Chapter 23 – Married Life of Kardama and Devahūti
1.) When Devahūti’s parents departed for their capital, that virtuous maiden — intuitively attentive to the feelings of her husband — devoted herself each day to his comfort with a devotion as tender and natural as that with which Goddess Parvatī lovingly attends upon her consort Bhagavān Śiva.
2.) Casting aside lust (kāma), deceit, malice, greed, vanity and every forbidden act, and ever alert and active in virtue, she won her illustrious husband’s heart through the purity of her mind and body, steadfast fidelity, reverence, self-control of the senses, devoted service and a love that radiated in every action.
3.) Her gentle, affable speech, combined with exemplary conduct and tender service, further endeared her to him and sealed the bonds of their mutual devotion.
4.) That daughter of Manu, who regarded her husband as greater even than providence itself, was wholly surrendered to him and looked to him for the highest blessings.
5.) So long and earnest had been her service that, by dint of austere observances and unbroken devotion, her frame had become frail and emaciated; seeing this, Kardama, foremost among sages, was moved with tender compassion and addressed her, his voice shaking with love.
6.) Kardama said: O daughter of Manu, you have shown me profound reverence and boundless devotion; today my heart is pleased by your faithful service and your total surrender. You have willingly expended your bodily comforts for my sake — a body beloved to all beings and worthy of careful tending.
7.) Therefore I grant you the power of divine vision: behold, by virtue of my tapas, samādhi, and devotional worship of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, I have secured certain supermundane enjoyments — gifts free from fear and sorrow — and by your devoted service to me you have earned a rightful share in those blessings.
8.) How insignificant are other pleasures, even celestial enjoyments, when compared with these! Their fruition depends entirely on the will of the Supreme — a mere frown from the omnipotent Bhagavān can frustrate them. You have attained your aim through fidelity; therefore partake of those vast spiritual delights, the rare fruits of true wifely devotion and dharma, which ordinary pride of station makes difficult for most to obtain.
9.) Hearing these words, Devahūti took comfort in the knowledge that her husband was master of all yoga-siddhis and an adept in every form of worship; her face brightened with a shy smile, and with eyes downcast in modest love she replied in a voice choked with affection.
10.) Devahūti said: I know this, my lord — all that you say is natural to one such as you, O foremost of brāhmaṇas (brāhmaṇa), a being accomplished in unwavering yogic power. Now, please fulfill the promise you made in my father’s presence to unite your body with mine but once; such a boon — to bear offspring by a venerable husband — is rare and sacred for a virtuous wife.
11.) Instruct me, I entreat you, what preparations must be made and what requisites gathered — unguents, perfumed powders, garments, nourishing foods — as prescribed by the śāstras and the treatises on erotic and household duties, so that my weakened frame, pierced by the arrows of love for you, may be made fit for union; and kindly consider providing a suitable dwelling for this purpose, O my lord.
12.) Maitreya continued: Desiring to please his beloved spouse, the sage Kardama, O Vidura, exercised his wondrous yoga and immediately manifested an aerial mansion (vimāna) that could soar and move at will.
13.) This marvel of a dwelling was richly adorned with all manner of jewels, its pillars fashioned of priceless gems; it fulfilled every desire, and its wealth and resources multiplied with time rather than being depleted by use.
14.) Furnished with supernatural household implements and comfortable in every season, the mansion was decorated with ornate buntings and flags of many colors.
15.) It was further beautified with wreaths of fragrant flowers that attracted the hum of bees, and hung with tapestries woven of linen, silk and other fine fabrics.
16.) The house charmed the eye with carefully arranged cushions, beds, fans and seats placed on its multiple storeys, one above another.
17.) Its walls bore exquisite works of art and engravings here and there, and its courtyards were paved with emerald and coral in floral designs.
18.) The entrances gleamed with thresholds of coral and doors set in diamonds, while its domes of sapphire rose crowned by pinnacles of gold.
19.) Embedded with the choicest rubies in its diamond walls, the mansion seemed to possess many glimmering eyes; it was draped in magnificent golden canopies and resplendent festoons.
20.) The structure rang with the cries of swans and pigeons, who, deceived by likenesses and effigies, flew up and pecked as if greeting their own kind.
21.) With pleasure-grounds, resting-chambers, bed-rooms, and inner and outer courts designed for the occupant’s ease, the mansion itself astonished even the very sage who had brought it into being.
22.) Perceiving Devahūti’s inward mind — for Kardama read subtle hearts — he saw that she was not greatly enraptured by mere architecture; so, of his own accord, he addressed her with loving counsel.
23.) “O timid one,” he said, “bathe in that sacred lake and then ascend into the aerial mansion. Consecrated by Bhagavān Viṣṇu Himself — who shed His tears there — this sacred lake contains waters which grant, in due measure, the heartfelt desires of those who approach it with devotion.”
24.) Obedient to her husband’s command, the lotus-eyed princess — though she still bore scant clothing and matted hair, her frame smeared with dust and her breasts discoloured from austerity — plunged into the lake whose waters were sacred to Sarasvatī.
25.) Immersed in that stream, she surrendered herself to the purifying rite, humbly accepting the ministrations prepared for her inner and outer renewal.
26.) Inside the lake’s vision she saw a magnificent house and a thousand maidens, all in the bloom of youth and exuding the sweet fragrance of lotus flowers.
27.) On seeing her, those maidens rose at once and with joined hands cried, “We are your maid-servants; command us — what shall we do to serve you?” with all humility and devotion.
