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Sri Devi Bhagavatam (Devi Puranam) Skanda 6 (Book 6) chapters 1 to 31
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Vyasadev
Praneetha
Devi Bhagavatam
Skanda – 6
(Book 6)
Chapter I
On Tris’irâ’s
austerities
1-12. The Risis (of the Naimisa forest)
addressed Sûta (fondly) :– O highly Fortunate One! Your nectar-like words are
very sweet. We are not satiated with what you have described to us as the
auspicious sayings of Dvaipâyana Vyâsa. O Sûta! We desire to ask you again to
narrate to us the auspicious sayings of this Purâna, beautiful, famous, and
sin-destroying and authorised by the holy Vedas. Vis’vakarmâ
had a son, named Vritrâsura, who was very well known, and very powerful. How
was it that he had been slain by the high-souled Indra? Vis’vakarmâ
was a powerful Brâhmin and belonged to the gods’ party; his son was stronger.
How was it that he had been killed by Indra! The Devas are born of the Sattva
qualities; men are born from the Râjasic qualities; and all the birds, etc.,
are born of the Tâmasic qualities. This is the opinion of the Pundits, versed
in the Purânas and Âgamas. But in this act of slaying Vritrâsura, a great
contradiction arises; for the powerful Vritra was killed merely under a pretext
by Indra, the performer of the hundred sacrifices, and endowed with Sattva
qualities. And Indra was prompted to do so by Visnu, the head of those who
possess Sattva qualities; while Visnu himself entered in disguise into the
thunderbolt so that he could kill Vritra. The powerful Vritra entered into a
treaty and kept himself peaceful when Indra and Visnu violated truth and
treacherously killed him by Jalaphena (the watery foams). O Sûta! The great
wonder is this :– That Indra and Visnu turned out so bold as to forsake the
truth. This, then, is therefore very clear that the high souled persons become
deluded and act sinfully. The Heads of the Devas act very wrongly; they are
reckoned as polite simply because they observe the mere outward forms of good
conduct as approved by the S’âstras. How can the mere observance of outward
forms constitute politeness? Had Indra, who killed in disguise Vritra relying
on his words, to suffer any punishment for the sin that he incurred in killing
a Brâhmana? It was told by you before that Vritra had been slain by the Devî
Bhagavatî; but the general belief is that Indra killed him. Our minds are
puzzled on this point. (So clear our doubts on this point.)
13-14. Sûta said :– O Munis! Hear the
incident of the killing of Vritrâsura and the punishment that Indra had to suffer
due to his sin of Brahmahatyâ (killing a Brâhmin). This question was asked by
the King Pâriksit and replied by Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî. I will tell you
what Vyâsa had told before.
15-18. Janamejaya asked :– O Best of Munis!
How was it that in former days Indra, endowed with the Sattva qualities, killed
Vritrâsura, with the aid of Visnu? And how and why was it that he was killed
again by the Goddess Bhagavatî? O Lord of Munis! How could one body be killed
by the two; our curiosity has been excited to hear the truth. What man is there
that does not like to hear any more of the glorious deeds of the high-souled
persons! Kindly narrate to us the slaying of Vritra by the Devî Bhagavatî.
19-26. Vyâsa said :– O King! You are blessed,
since your taste to hear the events of Purâna has grown so much; the Devas even
get their thirst for drinking nectar; but when quenched, they do not like to
drink any more. O King! Your name and fame are widely spread. Your Bhakti
(devotion) to the Purânas is growing more and more daily. A speaker gets very
much delighted when his audience hears him with undivided attention. O Lord of
the earth! The fight between Vritra and Vâsava that occurred in days of yore is
famous in the passages of the Vedas and the Purânas; as well as the suffering
that Indra had to encounter as his punishment when he had killed the innocent
son of Visvakarma. O King! The Munis, who fear sin very much, commit yet
blameable acts under Mâyâ; then what wonder is there that Visnu, and Indra
would kill Tris’irâ and Vritra merely under a plea. When Visnu, the incarnate
of Sattva qualities, gets deluded by Mâyâ and kills deceitfully the Daityas
always, then how can you expect any other man to conquer mentally even the Maha
Mâyâ Bhavâni, Who deludes all the beings! O King! It is under the compulsion of
this Mâyâ that the Bhagavân, the Infinite, the friend of Nara, Nârâyana, takes
incarnations in thousands and thousands of Yugas in this Samsâra as Fish, etc.,
and does deeds sometimes lawful and sometimes unlawful. The Devas and men,
being confounded by his Mâyâ, become upset and disordered and say “that this
body, wealth, house, sons, wife and relatives are all mine” and being thus
deluded sometimes do virtuous and sometimes sinful deeds. O King! There is not
even one, on the surface of this earth, though he may be well versed in finding
out cause and effect, the knowledge of the high and low, that can be free from
this Great Delusion; he is from the very beginning tied up by the three Gunas
of this Mâyâ and that remains under Her control.
27-35. This explains that Visnu and Indra
both were deluded by Mâyâ and engaged in fulfilling their own selfish ends.
They killed Vritrâs’ûra under a pretext. O King! Hear! I am now describing to
you the cause of enmity between lndra and Vritra. Vis’vakarmâ,
the Prajâpati, was great architect of the Gods, he was skilled, he was superior
amongst the gods, a great ascetic and endeared by the Brahmins. He had enmity
with Indra; and out of this enmity he created a son, very beautiful named him
Tris’iraska Visvarûpa. That son had three faces very beautiful and lovely.
Visvarûpa performed three different functions with his three different faces;
with one, he used to study the Vedas, with the second he used to drink nectar
(wine), and with the third he used to see simultaneously all the directions.
Tris’irâ renounced the pleasures of the world and began to practise a hard
tapasyâ; he became a great ascetic, gentle, restrained in his passions and
entirely devoted to his religion. He practised Panchâgni-Sâdhan in the summer
season, tying his feet upwards on the branch of a tree with his head downwards;
he remained in dew in the cold season, under water in the winter season. Thus
he abstained from food and conquered his self and, forsaking all the worldly
connections, practised a very hard tapasyâ; very difficult, indeed, for those
who are of dull intellects.
36-49. Indra became very sad and dispirited
to see him practise such a Tapasyâ and thought of the means so that he might
not acquire his Indraship. The Pâkasâs’ana Indra remained always very anxious
see the energetic penance practised by that ascetic of unbounded glory and his
steady attachment towards it. He thought thus :– “This Tris’irâ is becoming
stronger day by day by his penance, so he will kill me. The wise never look an
enemy with indifference whose strength daily becomes greater and greater.” It
is now my urgent duty to invent means how to baffle his Tapasyâ and he at last
settled that lust is the great enemy of asceticism; the practice of devout
austerities is destroyed complete by lust; so I must try this very day how the
Muni becomes attached to worldly lust and enjoyments. The intelligent Indra,
thinking thus, called the Apsarâs Urvas’î, Menakâ, Rambhâ, Ghritâchî, and
Tilottamâ and others proud of their beauties so that they might seduce
Tri’sirâ, the son of Vi’svakarmâ. O Apsarâs! I have now got a very grave task
to fulfil; all of you help me in this respect. A great enemy of mine, difficult
to conquer, is practising penance with his self-controlled. Start at once and
with your dress suited to various amorous gestures and try hard to seduce him.
Be all well with you; seduce him and remove the fever of my heart. O Apsarâs!
What more shall I say, I am restless since I have heard of his strength
performing such hard austerities. O Weak Ones ! That powerful ascetic may
acquire my place and thus dispossess me; this fear has possessed me. Therefore
destroy my fear as quickly as possible. This is the task now given to you; get
united and do this good to me. The Apsarâs, hearing him, bowed down and said :–
“O Lord of the Devas! Do not be afraid! We will try our best to seduce him. O
highly Lustrous One! For the enticing away of the Muni, we will do all the
things, dancing, music and other amorous gestures and practices, that will
discard your fear. O King of the Gods! We will unsettle the mind of the Muni by
our side glances and passionate gestures and postures, delude and tie him and
then bring him under our control.”
50-60. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus saying, the
Apsarâs went to Tris’irâ and began to exhibit various amorous gestures and
postures as stated in the Kâma Sâstra. They began to sing sometimes, sometimes
to dance in tune with musical measures before the Muni. In short, they practised
various amorous gestures to entice him away. But that ascetic, blazing with the
fire of Tapas, did not notice even the Apsaras’ various attempts; rather he
kept all his senses under the control and remained like a deaf, dumb, and blind
man. In that lovely hermitage of the Muni, the Apsarâs sang and danced
ravishingly and remained a few days there. But when they saw that the Muni
Tris’irâ did not swerve a bit from his meditative posture they returned tired,
distressed to Indra and all, very fearful, began to address Indra with folded
hands :– “O King! We tried our best and we could not in any way make the Muni
unsteady, very hard to surmount. O Pâkas’asana! Please invent other means; we
could not make the self-controlled Muni move away an inch from his position; it
is our good luck that that high-souled Muni, an incarnate of blazing fire have
not cursed us!” Then dismissing the Apsarâs, the evil-minded and dull Indra
began to devîse means, though totally unlawful, how to kill that good Muni. O
King! That Indra abandoned all shame, and fear of sin and ultimately came to a
highly blameable and sinful conclusion how to kill him.
Here ends the First Chapter of the Sixth Book
on Tris’irâ’s austerities in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter II
On the birth of Vritrâsura
1-11. Vyâsa said :– The extremely covetous
Indra, then, mounted on his Airâvata elephant and determined to kill the Muni.
He went to him and saw him immersed in deep Samâdhi, firmly seated in his
posture and with his speech controlled. At that time, a halo of light emanated
from his body and he looked like a second Sun and a blazing fire. Indra became
very sad and dejected when he saw that. Indra then thought within himself thus
:– “Oh! Can I slay this Muni, free from any vicious inclinations, and endowed
with the power of Tapas, blazing like a fire! This is quite against the Dharma.
But, Alas! He wants to usurp my position; how can I, then, neglect such an
enemy?” Thus cogitating, Indra hurled at the Muni his swift going, infallible
thunderbolt, the Muni remaining engaged in his penance and shining like the Sun
and Moon. The ascetic, struck thus, fell on the ground and died, like a
mountain peak struck by thunder falling on the ground and presenting a wondrous
sight. Indra became very glad when he killed the Muni; but the other Munis then
cried aloud :– “Oh! We are killed! Alas! What a crime has Indra committed
today! Oh! The vicious Indra has killed today this jewel amongst the Munis
without any offence! Let, then, this sinner reap the fruits of his sinful act
without any delay.” Indra, then, went back soon to his own abode; on the other
hand, the high-souled Muni, though killed, looked as it were, living by the
lustre of his own body. Indra, then, seeing him lying like a living man thought
that the Muni might get alive and so became very sad. While he was thus arguing
in his mind, he saw before him a wood cutter named Taksa and began to speak to
him for his own selfish ends thus “O Artisan! Cut all the heads of this Muni
and keep my word; this highly lustrous Muni is looking as it were alive;
therefore, if you sever his heads, he cannot be alive.” Taksa then cursed him
and spoke thus.
12-14. “O King of the Devas! The neck of this
Muni is very big and therefore cannot be severed; my axe is not at all fit for
this work . Specially I cannot do such a blameable act. You have done a very
heinous crime, quite against the law of the good persons; I fear sin; I will
not be able to cut the heads of a dead man. This Muni is lying dead; what use
is there in severing his head again? O Pâkas’âsana! The killer of the demon
Pâka! Why do you fear in this?”
15. Indra said :– “O Artisan! This Muni is my
dire enemy. Life seems to be still lingering in his body; his body is still
lustrous, I fear if the Muni be alive again!”
16. Taksa told :– “Do you not feel shame in
doing this heinous crime, when you know everything? Do you not fear God for the
crime of killing a Brâhmin?”
17. Indra said :– I will make Prâyas’chitta
(penance) afterwards for the washing away of my sins; but my duty at present is
to kill my enemy.
O Fortunate One! The wise men, clever in
polity, say that enemies must be killed by any excuse whatsoever.
18. Taksâ then replied :– “O Maghavan! You
are doing this sinful deed out of your avarice; but, O Lord! I have no cause
whatsoever; how then without any cause, can I engage myself in such a vicious
act?”
19-20. Indra said :– “O Taksan! I will allot
a share to you wherever there will be a sacrifice. The human beings will
invariably offer to you the head of the animal killed at any sacrifice. Now cut
his head according to this rule.”
21-42. Vyâsa said :– O King! That Taksâ
became very glad when he heard thus from Indra and struck off the heads of the
Muni with his very strong axe. O powerful King! When the three heads, thus
severed, fell to the ground, thousands and thousands of birds came out of those
heads in quick succession. The three groups of birds Kalavinkas, Tittiris and
Kapinjalas came out very rapidly from the three heads in due succession. The
Kapinjala birds came out of that mouth that used to chant the Vedas and used to
drink Soma; the Tittiri birds came out of that mouth that used to see all the
quarters as if it drank them; and the Kalavinka birds came out of that face
that used to drink wine. Indra became very glad to see the birds thus coming
out of his mouths and went back at once to his Heavens. O King! No sooner Indra
went back, than Taksâ came back to his own house and felt himself very pleased
to receive his share of sacrificial things. On returning to his home, Indra
thought that he had done his duty in slaying his powerful enemy. It did not
pass in his mind that he had committed the Brahmahattyâ sin (i. e., that he had
killed a Brâhmin). When Vis’vakarmâ heard that his virtuous son had been
killed, he became very angry (in his mind) and said that as Indra had killed
his qualified son engaged in asceticism without any offence, he would create
another son to kill Indra. Let the Devas see his strength and power of Tapasyâ
and let Indra, too, reap the far-reaching effects of his own Karma. Thus
saying, Vis’vakarmâ distressed with anger, offered oblations in the sacrificial
Fire, reciting Mantram from the Atharvan Vedas, with the object of producing a
son. When Homa was performed for eight nights consecutively, a man quickly came
out of that burning fire, as if he was the Incarnate of Fire itself. Seeing the
lustrous son before him, come out of the fire and endowed with power and
energy, Vis’vakarmâ said “O Indra’s enemy! Grow by my power of asceticism.”
When Vis’vakarmâ spoke these words, burning with anger, that brilliant fiery
son began to grow, towering high above the Heavens. Within a moment that man
looked a second God of Death and appeared like a mountain and shone like the
God Himself. Then he spoke to his own father Vis’vakarmâ, who was very
distressed “O Father! Put my name. Pray, what use can I be to you? Why do you
look so aggrieved and anxious; please explain to me all the causes. I make a
firm vow today that will remove the cause of your sorrow. Father ! Of what
avail is that to his father when he is not able to remove his sorrows!” O
Father! Shall I drink the ocean or crumble the mountains to dust or shall I
obstruct the passage of the rising Sun or shall I kill Indra, Yama, or the
other host of Devas or shall I root out the earth and throw it with all beings
into the ocean?”
43-53. O King! Hearing thus the sweet words
of his son, Vis’vakarmâ gladly told his mountain-like son “O my Son! You are
capable to save me from troubles (Vrijina) hence you are named Vritra. O highly
Fortunate One! Your brother, named Tris’irâ, was a great ascetic; his three
faces were all very strong. He was thoroughly conversant with the Vedas and the
Vedangâs and well versed in all the other knowledges. He remained always
engaged in practising asceticism, surprising to the three worlds. Indra killed
my qualified son with his thunderbolt; that wicked soul severed the three heads
without any offence. Therefore, O Best of beings! Kill that vicious, shameless,
deceitful, wicked Indra guilty of the sin of Brahmahattyâ.” O King! Thus
saying, Vis’vakarmâ very much confounded with the breavement of his son,
created various divine weapons. He prepared weapons specially suited to kill
Indra, the best axes, tridents, clubs, S’aktis, Tomaras and bows made of horns
and arrows, Parighas, Pattis’as, divine discus like the Sudars’an Chakra,
divine inexhaustible arrow cases with arrows, nice Kavacha, very substantial
air-like swift-going chariot looking like a cloud and capable to carry great
loads; all these he created and gave over to his son. O King! Vis’vakarmâ, the
best of architects, excited by anger, made ready all the equipments necessary
for war and gave them to his son Vritrâsura and sent him to kill Indra.
Here ends the Second Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the birth of Vritrâsura in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter III
On the Deva defeat and on Vritra’s tapasyâ
1-3. Vyâsa said :– O King! Having the
Svastyayana ceremony (a performance of rite to secure welfare or avert
calamity) performed by the Brâhmanas versed in the Vedas, the powerful Vritra
mounted on his chariot and started to kill Indra, the King of the Gods. The
Dânavas that were previously defeated by the Devas now knowing Vritrâsura to be
powerful, came up to him to serve his cause. The messengers of Indra, when they
saw him ready for battle, hurriedly came to Indra and informed him all about
his doings and other matters connected with it.
4-7. The messengers said :– O Lord!
Vis’vakarmâ, having been very much grieved his son being slain, got very angry
and by Abhichâra process (an incantation with a design to injure or magic
spells or charms used for a malevolent purpose) has created a son in order to
kill you. That indomitable Vritrâsura is now your powerful enemy; mounting on
his chariot he is coming here to fight with you, surrounded by other Asuras. O
highly Fortunate One! This enemy of yours is as high as the mountain Meru; he
is now coming hurriedly to you, making a terrible noise; guard yourself
carefully. O King! While Indra was hearing the messengers, the Devas came there
panic-stricken and terrified and said :–
8-16. The Ganas said :– O Lord of the Suras!
Ominous signs are being seen in the houses of the Gods; the birds are making
sounds, very inauspicious and foreboding a great calamity. Crows, vultures,
herons, falcons, and other ugly inauspicious birds are crying and making hoarse
sounds on the tops of houses. Other birds are making incessantly harsh sounds
like chichi koochy. The carriers of the several Devas are weeping and shedding
tears always. O highly Fortunate One! On the tops of houses are heard very loud
and very dreadful sounds of the crying Râksasîs at dead of night. O Giver of
honour! The flags on the chariots are falling to the ground without any trace
of wind. Thus ominous signs are being visible on earth and in the air. O King
of the Devas! The ugly faced women, wearing black clothes, are roaming from
house to house and always repeating “Leave the house, and go away at once.” The
Deva women while sleeping in their own temples are seeing in their dreams that
terrible Râksasîs, coming to them are cutting away their hairs on their heads
and are frightening them. O Indra of the Devas! The inauspicious signs like
these and earthquakes and the falling of the meteors are taking place. The
jackals come in the courtyard of houses at night and yell horrible heartrending
sounds. Lizards are moving always in the rooms and the several limbs of our
bodies are shaking and thus making very inauspicious signs.
17. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing their
words, Indra became very anxious and called Brihaspati, the Deva Guru, and
asked him :–
18-20. Indra spoke :– O Brâhmana! Very
inauspicious signs are being visible; dreadful winds are blowing and stars are
falling from the skies what are all these? O Intelligent One! You are very wise
and versed in the S’astras and the Guru of the Devas; you are omniscient and know
very well how to remedy the evils. Therefore perform the rites by which enemies
can be killed; do such as our miseries be all averted.
21-31. Brihaspati said :– “O Thousand-eyed!
What shall I do? You have committed shortly a heinous crime; you killed that
innocent Muni and so you have earned a very bad Karmic effect. Very violent
sins and good deeds produce their effects very quickly. It is, therefore,
highly incumbent on those that desire for their own welfare, to take up any
work with great discretion. It is never advisible to do any action that leads
to the tormenting of others. Never do they find happiness who give pains to
others. O Indra! You have committed Brahmahattyâ under the influence of greed
and delusion; now suddenly has appeared the fruit of that act. O King of the
Suras! This Vritra Asura is born invulnerable to all the Devas. That powerful
indomitable Asura chief is now coming, mounted on a chariot, to kill you,
surrounded by the other Dânavas and taking with him the Vis’vakarmâ-made divine
arms and weapons equal to thunderbolt. He is coming like a second Kâla, as it
were, to destroy the whole Universe. There is none in this Triloka, capable
kill him; and his death will not also take place. While Brihaspati was thus
speaking, a great tumultuous uproar rose at once. The Gandharbas, Kinnaras,
Yaksas, Munis and other Immortals began to fly away from their quarters. Indra
seeing the Devas flying away became very anxious and gave orders at once that
all subservient to him must be ready at once for battle; they must go and call
the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin As’vins, the Âdityas, Pûsâ, Bhaga, Vâyu,
Kuvera, Varuna, Yama and the other Devas to come there at once. The enemy is
well nigh; so let all the Devas come on their Vimânas quickly there.”
32-44. Thus ordering, Indra mounted on the
Airâvata elephant and taking the Sura Guru in front started from his own
temple. The other Devas mounted on their respective carriers and, firmly
resolved to fight, started with all their arms and weapons. On the other hand,
Vritrâsura surrounded by the Demons, came up to the beautiful mountain, adorned
with trees, on the north side of the Mânasarovara Lake. Indra, too, came there
with Brihaspati in front and attended by all the other Devas to that mountain,
north of the Mânasa Lake and began to fight. A dreadful fight, then, ensued
between Vritra and Indra with clubs, swords, Parighas, Pâs’as, arrows, S’aktis,
Parsus and other weapons. The terrible fight lasted for full one hundred human
years, terrifying to the self-controlled Risis and all the human beings. Varuna
first turned his back; then Vâyu, then Yama, the Sun and Moon and then Indra
fled from the battle-field. Seeing Indra and the other Devas flying away,
Vritrâsura came to the hermitage and there bowed down to his father who looked
very glad; and he said :– O Father! I have carried out your orders; Indra and
all the other Devas are defeated in the battle; as elephants and deer fly away
seeing a lion, so the Devas all fled away to their respective abodes. I have
taken the Airâvata, the best of elephants, away from Indra who fled away on
foot. O Bhagavan! I have brought the elephant here. Kindly accept it. O Father!
It is not advisable to kill a man who is terrified, therefore I did not kill
them. Now kindly order anything else that I may fulfil your desires. All the
Devas fled away from the battle-field, very much tired and terrified; and what
more to say than this that Indra, too, fled, leaving his elephant on the field.
45-54. Vyâsa said :– O King! Vis’vakarmâ became
very glad to hear his son’s words and said :– “Today I can rightly say that I
have got my son and that my life is successful. O son! To-day you have
sanctified me; my cares and worries are abated; my mind is also calm to see
your wonderful prowess. O Child! Now hear attentively what I say. O highly
intelligent One! Now carefully sit in your steady posture (Sthirâsan) and
practise Tapasyâ. Never trust anybody; Indra is now your enemy, ever ready to
find your faults, and clever in sowing dissensions between you and your
well-wishers. O Son! Tapasyâ is not an ordinary thing; Laksmî (prosperity) is
obtained thereby; excellent kingdoms, increase of vigour, and victories in
battles are obtained. Therefore worship Hiranyagarbha and get excellent boons
from him; then kill this vicious Indra, guilty of the sin Brahmahattyâ. Worship
the auspicious Creator calmly and carefully. The four-faced Brahmâ then will be
pleased and grant you your desired boon. First please the Creator of
indomitable prowess, from Whose womb has sprung all this Universe, and get,
then, immortality from Him. Then kill that guilty Indra, my enemy. O Son! My
feeling of enmity due to the killing of my son reigns always in my mind; I
cannot go to sleep peacefully nor do I get peace in any way. The vicious Indra
killed my son; O Vritra! What more shall I say to you; I am merged in the ocean
of sorrows; save me.”
55-60. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus hearing his
father’s words, Vritrâsura became inflamed with anger and, getting his
permission, set out gladly to practise Tapasyâ. He then went to the Gandhamâdan
mountain and performed his bath in the holy and auspicious river Mandâ Kinî,
and, preparing a Sthirâsan, took his seat in the Kus’â grass, to practise the
tapasyâ. He left off gradually taking his food, then subsisted on water only
and remained engaged in Yoga; and, seated in Sthirâsan meditated incessantly on
Prajâpati, the Creator of this Universe. Indra, on the other hand, knowing
Vritrâsura engaged in tapasyâ became very anxious and sent to him Gandharvas,
Yaksas, Pannagas, Kinnaras, Vidyâdharas, Apsarâs and other Deva messengers, all
of unbounded vigour to create obstacles in his austerities. These Gandharvas
and other Deva Yonies, expert in exercising magical spells, tried many ways and
means and various gestures and postures to create disturbances in his penance;
but that great ascetic Vritra, the son of Vis’vakarmâ did not swerve a bit from
his meditative state.
Here ends the Third Chapter of the Sixth Book
on the defeat of the Deva army and on Vritra’s tapasyâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî
Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter IV
On the defeat of the Devas by Vritra
1-17. Vyâsa said :— O King! The Suras that
wanted to create hindrance in Vritra’s tapasyâ, seeing him firmly resolved,
became disappointed in the fulfilment of their objects and returned to their
own abodes. Thus full one hundred years passed away. The four-faced Brahmâ, the
Grandsire of the Lokas, came there mounted on his carrier the Swan, and said :–
“O Vritra! Be happy; now quit your meditation and ask boon; I will grant you
the boon that you choose. O Child! Your body has become very lean and thin
through your penance. I am now very pleased to see your this very hard tapasyâ.
Welfare be to you. Now ask the boon that you desire.” Vyâsa said :– O King!
Hearing thus the clearly distinct nectar-like sweet words of the Creator
Brahmâ, Vritra shed tears of joy and suddenly stood up. And going to him, bowed
down gladly before His feet, and, with folded hands, spoke to Him, Who is
desirous to grant him boons, in a tremulous voice. O Lord! Today I have been
fortunate to see Thee who art generally seen with great difficulty; and I have
acquired thus the posts of all the Devas; O Lotus-seated One! I have got an insatiable
desire burning within me. Thou art omniscient, Thou knowest everything; still I
am speaking out my mind. O Lord! Grant that my death does not occur with iron,
wood, dry or wet substances or with bamboos or any other weapons and let my
strength and valour be increased very much in the battle; for, then, I will be
unconquerable by all the Devas with all their armies. Vyâsa said :– O King!
Thus prayed for, Brahmâ said to him smiling :– “O Child! get up; I grant that
your desired boon will always be fulfilled; now go to your own place. Your
death won’t occur with dry or wet substances or with stones or wood. I say this
truly unto you.” Thus granting the boon, Brahmâ went to His Brahmâloka. Vritra,
too, became very glad on receiving his desired object, and returned to his own
abode. The highly intelligent Vritra informed the father about the boon granted
to him; Vis’vakarmâ became very glad to hear it. O highly fortunate One! Let
all bliss and good fortune come unto you; kill Indra, my greatest enemy. Go and
kill the murderer of my son Tris’irâ, the vicious Indra and return to me. Be
victorious in the battle and become the Lord of all the Devas and remove my
mental agony due to the killing of my son. A son becomes then really a son when
he obeys the commands of his father and when he feeds plentifully good many
people on the Srâddha day (after his father’s death) and when he offers Pinda
at Gayâ. Therefore, O Son! Keep my words and try to remove my sorrows. Know
this as certain that Tris’irâ never vanishes from my mind. Tris’irâ was very
truthful, amiable and good-natured; he was an ascetic and foremost amongst the
Vedic scholars. The wicked Indra killed my dear son without any offence.
18-33. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing the
father’s words, that extremely indomitable Vritrâsura mounted on his chariot
and quickly got out of his father’s house. The proud Asura, then, marched to
the battle, accompanied with his vast army, to the sounding of the conch-shells
and war drums. Vritra, versed in politics and morals, exhorted his soldiers
before marching and said :– “To-day we will kill Indra and possess the kingdom
of the Immortals, freed of all enemies.” O King! Thus, accompanied by his
soldiers, and raising a tremendous war-cry terrifying to the Devas, the Asura set
out for battle. O Bhârata! The King of the Devas, knowing that the Asura is
quite at hand, became overwhelmed with terror and ordered at once the soldiers
to be ready for the battle and called quickly all the Lokapâlas and sent them
all for the battle. The highly lustrous Indra, the tormentor of the foes,
arrayed his troops in order according to Gridhra Vyûha (the method in which the
vultures arrange themselves while flying) and stayed there. On the other hand
Vritra, the slayer of enemies, dashed unto that place with all swiftness. A
dreadful fight then ensued between the Devas and Dânavas; the two parties,
desirous to get victory over the other, fought awfully hard. When the blaze of
the battle fire shone to a very high pitch, the Devas dropped with sorrow while
the Asuras became excited with joy. The Devas and Dânavas struck each other
with Tomaras, Bhindipâlas, axes, Paras’us, Pattis’as, and various other
weapons. When the dreadful battle rose to a high pitch causing horripilation,
Vritra became very angry and suddenly caught hold of Indra and denuding him of
all clothes and armours swallowed him; he, then, remembering his former enmity,
became very glad and stayed there. When Indra was thus devoured by Vritra, the
Devas were overwhelmed with terror and cried out frequently, with great
distress :– “O Indra! O Indra!” All the Devas became very dejected and grieved
in their hearts to see Indra denuded of his armour and clothes in the belly of
Vritra and bowed down to Brihaspati and said :– “O Indra of the Brâhmans! You
are our best Guru what are we to do now? Though the gods tried their best to
save Indra still Vritra has devoured him. We are all powerless, what can we do
without Indra? O Lord! Perform quickly magic spells (Abhichâra process) which
will lead to our Indra’s liberation.”
34. Brihaspati said :– “O Suras! The king of
the gods is swallowed by Vritra, he has been quite disabled; but Indra is
living in his bowels; attempt therefore must be made that he comes out while
living.”
35-54. Vyâsa said :– O King! The Devas became
very anxious to see Indra in that plight and took all the ways and means
carefully how he might be freed. Then they created a state tending to cause
yawning, very powerful and irresistible and calculated to destroy one’s enemy.
Vritrâsura then yawned and his mouth got widely opened and extended. In the
meanwhile Indra, the destroyer of one’s enemies’ strength, contracted all his
limbs and came out of the expanded mouth of the Asura and fell down. Since that
time, this state of yawning has become prevalent amongst the beings. The Devas
were all glad to see Indra thus come out. When Indra thus got out, he fought
again with Vritra for 10,000 years (Ajuta years). The fight was very dreadful,
causing horripilation. On one side all the Devas joined in the battle; on the
other side, the pre-eminently powerful Vritra, the son of Vis’vakarmâ fought.
When Vritrâsura got more and more energy in the battle, Indra became gradually
dwindled and was at last defeated. Indra became very much grieved when he found
himself defeated; the Devas also were very dejected to see this. Indra and the
other Devas quitted the battle-field and fled away. Vritrâsura too, quickly
arrived and occupied the Heavens. Vritra began to enjoy by force the Heavenly
gardens and took the Airâvata elephant. O King! The Asura, the son of Tvastâ,
took away all Vimânas (the self-moving chariots of gods), Uchchais’rava, the
best of horses, the heavenly cow, the giver of desires, the Pârijâta tree, the
Apsarâs, and all other jewels of the Heavens. The Devas, on the other hand,
deprived of their shares in sacrifices and driven away from their Heavens,
suffered very much. Vritrâsura became puffed up with vanity, when he got
possession of the Heavens. Vis’vakarmâ, too, became very happy at that time and
began to enjoy pleasures along with his son. O Bharata! The Devas, then, united
with the Munis and they began to consult about their own welfare. When the
Devas took Indra with them and went to Mahâ Deva in the Mount Kailâs’a and
bowed down to His feet very humbly and, with folded hands, spoke thus :– O Deva
of the Devas! O Mahâ Deva! Thou art the Mahes’vara and the unbounded Ocean of
Mercy! We are defeated by Vritrâsura and we are very much terrified. Save us, O
S’ambhu! Thou dost good to all the beings; dost thou tell us, therefore, truly
what are we to do now, when that powerful Dânava has dispossessed us of our
Heavens. O Mahes’a! Now dislodged, where are we to go? We are not finding any
remedy by which our miseries can be destroyed. O Bhûta Bhâvana! We are very
much pained; help us; O merciful One! That Vritrâsura has become intoxicated
with vanity due to his being granted the boon. Therefore destroy him.
55-57. S’ankara said :– “O Devas! We will
keep Brahmâ in the front and let all of us go to the residence of Hari and
there consult with Him how to destroy this unruly Vritra. The Janârdana
Vâsudeva is fully capable to do all actions. He is powerful, knower of
pretexts, highly intelligent, ocean of mercy, and fit to be asked by all for protection.
Without Him, the Deva of the Devas, no success is possible in any action.
Therefore all of us ought to go there for the success in our undertaking.”
