens, flowers shower from the sky, and all sacred fires glow with divine radiance as the beautiful child manifests holding a wooden staff, water pot, and umbrella. Pitāmaha Brahmā, Maharshi Kaśyapa, and all the Saptarshis perform the sacred thread ceremony for Vāmana Prabhu, presenting Him with sacrificial garments and praising Him as the Supreme Preserver who has assumed a captivating form to restore cosmic balance.