See Māyā Śiva.
DEVAŚARMĀ I A very reputed muni. He had a wife called Ruci and a disciple called Vipula. (See Vipula III).
DEVAŚARMĀ II A Brahmin, an erudite scholar in the Vedas. His story was once told to Pārvatī by Śiva as follows:-- Devaśarman, the very erudite brahmin scholar in the Vedas came to be much respected by the people of the four varṇas (Castes) because of his constant and unfailing performance of the various religious duties and rites like the Agnihotra etc. He had sons, relations and cows in abundance. But, he did not observe the śuklapañcamī in Proṣṭhapada (Bhādrapada) which is one of the dvādaśacāndra māsas (the 12 solar months). That day was his father's death anniversary (Śrāddha day) for which he would invite Brahmins on the previous evening. And, in the morning he would get cooked rice by his wife in 18 different ways for the gratification of the departed soul. Then will he feed the Brāhmins. On one such day he duly treated a Brāhmin versed in the Vedas. In the evening when he was washing his feet with water brought by his wife he heard the following conversation between a dog and an ox.
Dog :--Please attend to my words about what my daughter-in-law did. One day, as fate would have it, I went to my son's house, where a snake was drinking milk, and I drank the whole of the milk which was left over by it. My daughter-in-law saw me drinking it and I was absolutely crest-fallen. I don't feel any yearning even for food.
Ox :--Now dog, please attend to my sorrow and grief. Today my son feasted the Brahmins, but he did not even think of me. Nobody gave me even a blade of grass or a drop of water. I have not tasted anything today. Moreover I am a captive also. All this must be the result of some sin committed by me in my past life; no doubt about it.” The very learned and intelligent brahmin inferred from the above talk that the dog and ox were his mother and his father respectively. He thought to himself: they have been born as animals in my house. What remedy shall I find out therefor? On account of such painful thoughts the Brahmin could not sleep in the night. Early in the morning he went to sage Vasiṣṭha and unburdened his heart to him and requested him to find a solution to the low and mean birth which had become his parents’ fate. After meditating for some time the great sage told the brahmin as follows:-- “Look here, the ox was, in its previous birth, a great brahmin in Kuṇḍinanagara. He did not observe the Śukla-pañcamī in the month of Proṣṭhapada, the day being the death anniversary of his father. His wife had menstruation on the same day, but she herself feasted the Brahmins. A woman is impure during the four days of menstruation. Because of having feasted the Brahmins on the first day of her monthly period the Brahmin's wife was born as a dog. As for the husband, he was born an ox as he not only did not observe the Śukla-pañcamī day, but also shared the sin of his wife. Further questioned by the brahmin as to what he should do for the salvation of his parents, Vasiṣṭha advised him to observe the Ṛṣi pañcamī in the month of Proṣṭhapada (Bhādrapada). He did so and his parents blessed him and attained salvation.
[Padma Purāṇa, Chapter 78] .
DEVAŚARMĀ III (See Mitrabheda).
DEVAŚARMĀ IV The hero of a story told by Viṣṇu- śarman. Viṣṇuśarman, the intelligent preceptor, told five stories based on five tactics to educate the five dull sons of emperor Sudarśana. The fifth tactics is called asaṁprekṣyakāritva. He told two important stories to illustrate the dangers, which would happen to those who act in haste and in anger, without patiently attempting to find out the truth. Devaśarman is the hero of one of the stories.
Story one. Once upon a time there lived in Gauḍadeśa a brahmin called Devaśarman with his wife Yajñasenā. When his wife got pregnant Devaśarman told her that a good and lucky son would be born to them to which she replied as follows:--“On no account build castles in the air and brood over things. I shall tell you a story about a danger which happened to one who built castles in the air. A brahmacārī was carrying home in a pot on his head some rice flour. On the way he thought thus: “I will purchase a she-goat with the money I get out of the sale of this rice powder, and it will deliver two kids every year. I will sell all the kids and with the sale proceeds purchase a cow and when it multiplies I will have the wherewithals for cultivation and then I will do cultivation in a good field and produce much paddy. And when I have thus money in hand I will renovate my house and marry. We will then have a good son whom I will name Somaśarman, and if my wife, without caring for the boy, goes to milk the cow I will go to the cow shed and give her a good beating. “When his imagination reached this point the pot on his head received, without his knowing, a blow with the stick in his hand and it fell down on the ground and was broken to pieces.” Five or six days after telling the above story to her husband Yajñasenā gave birth to a child. One day she went to the river to take her bath leaving the child to the care of her husband. Soon after a messenger came from the palace to invite Devaśarman for food, the day being Amāvasī when Brahmins were fed well and also given dakṣiṇā, (presents of money). He could not wait till his wife arrived; the child became a problem to him. The brahmin had a beloved Mongoose. After entrusting the child to the care of it the Brahmin went to the palace. Within a short time a serpent was seen crawling towards the child and the Mongoose attacked it and bit it into pieces. Naturally the Mongoose got itself smeared all over with the blood of the serpent, and the brahmin on returning home finding the Mongoose bathed in blood thought it might have eaten the child and in a rage he killed the poor Mongoose. But, when he entered the room and found pieces of the killed serpent strayed all over there truth and light dawned on him. Yajñasenā, who had returned after bath by now also found fault with him.
The second story. Once there was a Brahmin in very indigent circumstances. He was an orphan from his very childhood. One day while he was asleep quite weary and tired as he had no food that day some one appeared and told him in a dream that three sannyāsins would come to his house that noon and that if beaten to death they would turn into three pot-fulls of treasure with which he could live comfortably well. His dream came true, and he locked up the treasure in his room after sending away a barber who had witnessed the incident with a piece of gold. The barber returned home cherishing in his mind the false belief that sannyāsins beaten to death would turn into pot-fulls of treasure. And, one day some sannyāsins came to his house and he began beating them and they ran out crying aloud. Their cries attracted the attention of the servants of the King. The barber's limbs were cut off and he was killed on Śūla (a three-pronged weapon).
DEVAŚARMĀ V A Brahmin, who used to perform rites for the dead at the confluence of the sea every fortnight. On every such occasion souls of the departed used to appear and bless him. Once Devaśarman went to Pitṛloka with his pitṛs, and he got restless and sorry to find other pitṛs living there in greater comfort than the pitṛs of his parents. When he was told that the better fate of the other pitṛs was due to their sons performing Śrāddha at Mahīsāgarasaṅgama he returned to earth and with the help of other people did Śrāddha at the saṅgamaand thus raised the condition of his pitṛs.
[Skandha Purāṇa. Skandhas 1, 2 and 3] .
DEVAŚARMĀ VI A Brahmin who lived on the northern side of river Kāverī. The following story about him is told in chapters 2, 4 and 12 of the Skanda Purāṇa. One day in the month of Kārttika he asked his son to bathe. The son refused to obey his father, who got angry at the disobedience of the son and cursed him to be turned into a rat. But, when the son begged his pardon he said that the boy would resume his old form when he heard about the greatness of Kārttika. While the Brahmin, thus turned into rat, was roaming about in the forest it saw Viśvāmitra maharṣi seated under a tree with his disciples. The maharṣi was telling the disciples about the greatness of Kārttika. The Brahmin boy--turned cat--heard the story and reverted to its old form as the Brahmin boy.