Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.2586
Purāṇic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Purāṇic Literature c9.2586
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2) Love story. Once the sage Bhr̥gu lived in the valley of Mandara mountain, performing austere tapas. Śukra who was then a boy, used to attend on his father. One day when Bhr̥gu was absorbed in “Nirvikalpasamādhi” (deep meditation) the lonely Śukra was appreciating the beauty of the sky above him. There was no one else by his side. At that time he happened to see an exceptionally beautiful Apsarā woman passing across the sky. His heart was filled with delight at the sight. All his thoughts were centred on her and he sat absorbed in her bewitching charm. In his imagination he followed Indra and reached Indraloka. Indra greeted him with honour. After that Śukra, attended by the heavenly beings went about sight-seeing in Heaven. There he unexpectedly came across the Apsarā beauty whom he had seen earlier, in the midst of several other women. They fell in love at first sight. To fulfil his desire Śukra enveloped the whole place in darkness. The other women left the place. The Apsarā beauty approached Śukra and both of them entered a hut formed by the thick foliage of creeping plants and indulged in sensual pleasures. Since Śukra spent a period of eight Catur yugas like this in her company, he became weak in his virtue and descended to the earth. Then he became conscious of his physical being. His depraved soul was stopped at the moon. It reached the earth through mist and grew up as paddy plants.
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A Brāhmaṇa who was a native of Daśārṇa land ate the rice which was cooked from the ears of those paddy plants. Śukra’s soul in the shape of Śukra entered the womb of the Brāhmaṇa’s wife and in due course took his birth. Because of his close association with Munis, that boy grew up like a sage and spent a period of one Manvantara, leading an austere life in the valley of the Meru mountain. At that time his Apsarā woman had been born as a female deer, as the result of a curse. By their connection in the previous birth, the Brāhmaṇa fell in love with that female deer and begot a human child by his union with her. With that the austerities of his life were at an end. All his thoughts were now directed towards the future glory of his son and he ignored even his spiritual duties. Not long after, he died of snake-bite. Later, he was born as the son of the king of Madra and ruled the country for many years. After that he took birth in many other wombs and at last was born as the son of a Maharṣi living on the bank of the river Gaṅgā. Śukra’s body which was by the side of Bhr̥gu dropped to the earth after being exposed to the wind and sun for a long time. But owing to Bhr̥gu’s power of tapas and the holiness of the āśrama, birds and animals did not eat the body. After 1,000 divyavatsaras, sage Bhr̥gu opened his eyes from his samādhi but he did not find his son near him. A famished and worn out body was lying before him.
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Within the wrinkles of the skin, small birds were nesting and frogs took refuge in the hollow of the stomach. Enraged at the premature death of his son, he was about to curse Yama, the god of Death. Coming to know of this Dharmarāja (Yama) appeared before him and said:—“We honour and adore you as a great tapasvī. You should not ruin your tapas. I have devoured numerous Brahmāṇḍas. I have already swallowed Rudras and Viṣṇudevas many times. All of you are my food. It is ordained by Fate. Even Brahmā is not indestructible at the end of a Kalpa. Knowing all these facts, why do you think of cursing me? Your son fell into this state because of his own act. While you were in a state of Samādhi your son’s mind left its body and went up to Heaven. There he spent many years indulging in sensual pleasures in the company of the celestial beauty Viśvācī. Then he was born as a Brāhmaṇa in Daśārṇa country. In his next birth he became the King of Kosala. After that passing through many births in succession he is now performing tapas on the bank of the river Samaṅgā as the son of a Brāhmaṇa, under the name, Vāsudeva. Open your inner eye and see for yourself.”