Adhyaya 107
Narada Consoles King Āyu: Prophecy of the Son’s Return and Future Sovereignty
The chapter focuses on easing grief through revealed knowledge. The devarṣi Nārada comes from heaven to King Āyu, questions the cause of his sorrow, and reframes the abduction of the king’s son as an event that will ultimately prove auspicious and safe. Nārada then gives a prophetic assurance: the king will have—or regain—an extraordinary son, omniscient, skilled in the arts, and endowed with godlike qualities, who will return, even accompanied by Śiva’s daughter. By innate splendor and meritorious deeds, the son will equal Indra and attain Indra-like sovereignty. After consoling the king and (elsewhere) the queen, Nārada departs. Āyu informs the queen; joy replaces despair, and the narrative stresses the imperishability of tapas and the boon granted by Dattātreya. The chapter closes by linking this episode to the wider Bhūmi-khaṇḍa frame: Vena’s episode, the glorification of Guru-tīrtha, Cyavana’s narrative, and the account of Nāhuṣa.
Shlokas
Verse 1
कुंजल उवाच । अथासौ नारदः स्वर्गादायुराजानमागतः । आगत्य कथयामास कस्माद्राजन्प्रशोचसे
Kuñjala said: Then the sage Nārada came down from heaven to King Āyurāja; and upon arriving, he spoke: “Why, O King, do you grieve?”
Verse 2
पुत्रापहरणं तेऽद्य क्षेमं जातं महामते । देवादीनां महाराज एवं ज्ञात्वा तु मा शुचः
O wise one, today the abduction of your son has turned out in safety and well-being. O great king, knowing thus what has occurred among the devas and others, do not grieve.
Verse 3
सर्वज्ञः सगुणो भूत्वा सर्वविज्ञानसंयुतः । सर्वकलाभिसंपूर्ण आगमिष्यति ते सुतः
To you will be born a son—omniscient, endowed with auspicious qualities, possessed of every kind of knowledge, and complete in all arts.
Verse 4
येनाप्यपहृतस्तेऽद्य बालो देवगुणोपमः । आत्मगेहे महाराज कालो नीतो न संशयः
O great king, the boy—whose qualities are like those of the gods—has indeed been carried off by someone today; without doubt he has been kept for some time in that person’s own house.
Verse 5
तस्याप्यंतं स वै कर्त्ता महावीर्यो महाबलः । स त्वामभ्येष्यते भूप शिवस्य सुतया सह
He himself will bring about even that one’s end—the doer of great valor and great strength. O king, he will come to you together with Śiva’s daughter.
Verse 6
इंद्रोपेंद्रसमः पुत्रो भविष्यति स्वतेजसा । इंद्रत्वं भोक्ष्यते सोऽपि निजैश्च पुण्यकर्मभिः
By his own innate splendor, your son will become equal to Indra and Upendra; and by his own meritorious deeds he too will attain and enjoy the sovereignty of Indra.
Verse 7
एवमाभाष्य राजानमायुं देवर्षिसत्तमः । जगाम सहसा तस्य पश्यतः सानुगस्य ह
Having thus addressed King Āyu, the foremost of the divine sages suddenly departed, while the king, together with his attendants, looked on.
Verse 8
गते तस्मिन्महाभागे नारदे देवसंमिते । आयुरागत्य तां राज्ञीं तत्सर्वं विन्यवेदयत्
After the greatly fortunate Nārada, honored among the gods, had departed, Āyus came to the queen and told her everything.
Verse 9
दत्तात्रेयेण यो दत्तः पुत्रो देववरोत्तमः । स वै राज्ञि कुशल्यास्ते विष्णोश्चैव प्रसादतः
That son—best among the gods—who was granted by Dattātreya, indeed came to Queen Kuśalyā solely by the grace of Viṣṇu.
Verse 10
येनाप्यसौ हृतः पुत्रः सगुणो मे वरानने । शिरस्तस्य गृहीत्वा तु पुनरेवागमिष्यति
O fair-faced one, whoever carried off my virtuous son—having taken his head—will return again.
Verse 11
इत्याह नारदो भद्रे मा कृथाः शोकमेव च । त्यज चैनं महामोहं कार्यधर्मविनाशनम्
Thus Nārada said: “O noble lady, do not yield to grief. Cast off this great delusion, which destroys both rightful action and dharma.”
Verse 12
भर्तुर्वाक्यं निशम्यैवं राज्ञी इंदुमती ततः । हर्षेणापि समाविष्टा पुत्रस्यागमनं प्रति
Hearing her husband’s words in this way, Queen Indumatī was filled with joy, looking forward to the coming of her son.
Verse 13
यथोक्तं देवऋषिणा तत्तथैव भविष्यति । दत्तात्रेयेण मे दत्तस्तनपो ह्यजरामरः
Just as the divine seer has spoken, so indeed it shall come to pass. The tapas granted to me by Dattātreya is truly undecaying and deathless.
Verse 14
भविष्यति न संदेहः प्रतिभात्येनमेव हि । इत्येवं चिंतयित्वा तु ननाम द्विजपुंगवम्
“It will happen—there is no doubt; indeed, it appears to me exactly so.” Thinking thus, he bowed down to the best of the twice-born, the eminent brāhmaṇa.
Verse 15
नमोस्तु तस्मै परिसिद्धिदाय अत्रेः सुपुत्राय महात्मने च । यस्य प्रसादेन मया सुपुत्रः प्राप्तः सुधीरः सुगुणः सुपुण्यः
Salutations to that great-souled son of Atri, the bestower of complete success. By his grace I have obtained a worthy son—wise, virtuous, and most meritorious.
Verse 16
एवमुक्त्वा तु सा देवी विरराम सुदुःखिता । आगमिष्यंतमाज्ञाय नहुषं तनयं पुनः
Having spoken thus, that goddess—deeply distressed—fell silent again, knowing that her son Nahuṣa was about to return.
Verse 107
इति श्रीपद्मपुराणे भूमिखंडे वेनोपाख्याने गुरुतीर्थमाहात्म्ये च्यवनचरित्रे नाहुषाख्याने सप्तोत्तरशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the one-hundred-and-seventh chapter of the Śrī Padma Purāṇa, in the Bhūmi-khaṇḍa—within the episode of Vena, the glorification of Guru-tīrtha, the narrative of Cyavana, and the account of Nāhuṣa.