What is the story of the Padma River as per Tripura Rahasya?

 The story of the Padmā river is narrated in chapter 22 of the Tripurā Rahasya’s Māhātmya Khaṇḍa.

Bhagavatī Ramā, i.e., Mahālakṣmī, became the Padmā river after becoming angry with her husband, Viṣṇu, and left Vaikuṇṭha. She also got cursed by Nārada Ṛṣi and dried up but later merged with Gaṅgā and was freed.

The story goes as follows. Once, Viṣṇu was in Vaikuṇṭha with Lakṣmī. Seeing the devotion of Vṛndā and Bhūdēvī, he accepted them. Worried or concerned about Lakṣmī’s anger, he spent time with them secretly. Even when Lakṣmī found out about this and questioned him, he concealed it. After that, Vāṇī, i.e., Sarasvatī, invited Lakṣmī, accompanied by her attendants, to Satyalōka for a visit with the permission of Viṣṇu. During her absence in Vaikuṇṭha, Viṣṇu sported with Vṛndā and Bhū.

Later, Lakṣmī came back from Satyalōka to Vaikuṇṭha, and she was furious to see Viṣṇu sporting in private with Vṛndā and Bhūmi. Viṣṇu was alarmed and followed Lakṣmī as she stormed out of Vaikuṇṭha in anger. He followed her to Himālaya, and he then attempted to console her by holding her right hand. Then Lakṣmī, who was burning with wrath and anger, was liquified like a mass of ghee by fire and flowed into a continuous river, becoming the Padmā river, which was later dried up due to the curse of Nārada.

After narrating this tale, it gets back to Dattātrēya and Paraśurāma. And Dattātrēya says that Bhagīratha, a sagely king, by performing great penance, made the river Gaṅgā flow on the earth. As Gaṅgā flowed as a river down to earth and followed Bhagīratha, she happened to reach where the dried Padmā river remained, causing Padmā to merge with Gaṅgā. Coming in contact with Gaṅgā, Padmā was relieved of her curse and joined the sea earlier than Gaṅgā.

After that, Paraśurāma asks his guru, Dattātrēya, the story of how the Padmā River got cursed, and he narrates the tale to him, which goes as follows.

Once, Nārada was at the sabhā in Brahmalōka, where Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Kinnaras, and other divine celestial beings were performing the Gandharva style of music. Each one of them excelled the other in skill. Then Nārada also played the rāgas (musical modes) on his vīṇā. By his rāgas, all those that were there were engrossed in the transcendental melody and were experiencing bliss and complimented Nārada.

Then Sarasvatī, the exponent in melody, played on her vīṇā, the Kacchapī. Nārada and others could not really grasp the intricacies of those rāgas. At the end of the event, Nārada left and on his way was thinking of the rāga by Sarasvatī, which was the best and which he could not comprehend.

He went to a solitary forest on the banks of the river Padmā and started to play the vīṇā with the same rāga that his mother, Sarasvatī, had splendidly performed. Hearing the discord in his rendering, the river Padmā laughed loudly.

Put to shame and angered by the insult, Nārada cursed the river Padmā and said thus: “Oh great River! You shall dry up for your insolence towards me.” Hearing that frightening curse, Padmā fell prostrate before Nārada and repeatedly begged for the termination of the curse. Upon her request, Nārada said: “Oh Great River! When you unite (merge) with the supreme Gaṅgā, you will be free from the curse.”

After that, Padmā, with great reverence, asks Nārada about Gaṅgā, where she is and how she will reach the earth. Then Nārada narrates the tale of Gaṅgā, her origin, and how she will descend down or flow down on earth as a river and eventually reach Padmā, and she would merge with her, being freed from the curse.

The timeline is unclear here in this scripture, though it is heavily implied that some time after or later on in the future, eventually Gaṅgā did come down to earth and flow as a river due to Bhagīratha’s penance, and she ended up reaching where the dried-up river of Padmā was, causing Padmā to merge with her. After that, Padmā was freed from the curse.

It gets back to Dattātrēya narrating to Paraśurāma, and he says that like this, Ramā (Lakṣmī) suffered great distress from her co-wives. And this is pretty much the entire story of Padmā Nadī according to the Tripurārahasya - त्रिपुरारहस्य.

Art by: Parimala Devi Namasivayam

Jaya Mā Lakṣmīsvarūpā Padmā! 🙏🏼

Can you tell me about the fight between Maa Parvati and Maa Lakshmi from Tripura Rahasya?

 First of all, the battle you are referring to was between Gaurī and Lakṣmī. This happened before Pārvatī was born. Dēvī Gaurī later incarnated as Dākṣāyaṇī and then reincarnated as Girijā. This story is from the Tripurā Rahasya’s Māhātmya Khaṇḍa, chapters 21–22.

So, what basically happens is that one day the dēvas notice how no humans are performing Yajñas and worshipping them. Indra and other dēvas approach Brahmā and express their concerns. They are advised by him to worship Lakṣmī.

The dēvas meditate on Lakṣmī and worship her with her 28 names. She appears and blesses them. She creates Manmatha, i.e., Kāmadēva, her son. She sends Kāmadēva with the dēvas to assist them and solve their problems. Indra doubts his capabilities, though he proves himself more than capable.

Kāmadēva comes to earth and begins to capture humans who refuse to worship gods. All the people are loyal to the king, Rājā Vīravrata of Brahmāvarta. He was a very powerful and influential king. He and his family are devotees of Mahēśvara, i.e., Śiva.

