Skandapurana 2.4.21
English (machine translation) 2.4.21
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Nārada said:
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Having gone to Jalandhara, that city of the Daitya,
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Viṣṇu set his mind upon breaking the fidelity of Vṛndā. // 1
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Meanwhile, the lady Vṛndā saw in a dream:
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her husband mounted upon a buffalo, smeared with oil, naked, // 2
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richly adorned with black flowers, attended by packs of carnivores,
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traveling toward the southern direction, his head shaved, and enveloped in darkness; // 3
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and her own city suddenly submerged in the ocean along with herself.
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Then, having awakened, that young woman, pondering that dream, // 4
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saw the risen sun repeatedly spotted and lusterless.
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Knowing that to be inauspicious, weeping and distraught with fear, // 5
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she found no peace anywhere, neither in the gateways nor on the palace terraces.
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Then, accompanied by two female companions, she went to the city garden. // 6
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Even wandering there, that young woman found happiness nowhere.
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Going from grove to grove, she was then not even conscious of herself. // 7
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Then, as she wandered, the young woman saw two exceedingly terrifying
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Rākṣasas with faces of lions, terrifying with fanged jaws. // 8
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Seeing them, she was extremely distraught and took to flight.
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She saw a peaceful ascetic accompanied by a disciple, observing silence. // 9
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Then, wrapping her vine-like arms around his neck out of fear,
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she spoke: "O sage, protect me! I have come for refuge!" // 2.4.21.10
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The sage, seeing her distraught and pursued by the Rākṣasas,
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with a single roar of *huṃ* turned those terrible two away in wrath. // 11
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Seeing them terrified by the roar of *huṃ* and turned away,
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bowing like a staff to the ground, Vṛndā spoke these words: // 12
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Vṛndā said:
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"I have been saved by you from this terrible danger, O treasury of compassion.
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I wish to say something; graciously listen to it. // 13
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For my husband Jalandhara has gone to fight Rudra, O lord.
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How does he fare there in the battle? Tell me that, O you of noble vows!
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Nārada said:
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Hearing her words, the sage looked upward with compassion;
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just then two monkeys arrived, bowed down, and stood before [him].
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Then, directed by a sign of his eyebrow, they went into the sky;
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having gone, they returned in half a moment, bowed down, and stood before [him],
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having brought the head, the torso, and the two hands.
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Seeing the head, the torso, and the two hands of the son of the ocean,
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she fell fainting to the ground, anguished by the misfortune of her husband.
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Sprinkled with water from his water-pot, she was then revived by the sage;
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placing her forehead against her husband's forehead, the wretched woman wept:
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Vṛndā said:
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O lord, you who formerly delighted me in happy conversation,
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why do you not speak today to me, your innocent beloved?
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By whom the gods along with the Gandharvas were defeated together with Viṣṇu,
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how has he, the conqueror of the three worlds, been killed today by an ascetic?
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Nārada said:
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Having wept thus, Vṛndā then said these words to the sage:
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Vṛndā said:
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O ocean of compassion, best of sages, bring this beloved of mine back to life!
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You alone, O sage, are capable of reviving him, so I believe. / Nārada said:
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Hearing her words, the sage smiled and said:
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The sage said:
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He cannot be brought back to life, having been slain in battle by Rudra;
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nevertheless, filled with compassion for you, I shall revive him.
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Nārada said:
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Having spoken thus, the brahmin vanished; and there was the son of the ocean!
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Embracing Vṛndā, he kissed her face, his heart delighted.
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Then Vṛndā too, seeing her husband, with a delighted heart,
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staying in the midst of that forest, enjoyed pleasure with him for many days.
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Once, at the end of lovemaking, seeing that it was Viṣṇu himself,
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rebuking [him] and filled with rage, Vṛndā spoke these words:
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Vṛndā said:
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Fie upon your conduct, O Hari, who violates another's wife!
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You have been thoroughly discovered by me, an ascetic disguised by illusion!
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Those two gatekeepers of yours whom you showed to me by illusion,
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those very two, having become rākṣasas, will carry off your wife!
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And you too, afflicted by grief for your wife, having monkeys as your helpers,
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shall wander in the forest with this lord of serpents who has become your disciple!
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Having spoken thus, Vṛndā then entered the fire,
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even though restrained by Viṣṇu, whose heart was attached to her.
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Then Hari, remembering her repeatedly, united with Vṛndā and covered with her ashes,
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remained right there; even though consoled by the hosts of gods and siddhas, he attained no peace.
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Thus ends the twenty-first chapter, named 'The Description of Vṛndā's Entering the Fire', in the story of Jalandhara, in the Māhātmya of the Month of Kārtika, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses].
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit