Srivatsa regains his kingdom

Yudhistira asked Kirshna, What happened after Shani blessed Srivatsa?

Krishna said - Srivatsa lived for sometime in the palace of his father in law. One day, having had his bath, he went to Bahudeva and requested his permission to return back.

Bahudeva arranged for chariots but Srivatsa said it would take days before he reached his kingdom. He then remembered Taala and Betala. Taala Betala came and asked what was wanted off them. Srivatsa said he wanted them to take him to his own kingdom.

Taala and Betala asked the king and queens to climb on the chariot. Taala sat on top of the chariot and Betala became the charioteer. With the speed of wind, the chariot flew and soon reached Srivatsa's kingdom.

On the way, Taala pointed out to the ashrama of Surabhi, the village of the woodcutters  the spot where the burnt fish had swum off and the place where Shani had taken the bundle of wealth. Soon they reached the kingdom.

Hearing that their king was back, the citizens came out to greet him. The king went and sat on his throne with his two queens on his side.

SoonSrivatsa was blessed with a hundred sons and two daughters.

Ruling well, the king and his two queens went to heaven, when it was time.

Krishna then said - Yudhistira, do not lament. It is destiny.

Krishna then left for Dwaraka along with Subhadra and the young Abhimanyu. Dhristadyumna took along with him, the sons of Draupadi.

After they all left, Yudhistira told his brothers to look for a place where they could peacefully live for twelve years. 

Shani blesses Srivatsa

Next day, early morning, a voice in the heaven was heard. Shani said - All Gods, Gandharvas, Demons look at me as the superior of all Gods. Today a human proved me wrong.

Saying this, Shani appeared before Srivatsa. He told Srivatsa to worship him and all his worries would be gone. He asked him to go back to his kingdom and rule for a long time.

Shani blessed Srivatsa, saying who ever takes the name of Srivatsa, will be blessed. 

Srivatsa united with Chinta

Hearing Krishna talk about the troubles of Srivatsa, the Pandavas and Draupadi asked happened to Chinta.
Krishna said Listen patiently, while I tell you more.

Srivatsa was not happy living on food provided by the king. Bhadra consoled him, saying things would improve. Having heard from his whole story, Bhadra said you have suffered a lot and soon happy days will come and you will regain your kingdom.

Thus twelve years passed and effects of Shani's eveil eye also started diminishing.

One day Srivatsa said he wanted to do something and asked Bhadra if it was possible for her father to arrange for some work for her, near the river bank, where they lived.

Bhadra spoke to her mother, who then spoke to the king. Srivatsa was given work. He would sit at the river bank and would inspect all the passing boats of the merchants and would then release them.

One day the merchant who had captured Chinta, came there. Srivatsa recognized the boat and asked them to stop. He asked his men to inspect the boat and unload the wealth that was in the boat. In that, were the golden slippers that Srivatsa had made. Srivatsa asked the slippers to be taken off the boat.

The merchant went to the king and complained that all his wealth had been looted by his son in law.

The king came asked Srivatsa why he had taken the wealth of the merchant away. Srivatsa said the merchant had stolen the wealth. If he could separate the slippers into two, then he would return the wealth back.

The merchant tried to break them but was unable to do so.

Srivatsa said he would separate them as he had made them. He then requested help from Taala and Betala. They came in a split second the slippers were in two pieces.

The king, surprised, asked Srivatsa who he really was.

Srivatsa said I may look unhealthy and poor but I do not belong to a low caste. I am Srivatsa. Saying this, Srivatsa, told the king all that happened to him.

Srivatsa also said that his wife, Chinta, had been abducted by this merchant and was prisoner there, and should be released.

Bahudeva bowed down before Srivatsa. He said It is my daughter's good luck that she has got you as her husband. He then went to the boat where he saw Chinta, sitting there. He took her to Srivatsa, who asked her, what had happened to her beauty.

Chinta said when she had been captured by the merchant, she had asked the Sun God to take her beauty away. She then prayed to the Sun God to restore her original self.

Srivatsa was pleased to have Chinta and Bhadra with him. 

Srivatsa weds Bhadra

Srivatsa spent his days, making garlands and worshiping Narayana with fruits, flowers and water. Not disclosing his true identity, he thus lived in the garden.

One day when the king Bahudeva was sitting for his meal, his daughter Bhadra came to him. The king, who was engrossed in his meal, did not notice who had come. Thinking it to be his wife, he touched her wrongly.

Shocked, the princess ran to her mother and told her about this. The queen came and shouted at the king for performing a sinful crime. She said while he should be looking for a suitable groom for the daughter, he was on the contrary performing heinous acts.

The king then said - You are accusing me of something that I did not do. You never told me it was time to look for a groom for her. Narayana knows my mind is clean. I will arrange for a swayamvar for my daughter today.

Saying this, the king went to call his ministers. He said he was thinking of arranging a swayamvar, where his daughter would choose her own husband.

Invitations were sent out all over to invite people for the ceremony. Kings and princes from many lands arrived there. All were welcomes and taken care of.

Hearing about this, from the gardener's wife. Srivatsa wanted to see the ceremony. He went there, and instead of entering the ceremony hall, he went sat under a Kadamba tree.

The princess came bearing a plate made of sandal wood, on which was the garland with which she would wed her chosen suitor.

When she was looking around, she heard a voice say to her, that her husband was sitting under a Kadamba tree. She went there and saw Srivatsa. She went around him and placed the garland at his feet, choosing him as her husband.

Seeing this, the invited kings and princes said that Bahudeva had made a joke out of them. Some said this was destiny. All the invited guests left.

The king went inside and spoke to his queen. He said this was what the Gods had written for her. He was feeling ashamed to have a poor gardener as his son in law. The queen said this was what the Gods had written. No amount of worry or grief would remove what had happened.

The king then asked his ministers to erect a house outside for Bhadra, where she could live with her chosen husband. The king said he did not want to see the face of his daughter any more, as she had chosen a husband whose caste was unknown.

When the house was built, the queen went and helped Bhadra settle down in the house with Srivatsa. She told her not worry. It was a matter of time, before she would be happy again. 

Princess Bhadra

Days passed for the king in the garden. He helped in cooking and making garlands.

Listen, Yudhistira, that how things happen for good. In that land was a king called Bahudeva. He had a beautiful daughter called Bhadra.

Bhadra  prayed to Shiva and Parvati. Pleased Parvati  appeared before her, and  asked her to ask for a boon.

Bhadra wished to be the wife of the great king Srivatsa. Parvati  said that would happen. Parvati also told Bhadra that Srivatsa was there in the house of the gardener's wife. 

Srivatsa in Surabhi's ashrama

Surabhi asked Srivatsa who he was. Srivatsa told Surabhi who he was telling her the whole story starting with Shani and Lakshmi , ending with loss of Chinta.

Surabhi said the king could live without any worry. Shani had no control over this land. She told him to spend his time there, as he was destined to get back his kingdom. Surabhi told the king not leave the ashrama, as he would fall under the clutches of Shani again.

The king lived in the ashrama, surviving on the milk of surabhi. When some milk fell on the ground, the king made slabs with the clay. With the help of his helpers, the spirits Taala and Betala, the king joined them together and made them off gold. This was the only work that that king had, and he created a heap of these golden slabs.

Listen, O Yudhistira, how the king came in the clutches of Shani again.

One day the king saw the same merchant, who had captured Chinta, travelling on his boat. He called out to the merchant. Hearing the calls, the merchant came and halted there.

He said to the merchant that he was someone of noble birth, who had, due to his misfortune, been reduced to live his life in an ashrama. He said he had some golden slabs that he wanted to sell and asked the merchant to help him. He said he would come along and if got some wealth from the slabs, he would be very happy.

The merchant asked the king to come along with them into the boat while the workers loaded the golden slabs on the boat.

As fate would have it, Shani's evil eye had its effect. The merchant decided to kill the king and keep all gold for himself.

When the boat was in the middle of the sea, the merchant pushed Srivatsa off the boat. The king called out to Taala and Betala for help. He called out to Chinta to come and see his misfortune.Chinta, who happened to be in the boat, heard the cries of her husband and started crying.

Taala and Betala saved the king. Taala put the king to sleep. Betala got a raft and kept the king on it. Chinta got a pillow ready and the king peacefully slept.

For days, this raft floated on the waters. The raft one day reached the land of Sautipur. There the raft landed near the house of the gardener's wife.

The king had landed in a garden which had dried up. As soon as the king stepped foot, the dried garden started blooming.

Seeing the flowers, bees started flocking there and birds started singing. When the gardener's wife came there, she saw the garden transformed. Amazed, she walked around the garden till she the king in one corner. She asked him who he was.

