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The Story of Gandaki
Introduction
The Story of Gandaki
Muktinath
and Salagrama Silas
Vishnu |
Introduction
The story of Gandaki* contains the universal theme of the Ultimate
justifying sinners by their faith in the divine and changing
them into new, reborn, creations. Another central universal
element is the union of opposite elements, the male and female.
It is also a story about those who in spite of their worldly
position want to seek divine truth. And it's the story of the
Divine preventing the believer at the last minute to perform
a horrible act of faith. Themes found in other world religions
too.
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The Story
of Gandaki
There was once a prostitute who had
a daughter called Gandaki. According to strict social prescriptions
the daughter must always take up the same work as her mother, which
meant that she had to become a prostitute in her turn. However she
felt herself drawn to fulfill the strict rules laid down for every
wife and she saw in every suitor an embodiment of the heavenly husband
(pati paramesvara). One day she was visited by a handsome youth
who paid her munificently but left her soon, without even having looked
at her. With her customary faithfulness she waited for him and finally,
around midnight, the youth reappeared. She served him and lavished
upon him all the arts of love. As she bathed him, however, she found
that his body was eaten away all over by leprosy, but without the
slightest hesitation she surrendered herself to him completely. Everyone
was amazed and asked how she could endure it and continue to pamper
him. She nevertheless repeated, "Before sunrise he will still
become my spouse."
But as the sun rose that morning the young man died. She wished to
give the ultimate expression of her loyalty to her husband and let
herself be cremated with him (Sati).** As she crouched on the
funeral pyre she suddenly noticed that the young man's body was made
completely out of gold and that he had four arms. Then he spoke to
her and said, "I am Vishnu Narayana
and I came in order to test you. You have stood the test and now you
may have three wishes." The girl, however, had only one wish:
"that you never leave me!"
Then he explained to her that the wife of a holy man had laid a curse
on him so that he must become a stone; the name of the holy man was
Jalandhar. "Nevertheless", he continued, "you will
turn into a river, Gandaki, and in the shape of a stone." I will
remain for ever in your lap." As a token of this, you shall bear
the name "Sãlagrãmi" (having shãlagrãma
stones).
More
Information
For backgrounds regarding Muktinath; Salagrama and Salagrama Silas,
please click here.
For more information on Shãlagrãmas on the internet,
see our Salagrama links page.
*The story above is based on the translation found in the article
on Muktinath of Dr. Rudolf Kaschewski of the University in Bonn, Germany,
published in "Pilgrimage in the Old and New World", Deitrich
Reimer Verlag, Berlin, 1994. See also our reference
page.
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