Sumati was a Shudra named Matuli in her previous life. He would lift offerings meant for the gods and also cause harm to people. He lost all his sons and friends also abandoned him. Thereafter went to forest and lived on deer’s meat. Matuli came across a pond beside which there was Vishnu temple. He was on lotus stalks and water. He lived in that dilapidated temple and repaired its broken parts. He built a house near it and became a huntsman. Kolkilini, daughter of a hunter was isolated by her friends and consequently arrived at the forest. Matuli offered her food and water. She had done all evil things in her life. Her husband had died and had nowhere to go. Matuli married Kokilini. They lived there and in their drunken sprees, they were in the habit of dancing in the temple. On one such session they died and yamadutas take them to hell. Vishnu was pleased by their dancing. Kokilini pleased Vishnu with her dances and Matuli erected a flag on the temple .This marked the observance of dhvajarohana vrata. After enjoying themselves there for thousands of years in Vaikuntha, Matuli and Kokilini had been born as Sumati and Satyamati. This is followed by the story of two brothers Yajnamali and Sumali. They are sons of a Brahmin named Devamali. He taught his sons with ample determination of how to make money. Devamali had amassed lot of wealth. Thinking about his ways of accumulating so much wealth and despite that his urge to make more has led him to think of devotion to dharma. He divided his riches into four parts two parts for himself and rest for his sons. Devamali constructed temples, gardens and ponds with an aim to acquire punya. He exhausted all his wealth. Thereafter he devoted his time to meditation reflecting nature of a true Brahmin. Sage Jananti taught Devamali yoga and through this he freed himself of all fantasies. Yajnamali was the elder of the two. He divided his share into two parts and gave one part to Sumali. Sumali spent all his wealth on recreations and other leisure activities. He resorted to theft and robbery when his money got over. Yajnamali tried to restrain his brother. He was attacked by Sumali who got arrested by the city guards. Yajnamali freed Sumali. He divided whatever riches he then possessed into two parts and gave one part to Sumali. Back to his behaviour he spent this money on useless pursuits. Sumali was sent to a forest and lived in isolation. Yajnamali’s wealth also got over through good deeds and his time was devoted to Vishnu. Peculiarly both the brothers died simultaneously. Yajnamali was taken to heaven and Sumali to hell. The elder brother did enquire on how his younger brother could be freed from his sins. Then he was narrated a story of his previous life where he was a Vaishya named Vishvambhara who did sins. He had deserted his parents and his friends have isolated him. He reached a Vishnu temple. His foot was dirty and when he tried to clean them a portion of temple also got cleaned. This was a good deed on his part. He fasted throughout the night and in died of snake-bite in the morning. That bit of punya was enough for him to be born as Yajnamli in his next life. To free his brother he needs to give the punya he had acquired. Yajnamali did as was told to him. Both the brothers were taken to Vaikuntha. Yajnamali’s did not have to be born again. But after spending some time in heaven Sumali had to be born again. In his next life, he was performed good deeds and was dedicated to Lord Vishnu. In due course he was also freed. There is a chapter on Lunar King Yajnadhvaja in Narada Purana. He was devoted to Vishnu and cleaned all temples of Vishnu regularly. He also made sure that they were lit during the night. Yajnadhvaja also had a temple to Vishnu built on the banks of the river Reva which was looked after in a similar manner. He had a priest named Vitahotra who did enquire the reasons for doing this. The king narrated the previous birth tale. He was a jatismara or the one who could remember his previous birth. In Satya Yuga there was a Brahmin named Raivata. He was well versed in many religious texts. Raivata was cruel and traded in goods that no Brahmana should touch. He was desolated due to such deeds and kept wandering leading to death on the banks of river Narmada. Raivata’s wife Bandhumati was wicked and gave birth to a son named Dandaketu. He oppressed Brahmins, stole other people’s property, drank wine and killed many living beings. One night, Dandaketu happened to turn up at a Vishnu temple. In order to spend the night there he had to clean a part of the temple. This good deed pardoned his sins. In the meantime, the city-guards arrived at the temple and considered him as a thief and killed him. He was taken to Paradise. In next life he was born again as the king Yajnadhvaja. Sudharma here narrates his story of previous birth to Indra. He was a vulture. It was sitting on a wall of a Vishnu temple. A hunter had hunted him down and was picked up by a dog. The dog ran around Vishnu temple which freed him of his sins. Then he took birth in the Bharata Varsa and began to lead a life of devotion to Vishnu. A yajna was performed in Gautamasrama where all the Gods, Brahmins, kings and demons had assembled. Gautama worshipped Lord Sankara in the form of linga on Mount Tryambaka; all those who were present celebrated it. Sankaratma, a devotee of Lord Shiva and the disciple of Gautama, came there and began to dance like a mad man. He ate some food from Gautama's plate, and while taking meals, passed urine inside the room. So, Gautama placed him on the proper seat and continued his meals. Sankaratma approached Vasaparvan and started dancing. Vasaparvan cut off his head as he was furious seeing his deeds. Gautama felt heartbroken and died. Many others, present there, followed the same fate. Lord Shiva reached Gautama’s ashrama along with Lord Brahma and Vishnu and revived Gautama. At Gautama's request, Shiva put a fraction of his own soul into Sankaratman's body to make him immortal. Thereafter Sankaratma was called Lord Hanuman. In the evening he went to the bank of a river and took the Shivalinga for offering bath, when he found it to be without pitha. Being scared he praised Siva by reciting Rudramantra. He smashed it on the ground when he did not notice Shiva in front of him. Virabhadra had come there and on seeing the Shiva linga without its pitha instigated the destruction of world. The sages chanted Veda mantras to please Shiva and he appeared before them. Hanuman paid tribute to Shiva and he was sent to serve Lord Rama. The spiritual stories do influence one to devote them to Lord Vishnu to secure a place in Vaikuntha. It also shows how good deeds lead to the path of salvation and paradise. |