Formerly, in the city of Karavira, there lived a brahmana named Dharmadatta. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once, in the month of Karttika, he went to a temple of Lord Vishnu so that he could remain awake there all night.Late in the night, as he was collecting paraphernalia for worship¬ing the Lord, a terrible demoness came there. Here face was ghastly and her tongue hung down from her mouth. She was naked and appeared emaciated.
Panicking, Dharmadatta struck the ghost with the articles meant for worship. Thus, water with tulasi touched her body, and she heard the Lord's holy name being chanted by the brahmana. As a result, she became freed from all sinful reactions, and she remembered her past life.The demoness, Kalaha, said, "O brahmana, I had been degraded because of my past actions. What can I now do to regain an auspicious condition of life?The astonished brahmana replied, "Who are you? What did you do in your last life so as to become like this?Kalaha related the story as follows: In a city of Saurashtra was a brahmana named Bhikshu. In her last life, Kalaha was his first wife-She was very cruel and her name was also Kalaha. She never obeyed her husband, and she always quarreled with him.Because of this, Bhiksha thought of marrying a second time. Fi¬nally, Kalaha took poison, committing suicide. She was brought before Yamaraja, who then inquired from Chitragupta.Chitragupta explained, "This woman has not performed any good act at all. She used to eat very nice food, but not give any to her hus¬band. Let her be born as a cockroach in her own stool! After that, let her be born as a female pig, eating more stool.Since she always ate from the cooking pot, let her be born as a female cat who eats her own children. Because she killed her own self, let her become a ghost. After these births, she can once again have the chance to do auspicious activities.Kalaha then said to the brahmana, Dharmadatta, "Thus, I re¬mained as a ghost for five hundred years. Every day, I was oppressed by hunger and thirst. Thereafter, I entered the body of a merchant, at the confluence of the Krishna and Veni rivers in South India. But then, the servants of Lord Shiva cast me out of that body and now, I have come here.
O best of brahmanas, how can I become free from this ghostly existence?Dharmadatta said, "Although visits to holy places, gifts given in charity, and vows all give wonderful results, a ghost does not benefit by such performances. I am very sad to see your miserable condition. Therefore, I will donate to you one-half of the merit I have attained by following the Karttika vow since my childhood.
After saying this, Dharmadatta sprinkled water mixed with Tulasi on Kalaha, while chanting the holy names of the Lord. At once, she became free of her ghostly form and assumed an effulgent, divine form that was very beautiful. She then prostrated herself before the brahmana and said, "Due to your mercy, 1 have been freed from hell. You have saved me from drowning in the ocean of sin.
An airplane carrying Vishnudutas then appeared there, and Kalaha boarded it. Being astonished, Dharmadatta offered his obeisances.The Vishnudutas addressed Dharmadatta, saying, "O best of brahmanas, you have delivered this woman as a result of your having worshiped Lord Vishnu very devotedly, and by your donating the merit obtained by following the Karttika vow."Later on, you will born as King Dasharatha, in the dynasty of the Sungod. This woman will become your wife, along with two others, •or she has shared half of your merit obtained by following the Karttika vow. Lord Vishnu will then appear as your son, for the purpose of executing a mission on behalf of the demigods.When Dharmadatta asked the Vishnudhutas to describe in more detail, the benefit of worshiping Loid Vishnu, they narrated this story: Long ago, in Kantipura, there lived an emperor named Chola.Once, the king went to worship Lord Vishnu, as He slept upon Shesha-naga. Chola proceeded to worship the Lord in great opulence-offering pearls, jewels and celestial flowers. At the end, he fell to the ground like a rod, to offer obeisances.A brahmana named Vishnudasa then came there and worshiped Lord Vishnu very simply, by offering water containing Tulasi leaves and buds. Seeing how his opulent worship became covered by the water and Tulasi leaves, Chola became angry, saying, "Vishnudasa, you have covered my beautiful worship with water and Tulasi leaves. I think that you do not know what is actually devotion to the Lord.Upon hearing this, Vishnudasa also became angry and replied, "You are proud of your wealth. You do not know what is the meaning of liberation from material existence! Tell me what acts of devotion you had previously performed.Chola laughed heartily and said, "O brahmana, you are so proud, trying to teach me about devotion. What sacrifices have you performed? What charity have you given? What temples have you built? Today, I shall have direct perception of Lord Vishnu, thus ending our argument, once and for all!Chola returned to his palace. Making Mudgala the preceptor, he began preparations for a grand sacrifice in honor of Lord Vishnu. Brahmanas from all over came to attend, and they were given profuse gifts.Vishnudasa witnessed all this, while remaining at a temple of Lord Vishnu, observing the Karttika vow, maintaining a Tulasi garden, and chanting the holy names of the Lord. He worshiped the Deity very nicely, and chanted and danced in the temple. Viewing all living beings equally, Vishnudasa remembered the Lord constantly.
