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[ 132 ] Siva's boon. Helpless Yama reported the matter to Śiva. The loyal wives are most devoted to Siva. On hearing that their chastity was molested by Jayadatta, he got enraged, called Jayadatta and cursed him—"Henceforward you be tortoise." Jayadatta satisfied Siva by his penance and Siva said—"First you will be born tortoise for a long time and in the 60th kalpa, you will be free from the curse and will stay by me."
SECTION 1
In the foregoing pages we have given a number of illustrations of cases of rebirth referred to in the Puranas. These are only some cases out of a very big number which stand to show that belief in such rebirths was a very common picture in ancient Indian mythological traditions. In the present section, we propose to deal with the various factors which account for rebirth in different forms and in different ages. Among these causes we may note that there are really two causes one of which operates in a particular case. In the case of persons who are free, divine and above karma, the question of karma does not arise. In such cases only the personal will suffice. This is illustrated in the case of the Divine Mother Satî whose rebirth was determined by Her will. As she was pure self, above Māyā, the question of Karma does not arise. A similar case is also found in the rebirth of five Pandavas. These Pāpļavas were really of a celestial race i. e. race of Gods, taking birth in human form for the purpose of doing good to the world. In this case Dharmarāja came down and took birth as Yudhisthira, Indra, Arjuna etc. In other cases, which include the entire field of mundane existence, the doctrine of karma holds good as we have tried to maintain in the present thesis.
What appears as Śápa or Vara in the Purānas is only the secondary operative cause which has no real value because the idca of pronouncing a curse or a blessing in the case of potent Yogis or Rșis is closely bound up with the previous karma of the person or persons concerned. It appears outwardly that the boon
