This is the story of Mahamaya, otherwise known as Parvati, the goddess who assumed the form of an old lady.

“Using her powers of illusion
Mahamaya became an old woman
Holding a broken rod in her right hand
And a basket under her left arm.”

Shiva established a city called Kashii from where both saints and sinners could reach Shivaloka, the Abode of Salvation, after death. Of course, there were many more sinners than saints in Kashii – saints, being so virtuous, go to heaven wherever they die. Sinners, however, have no other alternative than to die in Kashii. So, there was a huge crowd of them in Kashii.

The devotees of Lord Viśńu weren’t very happy about this and asked Vyasa to build a special city for them. Vyasa complied with their request and built the city of Vyasa-Kashii opposite Kashii, on the other side of the River Ganges. He then announced that whoever died at Vyasa-Kashii would spend eternity in Vaekuńt́ha, the Abode of Viśńu.

Thousands of people flocked to the new city, resulting in such rapid growth that the city was soon a jumble of housing estates and congested streets. The sanitation system was in total disarray and there were acute shortages of milk, green vegetables and drinking water. Vyasa-Kashii was bursting at the seams.

“What should we do, Parvati?” Shiva asked his wife. “Kashii will soon be totally deserted – everyone’s going to Vyasa-Kashi.”

“Don’t worry, my Lord,” replied Parvati. “I have an excellent plan.” Parvati suddenly assumed the form of a frail old lady.

With filthy hair and matted locks
That’s full of ticks and dust,
With sunken eyes that only blink
And a chin and nose that quickly sink,
With arms and legs completely bent
And a back that’s almost double,
The Goddess of Fortune has become no more
Than a heap of skin and bones.

Parvati stood before Vyasa in her new form. Vyasa assumed that this old woman was also eager to go to Vaekuńt́ha. “What is the benefit of dying here?” asked the old lady.

“One goes to Vaekuńt́ha, my dear,” he replied.

Parvati placed her hands behind her ears and said, “Can you speak a little louder, please. What’s the benefit of dying here?”

“One goes to Vaekuńt́ha,” replied Vyasa a little louder.

“Please excuse me,” said Parvati, “I’m a little hard of hearing. Could you speak a little louder?”

Raising his voice even more, Vyasa said, “People go to Vaekuńt́ha, dear lady, they go to Vaekuńt́ha.”

Parvati again placed her hands behind her ears and said, “I’m terrible sorry, but I couldn’t hear anything at all. Can you please repeat what the benefit is?”

Vyasa lost his patience and shouted at the top of his voice, “Those who die here become donkeys, you old fool.”

Parvati assumed her original form and said, “So be it, let them become donkeys.”

The news was broadcast by television and radio and within a few minutes was common knowledge. As you can imagine, no one wanted to stay in Vyasa-Kashii after that. “Run for your lives,” they shouted as they leapt into boats, rickshaws, carts, and anything else with wheels, and moved back to Shiva’s Kashii. Within a few minutes Vyasa-Kashii was as deserted as a market place at night.