The Curse of Mandavya upon Dharmaraja and the Boons at Dirghika

Verse 1 (skanda.6.136.1)

॥ मांडव्य उवाच ॥ ग्रहीष्यामि सुरश्रेष्ठा वरं युष्मत्समुद्रवम् ॥ परं मे निर्णयं चैकं धर्मराजः प्रचक्षतु॥

māṁḍavya uvāca grahīṣyāmi suraśreṣṭhā varaṁ yuṣmatsamudravam paraṁ me nirṇayaṁ caikaṁ dharmarājaḥ pracakṣatu

Mandavya said: O best of gods, I shall accept the boon you offer, but first let Dharmaraja explain to me one thing I must know.

Verse 2 (skanda.6.136.2)

सर्वेषां प्राणिनां लोके कृतं कर्म शुभाशुभम् ॥ उपतिष्ठति नान्यत्र सत्यमेतत्सुरोत्तमाः

sarveṣāṁ prāṇināṁ loke kṛtaṁ karma śubhāśubham upatiṣṭhati nānyatra satyametatsurottamāḥ

O best of gods, it is true that for all creatures in this world, it is their own deed, good or bad, that comes back to meet them, and nothing else.

Verse 3 (skanda.6.136.3)

मयाप्यत्र परे चापि किं कृतं पातकं च यत् ॥ ईदृशीं वेदनां प्राप्तो न च मृत्युं कथचन

mayāpyatra pare cāpi kiṁ kṛtaṁ pātakaṁ ca yat īdṛśīṁ vedanāṁ prāpto na ca mṛtyuṁ kathacana

Then what sin did I commit, in this life or in another, that I should have received such agony as this, and that too without ever meeting death?

Verse 4 (skanda.6.136.4)

॥ धर्मराज उवाच ॥ अन्यदेहे त्वया विप्र बालभावेन वर्तता ॥ शूलाग्रेण सुतीक्ष्णेन काये विद्धो बकः क्षितौ

dharmarāja uvāca anyadehe tvayā vipra bālabhāvena vartatā śūlāgreṇa sutīkṣṇena kāye viddho bakaḥ kṣitau

Dharmaraja said: O brahmin, in another body, while you were still a young child, you pierced the body of a heron with the sharp tip of a stake, upon the ground.

Verse 5 (skanda.6.136.5)

नान्यत्कृतमपि स्वल्पं पातकं किंचिदेव हि ॥ एतस्मात्कारणादेषा व्यथा संसेविता द्विज

nānyatkṛtamapi svalpaṁ pātakaṁ kiṁcideva hi etasmātkāraṇādeṣā vyathā saṁsevitā dvija

You committed no other sin, not even the smallest one, apart from that; O brahmin, it was for that reason alone that you underwent this suffering.

Verse 6 (skanda.6.136.6)

॥ सूत उवाच ॥ तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा भृशं क्रोधसमन्वितः ॥ ततस्तं प्राह मांडव्यो धर्मराजं पुरः स्थितम्

sūta uvāca tasya tadvacanaṁ śrutvā bhṛśaṁ krodhasamanvitaḥ tatastaṁ prāha māṁḍavyo dharmarājaṁ puraḥ sthitam

Suta said: Hearing his words, Mandavya, filled with intense anger, then spoke to Dharmaraja, who stood before him.

Verse 7 (skanda.6.136.7)

अस्य स्वल्पापराधस्य यस्माद्भूयान्विनिग्रहः ॥ कृतस्त्वया सुदुर्बुद्धे तस्माच्छापं गृहाण मे

asya svalpāparādhasya yasmādbhūyānvinigrahaḥ kṛtastvayā sudurbuddhe tasmācchāpaṁ gṛhāṇa me

Since you have inflicted so great a punishment for so trivial an offence, O foolish one, therefore receive from me this curse.

