1. Mata Bhargavi
Mata Bhargavi is Saksad Mahalaksmi herself who became the eldest daughter of sage Bhrigu and his wife devi Khyati.
• Mata Lakshmi in the form of Mata Bhargavi performed rigorous penance for thousands of years to get Lord Vishnu as her husband.
On hearing about the great form, the Cosmic Form (of Nārāyaṇa), Lakṣmī born from the Khyāti of Bhṛgu, O king, became surprised and thought thus:
‘By what means shall this Lord Nārāyaṇa be my husband? Is it through Vrata, penance, Dāna or some restraints? Can it be through attending upon the old people or by propitiating Devatās?’ O Yudhiṣṭhira, Satī (Śiva’s consort) knew that the girl was thinking thus and she said: “It is through austerities that Śaṅkara was obtained by me as my husband. So also Prajāpati (Brahmā) was obtained by Gāyatrī. Desired husbands were obtained like that by other women too. O lady of good Vratas, it is only through penance that the husband should be obtained by you. Hence perform penance, great and fierce, which will give you all that you desire.”
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:
9-15. O conqueror of the cities of enemies, Lakṣmī went to the outer limit of the oceans and performed an elaborate penance extremely difficult (for others) to perform, for a long duration. She stationed herself steadily like a lamp-post for a period of one thousand divine years.
~Skanda Mahapuran, Book 5, Reva-khanda, chapter 194
• After one thousand divine years of penance by Mata Bhargavi, Lord Narayana appeared before Mata Bhargavi and also showed his divine cosmic form and asked Mata Bhargavi to ask for a boon, on which Mata Bhargavi expressed her desire to marry him and asked him to adopt householder stage life.
Śrī said:
O Nārāyaṇa, O supporter of the universe, O Lord of the universe, O great Brahman, O ultimate great resort! Be pleased with me for my devotion. Save me perfectly. Employ me in the perfect creation. You are my lover. Manage everything so that I can be your beloved. The stage of householder is the root cause of Dharma, Artha and Kāma. It has been approved by Devas. Adopt that meritorious Āśrama (stage of life) and employ me in the rites for welfare.
~Skanda Mahapuran, Book 5, Reva-khanda, chapter 194
• Marriage of mata Bhargavi with Lord Narayana
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:
44-52. Neither Brahmā nor Parameśvara is capable of describing the good features of the marriage of Nārāyaṇa, the Yajña and the Tapas of that Lord and his perfect conduct. O Yudhiṣṭhira, yet I shall recount in a general way. Listen with careful attention. Brahmā and the Seven Sages were engaged in holding the Sruk and Sruva there. They performed the Homa in the sacrificial fires, O king. The entire earth along with the oceans was the altar.
The oceans gave jewels to the Brahmarṣis, O excellent king. Dhanada (Kubera) too gave the monetary gift as desired by all the Brāhmaṇas.
Viśvakarmā built houses of wonderful varieties fully embedded with all jewels and showed them to the glorious Lord of Devas. Then, O great king, Śatakratu asked the various Brāhmaṇas assembled there to choose whatever they desired. They were the Brāhmaṇas including Śaunakas etc., Bāṣkalas, Chāgalas and Ātreyas with Kāpiṣṭhala as their leader.Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:
53-61. O tiger among kings, in answer to your question as to who were the priests offering sacrificial oblations in the sacrifice, I shall describe it. Listen to it with concentration. Those with Sanatkumāra as their chief were the Sadasyas (members of the sacrificial assembly). Atri, Aṅgiras and Marīci officiated as Udgātṛs. Dharma and Vasiṣṭha did the job of Hotṛs (reciters of the Vedic Mantras). Sage Sanaka was the Brahmā (Presiding priest in the sacrifice). Śatakratu (Indra) gave them thirty-six thousand villages. The Lord did everything and so Lakṣmī was united with her husband. Even as Brahmā was performing the Homa, his forehead was visible to the Suras seated all round. The region where such view was possible is called Lalāṭadeśa and that spot became the meritorious spot of Śrīpati and was resorted to by Devas and sages. It is full of miracles, divine and efficacious.
~Skanda Mahapuran, Book 5, Reva-khanda, chapter 194
• Children of mata Bhargavi and Lord Narayana
Suta said :
1 . Khyati bore to Bhrgu the holy lords Dhata and Vidhata living throughout the Manvantara. They were masters of happiness and misery and grant auspicious and inauspicious results to living beings.
2. Their eldest sister, the chaste goddess Sri, the purifier of worlds, attained the auspicious lord Narayana as her husband, and gave birth to two sons: Bala (Strength) and Utsaha (Energy).
~Vayu purana, Book 1, chapter 28
2. Mata Lakshmi became the daughter of king punyanidhi.
King punyanidhi who used to rule over the Madurai region had visited Rameshwaram along with his wife vindhyavali. After worshipping lord Rama linganatha Swamy, the king performed a special yajña here to please lord Vishnu for the prosperity of his kingdom. Lord Vishnu, who was pleased with his yajña sent his consort Lakshmi devi in the guise of an eight years girl to test him.
