Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Simhasanadvatrimshika 15

English (machine translation) 15

Language
English

15.p1

Once again, just as the king was about to sit upon the throne, another statuette spoke: "O King, only a king equal to Vikrama is fit to sit upon this throne, no other." The king said: "O statuette, tell the story of his generosity." She related: "Listen, O King. While Vikrama was ruling, his domestic priest was Vasumitra; he was extremely handsome and skilled in all the arts, exceedingly beloved by the king, dedicated to benevolence towards others, very dear to all people, and possessed of great wealth. Then, one day, he reflected: 'There is nothing that destroys accumulated sins other than bathing in the Gaṅgā. And it is said:

15.1

"Indeed, there is no higher purification than bathing at a holy ford;
that state which a creature cannot attain by austerity, celibacy,
by sacrifices or by renunciation, he would reach by resorting to the Gaṅgā. || 1

15.2

The spiritual nourishment that comes to self-controlled men
who have bathed in the pure waters of the Gaṅgā does not come even through hundreds of sacrifices. || 2

15.3

Just as the sun rises having dispelled intense darkness,
so one who has bathed in the waters of the Gaṅgā shines forth, having dispelled all sins. || 3

15.4

Just as a heap of cotton is destroyed instantly upon reaching fire,
so every sin is destroyed solely by the water of the Gaṅgā. || 4

15.5

He who drinks the water of the Gaṅgā heated by the rays of the sun,
and drinks it mixed with cow-products according to the rule, is freed from sin. || 5

15.6

One who purifies his body with a thousand cāndrāyaṇa penances,
and one who drinks the water of the Gaṅgā—the two of them are equal. || 6

15.7

For all beings whose minds are afflicted by sorrow,
seeking a refuge, there is no refuge equal to the Gaṅgā. || 7

15.8

The Gaṅgā carries across, through devotion,
the many whose minds are shattered and who are seized by great evils, falling into terrible hell. || 8

15.9

Seven descendants, seven ancestors, and those who are even further beyond them—
these the Gaṅgā carries across to the highest realm when seen, drunk, and bathed in. || 9

15.10

From seeing, touching, meditating, and chanting 'Gaṅgā',
she purifies a man with merit a hundredfold and a thousandfold. || 10

15.11

Those capable persons who do not behold the Gaṅgā that destroys sin
are equal in this world to those born blind, to wild beasts, and to cattle." || 11

15.p2

Having reflected thus, he went to Vārāṇasī, beheld and bowed to Viśveśvara, performed the Māgha-bath at Prayāga, offered the śrāddha at Gayā, and set out toward his own city. On the way, he arrived at a city. In that city, a certain celestial maiden, burnt by a curse, was ruling. She had no husband. There was a great temple of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa there. In it stood a marriage pavilion; and there, at the door of the temple of the deity, oil was being heated in a great iron vessel. The men stationed there were telling people arriving from foreign lands: 'If a man of superior courage leaps into this boiling oil, this apsaras named Manmathasaṃjīvinī will place the garland around his neck.' Vasumitra, having seen all this, returned to his own city; a reunion took place with all his kinsmen; everyone was joyful that he had arrived safely. At dawn, he went to the royal palace, saw the king, gave the king water from the Gaṅgā and the prasāda of Viśveśvara, and sat down. Then he was asked by the king: 'O Vasumitra, was your pilgrimage completed safely?' He replied: 'Sire, by your grace I have performed the pilgrimage and returned safely.' The king asked: 'What wondrous things did you see there in other lands?'

15.p3

Vasumitra related the incident of the celestial maiden and the boiling oil. The king, accompanied by him, went to that place, bathed there, bowed to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, and leaped into the boiling oil. Then the people of the place raised a great cry of woe; the king's body became the form of a lump of flesh. Hearing of this, Manmathasaṃjīvinī brought the nectar of immortality and sprinkled it over the lump of flesh. At once, the king became a youth of divine form. Then, as Manmathasaṃjīvinī was about to place the garland around the king's neck, she was addressed by him: 'O Manmathasaṃjīvinī, if you have become mine, then hear my word.' She said: 'Sire, command me; I will obey your word in every way.' The king said: 'If you will do as I say, then choose this domestic priest of mine [as your husband].' She too said, 'So be it,' and placed the garland around the priest's neck. The king performed their marriage, consecrated that Vasumitra in that kingdom, and returned to his own city. Having related this story, the statuette said to the king: 'O King, if you have such generosity and courage, then sit upon this throne.'

15.p4

Thus ends the fifteenth tale.

Translations (1)

Linked texts (1)