Verse 8 (skanda.6.136.8)

त्वं प्राप्य मानुषं देहं शूद्रयोनौ व्यवस्थितः ॥ जातिक्षयकृतं दुःखं प्रभूतं सेवयिष्यसि

tvaṁ prāpya mānuṣaṁ dehaṁ śūdrayonau vyavasthitaḥ jātikṣayakṛtaṁ duḥkhaṁ prabhūtaṁ sevayiṣyasi

You shall obtain a human body, be born into a shudra womb, and there endure abundant suffering born of the decay of your own lineage.

Verse 9 (skanda.6.136.9)

तथा कृता मयैषाद्य व्यवस्था सर्वदेहिनाम् ॥ अष्टमाद्वत्सरादूर्ध्यं कर्मणा गर्हितेन च ॥ प्रग्रहीष्यति वै जंतुः पुरुषो योषिदेव वा

tathā kṛtā mayaiṣādya vyavasthā sarvadehinām aṣṭamādvatsarādūrdhyaṁ karmaṇā garhitena ca pragrahīṣyati vai jaṁtuḥ puruṣo yoṣideva vā

And today I have further ordained this rule for all embodied beings: only after the eighth year of age shall any creature, whether man or woman, come to bear the fruit of a reprehensible deed.

Verse 10 (skanda.6.136.10)

एवमुक्त्वा स मांडव्यो धर्मराजं ततः परम् ॥ प्रस्थितो रोषनिर्मुक्तो वांछिताशां प्रति द्विजाः

evamuktvā sa māṁḍavyo dharmarājaṁ tataḥ param prasthito roṣanirmukto vāṁchitāśāṁ prati dvijāḥ

O brahmins, having said this, Mandavya, now free of his rage, departed from Dharmaraja and set out toward whatever place he desired.

Verse 11 (skanda.6.136.11)

अथ तं प्रस्थितं दृष्ट्वा प्रोचुः सर्वे दिवौकसः ॥ धर्मराजकृते व्यग्राः श्रुत्वा शापं तथाविधम्

atha taṁ prasthitaṁ dṛṣṭvā procuḥ sarve divaukasaḥ dharmarājakṛte vyagrāḥ śrutvā śāpaṁ tathāvidham

Then, seeing him departing, and troubled on Dharmaraja's account after hearing such a curse, all the gods said.

Verse 12 (skanda.6.136.12)

॥ देवा ऊचुः ॥ भगवन्पापसक्तस्य धर्मराजस्य केवलम्॥ न त्वमर्हसि शापेन शूद्रं कर्तुं कथंचन

devā ūcuḥ bhagavanpāpasaktasya dharmarājasya kevalam na tvamarhasi śāpena śūdraṁ kartuṁ kathaṁcana

The gods said: O lord, Dharmaraja is by no means devoted to sin — he simply carries out his own duty; therefore it is not fitting for you, by this curse, to make him a shudra in any way.

Verse 13 (skanda.6.136.13)

प्रसादं कुरु तस्मात्त्वमस्य धर्मपतेर्द्विज ॥ अस्माकं वचनात्सद्यः प्रार्थयस्व तथा वरम्

prasādaṁ kuru tasmāttvamasya dharmapaterdvija asmākaṁ vacanātsadyaḥ prārthayasva tathā varam

Therefore, O brahmin, be gracious to this lord of dharma; at our word, ask instead, at once, for some other boon in its place.

Verse 14 (skanda.6.136.14)

॥ मांडव्य उवाच ॥ नान्यथा जायते वाणी या मयोक्ता सुरोत्तमाः ॥ अवश्यं धर्मराजोऽयं शूद्रयोनौ प्रयास्यति

māṁḍavya uvāca nānyathā jāyate vāṇī yā mayoktā surottamāḥ avaśyaṁ dharmarājo'yaṁ śūdrayonau prayāsyati

Mandavya said: O best of gods, the word I have spoken cannot be otherwise; this Dharmaraja shall certainly go to birth in a shudra womb.

