Chapter summary
विद्वद्गोष्ठीपुरमाहात्म्यम् Vidvadgoṣṭhī Pura Māhātmyam
The Glory of Vidvadgoshthipuram
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
King Ambarīṣa, a paramount devotee, always yearned for the company of the virtuous and was deeply devoted to hearing sacred narratives. He was the illustrious ruler of Ayodhyā, the noble son of Nābhāga, renowned for his truthfulness, his great heroism, and his unwavering adherence to his own dharma. (v.1-2) During a pilgrimage, he arrived in the land of Kerala, where he encountered an assembly of scholars (vidvadgoshthi) deeply engaged in scriptural debate. Humbly, with hands joined in reverence, the great king bowed to them and addressed those foremost brahmins, who were masters of the scriptures, with sweet words. (v.3-4)
**Ambarīṣa said:**
"O best among brahmins, please tell me: how should Lord Vishnu be worshipped so that He, Lord Hari, is pleased? How can His divine vision be attained?" (v.5)
**The Scholars said:**
"Among all Vaishnava observances, the vow of Dvādaśī is supreme and most excellent. You should fast on Ekādaśī [the eleventh day of the lunar fortnight] and perform the pāraṇa [the breaking of the fast] on Dvādaśī [the twelfth day]. On Dvādaśī, after worshipping Vishnu with pāyasam [sweet rice pudding] and then feeding brahmins according to scriptural injunctions, one should then break the fast. O king of the earth, by observing this practice every fortnight for a year, you will surely become a recipient of Vishnu's boundless compassion. This is the truth; there is no doubt." (v.6-8)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
The most fortunate Ambarīṣa, having completed his pilgrimage, returned to Ayodhyā and faithfully undertook the Dvādaśī vow. At the conclusion of one such vow in the auspicious month of Kārtika, accompanied by learned brahmins and devotees, he journeyed to the holy Madhuvana, where Lord Hari is eternally present. (v.9-10)
After bathing in the sacred Yamunā and worshipping the Śālagrāma stone, the devout king observed a fast and vowed to remain awake through the night. Having passed the night by listening to sacred stories and chanting the divine names, he then bathed again in the waters of the Yamunā in the morning. After worshipping Vishnu according to the prescribed rites and honouring the brahmins, he sat down, with their permission, to break his fast. (v.11-13)
At that very moment, the divine sage Durvāsas himself arrived there. Seeing him, the king, with great haste, offered him arghya [water for the hands] and pādya [water for the feet]. With joined hands, he extended a warm welcome to the great sage and earnestly requested him to partake in the pāraṇa meal. Accepting the king's invitation, the yogi then proceeded to the waters of the Yamunā to perform his daily rituals. (v.14-15)
Considering the grave sin of transgressing the appointed time for pāraṇa on one hand, and the sin of disrespecting a brahmin on the other, the king, who was well-versed in dharma, performed his pāraṇa by merely sipping water. (v.16)
Then Durvāsas, rising up, filled with baseless anger, approached Ambarīṣa and, in his fury, created a Kṛtyā [a malevolent spirit] to harm him. The king, bowing at the sage's feet and seeking forgiveness for his perceived offense, humbly begged the sage, whose eyes were agitated with wrath, to perform the pāraṇa. (v.17-18)
Just then, Vishnu's divine discus, Sudarshana, manifested there. It instantly burned to ashes the Kṛtyā that Durvāsas had created against the king. Witnessing that blazing discus, the divine sage, seized by fear for his life, ran in great agitation, fleeing here and there. The great sage fled past Pātāla [the netherworld], the ocean, Mount Meru, Svarga [heaven], and the sky, and even beyond Satyaloka and Kailāsa. Rejected immediately by all the gods in each of these realms, he finally took refuge in the ultimate protector, Lord Hari, residing in the Ocean of Milk. (v.19-22)
Then the Lord, who is ever subservient to His devotees, spoke gentle words, mercifully consoling the terrified sage who had surrendered to Him. (v.23)
**The Lord said:**
"O Brahmin, I am utterly subservient to My devotees; I possess no independence. My devotees are indeed My masters; I am their eternal servant. I have no power to tolerate an offense committed against My devotees, O great sage. I do not even remember a hundred offenses committed directly against Me. Therefore, go and take refuge in that Vaishnava, Ambarīṣa. He will surely quell your suffering, for he is indeed of a tranquil heart." (v.24-26)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
Thus abandoned by the Lord, Durvāsas, afflicted with sorrow, returned to the earth and grasped the feet of Ambarīṣa. King Ambarīṣa, embarrassed by the sage's touch at his feet, praised the Sudarshana discus for the welfare of Durvāsas. Vishnu's discus immediately vanished from the assembly hall, and seeing this, the great sage extolled the glory of the devotee. (v.27-29)
Then, worshipping Durvāsas, the humble king, with hands joined, begged him again and again, saying, "Forgive my offense." Thereafter, when Durvāsas had departed, the supreme devotee, the righteous one, ruled his kingdom, ever absorbed in meditation on Vishnu. (v.30-31)
Then Ambarīṣa, entrusting his kingdom to his son, and firm in his devotion along with his wife, once again reached Vidvannagarī (Vidvadgoshthipuram) and performed intense penance daily. Pleased with him, the merciful Lord Murāri granted him His own divine vision. Right there, the king, along with his wife who was devoted to the vows of Vishnu, attained Vaikuṇṭha. (v.32-33)
By worshipping the Vishnu established by Ambarīṣa in Vidvadgoshthipuram, one will surely attain the supreme abode of that Vishnu. Furthermore, by hearing the sacred story of Ambarīṣa in Vidvadgoshthipuram, a person is freed from the effects of black magic (kṛtyā) and sorcery, and from dilemmas of dharma. (v.34-35)
Thus ends the thirty-first chapter, named 'The Glory of Vidvadgoshthipuram', in the Fifth Part of the Divyadeśavaibhavam, composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
