१५ पञ्चदशदशकः - सुदशशनकथा - दे वीदशशनम् 15 panchadashadashakah' - sudarshanakathaa - deveedarshanam 15 panchadashadashakah' - sudarshanakathaa - deveedarshanam

 १५ पञ्चदशदशकः - सुदशशनकथा - दे वीदशशनम्

15 panchadashadashakah' - sudarshanakathaa -

deveedarshanam

(There Sudarshana learnt your Bheeja manthra and kept on

chanting it the Goddess told him to get married to the

princess of Benares..You also told the princess of Benares to

get married to Sudarshana. Though Swayamvara was

arranged for the princess. She sent a letter to Sudarsana to

attend the swayamvara. This occurs in chapters 18-25 of the

book 3 of Devi bhagvatham,)

 

1.Thus only due to your mercy, evam tavaiva kri'payaa  that boy kumaarah'  called ,Sudarsana,sa sudarshano'yam .

grew up vavri'dhe ..in the cool shade of the, Sage’s hermitage ,munivaryasheeta-

chchhaayaashrito without fear, hatabhayah'  always hearing the sound of Vedas vedadhvanishravana  and becoming pure due to it, 

pootahri'd And making the sages there drown in joy. aashramaante

sammodayan munijanaan  15-1..

Even the very strong yudhajith was not able to see bhardwaja

muni. Under the calm and composed guidance of that muni,

sudarshana grew up fearlessly. In the atmosphere of the

ashrama, the chanting of the vedas was always there.

Sudarshana grew up in an atmosphere full of love and

devotion. Seeing the purity in Sudarshan a's behaviour, the

munis in ashrama were very happy.

 

2.There he, aabaalyam esha due to the company of the sons of sages, munibaalakasangamena who always used to Chant there tatrochchachaara  “Kleem, kleem”,kleem kleemiteeshvari sadaa which is your root mantra, tava beejamantram .you took mercy on him,kri'payaa'sya purah' once. kadaachi-  and daavirbabhoovitha appeared before him When he saluted you,  natam tam you told him like this.abhaashathaashcha .. 15-2..

When the wind of devotion to Devi blows, the  boat of life

is pushed towards the shore faster. The story of sudarshana

is one among many stories that makes this clear. Sudarshana,

an orphan reached the ashrama of bhardwaja, his playmates

were the sons of the munis, the sound of the vedamantras

echoing around him. He was able to hear the sons of the

muni always chanting ‘kleem,kleem’. That young lad too

started chanting ‘kleem kleem’. In this way sudarshana

crossed his boyhood, adolescence and moved towards

adulthood. ‘kleem’ is devi’s kamaraja Mantram. Due to

constant chanting of this mantram, the devi was pleased, and

one time she made herself visible to sudarshana, and said like

this:

 

 

3. “Oh Son, I am pleased with you preetaa'smi te suta and please understand,avehi 

maam jagajjananeem

that I am the mother of the universe 

who fulfills all desires. sarvakaamavaradaam

Let good happen to you.  tava bhadramastu .You please get married by following

all the rules, vidhinodvaha tvam ..to the moon like face without any blemishes,chandraananaam vimalaam shashikalaam

Shashikala, who is the daughter of Subahu, the king of Kasi.subaahoh' kaasheeshvarasya tanayaam  15-3..

Devi, The mother of the universe, came in front of him: 

started talking to him by referring to him as ‘my son’. By

blessing ‘May all good happen to you’ The devi was showing

the right path to sudarshana for his future welfare. By

marrying Shashikala, the daughter of kashiraja, all your

troubles will be dissolved.

4.Your enemies  tavaarivargaa would all die without much delay.nasht'aa bhaveyurachirena The

kingdom usurped by them raajyam cha yairapahri'tam will become yours again. punareshyasi tvam .

You will then live with both your mothers maatri'dvayena and ministers sachivaishcha samam happily. By always Following all Dharmas,”  svadharmaan kuryaah' sadeti Saying this she

disappeared.samudeerya tirodadhaatha .. 15-4..

Devi is predicting the good times that is going to come on

sudarshana-destruction of enemies, regaining of the lost

kingdom, like this many more. You will have both mothers-Your

mother Manorama and her co-wife leelavati. You should not

be angry with leelavati and the ministers who served

yudhajith. The emotion called anger does not suit a devotee.

A good king should never have feeling of hatred in him. You

should obey the rules of the kingdom. Saying this devi

disappeared.

5.” You appeared in shashikala’ dream and told her,  thus svapne tvayaa shashikalaa kathita iti 

“The noble Sudarsana dheemaan sudarshana born in the famous Kosala dynasty, prathita kosalavamshajaatah' .

is the son of Druvasandhi dhruvasandhiputra and lives in the hermitage  Of

Bharadwaja.a'sti bhaaradvaajaashrame Choose him as your husband, enam patim vri'nu and you would

then lead a very happy life.”tavaastu shubham sadeti .. 15-5..

The same devi who came in front of sudarshana, also made

herself visible to Shashikala also. Devi’s plan was to introduce

Shashikala and sudarshana to each other. Looks like devi had

intentions of blessing subahu -shashikala’s father- with the

marriage of Shashikala and sudarshana.

Shashikala understood that, there was a prince sudarshana,

residing in the ashrama of bhardwaja muni, who was the son

of dhruvsandi, who was the king of kosala.

