Skandapurana 3.3.19

Sūta said:

As she thus observed the great vow in the guru's presence,

a year passed for her whose mind was devoted to the observances.

At the end of the year, that maiden, right there in her father's house,

properly performed the concluding rite preceded by feeding the brahmins.

And having given sacrificial fees to those brahmins according to their desert,

having dismissed them and bowed down, she was congratulated by her parents.

Fasting herself on that day, committed to the religious rule,

she muttered the supreme mantra instructed by the great-souled [sage].

Then, when the twilight hour arrived, having worshiped Śaṃkara

in that cloister near the house and in the presence of that guru,

devoted to japa and worship, meditating upon the Supreme Lord,

seated beside Śiva during that night-vigil,

[A pair of verses:]

On that night, together with her, that sage

propitiated Pārvatī, the mother of the universe, with japa, meditation, and austerities.

Pleased by her devotion purified by the vow, and by the sage's practice of austerity and absorption,

Bhavānī, the sole mother of the universe, manifested herself in a form of dense [light].

When Gaurī, identical with the universe, appeared before the two of them,

though blind, at that very moment the sage regained his two eyes.

Beholding the maintainer of the worlds manifest and standing before them,

that sage and that girl fell at her feet.

The goddess, overflowing with compassion, raised up the two whose pure hearts swelled with feelings of devotion, their whole limbs sprinkled with tears of joy,

and speaking softly and pleasantly, addressed them with love:

The goddess said:

"I am pleased with you, O best of sages! My child, I am pleased with you, O sinless one!

What desired [boon] difficult even for the gods to obtain shall I grant?

The sage said:

"This girl, however, named Śāradā, has lost her husband.

And to her, by me, pleased [with her service] though having lost my eyes, was promised:

'Sporting with your husband for a long time, an excellent son

obtain!'—thus it was spoken by me. Make it true! Praise be to you!"

The holy goddess said:

"In a past birth, this girl was the second beloved wife

of a twice-born Drāviḍa, renowned by the name Bhāminī.

Constantly dear to her husband, charming with beauty and sweetness,

she brought her husband under her sway through tricks such as beauty and subjugation charms.

His heart attached to her, bound by infatuation, that brahmin

never approached his senior, devoted wife at all.

Because her husband did not visit her, that woman, deprived of a son,

always consumed by sorrow, passed away in the course of time.

A certain young brahmin dwelling near her house,

seeing her of lovely limbs, seized her hand, afflicted with passion.

By her, whose eyes were red with anger, that brahmin was warded off;

remembering her day and night, he met his death.

She, having bewitched her husband, made him averse to his senior wife;

by that sin, she became a widow in this birth.

Those women who in this world cause displeasure between wife and husband,

for them there is widowhood in youth for twenty-one births.

Since in a previous birth great worship of me was performed by her,

by that merit, that whole sin was destroyed at that very time.

The brahmin who, distressed by separation, died bewildered by passion,

having taken her hand in marriage, met his death in this birth.

Her husband from her previous birth is now in the Pāṇḍya realms.

[he is] born as an eminent brahmin, prosperous, with a wife and with retinue.

Every night, united through love with that husband,

let this woman attain the pleasure of love in dreams, superior even to that of waking.

And that best of brahmins, staying far off at a distance of three hundred and sixty yojanas from this land through the course of karma,

sees this bride who delights the mind every night in dreams, enjoying pleasure for a long time.

Indeed, through union in dreams with her husband every night, this chaste woman

shall in due time obtain a son who is a master of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.

And that brahmin too will constantly see in dream

a son born of her from his long-lasting union, filled with love.

I was worshipped by her in a previous birth, O great sage;

for the sake of granting her a boon I have manifested now."

Sūta said:

Then the Great Goddess spoke respectfully to that young woman:

"O child of great fortune, listen to my supreme word.

Whenever and wherever, in some region, you will see your former husband

who was seen in dreams, you, wise as you are, will recognize him first.

That brahmin too will see you, of good conduct and bearing the signs seen in dream;

then conversation will take place between the two of you.

Then, O blessed lady, give your learned son to him;

entrust into his hand the supreme fruit of this vow.

From then on, O slender-waisted lady, remain under his authority;

let there be no bodily union between the two of you, except for union in dreams.

When, in time, that best of brahmins meets his death,

entering the fire together with him, you will go to my abode.

Your son, O fair-browed lady, will delight all the world;

there will be riches, and he will attain the supreme abode."

Sūta said:

Having spoken thus and granted her desire, the Mother of the three worlds

vanished in an instant even as the two of them were watching.

That young woman too, having obtained the boon from Pārvatī, the treasure of compassion,

attained supreme bliss and worshipped that teacher.

When that night had passed, the sage, who had regained his sight

and knew dharma, related all that secret to her parents.

Then, having taken leave of all of them and the glorious Śāradā,

having bestowed grace upon them, the sage departed, moving as he pleased.

As days passed in this manner, that young woman at every moment

attained union with her husband in dream, increasing her happiness.

By the granting of the boon by Gaurī, Śāradā of pure vows

conceived a child even in a dream, through the power of union with her husband.

Hearing that the chaste Śāradā was pregnant without a husband,

all people said 'Fie!' to her, and called her an adulteress.

The kinsmen of the caste and family of her deceased husband,

hearing that unbearable news, went to her father's house.

Then all the village elders and scholars assembled;

together with the family elders, they held an assembly there.

Summoning the pregnant Śāradā whose face was bowed down,

greatly enraged, they scolded her, while some turned their faces away:

"O adulteress! O wicked-minded one! What is this conduct of yours?

You have brought great dishonour upon our family, O foolish girl!"