58-62. Vyasa said :– O King! Thus settling
their plan of action, Indra and other Devas took S’ankara and Brahmâ with them
and went to the abode of Hari, who protects all and is gracious to His
devotees. They, then, began to chant Purusasûkta hymns to Him and thus they
praised the God Hari, the Guru of this Universe. The Janârdan Hari, the Lord of
Kamalâ, then, appeared before them and, after showing his respect, addressed
them thus :– O Lord of the several Lokas! What have brought you all together
with Brahmâ and S’ankara hither? O best of Suras! Please tell me the reason of
your coming here. Vyasa said :– O King! Thus hearing Hari’s words, the Devas
could not reply anything; rather almost all of them remained with an anxious
look with their hands folded, overwhelmed with cares.
Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the defeat of the Devas by Vritra in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî
Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter V
On praising the Devî
1-5. Vyâsa said :– O King! Nârâyana, the Lord
of Laksmî, and Knower of the essences of all subjects, seeing the Devas
extremely attached to him and anxious, spoke to them thus :– O Suras! Why have
you kept silent? Tell me why you have all come, let it be good or bad, tell me;
I will try to remove your miseries. The Devas said :– O Lord! Is there anything
unknown to you in this Triloki; You know everything; why then art Thou asking
us again and again? In ancient times You in your Dwarf incarnation overspread
the three worlds by Your three feet and thus bound the King Vali in his own
premises and gave over the sovereignty over the Devas to Indra. O All Pervading
One! It is You who deluded the Daityas and procured nectar for the Devas, and
it is You who sent them to the house of Death. Therefore, O Lord! You are the
one and only one that is capable in warding off all the evils that befall on
the Devas.
6-31. Thus hearing the Devas’ words, Visnu
said :– “O Suras! You need not fear; I know one remedy, approved by all, by
which that Daitya might be killed so that you would be happy. I am now giving
out to you. Your welfare, your benefit must be looked at by me whether by the
exercise of my intelligence or by using my prowess, by wealth pretext or by any
other means whatsoever. Four means, viz., conciliation, gifts, sowing discord,
or punishment are mentioned by the wise statesmen to be applied to friends and
specially to the enemies. Brahmâ was worshipped by Vritra with severe
austerities and He granted boons and it is due to the influence of that favour
that this Asura has become indomitable. The more so that Vis’vakarmâ created
him from the sacrificial fire; it is through all these causes that the Demon
Vritrâsura, conqueror of the enemies’ stronghold, has grown up so very powerful
that he can hardly be conquered by any being. O Suras! First peace must be
negotiated with him; then deceive him, otherwise the enemy will be very
difficult to conquer. First entice him and bring him under control; then kill
him. Now take the Risis and Gandharbas with you and go where the powerful enemy
Vritrâsura is residing and make a treaty with him; thus he will be conquered.
Swear on oath and accede to the terms he proposes and thus create faith in him;
then cultivate friendship with him; lastly, when time will come, kill that
powerful enemy. O Suras! I will also enter, unseen by anybody, into the
excellent weapon of Indra, his thunderbolt and will help him in due time. Wait
till the period of his longevity expires; otherwise his death will never take
place. Now go to that Asura, with Gandharbas and Risis and cunningly cultivate
friendship between him and Indra, by conciliatory words; when he begins thus to
put his confidence, then deceive him. I will enter hiddenly into the strong
well covered thunderbolt. When Indra will come to know that the Demon has put
complete faith in him, he will hurl his thunderbolt against him and thus the
enemy will be killed and not otherwise. O Lord of the Devas! Do not consider
for the present the act of treachery that you will commit: take my help and
kill that wicked Demon with thunderbolt. To practise hypocrisy with an hypocrite
is not considered a sin; specially no powerful enemy can be killed only by the
well known rules applicable to warriors, without any deceit. I also deceived,
before, Vali, with my dwarf body and again I deceived all the Demons by showing
myself as a beautiful woman; therefore to practise deceit with a strong
deceitful enemy is never considered a sin. Know this. O Devas! Now you all
conjointly worship the Devî Bhagavatî with Mantras and prayers and take Her
shelter; the Yoga Mâyâ, then, will help you. We, too, worship that Devî, the
Highest Prakriti, the Incarnate of pure Sattva Guna, Who grants success,
bestows us all our desires, Who is Herself the object of desires, and Who is
never realised by any except by those Yogis, self-controlled pure men. Indra, too,
will certainly be able to kill his enemy in battle if he worships Her; for the
Mahâ Mâyâ, the Creatrix of Delusion, will, when worshipped, delude that Demon.
Thus deluded by Her Mâyâ, Vritrâsura will easily be killed by him; there is no
doubt in this, what more do you want than this that everything will be
successfully accomplished when the Devî Ambikâ is propitiated and gets well
pleased. She regulates the hearts of all and is the Cause of all causes.
Without Her worship no one’s desires can be expected to be accomplished.
Therefore, O Best of Suras! Worship the Universal Mother, the Prakriti Devî
with greatest devotion and with greatest purity for the destruction of your
enemy. See! In days of yore, I fought for five thousand years, dreadfully with
the two Demons Madhu and Kaitabha and then killed them. I worshipped, then, the
Mahâ Mâyâ, the Highest Prakriti; She was thus pleased and deluded the two
Asuras; thus the two powerful Asuras puffed up with vanity were deluded and
thus I could kill those terrible Daityas under a pretext. Therefore, O Suras!
You, too, worship that Highest Prakriti with the greatest devotion; She will
then surely fulfill your desires.
32-49. O King! When the intelligent Visnu
enlightened thus the Devas, they went to the top of the Mount Sumeru, adorned
with the Mandâra trees, and, remaining at a secluded place, recited slowly Her
Mantrams and thus engaged in asceticism and meditation, began to chant hymns
and praise that Universal Mother, the Holder of the world, the Remover of all world
ailings, and the Creatrix, Preservatrix and Destructrix of the world and the
Bestower of all desires to Her devotees. The Devas said :– “O Devî! Be
graciously pleased unto us! O Thou, the Destructrix of the afflictions of the
distressed! We have taken refuge unto Thy lotus-feet. We have been defeated by
Vritrâsura in the battle, we are very much oppressed and afflicted. O Thou, the
Highest Reality! O Thou, the Mother of the whole Universe! Protect us as a
Mother protects her child; we are fallen into this difficulty arising from our
enemies. O Mother! Nothing is hidden from Thy knowledge in the three worlds.
Why art Thou taking no notice of us, that are being tormented by the Asuras! O
Mother! Thou createst, preservest, and destroyest the three worlds; Brahmâ,
Visnu and Mahes’a are created by Thy mere will and are doing all Thy works.
Mother! They are not independent; by the contraction of Thy eye-brows, they are
directed and enjoy all the pleasures. The Mother protects her sons afflicted
with various difficulties and dangers, even when they are found guilty of
various offences. It is Thou that hast made this rule; then why, O Merciful!
Art Thou not protecting us who are quite innocent and whom Thou dost know as
having taken refuge unto Thy lotus-feet. O Devî! If Thou thinkest that we
forget Thee, being too much attracted by the enjoyments that Thou hast been
pleased to confer unto us and therefore we are proper not to be looked upon
with Thy merciful eyes, we would say that this is quite true; but, O Mother !
Nowhere is seen a feeling of a Mother to Her child; we are no doubt, objects of
Thy mercy and favour always. Besides there is no fault of us in this matter, O
Mother! that we do not worship Thee and become immersed in sensual enjoyments;
for Thy creation, the Moha (delusion) is very powerful and deludes us. O
Mother! Thou art naturally Merciful! Knowing these, why art Thou not showing
mercy unto us. O Devî! Thou hadst killed before in battle, for our sake, the
powerful Daitya Chief Mahis’âsura, very terrible to all the beings. Then why
art not Thou, O Mother ! killing this dreadful Vritrâsura? O Mother! Thou hadst
killed the two brother Daityas, S’umbha and Nis’umbha, extraordinarily
powerful, and the other Daityas that followed them; O Thou, the embodiment of
mercy! Similarly destroy now this deceitful strong Vritrâsura. O Mother! Delude
this proud Asura so that he could not manifest, in the least, his power. We are
very much troubled by the Asuras and overwhelmed with terror from them; Thou
savest us; for there is no other in the three worlds that can by his own force
remove the sorrows and sufferings of the Devas. O Mother! Though Thou hast
shown favour towards Vritra, now dost kill him soon, whose nature is cruel and
tormenting to others. O Bhavânî! Better dost Thou save him from sin by Thy holy
arrows. Otherwise that vicious Asura will surely enter into the hideous Hell.
It is for his welfare that Thou oughtest to kill him. Those that had been
before enemies of the Gods, Thou didst purify them by weapons in the
battle-field and hadst sent them to the Nandana Garden in the Heavens. O Thou,
the Mercy personified! Was it not that Thou didst not save them from hell? Then
why art not Thou killing this Vritrâsura! We know this for certain that the
Asura is Thy enemy, not Thy servant; for that mischievous soul is giving us
trouble. O Mother! How can he be Thy servant and devotee who torments the Devas
that are always engaged in worshipping Thy lotus feet. O Mother! How can we
perform Thy worship? The flowers and other articles used in worship all are
created by Thee; especially we and the Mantras, in fact, everything is the
manifestation of Thy power. Therefore, O Bhavânî! We worship Thee by laying
ourselves prostrate on Thy feet. Be’st Thou pleased. Those men are blessed that
worship with devotion Thy lotus feet for crossing this ocean of world. O Devî!
Those Yogins that want final liberation and forsake therefore all attachments,
vikâras and delusions, even they attain success then only when they meditate Thy
lotus feet. Those that are great Sacrificers and know best the essence of the
Vedas, even they when they offer oblations to the sacrifice, utter “Svâhâ” that
is cheering to the Devas and “Svadhâ” very consoling to the Pitris; thus they
always think of Thee (for Svâhâ and Svadhâ are Thy names only). O Mother! Thou
art the retentive power and memory. Thou art the beauty, Thou art the peace,
Thou art the Buddhi (intellect) well known to clarify men’s minds; and Thou art
the prosperity and wealth of all these three worlds. O Devî! Those that worship
Thee, Thou givest them, out of mercy, those wealth in some way or other.
50-57. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus worshipped
by the Devas, the Devî Bhagavatî appeared before them in a very beautiful form,
thin, adorned with all ornaments. Her two hands holding a noose, and goad, and
the other two hands making signs to discard all fear and ready to grant boons;
Her loins very beautiful, girdled with a gold band with small bells pending and
making sweet tinkling sounds; Her feet with anklets (ornaments) making sweet
sonorous sounds with tiny tinkling bells. Her voice was exceedingly sweet and
lovely, Her forehead was adorned with the crescent of the Moon and on Her head
was glittering a diadem of jewels, Her lotus-face adorned with sweet soft
smiles and with Her three beauteous lotus-eyes looking like Indîbaras. Her body
was of a red colour like the Pârijâta flowers and Her limbs were marked with
red sandal-paste. She was dressed in a red attire. The Devî looked well
pleased, like an ocean of infinite mercy, wearing complete dress suited to
happy interviews, the Creatrix of all this Cosmos, the Highest, the Knower of
all, the Directrix of all, and the Great Upholder of all. She looked like an
embodiment of the Truth of all Vedântas and the Incarnate of ever Existence,
Intelligence, Bliss, the Mahâ Devî Bhagavatî Bhuvanes’varî. The Devas all bowed
down before Her standing in front of them. The Mother then spoke :– “What
business have you got here? Speak to Me.”
58-59. The Devas said :– “O Bhagavatî!
Vritrâsura is tormenting much the Devas; Bewitch him. O Devî! Do such as he can
trust the Devas; and impart then strength on our weapons such as he can be
killed.” Vyâsa said :– “O King! That will be done.” Saying thus, the Devî departed
then and there. The Devas became very glad and returned respectively to their
abodes.
Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Sixth Book
on the praising of the Devî by the Devas in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter VI
On the slaying of Vritrâsura
1-3. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus getting the
boons from the Devî, the Devas and the Risis blazing with their asceticism, all
united and consulted with each other; then they went to the excellent Âs’rama
of Vritra. There they saw Vritra in a sitting posture and with his own Tejas
(fiery spirit in him) as if ready to burn the three worlds and to devour all
the Devas. The Risis, then, spoke to Vritra the sweet words full of sentiments
for the serving of the Devas’ ends, according to the principle of conciliation.
4-23. “O highly fortunate Vritra! Terrific to
all the Lokas! Yo have now established your dominion in all the places over
this whole Universe; but your enmity with Indra is the only cause to interrupt
you in your happiness; there is no doubt in this. This enmity has increased
much the anxiety of you both and therefore has grown very painful. Neither you
nor Indra can go to sleep peacefully, there is always that fear hanging on you
both, on account of that enmity. And, see! A long long while has passed away
since the last battle was fought between you two; yet all the Devas, Asuras,
men and other subjects, are feeling a sense of oppression and pain. In this
world happiness is the only thing to be sought for and pain is to be avoided;
this is the eternal state of things. Never does that man who practises enmity
with another, get happiness; this has been ascertained by the wise. It is only
those brave warriors, that found taste in warfare, that approve of battles; but
the wise that are expert in amorous enjoyments do not like battle as destroying
the sensual enjoyments; they do not like fighting with flowers even; what to
say with sharpened arrows! In a battle, the victory is doubtful but the
shooting of arrows is certain, This world is dependent on Fate (Daiva, i.e.,
dependent on the cosmic rulers or deities or Devas of the Universe), so is
victory or defeat. So knowing this, one ought never to fight. Bathing in proper
time, taking food and sleeping in fixed times and having a chaste serving wife,
these are the means towards happiness in this world. While in warfares,
shooting terrible arrows and striking with fierce axes take place; what
happiness can there possibly exist? Rather the enemy finds pleasure there.
There is a saying that death in battles leads one to Heaven, but this is merely
an enticing statement, inciting one to war! Really it is fruitless. Supposing
that happiness comes ultimately to those who pain their bodies by being shot
with arrows and who allow their carcasses being devoured by the crows and
jackals, then no man, even of dull understanding, will like this, what to speak
of intelligent persons! Therefore, O Vritra! Let everlasting peace and
friendship be established between you and Indra; both of you in that case will
derive everlasting peace and happiness. Moreover if the enmity between you
terminates from this instant, then we, the ascetics and Gandharbas will, no
doubt, be able to remain in our own respective Âs’rams with great comfort. O
Powerful Hero! Owing to incessant wars between you and Indra, the Munis,
Gandharbas, Kinnaras and beings are day and night, suffering very much. For the
happiness of all peace-loving persons, we, the Munis, the residents of the
forest, earnestly desire that there be formed friendship between you two. We
desire that you, Indra and all the Jîvas get happiness. O Vritra! We stand as
mediators in this treaty between you and Indra; we will make each party swear
on oath and thus make it conducive to the happiness of both. Indra will now
swear on oath before you on the terms that you will dictate and thus will make
your heart cheerful. Know this verily that this earth stands on Truth, the sun
rises for the sake of Truth, the winds blow all along for Truth and the
boundless ocean never oversteps its limit for Truth. Therefore let your
friendship, be established on Truth. Thus tied together by bonds of friendship
let you two sleep, play, make sports in water and sit together happily.”
24-28. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing the
Maharsi’s words, the highly intelligent Vritra began to say :– “Risis! You are
possessed with knowledge and many other qualifications and you are ascetics;
you are therefore to be respected by me. You are the Munis and therefore you
never speak anywhere falsehood; your conduct is good and you practise rite and
ceremonies; you are calm; therefore you do not know the causes of pretexts. The
intelligent should never cultivate friendship with a knave, licentious person
who is void of understanding, an infamous, and a shameless person, specially if
he be an enemy. This vicious Indra is shameless, deceitful, licentious, and the
killer of a Brâhmana; therefore no faith can ever be placed on such persons.
You are saints and added with all good qualifications; therefore your minds
never play in the mischievous thoughts of others; it is because your heart is
calm and quiet that you cannot understand the minds of the deceitful and
treacherous; therefore you ought never to stand as mediators between any two
persons.”
29-32. The Munis said :– “O King! All the
creatures certainly enjoy the fruits of their Karmas, whether good or bad; how
then, can persons, of perverted intellect, obtain peace when they do mischief
to others. The treacherous persons certainly go to hell and suffer miseries
always. The slayers of Brâhmanas and the drunkards may get liberation; but
never the faithless and those who go against their friends get off free; these
will have to suffer undoubtedly in the hells. Therefore, O Knower of all
things! Give out clearly what is going on exactly in your mind and the exact
terms that you want; and the treaty will be made between you and Indra exactly
according to those terms.”
33-34. Vritra said :– “O highly fortunate
Munis! I can enter into a treaty of peace with Indra only on the condition that
Indra with all the other Devas will not kill me in day or in night with any dry
or liquid substance or with wood, stone, or thunderbolt and on no other terms.”
35-68. Vyâsa said :– O King! The Risis then
gladly accepted his word and brought Indra there and recited to him the terms
of the treaty of peace. Indra, then, swore, an oath, before the Munis with Fire
as the Witness that he would comply with the terms of the treaty, and was thus
freed from his heavy thoughts and felt that he had been rid of a fever. Vritra,
then, relied on lndra’s words; became his friend, and began live, play and
enjoy with him. They felt pleasure by their union and began to roam sometimes
in the Nandana Garden, sometimes in the Gandha Mâdana, sometimes on the shores
of oceans, Vritra was very much delighted when they were thus united in
friendship; but Indra watched him to find his faults; thus sometime passed. A
few years passed away after the treaty had been concluded. And the
straight-forward Vritra began to place very much confidence on Indra; but Indra
meditated on the means how to kill him. One day Visvakarmâ, knowing that his
son Vritrâsura placed implicit confidence on Indra, called his son and said :–
“O my son Vritra! Hear my good words. See, it is never advisable to trust
anybody with whom there has arisen once the enmity. Indra is your greatest
enemy; he always intends evil to you; therefore do not trust him any more.
Indra is never to be trusted, who is always covetous, inimical, rejoicing at others
sufferings, licentious and addicted to others’ wives; vicious, deceitful,
finding faults with others, always jealous, a juggler, and puffed up with
vanity. O Child! What more shall I say than this fact that that villain,
without fearing sin, easily entered into the womb of his mother and cut the
crying child in the womb into seven pieces and then each seventh part again
into seven parts, thus altogether into forty-nine parts. Therefore O my son! He
is never to be trusted on any account. He who is always addicted to vicious
deeds never feels shame in perpetrating again another crime.” Vyâsa said :– O
King! Vritra’s death time drew nigh; hence he could not take his father’s words
as auspicious, though he was warned by his father in words full of meaning. One
day, in the evening time, at a very inauspicious dreadful moment, Indra saw
Vritra on the shore of an ocean and began to think of the boon granted by
Brahmâ to the Asura thus :– “Now this is the terrible evening time; this cannot
be called day nor can it be called night, and this demon is also here alone in
this solitary place; it is advisable therefore to effect his death by force,
there is no doubt in this.” Thus arguing in his mind, Indra remembered the
Undecaying Soul Hari. Bhagavân, the Best of Purusas came there, unseen by
anybody, and entered into the thunderbolt; Indra quickly collected himself to
kill Vritrâsura; but he thought how he could slay this Demon, unconquerable in
the battle; and if he did not slay his enemy then by deceit, then his enemy
would continue to live, and it would be impossible for him to get his own
welfare. While he was thus thinking, he saw the foam of the waters of the ocean
as big as a mountain; thinking that foam not to be dry nor wet and considering
that foam not to be any weapon, he easily took that foam and instantly
remembered with a heartful devotion the Highest Force Bhuvanes’varî. On Her
remembrance, the Bhagavatî infused Her part into that foam and the thunderbolt,
instilled with the force of Nârâyana, was covered, too, by that foam. Indra,
then, hurled the thunderbolt covered with foam on Vritra; and the Demon, thus
struck, instantly fell down like a mountain. When Vritrâsura was thus killed,
Indra became very glad; the Risis began to praise him with various hymns.
Indra, then, with all the other Devas worshipped the Devî, through Whose Grace
the enemy had been killed and they praised Her with various hymns. The image of
the Bhagavatî the Supreme S’akti was built of ruby and installed in the Nandana
Garden. O King! Since then all the Devas used to worship the Devî thrice a day,
morning, midday and evening and since then the S’rî Devî became the tutelary
deity of the Gods. Indra worshipped then Visnu also, the Highest of the Gods.
When the terrible powerful Vritrâsura was killed, the auspicious wind began to
blow gently; the Devas, Gandharbas, Râkhsasas, and Kinnaras began to roam about
with great joy. Vritrâsura was deluded by the Mâyâ of Bhagavatî, and Her force
entered into the foam; hence Indra was capable to kill him suddenly and it is,
for this reason, that the Devî, the Goddess of the world, is known in the three
worlds as “Vritranihantrî,” the slayer of Vritra. But at the first sight Indra
killed him by means of the foam; hence the people say that Vritra was killed by
Indra.
Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Sixth Book
on the slaying of Vritrâsura in the Mahapurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter VII
On Indra’s living under disguise in the Mânas
Lake
1-16. Vyâsa said :– O King! Now seeing Vritra
slain, Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, went to Vaikuntha; but, with this fear
reigning supreme in his mind that it was He that virtually slew him. Indra,
too, then became afraid of the sin committed by him and returned to his Heavens.
The Munis, too, became very anxious and thought what great sin they have
committed in cheating Vritrâsura. It is the company of Indra that now made
their name “Munis” as meaningless. The Munis thought thus :– “Oh! Vritra on our
words trusted Indra and we have thus turned out today traitors in company with
that traitor Indra. Attachment and affection is the cause of all mischief. Fie
on that attachment! It is, as it were, tied by the cord of affection that we
had sworn falsely on oath and thus deceived Vritra. Those that deliberately
guide others to vicious acts or those that advise or incite others to do sinful
acts or those that side with the sinners certainly partake of the fruits of the
sin committed. Visnu, too, committed the sin, though he had Sattva Guna
preponderance, when he entered into the thunderbolt and thus helped Indra in
killing Vritra. It seems that henceforth the people, when selfish, won’t
hesitate to commit afterwards any sinful act when they will see that Bhagavân
Visnu could have done, in concert with Indra, such a vicious thing. Of the four
virtues Dharma, Artha, Kâma, and Moksa, Dharma and Moksa are very rare in the
three worlds. Artha (wealth) and Kâma (desires) are everywhere recommended as
excellent and therefore held very dear; Dharma is now merely in name and is the
cause of the vanity of the Pundits (no one now really practises Dharma with
devotion). Thus arguing, the Munis became very much afflicted in their minds
and went back to their own hermitages respectively, broken-hearted and
absent-minded. O Bharata! Hearing of the death of his son by Indra, Vis’vakarmâ
wept very much and he become disgusted very much with the affairs of the world.
He went to the place where lay his son Vritra and became pained very much to
see him in that state; and he performed his cremation and other funeral
obsequies according to the prescribed rules. He then bathed, performed his
Tarpanam (peace-offering) and funeral ceremonies due to a person in the first
year of his death. Then his heart became afflicted with sorrow and he cursed
the vicious Indra saying that as Indra had killed his son, enticing him by
falsely swearing on oath, so Indra, in his turn would suffer a heavier
suffering, to be inflicted by Vidhi (the Great Creator of Universe). O King!
Thus cursing Indra, Vis’vakarmâ, very much afflicted due to the loss of his
son, went to the top of the Mountain Meru and began to practise a hard tapasyâ.
17. Janamejaya said :– “O Grandsire! First
tell me what happiness or pain did Indra derive by killing Vritra, the son of
Tvastâ.”
18-40. Vyâsa said :– O fortunate One! What
are you asking? and what is the nature of your doubt? The fruit of one’s Karma
is certainly to be enjoyed, whether it be auspicious or inauspicious. Be he
weak or strong. Be he a Deva, an Asura or a human being, everyone in fact, will
have to suffer for one’s Karma, good or bad, to its full extent, whether it be
done a little or too much. See! It was Visnu that gave advice to Indra and
entered into his thunderbolt and helped him when Indra was ready to kill
Vritra; but when there had been Indra’s difficult time, Visnu did not help
Indra in any way. Therefore, O King! It is clear that when one’s time is
favourable, everybody turns out friends; but when Fate turns adverse, nobody is
seen to come forward to help. When Fate is against anybody, one’s father,
mother, wife, or brother, servant, friend or one’s own son becomes quite
incapable to help anybody. The man, who does good or bad acts, suffers for his
deeds. When Vritra was killed, everyone went back to their respective homes;
but Indra, the Lord of S’achî, became very much deprived of his energy and
brilliancy due to the sin of his killing a Brâhmin; all the Devas, then, blamed
him as a Brâhmaghataka (the killer of a Brâhmin). They talked further that no
other body would have been able to even indulge the idea of killing a Muni who
was an intimate friend and who placed full confidence on him when Indra had
sworn on oath that he would be a friend to Vritra. O King! Everywhere then there
was this gossip in the assemblages of the gods, in their gardens, at the
meetings of the Gandharbas that Indra had deceived Vritra who had relied on
him, on the words of the Munis and then killed him by pretext, and so had done,
indeed, a horrible crime. Indra had now forsaken the eternal proofs of the
Vedas; and he had become a Bauddha; therefore he could have easily killed
Vritra. No other body, save Visnu and Indra, could have acted contrary to their
words, as clearly evidenced by the manner in which Vritra had been killed.
These remarks, similar to those mentioned above, became everywhere current and
Indra heard all of them, tending to his own disgrace. O King! Fie on that man’s
life that is blamed everywhere! Fie on that man whose fame has been marred
amongst the people. Such a person becomes laughed at by his enemies, when seen
by them on the way. The royal saint Indradyumna (Râjarsî) was made to get down,
though sinless, from Heavens when his good deeds expired. Why, then, would not
vicious persons be made to descend? The king Yayâti had to get down from
Heavens for his very little fault and had to pass eighteen Yugas in the form of
a crab. What more can be said than the fact that even the Bhagavân Achyut Hari
had to take several incarnations in the wombs of boar, crocodile, etc., out of
the curse from a Brâhmin, due to his cutting off the bead of the wife of
Bhrigu. Though omnipresent, yet he had to take the appearance of a dwarf and
had to beg from the King Vali’s palace. What more troubles and miseries than
this can be inflicted on those that had sinned viciously. O Ornament of
Bharata! Râmchandra, too, had to experience, due to the curse of Bhrigu,
terrible miseries on the bereavement of Sîtâ Devî. Similarly Indra, too, for
his sin of killing a Brâhmin, was so much terrified that he could not get his
healthy condition though he remained in his own house, endowed with all sorts
of prosperity and wealth. Seeing, then, Indra lustreless, knowledge-less,
almost void of consciousness, and overwhelmed with fear, his wife S’achî, the
daughter of Pulomâ, spoke to him thus :– “O Lord! Your dreadful enemy has been
killed; why are you, then, sighing so much, being afflicted with so much
terror? O Lord! You have destroyed your enemy; then why are you so much anxious?
why are you then so much remorseful and drawing such deep heavy sighs like an
ordinary man? I am not seeing any other powerful enemy of yours; then, why do
you look so anxious and bowed down with cares, as if you look quite
unconscious.”
41-44. Indra said :– “O Devî! True that I
have no other powerful enemy, yet I do not find peace nor any happiness. I fear
for the sin Brâhmahattyâ in my house. O Devî! This Nandana Garden, the city of
Kuvera, the lord of riches, this nectar forest, the sweet music of the
Gandbarbas, the beautiful dance of the Apsarâs, all these now do not give the
least pleasure to me. What more can I say than this that the beautiful Lady
like you, most beautiful amidst the three worlds, and other beautiful ladies,
the Heavenly cow, the Mandâra tree (one of the five trees of the celestial
region), the Pârijâta tree (the flower tree), the Santâna tree, the Kalpa tree
(yielding all desires) and the Harichandan (saffron tree) and others cannot
give pleasure to me. What to do, where to go, so that I get happiness, O
Beloved! This thought makes me uneasy. And so I am not able to get happiness in
my own thought.”
45-60. Vyâsa said :– Thus speaking to his
most distressed wife, Indra got out of his house and went to the exceedingly
beautiful lake, named Manasarovara. Indra there entered into the tubular stalk
of the lotus, his body becoming very lean and thin out of the fear and sorrow.
Nobody could recognise him as he was overpowered by his terrible sin. He then
began to behave himself, as regards feeding and enjoying, like a snake; and he
became ovewhelmed with thought, helpless, and his organs were out of order, He
remained hidden in the water. When Indra, the king of the Devas, thus fled away
out of the fear of his Brâhmahattyâ sin, the other Devas became very anxious;
everywhere various evil signs manifested themselves. The Risis, Siddhas and
Gandharbas were very much panic-stricken, as various disturbances and violent
symptoms covered all over the world without any king. Grains began to grow very
scanty, due to want of rains; the streams were almost dry and very little water
was there in the tanks. In such a state of anarchism, all the inhabitants of
the celestial regions, the Devas and Risis consulted and installed the king
Nahusa in the place of Indra. O King! Nahusa, though virtuous, became, under
the sway of Rajoguna, influenced by lust and thus he got very much addicted to
worldly enjoyments. He began to amuse himself in the Garden of Paradise,
surrounded by the Apsarâs or celestial nymphs. One day he heard of the
excellent qualifications of S’achî Devî, the wife of Indra, and desired to
acquire her. Then he spoke to the Risis :– The Devas and you, united, have
installed me in the office of Indra; but why does not the Indranî (the wife of
Indra), come to me so long? If you want to do what I like, then quickly bring
S’achî here before me for my gratification. I am now Indra and therefore the
god of the Devas and all the worlds; therefore bring today quickly Indranî to
my house. Hearing thus the words of the king Nahusa, the Devas and Devarsîs
became anxious and went to S’achî, and, with their heads bowed down, spoke thus
:– “O Wife of Indra! The wicked Nahusa is now desiring you; he became angry and
told as to send you to him quickly; O Devî! We have made him Indra and are
therefore under him; what shall we do now under these circumstances?” S’achî,
the wife of Indra, hearing their words, became absent-minded and spoke to
Brihaspati, thus :– “O Brâhmana! I now take refuge unto you.”
61-62. Brihaspati said :– “O Devî! Do not be
afraid of Nahusa; he has been deluded by Moha. O Child! I won’t forsake the
eternal religion and thus I won’t give you over to the hands of Nahusa. No
doubt that wretch suffers the severest torments in Hell to the end of Pralaya
(the Great Dissolution) who quits and hands over the distressed person under
one’s refuge to another. O Good One! Be comfortable; I will never forsake you.”
Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Sixth
Book on Indra’s living under disguise in the Mânas Lake in the Mahâpurânam S’rî
Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter VIII
On S’achî’s praising the Devî
1-11. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing that the
wife of Indra had taken refuge under Brihaspati, the King Nahusa became very
angry towards Brihaspati and spoke to the Devas :– “ O Devas! I hear that the
stupid son of Angirasa has given protection to Indra and has kept her in his
house; I will therefore kill him quickly.” Seeing the terrible Nahusa thus
angry, the Devas and Risis consoled him and said :– O King of kings! Do not be
angry; quit this vicious motive yours. See, the Risis in all the Dharma
S’âstras, have declared the holding of illicit connection with other’s wives as
a very heinous crime and have blamed it very much. You can consider that the
daughter of Pulomâ is always chaste, devoted to her husband and very
good-natured. How can she, when her husband is alive, take another husband? O
Lord! You are now the Lord of the three worlds and hence the Defender of Faith
and Religion; and if a person like you act irreligiously, all the subjects will
then go to annihilation. One who is a Lord should always observe the rules of
good conduct. Besides there are many other celestial women in this Heaven as
beautiful as S’achî; you can satisfy your thirst with them. Mutual love is
recognised by the wise as the true originator of amorous dealings; ravishing a
woman by force destroys all amorous sentiments. O King! And if the mutual love
be similar and equal in all respects, then comes the true happiness; you have
now got the post of Indra; therefore quit this idea of holding illicit
connection with other’s wives and indulge in other good thoughts. Demerits
destroy prosperity and merits increase it. Therefore, O King! Leave all these
bad thoughts and make your heart take a good turn and be happy.
12-15. Nahusa said :– “O Devas! Where were
you all when Indra stole away the wife of Gautama and when the Moon stole away
the wife of Brihaspati? It is easy to give advice to others but to act
according to that is very rare in this world. O Devas! Let the qualified Devî
come to me you will derive much benefit from it and the Devî, too, will get Her
highest happiness; there is no doubt in this. I tell you truly that in no other
way I will be satisfied; bring Indrânî here quickly, whether by good words or
by force.”
