Skandapurana 6.3.236

Sūta said: / The merchant then set out on his journey, preceded by auspicious rites; / giving wealth to the brahmins, he then departed for his city. (1)

When the merchant had gone some distance, the Lord Satyanārāyaṇa / inquired, "O merchant, what is in your boat?" (2)

Then the two merchants, arrogant and laughing derisively: / "Why do you ask, O staff-bearer? Do you wish to take coins? (3)

Only creepers, leaves, and the like are in my boat." / Hearing the harsh words, [the Lord said,] "May your word come true!" (4)

Having spoken thus, the staff-bearer quickly went away from him; / going some distance from there, he stood near the sea. (5)

When the staff-bearer had gone, the merchant performed his daily duties; / seeing the boat risen [high in the water], he was filled with utter astonishment. (6)

Seeing creepers and the like, he fainted and fell to the ground; / having regained consciousness, the merchant's son became filled with anxiety. (7)

Then the daughter's husband spoke this word: / "Why this sorrow? A curse has been pronounced by the staff-bearer. (8)

Everything can indeed be done by him, there is no doubt in this; / therefore let us go to his protection, and our desired aim will be achieved." (9)

Hearing the words of his son-in-law, he went to his presence; / seeing the staff-bearer, bowing down with devotion, he spoke with respect: (10)

"Forgive my offense, whatever was spoken in your presence." / Bowing down again and again thus, he became overcome with great grief. (11)

Seeing him weeping, the staff-bearer spoke these words: / "Do not weep! Hear my word: having turned away from my worship, (12)

and by my command, O foolish-minded one, you obtained sorrow again and again." / Hearing that word of the Lord, he prepared to offer praise. (13)

The merchant said: / "All the gods headed by Brahmā, deluded by your māyā, / do not know your qualities and form; this is wondrous, O Lord! (14)

How should I, a fool deluded by your māyā, know you? / Be gracious; I shall worship you according to the extent of my wealth. (15)

Protect all of that former wealth, and protect me, who have sought refuge." / Hearing his devoted word, Janārdana was well pleased. (16)

Granting the desired boon, Hari vanished right there. / Then, boarding the boat and seeing it filled with wealth, (17)

"By the grace of Satyadeva my desire has borne fruit," / saying this, he performed worship properly together with his people. (18)

Filled with joy by the grace of Satyadeva, / carefully outfitting the boat, he made his journey to his own country. (19)

The merchant said to his son-in-law, "Behold my Ratnapurī!" / And he sent a messenger to guard his wealth. (20)

That messenger, having gone to the city and seen the merchant's wife, / bowed with folded hands and spoke the welcome words: (21)

"Near the city the merchant has arrived together with his son-in-law, / accompanied by his kinfolk and endowed with abundant wealth." (22)

Hearing the word from the messenger's mouth, the virtuous woman was filled with great joy; / having then performed the worship of Satya, she spoke to her daughter: (23)

"I am going, come quickly to see the merchant!" / Hearing her mother's words and having completed the rite, (24)

she also set out toward her husband, leaving the prasāda behind. / Angered by that, Satyadeva took away her husband (25)

along with the boat and the wealth, and submerged [them] in the water. / Then the maiden Kalāvatī, not seeing her husband, (26)

wept with great sorrow and fell to the ground. / Seeing the boat in such a state and the maiden in great sorrow, (27)

the merchant, with an anxious mind, [thought,] "What wonder could this be?" / And all those boatmen were filled with anxiety. (28)

Then Līlāvatī, seeing her daughter, became distraught; / she lamented in extreme distress and spoke thus to her husband: (29)

"Just now, along with the boat, how did he become invisible? / I know not by the sport of which god it was seized. (30)

Or by whom can the māhātmya of Satyadeva be known?" / Having spoken thus, she lamented together with her kinsfolk. (31)

Then Līlāvatī took her daughter into her lap and wept; / and then the maiden Kalāvatī was stricken with grief when her husband had vanished. // 32

Taking his sandals, she resolved to follow him [in death]. / Seeing his daughter's conduct, the virtuous merchant together with his wife, // 33

tormented by extreme grief, reflected, knowing what was right: / 'Has he been carried off by Satyadeva? Have I been bewildered by Satya's illusion? // 34

I shall perform the worship of Satya according to the extent of my wealth.' / Having thus summoned everyone and declared his desire, // 35

and bowing down like a staff upon the ground before Satyadeva again and again, / Satyadeva, the protector of the distressed, was then pleased. // 36

Affectionate toward his devotees, out of compassion he uttered these words: / 'Having abandoned the prasāda, your daughter came [here] to see her husband. // 37

Therefore that maiden's husband has certainly vanished. / If she goes home, eats the prasāda, and returns here again, // 38

your daughter will regain her husband, O good man; there is no doubt.' / Hearing such speech from the sphere of the sky, // 39

the maiden then quickly went home and ate the prasāda. / Coming back afterwards, she saw her husband and her kin. // 40

Then the maiden Kalāvatī said to her father: / 'Now go home; why do you delay?' // 41

Hearing the maiden's words, the merchant's son[-in-law] was satisfied. / Having performed the worship of Satyadeva according to rule and ordinance, // 42

he went to his own house along with his riches and family members. / And on the full moon and on the saṅkrānti he performed the worship of Satya. // 43

Having enjoyed happiness in this world, at the end he went to the city of Satya. // 44

