Skandapurana 4.4.16.1

4.4.16.1

Sūta said: / “When questioned by the sage then, O venerable one, what did the gods say? / Speak of that, O great sage, for the welfare of the whole world.” // Śrī Vyāsa said: / Having heard Agastya's words preceded by great respect, / the gods looked toward the face of the lord of intelligence. // The lord of speech [Bṛhaspati] said: / “Listen, O highly fortunate Agastya, to the reason for the gods' arrival. / You are blessed, your purpose is accomplished, and you are venerable even to the great. // Are there not ascetics in every hermitage, on every mountain, in every forest, / O best of sages? Yet your state is quite unique. // The glory of austerity is present here in you; brahminic splendour is firmly established in you; / the supreme glory of merit is in you, generosity is in you, and [greatness of] mind is in you. // This auspicious, faithful wife Lopāmudrā is your partner in religious duties, / equal to the shadow of your body, whose tale brings merit. // Among devoted wives—such as Arundhatī, Sāvitrī, and Anasūyā, / Śāṇḍilyā, Satī, Lakṣmī, Śatarūpā, // Menā, Sunīti, Saṃjñā, and also Svāhā— / just as she is celebrated as the best, none other is, undoubtedly. // When you have eaten, O sage, she eats; when you stand, she stands; / she sleeps after you fall asleep, and wakes before [you]. // She never shows herself to you unadorned; / when you have gone abroad for some task, she is entirely devoid of adornments. // She would not utter your name, for the increase of your lifespan; / nor does she ever utter the name of another man. // Even when reviled, she does not revile in return; even when struck, she remains pleased; / and she says: ‘Master, consider that done which you say: “Do this.”’ // When called, she leaves her household duties and goes swiftly, [saying,] / ‘For what purpose was I called, Lord? Grant your gracious favour.’ // She does not linger long in the doorway, nor does she frequent the doorway; / without having been instructed by you, she gives nothing to anyone. // Unasked, she procures on her own all the articles for worship: