Chapter summary
गोष्ठीपुरमाहात्म्यम् Goṣṭhī Pura Māhātmyam
The Glory of Goṣṭhīpuram
**The revered Sadguru said:**
In ancient times, there lived a demon named Hiraṇyakaśipu, a terror to the gods. Intoxicated by the boons granted by Brahmā, he relentlessly tormented the immortal beings. Desiring his demise, the Devas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, humans, Kiṃpuruṣas, Garuḍas, Pannagas, and the Pitṛs—all these beings gathered in this very city and held a great deliberation. Thus, this place became renowned on earth by the name Goṣṭhīpuram, "The City of the Assembly." (v.1-3)
Here, the divine Nārāyaṇa manifests in a gentle form, known as Sowmya. As the supreme refuge for all worlds, He bestowed fearlessness upon the distressed. Keśava declared, "For the protection of My devotee Prahlāda, I shall assume the form of Nṛsiṃha and bring about the death of Hiraṇyakaśipu." Hearing this assurance from Sowmya Nārāyaṇa, who spoke with a gentle smile, all the gods, feeling honored and joyful, returned to their own celestial abodes. (v.4-6)
Long ago, in the illustrious lunar dynasty, reigned a great monarch named Purūravas. He was a righteous king, true to his word, endowed with immense strength and valor. It happened one day that the divine nymph Urvaśī, due to a curse, descended to the earthly plane. Filled with desire, the beautiful lady beheld the great-souled king and recognized him as a potential husband. Making a certain wager, she sported with the king, who, utterly infatuated by her, considered himself to have achieved the very purpose of his life. (v.7-9)
However, Śakra [Indra] commanded a certain god, "Bring Urvaśī back quickly!" Hiding in the darkness, this god stole a ram in the middle of the night. Suddenly, the goddess cried out, and the king immediately gave chase. As he ran in haste, his garment slipped off. Instantly, the goddess vanished, and the king became like one bereft of his senses. Thinking constantly of Urvaśī, the foremost of the Apsarases, lamenting and weeping, that king wandered the world in a state of extreme madness. (v.10-12)
One day, in Kurukṣetra, King Purūravas saw his beloved Urvaśī playing with her friends and spoke to her. (v.13)
**The King said:**
"Oh, my wife, stop, stop! Why do you neglect me, your husband? I have come to sport with you; pray forgive my offense. Have mercy on me, O beautiful lady, for I am being consumed by the fire of desire. Revive me, O lovely one, by granting me the nectar of your lips. These wolves are devouring me as I wander in this great forest. As I roam here and there, embrace and pacify me." (v.14-16)
**Urvaśī said:**
"O king, who can place trust in the hearts of wolves and women, which are corrupted by deceit, fickle, and cruel? O great hero, what can these weak wolves do? We women are far more cruel and more deceitful than wolves! O king, abandon your trust in us and compose your mind. Being calm, go to your own city and uphold the eternal Dharma. If you desire my company, then, taking refuge in the threefold Vedic knowledge and worshipping the Lord of Sacrifices, you shall attain me. Of this, there is no doubt." (v.17-20)
**The revered Sadguru said:**
Thus addressed by Urvaśī, the great King Purūravas, that lover, reached heaven by the grace of the Lord of Sacrifices. There, embracing Urvaśī, the king enjoyed happiness for a long time. But when his merit was exhausted, he returned to the mortal world, greatly distressed. (v.21-22)
By chance, he saw the sage Kadamba, who had arrived. The king related his sorrow, and the sage consoled him. (v.23)
**Kadamba said:**
"O king, cast aside your sorrow and contemplate Keśava with reverence. Without meditation on Viṣṇu, the sorrow of men never truly perishes. The worlds attained through karma are perishable; of this, there is no doubt. The supreme state is not attained by rites, nor by progeny. Alas, even after enjoying the pleasure of women for many thousands of eons, O king, dispassion does not arise without the company of the good. Desire is never pacified by the enjoyment of the objects of desire; it only grows more and more, like a fire fed with ghee. What is the difference between worms that delight in feces, urine, and pus, and those who delight in a body which is a mere collection of skin, flesh, blood, sinew, fat, marrow, and bone? Pondering thus again and again with discrimination, O king of kings, and attaining firm dispassion, be respectfully desirous of liberation. Go to the great holy place of Goṣṭhīpuram and, residing there with the Brāhmaṇas, worship the Lord of the Universe, the Lord Sowmya Nārāyaṇa. By His grace, you will quickly attain purity of mind, and having obtained devotion, knowledge, and dispassion, you will surely attain liberation." (v.24-31)
**The revered Sadguru said:**
Purūravas, thus gently instructed by the sage Kadamba, went again to Goṣṭhīpuram and beheld Lord Hari, the Supreme Controller. Constructing a city there with auspicious buildings, he established Vedic Brāhmaṇas, the Śrī Vaiṣṇavas, in that place. Along with them, the king, with unwavering faith and according to Vedic rites, worshipped Acyuta with devotion and full of love, day after day. He, the best among the most fortunate, lived in that city, honored by all Vaiṣṇavas, together with his wife, sons, and other family members. (v.32-35)
Having attained supreme bliss and being freed from the delusion of the intellect, the great King Purūravas reached the abode of Viṣṇu in the end. For those who reside in this holy place and worship the Lord Nṛhari, the affliction of the disease of madness is utterly destroyed, there is no doubt. Just as King Purūravas was freed from the disease of madness, so too does one attain supreme bliss through the vision of the gentle Viṣṇu. (v.36-38)
Thus, the fifth chapter, titled "The Glory of Goṣṭhīpuram," in the Fifth Part of the "Divyadeśavaibhavam," composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
