Kartik Mahatmya Adhyay 24: Dharmadatta and Kalaha

This page retells chapter 24 of the Kartik Mahatmya from the Padma Purana. A devout brahmin named Dharmadatta meets a fearsome being on his way to a night vigil. Touched by tulsi water, she remembers her past life as Kalaha and begs him to tell her how she can be freed.

Listen in the video: hear this chapter in Hindi on our YouTube channel. The full list is on the Kartik Mahatmya Katha page.

संक्षेप में: करवीरपुर के धर्मदत्त, मार्ग में मिली भयंकर राक्षसी, तुलसी-जल का स्पर्श, और कलहा के पिछले जन्म की कथा। पूरा लेख हिंदी में पढ़ें →

The story

King Prithu asks Narada whether other deities are also worshipped in Kartik. In reply Narada tells an old story. In Karvirpur, on the Sahya mountain, there lived a pious brahmin called Dharmadatta. One day in Kartik, with one watch of the night still left, he picked up his puja items and set out for the Lord's temple to keep vigil.

On the road he saw a terrible rakshasi coming towards him, with huge teeth, a darting tongue and red eyes. Dharmadatta was badly frightened. Still, he gathered his courage, took Hari's name and struck her with his puja items and with water mixed with tulsi. At the touch of that water all her sin was destroyed, and she remembered her past life.

She lay flat in prostration before him. It was the fruit of her own past deeds, she said, that had brought her to this state, and she asked how she could now reach a good destiny. Amazed, Dharmadatta asked who she was and what she had done to end up like this.

Her name was Kalaha, she said. In her past life she was the wife of a brahmin called Bhikshu, in Saurashtra. Strife was what she loved. She never spoke a sweet word and never served a meal with love. Bitterness filled the home all the time.

In the end, in a fit of anger, she gave up her own life. In Yamalok, Yama asked Chitragupta about her deeds. Chitragupta replied that she had not one good deed to her name. She would pass through several painful births, he said, and would wander for a long time as a preta in a waterless land.

For five hundred years she had been roaming in this preta body, hungry and thirsty. She entered the body of a merchant and travelled south with him to the meeting point of the Krishna and the Veni. But as soon as she reached that confluence, the attendants of Shiva and Vishnu drove her far away.

Now the touch of tulsi water from Dharmadatta's hand had destroyed her sins. She asked him to show her a way out of this preta body and out of the painful births still ahead of her. Dharmadatta was deeply moved. He sank into thought, wondering how this suffering soul could find a good destiny, and the chapter closes there.

The teaching of this chapter

Kalaha's whole fall begins inside her own home, with harsh words and meals served without love. The chapter treats strife and bitter speech in the home as among the greatest of sorrows, and sweet speech as what makes a home feel like heaven.

It also says that the Lord's name and a single tulsi leaf can cut through even a very great sin. Dharmadatta was terrified when he used them. His fear did not stop him from taking Hari's name.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dharmadatta?
He was a pious brahmin of Karvirpur on the Sahya mountain, who set out for the Lord's temple to keep vigil one night in Kartik.

How did the rakshasi remember her past life?
Dharmadatta took Hari's name and struck her with water mixed with tulsi. At the touch of that water her sin was destroyed and the memory returned.

Who was Kalaha in her past life?
She was the wife of a brahmin called Bhikshu, in Saurashtra. She loved strife, never spoke sweetly and never served food with love.

What did Chitragupta say about her deeds?
He told Yama she had not one good deed. He said she would pass through painful births and wander for a long time as a preta in a waterless land.

How long had Kalaha been a preta?
She told Dharmadatta she had wandered in that body, hungry and thirsty, for five hundred years.

What happened at the confluence of the Krishna and the Veni?
Kalaha reached it inside a merchant's body, but the attendants of Shiva and Vishnu drove her far away as soon as she arrived.

Previous chapter: Adhyay 23: The Glory of Tulsi and Amla