16-17. The Devas and Munis heard the words of
the king Nahusa, smitten by the Cupid’s arrows, got terrified and said :– “We
will bring Indrânî to you by gentle words.” Saying thus, they went to the house
of Brihaspati.
18-21. Vyâsa said :– O King! The Devas, going
to the house of Brihaspati, spoke thus with folded hands :– O Guru! We know
that Indrânî has taken shelter in your house; we will have to hand her over
today to the king Nahusa for we all united have made over the post of Indra to
Nahusa. Let this beautiful Lady now choose and worship him. Hearing these awful
words of the Devas, Brihaspati said to them :– “O Devas! This chaste woman,
devoted to her husband, has now taken my shelter; therefore I can never part
with her.” The Devas said :– “O Guru! Kindly advise then – if you do not part
with S’achî Devî – how the king Nahusa be pleased; if he becomes angry, it will
then be very difficult to please him.”
22-31. Brihaspati said :– “O Devas! Let
S’achî now go to Nahusa, and tempt him with enticing words and make this
condition that when her husband’s death will be known to her, she will then
accept Nahusa as her husband. How could she accept another husband when her
husband was alive. Therefore let her now go in quest of her high-souled
husband. Let S’achî thus make condition with him and, thus deceiving him, let
her try her best to bring back her husband. O King! Then, after coming to this
conclusion, Brihaspati and other Devas went with Indrânî to the king Nahusa.
Seeing them come, especially looking at Indrânî the artificial king Nahusa
became very glad and said to Indrânî :– “O Beloved! Today I am become the real
Indra. O beautiful-eyed One! Worship me as your husband; see the Devas now have
made me to be worshipped by all the gods.” When Nahusa spoke thus, the Devî
S’achî became filled with great shame; she began to tremble and said to the
king :– “O Lord of the Devas! I desire to ask a boon from you. Better wait till
I ascertain whether Indra is dead or alive, there is this doubt in my heart
whether he lives or whether he is dead. O King of kings! Let me, first of all,
clear my doubts. Kindly excuse me and wait till then. I tell this truly that
after I ascertain the fact, I will worship you. I do not know anything whether
Indra is dead or whether he has gone any where else.” When S’achî Devî spoke
thus, Nahusa became very glad and saying “let it be so” dismissed her.
32-47. Thus having received permission from
the King to depart, S’achî hurriedly went to the Devas and spoke to them to try
their best to bring Indra back as soon as possible. O King! Hearing these sweet
and holy words of Indrânî the Devas intently consulted with each other how they
could get back Indra. They then went to Vaikuntha and began to praise with
hymns the original Deva, the God Visnu, the Lord of the Universe, kind to those
that seek His refuge. The Devas, skilled in speaking, spoke to Visnu with a
very troubled heart :– “O Lord! Indra, the Lord of the Devas, is very much
troubled with his sin Brahmahattyâ. Where is he staying now, invisible to all
the beings? O Lord! He is now overcome with the sin Brahmahattyâ by killing
Vritra, the best of the Brâhmins. We ask your skilful and intelligent advice. O
Lord! You are the sole refuge of him as well as of us. We are now involved in a
great difficulty. Kindly show us the way how we, as well as Indra, can get out
of this difficult crisis.” Hearing the pitiful words of the Devas, Visnu said
:– Let Indra perform the As’vamedha sacrifice (Horse sacrifice) for the
purification of his sins. By this Yajña, that can destroy all sins, Indra will
be purified and he will regain his Indraship; there is no doubt in this. The
more so because the Devî, the Universal Mother, will be pleased with his Horse
sacrifice and will destroy all his sins, Brahmahattyâ and others. Lo! Merely
remembering Her destroys heaps of sins; and, if by this Horse sacrifice, She be
pleased, what wonder is there that sins of a more grave nature would be destroyed!
And let Indrânî worship Bhagavatî daily; happiness will undoubtedly be gained
by worshipping that most Auspicious One! By this the King Nahusa will be
particularly deluded by the World Mother and will then be quickly destroyed by
the sin committed by himself. And Indra, purified by As’vamedha, will soon
regain his position and all his wealth. O king! Thus hearing the sweet
beneficial words of Visnu of indomitable prowess, the Devas went to the spot,
where resided Indra. Brihaspati and the other Devas consoled the distressed
Indra and made him celebrate duly in right order, the Horse sacrifice the
greatest of all sacrifices. Indra then distributed his sin Brahmahattyâ amongst
the trees, rivers, mountains, women, and the earth.
48-51. Thus casting aside his sin on all the
above things, Indra became again free from his sin, and, getting rid of his
fever and uneasiness, abided by the time and remained there invisible in the
tubular stem of the lotus. Doing that wonderful act, the Devas started from
there and reached their own abodes. The daughter of Pulomâ, suffering from her
bereavements from Indra, spoke then to Brihaspati with great sorrow :– “O Lord!
Why is my husband still invisible to me, when he has performed the As’vamedha
sacrifice? Kindly show me the way how I can get a sight of him.”
52-62. Brihaspati said :– “O Devî! Worship
the most Auspicious Bhagavatî; surely She will make your husband sinless and
you will see him. The Devî Ambikâ, the Upholdress of the Universe, will desist
the King Nahusa from doing the wrongful act and it is She that will delude him
by Her Mâyâ and get his downfall from the Heavens. O King! When Brihaspati
spoke thus, S’achî Devî got initiated by him in the Devî Mantram, capable to
secure success in any undertaking. Thus getting the Mantram from her Guru, She
began to worship the Devî Bhuvane’svarî duly with flowers, sacrificial victims
and other necessary articles for worship. Thus Indrânî, with a view to see her
husband, performed the worship of the Devî; she quitted all the articles of
enjoyment and luxury and assumed the garb of an ascetic; thus some time passed
away, when the Devî was pleased and appeared before her on the back of a Swan,
in Her peaceful form, ready to grant boons to Indrânî. She looked, then, fiery
like thousands of Moons; Her lovely beauty appeared in rays like thousands and
thousands of fixed lightnings. The four Vedas personified began to praise Her
in hymns from the four sides. Her two hands were adorned with a noose and a
goad, and Her two other hands made signs to grant boons and to discard all
fear. The Vaijayantî garland of clear crystal-like gems suspended from Her neck
up to Her feet. Her face was adorned with smiles and signs as if she would
grant favours. She had three eyes and was the ocean of mercy and the Mother of
all the Jîvas from a worm up to Brahmâ. Her two heavy breasts were filled with
unbounded ocean of nectar-like juice of Peace and Mukti. She was the Goddess of
innumerable worlds, the Goddess of all and the Highest, endowed with all the
knowledges and the Incarnate of the Undecaying and Immoveable Brahmâ. The Devî,
then, began to address S’achî, the wife of Indra, in pleasant words and in
voice deep like a rolling thunder.
63-69. The Devî said :– O Darling to Indra!
Better now ask your desired boon. I am much pleased with your worship. O
Beautiful One! I have come here to grant you boon. To see Me is not an easy
task; by the collected merits, acquired in thousands and thousands of births
one is able to See Me. Hearing the words of the Devî, S’achî Devî, the wife of
Indra, fell prostrate before Her feet and began to speak to the Highest
Goddess, the Bhagavatî, Who seemed graciously pleased :– “O Mother! I now
desire from Thee, that I may see my husband whom I attained after great difficulty,
that I be freed from the fear arising out of King Nahusa and I want that Indra
be reinstated as Indra as he was before.” The Devî said :– “O Lady of the
Devas! Better go with this My messenger (Dûtî) to Mânasarovara; there is
installed My fixed form, named Vis’vakâmâ. You will see your Indra staying
there very sorrowful and overwhelmed with terror. I will delude the King Nahusa
within a very short period. O large-eyed One! Be calm and quiet; I will fulfil
your desires; soon I will delude that king and deprive him of the seat of
Indra.”
70-71. Vyâsa said :– The wife of Indra
accompanied the messenger of the Devî and quickly reached the presence of her
husband Indra. She was very pleased to see her long-wished for husband, in the
state disguise.
Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the praising of the Bhagavatî by the wife of Indra and on getting the
sight of Indra in the Mahâpurânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter IX
On Indra’s getting the fruits of Brahmahattyâ
and on the downfall of king Nahusa
1-2. Vyâsa said :– Indra was quite surprised
to see in this state of solitude his dear wife S’achî, large-eyed and
overwhelmed with much sorrow and spoke thus :– “O Beloved! I am remaining here
alone this desolate place unnoticed by all the Jîvas; O Auspicious faced One!
How have you come to know this! And how is it that you have come here!”
3-5. S’achî said :– O Lord of the Devas! I
have been able to know this place where you are staying by the grace of Bhagavatî’s
Feet and I will get you back by Her grace. The Devas and Munis all united have
installed the King Nahusa in your throne. That fellow says “O fair One! I am
now made the King Indra; therefore you worship me as your husband.” And thus
oppresses me always. O Destroyer of other’s strength! That vicious one speaks
to me thus; I am weak; What can I do to him?
6. Indra said :– “O Beautiful One! I am now
here waiting for the proper opportunity; O auspicious One! You should also make
your mind calm and remain there, and wait for the proper time.”
7-12. Vyâsa said : — O King! After Indra had
spoken thus, S’achî Devî became sorrowful, drew a deep sigh and, trembling,
said :– “O Fortunate One! How can I stay there? That vicious man, puffed up
with vanity and proud of his position will forcibly bring me under his control.
The Devas and Munis say this to me out of his fear :– O Beautiful One! The Lord
of the Devas is now very much distressed with the arrows of the Cupid;
therefore go and worship him. O Tormentor of foes! How can the Brâhmin
Brihaspatî protect me, being himself powerless and under the control of the
Devas. O Lord! This is now my grave anxiety; I am a weak woman, having none to
protect me and therefore always under the guidance of a man. Fate is now against
me; how can I keep myself religious? I am a chaste woman, devoted to my
husband; I have got no shelter there; who will protect me when I fall into
misery!
13-21. Indra said :– “O Beautiful One! I will
now tell you one means which, if you adopt, will no doubt preserve your
character in times of crisis. Women cannot preserve their chastity when they
are protected by others by thousand and one means; for lust penetrates into
their restless minds and carries them to impure ways. It is the good and pure character
that preserves a woman from a vicious course; therefore O Smiling One! You
adopt this good conduct and character and remain steady in your place. In case
that deceitful wicked King Nahusa shows his violence upon you, then take time
and secretly cheat him, O Madâlase! Go to him when there will be no other body
present and say :–“O Lord of the world! Please come to me on a conveyance
carried by the Risis (great ascetics), I will then be very delighted and gladly
yield myself to you; this is certainly my vow.” O Beautiful One! When you will
say thus, that King, blinded by passion, will engage the Munis for the carriers
of his conveyance. The ascetics, then, will be angry and curse him; the Munis
will certainly burn him by the fire of their wrath; and the Divine Mother will
no doubt help you. He who remembers the lotus-feet of the Ambikâ Devî never
meets with any difficulties; and if there arises any difficulty, know certainly
that it is for his immeasurable benefit. Therefore worship, with your whole heart,
the Mother of the Universe, Who resides in the jewelled island (Mani Dvîpa)
according to the words of the Guru Brihaspatî.
22-25. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing thus the
Indra’s words, S’achî Devî said “Let it be so” and went to Nahusa, filled with
confidence and inspiration to carry on the future work. Nahusa was very glad to
see S’achî Devî and spoke thus :– “O Sweet-speaking One! Are you all right? I
am now completely yours; you have fulfilled my word; therefore I say truly that
I am your servant. O Gentle-speaking One! When you have come to me, know that I
am very glad. O Smiling One! Do not feel any shame before me. I am now your
devotee; worship me. O large eyed One! Speak out what is that dear thing that I
can do for you? I will carry that out at once.”
26-27. S’achî said :– “O Lord Vâsava! You
have done all the works; now I have got one desire to ask from you, kindly
fulfil this and then I will be yours. O One full of auspiciousness! Now fulfil
my desire; I am speaking this to you.”
28. Nahusa said :– “O Thou, having a face
sweet like the Moon! Speak out your desire; I will carry it out. O Beautiful
One with nice eye-brows! Even if that be unattainable, I will give that to
you.”
29-31. S’achî said :– “O King of Kings! I
cannot trust you; Swear on oath that you will fulfill my desire. O King! A
truthful King very rare on this earth; I will speak out my desire when I will
be convinced that you are bound by truth. O King! When you will fulfil my
desire, I will always remain under your control; this I speak truly to you.”
32. Nahusa said :– “O Beautiful One! On all
the sacrifices and gifts that I have ever made, I swear, on all my merits, that
I will certainly carry out your word.”
33-37. S’achî said :– “Indra has got for his
vehicles the horse Uchchais’ravâ, the Airâvata elephant and the chariot;
Vâsudeva has got vehicle Garuda; Yama has got his buffalo; S’ankara his Bull;
Brahmâ his Swan; Kartika has got his peacock and Ganes’a has got his mouse. But
now, O Lord of the Devas! I want to see your vehicle, never witnessed before: I
want to see the Munis and the great ascetics, observing vows, to be your
vehicle; this is not Visnu’s, Rudra’s nor of the Devas, and Râks’asas. O King!
Let the Munis carry your conveyance, this is my ever burning desire. O King of
this earth! I know you the highest of all Devas; let your glory and splendour
increase ever and ever; this is the intense desire reigning in my heart.”
38-56. Vyasa said :– O King! Hearing S’achî’s
words, Nahusa, weak in intellect, laughed and beguiled by the Mâyâ of Bhagavatî
began to praise her and said at once :– “O Beautiful One! Truly you have made a
nice suggestion of my vehicle. O One having luxuriant hairs! I will soon carry
out your words. O Sweet-smiling One! Whoever is effeminate and of weak virility,
he is never able to engage the Munis as his carriers; no doubt, my unbounded
strength will be rendered manifest when I come to you on a vehicle carried by
the Munis. What wonder is there that the seven Risis (the seven stars of the
constellation Great Bear) and all the Devarsis would carry me, knowing me as
the most capable and superior in all the three worlds by virtue of my sheer
asceticism?” Vyâsa said :– O King! The King Nahusa became very pleased and
dismissed S’achî Devî. He, then, with a heart flamed with passion, called the
Munis and said: –“O Munis! I am now become Indra and endowed with all powers
thereof; therefore you all do my work without being at all surprised. I have
got the seat of Indra but Indrânî is not coming to me. I called her to my
presence and when I informed her of my desire, She had spoken to me with
affection the following words:– O Indra of the Devas! O Giver of one’s honour!
Better come to me on a vehicle carried by the Munis and do thus the one thing
for me that I like. O Maharsis! To carry out this task is, indeed, difficult
for me; therefore do you all unite and, out of mercy, do this for me in all its
completeness. My heart is being always burnt, as I am very much attached to the
wife of Indra; so I take refuge unto you to do this wonderful work for me.”
Though this request was very indecent and greatly humiliating yet the Munis
agreed to it, out of pity, and also impelled, as it were, by the great Fate.
When the Great Seers, the Munis consented to this proposal, the King, whose
heart was very much attached to the daughter of Pulomâ, became very glad and
getting on the beautiful vehicle carried by the Munis, told them, move on
quickly (Sarpa, Sarpa). Then the King Nahusa, getting very much impassioned,
touched with his feet the heads of the Munis, and, being as it were smitten by
the arrows of cupid, began to whip frequently the Risi Agastya, the best of the
ascetics, who devoured the Râksasa Vâtâpi, who was the husband of Lopâmudrâ and
who drank out the ocean, saying move on, move on (Sarpa, Sarpa another meaning
of which is Snake). The Muni, then, became very angry, on being thus whipped,
and cursed him saying :– “’O Wicked One! As you are whipping me, saying Sarpa,
Sarpa, so go and remain in the dense forest as a huge snake. When many years
will elapse and when you will crawl on your own limb and suffer intense
troubles, after that you will again come to heaven. You will be free from the
curse when you will see the King Yudhisthira and hear from him the answers to
several questions.”
57-67. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus cursed, the
King Nahusa began to chant hymns to that best of the Munis, and, while
praising, fell from the Heavens and instantly turned into a snake. Brihaspatî,
then, quickly went to the Mânasarovara Lake and informed Indra everything in
detail. Indra became very glad on hearing in detail of the downfall of the King
Nahusa from Heaven and remained there gladly. When the Devas and Munis saw this
downfall into the earth of Nahusa, they all went to the Lake Mânasarovara where
Indra was staying. They then all encouraged Indra and honoured him by bringing
him back to the Heavens. All the Devas and Risis installed Indra on the throne
and then performed the Inauguration ceremony of the all auspicious Devî. On
getting back his own throne. Indra, too, began to sport in the beautiful
Nandana Garden with his dear consort S’achî, in the home of the Devas. Vyâsa
said :– O King! Indra had to suffer such severe hardships on account of his
slaying the Maharsi Vis’varûpa, the Lord of the Asuras. Subsequently through
the grace of the Devî, he got back his own seat. O King! Thus I have narrated
before you to my best, this excellent story of the killing of Vritrâsura and
thus have answered your question. O Ornament of the Kuru family! The fruits
will be exactly according to the Karma done. The effects of the Karma done must
be borne whether they be auspicious or inauspicious. (So Indra had to suffer
for his Karma, the killing of a Brâhmana.)
Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Sixth Book
on Indra’s getting the fruits of his killing a Brâhmana and on the downfall of
the King Nahusa from the Heavens in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter X
On the phase of Karma
1-5. Janamejaya said :– “O Brâhmana! You have
described in detail the wonderful character of Indra, his displacement from his
Heavens, and his suffering many hardships and at the same time, you have
described very widely the greatness of the Highest Goddess of the world. But one
doubt has arisen in my mind that Indra was very powerful and when he got the
lordship over the Devas, which means in other words that no trouble would pain
him, how was it that he had to feel pain and agony? He got the Lordship of the
Devas and his highest position by performing one hundred Horse Sacrifices; how
was it, then that he was again displaced from that position? O Ocean of mercy!
Kindly explain to me the causes of all these. You know everything; you are the
best of the Munis and the maker of the Purânas; I am your devoted disciple;
therefore nothing there can be that cannot be mentioned to me. So, O highly
fortunate One! Kindly remove my doubts.” Sûta said :– Thus asked by Janamejaya,
Vyâsa the son of Satyavatî gladly spoke, in due order, the following words :–
6-29. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hear, then the
causes that are certainly very wonderful. The seers say that Karma is of three
kinds :– Sañchita (accumulated), Vartamâna (present) and Prârabdha (commenced).
Each of these is again subdivided into three, Sâttvik, Râjasik, and Tâmasik.
The accumulated effects of Karmas done in many past lives is called Sañchita, O
King! The effects of this Sânchita Karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious, be
it for a long or for a short time, must have to be enjoyed by the beings
whether they be good or bad. This Sañchita Karma done by the embodied beings in
several previous births, can never be totally exhausted even in hundred Koti
Kalpas without their being enjoyed. The Karma that is being done by a Jîva and
that has not as yet been completed, that is called Vartamâna Karma. The Jîvas
do this Vartamâna Karma, auspicious or inauspicious, in their present
embodiments. At the time of birth, a part of the Sañchita Karma, the soul takes
up for fructification. This part of Sañchita Karma is called Prârabdha Karma.
This exhausts only when its effects have been fully borne out by the embodied
soul. The beings cannot but bear the effects of this Prârabdha Karma. O King!
Know this for certain that the effects of merits or demerits done previously
must be borne by anybody, be he a Deva, or a man, or an Asura, or a Yaksa or a
Gandharba. The acts done previously go to form the new births of all beings.
When the Karma gets exhausted, then no more birth takes place. There is no doubt
in this. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Indra and the other Devas, the Dânavas, Yaksas,
Gandharbas, all are under the control of this Karma. O King! Were it not so,
how could they get bodies that are the causes of the enjoyments of pains and
pleasures of all the beings. Therefore, O King! Out of the Sañchita Karmas done
in many previous births, some Karmas get ripe in due time and they manifest
themselves; those manifested Sañchita Karmas are called Prârabdha Karmas (those
that are being enjoyed by an individual in the present birth). Impelled by this
Prârabdha Karma, the Devas and the human beings, all do meritorious acts as
well as sinful acts. Thus Indra out of his past meritorious acts attained his
Indraship, and, out of his past sinful acts, committed the sin Brahmahattyâ and
so he was dislodged from his Indraship. What doubt can exist here? O King! So
Nara and Nârâyana, the sons of Dharma, had to take births out of their previous
Karmas; again Arjuna and Krisna were born out of their Karmic effects as part incarnations
of this Nara and Nârâyana. The Munis describe this Karma as the basis of the
Purânas. Know that he is born of a Deva who is very wealthy and prosperous; he
who is not born of the part of a Muni, never writes any spiritual treatise on
Jñana or Knowledge; he who is not born of Rudra, never worships Rudra; who is
not born of a Deva never distributes rice in charity; he who is not born of
S’rî Visnu, never becomes the king and lord of the earth. O King! The embodied
souls derive their bodies certainly from Indra, Agni, Yama, Visnu, and Kuvera.
Indra presides over lordship, Agni presides over energy, Yama presides over
anger, and Visnu presides over strength. He who is powerful, fortunate,
enjoying many enjoyments, learned, charitable, is said to be born of a
Devâms’a. O Lord of the earth! Similarly the Pândavas and Vâsudeva who was as
glorious as Nârâyana were born of Devâms’as. O King! Know this as quite certain
that the bodies of the Jîvas are the receptacles of pains and pleasures; and
the embodied souls (Jîvas) experience alternately pleasure and pain. No Jîva is
independent; he is always under the Great Fate. He experiences birth, death,
pleasure and pain, not out of his self will, but compelled and guided, as it
were, by the unseen Fate.
30-41. O King! How very strong is that Fate
can easily be judged by the following. The Pândavas were born in forest; then
they went their own homes. They performed the Great Râjasûya Sacrifice by
virtue of their own strength. After this they had to suffer their exiles in
forest a much greater and more terrible hardship indeed! Next Arjuna performed
a very hard asceticism when the Devas, not self-controlled, became pleased and
granted him an auspicious boon. Still he could not extricate himself from the
hands of the terrible hardship; nowhere could be found the fruits of the merits
acquired in the past when he was afterwards remaining in exile in his human
body in the forest! The severe tapasyâ that he did in the Vadarikâsrama in his
past incarnation as Nara, the son of Dharma, did not bear any fruit in his
Arjuna birth. Mysterious and inexplicable are the ways and means of Karma with
which the bodies of the several beings are concerned. How could men get an idea
of it when the Devas themselves are at a loss to solve it. Bhagavân Vâsudeva
had to take birth in the prison, a very critical and dangerous place; he was
then carried by Vasudeva to the milkman Nanda’s abode at Gokula; he remained
there eleven years and thence came back to Mathurâ where he killed by force Kamsa,
the son of Ûgrasena. Then he released his sorrowful father and mother from the
bonds of prison and made Ûgrasena, the King of Mathurâ. Afterwards he went to
Dvârkâ city, out of the fear of Kâla Yavana, the King of the Mlechchas; thus
Janârdana Krisna performed many great and heroic deeds, being impelled by Fate.
Then he left his mortal coil at Prabhâsa, a place of pilgrimage, along with his
relatives and acquaintances and then ascended to his Vaikuntha abode. All the
Yâdavas, sons, grandsons, friends, brothers, sisters and ladies of the houses
all died under the curse of a Brâhmin. O King! I have thus described to you the
inexplicable ways of Karma.
What more shall I say than the fact that
Vâsudeva was killed by the arrows of a hunter!
Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Sixth Book
on the phase of Karma in the Mahapurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XI
On the ascertainment of Dharma
1-10. Janamejaya said :– “O King of the
Brâhmanas! You said that Râma and Krisna took their incarnations to relieve the
burden of earth. One great doubt arises in my mind on this point. At the end of
the Dvâpara Yuga, the Earth, burdened and oppressed very much, assumed, in
anguish, the form of a cow and took refuge under Brahmâ. Brahmâ, then, went
with the Earth to Visnu, the Lord of Laksmî, and thus prayed, “O Bibhu! Let
You, with all the other gods, incarnate soon on earth at the house of Vâsudeva
to relieve the Earth of Her load, as well as to protect the righteous.” When Brahmâ
thus prayed, the Bhagavân Visnu incarnated as the son of Devakî, along with
Balarâma to lessen the burden of the Earth. And, in fact, he relieved, to a
certain extent, the Earth by killing many vicious persons and many wicked and
irreligious Kings. But, along with that, Bhîsma, Drona, Virâta, Drupada,
Somâdatta, and Karna, the son of the Sun were killed. But, See! that those who
plundered afterwards His riches, and stole away the wives of Hari, those crores
of Âbhîras, S’akas, Mlechchas, and Nisâdas and other vicious people remained
alive; and how could it, then, be said that the Earth was relieved when Krisna
did not kill those people! O Fortunate One! When I see all the people in this
Kâlî Yuga addicted to sinful acts, this great doubt is not going out of my mind
(how the Earth had been relieved of Her load).
11-14. Vyâsa said :– O King! As the Yuga
changes, so the people changes in course of time. Nothing can alter its course,
for this is caused by the Yuga Dharma (the Dharma peculiar to each Yuga). Therefore
if all the subjects that are considered wicked and vicious according to the law
of the Yuga Dharma, then this creation would be destroyed; hence Krisna killed
only those Dânavas and vicious Ksattriyas that were really the burden of Earth.
O King! The persons that are devoted to religion take their births in the Satya
Yuga; those that are fond of religion and wealth they become manifest in the
Tretâ Yuga; those that like Dharma (religion), Artha (wealth) and Kama
(desires), they are born in the Dvâpara Yuga, and those that dote on wealth and
lust, they are seen in the Kâlî Yuga. O King! Know this as certain that these
characteristics, peculiar to each Yuga, never vary; and know this too, that
Time, the Lord of Dharma and Adharma, is always present.
15-18. The King said :– “O Intelligent One!
Where are those pious persons now that were born as high-souled religious
persons in the Satya Yuga; where are those Munis now who were devoted to
charity in the Tretâ or Dvâpara Yuga? Again where will go these shameless and
merciless persons, that are being seen now in this Kâlî Yuga, these vicious
creatures that revile their own Gurus? O Highly Intelligent One! I am very
eager to know how these religious matters are brought to a decision and
settlement; kindly describe to me in detail all these secret truths.”
19-30. Vyâsa said :– O King! Persons, born in
the Satya Yuga, that perform acts of merit, go to the Deva Loka. O King! The
Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras, if they remain in their own spheres
and if they be devoted to religious acts, go to their respective spheres,
earned by their meritorious deeds. By virtue of truth, mercy, charity, going to
one’s own wives, not injuring animals, and having no jealousy and showing mercy
equally towards all, by practising these universal forms of religion, even the
lowest castes, e.g., washermen and others all go to the Paradise. So in the
Tretâ and Dvâpara Yugas men go to Heaven by virtue of their merits, earned in
practising their own Dharma; but in this Kâlî Yuga persons addicted to vicious
acts go to terrible hells and remain there till the end of the Kâlî Yuga when
they will be again born in this earth. O King! When the Satya Yuga begins and
the Kâlî Yuga ends, at this junction time, the virtuous highsouled persons
descend from Heaven and are born on this earth; and when the Kâlî begins and
the Dvâpara ends, the vicious souls come on the earth again from their hells. O
King! Know this as the course of Time; it never becomes otherwise. See, then,
that the Kâlî Yuga tends to do vicious things and the people, therefore, become
vicious. At times, the birth of beings takes place otherwise than the laws of
Yugas, out of the strange combinations of Fate (i.e., good persons are seen in
the Kâlî and vicious persons are seen in the Satya). For this reason those that
do meritorious acts in the Kâlî Yuga are born as men in the Dvâpara; so the
Dvâpara good persons take their births as men in the Tretâ; and the Tretâ good
persons are born as men in the Satya Yuga. Again those who are vicious in the
Satya Yuga become persons of the Kâlî Yuga. The Jîvas suffer miseries on
account of their own bad Karmas; they again suffer more miseries by doing over
and over again those bad Karmas by virtue of the Yuga Dharma.
31. Janamejaya said :– “O Bhagavân! Describe
particularly the details of the Yuga Dharma. I am now very desirous to hear
which Dharma is for which Yuga?”
32-54. Vyâsa said :– O King! I will now show
to you by example the influence of the religion peculiar to each Yuga; hear it
attentively. O King! The hearts even of saints are quite disturbed by the Yuga
Dharma. See! Your father was a religious and high-souled monarch; still the
wicked Kâlî defiled his mind and prompted him to do an act very insulting to a
Brâhmana. Otherwise why would he, being a renowned prince amongst the
Ksattriyas and a descendant of Yayâti, thus go and encircle a snake round the
throat of an ascetic Brâhmin? Therefore, O King! All actions are being
influenced by the Yuga Dharma. The Pundits, also recognise this. If you try
your best to perform any religious act, even then the Yuga Dharma would
prevail, yet you would be able to perform to a certain extent, a part of your
intention. O King! In the Satya Yuga, the Brâhmins were versed in the Vedas,
always devoted to worship the Highest Force, with an ardent desire to see the
Devî; they were devoted to Gâyatrî with Pranava, devoted to the meditation of
Gâyatrî, always reciting silently Gâyatrî, and the Mâyâvîja Mantram, the chief
mantram. In every village, the Brâhmins were very eager to erect temples of the
Devî Mahâ Mâyâ Ambikâ and were truthful, merciful and pure and devoted to their
own respective works. The Ksattriyas, skilled in the science of the highest
knowledge, were ever engaged in doing things ordained by the Vedas and were
always intent in protecting well their subjects. The Vais’yas did their
cultivation and trade and the S’ûdras always served the other three castes.
Thus, in the Satya Yuga, all the Varnas (castes) were devoted to the worship of
the Devî Ambikâ, the Highest S’akti; but in the Tretâ Yuga, the observance of
the religion declined a little and in the Dvâpara, it declined very much. O
Ornament of Indra! Those who were Râksasas before, they become the Brâhmins of
the Kâlî Yuga; they are the flowers of atheists, deceptors of men, untruthful,
without any Vedas, devoid of the Vedic practices, arrogant, cunning, egoistic,
and capable only to serve the S’ûdras. Some of them try to find fault with the
Sanâtan Dharma and are the promulgators of various other creeds, wicked, fallen
from their religion and given to much talking. O King! As Kâlî gets stronger,
so the true religion declines and ultimately dies; and, in that proportion, the
Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras are also devoid of their religion. When Kâlî
will be in full swing, the Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras will all be
untruthful, vicious; the Brâhmins will act like S’ûdras and will accept other’s
gifts. O King! The women in the Kâlî Yuga would be very passionate, avaricious
and ignorant. They would be very powerful and insolent, wilful, vicious and
untruthful and so would be a source of pain to the society. They would think
themselves vainly religious and learned and would be always ready to impart
religious instructions and deceive their own husbands and be exceedingly
vicious. O King! Our minds are purified by the food that we take; when our
minds are pure, the Light of Dharma shines clearly. The customs and practices
of Varna and Âs’rama Dharmas get intermixed with each other and so arises the
fault of Dharma S’amkara (i.e., mixture of the several parts of religion with
each other). When the Dharma S’amkara creeps in, the Varna S’ankara is seen
(i.e., purity in blood and other matters of birth are lost). Thus, in the Kâlî
Yuga, all the Dharmas will gradually die out and ultimately nothing will be
heard about one’s own religion. O King! In this Yuga even the religious
high-souled persons will be found to do irreligious acts! The nature of Kâlî is
so; nobody will be able to quit it. O King! Thus, in this age, men naturally
commit vicious things; with ordinary means, therefore, no one becomes able to
extricate from the worst vicious habits.
55-56. Janamejaya said :– “O Bhagavân! You
know all and you are versed in all the S’âstras; what will be the fate of so
many persons in this Kâlî Yuga? If there be any path, kindly describe it to
me.”
