{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/db/bk09ch24.htm","path":"hin/db/bk09ch24.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk09ch24.htm","text":"THE NINTH BOOK\nChapter XXIV\nOn the glory of Tulas\u00ee\n1. N\u00e2rada said :-- How did N\u00e2r\u00e2yana impregnate Tulas\u00ee? Kindly describe all that in detail.\n2-11. N\u00e2r\u00e2yana said :-- For accomplishing the ends of the Devas, Bhagav\u00e2n Hari assumed the Vaisnav\u00ee M\u00e2y\u00e2, took the Kavacha from S\u2019ankhach\u00fbda and assuming his form, went to the house of Tulas\u00ee. Dundubhis (celestial drums) were sounded at Her door, shouts of\nvictory were proclaimed and Tulas\u00ee was informed. The chaste Tulas\u00ee, hearing that sound very gladly looked out on the royal road from the window. Then for auspicious observances, She offered riches to the Br\u00e2hmins; then She gave wealth to the panegyrists (or bards attached to the courts of princes), to the beggars, and the other chanters of hymns. That time Bhagav\u00e2n N\u00e2r\u00e2yana alighted from His chariot and went to the house of the Dev\u00ee Tulas\u00ee, built of invaluable gems, looking exceedingly artistic and beautiful. Seeing her dear husband before her, She became very glad and washed his feet and shed tears of joy and bowed down to Him. Then She, impelled by love, made him take his seat on the beautiful jewel throne and giving him sweet scented betels with camphor, began to say :-- \u201cToday my life has been crowned with success. For I am seeing again my lord returned from the battle.\u201d Then she cast smiling glances askance at him and with her body filled with rapturous joy lovingly asked him the news of the war in sweet words :--\n12-13. O Thou, the Ocean of mercy! Now tell me of your heroic valour, how you have come out victorious in war with Mah\u00e2deva who destroys countless universes. Hearing Tulas\u00ee\u2019s word, the Lord of Laksm\u00ee, in the guise of S\u2019ankhach\u00fbda, spoke these nectar-like words with a smiling countenance.\n14-17. O Dear! Full one Samvatsara the war lasted betwixt us. All the Daityas were killed. Then Brahm\u00e2 Himself came and mediated. Peace, then, was brought about and by the command of Brahm\u00e2, I gave over to the Devas their rights. When I returned to my home, S\u2019iva went back to His S\u2019ivaloka. Thus saying, Hari, the Lord of the world, slept and then engaged in sexual intercourse with her. But the chaste Tulas\u00ee, finding this time her experience quite different from what She used to enjoy before, argued all the time within herself and at last questioned him :--\n18-22. Who are you? O Magician! By spreading your magic, you have enjoyed me. As you have taken my chastity, I will curse you. Bhagav\u00e2n N\u00e2r\u00e2yana, hearing Tulas\u00ee\u2019s words and being afraid of the curse, assumed His real beautiful figure. The Dev\u00ee then saw the Eternal Lord of the Devas before her. He was of a deep blue colour like fresh rain-clouds and with eyes like autumnal lotuses and with playful L\u00eel\u00e2s equivalent to tens and tens of millions of Love personified and adorned with jewels and ornaments. His face was smiling and gracious; and he wore his yellow-coloured robe. The love-stricken Tulas\u00ee, seeing That Lovely Form\nof V\u00e2sudeva, immediately fell senseless; and at the next moment, regaining consciousness, she began to speak.\n23-27. O Lord! Thou art like a stone. Thou hast no mercy. By hypocrisy Thou hast destroyed my chastity, my virtue and for that reason didst kill my husband. O Lord! Thou had no mercy; Thy heart is like a stone. So Let Thee be turned into a stone. Those who declare Thee as a saint, are no doubt mistaken. Why didst Thou for the sake of others, kill without any fault, another Bhakta of Thine. Thus speaking, Tulas\u00ee overpowered with grief and sorrow, cried aloud and repeatedly gave vent to lamentations. Seeing her thus very distressed, N\u00e2r\u00e2yana, the Ocean of Mercy, spoke to her to cheer her up according to the rules of Dharma.