Vīravrata meditates to Śiva and worships him to get his blessings to prepare for battle. Śiva appears before him, and Vīravrata asks for liberation and detachment, though Śiva advises him about his duties. The ministers and sons of Vīravrata prepare to fight Manmatha (Kāmadēva), and they are blessed by their guru with the Rudrakavaca.

Indra and other dēvas show up to assist Kāmadēva in the battle. Afterwards, there is a fierce battle between the dēvas and Vīravrata’s sons. Eventually, Vīravrata himself comes to the battlefield to fight Kāmadēva himself. Vīravrata got a weapon (trident) from Śiva, which he used against Kāmadēva. Kāmadēva is struck by the celestial weapon and falls lifeless and unconscious on the battlefield.

The dēvas take him to Lakṣmī and inform her about what happened. Dēvī Lakṣmī prays to Dēvī Tripurā and revives her son Manmatha (Kāmadēva), causing him to regain consciousness. Lakṣmī advises him to worship Śiva to gain victory over his enemies. Though, Kāmadēva refuses to worship Śiva because he is the ārādhya of his enemies.

Dēvī Lakṣmī asks Dēvī Gaurī, the consort of Śiva, to convince Kāmadēva to worship him. Though, he doesn’t listen and refuses to do so out of his stubbornness. Gaurī becomes angry and curses him to be burnt by Śiva. Lakṣmī becomes angry because of this and curses Gaurī to be burnt in Dakṣayajña. Gaurī retaliates by cursing Lakṣmī to be separated from her beloved husband, Viṣṇu, which later caused her to be separated from Rāma when she was Sītā.

After this, Gaurī and Lakṣmī become extremely angry with each other, and they appear on the battlefield and start waging war against each other. There is a very fierce and terrifying battle between the two Mahāśaktis, which causes great destruction in all the worlds, which shake and tremble. The dēvas become afraid. Śiva and Viṣṇu come to the battlefield to stop Gaurī and Lakṣmī. Though, due to the great powers of Gaurī and Lakṣmī Śaktis, they both faint and fall unconscious on the ground.

Afterwards, Lakṣmī overpowers Gaurī and defeats her. Lakṣmī pierces Gaurī with her arrows and causes her to fall unconscious on the battlefield, and she is severely wounded. She began to bleed, and as her blood was flowing, fire started to appear and blaze, which was causing great destruction to the lands and the world.

The dēvas become very concerned and worried. Brahmā prayed to Lakṣmī and eulogized her with a hymn, and other dēvas and other divine celestial beings, such as Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, etc., all together prayed to her in great distress and requested her to save them and all of creation, as she is the one who sustains all creation. Lakṣmī answers their prayers and says, "Do not fear." She then swallowed or engulfed the fire, which was destroying everything.

By the showers of her ambrosial glances, she brought back to life and revived the dēvas, the human beings, and others who were burnt by the fire. Then Viṣṇu and Śiva regained consciousness and arose. After that, Gaurī regained consciousness and approached Lakṣmī with anger, throwing out fire from her anger. The Tridēvas, seeing the anger of Gaurī and Lakṣmī, prayed to Bhāratī (Sarasvatī), the consort of Brahmā, and she was requested by Brahmā to pacify both Lakṣmī and Gaurī.

Gaurī and Lakṣmī were furious with each other still. Sarasvatī came to Lakṣmī and Gaurī on the battlefield and stood in between them both, and joined both of their palms (hands) together and stopped them from fighting. She addressed them and said that anger, which consumes the world, does not fit either of them.

She then clarifies the nature of their mutual curses. She says that by the curse of Gaurī, Kāmadēva will be burnt by Śiva and will become alive again for the sake of Pārvatī (in the future when Gaurī would incarnate as Pārvatī) and will win Śiva. Gaurī in the form of Dākṣāyaṇī will be [self-]immolated after hearing the insult of her husband.

Sarasvatī then says to Lakṣmī that due to the grief caused to her by her co-wives, she will lose her existing form of hers and get a more beautiful one. She proceeds to say to Lakṣmī that during the incarnation of her husband (Rāma), she will bear the pain of separation from him (as Sītā). Sarasvatī then pacified both Gaurī and Lakṣmī with her words of wisdom and stopped this battle. Both of them then attained great peace.

In conclusion, all of this was a līlā, and it was all predestined and meant to happen. The goddesses are all equal. The Tripurā Rahasya states that the Tridēvīs are indifferent and equal, and it is also stated that they are forms of Bhagavatī Tripurā. It says as follows:

तस्मात्प्रधानरूपाणि कानिचित्कथयामि ते ।
आद्या कुमारी तत्रोक्ता त्रिरूपाऽनन्तरा मता ॥ १४ ॥

गौरी रमा भारतीति ततः काली च चण्डिका ।

tasmātpradhānarūpāṇi kānicitkathayāmi tē ।
ādyā kumārī tatrōktā trirūpā'nantarā matā ॥ 14 ॥

gaurī ramā bhāratīti tataḥ kālī ca caṇḍikā ।

Hence, I (Dattātrēya) will tell you about some prominent forms [of Tripurā]. Her primordial form is Kumārī. Her next three prominent forms are of Gaurī, Ramā (Lakṣmī), and Bhāratī (Sarasvatī). Kālī and Caṇḍikā are her forms as well.

—Tripurā Rahasya 1.10.14–15a

Sarasvatī stopping the battle between Lakṣmī and Gaurī