57-65. Vyâsa said :– O King! There is only
one path and none other which can save a man from the sin of this Kâlî; and
that is this :– The Jîvas must meditate on the lotus-feet of the Highest Devî
for the purification of all their faults and sins. O King! There is so much
strength in Her sin-destroying Name, that the amount of sin in this world falls
much less in proportion to that. Where, then, is the cause of fear? Her Name,
uttered at random, even in an unconscious state, bestows so much unspeakable
results that even Hari, Hara and others have not the capacity to know that. O
King! The mere remembrance of the name of S’rî Devî is an atonement for a multitude
of sins; then it behoves that every man, afraid of the Kâlî Yuga, residing in a
place of pilgrimage, ought to remember incessantly the Name of the Highest
Deity. Even if anybody cuts, pierces, and kills all the beings in this whole
world, he won’t be touched with the sins, if he bows down, with devotion,
before the Devî. O King! I have narrated to you all the secret truths of all
the S’âstras. Consider all these fully and always worship the lotus-feet of the
Devî. All men are reciting silently the Japam called the Ajapâ Gâyatrî; still
they do not know the glory of it; such is the powerful influence of Mâyâ. All
the Brâhmanas are reciting in the depth of their hearts the Gâyatrî Mantram,
yet they do not know the glory of it (otherwise they would have been liberated);
such is the great influence of Mâyâ. O King! I have described to you all that
you asked me about the Yuga Dharmas; what more do you want to hear?
Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the ascertainment of Dharma in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî
Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XII
On the cause of the war between Âdi and Baka
1-2. The King said :– “O Best of Munis! Tell
me the names of the holy places of pilgrimage on the surface of this earth, the
holy Ksetras and the holy rivers; what are the fruits acquired in bathing there
and in making charitable gifts as well; also what are the rules of the journeys
and acts there are to be conducted?”
3-34. Vyâsa said :– Hear; I am describing to
you various Tîrthas or places of pilgrimage as well as those that are highly
extolled as the best places favourite to the Devî. Amongst the rivers the
following are reckoned as chief and holy :– The Ganges, Jumnâ, Sarasvatî,
Narmaddâ, Gandakî, Sindhu, Gomatî, Tamasâ, Cavery, Chandrahâgâ, Vetravatî,
Charmanvatî, Saraju, Tâpî, and Sâvramatî. Besides these, there are hundreds of
rivers on the surface of this earth; of them, those that fall into the ocean,
they are holier and those that have not reached the ocean are less holy. Of
those rivers that fall into the ocean, those that always flow with great
current, they are comparatively holier; but in the two months S’râvan and
Bhâdra (15th July – 15th September) all the rivers are considered as if they
are during their menstruation periods; at this time also some rivers carry
water of the rains just sufficient to supply the villagers with water. O King!
The following are the famous places of pilgrimages calculated to bestow
merits:– Puskara, Kuruksettra, the holy Dharmâranya, Pravâsa, Prayâga,
Naimisâranya, and Arbudâranya. O King! Of the mountains, the following are
considered as sacred :– S’rîs’aila, Sumeru, Gandhamâdana; of the lakes, the
following are very holy and very famous :– Mânasarovara, Vindusarovara and
Aksoda; these are the chief lakes. To those Munis that meditate on their Âtman,
all the hermitages are sacred; still the hermitage of Badri is always
considered very sacred and the most celebrated; here Nara and Nârâyana, the two
famous Munis, practised their asceticism. The Vâmanâs’rama and S’atayûpâs’rama
are also well known; thus every hermitage is named after the Muni that
practised asceticism there. Thus innumerable holy places on the surface of the
earth are mentioned by the Munis as tending to sanctify the hearts of the
persons. At all these holy places, the Devî is worshipped in special sites
consecrated to Her. All the sins are destroyed by their mere sight. The
devotees of the Devî stay there, with rules obeyed. I will mention afterwards
some of these places in the course of my narrations. O Best of kings! Going to
these holy places, charity, vow, sacrifices, asceticism and good acts all
depend on one another. The holy places of pilgrimages, asceticism, and
observance of vows depend on the purity of the articles (Dravya S’uddhi), on
the purity and one pointedness of actions (Kriyâ S’uddhi) and on the purity of
the mind and heart (Chitta S’uddhi). Some may attain, at times, the Dravya
S’uddhi and Kriyâ S’uddhi; but every one finds it very difficult and, indeed,
rarely get the Chitta S’uddhi. O King! This mind always tries to seek shelter
with various objects and is, therefore, always restless. How, then, can the
purity of mind be effected, with ease, when it is occupied with all sorts of
thoughts on various objects. Cupidity, anger, greed, pride, and egoism, these
bring about all sorts of obstacles in the holy places of pilgrimages, in
practising tapasyâ and in observing vows. O King! Non-injury, truthfulness,
non-stealing, chastity and purity, controlling of senses, and observing one’s
own religion, all these bring about the fruits of the labour in visiting all
tîrthas. They bestow fruits that can be obtained by visiting all the tîrthas.
During one’s pilgrimage, one forsakes one’s Nitya Karma (daily duties) and one has
to come in contact with various persons. Hence one’s journey becomes fruitless;
rather it becomes a source of sin. The waters of the sacred places can only
wash the outside dirts and the impurities of the physical bodies; they can
never wash the impurities of their inner minds. Were it the fact that the
waters of the tîrthas could purify their minds, why was it, then, that the
Munis, residing on the banks of the Ganges, and devoted to God, ever indulged
themselves with feelings of jealousy and enmity against each other. The humble
Munis like Vas’istha, and the Risis like Vis’vâmitra were always entangled in
love and hatred and they were ever impatient with anger. Therefore it is
evident that the internal purification, the purification of heart, the bathing
in the Gñân Gangâ flowing within, no doubt removes more the dirt than the
Ganges and other places of pilgrimages. O King! No doubt this fact must be
admitted on all hands that one’s impurity of mind is washed away if by the
strange combination of Fate, one comes in intimate contact with a man possessed
of the Divine Knowledge. O King! The Vedas or S’âstras, vows or austerities,
sacrifices or gifts none can purify the heart. See! Vas’istha, the son of
Brahmâ, though versed in the Vedas and residing on the banks of the Ganges, was
under the control of love, hatred and other infirmities. Out of the enmity of
Vis’vâmitra and Vas’istha, arose the great battle named Âdi Baka, astonishing
even to the Gods. In this, the ascetic Vis’vâmitra was cursed by Vas’istha, on
account of some curse in connection with the king Haris’chandra and had to take
his birth as a crane (Baka). The Risi Vas’istha was cursed also by Vis’vâmitra
and was born as a bird named S’arâri. Thus the two powerful Risis were born as
Âdi Baka and lived on the banks of the Mânasarovara and they fought for full
ten thousand years (ajuta) terribly, out of anger, with their nails and beaks
like two maddened lions.
35-36. The King asked :– “O Muni! Why were
the two Maharsis, the two great ascetics and devoted to religion, involved in
enmity with each other? Both of them were intelligent; how was it that they
knowing the act of cursing to be a source of pain to men, cursed each other so
painfully?”
37-48. Vyâsa said :– O King! In former times,
there was born in the solar dynasty a king Haris’chandra, the son of Tris’anku;
he was the best of the kings and reigned before Râmchandra. That King had no
issue and therefore promised to Varuna, “O Lord of water and ocean! If I get a
son born to me, I will perform a sacrifice, called Naramedha, where I will
sacrifice my son for your propitiation.” Varuna was very pleased with the king
when he made such a vow; and the exquisitely beautiful queen held the foetus in
the womb. Seeing his wife in the family way, the king was very pleased and
performed all the purificatory ceremonies pertaining to the foetus in the womb.
O King! When the queen was delivered of a son endowed with all auspicious
signs, the king Haris’chandra was very glad and performed duly all the Jâta
Karma (natal) ceremonies and distributed as charity big sums of gold and many
cows giving good quantities of milk. When the festivities on the birth of the
child were celebrated in the palace on a grand scale, Varuna, the Lord of
Waters, assuming the form of a Brâhmin, came up there. The King, too, honoured
him duly with seat and worshipped him regularly and asked him about his
purpose, when Varuna spoke to him :– “O King! I am Varuna, the Lord of Waters;
you promised before that you would perform Naramedha sacrifice where you would
sacrifice your son; now do those things and keep your words true.” The King
became very much confused and was very much pained at heart. He then checked
his mental feelings of pain and spoke to the Deva Varuna, with folded hands :–
“O Lord! I will do the sacrifice duly and fulfil the promise that I made before
you and keep my word. But, O Best of the Devas! My legal wife will be pure from
her Sûtikâ-S’auchak after one month, when I will perform the Naramedha
sacrifice.”
49-53. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing thus the
words of the king Haris’chandra, Varuna returned to his own abode; the King
also became glad, but he was somewhat anxious for fear of the destruction of
the child. When one month was complete, the sweet-speaking Varuna, the holder
of the noose, assuming the form of a very pure Brâhmin, again came there to the
palace of the king to examine him. The King worshipped him duly and gave him
the seat to sit and spoke, with humility, the following reasonable words :– “O
Lord! My son is not yet purified; how can he be tied to the sacrificial post
for being immolated? Therefore I will perform that sacrifice when the boy
becomes cleansed after a purificatory rite and becomes a Ksattriya. O Deva! If
you know me as your humble servant, have mercy on me; I will then consider
myself as blessed. See! The children, not passed through purificatory rites,
are not entitled to any act; therefore wait for some time longer.”
54-56. Varuna said :– “O King! You are
deceiving me and putting off the time longer and longer; I now see that you
were issueless before and now that you have got a son, you are bound up in an
indissoluble tie of affection for a son. Whatever it be, I now go back to my
home at your pitiful request; I will wait for some time longer and I will come
again. O child! Let you then be true to your words; if it be otherwise, I will
surely curse you and thus give vent to my angry feelings.”
57. The King said :– O Lord of the Waters!
After the completion of the Samâvartan ceremony (a pupil’s return home after
finishing his holy study), I will duly sacrifice my son at the great Naramedha
sacrifice; there is no doubt.
58-71. Vyâsa said :– Varuna was very pleased
at the King’s words and quickly went back saying “Let it be so.” The king also
became comforted. On the one hand, the king Haris’chandra’s son became widely
known by the name of Rohita; and as he got older, he became gradually versed in
all the sciences and became very clever and intelligent. That boy then came to
know by degrees the cause of the sacrifice in full detail; and knowing that his
death is quite certain, became very afraid and quickly fled away from the King
and went and stayed in caves of mountains with a fearful heart. Then, when the
proper time came, Varuna came up there to the royal palace, desirous to have
the sacrifice and spoke to the King thus :– “O King! Now the prescribed time
has come; therefore perform the sacrifice that you have resolved to celebrate.”
The King was very much pained to hear this and spoke with a very sad appearance
:–
“O Best of the Devas! What can I do now? My
son has fled away out of the fear of his life; I do not know his whereabouts.”
Varuna became very angry at these words and cursed him thus :– “O Liar! You are
an hypocrite pundit; therefore you deceived me frequently. Let therefore the
disease dropsy come and attack your body.” Varuna, the Holder of the noose,
cursing thus, went back to his own abode. The King was attacked with that
disease, remained in his own residence, afflicted with cares and anxieties.
Rohita, the son of the king Haris’chandra, heard about the severe illness of
his father when he was very much tormented with that disease, as the curse of
Varuna. One day a traveller told him :– “O son of the King! Your father is very
ill with dropsy, due to the curse, and is very sorry. Certainly your brain has
turned wrong; vain is your coming in this world; you have passed your life to
no purpose, for you are staying still in this mountain cave, abandoning your
sorrowful father. Certainly you are a bad disobedient son; what use is there in
your keeping up this body? What purpose will be served by your birth? When you
have got this body, you have abandoned that father and are staying in this
solitary cave. Know this as certain that to sacrifice one’s life is the duty of
a good and obedient son; therefore what more shall I say now than this that
your father the king Haris’chandra ailing from a severe illness is very sorry
for you and is always weeping.”
72-74. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing from the
passerby these good words, the prince Rohita wanted to go to his sorrowful
father attacked with disease when Indra assuming a Brâhmin form came up to him
and began to speak to him when he was alone like one who was filled with mercy.
O Son of a King! You are a fool; are you not positively acquainted with the
fact that your father is in trouble; why then do you intend in vain to go
there?
Here ends the Twelfth Chapter on the cause of
the war between Âdi and Baka in the Sixth Book of the Mahâpurânam of S’rî Mad
Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XIII
On the description of the battle between Âdi
and Baka after the discourse on S’unahs’epha
1-6. Indra said :– “O Prince! The King
Haris’chandra promised before to Varuna that he would celebrate for his
propitiation the great Naramedha sacrifice when he would offer his own son as a
victim to be immolated. O Prince! You are very intelligent; can’t you grasp
this idea that your father has become merciless due to his suffering in this illness
and no sooner you go there than he will make you the victim and tie you to the
sacrificial post when you will be slaughtered.” The indomitable Indra thus
prohibiting the son, he began to stay there deluded by the Mâyâ of the great
Mahâ Mâyâ. O King! Thus whenever the prince heard of his father’s severe
illness, he wanted to go to his father, Indra repeatedly used to go to him and
prevent him from doing so. On the other hand, the King Haris’chandra became
very much afflicted, and, seeing his family Guru all-knowing well-wisher
Vas’istha close by, asked him, “O Bhagavân! what am I to do now? I am now very
impatient with the agonies of this disease and am very weak; besides I am very
much afraid of it. Kindly give me a good advice and save me.”
7-9. Vas’istha said :– “O King! There is a
good remedy for the cure of your disease. It is stated in the S’âstras that the
sons are of thirteen kinds; Aurasa, Ksattraja, Datrima, Krîtrima; etc.
Therefore pay the reasonable price and buy one good Brâhmin boy and perform
your sacrifice with that boy. O King! Thus Varuna will be pleased and you will
be cured of your disease.”
10-24. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing thus the
words of Vas’istha, the King Haris’chandra addressed to his minister :– “O
Minister-in-Chief! You are very sharp and intelligent, therefore you better try
your best and seek in my kingdom a Brâhmin boy. In case a poor Brâhmin be
willing, out of his love for money, to give over his son, then give him any
amount he wants and bring his son. O Minister! By all means, bring a Brâhmin
boy for this sacrifice; in other words, do not be miserly or act lazily to
perform my business. You should pray to any Brâhmin thus :– Take this money and
give your son, who will be sacrificed in a sacrificial ceremony as a victim.”
Thus ordered, the minister sought for a Brâhmin boy in towns after towns,
villages after villages, and houses after houses. Till, at last, he came to
know that in his kingdom there was a poor distressed Brâhmin named Ajîgarta,
who had three sons. Then the minister gave to the Brâhmin that he wanted and
purchased his second son named S’unahs’epha and brought him before the King.
And handed him over to the King, saying that this Brâhmin boy is fit for the
sacrificial victim. The King then gladly brought the best Brâhmins versed in
the Vedas for the performance of the sacrifice, and collected all the articles
requisite for the purpose. When the sacrifice was commenced, the great Muni
Vis’vâmitra, seeing S’unahs’epha tied, prohibited the King and said :– “O King!
Do not be so bold as to sacrifice this boy; let this boy be free. O long-lived
One! I am asking this thing from you today and if you obey it, certainly it
will do good to you. O King! This boy S’unahs’epha is crying; his cries are
paining my heart and I am feeling pity for him. Hear my word and free this boy
out of mercy. See! The purehearted Ksattriyas, in ancient days, used to
sacrifice their own bodies and thus preserve others’ bodies, so that they might
attain the Heavens. And now you are killing this Brâhmin boy forcibly so that
you may preserve your own body; judge how vicious is this your act! Be merciful
to this boy. O King! Everyone likes his own body to the same extent; you are
feeling this yourself; therefore if you take my word, then quit this boy.”
25-36. Vyâsa said :– O King! The King
Haris’chandra was ailing very much; hence be did not pay any heed to the Muni’s
words and did not quit the boy. Thereupon the very fiery spirited Vis’vâmitra
became very angry with the King. Then Vis’vâmitra, the son of Kus’ika, the
foremost of the knowers of the Vedas, shewed mercy on S’unahs’epha and gave him
the “Varuna Mantram.” S’unahs’epha, very much afraid to lose his life,
earnestly repeatedly remembered Varuna and uttered that mantram in pluta tone (lengthened
or prolonged). Varuna, too, the ocean of mercy, knowing that the Brâhmin boy
was praising him with hymns came up to that spot and freed S’unahs’epha from
his bondage and freed the King also from his disease and went back to his own
abode. Thus the Maharsi Vis’vâmitra became very glad to rescue the Muni’s son
from the jaws of death. The King Haris’chandra did not observe the words of
Vis’vâmitra; hence the son of Gâdhi harboured within his heart anger towards
the King. One day while the King Haris’chandra was riding in a forest and
there, at midday, on the banks of the river Kaus’ik, when he desired to kill a
boar, Vis’vâmitra in the garb of an old Brâhmin asked from him everything that
he had, including his dominion and thus cunningly took away everything from the
King. The Maharsi Vas’istha, seeing his Yajamâna Haris’chandra suffering much,
became wounded and felt pain in his mind. One day when he met casually with
Vis’vâmitra in a forest, he said :– “O wicked Ksattriya! A disgrace to your
family! You have in vain put on the garb of a Brâhmin; your religion is like a
crane; you ate full of vanity; you boast for nothing. The best of kings,
Haris’chandra is my client; be is faultless; still, O Fool! Why are you giving
him so much trouble. As you are religious as a crane is religious, so take your
birth as a crane.” Vis’vâmitra, thus cursed by Vas’istha, cursed Vas’istha in
return, and said :– “O Vas’istha! As long as I will remain a crane, so long you
also remain as S’arâli or Âdi bird.”
37-42. Vyâsa said :– O King! The two angry
Munis thus cursed each other and the two were born as Crane and S’arâli or Âdi
bird. The crane Vis’vâmitra built its nest on the top of a tree on the
Mânasarovara lake and began to live there. Vas’istha, too, assumed the form of
an Âdi bird, and built his nest on the top of another tree and lived there.
Thus the two Risis spent their days in full enmity towards each other. These
two birds used to shriek so terribly loud that they became a nuisance to all;
they fought daily with each other. They used to strike each other with beaks
and wings and nails and thus they were covered all over their bodies with cuts
and wounds and they were smeared with blood. They began to look like Kims’uka
trees. Thus the two Risis, in the shape of birds, in their states of bondage,
due to each other’s curse, passed many years there.
43. Janamejaya said :– “O Brâhmana! Kindly
tell me how Vas’istha and Kaus’ika, the two Risis, became free from their
curses; I am very curious to hear this.”
44-54. Vyâsa said :– Brahmâ, the Grandsire of
his subjects, came there with all the Devas, filled with mercy, on seeing those
two Risis at war against each other. Brahmâ, the Lotus-seated, made them desist
from such a fight, consoled them and freed both of them from each other’s
curses. Then the Devas went back to their own abodes and the illustrious
lotus-seated Brahmâ went to the Satyaloka, seated on his Swan. Maharsi
Vas’istha and Vis’vâmitra became then friends and were tied with bonds of
affection at the advice of Brahmâ; they went back to their own Âs’ramas. O
King! Now see, that the Maharsi Vas’istha, the son of Mitrâ-Varuna, fought for
nothing with Vis’vâmitra, so painful to both the parties. Who, then, amongst
the human beings, the Dânavas or the Devas can conquer his Ahamkâra (egoism)
and be always happy? Therefore the Chitta-S’uddhi, the purity of the heart
(that purity which imparts to man the blessedness of God-vision) is very
difficult even for the high-souled persons; with the greatest caution and
utmost effort one has to practise for that. To those persons, that are void of
this Chitta S’uddhi, it is all vain to go to places of pilgrimage, to make
charities, to practise tapasyâ, to be truthful; in fact, anything, which is the
means to attain Dharma, becomes useless. O King! S’raddhâ (Faith) is of three
kinds :– (1) Sâttvikî, (2) Râjasikî and (3) Tâmasikî to all persons in all
their religious matters. The Sâttvik faith is the only one of the three that
yields entire results; and it is very rare in this world. The Râjasik faith,
done according to due rules, yields half the results thereof and the Tâmasik
faith is fruitless and inglorious; the Tâmasik faith arises with those persons
that are overwhelmed with lust, anger, greed, etc. Therefore, O King! Keep to the
company of the good and hear the S’âstras, Vedânta, etc., and free the heart of
worldly desires and then concentrate it to the worship of the Devî and live in
a sacred place of pilgrimage. Men afraid and troubled with the defects of the
Kâlîyuga, should always take the name of the Devî, sing praises, and meditate
on Her lotus feet. Thus the Jîvas will not have any fear of Kâlî and the fallen
vicious persons will easily be able to cross this ocean of the world and be
free. There is no doubt in this.
Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the description of the battle between Âdi and Baka after the discourse
on S’unahs’epha in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam of 18,000 verses
by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XIV
On the birth of Vas’istha from Mitrâ Varuna
1-2. Janamejaya said :– “O Bhagavân! Maharsi
Vas’istha was the mind-born son of Brahmâ; how is it then that you have named
him as Maitrâ-Vârunî. Is it that he got this name by some action or by some
Gunas? Kindly tell me the origin of this name, O Best of speakers!”
3-4. Vyâsa said :– O King! It is quite true
that the illustrious Vas’istha was the noble son of Brahmâ but he had to quit
that body due to the curse of the King Nimi and he had to take a second body
from Mitrâ Varuna; hence he is named in this world as Maitrâ-Vârunî.
5-6. The King said :– “O Bhagavân! How was it
that the religious Vas’istha, the best of the Munis, the son of Brahmâ was
cursed by the King? Oh! The Munis have to suffer the dreadful curse of
Ksattriya kings! This seems very wonderful to me. O Knower of Dharma! Why did
that king curse the innocent Muni? I am very curious to hear the cause of this;
kindly tell me the cause of the curse.”
7-30. Vyâsa said :– O King! I told you
already in particular all the causes of these. This Samsâra is pervaded by the
three Gunas of Mâyâ, Sâttva, Râja and Tâma. Whether the kings practise their
Dharma or the ascetics practise their tapas, all their actions are
interpenetrated with these Gunas; therefore they cannot shine so brightly. The
Kings, Munis performed very severe penances and austerities under the influence
of lust, anger, greed and Ahamkâra. O King! All, whether they be the Ksattriyas
or the Brâhmanas, who perform their sacrifices overpowered with this Râjo Guna,
really, none of them performs these actions guided by Sâttva Guna. The King
Nimi was cursed by the Risi and the Risi was cursed again by the King Nimi;
thus they met with greater calamities and painful sufferings, the fruits from
the hands of the powerful Fate. O King! In this world of the three Gunas, it is
very difficult for the beings to get the Dravya S’uddhi, Kriyâ S’uddhi, and the
pure effulgent Chitta S’uddhi, O King! Know this as the influence wielded by
the Highest S’akti, the Mother of this Universe. Nobody is able to overstep it;
but he, whom She favours, can cross in a moment this world, bounded by the
three Gunas. What more can be said than the fact that Hari, Hara, and Brahmâ
and the other Gods cannot free themselves without Her grace. Moreover, the sinners
like Satyavrata and others become free when Her Grace comes upon them. Nobody
in these three worlds can know what reigns in Her mind; again, this is also a
certain fact that She gets Herself bound by Her own will to Her devotees.
Therefore it is extremely desirable that one should have recourse to Sâttvikî
devotion for the complete removal of faults and sins. And as the devotion with
attachment and vanity is always injurious to men, therefore it is highly
beneficial to quit it; there is no doubt in this. O King! There was a king
named Nimi, born of the family of Iksâku. He was beautiful, well qualified,
virtuous, truthful, charitable, endearing to his people, a sacrificer, of pure
conduct and manners, ready to govern his subjects, intelligent and endowed with
knowledge. For the benefit of the Brâhmanas, that high-souled king established
a city named Jayantupur in close vicinity to the hermitage of Gautama. Thus
some time passed when this Râjasik idea arose in his mind that “I will perform
a sacrifice extending for a good many years when I will give exhorbitant
Daksinâs (remunerations to the priests and Brâhmins).” Getting permission from
his own father Iksâku, he began to collect all the ingredients necessary for
the sacrifice, as advised by the high-souled persons. He invited the
all-knowing Munis and ascetics, versed in the Vedas and in conducting
sacrifices, e.g., Bhrigu, Angirâ, Vâmadeva, Gautama, Vas’istha, Pulastya,
Richika, Pulaha, Kratu and others, all well-versed in the Vedas. Then that
religious King Nimi, collecting all the materials necessary for sacrifice
worshipped his own Guru Vas’istha and then spoke to him (the Guru) with great
humility. O Best of Munis! I will perform a sacrifice; kindly perform this my
sacrificial act; you are my Guru and therefore you know everything; so do this
sacrifice for me. All the articles for this purpose are brought and cleansed. O
Guru! Know that for five thousand years I mean to be engaged in this sacrifice,
this is my Sankalpa (will). I will worship the Goddess Ambikâ in this sacrifice
and for Her satisfaction I am arranging for it according to the prescribed
rules. Hearing the King Nimi’s words, Vas’istha said :– “O best of Kings!
Indra, the King of the Devas, has already selected me for his sacrificial ceremony.
Now Indra is ready to do the sacrifice for the propitiation of the Highest
S’akti and I have initiated him for five hundred years. Therefore, O King! You
will have to wait till I complete the Indra’s Yajñâ. After fully completing all
his works, I will come here. Therefore, O King! Wait till then.”
31-42. The King said :– “O Best of Munis! I
have already invited other Munis for this sacrifice and have collected all the
materials; how, then, can I wait for you? O Brâhmana! You are the foremost of
those versed in the Vedas and you are the family Guru of the noble Iksâku. How
is it, then, avoiding my work you are ready to go elsewhere O Best of Brâhmins!
Under the uncontrollable greed of wealth you have lost all senses and you are
ready to go away without doing my work. This does not behove you.” O King!
Though thus tempted by the King Nimi, the Risi Vas’istha went to the Indra’s
sacrifice. The King, too, became absent-minded and selected for the sacrifice
the Risi Gautama. He then commenced his sacrificial ceremony close to the ocean
by the side of the Himâlayân range and gave profusely the Daksinâs. The King
Nimi was engaged in this sacrificial act for five thousand years. In this the
Rittviks (priests) were worshipped with sufficient wealth and cows; they were
extremely glad. Then, when the five hundred years extending sacrifice of Indra
was completed, the Risi Vas’istha came to see the King Nimi’s sacrifice and
waited there to see the King. The king was then asleep; so the servants did not
awake him from his sleep; and the King did not come to the Risi. Feeling insult
at this, the Maharsi Vas’istha became infuriated with rage. Not seeing the
King, he became very angry; and, subject to this, he cursed the King, When I am
your lifelong Guru, especially when I prohibited you and you have forsaken me
and selected another Guru and by your sheer force you are initiated, then be
devoid of your body. Let your body fall off today.
43-50. Vyâsa said :– The King’s attendants,
hearing thus the curse given by Vas’istha to the King, instantly awoke him from
his sleep and informed him that the Risi Vas’istha not seeing you, became very
angry. The King Nimi, quite sinless, went then to the angry Vas’istha and
humbly spoke to him the following reasonable words, pregnant with meaning. O
Knower of Dharma! I am your Yajamâna; though I repeatedly requested you to
perform my sacrifice, yet you quitted me out of the covetousness and went
somewhere else. I cannot be charged with any fault. You are the foremost of
Brâhmins; and knowing that contentment is the substance of your Dharma, you did
not feel ashamed to do this blameable act. You are the son of Brahmâ; and,
being versed in the Vedas and Vedângas, you are yet unaware of the subtle and
very difficult nature of the Brâhminic religion. Now you want to cast your own
fault on my shoulders and you are trying in vain to curse me. Anger is more to
be blamed than Chândâla! The wise men should overcome it by all means. When
you, infuriated with rage, have been able to curse me for nothing, then I now
curse you, “Let your this body, inflamed with anger, drop off.” O King! Thus
the King cursed the Muni and the Muni cursed the King; and both of them were,
therefore, very sorry.
51-52. Vas’istha then became troubled with
cares and took shelter with Brahmâ and informing him about the great curse
given by the King Nimi said :– Father! The King has cursed me saying, “Let your
body fall off today. Now the great trouble due to the falling off of the body
has arisen. What am to do now?
53-69. O Father! Kindly tell me from whom
shall I take my birth and take such means as I can get a body like what I have
now. Also by Your unbounded power, do so that I can retain the knowledge in
that body as I have at present; You are fully competent to do this.” O King!
Hearing thus the words of Vas’istha, Brahmâ spoke thus to his dear son :– Go
and enter into the Tejas (essence) of Mitrâ Varuna and remain contented; then
you will get, in due time, a body not born of any womb and you will be again
religious, truthful, knower of the Vedas, all-knowing and worshipped by all;
there is no doubt in this. When Brahmâ said this, the Maharsi Vas’istha bowed
down to the Grand Sire, and circumambulating him, went to the abode of Varuna.
Then he quitted his excellent body; and, with his subtle body, the part of his
Jîva, entered into the body of Mitrâ Varuna. Then once on a time Urvas’î,
exquisitely beautiful and lovely, surrounded by her comrades, went wilfully
into the abode of Varuna. Mitrâ-Varuna, the two Devas became very passionate to
see that Apsarâ (the celestial nymph) endowed with youth and beauty and being
enchanted with the arrows of cupid, and, being senseless, addressed to the Deva
Kanyâ Urvas’î, beautiful in all her parts, thus :– “O Lovely One! Seeing you,
we are very much troubled with the arrows of cupid; O Beautiful One! Select us
and remain and enjoy here at your pleasure.” When they said thus, Urvas’î
became attached to them; and, under their control, began to stay in the house
of Mitrâ Varuna. When Urvas’î began to remain there, strongly attached to them,
the semen of Mitrâ Varuna dropped in an uncovered jar. And the two beautiful
sons of the Risis were born out of that; Agasti was the first child and
Vas’istha the second. Thus, out of the semen of Mitrâ Varuna, the two ascetics
were born. The first Agasti turned out a great ascetic in his childhood and
resorted to forest; Iksâku the best of Kings, selected Vas’istha as his family
priest. O King! Iksâku, the best of Kings, nursed him for the welfare of his own
line; the more so, because to know that he was the Muni Vas’istha; and thus he
was very pleased with him. Janamejaya! Thus I have described to you about the
getting of another body by Vas’istha, due to the curse of Nimi, and have also
described his re-birth in Mitrâ-Varuna’s family.
Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the birth of Vas’istha from Mitrâ Varuna in S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam,
the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XV
On the Nimi’s getting of another body and the
beginning of the story of Haihayas
1. Janamejaya said :– “The getting back of
another similar body by Vas’istha is certainly described by you. Now tell me
how the King Nimi got another body.”
2-31. Vyâsa said :– O King! The Risi
Vas’istha only got back his body; but the King Nimi did not get back his body
what had been cursed by Vas’istha. The priests engaged at the sacrifice by Nimi
began to consider, when the Risi Vas’istha cursed him, in the following way :–
Oh! What a wonderful thing is this? Before the sacrifice is complete, the King
Nimi has been cursed; this is against what we had expected; What can we do?
What is inevitable must come to pass; how can we thwart it? By various
Mantrams, they kept alive the body of the King in which breathing was still
going on a little; and they prevented the body from decaying by worshipping the
body with various Mantra S’aktis and kept it in a stationary state. When the
sacrificial ceremony was completed, the Risis began to praise the gods with
hymns whereon the Devas became pleased and came to that spot. When the Munis
informed the Devas fully of the condition of the King’s body, the Devas spoke
to the sorrowful King thus :– “O Performer of good vows! We are all pleased
with your sacrifice; now ask boons from us. O King! You ought to get an
excellent birth as the fruit of performing this sacrifice. So ask what body,
the body of a Deva or of a man, you desire? Or you can ask, if you like, for
another similar body, that your priest Brihaspati has got quitting his first
body whereby he has become proud and is now staying in the Loka of Yama.” O
King! At these words the King Nimi was very glad and spoke to them thus :– O
Devas! I have no aspiration for the body that is always liable to destruction;
I therefore want to reside on the top of the eyelids of all the beings.
