Varaha Purana

अवश्यं च गमिष्येऽहमनुज्ञा तु प्रदीयताम्

I must certainly go; let permission be granted.

गच्छ त्वं पुत्र मथुरामवस्थां मामकीमिमाम्

Go, my son, to Mathurā and observe my present condition.

इत्युक्तः स तथेत्युक्त्वा पोतारूढः खगोत्तमः

Thus addressed, he replied, 'So be it,' and the best of birds boarded the boat.

श्रुत्वा तौ विषमावस्थं मृतं हृदि निवेश्य च

Hearing that he was in a dire state and had died, they took it to heart.

अस्माकं जीवनार्थाय त्वया कार्यं विहङ्गम

O bird, for the sake of our survival, you must act.

शुकेन पंजरस्थेन कथालापेन विद्यया

By the conversation and knowledge of the parrot kept in the cage,

अथ सार्थः समायातो रत्नपूर्णो यथोदधिः

Then the caravan arrived, filled with jewels like the ocean.

सर्वैस्तैर्विंशतिः संख्या एकैकेन समुद्रगैः 171.

All of them, twenty in number, each accompanied by those from the sea.

प्रसाद्य सर्वे सम्पूज्य प्रेषितास्ते गृहं ययुः

Having pleased and honored all, they were sent off and went home.

शुश्रूषमाणास्तं वैश्यं यथा स्वपितरं तथा

They served that merchant just as they would their own father.

इति श्रीवराहपुराणे भगवच्छास्त्रे गोकर्णमाहात्म्ये एकसप्तत्यधिकशततमोऽध्यायः

Thus ends the one hundred seventy-first chapter in the glorious Varaha Purana, in the divine scripture, in the greatness of Gokarna.

श्रीवराह उवाच प्रथमेऽह्नि यथा कृत्यमेवमेव त्रयोदश

Sri Varaha said: On the first day, as was the duty, so too on the thirteenth.

ता देव्यो नृत्यगीतेषु कुशलाश्चागमेऽभवन्

Those goddesses became skilled in dance and song.

गोकर्णः सर्वभावेन गृहं विस्मृतवानसौ

Gokarna, with all his being, forgot his home.

विवर्णं वदना दीना भग्नालंकारवाससः

Their faces appeared pale, dejected, with broken ornaments and garments.

दृश्यन्ते विकृताकाराः सव्रणा रुधिरस्रवाः

They are seen with deformed bodies, covered in wounds and flowing with blood.

अपुत्रस्य गतिर्नास्ति स्वर्गो नैव च नैव च

For the one without a son, there is no path, nor heaven, nor anything else.

एवं ज्ञात्वा स पप्रच्छ तासां रूपविपर्ययम्

Knowing this, he asked about the change in their appearance.

देव्य ऊचुः कालात्मकः स भगवान्भुज्यते सुकृतं यतः

The goddesses said: That Lord is time itself, by whom good deeds are enjoyed.

स एव नित्यकालं च पृच्छति स्म तदुत्तरम्

He alone, as eternal time, kept asking that question and its answer.

निश्चयार्थं पुनः सोऽथ गोकर्णस्ताः प्रणम्य च 172.

Then, for the sake of certainty, Gokarna again bowed to them.

यदि गोप्यं ममार्त्तस्य वैरूप्यं कथयिष्यथ

If you reveal the disfigurement of my suffering, though it is meant to be kept secret—

एवमुक्ते तदा तासां मध्ये एकाऽब्रवीदिदम्

When this was said, then among them, one spoke these words:

शृणु वत्स वदिष्येऽहं विरूपकरणं यथा

Listen, child, I will tell you how the disfigurement came about.

आस्ते मधुपुरी रम्या नृणां मुक्तिप्रदायिनी

There is the delightful city of Madhu, which grants liberation to men.

चातुर्मास्यं तीर्थसेवी स गतो भक्तिपूर्वकम्

He went there with devotion, observing the holy rites of the four months.

आरामवाटिकाः शुभ्राः प्राकारवरवेष्टिताः

There were splendid pleasure gardens, encircled by excellent walls.

फलवन्तो द्रुमास्तस्मिन्सर्वर्त्तुसुमनोहराः

Within them stood fruitful trees, charming in every season.

सेवकैर्नाशितः सर्वं आरामः सफलद्रुमः

All the pleasure gardens with their fruitful trees were destroyed by the servants.