Philosophy and Religion / Yoga Vāsistha / Yoga-Vāsistha (6.1): Nirvāna-Prakarana

Válmiki

Yoga-Vāsistha, Book 6: Nirvāna-Prakarana (On ultimate extinction). Chapter 106 - Marriage of Cudāla with Sikhidhwaja

Vasistha resumed- After the lapse of some days in this manner, cudāla thus bespoke to her husband, in her guise of the pretended Brāhman boy ¹.

Hear me, O lotus eyed prince, she said, what I tell you in good earnest; that since I am obliged to become a woman every night, and continue to be so forever more.

I wish to fulfil the part of my womanhood, by joining myself to a husband by legal marriage for all that time.

I want to taste the pleasure of conjugal union, with dear friend, who is of his own accord so very friendly to me, and without any endeavour on my part: so I hope you will interpose no difficulty in my way.

So I choose you sir, as my husband, of all others in the three worlds; therefore be pleased to accept me for your wife every night.

The delight-some pleasure of conjugal union, has come down to us ever since the comment of creation; and therefore our obedience to the ordinance of nature, can entail no guilt on our part.

I desire this that we may do as we like, without desiring or disliking anything; and be far from expecting the consequence of what we like or dislike.

Sikhidhwaja answered- I see friend, neither any good nor evil, of accepting your proposal; so you are at liberty to do as you like.

Being possessed of the indifference of my mind, at every thing in the world; I see everything in the same and in an equal light: so I let you have your option as you may like.

Kumbha replied- If so, then I say that this day is very favourable for celebrating the marriage ceremony; it is the full moon of Srāvana, and all lucky asterism according to my best calculation.

On this day of the full moon, our marriage may take place both in the day as well as night­time in the Gāndharva form ².

It will be celebrated either on the summit of the Mahendra mountain, or on the delightful table-land there about; or in the grotto of some mineral mine, and in their light of the shining gems and mineral ores in the mountain; ³.

The rows of stately trees all around, will shed their flowers at the nuptial ceremony; and the twining creepers on them will represent the dance of nauc girls by their tremulous shaking. ⁴

Let the bright luminary of the night, accompanied by his consort train of shining stars, witness our marriage from the high sky with their wide open and glaring eyes.

Rise, O prince, for your marriage; and let us both hide to cull the forest flowers, and prepare the sandal paste and collect the scattered gems, in order to deck our nuptial seats therewith.

Saying so, they both rose together, and culled the flowers and collected the gems.

Then in a short time, they repaired to the gemming steppe, and heaped it with flowers of various kinds.

They had their marriage vests and necklaces ready on the spot and the god of love helped with the supply of every thing requite on the occasion.

Having thus prepared the paraphernalia of their nuptials, and stored them in a golden grotto of the mountain, they both repaired to sacred stream of the heavenly Ganges Mandākinī, for making their holy ablutions therein.

Here Kumbha served as the priest, to gave the holy water profusely on the lofty head and elevated shoulders of the prince; as the elephantine clouds of Indra, pour the rain water in plenteous showers, on the towering tops and height of hills.

So also did the prince act the part of the ministering prince, and washed the body of his beloved princes now in the form of Kumbha. Thus did the two friends anoint and absterge by turns, the persons of their quondam and future consorts.

Bathed and purified, they adored the gods, the munis and the manes of their ancestors, for the sake of their honour, and without any desire of getting any good or gain from them: for they well knew that they could benefit nothing their service, as the deities, the deified spirits are the divine sages.

They took their frugal and repast, as their nature and the course of the world required; and seasoned with the nectarine juice of their good and refined intelligence.

They wore the whitish barks of Kalpa trees, as their clean marriage raiments, and ate its fruits as their wedding cakes; then they repaired to the altar for their nuptial ceremony.

At this time the sun descended below his setting mountain, as if to consummate their conjugal union in secret.

As it now became dark and dusk, they discharged their evening service and offered their prayers; and groups of stars now appeared on the plain of the firmament, to witness their union in marriage.

Then came the sable night the only friend of the happy pair, spreading the veil of darkness over the face of nature, and smiling with the blushing of snow white lotuses and lilies of the valley.

Kumbha collected the rich, stones, and placed those gemming on the table land of the mountain, while Brahmā lighted his two lamps of the sun and moon together in the heavens.

Being then changed to the female form, Kumbha anointed the prince with the fragrant sandal paste, agallochium, camphor powder and pulverized musk.

She adorned his person with strings, bracelets and wrist-lets of flowers, and dressed in a robe of the thin bark of Kalpa tree.

His body was also decorated with the filaments of Kalpa plant, and clusters of pārjāta flowers and with many other flowers and gems from his head to foot.

She appeared also at this time in her bridle garb and maiden like figure, with her big and swollen breasts, and with all her youthful grace and blandishments.

She thought that as she was now attired and appeared as a nuptial bride, she must new offer herself to a husband worthy to her.

Hear am I as a lovely bride, said she to herself, and there is my husband in my presence; I must ask him to accept my hand, nor is this time to be slipped from hand.

So saying, she approached her husband sitting apart from her in the wood; and appeared as Rati-the goddess of love, was advancing towards her loving Kāma.

