History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t2.229

v5.c74.t2.229

Chap. 107 deals with the story of the *śilā*¹⁴⁹¹ that was placed on the head of Gayāsura for making it stable. Dharma had a daughter called Dharmavratā Dharma could not find a bridegroom worthy of her virtues and accomplishments and asked her to perform *tapas* for the purpose. She performed severe austerities (subsisting only on air) for ten thousand years. Marīci, one of the mind-born sons of Brahmā, once saw her and asked her to become his wife. Dharmavratā asked him to request her father Dharma. Marīci approached Dharma who gave her in marriage to Marīci, who took her to his hermitage and had one hundred sons from her. Once Marīci being tired lay down for sleep and asked Dharmavratā to shampoo his feet. While she shampooed his feet Brahmā (her father-in-law) came there. She left off shampooing her husband's feet and got up to receive with honour her husband's father. In the meanwhile Marīci awoke and not seeing his wife cursed her to be a śilā (stone slab) as she disobeyed his order by giving up the shampooing of his feet. She being innocent of any fault got angry and was about to curse Marīci but said 'Mahādeva will curse you'. She, standing in the midst of Gārhapatya fire, performed *tapas* and Marīci also did the same. The gods led by Indra got anxious as usual and went to Viṣṇu who asked her to choose a boon. She prayed that the curse pronounced by her husband be annulled. The gods said that Marīci being a great sage the curse could not be annulled and asked her to choose some other boon. She said that she should be a śilā more holy than all rivers, sages and gods and that all tīrthas should stand in the slab of stone, that those who would bathe in the tīrthas on the śilā and offer piṇḍas and śrāddha should be able to go to *brahmaloka*, that all holy rivers like the Ganges should always remain in her. The gods conceded what she prayed for and said that when she would become stable on the head of Gayāsura, they would all stand on the śilā.