As Chola and Vishnudasa were thus worshiping the Lord,a long time passed. One day, after Vishudasa had cooked,someone came and took the food. being unnoticed by anyone. Being afraid of violating his vow, the brahmana did not cook again.The next day, after cooking, when Vishnudasa was about to offer the food to Lord Vishnu, again someone stole it. In this way, for seven days, the brahmana found his food to be missing. Vishnudasa wondered, "Who is taking my food? I cannot fast forever. Today, I will guard my food carefully.After cooking, Vishnudasa hid and waited. Then, he saw a chandala come there to steal his food. The chandala was hungry and emaciated, so that he looked like a bag of skin and bones. Upon seeing him, Vishnudasa felt compassion and so said, "Wait. Don't eat this dry food. Take some ghee.Upon hearing this, the chandala became frightened and ran away. But then, he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Vishnudasa quickly came and fanned him with his cloth. Miraculously, Vishnudasa saw that the person before him, getting up, was not a chandala, but was Lord Vishnu- holding the conch, disc, mace and lotus- having the mark of Shrivatsa on His chest, as well as the Kaustubha jeweland wearing yellow garments.Vishnudasa became stunned, so that he could not say anything or offer obeisances. The demigods, headed by Indra, then came there, and the Gandharvas sang while the Apsaras danced.After embracing Vishnudasa, the Lord took him to Vaikuntha. This was seen by Emperor Chola, who was seated in the sacrificial arena. He quickly called his preceptor, Mudgala, and said, "That brahmana, who I was competing with, has attained a four-armed form and is travelling to Vaikuntha with Lord Vishnu! What is the use of sacrifices and charity? It is devotion alone that is pleasing to Lord Vishnu!Thereafter, Chola installed his sister's son upon the throne, since he was without any son. Then, returning to the place of sacrifice, he stood before the sacred fire and offered prayers to Lord Vishnu.Sud¬denly, as all were watching, Chola jumped into the fire. At that mo¬ment, Lord Vishnu appeared within the fire and embraced Chola. The Lord then put him onto His airplane and went back to His abode, Vaikuntha.Lord Vishnu made these two devotees gatekeepers of Vaikuntha. vishnudasa became the gatekeeper, Punyashila. Chola became the gatekeeper, Sushila.
Source
http://bachelorpledge.blogspot.com/search/label/PadmaPurana
Panicking, Dharmadatta struck the ghost with the articles meant for worship. Thus, water with tulasi touched her body, and she heard the Lord's holy name being chanted by the brahmana. As a result, she became freed from all sinful reactions, and she remembered her past life.The demoness, Kalaha, said, "O brahmana, I had been degraded because of my past actions. What can I now do to regain an auspicious condition of life?The astonished brahmana replied, "Who are you? What did you do in your last life so as to become like this?Kalaha related the story as follows: In a city of Saurashtra was a brahmana named Bhikshu. In her last life, Kalaha was his first wife-She was very cruel and her name was also Kalaha. She never obeyed her husband, and she always quarreled with him.Because of this, Bhiksha thought of marrying a second time. Fi¬nally, Kalaha took poison, committing suicide. She was brought before Yamaraja, who then inquired from Chitragupta.Chitragupta explained, "This woman has not performed any good act at all. She used to eat very nice food, but not give any to her hus¬band. Let her be born as a cockroach in her own stool! After that, let her be born as a female pig, eating more stool.Since she always ate from the cooking pot, let her be born as a female cat who eats her own children. Because she killed her own self, let her become a ghost. After these births, she can once again have the chance to do auspicious activities.Kalaha then said to the brahmana, Dharmadatta, "Thus, I re¬mained as a ghost for five hundred years. Every day, I was oppressed by hunger and thirst. Thereafter, I entered the body of a merchant, at the confluence of the Krishna and Veni rivers in South India. But then, the servants of Lord Shiva cast me out of that body and now, I have come here.
O best of brahmanas, how can I become free from this ghostly existence?Dharmadatta said, "Although visits to holy places, gifts given in charity, and vows all give wonderful results, a ghost does not benefit by such performances. I am very sad to see your miserable condition. Therefore, I will donate to you one-half of the merit I have attained by following the Karttika vow since my childhood.
After saying this, Dharmadatta sprinkled water mixed with Tulasi on Kalaha, while chanting the holy names of the Lord. At once, she became free of her ghostly form and assumed an effulgent, divine form that was very beautiful. She then prostrated herself before the brahmana and said, "Due to your mercy, 1 have been freed from hell. You have saved me from drowning in the ocean of sin.
