Chapter summary
शालग्राममाहात्म्यम् Śālagrāma Māhātmyam
The Glory of the Śālagrāma
**The revered Sadguru said:**
I shall now expound upon the supreme and auspicious glory of the Śālagrāma, by the mere hearing of which the gravest sins are utterly destroyed (v.1).
There exists a goddess named Gaṇḍakī, preeminent among rivers, revered by hosts of gods and sages, and renowned as the destroyer of great sins (v.2). Knowing that Nṛsiṃha had emerged from a pillar, Matsya was born in the vast ocean, Rāma was the son of Kausalyā, and Govinda the son of Devakī; understanding that Rāma (Paraśurāma) was the son of Reṇukā, Vyāsa the son of Satyavatī, Rāma (Balarāma) the son of Rohiṇī, and Kapila the son of Devahūti; and that Datta was the son of Anasūyā, while the two sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa were born from Dharma's wife Mūrti, along with other avatars as well—all these divine forms of Viṣṇu, of Nārāyaṇa, who appeared here and there upon the earth of their own accord, granting profound joy to their mothers—knowing all this, the goddess Gaṇḍakī undertook a very great penance, filled with an overwhelming maternal affection for Vāsudeva, the guru of the entire world (v.3-7).
Her austerities were profound: first, she subsisted only on grass and leaves, then only on water, then on air, and finally, she stood without any sustenance at all. Chanting the eight-syllabled mantra, desiring to behold the husband of Śrī, she meditated with closed eyes upon Hari within the sacred space of her heart (v.8-9). Witnessing her unwavering devotion, the Lord Vāsudeva, though eternally independent and difficult to attain even for Brahmā, Rudra, and other exalted beings, came under her loving sway (v.10).
**The Supreme Lord said:**
"Choose a boon, O blessed one! I, the giver of boons, have arrived. I am exceedingly pleased with your penance, I who am difficult for even the most rigorous ascetics to attain (v.11). Indeed, I have been brought under your control by your maternal affection and love. You have developed this profound maternal feeling for Me, the Lord of the lords of all the worlds" (v.12).
**Gaṇḍakī said:**
"This is my highest desire, O God of gods, Lord of the universe! To obtain You as my son, I have performed this penance, O Lord (v.13). Thus, though You are unborn, You are born in many ways, O Lord, in this world for the protection of dharma, by Your own free will through Your Māyā (v.14). You have indeed assumed forms like Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, and others in the past for the protection of the world, by Your own free will through Your Māyā (v.15). All those forms, O Janārdana, I wish to bear in my womb. O Govinda, be my son, O Mādhava!" (v.16).
She continued, "Whatever good fortune belonged to Kausalyā and Devakī, O Hari, and the good fortune of other mothers through Your births—grant all that same fortune to me, O controller of the gods. The penance I performed is small, but Your compassion is immeasurable (v.17-18). Whichever forms have disappeared, O Janārdana, please manifest those very same forms again within me, O Lord (v.19). For the best of Brahmins, by making and worshipping Your many sacred images (arcā) with devotion, will attain the supreme state, O Master" (v.20).
**The Supreme Lord said:**
"So be it, O highly fortunate one! You are My mother; salutations to you. I am born in the form of stones in many ways, of this there is no doubt (v.21). The thousands of forms I have previously assumed, behold all those divine forms within you, O best of rivers (v.22).
See Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasiṃha, Hayānana, Datta, Vyāsa, Kapila, Ṛṣabha, and Pṛthu as well (v.23). Behold Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Sudarśana, Aniruddha, Bhārgava (Paraśurāma), Nara, and Nārāyaṇa (v.24). And also Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, Śivanārāyaṇa, Haṃsa, Paramahaṃsa, Śrīdhara, and Keśava (v.25). See Trivikrama, Vāmana, Padmanābha, Adhokṣaja, Yajña, Yajñeśvara, Hṛṣīkeśa, and Janārdana (v.26). Behold Dāmodara, Jagannātha, Viṣṇu, Madhusūdana, Rāma the son of Kausalyā, and the beloved of Jānakī (v.27). See Rāghava with one wheel, three wheels, and six wheels, Paṭṭābhirāma, Kodaṇḍapāṇi (wielder of the Kodaṇḍa bow), and Vanamālī (wearer of the forest garland) (v.28).