28.) The girls, manifesting utmost respect for the princess, anointed her with choice oils, perfumed powders and fragrant unguents; they clothed her in a pair of new stainless garments of the finest weave.
29.) They further adorned her with exquisite and radiant jewels, provided her with nourishing food of pure quality, and offered sweet, intoxicating (yet not spirituous) draughts that delighted the senses in a sacred and healthful way.
30.) Looking into a polished mirror, she beheld herself cleansed of dirt, garlanded, robed in unsullied garments, marked with auspicious tilakas, and belovedly attended by the maidens.
31.) Her body had been bathed from head to foot and ornamented with all kinds of jewelry — a golden necklet, bangles about the wrists, and tinkling golden anklets at the ankles.
32.) Around her hips she wore a jewelled golden girdle set with many gems; she further wore a string of pearls and other marks of auspiciousness such as kesara (saffron paste).
33.) Her face now shone with beautiful rows of teeth, elegantly arched eyebrows, eyes soft at the corners and comparable to opening lotus-buds, and luxuriant dark tresses.
34.) The instant her mind turned towards her husband, the foremost of sages, she found herself, together with those maidens, right in his presence.
35.) She stood amazed at being surrounded by a thousand maid-servants before her lord and at witnessing the breadth of his yogic prowess.
36.) The sage perceived that Devahūti, now purified and radiant, had regained her former beauty; dressed in splendid robes and properly girded, she was attended by a thousand Vidyādhara maidens, and his affection for her deepened.
37.) He lovingly assisted her to ascend the aerial mansion, O slayer of passion (the phrase here praising him as conqueror of lust), and they entered together into that celestial abode.
38.) Though outwardly absorbed in the tender companionship of his consort and served by nymph-like Vidyādhara maidens, the sage did not forfeit his spiritual mastery; he remained self-possessed and, in that floating mansion, shone with the serene charm of the moon attended by Rohinī, making rows of celestial lilies open in delight.
39.) Waited upon by a host of enchanting maidens and praised by assemblies of Siddhas, he delighted there for many long years like Kubera (Kubera) presiding over the treasures of Mount Meru, enjoying the cool, fragrant breezes and the exultant music of the heavenly stream.
40.) In like manner, he revelled with his wife amid the celestial gardens named Vaiśrambhaka, Surasana, Nandana, Puṣpabhadra and Caitrarathya, and over the sacred waters of the Manasarovara lake.
41.) Traversing the heavens as swiftly as the air itself on that luminous and great aerial mansion, Kardama’s movement exceeded even that of the gods, who are ordinarily confined to their own spheres.
42.) What is difficult for those who are self-possessed and have taken refuge at the feet of Bhagavān — feet that are the source of sacred rivers such as the Gaṅgā and that end worldly sorrow — is easily achieved by one who rests in that refuge.
43.) Having shown his wife the entire wondrous terrestrial sphere with all its divisions of dvīpas and varṣas, Kardama the great yogi returned to his own hermitage.
44.) To gratify Devahūti’s longing for progeny, the sage divided his own being into nine forms and, for many years, delighted with her as though the many years were but a single hour.
45.) Sharing the exquisite bed of that aerial mansion with his resplendent spouse, she perceived not the passage of those many seasons, so absorbed were they both in sacred union.
46.) Thus, by the exercise of yoga-siddhi, a hundred autumns passed as if they were a brief moment.
47.) Embracing her with a love that regarded her as the counterpart of his own self, the enlightened seer — omniscient in heart and grantor of boons — multiplied himself into nine and thereby impregnated her.
48.) In one auspicious instant Devahūti gave birth to nine daughters, each exquisitely formed and exhaling the fragrance of a red lotus.
49.) Later, when he prepared to renounce household life and take to the forest as agreed at their wedding, the virtuous lady — who still yearned for a son — scratched the ground with the gem-like sheen of her nails, bowed her head, suppressed her tears and, though wearing a gentle smile, spoke in slow, heartfelt accents with a trembling heart.
50.) In those winning words she made her desire known while striving to maintain decorum and devotion.
51.) Devahūti said: Your venerable self has fulfilled all the promises made to me; yet grant me one more boon: remove all fear from my heart, for I have taken refuge in you.
52.) Your daughters, O holy sage, will one day need suitable husbands and support, and when you depart to the forest there will be none to comfort me and relieve my sorrows.
53.) I feel that the time I have spent indulging in sensual pleasures, having neglected Paramātmā, has been ample.
54.) Though I loved you without knowing the full extent of your transcendent glory, and remained attached to sense-objects, let the deep affinity I bore to you still serve to dispel all fear from me.
55.) That very love which, when bestowed in ignorance upon the wicked, leads to repeated births, when turned toward holy and enlightened beings brings about the dissolution of attachments and cleanses the heart.
56.) He who lives but whose actions do not tend to dharma, dispassion (vairāgya), or service at the feet of the Bhagavān — at whose feet the sacred rivers rise — is truly dead despite breathing.
57.) Indeed, I realize I was deceived by Māyā in failing to seek liberation even after obtaining you, O giver of final beatitude; forgive me that oversight, and let my remaining days be shaped by refuge in you and by yearning for Paramātmā.
Thus ends the Twenty-Third discourse entitled “Married Life of Kardama and Devahūti”, in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahaṁsa-Saṁhitā (the book of the God-realized Souls).