She went to him and said- "I am Madanikā, by name and your loving wife. I therefore bow down at your feet, with the regard due to a husband.

So saying, the beauteous lady, bent down her head with female bashfulness; and made her obeisance to her lord, with the pendant locks on her head.

And then she said to him:- "O you my lord! do you adorn me with ornaments also, and then light the nuptial fire, to attest your acceptance of my hand".

You appearest as exceedingly fair to my eyes, and makest me quite fond of you; and you seemest to me to surpass the god of love in the beauty of person, even when he wedded his Rati at first in his youthful bloom.

O prince, these wreathed flowers on your person, appear as the bright-some beams in the body of the moon; and those strings of flowers pendant on your bosom, seem to me as the stream of Ganges, gliding on the breast of the Sumeru mountain.

With the flowing braided hairs on your head, you appearest as the mount of Mandāra, with the clusters of creepers hanging down from its top; while your head itself appears as golden lotus, with its hanging hairs resembling the filaments of the flowers, and studded with strings of blackening bees.

The gemming ornaments and flowery decorations of your person, add to it the lustre and gracefulness of the mount Meru, with its mineral ores on one side and its floral beauty on the other.

After her flattering speech was over, the new bride and bridegroom, and future husband and wife sat contented together, unmindful and forgetful of their past conjugal relation.

The brave princess now Madanikā by name and the noble prince Sikhidhwaja the saint, both sat together on a golden seat ⁵; which added fresh lustre to the beauty and decoration of their persons.

They were bedecked with their head dresses, garland of flowers and ornaments of gems and pearls, and were furnished with flowers and ointments, and clad in fine cloths all over their bodies.

The young lady Madanikā blazed as Venus with her maddening beauty, and appeared as the goddess Gowrī-the surpassing paragon of beauty, at her wedding festivity.

The noble lord having embellished his noble lady with his own hands, thus spoke to her after her toilet; "O you fawn eyed fairy, you are as graceful as the goddess of grace and prosperity".

I pray for all that prosperity to attend on you, as it does with Sacī. - The queen of heaven, in the company of her lord Indra; and as it subsisted between the mutual pairs of Hara and Gowrī; and Hari and his consort Laksmī- the goddess of fortune.

You appearest as a limpid lake of lotuses, with your breasts blooming like lotus buds; and your black blue eyes resembling the cerulean lotuses ⁶; and the sweet fragrance of your lotus like person, inviting the buzzing bees fluttering all about you.

You appearest likewise as a tender shoot of the Kalpa plant of Cupid, with your rubicund palms resembling its reddish leaves; and your swollen breasts likening to its blooming buds, and every part of your body, is as delicate as its delicious fruits.

With your cold and cooling body, and your moon like face and its smiles as moon-beams, you are as beautiful as the full-moon, and equally delightful to sight.

Rise therefore my beauteous lady and ascend on the matrimonial altar, and there perform the marriage ceremony, standing on the slab of stone, marked with creeping plants and their fruits. ⁷

Vasistha said: The altar was studded with strings of pearls, and bunches of flowers, suspended on all sides; and it had four large coconut fruits, hang over the four sides of its square.

There were pots filled with the holy water of Gangā set about it, and the sacred matrimonial fire was lighted amidst it, and fed with the fuel of the sandal wood and other fragrance.

They turned round the flaming fire by the right hand side, and then sat on seats of leaves with their faces turned towards the east.

After sitting on the altar, the matrimonial couple kindled the nuptial fire, and made offerings of sesame seeds, and fried rice upon its flames.

Having lifted the wife with his own hands, the husband and wife apeared like Śiva and Pārvatī in the forest.

The married pair turned again about the sacred fire, and offered to each other their own­selves and loves as their marriage dowries.

They showed to one another their shining faces, as their nuptial presents; and completed the ceremony by going round the fire, and scattering the fried rice upon it.

The husband and wife now parted other hands, from their hold of the palms of one another; and their smiling faces, appeared as the lunar disk on the new moon.

After this they went to sleep on a flowery bed­ stead which they had newly prepared, before when the moon had already run her course of the first watch of the night.

She cast her beams to fall a slant on the bedstead, as when the attendant women cast their glances askance on the bridal bed.

She next spread her bright beams all about the leafy bower of the pair; as if to listen to the pleasant conversation, of the new married couple.

The pair having sat there awhile, in the light of the mineral lamps, retired to their sleeping bed, which they had prepared before hand in a secluded spot.

It was a bedding of flowers, and beset by heaps of flowers of various kinds. ⁸

There were heaps of lotuses of golden hue, as also mandāra and other sorts of flowers, to drive away fatigue by their fragrance.

The flat of the flowery bed of the bridal pair, resembled the plane of the broad and bright moon, and a level surface covered by the cooling ice.

It bore likewise the resemblance of the wide sea, whose waters are impregnated by the bright moon, and whose surface supplies a bed to Ananta- the sleeping spirit of the endless God.

The loving pair then lay themselves down, and rolled upon their snow white bed of flowers; as when mandāra mountain, rolled about and churned the Milky ocean.

They passed their bridal night in mutual caresses and conversation on topics of love, and the live long night glided before them as a few moments only.

Footnotes

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