\n28-102. O Honoured One! For a long time you performed tapasy\u00e2 in this Bh\u00e2rata, to get Me. S\u2019ankhach\u00fbda, too, performed tapasy\u00e2 for a long time to get you. By that tapas, S\u2019ankhach\u00fbda got you as wife. Now it is highly incumbent to award you also with the fruit that you asked for. Therefore I have done this. Now quit your this terestrial body and assume a Divine Body and marry Me. O R\u00e2me! Be like Laksm\u00ee. This body of yours will be known by the name of Gandak\u00ee, a very virtuous, pure and pellucid stream in this holy land of Bh\u00e2rata. Your hairs will be turned into sacred trees and as they will be born of you, you will be known by the name of Tulas\u00ee. All the three worlds will perform their P\u00fbj\u00e2s with the leaves and flowers of this Tulas\u00ee. Therefore, O Fair-faced One! This Tulas\u00ee will be reckoned as the chief amongst all flowers and leaves. In Heavens, earth, and the nether regions, and before Me, O Fair One, you will reign as the chief amongst trees and flowers. In the region of Goloka, on the banks of the river Viraj\u00e2, in the R\u00e2sa circle (the celestial ball dance,) where all amorous sentiments are played in Vrind\u00e2rana forest, in Bh\u00e2nd\u00eera forest, in Champaka forest, in the beautiful Chandana (Sandal Forests and in the groves of M\u00e2dhav\u00ee, Ketak\u00ee, Kunda, Mallik\u00e2, and M\u00e2lat\u00ee, in the sacred places you will live and bestow the highest religious merits. All the T\u00eerthas will reside at the bottom of the Tulas\u00ee tree and so religious merits will accrue to all. O Fair-faced One! There I and all the Devas will wait in expectation of the falling of a Tulas\u00ee leaf. Anybody who will be initiated and installed with the Tulas\u00ee leaves water, will get all the fruits of being initiated in all the sacrifices. Whatever pleasure Hari gets when thousands and thousands of jars filled with water are offered to him, the same pleasure He will get when one Tulas\u00ee leaf will be offered to Him. Whatever fruits are acquired by giving Ayuta cows as presents, those will be also acquired by giving Tulas\u00ee leaves. Especially\nif one gives Tulas\u00ee leaves in the month of K\u00e2rtik, one gets the fruits same as above mentioned. If one drinks or gets the Tulas\u00ee leaf water at the momentous Time of Death, one becomes freed of all sins and is worshipped in the Visnu Loka. He who drinks daily the Tulas\u00ee leaf water certainly gets the fruit of one lakh horse sacrifices. He who plucks or culls the Tulas\u00ee leaf by his own hand and holding it on his body, quits his life in a T\u00eerath, goes to Visnu Loka. Whoever holds in his neck the garland made up of Tulas\u00ee wood, gets certainly the fruit of horse sacrifices at every step. He who does not keep his word, holding the Tulas\u00ee leaf in his hand, goes to the K\u00e2las\u00fbtra Hell as long as the Sun and Moon last. He who gives false evidence in the presence of the Tulas\u00ee leaf, goes to the Kumbh\u00eep\u00e2ka Hell for the life-periods of fourteen Indras. He who drinks or gets a bit of the Tulas\u00ee leaf water at the time of death, certainly goes to Vaikuntha, ascending on a car made up of jewels. Those who pluck or cull the Tulas\u00ee leaves in the Full Moon night, on the twelfth lunar day, on the passing of the sun from one sign to another, the mid-day, or on the twilights, on the night, while applying oil on their bodies, on the impurity periods, and while putting on night dresses, verily eat off the N\u00e2r\u00e2yana\u2019s head. O Chaste One! The Tulas\u00ee leaf kept in the night, is considered sacred. It is considered good in S\u2019r\u00e2ddha, vow ceremony, in the making over of any gift, in the installation of any image or in worshipping any Deva. Again, the Tulas\u00ee leaf fallen on the ground or fallen in water or offered to Visnu, if washed out can be used in holy and other purposes. Thus, O Good One! You will remain as tree in this earth and will remain in Goloka as the Presiding Deity thereof and will enjoy daily the sport with Krisna. And also you will be the Presiding Deity of the river Gandak\u00ee and thus bestow religious merits in Bh\u00e2rata; you will be the wife of the Salt Ocean, which is My part. You are very chaste; in Vaikuntha you will enjoy me as R\u00e2ma lives with Me. And as for Me, I will be turned into stone by your curse; I will remain in India close to the bank of the river