English Padmapuran-12

Glorification of Gita Chapter XII

Siddhasamadhi & revival of King Brihadratha

(Chapter 186, Padma Purana, Part-IX)

 Mahadeva said:
In the southern country there is a city named Kolhapura. O good one, it is the abode of pleasures, and the source of accomplishment of superhuman powers for the good ones. It is a great seat of the Parasakti (Supreme Power), and is resorted to by all gods. It is well-known in the Puranas as giving enjoyments and salvation. There are crores of holy places there, and crores of phalluses of Shiva. There is Rudragaya. It is large and well-known in the world. The ramparts are like high mountains, and the banners on the gates are shining. On the top of the palace there is a high golden banner. The city is adorned with a row of high mansions and topmost of the houses resembling the moon. The quarters were made fragrant with the smoke of the incense coming out of the holes of windows. It has a great shadow due to the moving banners. It is endowed with temples. It is inhabited by clever, handsome, affectionate, rich, pure men, of good conduct and having many ornaments. Women live there, whose eyes are like those of deer, whose faces resemble the moon, whose hair is curly, who resemble the blooming champaka, whose breasts are stout and high, who are adorned with deep navels and three folds (on their bellies), whose hips are large, whose pairs of shanks are charming, whose feet are excellent, whose girdles are making sounds, whose jewelled anklets are jingling, whose lotus-like hands have bracelets that are tinkling, and the rays from whose nails are flashing, and that fascinate even sages. The city is endowed with all objects, and full of all enjoyments. It possesses all auspicious things, and has Mahalaksmi (living in it). (1-11)

 There came one young, fair man of charming eyes. His neck was conch-like; his shoulders were broad; his chest was large; his arms were long. He was endowed with all (pod) marks; was fair and handsome in all limbs. Entering the city he saw the beauty in all the high mansions. His mind was eager to see Mahalaksmi, the chief goddess. He bathed in Manikunda and offered oblations to his dead ancestors. Having seen Mahalaksmi, Mahamaya, he devoutly praised her. "The mother of the world, the protector, having infinite pity, brings about by her glance the existence and protection of the world. Lord Brahma ordered by that Power creates (the world). Vishnu depending upon that Power, maintains the world. Shiva being entered by that Power destroys everything. I worship that great Power, mighty due to her creating, maintaining and destroying (the world). O you whose lotus-like feet are meditated upon by meditating ascetics, O Kamala, O you having a lotus as your abode, You grasp all our innate properties within the range of the senses. You alone are the mass of thoughts. You make the mind fit for that. You are of the form of desires, knowledge and acts. You are of the form of the highest consciousness. You desire no fruit ; you are spotless ; you are eternal ; you are formless; you are unstained. You are constant ; you are free from agony ; you are independent ; you are free from disease. Who is capable of describing your greatness like this? I salute you, moving in the twelve (months) after disclosing the collection of the six (seasons). You are of the nature of anahata sabda (sound produced without beating); you are of the nature of nada, bindu and kala. O mother, you are the river of the nectar oozing from the full moon. O affectionate one, you nourish children like Sanaka etc. who are naked. You are auspicious, consciousness attached to (the states of) waking, dream and deep sleep. You are in the fourth state; you are in the combination of pity and courteous language. To all living beings the entire wealth of Brahman is given by you who are beyond the fourth state after having withdrawn the group of all the reals. By you who are indeterminate, identity with bimba (?) is granted to the yogins. I salute the Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari (the four kinds of vac - speech) also. O goddess, for the proper protection of the world you take up (various) forms. You are Brahmi, Vaishnavi, Mahesi, O mother. O Varahi, you are Mahalaksmi, Narasimhi and Aindrika. You are Kaumari, Chandika, Laksmi, the purifier of everything; you are Savitri, the mother of the world, Sasini and Rohini. You are Svaha, Svadha; you are the divine nectar. You are Durga; you are adorned with a mass of clubs and staff-like arms. O you with your eyes reeling due to drinking blood dropping from the body of Raktabija (a demon), O you having the strong pair of arms taken out from the neck of an intoxicated he-buffalo, O you who put in great valour in tearing the great demon called Sumbha, O you having unlimited acts, O you mother of the three worlds, I salute you. O you wish-fulfilling tree to your devotees, O you goddess, favour me." Thus praised by him goddess Mahalaksmi then took up her own form and spoke to that man. (12-33)

 O prince, I am pleased, ask for an excellent boon. (34a)

 The prince said:
My father, a king, while performing a great horse-sacrifice, was unfortunately overcome by a disease and died. Having dried his body with heated oil, I have kept it. The sacrifice continued as before. The horse that had wandered over the earth, (was tied) to a post. Someone at night cut off the bond and took him somewhere. When (my) men after not finding him, came back, I, addressing all priests, have sought your refuge. O goddess, if you are pleased, then may my horse of the sacrifice be seen, so that the sacrifice will be completed and my father, the king, will be free from debt. O mother of the world, O you who love those who seek your refuge, do like that. (34b-40a)

 The goddess said:
A brahmana, known as Siddhasamadhi, is at my door. By my order he will accomplish all your work. Thus addressed by Sri Mahalaksmi, the prince then came to the place where the sage Siddhasamadhi was. Having saluted his lotus-like feet, he stood there with his palms joined. (40b-42)

