Śubha-Aśubha Darśana

Śubha-Aśubha Darśana · śubha-aśubha darśana, “seeing good and bad omens”

Śubha means auspicious and aśubha means inauspicious. Darśana means “seeing”, especially seeing something holy. In the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa of the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa gives Nanda, his foster-father, a long teaching on this subject. He explains which sights are auspicious and bring puṇya (merit) and good fortune, and which sights are inauspicious or bring pāpa (wrongdoing) when seen.

He also describes the phala (fruit) of darśana of sacred images and tīrthas (holy places of pilgrimage), the fruits of different kinds of dāna (gifts), and the kinds of people whose company should be avoided. This is practical teaching on dharma, in the style of the dharma-śāstras. It adds to the āhnika rules (the rules for daily conduct) and is meant as a guide for the devout gṛhastha (householder).

Auspicious Sights That Bring Puṇya

Śrī Kṛshṇa named all of the following as auspicious to see (Chapter 76):

• Holy people: good brāhmaṇas, Vaishṇavas (devotees of Vishṇu), sādhvī women (women of pure conduct), sannyāsīs, yatis and brahmacārīs (renunciates, ascetics and celibate students), the guru, devotees, a woman with her husband and children, pilgrims on their way to tīrthas, and the siddha-mantras (perfected mantras) of tapasvīs (ascetics)
• Holy places and sacred objects: tīrthas, bathing in tīrthas, images of the deity, standing images of the deity, temples, sacred ponds, lakes, flowering gardens, the ocean, divine ghaṭas (sacred pots), a pūrṇakumbha (a full pot), Purāṇa books, Vishṇu-yantras, flags, yajñas (fire rituals) and great festivals
• The sky and nature: the sun (seen with bhakti), fire, water, the crescent moon in the śukla paksha (bright fortnight), fragrant breezes, the Aśvattha (pipal) tree, the Akshaya-vaṭa (the undying banyan), banyan trees, a ripe field ready for harvest, and a beautiful black lotus
• Animals and birds: cows, cows giving milk, elephants, lions, white horses, black deer, parrots, kokilas (cuckoos), kāṭukapakshī birds, haṃsas (swans), peacocks, pālapiṭṭa birds (rollers) and śaṅkhapakshī birds
• Gifts of the cow: go-mūtra (cow’s urine), go-maya (cow dung), milk, go-dhūli (the dust raised by cows) and a cow’s hoof-print in the cow-pen
• Precious things: gold, silver, copper, maṇis (gems), pearls, diamonds, rubies, ratnas (jewels), pearl-shell, coral and sphaṭika (crystal)
• Items of pūjā: lamps, Tulasī, white flowers, fresh flowers, fresh flower garlands, a white garland, fresh dūrvā grass, kuśa grass, the root of kuśa grass, akshata (unbroken rice grains), gorocana (a yellow pigment), camphor, candana (sandalwood paste), kastūrī (musk), kuṅkuma, Gaṅgā-mṛttikā (clay from the Gaṅgā), a mirror, the śaṅkha (conch) and dundubhi drums
• Food: fruits, white grain, ghee, yogurt, honey, fried grain, amṛta (nectar), cooked anna (rice or food) and pāyasam (sweet milk-rice)
• Women: a well-dressed woman wearing ornaments, and a beautiful, auspicious woman

Darśana at Holy Places and Its Fruits

Śrī Kṛshṇa then named particular darśanas at tīrthas and on holy days, and their fruits (Chapter 76):