An airplane carrying Vishnudutas then appeared there, and Kalaha boarded it. Being astonished, Dharmadatta offered his obeisances.The Vishnudutas addressed Dharmadatta, saying, "O best of brahmanas, you have delivered this woman as a result of your having worshiped Lord Vishnu very devotedly, and by your donating the merit obtained by following the Karttika vow."Later on, you will born as King Dasharatha, in the dynasty of the Sungod. This woman will become your wife, along with two others, •or she has shared half of your merit obtained by following the Karttika vow. Lord Vishnu will then appear as your son, for the purpose of executing a mission on behalf of the demigods.When Dharmadatta asked the Vishnudhutas to describe in more detail, the benefit of worshiping Loid Vishnu, they narrated this story: Long ago, in Kantipura, there lived an emperor named Chola.Once, the king went to worship Lord Vishnu, as He slept upon Shesha-naga. Chola proceeded to worship the Lord in great opulence-offering pearls, jewels and celestial flowers. At the end, he fell to the ground like a rod, to offer obeisances.A brahmana named Vishnudasa then came there and worshiped Lord Vishnu very simply, by offering water containing Tulasi leaves and buds. Seeing how his opulent worship became covered by the water and Tulasi leaves, Chola became angry, saying, "Vishnudasa, you have covered my beautiful worship with water and Tulasi leaves. I think that you do not know what is actually devotion to the Lord.Upon hearing this, Vishnudasa also became angry and replied, "You are proud of your wealth. You do not know what is the meaning of liberation from material existence! Tell me what acts of devotion you had previously performed.Chola laughed heartily and said, "O brahmana, you are so proud, trying to teach me about devotion. What sacrifices have you performed? What charity have you given? What temples have you built? Today, I shall have direct perception of Lord Vishnu, thus ending our argument, once and for all!Chola returned to his palace. Making Mudgala the preceptor, he began preparations for a grand sacrifice in honor of Lord Vishnu. Brahmanas from all over came to attend, and they were given profuse gifts.Vishnudasa witnessed all this, while remaining at a temple of Lord Vishnu, observing the Karttika vow, maintaining a Tulasi garden, and chanting the holy names of the Lord. He worshiped the Deity very nicely, and chanted and danced in the temple. Viewing all living beings equally, Vishnudasa remembered the Lord constantly.
As Chola and Vishnudasa were thus worshiping the Lord,a long time passed. One day, after Vishudasa had cooked,someone came and took the food. being unnoticed by anyone. Being afraid of violating his vow, the brahmana did not cook again.The next day, after cooking, when Vishnudasa was about to offer the food to Lord Vishnu, again someone stole it. In this way, for seven days, the brahmana found his food to be missing. Vishnudasa wondered, "Who is taking my food? I cannot fast forever. Today, I will guard my food carefully.After cooking, Vishnudasa hid and waited. Then, he saw a chandala come there to steal his food. The chandala was hungry and emaciated, so that he looked like a bag of skin and bones. Upon seeing him, Vishnudasa felt compassion and so said, "Wait. Don't eat this dry food. Take some ghee.Upon hearing this, the chandala became frightened and ran away. But then, he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Vishnudasa quickly came and fanned him with his cloth. Miraculously, Vishnudasa saw that the person before him, getting up, was not a chandala, but was Lord Vishnu- holding the conch, disc, mace and lotus- having the mark of Shrivatsa on His chest, as well as the Kaustubha jeweland wearing yellow garments.Vishnudasa became stunned, so that he could not say anything or offer obeisances. The demigods, headed by Indra, then came there, and the Gandharvas sang while the Apsaras danced.After embracing Vishnudasa, the Lord took him to Vaikuntha. This was seen by Emperor Chola, who was seated in the sacrificial arena. He quickly called his preceptor, Mudgala, and said, "That brahmana, who I was competing with, has attained a four-armed form and is travelling to Vaikuntha with Lord Vishnu! What is the use of sacrifices and charity? It is devotion alone that is pleasing to Lord Vishnu!Thereafter, Chola installed his sister's son upon the throne, since he was without any son. Then, returning to the place of sacrifice, he stood before the sacred fire and offered prayers to Lord Vishnu.Sud¬denly, as all were watching, Chola jumped into the fire. At that mo¬ment, Lord Vishnu appeared within the fire and embraced Chola. The Lord then put him onto His airplane and went back to His abode, Vaikuntha.Lord Vishnu made these two devotees gatekeepers of Vaikuntha. vishnudasa became the gatekeeper, Punyashila. Chola became the gatekeeper, Sushila.
Source
http://bachelorpledge.blogspot.com/search/label/PadmaPurana