Thus rebuking her, those wise village elders,

saying, "What shall we do?", all took counsel together.

Then certain pitiless elders said concerning that young woman:

"This evil-minded girl is the destroyer of both families!

Shaving her head and cutting off her ears and nose,

let her be exiled outside the village, expelled from her own clan!"

Thus considering, they all prepared to do so to her.

Then an unseen voice that arose in the sky was heard:

"No sin has been committed by her, nor any defilement of the family;

there is no breach of vow for her; this woman is of virtuous conduct!

From now on, those who declare this woman to be an adulteress—

the tongue of those fools blinded by fault shall split open at once!”

Hearing such a bodiless voice produced in the sky,

all her family, beginning with her mother and father, rejoiced.

Then, flustered, all the village elders and assembly members

observed silence for a moment and stood frightened, their faces cast down.

Some there, remaining incredulous, said, “This is a false voice.”

Their tongues split in two, and in an instant they vomited worms.

Then the kinsmen and relatives honoured that young girl;

the relatives and elderly women praised her, saying, “Well done! Well done!”

Some of the noble members of the family shed tears of joy;

the noble ladies, overjoyed, addressed her and comforted her.

Then others there said, “A god does not speak untruth.

Yet how did she conceive a child when she surely did not deviate from virtue?”

Seeing that all the members of the assembly had minds filled with doubt,

an elder there, omniscient and knowing the true nature of the world, [said]:

“This entire universe, whatever is seen and heard, is made of māyā.

In this world that lasts but a moment, what is possible and what is impossible?

Clearly, by māyā that which cannot be defined and which has no physical reality comes into being.

Māyā is under the control of Īśvara; who knows his deeds?

The semen of the royal seer Yūpaketu fell into the water;

having drunk that water containing semen, a courtesan indeed conceived.

Also, having drunk the semen of the sage Vibhaṇḍaka along with water,

a doe became pregnant and gave birth to Ṛṣyaśṛṅga.

Likewise, a doe, having touched the hand of the king of Surāṣṭra,

became pregnant at that very moment and gave birth to an ascetic sage.

In the same way, the woman Satyavatī was born from the belly of a carp;

likewise Mahiṣāsura was born from the womb of a she-buffalo.

So too in ancient times there were women who conceived out of compassion;

for in such a manner Rohiṇī had a son through Vasudeva.

By the curse or the boon of gods and great seers,

even that act which is impossible becomes possible; there is no doubt of this.

From Sāmba's belly an iron club was born due to a sage's curse;

Yuvanāśva conceived a child through the power of the sages' mantras.

Surely this auspicious girl too, through attendance on the feet of the great seer

and through the power of her great vow, bears a child, blameless as she is.

Concerning this matter, let the women question her in private about the truth;

then the people will be freed of doubt.”

Then, at his very word, the women questioned her in secret;

she related to them all her own exceedingly wondrous account.

Understanding [the truth], everyone then honoured that virtuous woman,

and rejoicing and praising [her], departed each to his own home.

Then, when the auspicious time arrived, the pure-minded Śāradā,

a mere girl, gave birth to a son whose splendour equalled the rising sun.

That boy, endowed with exceedingly noble marks and with eyes like lotuses,

attained great learning even in childhood, being of great intellect.

Then, invested with the sacred thread by his guru in due course, charming to the people,

he acquired fame in the world precisely as ‘Śāradeya’.

The wise boy mastered with ease the Ṛgveda in his eighth year, the collection of Yajus verses in the ninth,
and the Sāmaveda in the tenth year.

Then, when the festival of Śiva, revered in the three worlds, had arrived,

all the people from everywhere set out for Gokarṇa.

The virtuous Śāradā too set out for Gokarṇa with her son.

There she saw arriving her husband of a previous birth,

whom she had always seen in dreams, surrounded by his brahmin kinsfolk.

Seeing him, overwhelmed with love, her body bristling with horripilation,

her flow of tears checked, she stood with her eyes fixed upon him.

And that brahmin too, seeing her endowed with beauty and auspicious marks,

who had always been enjoyed in dreams and brought him delight,

and seeing in the boy the one born of his own body seen in dreams,

was overcome with astonishment and approached her side [saying]:

“Good lady, I wish to ask you something that is on my mind.

Having thus addressed her first, he led her to a private place:

"Tell me, fair-thighed one, who are you? Whose wife are you, O lady of good vows?

What is your country, or whose daughter are you, and what is your name?" Thus he spoke to her.

Being thus questioned by him, that woman, her eyes filled with tears,

related her own story, the cause of her widowhood in childhood.

He questioned that young woman again: "Whose excellent son is this?

And how was this child, resembling the moon, held in your womb?"

Śāradā said:

"This is my son, master, skilled in all fields of knowledge.

He is called Śāradeya, named after myself alone."

Having heard her words, that best of brahmins laughed and

said: "Difficult upon difficult indeed is your history, O passionate lady!

Merely taking your hand in marriage, your husband surely died;

and how was this son born? Let the reason for that be told."

Hearing the words spoken by him, she was exceedingly bashful;

and having had a tearful face for a moment, out of steadfastness she spoke thus:

Śāradā said:

"Enough of words of ridicule; you know me, O wise one!

And I know you; in this matter, the mind of both of us is the authority."

Having spoken thus and disclosed all, beginning with the boon granted by the Goddess,

she gave to him that boy who observed the vow, [born from] half of the vow.

He too, the brahmin, delighted upon receiving that boy,

led her to his own home with the consent of his parents.

She too, having dwelt for many months in that brahmin's house,

when he succumbed to time, entered the fire and followed him.

Then, having become husband and wife, mounted upon a celestial aerial chariot,