 15-6..

6. When she woke-up, suptotthitaa   tu though she was intelligent, matimatyapi  she was not sure na vyajaanaat .whether what she experienced in her dream svapna anubhootam was true or false. anri'tam kimri'tam na veti

Oh Goddess,  devi .. 

 she saa who  was  pretty sumukhee asked pri'sht'aat shrutva 

a Brahmin dvijaat

about Sudarshana’s story sudarshana kathaam and fell in love with him.a'nuraktahri'dayaiva babhoova

Shashikala woke from her dreams and sleep. Seeing the devi

and hearing the story of sudarshana, was it true? Is it a myth?

Is it a play of the mind?-she did not know. 

One day while plucking flowers in the garden, she saw a brahmin. She asked

his wellbeing. He had come from bharadhwaja ashrama. He

knew sudarshana. Whatever she wanted to know about

sudarshana she asked the brahmin. The brahmin said,’

whatever good qualities that should be there in a man, is

there in him. If you both get-together, it will be like a jewelry

made of precious stone and gold.’ Having said this much, the

brahmin went his way. Shashikala was confirmed that her

dream was true. She started to sympathise with sudarshana.

 

7. When subahu subaahur learnt nyaatvaa that his daughter Shashikala liked 

sudarshana, who had no kingdom, no armies, nor a permanent place, 

he was very sad idamaakula maanasastaa-m; along with his wife sahesht'apatnyaa .

their efforts to dissuade her from the marriage to sudarshana  asmaannivarttayitumaashu kri'tvaa prayatnam-which was futile.akhilam viphalam cha pashya-nn  

He decided to hold a swayamvara-ichchhaasvayamvaravidhim   for future betterment.hitameva mene .. 15-7..

Subahu who came to know about it became worried, along

with his loving wife tried to change Her opinion speedily and

seeing that everything is useless, decided that Swayamvara,

where the bride Marries whomsoever she likes, is better.

Long time ago, kings got their daughters married in 3 ways.

1. A suitable boy is invited home and the girl is donated to

   him.

2. According to the rule(for a fee) give her.

3. Call many suitable boys and allow the girl to choose the

   boy on her own, and get her married to that boy.

The 1st way of getting the girl married was done in early

days. The swayamvara of sita in the ramayanam and the

swayamvara of Draupadi in Mahabharata are examples of the

2nd type of wedding. The 3rd type of marriage is what is called

icha swayamvaram. The story of indumathi swayamvaram in

the 6th chapter of kalidasa’s work, raghuvamsham is an

example for the 3rd type of wedding.

So subahu invited all the princes and decided to have

Shashikala married by icha swayamvaram. He hoped seeing

the rich and powerful princes, his daughter would change

her mind. As soon as they received subahu’s invitation,

princes came in hordes to the city of kashi. At this time what

Shashikala did is explained in the next 2 shlokas.

 

8.One day kashchitkadaachana A Brahmin viprah'met Sudarasana sudarshanametya and told him like this,praah

“I have come here as per the words of Sasikala shashikalaavachasaa'hamatra aagatah' .and she wants

to tell you,” saa tvaam braveeti- Hey prince,nri'paputra  As per the words of the mother Of the universe jagajjananyaa  vaachaa I have chosen you as my husband.vri'to'si patirasmi  I am only your humble servant .”

tavaiva daasee .. 15-8..

As per the invite sent by subahu, many princes and kings

came to kashi. Shashikala called a brahmin next to her and

told him all the news. She also gave the message for

sudarshana to the brahmana. Without any delay, the

brahmana went to bharadwaja’s ashrama. He told

sudarshana all the happenings at the kingdom of kashi. The

brahmana after introducing himself gave shashikala’s

message to sudarshana. The message begins:

9.” Several  bahavas kings have come here.atraagataa nri'patayo Oh courageous one, sudheera please

come here;tvametya    I who is loved by you, is seen by others,teshaam mishataam   show

disrespect to them and just take me away ”naya maam priyaam te .. These are the

words of that bride.evam vadhoovachanam And so, please bring her aanaya taam who is good natured.susheelaam May good happen to you” Saying this bhadram tavaastvidamudeerya  that Brahmin

went away jagaama viprah' .. 15-9..

Shashikala message begins: in the city of kashi many princes

who are strong and prosperous are coming. Shashikala was

least bit interested in them. She wanted Sudarshana only.

Sudarshana should come to the city of kashi, take her and

go-this is her request. To do this Sudarshan is worthy-he is a

prince and daring, the brahmana was of the opinion that

shashikala’s request was logical and he should listen. He

knew that she had a very good character. After conveying all

the message the brahmana left.

 

10. A good devotee sees you pashyati bhaktavarya-

stvaam in his dream and also when he

is awake. svapne cha jaagrati cha He also always listens to your sweet words. santatam tava vacho madhuram shri'noti .He gets

prosperity and later on freedom. aishvaryamaashu labhate'pi cha muktimeti   I wish only devotion towards you. Grant me-only devotion; I salute you tvadbhaktimeva mama dehi namo jananyai .. 15-10.

I have only devotion to you.Oh mother my salutations.

Sudarshana saw devi when he was awake. Shashikala saw her

in her dreams. Both of them listened to what devi said. Devi

bhakti is best for love and prosperity. May devi bless him

with devotion prays the poet.