Behold Kṛṣṇa, Santānagopāla, Gopāla, the husband of Rukmiṇī, the lord of Rādhā, the master of the Gopikās, and the lifter of Govardhana hill (v.29). See Govinda who delights by the Yamunā, who wanders in Vṛndāvana, Balabhadra the son of Rohiṇī, and the son of Yaśodā (v.30). Behold Dvārakeśa (Lord of Dvārakā), the Dvāraśilā, the protector of Draupadī's honor, Pārtha (Arjuna), the messenger to Pārtha, Pārthasārathi (Arjuna's charioteer), and Acyuta (v.31). See Hiraṇyagarbha, Śrīgarbha, Ratnagarbha, Hari, Ananta, Mukunda, Buddha, and Puruṣottama (v.32). Behold the one with a thousand wheels, the one with no wheel, Śipiviṣṭa, Sanātana, the wielder of the conch, the wielder of the Śārṅga bow, the wielder of the lotus, and the wielder of the mace (v.33). See Kalki, the destroyer of the evils of the Kali age, the benefactor of the world's welfare. Thus, O goddess, behold the various forms assumed by Me" (v.34).
**The revered Sadguru said:**
Having spoken thus, Lord Viṣṇu, assuming thousands of forms, manifested as Govinda in the form of Śālagrāma stones (v.35). This great sacred place is itself called Muktinātha, the supreme, and by merely hearing of it, the supreme state is easily attained (v.36).
Keśava does not reside eternally in the Ocean of Milk, nor in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the solar orb, as He does in the Śālagrāma stone-wheel (v.37). Jagannātha is not as pleased by the worship of a mere image as Govinda is pleased by the worship of a Śālagrāma stone (v.38). The fruit of a crore of sacrifices or the fruit of a crore of pilgrimages does not amount to even a sixteenth part of the fruit of worshipping a Śālagrāma (v.39).
Vāsudeva, in the form of the Śālagrāma, requires no invocation or formal welcome. The Śālagrāma is self-manifest; it is Viṣṇu Himself, there is no doubt (v.40). An excellent Brahmin should bathe daily in the morning in the water of a holy river according to the rules and worship the Śālagrāma with unwavering faith (v.41). One who bathes Hari in the form of a Śālagrāma with cow's milk, becoming a devotee of Govinda, ascends to the supreme world of Goloka (v.42). The excellent Brahmin who daily bathes the Śālagrāma with Pañcāmṛta with faith is freed from the five great sins (v.43). Viṣṇu, when worshipped in a Śālagrāma with just a Tulasī leaf or a handful of Gaṅgā water, comes under the control of His devotee (v.44).
He who faithfully drinks the holy water from the bathing of a Śālagrāma, even if afflicted by great sins, becomes instantly pure, indeed (v.45). All diseases are destroyed—I speak the truth, the truth—by merely drinking the water from a Śālagrāma; there is no doubt (v.46).
Heretics, śūdras, women, and those without the sacred thread have no right to touch a Śālagrāma stone (v.47). A foolish Brahmin who, leaving the Śālagrāma stone at home, undertakes a pilgrimage, will not obtain the fruit of that pilgrimage (v.48). He who eats his daily food without performing Śālagrāma worship eats nothing but cow's flesh and will surely attain hell (v.49). If one is afflicted and unable to perform Śālagrāma worship, he should give it with reverence to a Vaiṣṇava Brahmin (v.50). The gift of a crore of daughters in marriage and the gift of a crore of cows can never attain equality with the gift of a Śālagrāma (v.51).
One should never abandon a broken Śālagrāma, just as a mother, full of affection, never abandons a child with a broken hand (v.52). Great sins are destroyed by the worship of a Śālagrāma stone, and also by seeing it, touching it, hearing of it, and praising it (v.53). If one abandons the Śālagrāma stone and worships an image of Hari, Jagannātha Keśava, who is affectionate to His devotees, is not pleased (v.54).
One should worship the Śālagrāma daily with the Puruṣa Sūkta, the twelve-syllabled mantra, the eight-syllabled mantra, and the Gāyatrī (v.55). Only the twice-born have the right to worship the Śālagrāma stone; for others, the fruit is obtained by drinking the holy water from its ablution (v.56). Brahmins who are not Vaiṣṇavas have no right whatsoever, at any time, to perform the worship of a Śālagrāma stone (v.57). Śālagrāma worship must be performed daily by Vaiṣṇavas. This is an ordained daily duty (nityakarma); by abandoning it, one becomes fallen (v.58). One should perform the daily Sandhyā prayers, Upāsana, Śālagrāma worship, Brahmayajña, Vaiśvadeva, and hospitality to guests (v.59). Otherwise, even one born a Brahmin becomes a heretic and fallen. Know that such a Brahmin, devoid of proper conduct, is indeed a caṇḍāla (v.60).
By daily worshipping Keśava in the Śālagrāma stone-wheel, a Vaiṣṇava surely attains that supreme abode of Viṣṇu (v.61).
Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, entitled "The Glory of the Śālagrāma," in the First Part of the Divyadeśavaibhavam, composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
