As I Know: The Lord of the Mountains – Shiv Purana: 31

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Narada silently and devotedly listens to the infinite virtues of Shiva and learns about the intensity of tapa and penance of Sandhya …later Shiva bestows boons and advises her to go and act as sacrificial fuel in the yajna of Medhathithi a path to reach destination.

Brahma described inconceivable virtues of Shiva while Narada listened to the lord with devotion.

Brahma said, “O Narada, after Sandhya’s praise, Shiva was extremely happy. Vatkal (a covering of cloth and skin of a stag) on the lord looked divinity incarnate and mesmerising.”

He stopped after he said a few words about the holy looks of Shiva. After the lord was pleased with the woman of tapa, he said, “O virtuous woman, I am very pleased with the excellent tapasya. O goddess of pure intellect, noble words of praise are immensely gratifying and true. Therefore, you can ask anything you wish. Whatever objective you nurse and what you do not reveal, you may ask and I shall definitely fulfill your wish. I bless you. I am happy with the intensity of tapa and I am also very delighted at the austere adherence to the principles of penance you demonstrated.”

Sandhya felt greatly blessed, and was very happy. She saluted again and said, “O Maheshwara, if you wish to bless me happily and consider me worth the boon and further, if I am pure, then O god, I understand, you are happy with my tapasya, please bestow the first boon.” She said reluctantly and then after a pause, added, “O god of gods, feelings of kama and love should not vanquish any created being living anywhere on earth. O lord, my sakaam eye (an eye of passion and kama) should not fall anywhere on anyone. My husband should be very dear to my heart. If any purusa, other than my husband looks at me with passion and love, he should be rendered impotent and the seed of the man should be destroyed.”

Shiva listened to the sinless and pure thoughts of Sandhya, and said, “O Sandhya, listen. O noblewoman, whatever boons you asked, I bestow on you, as I am pleased with the intensity of tapa. Now, please listen. Living beings have four stages in life, namely childhood, adolescence, youthfulness and old age. When a living being reaches the third stage, he is equipped with feelings of kama. At times, somewhere, at the end of adolescence, living beings will have emotions of passion and love. Pleased with genuineness of tapasya, I have defined limits of feelings of kama in the life of living beings so that passions and love do not influence beings right at the time of birth. You will attain divine virtues of purity and chastity, not found in the women of the three worlds.”

Shiva said further, “O woman, if any man other than your husband beholds you with passionate feelings, he will become impotent and so will turn weak and feeble. Your husband will be a great sage of tapa equipped with divinity, who will live with you for seven kalpas (a very long chunk of time i.e. a period of fourteen Manavantaras (roughly four hundred and thirty two lacs years is equal to one Manavantara – kalpa). O holy woman, I bless you with the boons you asked.”

Shiva said and then, was quiet. Holy woman looked at him. At that time, the lord said again, “Now, O goddess, I relate to you an incident that concerns previous birth. You took a pledge that you would plunge into the fire and sacrifice life. I shall tell you a way out so that you are triumphant. You should follow it without doubt. At present, a yajna is going on in the ashrama of monk Medhathithi and it shall continue for twelve years. The fire of yajna is burning bright. Without observing delay, you should jump into in the sacrificial fire of yajna. Monk Medhathithi usually organises such a great yajna in the ashrama situated in the valley of the mountain on riverbank Chandrabhaga.”

 He said again, “You go freely and the monk will not be able to see you. People will call you a daughter of the monk when you emerge out of the fire of yajna. Therefore, O goddess, plunge into the fire of yajna and become a sacrificial fuel with the desire and thought of a man whom you wish to make your husband. O Sandhya, when you underwent tapasya for four long yugas, at that time, the yuga of truth (Satya) was over and Treta yuga had arrived, and in the first part of Treta yuga, prajapati Daksa was the king and also father of many daughters. All elegant and virtuous girls were married to appropriate saintly men. Out of them, twenty-seven daughters were marred to Chandrama. However, Chandrama deserted other women and lived with Rohini.”

She continued listening. After a short while, he said again, “An act of Chandrama angered Daksa, who gave a curse. At that time, all gods had appeared before you. However, O Sandhya, at that moment, you were meditating on me and therefore, you did not look at the gods, who had come with Supreme Brahma. Brahma looked up and wanted Chandrama to regain original form. He kept the thought in the mind, and therefore, to grant freedom to Chandrama from the curse of Daksa, created a river, which was later on called Chandra or Chandrabhaga. At the time of creation of river Chandrabhaga, monk Medhathithi appeared. In the three worlds, none could equal the monk with regard to tapa. None did intense tapa earlier and nobody in the present or future would equal him. No king will be a great sage of tapa and penance of exceptional stature. Great monk organises yajna on a grand scale, which continues for a long time… therefore, O goddess, jump into the fire of yajna and purify the body and… you will fulfill the pledge.”

Thus, Shiva advised Sandhya in gentle amiable words, bestowed desired boons on the woman of tapa, and afterward disappeared. Shiva thus, not only gave blessings and boons to the devotee but also guided her to make life rich and meaningful because bhakti and tapa prove rewarding and purifying.

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