Verse 15 (skanda.6.136.15)

परं नैवास्य संतानं तस्यां योनौ भविष्यति ॥ संप्राप्स्यति च भूयोऽपि धर्मराजत्वमुत्तमम्

paraṁ naivāsya saṁtānaṁ tasyāṁ yonau bhaviṣyati saṁprāpsyati ca bhūyo'pi dharmarājatvamuttamam

But he shall have no offspring in that womb, and he shall once again attain to his own exalted station as Dharmaraja.

Verse 16 (skanda.6.136.16)

आराधयतु चाव्यग्रः क्षेत्रेऽत्रैव त्रिलोचनम् ॥ प्रसादात्तस्य देवस्य शीघ्रं मृत्युमवाप्स्यति

ārādhayatu cāvyagraḥ kṣetre'traiva trilocanam prasādāttasya devasya śīghraṁ mṛtyumavāpsyati

Let him, with an untroubled mind, worship the three-eyed Shiva in this very kshetra; by the grace of that god he shall swiftly attain to death.

Verse 17 (skanda.6.136.17)

तथा देयो वरो मह्यं भवद्भिर्यदि स्वर्गपाः ॥ तदेषा शूलिकाऽस्माकं स्पर्शाद्भूयात्सुधर्मदा

tathā deyo varo mahyaṁ bhavadbhiryadi svargapāḥ tadeṣā śūlikā'smākaṁ sparśādbhūyātsudharmadā

O lords of heaven, and if you wish to grant a boon to me as well, then let this very stake of ours become, by mere touch, a bestower of great merit.

Verse 18 (skanda.6.136.18)

॥ देवा ऊचुः ॥ एनां यः प्रातरुत्थाय स्पर्शयिष्यति शूलिकाम् ॥ पातकात्स विमुक्तो वा इह लोके भविष्यति

devā ūcuḥ enāṁ yaḥ prātarutthāya sparśayiṣyati śūlikām pātakātsa vimukto vā iha loke bhaviṣyati

The gods said: Whoever rises in the morning and touches this stake shall, in this very world, become freed of sin.

Verse 19 (skanda.6.136.19)

एवमुक्त्वा मुनिं तं ते देवाः शक्रपुरोगमाः ॥ ततस्तां सादरं प्राहुः सह भर्त्रा पतिव्रताम्

evamuktvā muniṁ taṁ te devāḥ śakrapurogamāḥ tatastāṁ sādaraṁ prāhuḥ saha bhartrā pativratām

Having said this to the sage, those gods, headed by Indra, then spoke with reverence to that devoted wife, together with her husband.

Verse 20 (skanda.6.136.20)

त्वमपि प्रार्थयाभीष्टमस्मत्तो वरवर्णिनि ॥ यत्ते चित्ते स्थितं नित्यं नादेयं विद्यतेऽत्र नः

tvamapi prārthayābhīṣṭamasmatto varavarṇini yatte citte sthitaṁ nityaṁ nādeyaṁ vidyate'tra naḥ

O most excellent one, you too ask of us whatever you desire; there is nothing that has ever dwelt in your heart which we would refuse to give.

Verse 21 (skanda.6.136.21)

॥ पतिव्रतोवाच ॥ येयं मयाकृता गर्ता स्थानेऽत्र त्रिदशेश्वराः ॥ मन्नाम्ना ख्यातिमायातु दीर्घिकेति जगत्त्रये

pativratovāca yeyaṁ mayākṛtā gartā sthāne'tra tridaśeśvarāḥ mannāmnā khyātimāyātu dīrghiketi jagattraye

The devoted wife said: O lords of the thirty gods, let this pit which I have made here at this spot become renowned, in all three worlds, by my own name, as Dirghika.

Verse 22 (skanda.6.136.22)

॥ देवा ऊचुः ॥ अद्यप्रभृति लोकेऽत्र गर्त्तेयं तव शोभने ॥ दीर्घिकेति सुविख्याता भविष्यति जगत्त्रये

devā ūcuḥ adyaprabhṛti loke'tra gartteyaṁ tava śobhane dīrghiketi suvikhyātā bhaviṣyati jagattraye

The gods said: O radiant one, from this day forward, this pit of yours shall become, in all three worlds, well renowned by the name Dirghika.