Gandak\u00ee. Millions and millions of insects with their sharp teeth will make rings, (the convolutions in the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma or sacred stones), on the cavities of the mountains there, representing Me. Of these stones, those that have one door (entrance hole), four convolutions, adorned by the garland of wild flowers (having a mark like this) and which look like fresh rain-cloud, are called Laksm\u00ee N\u00e2r\u00e2yana M\u00fbrtis (forms). And those that have one door, four convolutions and look like fresh rain-clouds but no garlands are called Laksm\u00ee J\u00e2nardana Chakras (discus). Those that have two doors, four convolutions, and decked with mark like cow\u2019s hoof and void of the garland mark are called Raghun\u00e2tha chakras. Those that are very small in size, with two Chakras and look like fresh rain\nclouds and void of the garland marks are named V\u00e2mana Chakras. Those that that are very small in size, with two Chakras and the garland mark added, know then to be the S\u2019r\u00eedhara Chakras. These always bring in prosperity to the household. Those that are big, circular, void of garland mark, with two circular Chakras, are known as D\u00e2modara forms. Those that are mediocre in size, with two Chakras and marked as if struck by an arrow, having marks of arrows and bow-cases are known as Rana-R\u00e2mas. Those that are middling, with seven Chakras, having marks of an umbrella and ornaments, are called R\u00e2jar\u00e2jes\u2019varas. They bestow the royal Laksm\u00ee to persons. Those that have twice seven chakras, and are big, looking like fresh rain-clouds are named Anantas. They bestow four fold fruits (Dharma, wealth, desire and liberation). Those that are in their forms like a ring, with two chakras, beautiful, looking like rain-clouds, having cow-hoof marks and of mediocre size are named Madhus\u00fbdanas. Those that have one Chakra are called Sudars\u2019anas. Those that have their Chakras hidden are called Gad\u00e2dharas. Those that have two Chakras, looking horse-faced, are known as Hayagr\u00eevas. O Chaste One! Those that have their mouths very wide and extended, with two Chakras, and very terrible, are known as Narasimhas. They excite Vair\u00e2gyas to all who serve them. Those that have two Chakras, mouths extended and with garland marks (elliptical marks) are called Laksm\u00ee Nrisinghas. They always bless the householders who worship them. Those that have two Chakras near their doors (faces), that look even and beautiful, and with marks manifested are known as V\u00e2sudevas. They yield all sorts of fruits. Those that have their Chakras fine and their forms like fresh rain-clouds and have many fine hole marks within their wide gaping facets are called Pradyumnas. They yield happiness to every householder. Those that have their faces of two Chakras stuck together and their backs capacious, are known as Sankarsanas. They always bring in happiness to the householders. Those that look yellow, round and very beautiful are Anirudhas. The sages say, they give happiness to the householder. Where there is the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma stone there exists S\u2019r\u00ee Hari Himself; and where there is Hari, Laksm\u00ee and all the T\u00eerthas dwell there. Worshipping S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2m S\u2019il\u00e2, destroys the Brahmahaty\u00e2 (killing a Br\u00e2hmin) and any other sin whatsoever. In worshipping the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma stone looking like an umbrella, kingdoms are obtained; in worshipping circular S\u2019il\u00e2s,\ngreat prosperity is obtained; in worshipping cart-shaped stones, miseries arise; and in worshipping stones, whose ends look like spears (S\u2019\u00fblas), death inevitably follows. Those whose facets are distorted, bring in poverty; and yellow stones bring in various evils and afflictions. Those whose Chakras look broken, bring in diseases; and those whose Chakras\nare rent asunder bring in death certainly. Observing vows, making gifts, installing images, doing S\u2019r\u00e2ddhas, worshipping the Devas, all these become highly exalted, if done before the S'\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma