Adhyaya 6

Chapter 6 weaves a courtly episode with sacred instruction. The women of Ākāśarāja’s inner quarters report that, while gathering flowers with the princess, they saw beneath a tree a wondrous man—dark like indranīla, adorned with golden ornaments and weapons—who vanished at once, leaving Padmāvatī faint. The king consults a daivajña, who deems the planetary signs largely auspicious yet notes a troubling anomaly: the princess has been struck by the sight of an exceptional man and will in time be united with him; moreover, a woman-messenger will arrive with beneficial counsel. As a practical remedy he prescribes a Brahmin-led abhiṣeka for the Agastyeśa-liṅga. The narrative then brings in Bakulamālikā, arriving from Śrī Veṅkaṭādri and escorted into the palace. Dharaṇī questions a Pulindinī, who speaks truthfully: Padmāvatī’s affliction is love-born and caused by the Deity himself—Hari from Vaikuṇṭha—who roams Veṅkaṭādri near Svāmipuṣkariṇī; he will send Lalitā as intermediary, and the union will surely occur. The chapter culminates in Padmāvatī’s teaching on bhakta-lakṣaṇa, the marks of a devotee: outward signs such as śaṅkha-cakra emblems, ūrdhva-puṇḍra, and the twelve nāma-dhāraṇas, and inward disciplines such as Veda recitation, truthfulness, freedom from malice, sexual restraint, and compassion. It further details the rite of imprinting the pañcāyudhas (conch, discus, bow/arrow, mace, sword) through homa and heated emblems, defining the Vaiṣṇava as ethically regulated and ritually marked. The women then complete Agastyeśa worship and honor the Brahmins with food and gifts.