"d" Words

TĀRAKA II(तारक)

• Śiva Purāṇa mentions about a Tāraka, son of the minister of Bhadrasena, a King of Kashmir. This Tāraka was the rebirth of a he-fowl. Bhadrasena had a son named Sudharmā. He was the rebirth of a monkey. There is a story regarding how this fowl and the monkey came to be born in Kashmir as above. Once in the village of Nanda there was a prostitute named Mahānandā. Though she was a great devotee of Śiva she was living the life of a prostitute for her livelihood. She was having a monkey and a he-fowl as pets. She would adorn the necks of her pets with the rudrākṣa necklace (rosary) made of berry beads favourite of Śiva and when she sang songs in praise of Śiva those pets danced to the tune. One day a Vaiśya came there. He had a diamond Śiva liṅga with him. Mahānandā felt a great fancy for that and so promised the Vaiśya that if he gave her the diamond liṅga she would remain a faithful wife to him for three days. The Vaiśya agreed and the diamond liṅga was kept in a very secure place That night when both the Vaiśya and Mahānandā were sleeping tired after a hectic amorous sport, the house got fire and the diamond was burst into pieces. The Vaiśya greatly griefstricken by the loss of the diamond, jumped into the fire and committed suicide. Mahānandā faithful to the promise that she would remain his wife for three days started to jump into the fire and abandon her life. At once Śiva appeared before her in person and said thus: “Oh, Mahānandā, do not commit suicide. I came to you disguised as a Vaiśya to test your devotion. You can now ask of me any boon.” With tears of joy running down her cheeks she said she wanted to live with Śiva. So Śiva carried her soul to Kailāsa. Not only that, Śiva blessed the fowl and monkey and said they would be born as devotees of Śiva in their next birth and attain mokṣa at the end of their life on earth. Accordingly the monkey and the fowl were born in Kashmir as Sudharmā and Tāraka.