Ruru Bargains with a Divine Messenger to Revive Pramadvara
Ruru's beloved Pramadvara lies dead, and his grief-stricken pleas cannot bring her back. A divine messenger appears with a terrible bargain: Pramadvara can live again, but only if Ruru gives her half of his own life.
Ruru found his beloved Pramadvara dead on the ground. He went into the deep forest and wept, his lamentations piteous. Overcome with grief, he called out to the merits of his own life — his austerities, his alms, his respect for his superiors — begging them to instil life back into her slender body. "What can be more painful than this?" he cried.
A messenger of the gods appeared. He told Ruru the truth: words of grief have no power. When someone's mortal time has run out, they cannot come back to life. Pramadvara's life was over. "Do not yield even a little to grief," he said. Then he offered a sliver of hope. "However, in advance, the great gods have devised an antidote. If you wish to implement this, you will get back your Pramadvara."
Ruru begged to hear it. He would do anything.
The messenger laid out the terms. "O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! Give up half of your life to the girl. O Ruru! Your wife Pramadvara will rise up again."
Ruru did not hesitate. "O best of the travellers in the sky! I give up half of my life to the girl. Let my beloved arise, in the form and adornment of love."
The messenger and the king of the gandharvas went together to Dharmaraja (Yama, the god of death). They petitioned him: if he thought it right, let Pramadvara arise with half of Ruru's life. Dharmaraja granted it. "O messenger of the gods! If you so wish, let Ruru's wife Pramadvara arise with half of Ruru's life."
Pramadvara awoke as if from a slumber, alive again, her life now intertwined with Ruru's own shortened span. On the designated day, their fathers married them with joy. They lived devoted to each other.
But the transaction left a mark. Having obtained a wife who was so difficult to get, Ruru — the sage of firm austerities — took a new and terrible vow. He would destroy snakes. Whenever he saw one, a terrible anger possessed him. If it was near, he killed it.