Therefore I ask this boon that I be able to move in the shape of Vâyu (air) on
the top of the eyes of all the beings. Thus said, the Devas spoke to the soul
of Nimi :– “O King! Pray to the most auspicious Deity, the Devî, the Highest
Goddess. She has been pleased with this sacrifice; therefore your prayer will
certainly be granted.” Hearing thus, the King began to pray with various hymns
with intense devotion, in tremulous voice, the Devî. The Devî became pleased
and appeared before him. Seeing Her shining like a crore of suns and looking
exceedingly lovely and beautiful, all the persons there became very happy. They
began to think themselves as very blessed and as having done all what they had
to do. Knowing the Devî Bhagavatî pleased, the King asked this boon from her :–
“O Devî! Give me that knowledge, pure and simple, whereby final liberation is
obtained. Also, I may be able to reside on the top of the eyes of all the
beings.” The Devî, the Lord of the Devas, the Mother of the World being highly
pleased, said thus :– “O King! At the expiry of this your Prârabdha Karma, you
will acquire pure knowledge and you will reside on the tops of the eyes in the
shape of Vâyu, and through your residing there the beings will twinkle, i.e.,
open and close their eyes. The men, beasts, and birds will twinkle due to your
residing there; but the Immortals will always remain with a steadfast gaze;
they will not twinkle.” Thus granting him the boon, and addressing all the
Munis the Bhagavatî, the Highest Deity, disappeared. When the Devî disappeared
from their sight, the Munis then thought much and they took the body of the
King Nimi to burn it duly. For the sake of getting a son from Nimi, the
high-souled Munis performed Homa ceremony (oblations to the fire) and placing
the piece of wood Arani on his body began to utter Mantrams and burned his
body. When the woods were thus burned, a son, endowed with all auspicious
signs, looking like a second Nimi, was born to them. As this son was born due
to the burning of the Aranis, the boy was named Mithi, and as it came out of
the body of Janaka, the boy was named Janaka. O King! As the King Nimi lost his
body, i.e., became Videha through the curse of Vas’istha, all his descendants
were known as Videha. Thus the son of Nimi was well known as the King Janaka.
He built a beautiful city on the banks of the Ganges; the city became famous
also by his name (Janakapuri). The King Janaka beautified this city with many
forts, arcades, markets and many nice buildings and palaces; and his city was
full of wealth and grains. O King! All the Kings of this line became famous by
the name of Janaka and all were endowed with the Supreme knowledge and known as
Videha. O King! I have now described to you the story of the King Nimi who got
disembodiedness (Videhatva) out of the curse.
32-35. The King said :– “O Bhagavân! You have
described the cause why the King Nimi was cursed; my mind has grown very
doubtful and restless on hearing it. The Risi Vas’istha was the son of Brahmâ
and the best of the Brâhmins; especially he was the royal priest; how was it,
then, that he was cursed by the King! Why did not the King Nimi forgive him as
he was the Guru and a Brâhmin? Why he became angry, when he performed such a
great, auspicious sacrifice? He was born of the family of Iksâku and he knew
well the truths of the religion; then how was it that he became subject to
anger and cursed his own Guru Brâhmin.”
36-46. Vyâsa said :– O King! It is very hard
and rare for the persons not possessed of self-restraint to forgive; especially
when one is fully capable, it is very rare to find one in the three worlds, who
can forgive. He who has forsaken all attachments and has conquered hunger and
sleep and is always engaged in the Yoga practices, even that ascetic Muni is
not capable to conquer completely lust, anger and greed and Ahamkâra, etc., the
passions raging in the mortal coil. None existed before in this whole world who
conquered his passions! None exists now and none will be born ever-after.
Hardly will be seen any in this earth, or the Heavens, or the Loka of Brahmâ or
in Vaikuntha, even in Kailâsa, that has conquered completely his passions! What
can be said in regard to the ordinary mortals of this earth when the sons of
Brahmâ, the Maharsis, ascetics, Risis are all pierced by the Sâttva, Râjas, or
Tâmo Gunas. Behold! The Kapila was the Knower of S’ankhyâ and always engaged in
his Yoga practices and he was a pure and holy soul; yet, by strange
combinations of Fate, he became angry and burnt to ashes the sons of the King
Sagara. O King! Out of Ahamkâra, these three worlds are created; therefore this
world and Ahamkâra are related to each other as effect and cause; how then the
Jîvas that are born of this Samsâra can extricate themselves from this
Ahamkâra? Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a are also pierced by those three Gunas;
different feelings are seen in their different bodies. Therefore it need hardly
be said that the manifestation of the pure Sâttva Guna alone is not to be seen
in any of the human beings; for the three Gunas reside in a mixed way in all
persons. Sometimes the Sâttva preponderates; sometimes the Râjas and sometimes
the Tâmas preponderates. Sometimes they reside together, the three balancing
one other.
47-63. O King! Only that Eternal Highest
Purusa is undecaying and untainted and can hardly be measured or seen by all
the beings. That Highest Soul, the Highest of the High, is Nirguna (void of the
three Gunas); and She who resides in all the beings and is hardly knowable by
the small intellectual persons, that Highest S’akti, the Incarnate of Brahmâ,
is also Nirguna (void of attributes). Paramâtmâ (the Highest Soul) and the
Highest Force are also One; their Forms are not different. When such a
knowledge arises, then the Jîvas can be free from all sins and faults and
blemishes. From that knowledge comes the liberation, this is sounded in the
Vedânta S’âstra like Dindima S’abda (thousands of small drums). He, who comes
to know That, is freed from the endless cycle of birth and death composed of
the three Gunas; there is no doubt in this.
O King! Knowledge is of two kinds :– The
first is considered as coming from sound; this comes out of the knowledge of
the meaning of the Vedas by the help of intellect. But this is full of fancies,
agreements and doubts some of which are bad and some are good. The beings are
led into errors by these discussions; errors cause destruction of intellect;
and when the intellect is gone, the knowledge also goes away with it. Whereas
the second kind of knowledge comes from intention or feeling within the depths
of heart and brain and it is called Aparoksa Jñâna. This knowledge is very rare
to the beings. When one comes in contact with a Sad-Guru (a good teacher), then
one gets this Aparoksa Jñâna. From the sound knowledge, no successful results
can issue; and, therefore it cannot give Aparoksa Jñâna. Hence great effort is
to be made for getting this Aparoksa Jñâna. O King! As darkness cannot be
destroyed merely by talking of light, without lighting any lamp, so the
knowledge of sound merely cannot destroy the darkness of the inside. That Karma
(action) is called True Karma which does not lead to bondage, and that
Knowledge is the True Knowledge which leads to liberation. Other actions are only
meant for one’s own selfish enjoyments and other knowledges are merely the
skill in arts. Good behaviour, doing good to others, having no anger,
forgiveness, patience, and contentment are the best brilliant fruits of True
Knowledge. O King! Without knowledge, without asceticism, and without the Yoga
practices, the lust and other passions can never be destroyed. The minds of the
Jîvas are naturally restless and without control; all the beings are completely
under the sway of their minds; thus they roam on the surface of the earth as
good, middling and bad. Lust, anger, etc., orginate from this mind; and when
mind is conquered, then those feelings can no more arise. O King! Therefore it
was that Yayâti forgave when S’ukrâchârya did wrong before. The King Nimi could
not forgive Vas’istha in the same way. Yayâti; the best of kings, though cursed
by S’ukrâchârya, the son of Bhrigu, did not curse in return but he took upon
himself the old age. O King! Some kings are naturally peaceful, whereas some
other kings are wicked by their nature. Therefore, in this matter, whose fault
is this, how can we ascertain? See! In ancient times the Haihayas, out of their
greed of wealth, and being thus insensible destroyed completely, out of anger,
the Brâhmin priests of the family of Bhrigu. What more than this that those
Ksattriyas did not consider the sin Brahmahattyâ; rather out of their dire
anger, they cut to pieces the sons of those Brâhmanas, that were in embryos in
their mother’s wombs.
Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter in the Sixth
Book on the Nimi’s
Chapter XVI
On the incidents preliminary to the Haihaya
and Bhârgava affairs
1-5. Janamejaya said :– In whose family were
born those Ksattriya Haihayas that killed in ancient times the Bhârgavas,
disregardless of the sin incurred in killing a Brâhmin? O Grandsire! Never do
the good persons become angry without a serious cause; therefore kindly state
why they got angry. How was the enmity caused between them and the priests? As
far as I can think, the cause is not so simple a one as led to this enmity
between the Ksattriyas and the priests. Otherwise why then would they slay the
offenseless Brâhmins, fit to be worshipped; and how was it that the Ksattriyas,
though they were so very powerful, did not fear to commit a sin. O Muni! Can
any Ksattriya Chief kill a Brâhmin, worthy of the highest respect, merely on a
trifling cause! Describe to me, then, how this happened. A great doubt has thus
arisen in my mind.
6. Sûta said :– O Risis! Vyâsa, the son of
Satyavatî, became very pleased when he was asked this question by Janamejaya,
and, recollecting the whole course of events regarding the Haihayas, began to
narrate it.
7-22. Vyâsa said :– O son of Pariksit! I will
now narrate that wonderful story of old that I know fully; now hear this very
attentively. In ancient times there was a King named Kârtavîryârjuna of the
family of Haihaya. He was of thousand hands, powerful, and always ready to
observe religious duties. He was the incarnation of Hari, and the disciple of
Maharsi Dattâtreya and the worshipper of the Supreme Force (Âdyâ S’akti). He
was well known as a perfect adept in the Yoga practices and of a very
charitable disposition. But this King was the client of the Brâhmins of the
Bhârgava clan. He was always devoted to performing sacrifices, exceedingly
religious, and always engaged in making gifts. So many a time did he perform
the great sacrifices and gave a profuse quantity of wealth to the Bhârgavas.
Due to the gifts and presents of Kârta Vîrya, the Bhârgava priests became possessed
of many horses, and gems and jewels and so became wealthy and prosperous on the
surface of this earth. O King! When Kârtavîryârjuna, the best of Kings, left
the mortal coil and got up to Heavens, his descendants became entirely void of
any wealth by the indomitable influence of Time. Now, on a certain occasion,
the Haihayas had to perform certain actions which necessitated a vast sum of
money; they came to the Bhârgavas and humbly prayed for a very large amount of
wealth. But the Brâhmins, out of their greed of money, replied they had no
money and thus they did not give any money whatsoever. Rather the Bhârgavas
thought that the Haihayas would perforce take their wealth, and, fearing thus,
some of them buried all their valuables underneath the ground; and others gave
as charities to the Brâhmanas. The greedy Bhârgavas, bewildered with fear, thus
transferred all their properties elsewhere, quitted their homes and fled away
to mountains and other places. The greedy Brâhmins did not give any wealth to
their Yajamânas (their clients) though they saw them very much distressed; but
they fled away out of fear to mountains and fastnesses where they found
shelter. At last the Haihayas, the best of the Ksattriyas, became very sorry
till, at last, for the sake of their good actions, they went to the Bhârgavas’
houses for the sake of money and found they had quitted their homes and fled
away; their homes were all vacant. Then they began to dig underneath their
houses for money and some got the money thus. Then the Ksattriyas began to
labour hard and got hordes of money from underneath the ground. Next they
raided upon other Brâhmanas’ houses and dug and excavated and searched for more
money. The Brâhmins were helpless and, crying, all took their refuge, out of
fear, under the Bhârgavas.
23-42. The Ksattriyas made an exhaustive
search of the Brâhmanas’ houses and got lots of money. They then charged the
Brâhmanas as having had spoken falsehood and they became very angry, and killed
the Brâhmanas with arrows who took their refuge. O King! The Haihayas were so
very angry at that time that they went wherever the Bhârgavas took their
shelter and cut asunder the foetus in the wombs of their Bhârgavas’ wives and
thus they roamed all over on the surface of the earth. Wherever they saw any
Bhârgava, be he a minor, or a youth or a old man, at once they killed him with
sharp arrows, disregarding the sin Brahmahattyâ. When the Bhârgavas were thus
all killed, then they caught hold of their wives that were pregnant and
destroyed their wombs. When the vicious Ksattriyas thus destroyed the lives in
their wombs, the helpless women began to cry like the awe-stricken ewe. Then
the other Munis, the inhabitants of the sacred places of pilgrimages, seeing
the Haihaya Ksattriyas inflamed with anger, said :– “O Ksattriyas! Quit your
terrible anger towards the Brâhmins. Being the best of the Ksattriyas, you are
killing the foetus in the wombs of the pregnant Brâhmana ladies! You are doing,
no doubt, a very vicious and unjustifiable act! You should know that an act,
very bad or very good, bears fruit in this life; therefore those that seek
their welfare should entirely omit this exceedingly hateful and vicious act.”
Then the exceedingly angry Haihayas told the merciful ascetics :– You all are
saints; therefore you do not know the real import of what are called vicious
acts. Those Bhârgavas, thoroughly dexterous in cunning pursuits, deceived our
largehearted forefathers and stole away all their gold and jewels, as thieves
do with a passerby on a road. These Bhârgavas are cheats, vain persons and
their persuasions are like herons. A great act had to be done by us and we
wanted money at 25 per cent interest with all the becoming humility; yet they
did not give us the money; rather seeing on their face their clients distressed
and sorrowful they spoke that they had no money, no money and then they
remained silent. True, they got all their money from Kârtavîrya; but it may be
questioned why they stored it? Why did not they perform sacrifices with that?
Why did not they give sufficient money to the other priests (Yâyakas) that did
the sacrifices. Never should any Brâhmin hoard his money; he should give that
in charity and enjoy at his pleasure. O Twice-born! In amassing wealth, there
exist three fears :– Fear from the thieves and robbers, fear from the King,
fear from dreadful fire accidents, and especially great terrible fear from the
cheats. This is the nature of wealth; it leaves its preserver. See, moreover,
when a hoarder of money dies, he certainly has to quit it. If a wealthy man,
before dying, performs sacrifices and other good pious acts by his earned
money, then he gets certainly good states in future; otherwise, he quits his
wealth, to no purpose and earns a bad state in his future life; there is no doubt
in this. We humbly wanted to pay a quarter interest and asked money for the
performance of a great act; yet they, the greedy ones, were doubtful about our
promise; and though our priests, they did not give us the money. O Maharsis!
Gift, enjoyment and destruction, these are the three courses which any wealth
has to pass through; those persons that have done good deeds, enjoy their
wealth and give as charities and thus they make a good and real use of their
money; and of those that are vicious, their wealth goes away in ruin and to no
purpose. He who does not enjoy nor give in charities but is only clever in
hoarding and who is a miser, the Kings punish him by all means, that man who
cheats himself and who suffers only pains and miseries. For that reason, we are
now ready to kill those Brâhmins, the vilest of men, the cheats, though they
are our Gurus. O Maharsis! You are great persons; therefore you do not be angry
after you have come to know all these.
43-51. Vyâsa said :– Thus consoling the
Munis, with reasonable words, the Haihayas began to roam about, in search of
the wives of the Bhârgavas. The Bhârgava wives were very much distressed with
fear and became very lean and thin. They fled away to the Himâlayân Mountain
weeping, and crying, and trembling with fear. Thus the Bhârgavas were being
killed by those vicious greedy Haihayas, infuriated with anger, and as they
liked. O King! This greed is the greatest enemy of a man, residing in his own
body; this greed is the root of all evils, of all sins. Life is in danger due
to this covetousness. It is due to this greed that quarrels ensue amongst the
several castes, the Brâhmins, etc., and that the human beings are very much
troubled with thirst after worldly enjoyments. This greed makes a man forsake
all his religious rites and long existing customs and observances of his
family; and it is due to this avarice of gold that men kill their fathers,
mothers, brothers, friends, Gurus, sons, acquaintances, sisters, and
sisters-in-law and others. Really when a man is bent on avarice, nothing
heinous remains to him that cannot be done by him. This greed is a more
powerful enemy than anger, lust and egoism. O King! Men abandon their lives for
their greed; what more can be said than this? So one should be always alert on this.
O King! Your forefathers, the Pândavas and Kauravas, were all religious and
they followed the path of virtue and goodness. Yet they all were ruined simply
for this greed. See! The dreadful fight and separation amongst the relatives
took place where there were the high-souled persons like Bhîsma, Drona,
Kripâchârya, Karna, Vahlika, Bhîmasena, Yudhisthira, Arjuna, and Kes’ava, only
through the avaricious feelings. In this battle Bhîsma, Drona and the sons of
Pândavas were all slain; the brothers and fathers were all slain in battle.
Thus what improper acts and mischiefs can there be that cannot be committed
when the human minds are overpowered by this greed? O King! The vicious
Haihayas slew the Bhârgavas all through this avarice.
Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Sixth
Book on the incidents preliminary to the Haihaya and Bhârgava affairs in the
Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XVII
On the continuance of the family of Bhrigu
1-3. Janamejaya said :– “Munis! How did the
Bhârgava wives cross this endless sea of troubles and how was the family of
Bhrigu re-established on the surface of this earth? And what did the greedy
Haihayas, the vilest of the Ksattriyas, do after they killed the Bhârgavas?
Describe all these in detail and satisfy my curiosity. O Thou, Ocean of
austerities! I am not satisfied with the drink of your nectar like words, very
holy and leading to happiness in this world and to good merits in the next.”
4-28. Vyâsa said :– O King! I will now
narrate to you the sin destroying virtuous story how the Bhârgava wives crossed
their great hardships and the ocean of troubles, very difficult to cross. The
Bhârgava wives, when they were very much harassed by the Haihayas, went to the
Himâlayâs, overwhelmed with terror and disappointment. There on that mountain
they erected an earthen image of S’rî Gaurî Devî by the banks of the Ganges and
worshipped Her and, firmly resolved to die, began to fast. The Devî Jagadambikâ
appeared to those religious women in their dreams and said :– “A son will be
born of My essence to one of you from one of her thighs; that son will redress
all your wants.” Thus speaking, the Devî Bhagavatî disappeared. Those women
when they woke up were very glad; one of them that appeared very clever,
becoming very much anxious out of the fear of the Ksattriyas; preserved the
foetus in one of her thighs for the propagation of the family. Her body became
luminous; she then fled, overwhelmed with terror. The Ksattriyas, seeing that
Brâhmanî, came quickly upon her and said :– “See! This pregnant Bhârgava wife
is flying away hastily; seize her and take away her life.” Thus saying, all of
them raised their axes, and pursued her. Then that woman seeing them coming,
wept out of fear. She cried, out of terror, for the preservation of the child
in her womb; and the child seeing her mother helpless and distressed, trembling
with fear and with tears in her eyes having no one to protect her and awfully
oppressed by the Ksattriyas as if a pregnant deer has been attacked by a lion
and is crying about, angrily burst out of the thigh of his mother, and quickly
came out like a second Sun. That good looking boy took away the power of sight
of those Ksattriyas by his brilliant lustrous light; no sooner the Haihayas saw
that boy than they got blind. Like those that are born blind; they then began
to roam in the caves of mountains and thought within themselves, what an evil
turn of Fate had overtaken them! They thought thus :– “Oh! The mere sight of
that boy has turned us blind; what a great wonder is this! Certainly this is
due to the influence of the Brâhminî wife; this is, no doubt, the great effect
of her virtue of chastity. We have greatly oppressed the Bhârgava women. They
have become very sorry and distressed; now we cannot tell what more evils do
these women, of true resolve, inflict on us!” Thus pondering, those Ksattriyas
deprived of their eyes, helpless, and their minds bewildered, took refuge of
those Brâhmin ladies. The ladies, seeing them again come, were the more terrified;
but those Ksattriyas bowed down before them with folded hands for the
restoration of their sights and said :– “O Mother! We are your servants. Be
gracious unto us. O Auspicious Ones! We are vicious Ksattriyas; O Mothers! What
an amount of offence we have committed to you. O Beautiful Ones! We have become
blind, no sooner we have seen you. O Angry Ones! No more we can see your
lotus-like faces, as if we are born blind; O Mother! The spirit of your
asceticism is so very wonderful! We are sinners; therefore by no means we can
get our sight; therefore we have taken refuge unto you all; better give us back
our eyesight and preserve our honour. O Mother! Blindness is more dreadful than
death; therefore do you show your mercy on us. Be pleased unto us and restore
our eyesights and make us your slaves; no sooner we get back our sights, we
will cease from these vicious acts and go to our homes. In future, we will
never commit such heinous acts; from today we all become servants of the
Bhârgavas and we will serve them. Forgive all our sins that we committed
unconsciously; we promise that, in future, there will no more be any enmity
between the Bhârgavas and Ksattriyas. O good-looking Ones! You pass your days
happily with your sons; we ever bow down before you. O Auspicious Ones! Be
graciously pleased unto us; no more we will cherish any inimical feelings
towards you.”
29-44. Vyâsa said :– O King! The Bhârgava
lady heard their words and was thunderstruck and seeing those Ksattriyas bowing
down before her, blind and distressed, consoled them and said, “O Ksattriyas! I
have not taken away your sights nor am I displeased in any way with you. Now
hear what is the real cause. This child of Bhârgava, born of my thigh, is
exceedingly angry towards you and has therefore made your eyesight still and to
no purpose. For the greed of wealth, you have slain the close relatives of this
boy, those that were quite innocent and virtuous ascetics and you have slain
their children that were in their mothers’ wombs; this boy has come to know all
those things. O children! When you were slaying the children of the Bhârgavas
in their mothers’ wombs, I then bore within my thighs this child for one
hundred years. This son of mine though as yet in the womb, has mastered all the
Vedas within so very short a time for the propagation of the Bhârgava clan. Now
this Bhârgava son is infuriated with anger for your slaying his father and is
now ready to kill you all. My son! Whose divine effulgence has destroyed your
eyesights, is born of grace of the Highest Goddess, the Bhagavatî
Bhuvanes’varî; therefore do not consider this boy as an ordinary being. Now bow
down with humility before this my son Aurvya (born from the thighs); this son
may be pleased by your bowing down and may restore you your eyesight.
Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing thus the words
of the Brâhmin lady, the Haihayas began to praise the boy with hymns. With
great humility, they bowed down to the best of the Munis, born of the thighs.
The Risi Aurvya, then, became pleased and spoke thus to the Haihayas who were
deprived of their eyesights :– “Better go back to your own homes. O Kings! And
read these following words derived from my this story. Whatever is inevitable
and created by the hands of gods must come to pass. Knowing this, no one ought
to be sorrowful on any such matters. Let you all regain your eyesights as
before and forego your anger and go to your own homes respectively at your own
will. Let the Risis, too, get peace and happiness as before.” When the Maharsi
Aurvya ordered thus, the Haihayas got back their eyesights and went at their
leisure to their own homes; on the other hand the Brâhmin lady went to her own
hermitage, with her Divine-spirited child and began to nourish him. O King!
Thus I have described to you the story of the killing of the Bhârgavas and how
the Ksattriyas, actuated by greed, did so very vicious acts.
45-48. Janamejaya said :– “O Ascetic! Hearing
this exceedingly heart-rending act of the Ksattriyas, I come to know, that
greed is the sole cause of it and both the parties had suffered so much, simply
out of this insatiable greed. O King of Munis! I want to ask you one more
question in regard to this point. How the sons of the Kings came to be known
Haihayas in this world? Amongst the Ksattriyas, some are called Yâdavas for
they ware descended from the family of Yadu; some were known as Bhârata, for
they were descended from Bhârata. But was some king named Haihaya born before
in their family or were they known as such on account of other actions? I
desire to hear of it. Kindly describe this to me and oblige.”
49-56. Vyâsa said :– O King! I am describing
in detail to you of the origin of the Haihayas. Hear. The sins are destroyed
and the merits accrue on hearing this story. O King! Once on a time Revanta,
the son of the Sun, very beautiful and of boundless lustre, was going to Visnu
in Vaikuntha, mounted on the beautiful Uchchais’rava, the jewel of the horses.
When he was going on horseback with a desire to see the God Visnu, the Goddess
Laksmî saw that child of the Sun. The Goddess Laksmî, born out of the churning
of the ocean, on looking at the beautiful appearance of her brother Horse, also
born out of the churning of the ocean, became very much astonished and steadily
gazed on him. The Bhagavân Visnu, capable to show both favour and disfavour,
saw the beautiful Revanta, of good figure, coming on horseback; and lovingly
asked Laksmî :– “O Beautiful One! Who is coming here on horseback, as it were,
enchanting to the three worlds!” At that time, the Goddess Laksmî was
accidentally looking intently on the horse; so she did not reply, though
repeatedly asked by the Bhagavân.
57-68. The Laksmî Devî, always restless, was
very much intent on the horse and was enchanted and She was looking steadily
with great affection on the horse. Seeing this, the Bhagavân became angry and
said :– “O Beautiful-eyed One! What you are looking at so intently? Are you so
much enchanted with the sight of the horse that you are not speaking to me a
single word, though I am repeatedly asking you so often! You lovingly dwell on
all the objects; hence your name is Ramâ; your mind is also very restless,
therefore you would be known as Chanchalâ Devî (the restless Devî). O
Auspicious One! You are restless like ordinary women; you can never stay steadily
for a certain time at any one place. While sitting before Me, you are enchanted
with the sight of a horse; then you be born as a mare in that world of men,
full of dreadful troubles, on the surface of the earth. The Goddess Laksmî
became very much affrightened at the sudden curse given by Hari, a matter as it
were ordained by the Devas, and began to cry aloud, shuddering with pain and
sorrows. Laksmî Devî, then of sweet smiles, frightened, bowed down with great
humility to her own lord Nârâyana and said thus :– O Deva of the Devas! O
Govinda! You are the Lord of this world and the Ocean of mercy. O Kes’ava! Why
have you inflicted on me so dreadful a curse for such a minor fault of mine! O
Lord! I never saw you before so very angry; Alas! Where has now gone that
affection, so natural and undying, that you showed towards me! O Lord! It is
not proper to hurl a thunderbolt on one’s own relations; but it is advisable to
cast it on the enemies. I am always fit for receiving boons from you. Why have
you made me now an object, fit for curse. O Govinda! I will quit this life in
Your presence. I will never be able to live, separated from You. O Lord! Be
graciously pleased and say when shall I be free from this dreadful curse and
regain Your happy companion?
69. The Bhagavân said :– “O Devî! When you
will get a son in the world like me, you will no doubt come again to be my
companion.”
Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter on the
continuance of the family of Bhrigu in the Sixth Book in the Mahâpurânam, S’rî
Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XVIII
On the origin of the Haihaya Dynasty
1-5. Janamejaya said :– How did the Goddess
Laksmî, the daughter of the ocean, come to be born as a mare, when cursed by
the Bhagavân in His moment of anger, and what did Revanta do at that time? In
what country was the Devî born as a mare and how did She pass Her time alone
like one whose husband had gone abroad. O Muni! How long and in what forest
unfrequented by persons did she pass her time, thus deprived of the companion
of her husband and what did she do at that time? When was she reconciled with
her husband Vâsudeva? and how did she get a son, when she lived in a state of
separation from her husband. O best of Âryas! I am very curious to hear this excellent
story. So describe this in full details to me.
6. Sûta said :– O Risis! Thus questioned by
Janamejaya, the Dvaipâyan Muni began to recite the story in its full details.
7-24. Vyâsa said :–O King! I will now
describe to you the pleasing story of the Purânas in a clear distinct language;
hear. Revanta, the son of the Sun, became terrified to see Vâsudeva, the Deva
of the Devas cursing the Laksmî Devî and, after bowing down to Janârdan, the
Lord of the world, went off. Seeing the anger of Visnu, the Lord of the world,
he went quickly to his father and informed him of the curse delivered by
Nârâyana to the Goddess Laksmî. And the Laksmî Devî, the lotus-eyed, thus
cursed, got the permission of Nârâyana and with a grieved heart bowed down to
him and came down to the world of mortals. She took the form of a mare and went
to the spot where the wife of the Sun (named Chchâyâ) practised her asceticism
in ancient times. The place was the confluence of the river Kâlindi and the
Tamasâ, and decorated with lovely forests and trees situated north of the
mountain named Suparnâksa, yielding all desires. There she meditated with her
whole heart the auspicious Mahâdeva S’ankara, the Giver of all desires, thus :–
That Mahâdeva is holding the Tris’ûla (the trident) on his arms; His forehead
is adorned with beautiful cooling semi-Moon; He has five faces, each face
having three eyes; His throat is coloured blue; He has ten arms; His body is
white like camphor; He wears a tiger’s skin; His upper garment is of elephant’s
skin; and snakes are his holy thread; He is holding the one-half of the body of
Gaurî and his neck is adorned with garlands of human skulls. The Goddess
Laksmî, the daughter of the ocean, assuming the form of a mare, thus practised
severe asceticism in that place of pilgrimage. O King! With a feeling of
intense dispassion (Vairâgyam) towards the worldly things, She spent the divine
one thousand years in the meditation of Mahâdeva, the God of the Gods. After
that period, the Highest Lord Mahâdeva, mounting on His bull, came there with
His consort Pârvatî and appeared before the Laksmî Devî, perceptible by his
eyes. Appearing thus with His host of His own persons, He then spoke to Laksmî,
dear to Hari, now practising ascetism in the form of a mare, “O Auspicious One!
You are the Mother of this whole Universe and your Husband is the Creator of
these worlds and is capable to give all desires. Why are You, then, practising
asceticism, when He is present? What is the cause of this? O Devî! Why are You
praising hymns to me, instead of to Vâsudeva S’rî Hari, Who is capable to yield
enjoyments and final liberation, and Who is the Preserver and the Lord of this
world. O Devî! Work should be done according to the authority of the Vedas; it
is stated in the Vedas that the husband is the lord of a woman; therefore it is
never advisable to fix one’s mind entirely on another person. The eternal
Dharma of women is to serve their husbands; whether the husband be a saint or a
sinner, the woman, desirous of her welfare, should serve her husband in every
way. O Daughter of the Ocean! Your husband Nârâyana is fit to be served by all
and He is capable to yield all desires. Why are you then worshipping Me, and
leaving the Lord of the Goloka, the Deva of the Devas.”
25-32. Laksmî said :– O Deva of the Devas! O
Seat of Auspiciousness! I know that You are soon pleased with Your servant. My
husband has cursed me. O Ocean of mercy! Kindly save me from this curse. O
S’ambhu! When I informed my husband of my mental agonies, graciously and
mercifully He then pointed out how I might be freed of this curse thus :– “O
Kamale! When Your son will be born, then You will be freed of this curse and
will, no doubt, come back and live in this Heaven of Vaikuntha.” Thus spoken, I
have come in this hermitage to make tapas and to worship Thee, knowing that
Thou art the Bhagavân, the Lord of Bhavanî, the Lord of all and the Giver of
all desires. O Lord of the Devas! How can I get a son without the intercourse
of My husband? Though I am guiltless, my husband has forsaken me and is living
in Vaikuntha. O Mahes’vara! Thou art doing good to all persons; and if Thou art
pleased with me, then grant me a boon. O Lord! I know full well that there is
no distinction between Him and Thee. O Lord of Girîjâ! This truth I have come
to learn from my husband. O Hara! You are the same thing that He is and what is
He is the same as You; there is not the least doubt in this. O Thou, full of
auspiciousness! Recognising the Sameness without any distinction between Him
and Thee, I am meditating on Thee. Had it been otherwise, then I would
certainly have been guilty when I take Thy refuge and meditate on Thee.
33-36. S’ankara said :– “O Devî, the daughter
of the Ocean! Tell truly before me how you have been able to realise the
identity between Him and Me. The Devas, Munis and the Maharsis, versed in the
Vedas, get their understandings baffled by wrong argumentations and never
realise the identity without any difference between us. Almost everywhere you
will perceive that many of my devotees blame me. Specially in this Kâlî Yuga
due to the influence of Time, this happens to a very great extent in many
cases. O Auspicious One! Let that go! How have you come to know this matter,
which is difficult even for the liberal-minded persons to comprehend. Know that
this perception of the identity between me and Hari is very rare.”
37-38. Vyâsa said :– O King! When Mahâdeva
asked thus with great pleasure, the Devî Kamalâ, the darling of Hari, gladly
replied the essence of the matter to Mahâdeva.
39-43. Laksmî said :– “O Deva of the Devas!
One day Bhagavân Visnu, seated in the Padmâsana posture, was immersed in deep
meditation. I was very much astonished at this. When His meditation was over
and when He was in a pleasant mood, I asked Him with great humility, O Deva of
the Devas! I know that You are the Lord of the world and Master of this whole
Universe; when Brahmâ and the other Devas were united and churned the great
ocean, I came out of the waters and looked all around to know who is the
superior one whom I can select as my husband and then, thinking You as the
superior to all the Devas, I accepted You as my husband. Now whose meditation
You are doing again? A great doubt has thus occurred in my mind. O Lord! You
are my most Beloved; now disclose to me your innermost desire and thought.”