Verse 23 (skanda.6.136.23)

येऽस्यां स्नानं करिष्यंति प्रातरुत्थाय मानवाः ॥ सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तास्ते भविष्यंति तत्क्षणात्

ye'syāṁ snānaṁ kariṣyaṁti prātarutthāya mānavāḥ sarvapāpavinirmuktāste bhaviṣyaṁti tatkṣaṇāt

Whatever men rise in the morning and bathe in it shall, that very instant, become freed of every sin.

Verse 24 (skanda.6.136.24)

कन्याराशिगते सूर्ये संप्राप्ते पंचमीदिने ॥ येऽत्र स्नानं करिष्यंति श्रद्धया सहिता नराः

kanyārāśigate sūrye saṁprāpte paṁcamīdine ye'tra snānaṁ kariṣyaṁti śraddhayā sahitā narāḥ

When the sun is in the sign of Kanya (Virgo), on the fifth lunar day, whatever men bathe here with faith and devotion,

Verse 25 (skanda.6.136.25)

अपुत्रास्ते भविष्यंति सपुत्रा वंशवर्धनाः ॥ एवमुक्त्वाऽथ तां देवा जग्मुः स्वर्गं द्विजोत्तमाः॥

aputrāste bhaviṣyaṁti saputrā vaṁśavardhanāḥ evamuktvā'tha tāṁ devā jagmuḥ svargaṁ dvijottamāḥ

even if childless, shall become blessed with sons who carry forward their lineage. O best of brahmins, having said this to her, the gods departed for their heavenly abode.

Verse 26 (skanda.6.136.26)

पतिव्रतापि तेनैव सह कांतेन सुन्दरी ॥ सेवयामास कल्याणी स्मरसौख्यमनुत्तमम्

pativratāpi tenaiva saha kāṁtena sundarī sevayāmāsa kalyāṇī smarasaukhyamanuttamam

That devoted, gracious, and beautiful wife too, together with that same beloved husband, came to enjoy the supreme delight of love.

Verse 27 (skanda.6.136.27)

पर्वतेषु सुरम्येषु नदीनां पुलिनेषु च ॥ उद्यानेषु विचित्रेषु वनेषूपवनेषु च

parvateṣu suramyeṣu nadīnāṁ pulineṣu ca udyāneṣu vicitreṣu vaneṣūpavaneṣu ca

They wandered over lovely mountains, along the sandbanks of rivers, through marvellous gardens, and through forests and groves.

Verse 28 (skanda.6.136.28)

ततो वयसि संप्राप्ते पश्चिमे कालपर्ययात्। तदेवात्मीयसत्तीर्थं सेवयामास सादरम्

tato vayasi saṁprāpte paścime kālaparyayāt tadevātmīyasattīrthaṁ sevayāmāsa sādaram

Then, when in the course of time the final stage of life had come upon them, she devotedly attended once more upon that same sacred tirtha of her own making.

Verse 29 (skanda.6.136.29)

ततो देहं परित्यक्त्वा स्वकांतं वीक्ष्य तं मृतम् ॥ तत्र तोये जगामाथ ब्रह्मलोकं पतिव्रता।

tato dehaṁ parityaktvā svakāṁtaṁ vīkṣya taṁ mṛtam tatra toye jagāmātha brahmalokaṁ pativratā

Then, seeing her own beloved husband dead, that devoted wife too gave up her body there in that very water and went to the world of Brahma.

Verse 30 (skanda.6.136.30)

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं दीर्घिकाख्यानमुत्तमम् ॥ यस्य संश्रवणादेव नरः पापात्प्रमुच्यते

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṁ dīrghikākhyānamuttamam yasya saṁśravaṇādeva naraḥ pāpātpramucyate

I have thus recounted to you in full this excellent tale of Dirghika, merely by hearing which a man is released from sin.