 Then the brahmana said to him: "You are sent by Amba. See, I shall accomplish all that is desired by you." Speaking like this, the mantrika (knower of spells) drew (to his presence) all gods. The son of the king then saw the gods having joined their palms and with their bodies trembling. Then the best brahmana spoke to all the gods: "This prince's horse meant for a sacrifice was snatched and taken away at night by the lord of gods. O gods, bring (back) his horse, do not delay." Having heard the sage's words, the gods gave him (back) the horse. He allowed the gods (to go). Having seen the gods drawn (by him), and having received the lost horse, the king's son bowed to the sage, and said to him : "O best sage, this your power is a wonder. You have done a marvel by drawing on the gods in a moment. Having drawn the horse give me (back) my horse meant for the sacrifice. There is nothing else which is difficult to be done even by gods. You alone, and none else, will be capable of doing it. O brahmana, listen. My father was king Brihadratha. He commenced a horse-sacrifice, but died through (bad) luck. Even now his body lies, dried with heated oil. O best one, please bring him back to life again." "We shall go there where (the body of) your father is, and where your sacrificial hall is." Having come (there) along with that Siddhasamadhi, he consecrated water and threw it on the head of the dead body. Then the king got (back) consciousness, and saw (the people there). The king asked him : "O Dharma (i.e. pious one), who are you?" Then the prince told everything to the king. The king saluted the brahmana who had given (back) his life again. He said: "Due to which religious merit have you this uncommon power by means of which you gave (back) my life and called the gods, and also by means of which (power) you rescued the sacrifice? Tell (me) that". Being thus addressed, the brahmana spoke in soft words. "I carefully mutter the twelfth chapter of the Gita. Due to that (I have) this power by means of which you (re-)gained life." (43-60)

 Hearing these words the king learnt the excellent twelfth chapter from that brahmana sage along with brahmanas. Due to the greatness of that chapter all of them obtained good position. Other living beings also, after having recited it, obtained great salvation. (61-62)
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SUMMARY

 After that Lord Shiva then recited the wonderful glories of the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. Once a young prince arrived in the holy place Kolhapura. He first took a bath and worshiped his ancestors. Then he went to the temple of Maha Lakshmi-devi, the Lord’s divine consort. Because she fulfills all desires, the prince offered his obeisances to her and prayed: “O Devi, whose heart is full of mercy, you are worshiped as the giver of all fortune and the mother of creation. You are the wonderful energy of Lord Acyuta, who maintains the whole world. You protect the devotees, fulfill their desires, and engage them in the service of Lord Achyuta. Kindly be merciful to me.”

 When Maha Lakshmi heard his prayers, she fell pleased and told him he could ask for any benediction. The prince told Maha Lakshmi that his father, King Brihadratha, had been performing a horse sacrifice but had become ill and died, leaving the sacrifice incomplete. The prince now aspired to complete the sacrifice to fulfill his father’s desire. One of the horses, however, had been stolen, and he had not been able to find it. Therefore he had decided to ask her for this particular horse, which had already been purified for this purpose.

 Maha Lakshmi-devi told the prince about a brahmana named Siddha-samadhi, who lived by the gate of her temple. He would be able to grant the prince his desire. The prince went and found Siddha-samadhi, who said to him, “You have been sent here by mother Maha Lakshmi-devi, so I shall fulfill your desire. “Thereafter, by chanting mantras Siddha-samadhi summoned all the demigods and asked them to bring back the prince’s horse, which had been stolen by Lord Indra. At once the demigods brought the horse, and Siddha-samadhi dismissed them. 

 When the prince saw all these wonders, he fell at the feet of Siddha-samadhi. Could Siddha-samadhi, the prince asked, kindly bring the prince’s father back to life? Siddha-samadhi chuckled, and together they went to the place where the prince had kept his father’s body. There Siddha-samadhi took some water in his hand and chanted some mantras as he sprinkled on the head of King Brihadratha’s dead body. As soon as the water touched the king’s head, the king sat up and asked Siddha-samadhi to identify himself.

 When the king learned all that had taken place, he repeatedly offered obeisances to Siddha-samadhi and then inquired what austerities he had performed to attain such powers. Siddha-samadhi replied, “Dear King Brihadratha, daily I recite the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita.” Hearing these words of that great devotee, the king learned the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita from Siddha-samadhi, and in the course of time both the king and his son attained devotion to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. 

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 Online Sources:
1a) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : West Bengal Public Library Network
1b) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : Digital Library of India
1c) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : Derived from 1a,b

Hard Copy Source: (scanned "PDF"s from Online Source#1a,b)
"The Padma-Purana (English)" by Veda Vyasa, 1954 & 1956. Translated by Sri N.A. Deshpande, Indian Translation Series of the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, jointly sponsored by UNESCO & Government of India. Part VIII & IX, First Edition. 2906-2970p. Published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt.Ltd., Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-1110007. Printed by Jainendra Prakash Jain at Jainendra Press, A-45 Naraina Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi-110028.

Online References:
संस्कृत श्लोक - Sanskrit Padmapuran-12

বাংলা অনুবাদ - Bengali Padmapuran-12
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Typed, OCR-ed, edited and uploaded by rk

Acknowledges Keshav Srinivasan for citing the Online Sources#1a,b of Padma Purana.

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