44-49. Visnu said :– “O Beloved! Hear now,
whom I am meditating. I am meditating in the lotus of My heart that Mahâdeva
Mahes’vara, the Highest of all the Devas. Mahâdeva, the Deva of the Devas, of
indomitable prowess, sometimes meditates on Me and sometimes I meditate on the
Lord of the Deva, S’ankara, the Destroyer of Tripurâ. I am dear to S’iva as his
life is dear to him and S’ankara is similarly dear to me. The hearts of us both
are attached to each other in the most secret way possible; therefore there is
not the least difference betwixt us both. O large-eyed One! Those men who being
my devotees hate S’ankara, certainly go to hell. I speak this very truly unto
you.” O Mahes’vara! When I asked him this question when he was all alone, that
Deva of the Devas, the Highest Visnu thus said to me. Therefore I am meditating
on You, knowing that You are His beloved. O Mahes’a! Now find out means by
which I can mix with My husband.
50-59. Vyâsa said :– O King! Mahâdeva,
skilled in speech, hearing thus the words of Laksmî, consoled Her with sweet
words and said :– “O Beautiful! Be peaceful; I am pleased with Your tapasyâ;
soon You will come in contact with Your husband. There is not the least doubt
in this. When I will send the Bhagavân, the Lord of the world, He will come
before you in the shape of a horse, to satisfy your desires. I will send the
Madhusûdana, the Deva of the Devas, in such a manner, as he will come in the
form of a horse, passionately attached to you. O One of good eye brows! Thus
you will get a son equivalent to Nârâyana; and the son will be the King on this
earth and will be undoubtedly worshipped by all. O fortunate One! After you get
your son, you will go to Vaikuntha with Nârâyana and will reside there as His Beloved.
Your son will be famed by the name of Ekavîra; and from him will propagate the
Haihaya dynasty on the earth. O Kamale! You were blind by prosperity, and,
becoming passionate, you forgot the Devî Parames’varî, residing in your heart.
Therefore you have experienced such a result. Therefore, to expiate that sin,
take Her refuge by all means. O Devî! If your heart remained attached to the
Highest Devî the blissful Bhagavatî, your heart would never have got attached
to the Uchchais’ravâ horse. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus granting boons to Laksmî
Devî, He with his consort Umâ vanished away in her presence.
60-62. Kamalâ Devî, lovely in all respects,
whose toe nails are always rubbed by the gems on the coronets of the Devas,
began to meditate on the lotus-feet of Ambikâ and in expectation of his beloved
Hari, in the shape of a horse, praised and chanted hymns frequently to the
Highest Goddess, in words choked with feelings of intense love.
Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the origin of the Haihaya Dynasty in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî
Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XIX
On the origin of Haihayas from a mare
1-3. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus granting the
boon to the Goddess Laksmî, S’ambhu quickly returned to the lovely Kailâs’a,
adorned with Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) and frequented and served by the Gods.
He then despatched his expert attendant Chitrarûpa to Vaikuntha to bring the
purpose of Laksmî to a successful issue. He said to him thus :– “O Chitrarûpa! Go
to Hari and speak to him on my behalf that He would go and remove the sorrows
of His distressed and bereaved wife and thus make Her comfortable.”
4-9. Thus ordered, Chitrarûpa started
immediately and reached at once Vaikuntha, the highest place, covered all over
by the Vaisnavas. The place was diversified with lots of various trees, with
hundreds of lovely lakes, and echoed with sweet lovely sounds of swans,
Kârandavas, peacocks, parrots, cuckoos and various other birds and adorned with
beautiful places, decked with flags and banners. It was filled with charming
dancings, music and other artistic things. There were the lovely Bakula,
As’oka, Tilaka, Champaka and other trees; and the beautiful tree Mandâra looked
beautiful and shed all around the sweet fragrance of its sweet flowers for a
long distance. Thus seeing the lovely nice palace of Visnu and the two
doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya standing with canes in their hands, Chitraratha
bowed down to them and said :– Well! You go quickly and inform the Supreme Soul
Hari that a messenger has come under the orders of the Bhagavân S’ûlapânî and
is now waiting at His doors.
10-18. Hearing his words, the intelligent
Jaya went to Hari and, with folded hands, said :– “O Thou Ocean of Mercy! O
Kes’ava! O Lord of Ramâ! O Deva of the Devas! A messenger has come from the
Lord of Bhavânî and is waiting at the doors. I do not not know on what
important business he has come. Please order whether I will bring him before
You or not. On hearing the Jaya’s words, Hari, aware of the inner feelings,
knew at once the cause and said :– O Jaya! Bring before me the messenger come
from Rudra. Thus hearing, Jaya called the S’iva’s servant, of a graceful form,
and brought him to the presence of Janârdana. Chitrarûpa, of variegated
appearance, prostrated himself flat before Him in the form of a stick and stood
up and remained with folded hands. The Bhagavân Nârâyana, Whose carrier is
Garuda, saw that servant of S’iva, of variegated appearance and full of all
humility, and became very much astonished. The Lord of Kamalâ then smiled and
asked Chitrarûpa :– “O Pure One! Is it all well with Mahâdeva, the Lord of the
Devas and his other families and attendants? On what business has He sent you
here? What does He want me to do? Or tell me if I have to do any other business
of the gods.”
19-34. The messenger said :– “O Thou, the
Knower of all that is within one’s heart! There is nothing in this world hidden
from Your knowledge; when is that which I will say unknown to you! O Thou, the
Knower of present, past and future! I am now saying to you what S’ambhu has
told me to inform You. He has said :– O Lord! The Goddess Laksmî is Your dear
consort. She, the daughter of the Ocean, and the Bestower of all success,
though an object fit to be meditated by Yaksas, Kinnaras, Naras and Immortals,
is now undergoing severe penance at the confluence of Kalindî (the Jumnâ, the
daughter of Kalinda) and the Tamasâ. What is there in the three worlds that can
be happy without that Mother of the worlds and the Giver of all desires? O
Lotus-eyed One! What pleasure do You feel in abandoning Her? O All-pervading
One! Even he who has no riches or who is very weak maintains his wife; then why
have You, being the Lord of the worlds, forsaken your wife, without any
offence, Who is worshipped by the whole universe. O Lord of the world! What
advice shall I give to You? He whose wife suffers in the world, is blamed by
his enemies. O Omnipresent One! Fie on his such a life! O Lord of the worlds!
Your enemies’ desires are satisfied when they see Her very miserable. They are
laughing and mocking and saying :– O Devî, Kes’ava has now forsaken you; you
can spend happily your time with us now. Therefore, O Lord of the Devas! Bring
that Lady back unto your palace and place Her unto your lap, Who is of good
demeanour, beautiful, par excellence and endowed with all auspicious signs. O
Deva! Accept, please, your sweet-smiling wife and be happy. Though I am at
present not in bereavement of my dear wife, yet when I remember my former state
of bereavement, I feel very much trouble. O Lotus-eyed One! When Satî Devî, my
beloved Wife, quitted Her life, in Daksa’s house, I felt unbearable pain, O
Kes’ava! Let no other body in this world suffer such pain, I now remember only
the suffering and mental agonies that I felt on Her bereavement; I do not give
it out to others. After a long time, practising severe Tapasyâ (asceticism) I
got Her back in the form of Girijâ, who felt herself burnt up as it were by the
anger She felt on account of censure cast on Me in the Daksa’s house and thus
quitted Her life. O Murâri! What happiness you have felt in forsaking your dear
wife and in remaining thus alone for one thousand years. Console your fortunate
young wife with good teeth and bring her back to your place. O Bhagavân!
Lastly, the Lord Bhavânî, the Originatrix of these worlds, told me to speak
thus to you :– O Destroyer of Kamsa! Let nobody remain even, for a moment,
without Laksmî, the Highest Goddess. O Long-lived One! You better assume the
form of a horse and go and worship her. Then have a child of yours in the womb
of your sweet-smiling wife and bring her back to your house.”
35-42. Vyâsa said :– O Ornament of Bhârata’s
race! Hearing thus the words of Chitrarûpa, Bhagavân Hari told that he would do
what S’ankara had told him to do and thus sent the messenger back to S’ankara.
The messenger departing, Hari assumed the form of a beautiful horse and
immediately left Vaikuntha with a passionate intent for the place where Laksmî
was staying in the form of a mare and practising her austerities. Coming there,
he saw that the Devî Bimalâ was staying in the form of a mare. The mare, too,
seeing the horse form of her husband Govinda, recognised him and, chaste as she
was, remained there with astonishment and tears in her eyes. Then those two
copulated on the famous confluence. The wife of Hari, in the shape of a mare,
became pregnant and, in due time, gave birth to a beautiful well qualified
child. The Bhagavân then graciously smiled on her and spoke in words suited to
the time, “O Dear! Now quit this mare form and assume your former appearance. O
Lovely-eyed One! Let both of us assume our own forms and go to Vaikuntha; and
let your child remain in this place.”
43-48. Laksmî said :– “O Lord! How can I go
leaving here this child, born of my womb. It is very difficult to quit the
attachments for one’s own child. Know this, O Lord! O High-souled One! This
child is young and of small body; therefore it is quite incapable to protect
itself. If I forsake it on the bank of this river, it will be an orphan, what
will happen to it then? O Lotus-eyed One! My mind is now in full attachment
towards it. How can I quit this helpless child and go?” When Laksmî and
Nârâyana resumed their divine bodies and mounted on the excellent Vimânas, the
Devas began to praise them with hymns. When Nârâyana expressed his desire to
go, Kamalâ said :– “O Lord! You better take this child; I am unable to forsake
it. O Lord! O Slayer of Madhu! This child is dearer to me than my life; see its
body resembles exactly like you. Therefore we would take this child with us to
Vaikuntha.”
49-54. Hari spoke :– “O Dear! You need not be
sorry; let this child remain here happily; I have arranged for its preservation
and safety. O Beautiful One! There is a great act to do in this world. That
will be executed by your child. For this reason I am leaving it here. I am now
describing to you the above story. The famous King Yayâti had a son named
Turvasu; his father kept his name as Hari Varmâ; he is known by this name. That
king is now practising asceticism for getting a son for one hundred years in a
place of pilgrimage. O Laksmî! I have begot this son for him. I will go there
and send the King here. O Beautiful-faced One! I will give this son to that
King, desirous of an issue. He will take this son and go back to his house.”
55. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus consoling his
beloved, whose abode is in the Lotus and placing the child there in that
position, He mounted on an excellent car with Laksmî and went to Vaikuntha.
Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter in the Sixth
Book on the origin of Haihayas from a mare in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî
Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XX
On the son born of mare by Hari
1-2. Janamejaya said :– “O Bhagavân! A great
doubt has arisen in my mind on this subject. Who was it that took away that
son, when both Laksmî and Nârâyana left it, in that forlorn state, in a forest
without any person there to look after?”
3-11. Vyâsa said :– O King! No sooner Laksmî
and Nârâyana departed from that place, one Vidyâdhara, named Champaka, mounting
on a beautiful celestial car came there at his free will, sporting with a woman
named Madanâlasâ. There they saw that one lovely child, exquisitely beautiful
like a Deva’s son, was playing alone as it liked. They then, quickly descended
from their chariot and picked it up. Vidyâdhara became very glad as a beggar
becomes glad, when he gets a hoard of jewels. On taking that newly born
beautiful child like a Cupid, Champaka gave it to the Devî Madanâlasâ.
Madanâlasâ took it and became very much astonished; and her hairs stood at
their ends. She clasped it to her bosom and kissed it frequently. O Bhârata!
Taking that child on her lap as if her own child, Madanâlasâ embraced it and
kissed it and got the highest happiness. Then both of them took that child and
mounted on the car. The lean Madanâlasâ then laughingly queried :– “O Lord!
Whose child is this? Who has left it in this forest? It seems to me Mahâ Deva,
desirous to give me a son, has given it unto me.”
12-18. Champaka said :– I will just now go
and ask the all-knowing Indra whose child is this, whether it is of a Deva,
Dânava or Gandharva. If he orders, I will purify this child found thus in this
forest by the Veda Mantrams and then accept it as my own. It is not advisable
to do a thing suddenly without knowing all the details. Thus saying to his wife
Madanâlasâ, Champaka went with a gladdened heart hurriedly to the city of Indra
with that child in his arms. Champaka gladly bowed down at the feet of Indra
and gave him all the information he knew about the child and stood at one side
with folded hands and spoke, “O Lord of the Devas! I have got this child,
beautiful as Cupid, in the sacred place of pilgrimage at the confluence of the
Jumnâ and the Tamasâ. O Lord of S’achî! Whose child is this? and why did they
forsake it there? If you kindly permit, I will take this child as my own son.
This child is very beautiful and liked very much by my wife; it is also the
rule laid down in the S’âstras that one can accept any child as the Kritrima
son. Therefore it is my earnest desire that I purify this child by the Veda
Mantrams and take it legally as my own son.”
19-24. Indra said :– O Highly Fortunate One!
Bhagavân Vâsudeva, assuming the form of a horse, has produced this child out of
the womb of Kamalâ in the form of a mare. He intends to give over the child,
capable to destroy enemies to Turvasu, the son of Yayâti, and thus will get a
great purpose achieved by the child. That King, very religious, will be sent by
Hari today and he will come for the child in that beautiful sacred place of
pilgrimage. You better go back as early as possible and keep the child there as
it was before till that king comes to that spot at the instance of the Devadeva
Visnu. Do not waste a minute more. The King will be very sorry if he does not
find the child there. Therefore O Champaka! Quit the attachment that you have
for this child. You should know that this child will be famous in this earth as
Ekavîra (only one hero).
25-30. Vyâsa said :– O King! Thus hearing the
Indra’s words, Champaka took the child and went back immediately to the spot
whence he picked it up and keeping the child there as it laid, mounted on his
car and went to his abode. At that instant, the husband of Laksmî, the Lord of
the three worlds, went to the King, mounted on His car, beaming with effulgent
rays. When the Bhagavân was descending from His aerial car, the King Turvasu
was very glad to see Him and bowed down and laid himself prostrate on the
ground. The Bhagavân, then, comforted the King, his own devotee, and said, “Get
up, my child! Do away with your mental distress.” The King also eagerly and
full of devotion, began to utter verses in praise of the Bhagavân. O Lord of
Ramâ! You are the presiding Deity of the Devas; Lord of the whole worlds, Ocean
of Mercy and Giver of advice to all men. O Lord! Your sight is very rare even
to the Yogis; being myself of a very slow dull intellect; I have been fortunate
enough to see you. O Lord! This shews Your mercy.
31-54. Vyâsa said :– O Bhagavân! O Infinite
One! Those who are free from any desires and free from any attachment to
worldly things, they alone are entitled to see Thee. O Deva of the Devas! I am
bound in thousand and one desires. I am quite unfit to see Thee. There is no
doubt in this. When Turvasu, the best of the kings, praised thus, Bhagavân
Visnu became pleased and began to speak in the following pleasant words :– “O
King! I am pleased with your asceticism; now ask your desired boon; I will
grant it immediately.” The King bowed down again to the feet of Visnu and said
:– “O Murâri! For the sake of a son, I have practised this tapasyâ; grant me a
son like my Self.” Nârâyana, the First-born of the Devas, hearing this King’s
request spoke to him in infallible words :– “O son of Yayâti! Go to the
confluence of the Yamunâ and Tamasâ. For you I have kept there today a son as
you like and of indomitable prowess. O King! That child is begotten by me in
the womb of Laksmî.” The King became very glad to hear the sweet pure words of
the Bhagavân. Thus granting him the boon, Visnu went with Ramâ to Vaikuntha.
The King Turvasu, the son of Yayâti, hearing these words, became exceedingly
gladdened in his heart and mounting on a chariot, whose speed cannot be
checked, went to the spot where lay the child. The king, of extraordinary
genius, went there and saw that the exceedingly beautiful child, catching hold
of his toe by one of his soft hands was sucking it by his mouth and was playing
on the ground. The child was born of Nârâyana out of the womb of Kamalâ.
Therefore it resembled like Him. On looking at that beautiful lovely child, the
famous King Harivarmâ’s face got cheered up with the intensest delight. The
King took it up with both of his hands and got merged in the Ocean of Bliss and
taking gladly the scent of its head embraced it happily. On looking at the
beautiful lotus-face of the child, the King, choked with tears from his eyes
and with feelings of joy said :– “O Child! Nârâyana has given me, the child
jewel in you; so save me from the terrors of the hell named Put. O Child! For
full one hundred years I have practised a very hard tapasyâ for the sake of
you. Pleased with that, the Lord of Kamalâ has given you to me for the
happiness of my worldly career. Your Mother Ramâ Devî has forsaken Her own
child for the sake of me and has gone away with Hari. O Child! That Mother is
blessed whose face beams with joy by seeing the smiles in your lotus-face. O
Delighter of my heart! The Lord of Ramâ, the Deva of the Devas, has made you,
as it were, to serve as a boat for me for crossing to the other side of this
Ocean of World.” Thus saying, the King took the child and gladly went home.
Knowing that the King had come very close to his city, the King’s Minister and
the city people, the subjects came forward with the priest and many other
presents and offerings. The bards, singers and Sûtas came in front of the King.
The King as he entered into his city looked affectionately on his subjects and
gladdened their spirits by enquiries of welfare. Then worshipped by the
citizens, the King entered into the city with his child. As the King went along
the royal road, the subjects showered on his head the flowers and fried rice.
Then taking the child by his two arms, the King entered into his prosperous
palace with his ministers.
The king next handed over the newly-born
lovely child, as beautiful as Cupid, to the hands of his queen. The good queen
took the child and asked the king :– “O King! Whence have you got this new born
child as fascinating as the God of Love? Who has given this child to you? O
Lord! Speak quickly. This child has stolen away my mind.” The King gladly
replied :– “O Beloved! The Lord of Kamalâ, the Ocean of Mercy has given me this
child; O Quick-eyed One! This child is born of Nârâyana’s part and out of the
womb of Kamalâ. O Devî! This child has strength, energy, patience, gravity and
all other good qualities.” Then the queen took the child in her arms and got
the unbounded bliss. Great festivities began to be performed in the palace of
the King Turvasu. Charities were given to those that wanted; music and singing
of various sorts were performed. In this ceremony for the sake of his child,
the king Turvasu put the name of the child as “Ekavîra.” Getting thus the child
equivalent in form and qualities to Hari, the powerful Indra-like king became
happy and freed from his debt due to his family line, became very cheerful and
glad. O King! The king, powerful like his enemies, began to enjoy in his own
palace with his all-qualified child, that was given to him by Nârâyana, the
Lord of all the Devas. He was always served by his dear wife and all sorts of
pleasures and he felt himself enjoying as a King would do.
Here ends the Twentieth Chapter in the Sixth
Book on the son born of mare by Hari, in the Mahâpurânam in S’rî Mad Devî
Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXI
On the installation of Ekavîra and the birth
of Ekâvalî
1-10. Vyâsa said :– O King! In the meanwhile
the King Turvasu performed the Jâtakarma (a religious ceremony performed at the
birth of a child) and other ceremonies of the child. The boy was nurtured duly
and began to grow older day by day. The King began to enjoy his worldly life on
getting this son and thought within himself that the boy had freed him from the
three debts due to the Fathers, the Risis and the Devas. Next, in the sixth
month, the King performed the Annaprâsana ceremony (putting the boiled rice in
the mouth of the child) and in the third year performed regularly his Chûda
Karana (the ceremony of the first tonsure) ceremony. He distributed on those
occasions various articles, wealth and cows to the Brâhmanas and other articles
to various other mendicants and made them glad. In the eleventh year, he
performed the boy’s holy thread (Upanayana) ceremony and tying the girdle made
of a triple string of Munja grass and put the boy to learn archery. Next when
the boy passed off proficiently in the study of the Vedas and in learning the
kingly duties, the King desired to install him on the throne. The King Turvasu
then collected with great care all the necessary articles for installation in
an auspicious day, the combination of Pusyâ asterism and Arka Yoga. He called
then the Brâhmins, well versed in the Vedas and in the S’âstras, and became
ready, in accordance with due rites, to perform the installation ceremony of
the prince. Waters were brought from various sacred places of pilgrimage and
from the several oceans and on an auspicious day the King performed himself the
installation of his son. When the ceremony was over the King gave away hoards
of wealth to the Brâhmins and giving the charge of his kingdom to his son, he
went to the forest with a desire to ascend to the Heavens.
11-22. Thus placing Ekavîra on the throne,
the King Turvasu shewed respects to his ministers, and, controlling his senses
went to the forest accompanied by his wife. On the top of the Mainâka mountain
he took up the vow of Vânaprastha and sustaining his life on leaves and fruits
began to meditate Pârvatî. Thus when his Prârabdha Karma ended, he left his
mortal coil with his wife and went by virtue of his good deeds to the
Indraloka. Hearing that the King had ascended to Heavens, his son Ekavîra
Haihaya performed his funeral ceremonies according to the rules laid down by
the Vedas. The King’s son, the intelligent Haihaya, performed, one after
another, all the ceremonies due and began to govern the kingdom which was free
from enemies. The virtuous King Ekavîra remained duly obedient to his ministers
after he got possession of his kingdom and began to enjoy all the best things.
The powerful King one day went on horseback to the banks of the Ganges with the
minister’s son. Roaming about, he found there the boughs of trees had assumed a
very graceful appearance, with loads of fruits, echoed with the sweet voice of
the cuckoos and with the humming of the bees. Close by were the hermitages of
the Munis, where the bucks were skipping about and at other places the Vedas
were being chanted. The smoke was seen rising from the altars, where oblations
were being offered and appeared to form like a black canopy in the Heavens.
Full ripe grains were enhancing the beauty of the fields and the cowherdesses
were merrily watching the fields. Places of recreations adorned with full blown
lotuses and beautiful groves were attracting the attention of the visitors. The
various trees, Piyâla, Champaka, Panasa, Bakula, Tilaka, Kadamba and Mandâra,
and others were adorned with fruits, stealing away the minds of the people. At
other places, other trees Sal, Tamâla, Jack, Mango, Kali Kadamba, etc., stood
gracefully. Next when the King went to the Ganges water, he saw the gay
beautiful full blown lotuses were spreading their fragrant scents all around.
23-31. On the right side of these lotuses, he
saw a lotus-eyed girl. She was shining like the gold, her beautiful hairs were
long and curling; her throat was like a Kambu, belly thin, lips like the Bimba
fruits, several other limbs well built and graceful, breasts risen a little,
nose beautiful and all her body was exquisitely lovely; that lady just blooming
into youth was suffering bereavements from her comrades and was very distressed
and seemed bewildered. She was crying like an ewe in a dense lonely forest.
Seeing her, the King asked her what was the reason of her sorrows? O
Cuckoo-voiced One! You are as yet a girl; who has left you alone in this state?
O Sweet One! Tell me where is your husband now or where is your father? O One
looking askance! What is your trouble; explain it to me. O thin-bellied One! I
will, no doubt, remove all your sorrows and troubles. O fair-limbed One! In my
dominion nobody ever gives trouble to any other body. O lovely One! There is no
fear in my kingdom from thieves or Râksasas; or any fear from any serious
dangerous calamities on this earth, fear from lions, tigers or any other
dangers while my sway is predominant.
32-41. O One of beautiful thighs! Why are you
crying on this lonely bank of the Ganges? Tell me what is your pain? O Pure
One! I can remove the pains and miseries, even of a serious nature, of men,
whether they come from the Deva or human sources; and this is my principal vow.
O Large-eyed One! Speak what is your inmost desire; I will carry it out
instantaneously. When the king thus spoke, that beautiful woman spoke in gentle
words :– O King! Hear the cause of my sorrows. O King! Why will the people cry,
to no purpose, unless calamities come before them? O Mighty-armed One! I now
tell you why I am weeping. O King! There was a very religious King named Rabhya
in another province that is not yours. At first he had no issue. He had a very
beautiful wife named Rukmarekhâ. She was clever, chaste and endowed with all
auspicious qualities. But issueless as she was, she remained very sorry and, in
a remorseful tone, she spoke to her husband Raibbya :– O Lord! I am barren; I
have no sons; I am therefore a very unhappy creature. My life is in vain; what
use is there in my living? When the queen thus spoke very distressedly, the
king called the Brâhmanas, versed in the Vedas, and began to perform an
excellent sacrificial ceremony, in due accordance with the Vedic rules. With a
desire to get a son, he made many presents in profuse quantities. When copious
quantities of ghee were offered as oblations, there arose, from the fire, a girl
beautiful in all respects and endowed with all auspicious signs.
42-53. Her teeth were very nice, eyebrows
very lovely, face enchanting like a Full Moon, the lustre of the body lovely
and of a golden colour; her hairs were fine and curling; her lips like the
Bimba flowers; her hands and face were of a red colour; her eyes were red like
lotus and her limbs were soft and gentle. When the girl arose from the fire,
the priest (Hotâ) took that lean and thin lady of a nice waist by her arms and
presented her to the King and said :– O King! Accept this daughter, endowed
with all auspicious signs. When Homa was being performed, the daughter came up
like the garland Ekâvalî; therefore this girl became famous in this world by
the name Ekâvalî. O Ruler of the earth! Take this girl, resembling a son and be
happy.
O King! Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, has
given you this Jewel, this daughter; so be contented. Hearing thus the words of
the priest, the King saw this good-looking girl and with gladdened heart took
the beautiful daughter from his hands. Thus with that lovely daughter he went
to his wife Rukmarekhâ and said :– O Beautiful One! Take this daughter. The
queen Rukmarekhâ felt the pleasure of having a son when she got in her arms
that lotus eyed beautiful daughter. The King next performed the natal and other
ceremonies of the daughter and did all other acts as if she had been a son to
him duly in accordance with the rules. The King performed his own sacrificial
ceremonies and gave away lots of Daksinâs to the Brâhmins and dismissed them
and became very glad. That beautiful girl was nursed and cared after like a son
and she grew older day by day. The Queen Rukmarekhâ was very gladdened to get
her. On that very day the birthday festival was performed as on the occasion of
the birth of a son. And that daughter grew older, very affectionate and dear to
all.
54-61. O Lovely One! You are a king and
intelligent too; I will describe to you all the details; Hear. I am the
daughter of the minister to that King. My name is Yas’ovatî. That daughter and
I look alike and of the same age. Therefore the king has made me her comrade. I
spend my time day and night always with her as her constant dear companion.
Ekâvalî likes very much to remain and sport wherever she finds sweet-scented
lotuses; at other places she does not find happiness. At the distant banks of
the Ganges many lotuses grow; therefore Ekâvalî goes there with great pleasure
to that place with me and her other fellow mates. One day I told the King that
Ekâvalî used to go daily to a distant solitary forest to see the lotus-lake.
Then the King addressed her not to go and he got a lake built within the
compounds of his palace and planted many lotus seeds therein. Gradually the
lotuses began to blossom and the bees came there to drink honey. Still she used
to go outside in search of lotuses. Then the King sent armed guards to
accompany her. Thus that thin-bodied daughter of the King used to go daily to
the banks of the Ganges for play, guarded by armed soldiers, accompanied by
myself and other companions. Again when the sporting was over, she used to
return to the palace.
Here ends the Twenty-First Chapter on the
Sixth Book on the installation of Ekavîra and the birth of Ekâvalî in the
Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXII
On the narration to Haihaya the stealing away
of Ekâvalî
1-10. Yas’ovatî spoke :– O King! One day
Ekâvalî got up early in the morning and went to the banks of the Ganges,
accompanied by her companions; they began to fan her with a chowrie. The armed
guards accompanied her. Slowly she went where there were the lotuses in order
to sport with them. I, too, went with her playing with the lotuses to the banks
of the Ganges and both of us began to play with lotuses with the Apsarâs. When
both of us were deeply engaged in the play, then one powerful Dânava, named
Kâlaketu, came up there suddenly with many Râksasas armed with parighas,
swords, clubs, bows, arrows and tomaras and many other weapons. Ekâvalî was
playing with the best lotuses when Kâlaketu saw her in that state, blooming
with beauty and youth as if like Ratî, the Goddess of Love. O King! I then
spoke to Ekâvalî :– “Look! Who is this Daitya that has come here unexpectedly;
O Lotus-eyed One! Let us go into the central part of our armed guards.” O King!
My companion and myself consulting thus, went out of fear immediately into the
centre of the armed guards. Kâlaketu was seized with the arrows of Cupid, and
no sooner he looked at that beautiful young lady than he, with a very big club
in his hand, hurriedly came to us, drove away the guards, and took away my
lotus eyed companion, of thin waist. Then the young lady, helpless, began to
tremble and cried aloud.
11-22. Seeing this, I spoke to the Dânava :–
Leave her and take me. The passionate Dânava did not take me but he went away,
taking my companion. The guards exclaimed :– “Wait, wait; don’t fly away with
the girl; we are giving you a good lesson.” Thus saying, they made the powerful
Dânavas stop and both the parties engaged in a very terrible conflict,
astounding to all. The followers of the Dânavas, more cruel and all fully armed
began at once to fight with great enthusiasm for their Master’s cause. Kâlaketu
himself began to fight afterwards terribly and killed the guards. He, then,
with his followers, carried away my companion towards his own city. I, too,
followed my companion, when I saw her thus carried away by the Dânava and
crying out of fear. I also walked crying aloud by those tracks as would enable
my Sakhî to see me. She, too, seeing me, became somewhat consoled. Crying out
repeatedly I approached her. She was already very distressed and when she saw
me, she clasped me closely around my neck, perspiring and stunned and, becoming
more distressed, cried aloud. Kâlaketu then showed his liking for me and told
that my quick-eyed companion was very afraid and that I might comfort her. He
told me thus :– “O Dear! My city is like the Deva’s abodes; you will soon be
able to go there. From today I become your slave, bound by love. Do not cry
thus distressedly; be comforted.” In these words he told me to comfort my dear
companion. Thus speaking, that villain made both of us mount on the beautiful
chariot and making us sit by his sides went gladly and quickly to his own beautiful
palace, followed by his army.
23-30. That Demon placed both of us in a
beautiful house white washed and mirror-like and kept hundreds and thousands of
Râksasas to watch and protect us. On the second day he called me in private :–
“Your companion is very much distressed on the bereavement from her father and
mother and is lamenting; make her understand and console her.” He told me to
speak the following words to my companion :– “O One of beautiful hips! Be my
wife and enjoy as you like. O One with a face beautiful like the Moon! This
kingdom is yours; ever I am your obedient slave.” Hearing his unbearable harsh
words I said :– “O Lord! I will not be able to speak her these words,
disagreeable to her. You better speak this yourself.” When I spoke thus, that
wicked Dânava struck by the arrows of Cupid began to speak gently to my dear
companion of thin belly, thus :– “O Dear One! Today you have successfully cast
on me the Vasîkarana Mantra (one of the Tântrik processes by which a lover is
made to come under subjection); O Beloved! Therefore it is that my heart is
stolen and so much brought under your subjection; this has converted me into a
veritable slave of yours; then know this as certain that I am your slave; O
Sweet One!
I am very much troubled by the Cupid’s arrows
and I am semi-unconscious; therefore O Lean-bellied One! Worship me. O One of
beautiful thighs! This youth is a very rare and transient thing; O Auspicious
One! Now embrace me as your husband and make your youth a veritable success.”
31-36. Ekâvalî said :– “O Fortunate One! My
father wanted to hand me over to a prince named Haihaya; I also mentally
adopted him as my husband. You are certainly aware of the S’âstras; how can I
now abandon the eternal religion and the virtue of a woman and take up another
husband. The girl must accept him to whom the father betrothes. The girl is
under every circumstances dependent. Never do they get any independence.”
Though Ekâvalî said thus, the vicious Daitya struck by Cupid’s arrows, did not
desist and did not leave me and that larged-eyed companion. His city lies in
Pâtâla and is a very dangerous place; always it is guarded by Râksasas and
surrounded by a moat; inside is built a beautiful and strong fort. Now my dear
companion, the queen of my heart, is staying there with a grievous heart and I
am here wandering hither and thither very much troubled on account of her
bereavements.
37-46. Ekavîra said :– “O Beautiful-faced
One! How have you been able to get away from the city of that wicked demon and
how have you been able to come here? I am perfectly at my wit’s end. Say
quickly all these. O Proud One! I doubt your words; the father of your dear
companion resolved to give his daughter to Haihaya in marriage; now I am that
Haihaya. I am the King by that name, on this earth; there is no other King by
the name of Haihaya. Is it that your dear companion is meant for me? O Bhâminî
(passionate woman)! Remove my doubts; I will kill that villain Râksasa and
bring just now your dear companion; there is no doubt in this. O One of good
vows! Shew me that place, if it be known to you. Has anybody informed her
father that She is suffering from so many troubles? Has her father come to know
that her daughter has been stolen and carried away? And has he made any effort
to rescue her from the hands of that villain Râksasa? Is it that the King is
calm and quiet, knowing that his daughter has been kept in prison? Or is it
that he is unable to free her from bondage? Say quickly all these things before
me. O Lotus-eyed One! You have captivated my mind by describing the
extraordinary qualities of your dear companion and have made me passionate too.
