Glimpses of The Devi Bhagavatam: 31. NARADA AND MADAYANTI

 

INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

Glimpses of The Devi Bhagavatam:

31. NARADA AND MADAYANTI

“I pleaded with the demon to take me away instead of the princess. But my cries fell on deaf ears. He continued to drag her away. When I tried to resist, he raised his sword and threatened to kill me. Thereafter, I kept walking along with the princess. That gave her some courage.

“The demon showed his magnificent castle standing on a hill. ‘The castle will be yours once you become my queen,’ the demon told the princess. She scoffed at his suggestion.

“We became prisoners of the demon in the castle. Time and again he advised me to persuade the princess to marry him. He tempted me with promises of big rewards. Needless to say, I tried to persuade him to give up his vain ambition.

“At last the princess herself told the demon point blank that it was just out of the question for her to marry him. Her father had once said that he would like her to marry Prince Haihaya. From that very moment she had begun to look upon Prince Haihaya as her husband, although the prince was not aware of it. She would never marry anybody else.

“The demon grew awfully angry at the statement of the princess. He went away in a huff.” King Ekvir was surprised. “Listen, my sister, I’m Haihaya; I’m also called Ekvir. I don’t know if there is anybody else bearing my name.”

Yasowati smiled. “No, my lord, there’s nobody else. I knew well to whom I was speaking. The princess and myself, feeling absolutely helpless, began praying to the Divine Mother. In a vision last night, the Mother asked me to come over here so that I could meet you. She also gave me a hymn by chanting which I could sneak out of the demon’s castle without attracting the attention of the fearful guards.”

“I am enxious to go to the rescue of the princess. Will you please teach me that hymn?” said Ekvir.

“Certainly, my lord.” Yasowati then taught the hymn called Triloktilak to the king.

The king went back to his palace and summoned his army. He then marched upon the castle of the demon, Kalaketu.

The demon was sure that the invading army will never be able to infiltrate his castle. But the king entered it by chanting the hymn. A fierce battle ensued. The heroic Ekvir succeeded in killing the demon.

The king rescued the princess and took her to her father. The happy king shortly arranged their marriage.

King Ekvir and Queen Ekavali had a son named Kritavirya. His son was Kartavirya. This is the beginning of the famous Haihaya dynasty.

Narada, the godly sage who wandered freely in heaven and earth, once paid a visit to the hermitage of Vyasa, the seer poet. Vyasa received him with joy and respect.

As the two sages sat and talked, Vyasa observed, “O Narada, you are happy and lucky. You are bound to no place, no family. You sing the glory of God and go wherever you like. But I’m rooted to this earth. I’m obliged to see the condition of men. I wonder, is there no end to the sorrows and sufferings of men? Who is happy in this world? Many are under the impression that the kings are happy. But I’m a witness to the happenings in several famous royal famlies. Take the case of the great Pandavas and the Kauravas. They had to experience a blood-bath! I am afraid there is nobody in the world who can be called truly happy.”

Said Narada, “O Sage, there is Maya, the universal illusion that shrouds all. One cannot become truly happy unless one has made himself free from the influence of this Maya. You think that I am always happy? Well, let me tell you what this Maya once did to me!”

Narada then narrated the following episode:

There was a time when Narada and Sage Parvat were travelling together. Before setting out on the journey, they agreed to the condition that neither would hide anything from the other as long as they were together.

They moved from one holy place to another. Then came the monsoon. They decided to spend the rainy season in the palace of a certain king named Sanjay.

King Sanjay was happy to get the two wandering sages as his guests. He entrusted his charming daughter, Princess Madayanti, with the task of looking after the guests. The princess saw to it that the sages did not suffer even the slightest inconvenience. They were provided with warm fragrant water in the morning for their bath, and were given the best of fruits grown in the kingdom for their breakfast. There were elephants to carry them wherever they desired to go, to a temple or a scenic spot. The princess herself stood and saw them served with sumptuous food at lunch and dinner. Narada was a highly gifted singer. The princess loved to listen to his music. Her admiration of his music soon changed into her admiration for the musician himself. Narada understood that the princess was enamoured of him. But instead of doing anything to check her fascination, he encouraged it to grow. It was because he, too, was fascinated by her.

The attachment that grew between Narada and Madayanti resulted in Madayanti neglecting Parvat. One day Parvat got only ordinary water for his bath while he saw fragrant warm water being taken to Narada’s apartment. He grew suspicious. Soon he observed that the princess always looked at Narada and they exchanged sweet glances. She rarely ever looked at Parvat.

Annoyed, Parvat challenged Narada to deny his suspicion that he and the princess were attracted to each other. Narada could not deny it. He smiled and admitted to Parvat’s suspicion being true.

“My friend, you kept this development hidden from me. You’re guilty of violating the condition to which we had agreed. Let your face resemble that of a monkey!” an angry Parvat uttered this curse.