9-11. While King Puṇyanidhi continued his stay thus, once Lakṣmī had a playful quarrel with Hari. In order to test the devotion of the king, she stipulated certain conditions with Hari. Lakṣmī, the goddess with lotus for her abode, was sent by Viṣṇu from Vaikuṇṭha. In the guise of a girl of eight years, she went to the Gandhamādana mountain. Goddess Lakṣmī came to Dhanuṣkoṭi and stood there waiting.
The king upon seeing the girl, enquired and after coming to know that the girl was an orphan adopted her as his daughter and named her as Gunanidhi. mata Lakshmi agreed to live with them but on some condition.
19-20. I shall stay in your house, O father, looking at you, always. If anyone holds me by the hand and violently pulls at me, O king, you shall chastise him. In that case, I shall stay in your place as your daughter for a long time, O father, O storehouse of good qualities.”
21-24. On being told thus, the king, the storehouse of good qualities, said to the girl:
“I shall do everything mentioned by you, O splendid girl. I have no daughter. I have a son, the support of the family. I shall give you whatever appeals to you. Come to my house, O girl. Live in my Antaḥpura as the daughter of my wife. O uncensured (praiseworthy) girl, live here as you please.”
The girl was being looked after nicely by the king and his wife. One day, Lord Vishnu in order to search for mata Lakshmi, came to the king’s place disguised in the form of an old brāhmaṇa wearing a Rudraksha Mala and holding a kamandalu (pot) with the water from the Ganga river and an umbrella in the other hand. He secretly entered the garden where Gunanidhi, the king’s adopted daughter was plucking flowers and held her hands. This matter was reported by the guards to the king who had the Brahmana chained and imprisoned. At night, Lord Vishnu appeared in the dream of the king and revealed that the old brāhmaṇa was lord Vishnu himself and the king's adopted daughter was Lakshmi devi.
47-53. The great king went to his beautiful mansion. During his sleep the king saw that Brāhmaṇa in his dream. He was adorned with a conch, discus, iron club, lotus and garland of sylvan flowers. His chest was embellished with the Kaustubha jewel. He was Hari clad in yellow garments. He was brilliant with the complexion resembling a black cloud. He was seated on Garuḍa. He had beautiful teeth and splendid smiles. His ear-rings resembling Makara, shone well. He was attended upon by Viṣvaksena and other servants. He lay on the couch (of the body) of Śeṣa. He was eulogized by Nārada and other sages; (further) he saw his own daughter standing in a full-blown lotus. In her hand there was a lotus flower. Her hair was black, curly and glossy. She had her abode in the broad chest of Viṣṇu.
The king who was shocked woke up and went to meet the imprisoned brāhmaṇa who appeared as lord Vishnu along with his adopted daughter Gunanidhi, who was adorned as Lakshmi devi. The king who was already shocked felt embarrassed and asked the Lord forgiveness.
Forgive my offence, O slayer of Madhu, I have offended you with these fetters and nooses. O lord, this has been committed by me without knowing your real form and nature. Hence my offence should be forgiven, O slayer of Madhu.
After eulogizing Mahāviṣṇu thus, O Brāhmaṇas, King Puṇyanidhi joyously eulogized Lakṣmī, the mother of all living beings:
Lord Vishnu pardoned him saying that they are pleased with his devotion.
Viṣṇu said:
80-86. O king, you need not entertain any fear as a result of keeping me in bondage. I have revealed unto you the fact that I am completely subject to the control of the devotees. You have performed a Yajña causing great delight unto me. Hence you are my devotee. Being bound down with the noose of devotion, I have become subject to your control. O suppressor of enemies, I always forgive the faults of my devotees.
Lord Vishnu decided that He and Lakshmi devi would reside in the same place and accept worship as Sri Setu Mādhava.
98-106a. “O excellent king, I shall stay here by the name Setumādhava in the manner in which I have been fettered by you. This Setu has been built by me. I shall bè here for its protection from the multitudes of Bhūtas and Rākṣasas and for subduing all sorts of fears. Brahmā too lives here day and night for protecting the Setu. Śaṅkara named Rāmanātha permanently stays here on the Setu. Indra and other guardians of the worlds too stay here with great joy. Hence, I will also stay here under the name Setumādhava for the purpose of protecting the Setu and to suppressing all troubles, for the purpose of fulfilling the desires of everyone and quelling all sins. Those men who serve me here where I have been fettered by you, will attain Sāyujya with me, O king, and realize all their desires.
This story mentioned in Skanda Puran, Brahma khanda, setu-mahatmya, chapter 50
The visit to Rameshwaram is incomplete Without a holy dip in the holy Setumādhava tirtham and the darshan of Lord Setumādhava. This beautiful temple is located in the complex of the famous Ramanathan Swamy temple in Rameshwaram, between the west second corridor of the temple.
Jay Shri LakshmiNarayana 🙏