Alas! When will it be that I will free my beautiful beloved from the greatest
perilous situation and shall see her face and her eyes, beaming with joy. O
Sweet-speaking One! Say, by what means I can go to that impassable city. How
have you been able to come from there?”
47-63. Yas’ovatî said :– O King! In my early
age I got the Mantram of the Devî Bhagavatî with its seed Mantram (mystic
syllable involving in it the power connoted by the Devî) and how to meditate
it. While I was in the Dânava’s place I thought out that at that juncture I
would worship the powerful Chandikâ who gives instantaneously one’s own
desires. If I worship that S’akti, That fructifies all desires, That is all
mercy to Her Bhaktas, certainly She will free my dear companion from this her
bondage. Though She is really without form, yet She, without anybody’s help, by
Her own force, She is creating, preserving, and at the end of the Kalpa,
destroying this Universe. Oh! She is very wonderful indeed! Thus thinking I
began to meditate that auspicious red-robed and red-eyed Devî, the Lady of the
Universe, and recollected mentally Her form and repeated silently Her Vîja
Mantram. When I meditated thus for merely one month, Chandikâ Devî became,
through my devotion, manifest to me in my dreams and began to speak in sweet
nectar-like words :– “You are now asleep; go quickly to the beautiful banks of
the Ganges. The enemy destroyer, the powerful Ekavîra, the greatest of all the
kings, will come there. Dattâtreya, the Great Lord of the Munis, has given him
my Mantra named Mahâvidyâ; the King also constantly worships me devotedly with
that. His mind is constantly attached to Me and he constantly worships Me. What
more to say than this fact that the king, extremely devoted to Me, meditates on
Me as the internal controller of all beings. That intelligent son of Laksmî
will come for sport to the banks of the Ganges and will remove all your sorrows.
That king Ekavîra, versed in all the S’âstras will kill the Râksasas in a
dreadful battle and will rescue Ekâvalî. So now you pay heed to my word.”
Lastly, She told me that my companion should marry that beautiful King, endowed
with all auspicious qualifications. Thus saying, She disappeared and I
instantly woke up. Then I informed my lotus-eyed dear Sakhî all the details of
my dream as well my worshipping the Devî; hearing this, her lotus-face beamed
with joy and gladness. That sweet-smiling Ekâvalî very gladly told me, “O dear
Companion! Go at once for our success. That truth-speaking Bhagavatî Ambikâ
Devî will release us from our bondage.” O King! When my dear companion ordered
me thus, I thought it proper, as also dictated to me in my dream, to go out and
soon I did it. O King! Due to the grace of the Great Devî, I came to know the
way and I also got the quick motion. Thus I have described to you the cause of
my sorrow. O Hero! Who are you, whose son are you? Speak truly to me.
Here ends the Twenty-second Chapter in the
Sixth Book on the narration to Haihaya the stealing away of Ekâvalî in S’rî Mad
Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXIII
On the battle of Haihaya and Kâlaketu
1. Vyâsa said :– O King! That powerful son of
Laksmî, Haihaya, became very glad to hear these words of Yas’ovatî and said :–
2-14. O One of beautiful thighs! Hear in
reply to your query :– I am Haihaya, the son of Laksmî, and I am known in this
world by the name of Ekavîra. Now you have made my mind dependent. What am I to
do now? where to go? Thus distressed with bereavement from your dear companion,
my mind is struck with Cupid’s arrows and is confounded with her extraordinary
beauty that you just now described. Next you described her qualifications and
my mind is ravished. Again when you described before me what she uttered in the
presence of the Râksasa, I am struck with great wonder. Your dear companion
Ekâvalî said before the vicious Dânava Kâlaketu, “I have already selected the
King Haihaya. I will not select any other than him, this is my firm resolve.”
These words have converted me into her slave. O sweet-haired One! Say now what
service can I do to you both? I am not acquainted with that wicked demon’s
palace; never I went to his city. O Fair-eyed One! Say how I can go there; for
you are the only one that can lead me there. Therefore take me quickly to that
place where your beautiful clear companion is staying. Your dear companion, the
daughter of the King is very much afflicted with sorrow; soon I will free her,
by destroying that cruel Râksasa. There is no doubt in this. O Auspicious One!
I will rescue your dear companion and bring her to the city of yours and hand
her over to the hands of her father. Then that King, the enemy destroyer, will
perform the marriage ceremony of his daugther. I think this is the desire of
your heart. O Sweet-speaking One! Know that that is also my desire. O Beautiful
One! Now that desire will be fulfilled by your efforts. Show me quickly that
place and see my prowess. O One with a face beautiful like the Moon! It seems
that you will be able to do my work. Soon do such as I can kill that wicked
demon, who steals others’ wives. Now show me the way to the impassable city of
that Râksasa.
15-26. Vyâsa said :–O King! Hearing the sweet
words of the prince, Yas’ovatî became very glad and gently began to speak out
how he could go to the demon’s city. O King! Take the success-giving Mantra of
Bhagavatî and I would then be able to show you today the city guarded by the
Râksasas. O King! Better arrange to take your vast army with you; for you will
have to fight no sooner you go there. Kâlaketu is personally a great warrior
surrounded by Râksasas of great power and strength. Therefore be initiated in
the Mantram of S’rî Bhagavatî and accompany me. So you will surely be
successful. I will show you the way to the city of that Demon. Slay that
vicious and vilest of the Râksasas and rescue my dear companion. Hearing thus,
Haihaya was duly initiated into the great Mantram of Yoges’varî, named
Trilokitilaka Mantra (Hrîm Gaurî Rudradayite Yoge S’varî Hûm Phat Svâhâ is the
Yoges’varî Mantra), by Maharsi Dattâtreya, accidentally come there (as if
ordained by Fate), the chief of Jñânins (the Gnostics), that is conducive to
the welfare of the beings. Thus by the influence of the Mantram the King got
the power of knowing all things and going everywhere with unobstructed speed.
Then the King Haihaya quickly went with Yas’ovatî to the impassable city of the
Râksasas, accompanied by a vast army. The city was surrounded by snakes and
guarded by the terrible Râksasas like the city of Pâtâla. The messengers of the
Râksasa, seeing the King coming, were struck with terror and crying aloud
quickly went to Kâlaketu. Kâlaketu, struck with Cupid’s arrows, was sitting
beside Ekâvalî and was speaking many modest words when the messenger went there
suddenly and said :– “O King! The attendant of this lady Yas’ovatî is coming
here with a prince and an army.
27-29. O King! We cannot tell exactly whether
the prince is the son of Indra, named Jayanta or Kârtikeya. After all, puffed
up with the strength of his army, he is coming here. O King! The battle is
imminent; now make your arrangements fully and carefully; fight with the son of
a Deva or abandon this lotus-eyed Lady. O King! At a distance of three Yojanas
from this place, be is staying with his army. Now equip yourself and quickly
declare the war by blowing the war trumpets.”
30-36. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing the
messenger’s words, Kâlaketu, the King of the Demons, became overwhelmed with
anger and at once sent many powerful Râksasas, holding all sorts of weapons and
spoke out to them :– “O Râksasas! With weapons in your hands, go before them
quickly.” Ordering them thus, Kâlaketu asked in sweet words Ekâvalî who was in
front and very distressed. O Thin-bellied One! Who is coming here? Is he your
father or any other man coming with his army to release you. Speak this to me
truly. If your father comes here to take you back, being very much distressed
with your bereavement, I will never fight with him, if I come to know this
truly; rather I will bring him to my house and worship him with the excellent
horses, gems and jewels and clothings. Really I will show my full hospitality
duly to him when he comes here. And if any other person comes, then I will take
his life by the sharpened arrows; there is no doubt in this. Know this as
certain whoever comes here for your rescue is brought by the hand of Death to
me. Therefore, O Large-eyed One! Say who is this fool that is coming, not
knowing me as the powerful and unconquerable Kâla (Death).
37-38. Ekâvalî said :– “O Highly Fortunate
One! I do not know who is this body coming to this side with a violent speed. O
King! How can I know that when I am in this state of confinement in your house.
This man is not my father nor my brother. Some other powerful man is coming
here. I do not know exactly what for he is coming.”
39-40. The Demon said :– My messengers say
that your comrade Yas’ovatî has taken with her that warrior and is coming to
this side with great energy. Where has your clever companion gone now? O
Lotus-eyed! There is no enemy in the three worlds strong enough to fight
against me.
41-66. Vyâsa said :– O King! Just then other
messengers hurriedly came there terrified and spoke to Kâlaketu who had been
staying in the house, thus :– “O King! The army has come quite close to the
city and how are you staying in the house, calm and quiet? Better march out of
the city with your vast army as early as possible.” The powerful Kâlaketu,
then, hearing their words, mounted on the chariot and quickly went out of his
city. The King Haihaya, on the other hand, suffering from the bereavements of
his dear lady, suddenly came there mounted on horseback. The terrible fight
ensued then and there between the two and each one struck the other with
sharpened weapons and the quarters all around blazed with their glitterings and
clashings. When the terrible fight was going on, Haihaya, the son of Laksmî,
struck Kâlaketu, the King of the Daityas with a very powerful club (Gadâ). Thus
struck by the Gadâ, the Lord of the Daityas fell on the ground like a mountain,
struck by lightning, and died. All the Râksasas fled away on all sides, struck
with terror. Yas’ovatî went then very hurriedly with a gladdened heart to
Ekâvalî and began to speak to her in terms of surprise and in sweet words :– O
Dear! O Dear! Come, Come; the great warrior, the prince Ekavîra has killed the
Lord of the Daityas in a dreadful battle. That King is now waiting, tired in
the midst of his soldiers. He has already heard from me about your beauty and
qualities; and now he is expecting to see you. O One Looking askance! Now
satisfy your eyes and mind by seeing that King who is like the Cupid. When I
described to him before on the banks of the Ganges your beauty and
qualifications, he got enamoured of you and now he is suffering from
bereavements and wants to see you. Thus, hearing, Ekâvalî determined to go to
him and as she was yet unmarried, she became abashed and afraid. She thought
how could she see the prince as she was unmarried. It might be that he being
passionate would catch her by her arms. Thus, troubled with thought, that
daughter of the King, with a sad look, and wearing poor clothes, Ekâvalî went
with Yas’ovatî on a palanquin, carried on men’s shoulders. Seeing that
large-eyed daughter of the King coming there, the prince said :– “O Beautiful
One! My two eyes are very thirsty to see you. Satisfy my eyes and mind by
showing yourself to me.” Seeing the prince passionate and the King’s daughter
very much abashed, Yas’ovatî, who knew the rules of modesty, thus spoke to the
prince :– “ O Prince! The father of my dear companion expressed a desire to
betroth her to your hands. She is also obedient to you. Therefore your meeting
will certainly take place. O King! Wait; take her to her father; and he will
perform duly the marriage ceremony and betroth her to your hands. Know this to
be quite certain.” The King took her words to be quite just and true and taking
those two ladies went with his army to the house of the father of Ekâvalî.
Ekâvalî’s father became very glad and cheerful to learn that his daughter was
coming and, accompanied by his ministers, went hurriedly to her. After a long
time the King saw his daughter in poor clothings and became highly pleased.
Yas’ovatî then described in detail all what happened before the King. The King
then with his minister brought with great love, courtesy and gentleness Ekavîra
to his house and on an auspicious day performed the marriage ceremony of him
with Ekâvalî, in accordance with due ceremonies and rites. Then the King gave
away many clothings, ornaments, jewels, and articles for fitting a house and
many other things and worshipped duly and sent his daughter together with
Yas’ovatî away with the King Haihaya. Thus the marriage ceremony was performed
and the son of Laksmî gladly returned to his house and began to enjoy many
pleasures with his wife. Then, in course of time, in the womb of Ekâvalî the
King Haihaya got a son named Kritavîrya. The son of this Kritavîrya is known as
Kârtavîrya. O King! Thus I have narrated to you the origin of the Haihaya
dynasty.
Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter in the
Sixth Book on the battle of Haihaya and Kâlaketu in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad
Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXIV
On the description of Viksepa S’akti
1-5. The King Janamejaya said :– “O Bhagavân!
I am not satiated with the drink of the divine sweet nectar-like words coming
out of your lotus mouth. You have described to me in detail the wonderful and
variegated story of the origin of the Haihaya dynasty; but, O Muni! There has
arisen in my mind a curiosity to know something more on this subject. See the
Bhagavân Visnu, the Lord of Laksmî, the Deva of the Devas, the Ruler of this whole
Universe and the Cause of the Creation, Preservation and Destruction; yet that
Best of Purusas S’rî Bhagavân had to assume a horse form. He is undecaying and
independent, how then He came to be dependent? Clear this doubt of mine. O Best
of Munis! You are omniscient; therefore satisfy my curiosity by describing this
wonderful event.”
6-16. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hear what I heard
of yore from Nârada how this doubt was removed. The mind-born son of Brahmâ,
Maharsi Nârada got powers to go everywhere by virtue of his Tapas, could know
everything, was of a calm and quiet nature, dear to all and he was a poet. On
one occasion he went out on tour round the world, playing with his lute in time
with Svar and Tân. One day he came to my Âs’rama, singing many things
concerning Brihat Rathantara Sâma Veda and the sweet nectar-like Gâyatrî, the
Giver of Liberation. O King! There was a very sacred place of hermitage,
beaming as it were with happiness and self-knowledge, named S’amyâprâsa, on the
banks of the river Sarasvatî. There was situated my hermitage. Seeing the
lustrous Nârada the son of the Grand Sire Brahmâ, coming, I got up and offered
him duly Pâdya (water to wash his feet) and Argha (offerings of worship), etc.,
and worshipped him. When that Muni of indomitable lustre took his seat on the
Âsana, I sat beside him. When I found Nârada, the Giver of Knowledge, at rest
and quiet, I duly asked him the very same question that you have asked me just
now. O Best of Munis! What happiness is there on the beings taking their birth
in this world. I never found it in any place or in any concern, this I can say
positively. Still why do the high minded persons do Karma, fascinated by the
enchantments of the world. Look! I was born in an island. Just after my birth,
my mother forsook me. Helpless, I grew in the forest as my Karma allowed. Next
I performed a very severe tapasyâ before Mahâdeva, the Deva of the Devas, on
the mountain with a desire to have a son.
17-38. As a fruit of that I got S’uka as my
son, the foremost of the Gnostics, and taught him completely the essence of the
Vedas from the beginning to the end. O Devarsî! When my son got wisdom from
you, he left this world even when I became very distressed on his bereavement
and wept aloud and he went away to the next world. Very much afflicted for the
parting of my son, I abandoned the great Mountain Meru. I got very lean due to
the absence of my dear son whom I loved very much; and becoming very distressed
and knowing this whole world to be an illusion, I remembered my mother and went
to the Kuru Jângala district, as if bound up and controlled by the snares of
Mâyâ. When I heard that the King S’ântanu had married my mother, I built my
hermitage on the holy banks of the Sarasvatî and remained there. When the King
S’ântanu went to the next world, my chaste mother remained with two sons. At
that time Bhîsma looked after their sustenance and maintained them. The
intelligent Gangâ’s son Bhîsma Deva installed Chitrângada on the throne. A
short while after this, Chitrângada, too, looking like a second Cupid and
extremely lovely, went to the jaws of death. The mother Satyavatî was drowned
in the sorrows for his son Chitrângada and began to weep for him. O King!
Knowing my mother in that sorrowful condition, I went to her. Bhîsma and I then
consoled her with hopeful words. Bhîsma Deva was averse to marrying and then
becoming a King; and, therefore, he installed again the younger brother, the
powerful Vichitravîrya on the throne. O King! Bhîsma defeated by his own
prowess the kings and brought the two daughters of the King Kâs’îrâj and handed
them over to Satyavatî, so that she might give them over to Vichitravîrya.
Then, on an auspicious day, and in an auspicious Lagna (moment) when the
marriage ceremony of my brother Vichitravîrya was performed, I became glad. My
brother, a good archer, was shortly afterwards attacked with consumption and
thus he died without any issue. At this my mother became very sad and dejected.
Seeing the husband dead, the two daughters of Kâs’îrâja became ready to
preserve their religion of chastity and said to their mother-in-law, sorrowful
and weeping :– We two shall accompany our husbands and become Satî (i.e., be
burnt up with our husbands). O Devî! We will go to the Heavens with your son.
We, the two sisters united, will enjoy with him in the Nandana Garden. The
mother was very much attached to them and with the permission of Bhîsma Deva,
very affectionately made them desist from this great attempt. When all the
funeral obsequies of Vichitravîrya were over, my mother consulted with Bhîsma
and remembered me in Hastinânagara. As soon as she remembered me, immediately I
knew her mental feelings and hurriedly came to Hastinânagara and, with my head
bowed, fell prostrate before her feet, and with folded hands addressed my
mother who was very much inflamed with the fire of sorrow for the death of her
son, thus :– O Mother! Why have you called me here mentally? I see you are very
much dejected; I am your servant; order me what I can do for you. O Mother! You
are my greatest place of pilgrimage and you are my highest deity; I am very
anxious since I have come here; say what you desire.
39-44. Vyâsa said :– O Best of Munis! When I
said thus and waited before her, then she looked at Bhîsma standing close by
and said :– “O Child! Your brother died of consumption; therefore I am very
sorrowful, lest the family becomes extinct. O Intelligent One! For the
continuance of the line, then, with the permission of the Gangâ’s son, I have
called you here today by the Samâdhi Yoga. O son of Parâs’ara! You re-establish
the name of S’ântanu that is going now to be well nigh extinct. O Vyâsa Deva!
Relieve me soon from this sorrow of mine, lest this line be extinct. There are
the two daughters of Kâs’îrâja, honest and good and endowed with youth and
beauty. O Highly Intelligent One! Better you cohabit with them and save the
family of Bhârata by begetting sons. You will not be touched with any sin.”
45-55. Vyâsa said :– O Devarsî! Hearing the
mother’s words, I became very anxious and humbly told her with great shame :–
“O Mother! To touch another’s wife is a very sinful act; knowing well the path
of Dharma, how can I willingly and intentionally violate that? So also, the
Maharsis say :– That the wife of a younger brother is like a daughter. Studying
all the Vedas, how can I do this blame-worthy and adulterous act? To preserve a
line of family by illegal ways is never to be done; for then the fathers of the
sinners can never cross this ocean of world. How can he, who is the spiritual
preceptor of all, and the writer of all the Purânas, do this act knowingly
which is awfully strange and very bad and nasty in its nature.” My mother was
very much plunged into the sea of sorrows for the bereavement of her son; so to
preserve the family, She came again to me, weeping and said :– “O son of
Parâs’ara! If you follow my word, you won’t incur any sin. O Child! If the
reasonable words of the Gurus be even faulty, one should obey them according to
the tradition of the S’istas. Therefore, O Child! Keep my word and preserve my
honour; no sin will touch you. O Child! Think very well. Your mother is very
sorry and is immersed in the ocean of afflictions; therefore it is your
paramount duty to make her happy by begetting child for the continuance of the
family.” Hearing my mother speaking to me thus, Bhîsma, the Gangâ’s son, the
expert in finding out truth in fine points with regard to Dharma, said to me :–
O Dvaipâyana! You are wholly sinless; you ought not therefore to argue on this
point; obey your mother as she says and be happy.
56-61. Vyâsa said :– O King! Hearing his
words and my mother’s request, I decided to do this very hateful act with a
fearless heart without any suspicion. When Ambikâ finished her ablutions after
menstruation, I gladly cohabited with her in the night; but that young lady
seeing my ugly ascetic form, was not attached to me; I then cursed that
beautiful woman thus :– As you closed your eyes at the first cohabitation with
me, your son will be born blind. O Muni! On the second day my mother enquired
me when I was alone :– O Dvaipâyana! Will there be born a son of the daughter
of Kâs’îrâj? I then bowed my head with shame, and told, “Mother! The son will
be born blind, through my curse.” O Muni! The mother then rebuked me harshly,
“O Child! Why did you curse that the son of Ambikâ would be born blind?”
Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter in the
Sixth Book on the description of Viksepa S’akti in the discourse between Vyâsa
and Nârada in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXV
On the cause of Moha of Vyâsa Deva asked
before Nârada
1-10. Vyâsa said :– OKing! The mother became
astonished to hear me. Becoming very anxious for a son, she began to speak to
me. O Child! The wife of your brother, the daughter Ambâlikâ of Kâs’îrâj, is a
widow; she is very sorrowful; she is endowed with all auspicious signs and
endowed with all good qualities; better cohabit with that beautiful young wife
and get a child according to the tradition of the S’istas. Persons born blind
are not entitled to kingdoms. Therefore take my word and procreate a beautiful
son and thus keep my honour. O Muni! Hearing the mother’s words, I began to
wait in Hastinâpura till Ambâlikâ, the daughter of Kâs’îrâj, finished her
ablutions after menstruation. That King’s daughter, of curling hairs, came to
me alone at her mother-in-law’s order, and became very much abashed. Seeing me
an ascetic with matted hairs on my head and void of every love sentiment,
perspiration came on her face; her body turned pale and her mind void of any
love towards me. When I saw that lady trembling and pale beside me, I angrily
spoke :– “O One of beautiful waist! When you have turned out pale, considering
your own beauty, let your son be of a pale colour.” Thus saying I spent there
that night with Ambâlikâ. After enjoying her I took farewell from my mother and
went to my place.
11-21. In due course, the two daughters of
the King gave birth to two sons respectively, one blind and the other pale. The
son of Ambikâ was named Dhritarâstra; and the son of Ambâlikâ was named Pându,
as his colour was pându (pale). Mother became absent-minded when she saw the
two sons in those states. After one year she again called me and said :– “O
Dvaipâyana! These two persons are not so fit to become kings; therefore beget
one more son beautiful and according to my liking.” When I consented, she
became very glad and, in due course, asked Ambikâ to embrace me and give birth
to a son, endowed with extraordinary qualities, and fit to preserve the line
worthy of the Kuru dynasty. The bride did not then say anything on account of
her bashfulness. But when I went in the night time according to my mother’s
order, to the sleeping room, Ambikâ sent to me a maid-servant of Vichitravîrya,
full of youth and beauty, and adorned with various ornaments and clothings.
That maid-servant of beautiful hairs and of a swan-like gait adorned with
garlands and red sandal-paste, came to me with many enchanting gestures and
making me take my seat on the cot, became herself merged in love sentiments. O
Muni! I became pleased with her gestures and amorous sports and passed the
night, full of love towards her and played and cohabited with her. At last I
gladly gave her the boon, “O Fortunate One! Your child, begotten by me, will be
endowed with all good qualities, will be of good form, will be conversant with
all the essences of Dharma, calm and quiet and truthful.”
22-34. In due course, a child named Vidura
was born to her. Thus I had three sons; and in my mind grew up Mâyâ and
affection that these were my sons. When I saw again those three sons, heroic
and full of manliness, the only cause of my sorrow due to the bereavement of my
son S’uka vanished away from my mind. O Lord of Dvîjas! Mâyâ is very powerful
and extremely hard to be abandoned by those who are not masters of their
senses; She enchants even the wise, though She does not possess any form nor
any substratum nor any support. I could not find any peace, even in the forest,
as my mind was attached to my mother and children. O Muni! My mind then began
to oscillate like a pendulum and I remained sometime in Hastinâpura and
sometime on the banks of the Sarasvatî. I could not stay in a certain fixed
place. By discrimination, the knowledge sometimes flashed in my mind :– Whose
sons are these? The attachment is nothing but merely a delusion. On my death
they would not be entitled to perform my S’râddha ceremony. These sons are
begotten by ways and manners not sanctioned by Dharma; what happiness can they
bring to me? O Muni! The powerful Mâyâ has caused this delusion in me. What!
Knowing this Samsâra to be unreal, Alas! I have fallen into this well of the
Darkness of delusion. Thus I repented when I thought over the matter deeply and
when I was alone in a solitary place. When, subsequently, through the mediation
of Bhîsma, the powerful Pându got the kingdom, I became pleased to see the
prosperity of my son. O Muni! This is also the creation of Mâyâ. The daughter
of the King S’ûrasena, named Kuntî, and the daughter of the King of Madra,
named Mâdrî became the two beautiful wives of Pându. Pându was cursed by a
Brâhmana that he would die if he cohabited with any woman; he therefore became
dispassionate and quitting his kingdom, went to the forest with his two wives.
Hearing Pându gone to the forest I felt pain and went to my son who was staying
with his wives and consoling him, came to Hastinâpura, where I held a
conversation with Dhritarâstra and then came back to the banks of the river
Sarasvatî.
35-50. Pându in his forest life, got five
sons out of his wives by the Devas Dharma, Vâyu, Indra, and the twin As’vins.
Dharma, Vâyu, and Indra begat respectively of Kuntî the three sons Yudhisthira,
Bhîmasena and Arjuna; and the two As’vins begat of Mâdrî the two sons Nakulu and
Sahadeva. Once Mâdrî, full of youth and beauty, was staying alone in a solitary
place and Pându seeing her embraced her and due to the curse, died. When the
funeral pyre was ablaze, the chaste Mâdrî entered into the fire and died a
Satî. Kuntî was prevented from doing so, as she was to nurse and look after her
young children. The Munis then took the sorrowful Kuntî, the daughter of
S’ûrasena, bereft of her husband to Hastinâpur and handed her over to the
high-souled Bhîsma and Vidura. When I came to hear this, my mind was greatly
agitated to see the pain and pleasure that other people suffered. Bhîsma,
Vidura, and Dhritarâstra began to nourish and support Yudhisthira and others as
they considered them the sons of their dearest Pându. The cruel and wicked sons
of Dhritarâstra, Duryodhana and others united with each other and began to
quarrel horribly with the sons of Pându. Dronâchârya came there accidentally
and Bhîsma treated him with great respect and requested him to stay in
Hastinâpura and educate the sons of Kuru. Karna was the the son of Kuntî, when
she was young and unmarried; and he was quitted by her no sooner he was born.
The charioteer Sûta (or carpenter) Adhiratha found him in a river and nourished
him. Karna was the foremost of the heroes and therefore the great favourite of
Duryodhana. The enmity between Bhîma and Duryodhana, etc., began to grow
greater day by day. Dhritarâstra, thinking the difficult situation of his
children, fixed the residence of the sons of Pându at the Vâranâvata city so that
the quarrels might die away. Out of enmity, Duryodhana ordered his dear friend
Purochana to build there a house of lac for the Pândavas. O Muni! When I heard
that Kuntî and her five sons were burnt in the lac-house, I became merged in
the ocean of sorrows and thought that they were my grandsons. I was overwhelmed
with sorrow and began to search after them in deep forests day and night till
at last I found them in Ekachakrâ city, lean and thin and very much distressed
with sorrow.
51-63. I became very glad to see them and
sent them soon to the city of the King Drupada. Wearing the deer’s skin, they
went there dejected with sorrow in the Brâhmin’s dress and stayed in the royal
court. The victorious Arjuna shewed prowess and pierced the mark (the eye of the
fish) and obtained Krisnâ, the daughter of the King Drupada. By the order of
the mother Kuntî, the five brothers married her. O Muni! I became very glad to
see that they were all married. The Pândavas , then, accompanied by Pânchâlî,
soon went to Hastinâpura. Dhritarâstra then fixed Khândavaprastha as the
residence of the Pândavas. Visnu, the son of Vâsudeva, then performed the Yajñâ
with the victorious Arjuna and satisfied the Great Fire. The Pândavas next
performed the Râjasûya sacrifice and that made me very glad. Seeing the
affluence and prosperity of the Pândavas and the great assembly hall beautiful
and exquisitely artistic, Duryodhana was burnt up, as it were, with malice and
made arrangements for play in dice, very injurious in its consequences. S’akuni
was expert in playing deceitfully and Yudhisthira the son of Dharma, was not
expert in this play. So Duryodhana made S’akuni play for him and stole away all
that Yudhisthira had and insulted, at last, in the royal assembly, the daughter
of Drupada, Yajñâsenî and gave her much trouble. The Pândavas then went with
Pânchâlî in an exile in the forest for twelve years. And I was very much
grieved to hear this O Muni! Though I know all about the Sanâtan Dharma, yet I
was deluded and merged in these worlds of pains and pleasures. Who am I? To
whom do these sons belong? My mind roams day and night on the thought of all
these. O Muni! What shall I do? And whither shall I go? I don’t find happiness
anywhere; my mind is, as it were, floating in a rocking machine and it is never
being fixed. O Best of Munis! You are all-knowing; solve my doubts so that my
mental fever may be quietened and I may be happy.
Here ends the Twenty-fifth Chapter on the
cause of Moha of Vyâsa Deva asked before Nârada in S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXVI
On the description by Nârada of his own Moha
1-13. Vyâsa said :– O King! When I asked him
why this delusion overtook me, Maharsi Nârada smiled and said :– “O son of
Parâs’ara! You are thoroughly acquainted with all the Purânas. Why then are you
making this question about the cause of my Moha (delusion). No embodied soul
can exist in this Samsâra without this Moha. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, and the
other Devas, S’anaka, Kapila and the other Risis, all these are surrounded by
Mâyâ and are thus travelling in this path of Samsâra. The people know me as a
Jñânin; but I, too, am deluded like an ordinary man. I am now speaking to you
as certain as anything my of previous history now. I was deluded by Mâyâ; hear
it attentively. O Son of Vâsavî! Great troubles and pains were felt by me
before, due to this Moha, for my wife. One day Parvata and I, the two Devarsis,
went out together from the Devaloka to see the excellent portion of the earth
named Bhârata and came to the Martyaloka or the land of the mortals. We then
began to travel over various places and saw the places of pilgrimages and the
holy places and the beautiful hermitages of the Munis. Before we went out from
the Devaloka, we consulted with each other and entered into this agreement that
we would not hide our feelings from each other, whether they be good or bad,
while we would travel over the face of the earth. Whether it be our desire to
get food, or wealth or women for enjoyment, whatever arises in the mind of any
of us, we would express that freely amongst ourselves. Thus making an
agreement, we went out in right earnest as Munis to travel over the face of
this earth. Thus roaming all over the face of the earth, at the end of the
summer season, when the rainy season commenced we came to the beautiful city of
the King named S’anjaya. The King showed us great respect and worshipped us
with devotion. Since then we remained for four months at his house.
14-33. During the four months of the rainy
season, the roads are always almost impassable; it is, therefore, wise to stay
at one place. For eight months, the Dvîjas should always remain abroad on some
work or other. Thinking all these, we two began to stay in the house of the
King S’anjaya. That liberal minded King gladly and with respect kept us as his
guests and tendered to us all our requirements. The King had a very beautiful
daughter named Damayantî, with good teeth. The King ordered her to take care of
us. That large-eyed princess, of great discrimination, was very energetic, day
and night. She began to serve both of us. In due time she gave us water for our
bath, excellent meat, food, towels for cleaning and rubbing our faces, in fact,
everything what we desired. She kept ready for us whatever we desired, fans,
seats, beds, whatever were necessary for us. Thus she began to serve. We were
also engaged in the study of our Vedas and in those practises that were
approved by the Vedas. O Dvaipâyana! I used to sing, then, with lute in my
hands, the sweet lovely Sâma Gâyatrî songs in tunes and good Svaras. The
princess herself appreciated the songs and when she heard these Sâma songs
ravishing to one’s mind, she became attached to me and showed signs of
affection. Day by day the attachment towards me grew stronger. Seeing her
attached to me, my mind also became attached to her. Thus that princess
indulged in amorous sentiments towards me and began to make slight distinctions
between the food and other things offered to me and Parvata. I got warm water
for my bath and Parvata used to get cold water; I got nice curds when food was
served to me whereas Parvata got only whey. I got nice white bedding for myself
to sleep on whereas Parvata had merely a dirty sheet to lie down. Thus the
princess began to serve me with great love and devotion but not so she served
Parvata. The fair lady began to look at me with eyes of love; not so towards
Parvata. Parvata was very much surprised to see all this and thought within
himself, “What is this?” Parvata, then, asked me in private :– “O Nârada! Speak
out to me truly in detail. The princess shews with much gladness and affection
her deep love towards you; she serves you with dainty dishes but she behaves
not so with me. I therefore suspect when I see all these distinctions made between
you and me, that the daughter of the King S’anjaya wants with her heart and
soul to make you her husband. And you also want to make her your wife. 1 have
come to know this by signs and symptoms; for affection and love reigning inside
can be made out by outward expressions of eyes and face. Whatever this be, O
Muni! Now speak truly to me; do never tell a lie. When we went out from the
Heavens, we made out that agreement; now remember that.”