S\u2019il\u00e2. One acquires the merits of bathing in all the T\u00eerthas and in being initiated in all the sacrifices, if one worships the S\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma S\u2019il\u00e2. What more than this, that the merits acquired by all the sacrifices, all the T\u00eerthas, all vows, all austerities and reading all the Vedas are all acquired by duly worshipping by the holy S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma S\u2019il\u00e2. He who performs his Abhis\u2019eka ceremony always with S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma water (being sprinkled with S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma water at the initiation and Installation ceremonies), acquires the religious merits of performing all sorts of gifts and circumambulating the whole earth. All the Devas are, no doubt, pleased with him who thus worships daily the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma. What more than this, that all the T\u00eerthas want to have his touch. He becomes a J\u00eevanmukta (liberated while living) and becomes very holy; ultimately he goes to the region of S\u2019r\u00ee Hari and remains in Hari\u2019s service there and dwells with him for countless Prakritic dissolutions. Every sin, like Brahm\u00e2 Haty\u00e2, flies away from him as serpents do at the sight of Garuda. The Dev\u00ee Vasundhar\u00e2 (the Earth) becomes purified by the touch of the dust of his feat. At his birth, all his predecessors (a lakh in number), are saved. He who gets the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma S\u2019il\u00e2 water during the time of his death, he is freed of all his sins and goes to the Visnu Loka and gets Nirv\u00e2na; he becomes freed entirely from the effects of Karma and he gets, no doubt, dissolved and diluted for ever in (the feet of) Visnu. He who tells lies, holding S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma in his hands, goes to the Kumbh\u00eep\u00e2ka Hell for the life-period of Brahm\u00e2. If one does not keep his word, uttered with the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma stone in his hand, one goes to the Asipatra Hell for one lakh manvantaras. He who worships the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma stone without offering Tulas\u00ee leaves on it or separates the Tulas\u00ee leaves from the stone, will have to suffer separation from his wife in his next birth. So if one does not offer the Tulas\u00ee leaves in the conchshell, for seven births he remains without his wife and he becomes diseased. He who preserves the S\u2019\u00e2lagr\u00e2ma stone, the Tulas\u00ee and the conchshell, in one place, becomes very learned and becomes dear to N\u00e2r\u00e2yana. Look! He who casts his semen once in his wife, suffers intense pain, no doubt, at each other\u2019s separation. So you become dear to S\u2019ankhach\u00fbda for one Manvantara. Now, what wonder! That you will suffer pain, at his bereavement. O N\u00e2rada! Thus saying, S\u2019r\u00ee Hari desisted. Tulas\u00ee quitted her mortal coil and assumed a divine form, began to remain in the breast of S\u2019r\u00ee Hari like S\u2019r\u00ee Laksm\u00ee Dev\u00ee. Hari also went with her to Vaikuntha. Thus Laksm\u00ee, Sarasvat\u00ee, Gang\u00e2, and Tulas\u00ee, all the four came so\nvery dear to Hari and are recognised as \u00ces\u2019var\u00ees. On the other hand, the mortal coil of Tulas\u00ee, no sooner quitted by Tulas\u00ee, became transformed into the river Gandak\u00ee. Bhagav\u00e2n Hari, too, became also converted into a holy mountain, on the banks thereof, yielding religious merits to the people. The insects cut and fashion many pieces out of that mountain. Of them, those that fall into the river, yield fruits undoubtedly. And those pieces that fall on the ground become yellow coloured; they are not at all fit for worship. O N\u00e2rada! Thus I have spoken to you everything. What more do you want to hear now? Say.\nHere ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the glory of Tulas\u00ee in the Mah\u00e2pur\u00e2nam S\u2019r\u00ee Mad Dev\u00ee Bh\u00e2gavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vy\u00e2sa.","title":"The Devi Bhagavatam: The Ninth Book: Chapter 24","type":"page"}