Garudapurana 3.17

The glorious Garuḍa Purāṇa — 17 / Garuḍa said: / In four births indeed, O Kṛṣṇa, Bhāratī together with Śacī and others / was born on earth distinguished by a single body, as you have said.

Tell me the reason, O Brahman, to me, your disciple, O you of good vows! / Being addressed thus by Garuḍa, Madhusūdana spoke to him.

The blessed Kṛṣṇa said: / Concerning Bhāratī's attainment of a distinguished body, O best of birds, / I shall tell the reason, O lord of birds; listen with an attentive mind.

Long ago in the Kṛta age, O lord of birds, Pārvatī was the wife of Rudra, / the goddess Śacī was the wife of Indra, and Śāmalā was the wife of Yama.

Goddess Uṣā, the wife of the Aśvins, went together with her husbands, O bird, / to the world of Brahmā; there they saw Brahmā at that time.

They quickly displayed flirtation, amorous emotion, and sportiveness; / seeing them haughty, Brahmā cursed them, O best of birds:

"Because you are haughty, you shall obtain a human womb; / there you shall obtain union with your own husbands, O lord of birds."

Thus cursed, they all came to Mount Meru; / there they quickly deceived Brahmā who was seated.

While he remained silent, O lord of birds, they stood, deceiving him again; / then, as he stood silent, O lord of birds, they quickly deceived him.

After three times, the great lord Brahmā cursed them, / because there was deception three times and vision once.

Moreover, having not listened [to me], henceforth across four births on the earthly plane, / human existence shall come to pass within a single body; of this there is no doubt.

Likewise in the second birth, you will go to another [husband]; / likewise in the third birth, you will attain union with your own husbands.

In the first and fourth births, you will not go to another, / and you will not attain union with your own husbands in any way.

Having thus been cursed, all of them, by Brahmā, O best of birds, / then assembled on the summit of Mount Meru and reflected:

“Brahmā’s curse cannot be averted even by hundreds of means. / Union with low beings is blameworthy and similarly brings disaster.

Through association with the highest, even by fate, what is beneficial comes to pass. / Vāyu is the highest among the gods; therefore, one should form an association [with him].”

Having thus reflected, Umā and the others performed service to Bhāratī. / At the end of a thousand years, she, Bhāratī, being pleased, spoke:

“For what reason will you who keep virtuous observances perform service to me?” / Devoted to her, those goddesses then spoke of what they wished to do:

“Formerly we were cursed by Brahmā, whose nature became anger: / ‘O excellent women, you shall attain human existence in a single body.

In the fourth birth as well, and likewise in the second birth, O lords, / you will attain going to another.’ Thus indeed were we cursed, O radiant one!

For us, going to another through the god Vāyu incurs no fault. / Therefore, O goddess, we desire to share a single body with you in our births.”

Being addressed thus by them, she said, “So be it,” O best of the twice-born. / She, joined with Pārvatī and the others, became Bhāratī upon the earth.

She, as a young maiden in the house of a twice-born named Śiva, / performed austerity for the purpose of uniting their actions, toward Viṣṇu named Śiva.

Pleased by her austerity, the great lord Viṣṇu, known as Śiva, / granted a boon: “In this third birth, the birth of Kṛṣṇā, O women,

union with your husbands will properly take place, except for Bhava. / Because they were impelled in every way by this Pārvatī,

she displayed seductive charm to Brahmā, the Supreme Lord. / Therefore, she, Pārvatī, is the foremost within the body of Brahmā, without a doubt.

In the body of Kṛṣṇā too, she will have no union [with Bhava]; / in this second [stage], going to another will occur without a doubt.”

Hari, residing within Rudra, having given the boon to the woman, / the glorious Lord vanished and went to his own world.

Relinquishing that body, they became the daughters of Nala. / Having received the name Indrasenā, they went to an ascetic grove.

Roaming there, they saw the sage Mudgala. / Merely upon seeing him, they were bewildered by desire.

Having destroyed the self-consciousness of Mudgala, Māruta / took pleasure with the excellent women present there, Bhāratī and the others.

Released from that body, she became Draupadī; / because she was born from Drupada, she is known as Draupadī.

Because she arose from the middle of the sacrificial altar, she is known as not born of a womb. / Because she was dark in complexion, she is known as Kṛṣṇā on the earthly plane.

In the body of Kṛṣṇā as well, the sense of identity was always remembered as belonging to Bhāratī. / The sense of identity belonging to Śacī and the others was [present] in that body only at times.

At the time of union with her own husband, O best of birds, / the sense of identity belongs only to that [goddess] at that time, and not otherwise.

At the time of the lovemaking of these [others], O best of birds, / there is no sense of identity for Umā; [the others] are always absorbed in sleep.

At the time of Pārtha’s lovemaking within the body of Draupadī, / the two senses of identity belonging to Bhāratī and Śacī are remembered.

At that time, there is cessation of the sense of identity for Umā, Śyāmalā, and the others; / for all [the rest] there is only sleep; no doubt should be entertained here.

Vāyu, having entered Arjuna in the form of valor, / constantly enjoys Bhāratī, and Yudhiṣṭhira [enjoys] Śāmalā.

Marut, having entered Nakula in the form of beauty, / constantly enjoys Bhāratī, and Nakula also [enjoys] Uṣā, O bird.

Māruta, having entered Sahadeva in the form of wisdom, / constantly enjoys Draupadī, and Sahadeva [enjoys] Uṣā, O bird.

Śacī and the others did not attain union with Māruta in the body of Draupadī. / Therefore, one should not consider that they went to another in the body of Kṛṣṇā.

One should never consider Bhāratī’s union with the body of Dharma and the others; / one should consider the union of those [goddesses] with the human body.

For those who possess direct perception, there is no defilement in any way, / or else, as in the case of Mudgala, at the time of lovemaking, O lord of birds,

they engaged in lovemaking in this manner; therefore, no fault exists. / On a single day, O best of birds, Dharma and Vāyu, both of them,

properly engaged in lovemaking in the body of Kṛṣṇā, O honor-giver; / nevertheless, their not going to another is to be understood; of this there is no doubt.

The gods know the enjoyment of divine pleasures belonging to gods; / mortals do not know them, even though they [reside] again in those bodies.

The swan knows the distinction between water and milk, and none other. / Therefore, one should understand union with their own husbands through the body of Kṛṣṇā; going to another in the body of Kṛṣṇā is never to be thought of, O lord of birds.

Thus ends the seventeenth chapter, titled “Explanation of the Cause for Attaining a Distinguished Body by Bhāratī,” in the Brahmakāṇḍa, the third section in the Uttarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.