Thus ends the fourth chapter in the Satyanārāyaṇavratakathā in the Revākhaṇḍa of the glorious Skandapurāṇa. // 4

"Translation:—
Sūta said: The merchant named Sādhu, having remembered the auspicious [Lord] and given gifts and honoraria to the brāhmaṇas, set out towards his home. Sādhu had traveled only a short distance when Lord Satyanārāyaṇa, wishing to test the merchant Sādhu's attitude, assumed the guise of an ascetic with a staff and asked the merchant what was in his boat. Sādhu, arrogant in his wealth, laughed and said, 'O ascetic master, do you want money? In my boat there are only creepers and leaves.' Hearing such cruel words, Lord Satyanārāyaṇa said, 'May what you have said come true.'
Having said this much, the ascetic sat down at the edge of the ocean a short distance away. When the ascetic master had departed, the merchant Sādhu noticed that the boat was floating high and light. He was greatly astonished. When he looked and saw only creepers and leaves in the boat, he fainted and fell to the ground. Upon regaining consciousness, he began to worry. Then his son-in-law said, 'Why do you grieve in this manner? This is the curse of the ascetic master. That ascetic is all-powerful; of this there is no doubt. Seeking refuge in him will yield the desired reward.'
Heeding his son-in-law's advice, the merchant went to the ascetic master. Bowing down to the ascetic master, he spoke with respect: 'Please forgive whatever I said to you.' Saying this and bowing again and again, he was overcome with great grief. Seeing the merchant weeping, the ascetic master said, 'Do not weep. Listen! You repeatedly neglect my worship. O fool! By my command, suffering has befallen you again and again.' The merchant began to praise Him. Sādhu said, 'O Lord, even Brahmā and the other gods are bewildered by your divine power. Even they do not know your wondrous form and qualities.'

"O Lord! Be gracious unto me. Deluded by your māyā, foolish as I am, how could I recognize you? Please be gracious. I will perform your worship according to my means. Restore my wealth as it was before. I take refuge in you. Please protect me!" Hearing his words full of devotion, Janārdana became pleased. Having granted the merchant his desired boon, the Lord disappeared. Then the merchant returned to the boat and saw it filled with wealth. Saying, "By the grace of Satyanārāyaṇa my desire has been fulfilled," the merchant Sādhu properly performed the worship of Śrī Satyanārāyaṇa together with all his companions. Having attained the grace of Lord Satyadeva, Sādhu became very pleased. Making the boat fit to sail, he set out towards his own land.
Near his home city, the merchant said to his son-in-law: "Look, that is my Ratnapurī." He sent an emissary, who was the guardian of the wealth, to the city. Going into the city, the messenger folded his hands and spoke fitting words to the wife of the merchant Sādhu: "The merchant, together with his son-in-law, carrying abundant wealth, and accompanied by his associates, has arrived near the city." Hearing the messenger's words, Līlāvatī was overjoyed. Completing the worship of Lord Satyanārāyaṇa, she said to her daughter: "I am going to behold my husband; come quickly!" Hearing her mother's words, the daughter also regarded the vrata as completed.
Leaving behind the prasāda, she set out to behold her husband. Lord Satyanārāyaṇa became angered by this, and submerged in the water the boat loaded with her husband and the wealth. Kalāvatī did not see her husband there. Filled with immense grief, she fell weeping to the ground. She saw the boat sinking. Terrified by the maiden's weeping, the merchant Sādhu said: "What a marvel has happened!" The boat's boatmen also began to worry. Now Līlāvatī too, seeing her daughter distressed, became agitated and said to her husband:
"At this moment, how have the boat and our son-in-law disappeared? One knows not which deity has seized the boat! Who can know the glory of Lord Satyanārāyaṇa?" Having said this, she began to weep along with her relatives. Then, taking her daughter onto her lap, she began to lament. There the daughter Kalāvatī was grieving over the absence of her husband. The merchant's daughter resolved to die, taking her husband's sandals. Accompanied by his wife, the merchant Sādhu saw his daughter in this state. The righteous merchant Sādhu, deeply distressed by sorrow, began to reflect. He said, "This seizure has been done by Śrī Satyadeva. I am deluded by the māyā of Satya."

Summoning everyone near him, he said: "I will worship Satyadeva in detail." Upon repeatedly bowing down to Lord Satyanārāyaṇa, the protector of the helpless, [the Lord] was pleased. Tender towards his devotees, he spoke these gracious words: "Your daughter came to see her husband having left behind the prasāda. For this very reason her husband vanished. If she goes home, accepts the prasāda,
and then returns, then, O Sādhu, she will find her husband; of this there is no doubt." The merchant's daughter also heard this incorporeal voice.
Instantly she went home and received the prasāda. Returning once again, she saw her husband there. Then she said to her father: "Now we should go home; why make any delay?" Hearing his daughter's words, the merchant Sādhu was pleased and worshipped Lord Satyanārāyaṇa according to the prescribed rites. Taking his relatives and his son-in-law, he went to his home. He continued to worship Satyanārāyaṇa on every full moon and saṃkrānti day. Throughout his life he enjoyed happiness, and in the end he went to Śrī Satyanārāyaṇa's abode of Vaikuṇṭha, which is unobtainable by non-Vaiṣṇavas, and where the effect of the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas) wrought by māyā does not exist.
Thus ends the fourth chapter in the Satyanārāyaṇavratakathā in the Revākhaṇḍa of the glorious Skandapurāṇa. 4.