• Kārttika Pūrṇimā: seeing the image of Rādhikā brings liberation from the cycle of births.
• Āśvayuja Śukla Ashṭamī at Hiṅgulā-kshetra: seeing the image of Durgā ends the cycle of births.
• Śivarātri at Kāśī: seeing Viśvanātha while fasting (upavāsa) brings liberation.
• Kṛshṇa Janmāshṭamī at Kāśī: darśana of Bindu-Mādhava brings liberation.
• A night in the bright fortnight of Pushya month: darśana of the image of Padmāvatī brings wealth and children for seven generations.
• Fasting on Ekādaśī, then at dawn on Dvādaśī at Kāśī: darśana of Annapūrṇā brings liberation.
• Caitra Caturdaśī at Kāmarūpa: darśana of Bhadrakālī brings liberation.
• Rāma Navamī at Ayodhyā: darśana of Rāma brings liberation.
• Fasting and bathing at Pushkara or Badarikāśrama, and seeing Kṛshṇa: liberation.
• Vishṇupada at Gayā, offering piṇḍa (rice balls for the ancestors): liberation for the pitṛs (ancestors) and for oneself.
• Prayāga, with kshaura (shaving the head) and dāna: liberation.
• Fasting at Naimishāraṇya: liberation.
• Badarī, with bathing, a meal (bhojana) and darśana of the image of Kṛshṇa: liberation.
• Vṛndāvana, seeing Govinda on a swing, with namaskāra (bowing) and pūjā: liberation.
• On a Bhadrā tithi, seeing Madhusūdana on a mañca (raised platform), with namaskāra: liberation.
• In the Kali Yuga, seeing Jagannātha on his ratha (chariot), with namaskāra: liberation.
• Uttarāyaṇa Saṅkrānti at Prayāga, with a bath and namaskāra: liberation.
• Kārttika Paurṇamāsī, seeing the image of Kṛshṇa, with fasting and pūjā: liberation.
• The month of Māgha at the Candrabhāgā river, with namaskāra and darśana of Rādhā-Kṛshṇa: liberation.
• Rāmeśvara at Setubandha on Āshāḍha Pūrṇimā, with darśana, pūjā and fasting: liberation.
• At Trikūṭa, Maṇibhadra and the western sea coast, with fasting, breaking the fast with dadhi (curd) and darśana of Kṛshṇa: mukti (liberation).

The Fruits of Dāna

Śrī Kṛshṇa also listed the rewards of different gifts (Chapter 76):

Inauspicious Sights: People to Avoid

Śrī Kṛshṇa warned Nanda about people whose very sight is dangerous or brings pāpa (Chapters 76 and 78).

Wrongdoers who are dangerous to see:

• one who kills a cow, one who kills a brāhmaṇa, and one who is ungrateful
• the deceitful, one who harms the devas, and one who kills his mother or father
• one who betrays trust, and one who steals from a temple
• a deceitful host, and a village purohita who takes the property of brāhmaṇas
• one who cuts down the Aśvattha tree, and one who speaks against Śiva, Vishṇu or brāhmaṇas
• a brāhmaṇa who has not been initiated or who is sandhyā-hīna (does not perform the daily sandhyā rites)
• a devala (a purohita who serves only for money) and one who rides a bull
• one who cooks for śūdras, one who cremates the bodies of śūdras, and one who eats śrāddha food (food of the rites for the ancestors) given by śūdras

Women not to be looked upon with impure intent: a woman without a husband, one who lacks pati-bhakti (devotion to her husband) or Vishṇu-bhakti, a widow of low character, a caṇḍālī, and an adulteress.

Others not to be approached: the person who is always angry, a debtor, one born of adultery, a thief, a habitual liar, one who turns away a śaraṇāgata (a person who has come for shelter), a brāhmaṇa who steals meat, and a wicked person.

The Eighteen Forbidden Women

Śrī Kṛshṇa named eighteen kinds of women whom a man must never approach with impure thought. To see or touch them with kāma-buddhi (a lustful mind) is a pāpa equal to brahma-hatyā, the killing of a brāhmaṇa (Chapter 78):

1. Mother (mātā)
2. Stepmother
3. Paternal aunt
4. Younger sister
5. The guru’s wife
6. Son’s wife
7. Brother’s wife
8. Mother’s younger sister
9. Father’s sister
10. Nephew’s wife
11. Maternal uncle’s wife
12. A new bride (one recently married)
13. The wife of an elder uncle
14. The wife of a younger uncle
15. A rajasvalā (a woman during her monthly period)
16. The relatives of one’s father’s mother
17. The relatives of one’s mother’s mother
18. Other women of the close family in similar relationships

If one meets such a woman by chance and has a passing impure thought, the remedy is to look at the sun at once and meditate on Hari seven times. The pāpa is then removed at once.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 76
• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 78