The king said he had come on business and had suffered a boat wreck. The gardener's wife allowed the king to stay in her garden as her nephew.

Listen O Yudhistira, while I tell you the wonderful tale of Srivatsa.

Srivatsa searches for Chinta

Srivatsa, anxious at not seeing Chinta, asked the neighbors if anyone had seen Chinta. The neighbors told Srivatsa about the merchant and boat and how Chinta had been forcibly been taken away by the merchant.

The king aghast. He lost his kingdom and roamed in the forest, and now he had now lost his wife. This was all because of Shani.

The king then roamed around looking for his wife. He searched everywhere, searching all lands.

Roaming around, he came to a forest called Chintananda, This was a beautiful place, which was also the ashrama of the celestial cow, Surabhi.  

Srivatsa with the woodcutters

Krishna continuing said, Listen Yudhistira to the story of Chinta (Srivatsa's wife) and Srivatsa.

When the fruits in the forest became scarce, Srivatsa and Chinta went towards the village on the other side of the forest. In the north of the village lived wealthy merchants. The rich, seeing the poor king would drive them away. Thus, the king decided to proceed towards the south.
The people there asked them, who they were. The king they were a very unfortunate couple and come to beg for some kindness and some work and food.

The people there, who happened to be woodcutters, said they would welcome the strangers. They lived cutting and selling wood and no grief or worries. They welcomed any extra help.

The king happily agreed to take up the job of a woodcutter. The wives of the woodcutters welcomed Chinta and they all started living happily there.

In the morning, the woodcutters called Srivatsa and asked him to join them in the forest. While the woodcutters went about cutting trees, Srivatsa wondered what to do. Seeing some sandalwood trees, Srivatsa cut those and bundling those up, along with the woodcutters, he went to the market to sell them. The sandal fetched a huge sum of money.

With that money, Srivatsa decided to hold a feast and bought delicacies like butter, spice,  grains, fish and meat. He came and gave that to Chinta and asked to get a feast ready.

Chinta cooked the food, and all had a grand feast.

Things were going well, O Yudhistira, when something  happened.

A merchant had stepped out for business. He was on a boat when suddenly the boat struck a sandbank. Taking the guise of a soothsayer, Shani appeared there. He said while the merchant's wife had been praying to the nine plants, he had ignored the prayer and had set off on business. This was causing the problem. There was solution to this. The merchant was to invite all the wives of the woodcutters who resided there. Among the wives of the woodcutter was a very pious woman. If she touched the boat, it would be repaired and the boat would move.

The merchant sent out a message to all the woodcutter wives. Each came and touched the boat and nothing happened. The merchant wanted to know if all the women had come. He was told that all except one had come, as she had been not to go, by her husband.

The merchant thought this was the woman who would be able to move his boat. The soothsayer went to Chnta and asked her to come along. She said she had been told not go, by her husband. She then thought, doing good for someone would help her husband's fame, so not caring about her husband's warning, she decided to go along.

As soon as Chinta had touched the boat, it became alright and started floating in the water.

The merchant thought this was no ordinary woman and decided to take her with him, in case his boat ever got struck.

Yudhistira wanted to know what happened next. Krishna said -

Chinta cried and begged to be freed. She started blaming herself for not listening to her husband. She then looked skywards and prayed to the Sun God to help her. Sun God then took her beauty away, and made her look like a leaper. In this form, Chinta went along.

Coming back to the village, Srivatsa started looking for Chinta. 

Srivatsa talks to his wife

The king had heard this in a dream. He got up and spoke to his wife. He said - Whatever Shani has said is coming true. I have lost my kingdom and am in the forest. I have no other option but to take refuge in Vishnu.

The king and his wife thus spent five years in the forest, living on fruits. 

Shani speaks to Srivatsa

From the heavens, Shani spoke to Srivatsa. He said - This is the punishment for saying that Lakshmi is superior to me. You cunningly showed me an inferior seat and now you need to suffer. I have made you loose your kingdom and soon I will make you loose your wife also.
Listen to me and let me tell you about my powers. In the Treta Yuga, Vishnu was born as the four sons of King Dashratha. Rama was the eldest.
Dashratha gave Rama the kingdom and I sent Rama to the forest.
Wearing bark and with matted hair, Rama with his brother, Lakshmana and wife Sita went to the forest. It was because of me, that Ravana abducted Sita.

Listen to me while I tell you more. Shiva was married to Sati. It was because of me that Sati died. On her death, Shiva destroyed the sacrifice of Daksha and gave him the head of a goat. It was later that Sati was reborn as the daughter of Himalaya and was reunited with Shiva.

Vishnu had to suffer and he had to take the form of an insect and reside as a stone in the Gandaki river.

I was ignored by Bali, granson of Prahlada. It was because of me that Bali had to loose all he had.

I control all the worlds and no one can escape me.

Srivatsa roams in the forest

One day when the king had finished his bath, when a black dog came and licked the bath water. This was the moment Shani was waiting for. Shani looked at Srivatsa. His sight was terrible. Temples started breaking. House started cracking up. Suddenly things would catch fire. No clouds, but rain started. Comets were seen in the sky, in the daytime, which was a very bad omen. Animals started dying.
The subjects came to Srivatsa and wanted to know what to do. The king went around for three days and nights, visiting each house. He then came back. His queen started grieving.
The king there was no point in crying. One who was born, was destined to die. He asked his queen to gather all valuable gems and clothes and all the wealth that she could get her hand on. He told her to make a bundle out of that.
He then asked her to go to her parents house. He said once the sight of Shani was removed, he would join her there.
The queen said in this time of calamity she would not leave him.
The king agreed.

In the middle of the night, the king decided to leave the palace. Lakshmi appeared before him and said wherever he went, she would go with him, but would remain invisible. She also said that he would suffer because of the effect of Shani and soon that would be gone, and he would get everything back.

With the bundle on his head, the king and queen left the palace in the middle of the night, and started going towards the forest. Never having walked bare foot on ground, they faced hardships but still managed till they came across a river called Maya. This was a huge river and they were not sure how to cross it. Shani then came there in the guise of a boatman. He agreed to take them across. He also said his boat was old and weak and he would not be able to take them all together. He could take them across in turns. He said he would take their bundle first, leave it on the other bank and then come back for them.

Shani took the bundle and started, and suddenly both the river and the boatman all vanished.

The king was sad. Controlling himself, he and his queen continued their journey.

Soon dawn broke. The queen said she was hungry and thirty and would not be able to move anymore. They decided to rest where they were. They saw a lake with flowers blooming in it. They had a bath in the water. The king went and gathered some fruits and after eating that and drinking some water from the lake, they felt refreshed and resumed their journey.

They soon reached a very dense and dark forest. Scared, the king remembered Vishnu in his mind. A voice was heard which said - Till you stay in the forest, I will remain with you.

Feeling satisfied and content, the king carried on.

One day the king and his wife, saw few fishermen going to catch fish. The king asked the fishermen to spare a fish. The fishermen said they had placed their nets at a wrong time and had not caught anything.

The king asked the fishermen to try again, taking the names of Taal and Betaala in his mind. The fishermen did that, and the net was heavy with fish. The fishermen said Srivatsa was a very holy person and gladly game some fish to the couple, and went.

The king asked his queen to roast the fish so that could make a meal out of it.
The queen said she had heard that eating roasted fish would ward off Shani's evil eye.

The queen while roasting the fish, wondered how the king who had been used to the choicest of meals would be able to eat burnt fish. She decided to wash the roasted fish in the lake and then take it to the king. As soon as the burnt fish touched the water, it came to life and swam away.

The queen did not know what to say to the king. Who would believe that a dead burnt fish could come to life. She was sure the king would say she had eaten up the fish.
When she went to the king and told him what had happened, he was surprised and started laughing. 

Shani approaches Srivatsa

Krishna said - Listen to me then.

In the earlier days, there was a great king called Chitraratha, whose son was Srivatsa. He was great king who ruled well. He performed many sacrifices and his subjects were very happy under his rule. His wife, Chinta, was a very pious lady.

One day, in the heavens, Lakshmi and Shani were talking. Lakshmi said she was superior to Shani. All prayed to her. How many prayed to Shani.

They decided to test Srivatsa. Shani, son of Surya, went to the kingdom of Srivatsa.

Srivatsa had just finished his bath in the river, when he saw Shani there. He asked the God the reason for his arrival. Shani said he wanted to know who was superior among him and Lakshmi.

The king said he would give the answer the next day.

Having finished his bath, the king went home and told his queen what had happened.

The queen was not happy. An argument between two immortals, and a human had to judge. This was not a good sign.

The king said what had to happen, would happen.