Skandapurana 3.3.3.47.3

3.3.3.47.3

Thus addressed by me, those messengers of the God of gods, the trident-wielder, / dispelling all doubts, then answered me with affection. / The messengers of Śiva said: / "O brahmin, listen to a very great marvel, if you have curiosity, / regarding what you have now said concerning this cāṇḍāla woman. / In a previous birth she was a certain brahmin girl / named Sumitrā, whose face was like the full disk of the moon, / whose bodily characteristics were delicate like a garland of blooming jasmine, / the chaste daughter of a certain foremost brahmin of the Kaikeya country. / Seeing her growing up in her father's house, endowed with all auspicious marks / like a second embodiment of Rati, people were astonished. / Day by day she grew, pampered greatly by her relatives; / slowly she attained youth, like the great bow of the God of Love. / Then that young maiden was given according to rule by her father, / joined by his relatives, to a certain brahmin's son. / Having obtained a husband, possessing fresh youth, / of good conduct, she enjoyed herself for some time surrounded by relatives. / Then, through the power of time, her husband, afflicted by severe disease, / though endowed with beauty and youth, met his death, O sage. / When her husband died, being a chaste woman whose heart was burned with sorrow, / she lived for a few months well-behaved, with conquered senses. / Then, through the constantly developing burden of youth, / her heart became agitated by Kāmadeva. / Kept hidden by her circle of relatives, though instructed by the most eminent, / that woman was unable to restrain her mind, captivated by love. / Filled with intense desire, endowed with beauty and youth, / though a widow, she became especially devoted to the path of lovers. / Known by no one at all to be an unchaste woman, being clever, / that worst of women concealed her own misconduct for some time. / Overcome with pregnancy cravings, her breasts with thick, dark nipples, / in time even her circle of relatives realized she had been defiled by a paramour.