34-42. Nârada said :– Thus questioned
suddenly by Parvata, I became very much abashed and said :– “O Parvata! This
large-eyes princess is ready to marry me and I am also very much attracted
towards her.” When Parvata heard all these, he became very much angry and
uttered repeatedly, “Fie! O Nârada! Fie! O Nârada! First you swore on oath and
then you deceived me afterwards. Therefore, O Deceiver of friends! I curse you
and let your face become that of a monkey.” When the high-souled Parvata cursed
thus, the face turned immediately into that of a monkey, elongated and distorted.
I did not excuse him, though he was my sister’s son. I also got angry and
cursed him, “Certainly, your journey to the Heavens will be stopped. You will
not be able to go to Heaven. O Parvata! When you cursed me so heavily for so
trivial a fault of mine, I see you are very mean. Whatever it be, you will have
to remain on earth so long.” At this Parvata became very sad and went out of
the city. My face became immediately like that of a monkey. The daughter of the
King became very sorry to see my face thus distorted into that of a monkey. I
did not see her glad as she was before; but her desire to hear my playing with
my lute remained the same as before.
43-52. Vyâsa said :– O Muni! What happened
next? How did you get yourself rid of your curse and how did you get your
man-like face? Whither did Parvata Risi go! When and how did you again re-unite
with each other? Kindly describe all these to me in detail. Nârada said :– “O
Highly Intelligent One! What shall I say about the nature of Mâyâ? When Parvata
went away angrily, the daughter of the King began to serve me with greater care
than before. I remained there, though Parvata went away, and seeing my face
monkey-like, I became very dejected and sorry and was specially troubled with
the care and anxiety what would happen to me hereafter? The King S’anjaya saw
that his daughter Damayantî was slipping into her youth and asked the prime
minister about her marriage. He said :– “The time of marriage of my dear
daughter has now come; I will now marry her in accordance with due rites and
ceremonies. Now tell me particularly about a prince worthy of her, as we like,
in beauty, qualifications, largeheartedness, calmness, patience and heroism and
who is of a good family.” The minister said :– “O King! There are many princes
on the face of this earth, worthy in all respects, of your daughter. Whomever
you like, you can call on him and give him your daughter with elephants,
horses, chariots, wealth, gems and jewels.”
53-57. Damayantî, knowing the intention of
his father informed the King of her own desire by her nurse and attendant. The
nurse went to the King and said :– “When my father will sit at his ease and
comfort you would go and speak to him in private that I am enchanted with the
enchanting Nâda sound of the great lute played by the Maharsi Nârada and have
selected him as my bridegroom. No other person will be dear to me. O Father!
Marry me with Nârada and thus fulfil my desire; O Knower of Dharma! I won’t
marry anybody but Nârada. O Father! I am now merged in the Nâda-ocean (sound
ocean) of bliss, sweet and joyful, void of anything destructive of happiness,
void of Nakra, alligators, and fishes, Timingala, etc. (injurious animals) and
without any salty taste; my mind won’t be satisfied with any other thing.”
Here ends the Twenty sixth Chapter of the
Sixth Book on the description by Nârada of his own Moha in the Mahâpurânam S’rî
Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa
Chapter XXVII
On the marriage of Nârada and his face
getting transformed into that of a monkey
1-13. Nârada said :– On hearing these words
of her daughter from her nurse, the King addressed the queen Kaikeyî, of lovely
eyes, standing close by, thus :– “Have you heard what the nurse has said?
Damayantî has mentally chosen the monkey-faced Nârada as her husband. What has
she thought? Whatever it be, it is no doubt, an act of great foolishness. His
face is monkey-like; how can I betroth my daughter to him? Where is an ugly
beggar Nârada? And where is my daughter Damayantî? The marriage between them is
quite unjust; never it should take place. O Beautiful One of good hairs! Better
call her before you in private and show her reasons approved of the S’âstras
and of the aged persons and make her desist from such a rash course.” On hearing
her husband’s words, the mother of Damayantî called her in private and said :–
“O Child! Where is your this beautiful face? And where is the monkey-like face
of Nârada? You are smart and quick; how have you been, then, deluded by such a
Moha? O Child! You are the daughter of a king! Your body is gentle like a
creeper. And Nârada always besmears his body with ashes; so his body is very
rough. O Spotless One! How will you change your words with him? Why do you shew
your attachment to an ugly person? What pleasure do you feel thereby? You would
be married to a beautiful prince; never follow this rash course; your father is
very sorry to hear these from your nurse. O One of soft body! Judge this
yourself, what intelligent man is there that is not sorry at the soft Mâlatî
creeper entwining a thorny tree? Even a stupid silly man would never feed a
camel, that likes thorns, with soft betel-leaves. When your marriage time
arrives, say yourself, who will not be sorry to see you going to Nârada and
embracing him by his arms! Nobody likes to speak with an ugly faced one; how
will you be able to spend your time with him till your death!”
14-29. Nârada said :– On hearing the mother’s
words, the gentle Damayantî, with her mind intently fixed on me, spoke to her
mother, very much depressed in her spirits. “O Mother! What good face and
beautiful form will avail, who is not in the path of love and who is quite
ignorant of amorous feelings and sentiments! And what will the wealth and
kingdoms of that unskilled illiterate person avail! The deer, that roam in the
forest, getting enchanted by the Nâda (sound) Rasa, give up their lives even to
the singers. So they are fortunate. But fie to the persons who are illiterate
and void of feelings of love! O Mother! Nârada Risi is well conversant with the
science of music with seven Svaras. No other man save Mahâ Deva knows this.
Living with an illiterate person is courting death at every moment. One devoid
of qualifications should be always avoided, by all means, though he be wealthy
and of a beautiful form. Fie on the friendship with kings that are illiterate
and puffed up with vain arrogance! A well-qualified man, be he even a beggar,
is far better to be cultivated friendship with. Leaving other circumstances out
of account, even to change words with such a well qualified man, makes one
highly delighted. The man is very rare in this world, though he be weak, if he
be well versed in the science of music and if he knows Svara, Grâma, Murchchanâ
and be skilled in eight sentiments of love. [Note :-- Svara - Sadaja, Risabha,
Gândhâra, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nisâda. Grâma - the gradual increase
and decrease in Svaras. Murchchana - the rising of sounds, an intonation; a
duly regulated rise and fall of sound conducting the air and the harmony
through the keys in a pleasing manner; changing the key or passing from one key
to another; modulation; melody]. The man versed in the knowledge of Svara leads
one to the Heaven of Kailâs’a as the rivers Ganges and Sarasvatî by their own
merits lead one to Kailâs’a. There is not the least doubt in this. He is a Deva
in his human body who knows the Svara measure; and he who does not know the
Svara and its seven grades is a beast though he has a human form – he who finds
no delight when he hears the tune regulated by Murchchanâ and the seven Svaras.
Do not consider the deer as beasts for they get enchanted when they hear the
musical notes. The venomous snakes, though they have no ears, get delighted to
hear the enchanting Svara Nâda by their eyes. They even are to be praised; but
fie on those human beings who have ears but who do not find any delight when
they hear the Nâda! The little children feel intense pleasure to hear the
music, but fie, fie on those elders who are void of this musical sentiments! Does
not my father know that Nârada is ornamented with many qualifications? Who is
there in the three worlds like him in singing the Sâma songs! For this very
reason, indeed! I have already selected him as my husband; afterwards, due to a
curse, the Muni, the ocean of qualifications, got his face changed into that of
a monkey. The Kinnaras, skilled in the science of music, have their faces
horse-like; but are they not dear to all? What business have they to get good
faces? They enchant the Devas even by their sweet ravishing songs. O Mother!
Kindly tell my father that I have already chosen Nârada as my husband.
Therefore let him deliver me to his hands, without making any further requests
in this matter.”
30-40. Nârada said :– On hearing the words of
her daughter Damayantî, that unblameable pure queen knowing her attachment deep
towards me, spoke to the King thus :– “O King! Now celebrate in an auspicious
day and on an auspicious moment the auspicious marriage of Damayantî; the
daughter has said that she has already selected Nârada as her bridegroom and it
cannot be other-wise.” Thus prompted by the queen, the King S’anjaya performed
the marriage ceremony of her daughter in accordance with due rites and customs
and in an exceedingly becoming manner. O Risi! Thus I entered into the married
life and remained there though my heart constantly burned with the thought of
my monkey-face. Whenever the princess used to come to me for my service, I used
to get tormented with the remembrance of my monkey-face; but her face beamed
with gladness whenever she saw me; never she became sorry nor dejected, even
for a moment, to see my face monkey-like. Thus time passed on. One day the Muni
Parvata suddenly came there, after making his sojourn to many places of
pilgrimages. I showed him a great respect and gladly loved him and greeted him
duly; he got himself seated in an excellent Âsana and became very sorry to see
me. I am his uncle and have entered into a married life; my face has become
monkey-like. Therefore I am very much depressed in spirits and worried with the
sad thought and has become lean and thin. Seeing this he was overwhelmed with
pity. He then said :– “O Muni! The curse that I cast on you before out of my
anger, I now withdraw. Hear. O Maharsi! Let your face be by my merits, again as
good as it was before; I now feel pity for the daughter of the King.”
41-52. Hearing thus, my heart also became
gentle and instantly with a view to free him of my curse, I said :– “Let your
journey to the Heavens be re-established. I now make this special favour on you
as regards my curse on you before.” O Dvaipâyana! At his word, before our
sight, my face became exceedingly handsome as it was before. The princess
Damayantî became very glad and instantly she went to the mother and said :– “O
Mother! At the word of Parvata, the great Muni, the curse of your son-in-law
has been removed and his face has become handsome as before and the lustre of
his body has also increased.” The queen was very much filled with ecstasy and
joy at Damayantî’s words and went hurriedly and informed the King. The King
S’anjaya gladly went at once to see the Muni. The great King became very glad
and gave lots of wealth, gems and jewels to me and my nephew Parvata as a
dowry. O Dvaipâyana! Thus I have described to you my old story how I felt the
strong influence of Mâyâ. O Fortunate One! Owing to the illusory nature of the
Gunas, like a magic, no embodied being in this world could have been happy
before, or he is happy now or he will be happy hereafter. Lust, anger, greed,
jealousy, attachment, egoism, and vanity, each one of these is very powerful;
nobody is able to conquer these. O Muni! The three Gunas Sâttva, Râjas and
Tâmas are the entire causes of the coming into this bodily existence of every
being. O Dvaipâyana! Once I was passing with Bhagavân Visnu, laughing and
joking, making merriments through a forest, when suddenly I was transformed
into a woman. Next I became the wife of a king enchanted by Mâyâ, I remained in
his house and gave birth to many children.
53-56. Vyâsa said :– O Devarsi! A great doubt
has now arisen in my mind at your word. O Muni! You are very wise; how then did
you get womanhood; how again did you regain your manhood? Who was the king at
whose house you stayed and how did you give birth to children; describe fully
and satisfy my curiosity. Describe to me, now, the nature of Mâyâ, extremely
wonderful, by which this entire universe, moving and non-moving, all are
enchanted. O Muni! Though I have heard your nectar-like words, capable to
remove all the doubts, embodying the essence of all the S’âstras, yet I am not
fully satiated.
Here ends the Twenty-seventh Chapter of the
Sixth Book on the marriage of Nârada and his face getting transformed into that
of a monkey in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXIX
1-11. Nârada said :– O Dvaipâyana! When the
King Tâladhvaja asked me thus, I thought over earnestly and said thus :– “I do
not know whose daughter I am; nor do I know quite certainly where are my father
and mother; one man placed me here on this tank and has gone away, whither I do
not know. O King! I am now an helpless orphan; what shall I do now? Where to
go? What to do by which I can have my welfare? I am all the while thinking on
these. O King! The Destiny is powerful; I have not the least control over it;
you know Dharma and you are a King. Do now as you like. O King! Do nourish me;
I have no father, no mother, nor any acquaintances and friends; there is no
place for me also to stand on; therefore I am now your dependent.” When I spoke
thus, the King looked at my face and became love-stricken for me; he then told
his attendants to bring an excellent rectangular and spacious palanquin to be
carried on four men’s shoulders, gilt and adorned with jewels and pearls, where
soft sheets were spread inside and covered all over with silken cloths.
Instantly the servants went away and brought for me a beautiful palanquin. I
got on it to serve the best wishes of the King. The King also gladly took me
home. In an auspicious day and in an auspicious moment he married me in
accordance with due rites and ceremonies in the presence of the Holy Fire.
12. I became dearer to him than even his own
life and the King, with great fondness, kept my name as Saubhâgya Sundarî.
13-20. The King then began to sport with me
amorously according to the rules of the Kâma S’âstra in various ways and with
great enjoyments and pleasures. He then left all his kingly duties and state
affairs and he began to remain day and night with me deeply immersed in amorous
sports; so much his mind was merged in me in these plays that he could not
notice the long time that passed away in the interval. He used to drink the
Vârunî wine and, forsaking all the state affairs, began to enjoy me in nice
gardens, beautiful lakes, lovely palaces, beautified houses, excellent
mountains and enviable forests and became completely subservient to me. O
Dvaipâyana! Being incessantly engaged with the King in amorous sports and
remaining obedient to him, my previous body, male ideas, or the birth of Muni,
nothing whatsoever came in my memory. I remained always attached to him, being
obedient to him with a view to be happy and I constantly thought over “that
this King is very much attached to me, I am his dearest wife to all others;
always he thinks of me, I am his chief consort, capable to give him enjoyment.”
My mind became entirely his and I completely forgot the eternal Brahmajñân and
the knowledge of the Dharma S’âstras.
21-31. O Muni! Thus engaged in various
amorous sports, twelve years passed away as if a moment and I could not
perceive that. Then I became pregnant; and the King became very glad and
performed all the ceremonies pertaining to my impregnation and holding of the
child in my womb. In order to satisfy me, the King used to ask me always what
things I liked; I used to be very much abashed; seeing this, the King used to
be still more glad. Ten months thus passed away and in an auspicious Lagna and
when the asterism was favourably strong, I gave birth to a son; the King became
very glad and great festivities were held on the birth ceremony of the child. O
Dvaipâyana! When the period of the birth-impurity was over, the King saw the
face of the child and was greatly delighted; I then became the dearest wife of
the King. Two years after again I became impregnated; the second auspicious son
was born. The King gave the name Sudhanvâ to the second son and on the
authority of the Brâhmins, kept the name of the eldest son as Vîravarmâ. Thus I
gave birth to twelve sons, in due course of time, to the King’s great liking;
and I was engaged in rearing up those children and thus I remained enchanted.
Again in due course, I gave birth to eight sons; thus my household was filled
with happiness. The King performed the marriage ceremonies of all those
children duly and befittingly; and our family became very large with sons and
their wives.
32-52. Then I had some grandsons and they
increased my attachment and the consequent delusion with their all sorts of
playful sports. Sometimes I felt happy and prosperous and sometimes I felt pain
and sorrow when my sons fell ill. Then my body and mind became very much
troubled with sorrows. Again the quarrels amongst my sons and my
daughters-in-law, brought terrible pain and remorse in my mind. O Best of
Munis! Thus I was greatly immersed in the terrible ocean of these imaginary
thoughts, sometimes happy and sometimes painful, and I forgot my previous
knowledge and the knowledge of the S’âstras. I was merged in the thought of
myself being a woman and lost myself entirely in doing the household affairs. I
began to think “that I have so many daughters-in-law; so many powerful sons of
mine are playing together in my house; Oh! I am fortunate and full of merits
amongst women” and thus my egoistic pride increased. Not for a moment even
occurred the thought that I had been Nârada; the Bhagavân had deceived me by
His Mâyâ. O Krisna Dvaipâyana! I was deluded by Mâyâ and passed away my time in
the thought “that I am the king’s wife, chaste and of good conduct following
good Âchâra; I have so many sons and grandsons; I am blessed in this Samsâra
and that I am so happy and prosperous.” One powerful king of a distant country
turned out an inveterate enemy of my husband and came to the city of Kanauj to
fight with my husband, accompanied by chariots, and elephants and the fourfold
army. That enemy besieged the city with his army; my sons and grandsons went
out and fought valiantly with him but owing to the great Destiny, the enemies
killed all my sons. The King retreated and returned to his palace. Next I heard
that powerful King killed all my sons and grandsons and had gone back to his
country with his army. I then hurriedly went to the battlefield, crying loudly.
O Long-lived One! Seeing my sons and grandsons lying on the ground, in that
horrible and distressed state, I became merged in the ocean of sorrows and
lamented and wept loudly and wildly, “O my Sons! Where have you gone leaving me
thus? Alas! The pernicious Fate is very dominant, and very painsgiving and indomitable.
It has killed me today.” By this time, the Bhagavân Madhusûdana came to me
there in the garb of a beautiful aged Brâhmin. His dress was sacred and lovely;
it seemed he was versed in the Vedas. Seeing me weeping distressedly in the
battlefield he said :– “O Devî! O cuckoo-voiced One! It seems you are the
mistress of a prosperous house and you have got husband and sons! O thin-bodied
One! Why are you thus lamenting and feeling yourself distressed! All this is
simply illusion caused by Moha; think; who are you? whose sons are these? Now
think of your best hereafter; Don’t weep, get up and be comfortable, O
Good-eyed one!
53-54. O Devî! To shew respect to your sons,
etc., gone to the other worlds, offer them water and Til. The friends of the
deceased ought to take their bath in a place of pilgrimage; never they should
bathe in their houses. Know this as ordained by Dharma.
55-66. Nârada said :– O Dvaipâyan! When the
old Brâhmin thus addressed me, I and the King and other friends got up. The
Bhagavân Madhusûdana causing this creation, in the form of a Brâhmana, led the
way and I followed him quickly to that sacred place of pilgrimage. The Visnu
Bhagavân, the Lord Janârdana Hari, in the form of a Brâhmin, kindly took me to
the tank named Pumtîrtha (male tîrtha) and said :– “O One going like an
elephant! Better take your bath in this tank; forego your sorrows that are of
no use; now the time has arrived to offer water to your sons. Better think that
you had millions of sons born to you in your previous births and for that your
millions of sons and daughters lost their lives; you had millions of fathers,
husbands, and brothers and you lost them again; O Devî! Now tell me for whom
you will now grieve? All these, then, are merely mental phenomena; this world is
full of delusion, false like a mirage and dream-like; the embodied souls,
simply get pains and sorrows and nothing else.” Nârada said :– On hearing his
words, I went to bathe in that Pumtîrtha, as ordered by him. Taking a dip, I
found that, in an instant, I became a man; the Bhagavân Hari, in his own proper
form, was standing on the edge with a lute in his hand. O Brâhmin! When getting
out of the water, I came to the bank and saw the lotus-eyed Krisna, pure
consciousness then flashed in my heart. Then I thought “that I am Nârada; I
have come to this place and being deluded by the Mâyâ of Hari, I got the female
form.” When I was thinking thus, Hari exclaimed, “O Nârada! Get up; what are
you doing, standing in the water?” I was astonished; and, recollecting my
feminine nature, very severe indeed, began to think why I was again transformed
into a male form.
Here ends the Twenty-ninth Chapter of the
Sixth Book on the Nârada’s getting again his male form in the Mahâpurânam S’rî
Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXX
On the glory of Mahâ Mâyâ
1-14. Nârada said :– O Best of Munis! The
King was greatly astonished to see me dip in the tank in a female figure and
get up from the tank in a male figure and thought, “Where is my dearest wife?
And how is this Nârada Muni suddenly come here!” The King, not seeing his wife,
lamented very much and cried frequently, “O my dear Wife! Where have you gone,
leaving me here thus. Without you, O One of spacious hips! My life, palace and
kingdom, all, are quite useless. O Lotus-eyed one! What shall I do? O Smiling
One! Why is not my life getting out of my body, suffering thus from thy
separation? Without you, my sentiment of love has left me for ever. O
Large-eyed One! Now I am lamenting for you. O Dear! Better give me your sweet
reply; the love that you expressed at our first union, where has it gone now? O
One with good eyebrows! Are you sunk in the water and have you given up your
life? Or are you devoured by fishes or crocodiles? Or are you carried away by
Varuna, the Deva of the waters, to my great misfortune? O One of beautiful
limbs! You are blessed, as you have gone away with your sons; O sweet-speaking
One! Your affection for them was not artificial. Is it right for you to go up
to the Heavens, attached by affection for your sons, leaving me your distressed
husband alone, thus weeping for your separation? O Dear! I have lost both, you
and my sons; yet death is not carrying me away; O! How hard is my lot! What to
do? Where to go? Râma is not now in this world. He knew what was the pain
caused by the separation from one’s dearest wife. Oh! The cruel Fate has
ordained very unwisely with great inconsistency the periods of parting from one
another at different periods; when their minds and all other things are exactly
the same in all circumstances of pleasure and pain. The practice of Satî
(burning with one’s deceased husband), as ordained by the Munis, is certainly
for the good of the chaste women; but it would have been good no doubt, were
there such practices allowed for the men to burn themselves with their deceased
wives.” Bhagavân Hari then spoke to the lamenting King in reasonable words and
consoled him thus :– “O King! Why are you thus troubling yourself with pain and
sorrow? Where has gone your dearest wife? Have you not heard anything of
S’âstras? or Have you not taken any shelter of any wise man!
15-27. Who was your wife? Who are you? Of
what nature was your union and disunion and where did it take place? The union
of wives and sons in this S’amsâra is momentary like the meetings of persons on
boats, while crossing a river. O King! Now go home, there is no use in your
weeping thus in vain; the union and disunion of men are always under the
control of Fate, the Daiva; therefore the wise should not lament for them. O King!
Your union with the woman took place here; and now you have lost that
beautiful, thin-bodied, large-eyed woman here also. Her father and mother you
have not seen; you have got her like what is heard in the story of the crow and
the Tâl fruit; as you got her wonderfully, so you have lost her wonderfully. O
King! Do not grieve; Time cannot be ruled over; go home and enjoy yourself
subservient to Time. That beautiful woman has gone away in the manner she came
to you; you ought to do your stately affairs in the way as you used to do
before as the ruler of all. O King! Consider that if you weep day and night,
that women will never return; why then are you giving vent to your sorrows in
vain? Go now and have recourse to the path of the Yoga and thus while away your
time. The enjoyable things come in course of time and they go away again in due
course; therefore in this world of no gain whatsoever, the wise should never
lament. Continuous pleasure or continuous pain does not always take place;
pleasure and pain are never steady; they rotate always like a rotary
instrument. Therefore, O King! Make your mind calm and quiet and rule happily
your kingdom; or make over the charge of the kingdom to your sons and retire to
the forest. This human body is seldom obtained; it is frail; therefore getting
that body it is advisable to practise the realisation of the Supreme. O King!
This organ of generation and this tongue reside also with the beasts, the
peculiarity of human body is that knowledge can be realised in it; not in any
other inferior births. Therefore leave your home, leave your sorrows for your
wife; all this is the Mâyâ of Bhagavân; by Her the world is deluded.”
28-37. Nârada said :– Bhagavân Hari speaking
thus, the King bowed down to Him, the Deva of the Devas and finishing the
bathing duties returned to his home. He then became possessed of dispassion and
discrimination and making over the charge of his kingdom to his grandsons
retired to the forest and realised the Supreme Knowledge. When the King went
away, the Bhagavân began to laugh and laugh, seeing me again and again. I then
told him, “O Deva! You have deceived me. I now come to know how great is the
power of Mâyâ. O Janârdana! Now I remember all that I did in my feminine form.
Tell me, O Hari! O Deva of the Devas! How I lost my previous consciousness,
when I got down into the tank and bathed in it. O Lord of the world! Why was I
enchanted, when I got the female form and when I got the King as my husband
like S’achî’s getting Indra. The same mind I had; the old Jivâtmâ was there and
the previous subtle body was there; how, then, I lost their memories? O Lord!
Give out the cause of it and clear my doubts; a great doubt has arisen in my
mind. Many enjoyments I had in my female form, drinking liquor and other prohibited
things I tasted; O Slayer of Madhu! What is the cause of all these? I could not
know then that I was Nârada, as I now recognise clearly what I was in and what
I did in my female form. Say the Why of all these things.”
38-53. Visnu said :– “Know, O Intelligent
Nârada! That all this is merely the Pastime of Mâyâ. There are many states
going on in the bodies of all the living beings. The embodied beings have got
their waking, dream, deep sleep and Tûriya (beyond all the three
above-mentioned) states; then why you doubt that when there is another body,
there would be also the change in the states? When a man sleeps, he knows not
anything, he does not hear anything; but when he gets awake, he again comes to
know everything completely. The Chitta gets itself moved by sleep; then mind
gets different states by dreams and there arises a variety of feelings. A mad
elephant is coming to kill me, and I am not able to fly away. What to do? Where
to go? There is no place where I can quickly go; thus, in dreams, there arise
different mental states. Sometimes we see in dreams that our departed
grandfathers are come in our houses. I am seeing them, talking with them and I
am dining with them. Whatever pain and pleasure are felt in dreams, when they
awake, they know of what happened in their dreams and can also describe in
details, recollecting what had then happened. O Nârada! Know the power of Mâyâ
incomprehensible as the things seen in dreams cannot be certainly known that
all those are false. O Muni! Neither I, nor S’ambhu, nor Brahmâ can measure the
power wielded by Mâyâ and Her three Gunas, very hard to fathom. How, then, can
any ordinary mortal know them! Therefore, O Nârada! None is able to fathom the
Mâyâ. This world, moving and non-moving, is fashioned out of the triple Gunas
of the Mâyâ; nothing whatsoever can exist without them. The predominant Guna in
Me is Sâttva; but Râjas and Tâmas exist in me; being the Lord of this world, I
cannot override the three Gunas. So your father, Brahmâ, is predominant in Râjo
Guna; but Sâttva and Tâmas never leave Him, Our Mahâ Deva is predominant in
Tâmo Guna, but Sâttva and Râjo are always with him. Therefore, no being can
exist as separate from the three Gunas; this point I have settled in S’ruti.
Therefore, O Lord of the Munis! Quit this endless Moha for the world, caused by
Mâyâ, and very hard to get over and worship Bhagavatî, Who is of the nature of
Brâhman. O Intelligent One! Now you have seen the power of Mâyâ; and you have
enjoyed many things produced by Mâyâ and you have realised the extremely
wonderful nature of Her. Then why do you ask me further on this point?”
Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Sixth
Book on the glory of Mahâ Mâyâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Chapter XXXI
On the glory of Mâyâ
18-22. O Muni! When my Father learnt the
cause of my cares, he smiled and spoke to me in sweet words :– “O Child! The
Devas, the high-souled Munis, the wise ascetics and the Yogis subsisting on air
only are not able to conquer this Mâyâ. O Nârada! The power of Mâyâ is so very
great that I, Visnu and S’ambhu, the Lord of Umâ, none are able to know Her
power. That Mahâmâyâ is creating, preserving and dissolving this world by Time,
Karma, and Nature and other efficient causes. O Child! Know Her to be
inconceivable and unapproachable. O Intelligent One! Do not be sorry nor should
you be surprised about Mâyâ’s great strength, for we all are deluded by Her.
23-25. O Dvaipâyan! Thus advised by my
Father, my wonder disappeared. I then asked permission of my Father Padma Yoni
(Lotus-born) and went out on tour round the sacred places of pilgrimages and on
my way, seeing by and by the chief Tîrthas, I have now come here. Therefore, O
Muni! Dost thou relinquish your sorrows for the extinction of the Kuru’s family
and remain here and pass your time in great joy and happiness. One must bear
the fruits of one’s Karma, good or bad; knowing this fully roam at your will
wherever you like.
26-40. Vyâsa said :– O King! Maharsi Nârada
thus kindling knowledge in me, went away; I also thought over his words. On the
banks of the river Sarasvatî, I composed this Devî Bhâgavat to pass away my
time during the excellent period of Sârasvata Kalpa. This Purânam is excellent;
it is composed on the authority of the the Vedas; all doubts are removed by it;
many nice events are narrated here. Therefore, O King! Not the least doubt
should be entertained. As a magician makes the wooden dolls dance in his hands
at his will, so this world-enchanting Mâyâ is making this world, moving and
non-moving, dance from Brahmâ down to the blades of grass and all human beings.
O King! Know Mâyâ’s triple Gunas to be the cause of this mind consisting of
five organs of senses, that follows the Chitta (mind, buddhi and Ahamkâra). Actions
arise from the causes thereof; there is no doubt in this; what doubt, then,
there can arise that all these creatures of different temperaments will come
out of the different Gunas of Mâyâ. Peaceful, terrible and stupid become the
persons in contact with the Mayic Gunas. How, then, can they exist, bereft of
them? As the cloth cannot exist without threads, so the embodied beings cannot
exist in the world without the triple Gunas of Mâyâ. There is no doubt in this.
As a pot cannot be made without clay, so these bodies, Devas, human or birds,
cannot be created without the Gunas. Brahmâ, Visnu and S’iva, too, are
possessed of those three Gunas and therefore they become sometimes happy and
satisfied, sometimes unhappy and dissatisfied and sometimes they become sad and
remorseful as they are then under the influence of one Guna or the other.
Brahmâ happens at times to be full of wisdom and knowledge, his temper
peaceful, sweet and pleasant and his soul rapt in Samâdhi, when he becomes
possessed of Sâttva Guna; again when he is void of Sâttva and filled with Râjo
Guna, His temper becomes unpleasant and his appearance gets dark and awful
everywhere; and when he becomes grossly Tâmasic, He becomes sorrowful and
bereft entirely of intelligence.
41-51. Visnu, when resting in Sâttva, becomes
peaceful, sweet-tempered, and full of knowledge; when Râjo Guna preponderates
in Him, He becomes void of sweetness and becomes awful to all the beings. Rudra
becomes, too, peaceful and pleasant under the Sâttva Guna, awful and void of
sweetness under the Râjo Guna, and becomes sad and stupid under the Tâmo Guna.
O King! When Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’vara and the solar and lunar Kings, the
fourteen lords of Manvantaras, Manu and others are under the control of the
mayic Gunas, what to speak of other ordinary mortals, men and the other Jîvas.
The whole world is under the control of Mâyâ; the Devas, men and all other
beings. None should doubt on this point. All the embodied beings labour under
the directions of Mâyâ; never can they work independently. This Mâyâ is again
always residing in the Highest Essence, the Samvit or the Universal Pure
Consciousness. Thus Mâyâ is dependent on the Highest Goddess, Who is of the
nature of Samvit, and, stimulated by Her, resides in the hearts of all the
Jîvas. Therefore one ought to meditate, worship and bow down before the
Bhagavatî, the Creatrix of Mâyâ and Who is of the nature of Samvit, Pure
Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. Thus She becomes gracious and merciful and
liberates the Jîvas, giving them Her realisation and drawing together Her own
Mâyâ away from them. This whole cosmos is nothing but Mâyâ and the
Consciousness (Samvit) of the nature of Brâhman is the Lord of Mâyâ. For this
reason that Beautiful One in the triple worlds, the Devî Bhagavatî is known by
the name Bhuvanes’varî, the Great Lady of the worlds.
52-60. O King! If the Jîvas can fix their
hearts on that Samvit, then Mâyâ, born of the real and unreal, is quite unable
to do any harm to them. No other Deva than the Bhuvanes’varî, of the nature of
pure existence, intelligence and bliss is able to remove this Mâyâ. O King!
Darkness cannot destroy darkness; the Sun, Moon, Lightning or Fire can destroy
it. Therefore it is highly incumbent on us to worship the Lady of Mâyâ, the
Samvit, the Mother with a cheerful heart to remove the Mâyâ and Her Gunas. O
King! Now I have narrated to you all the events concerning the killing of
Vritrâsura that you asked. What more do you want to hear now. O One devoted to
vows! I have now described the first half of that Purâna, which describes in
detail the glory of S’rî Devî Bhagavatî. This Purâna, the secret of this Mother
of the whole Universe, is not to be disclosed indiscriminately to anybody.
Those that are peaceful, self-restrained, devoted, and possessed of Bhakti to
the Devî, the disciples that are devoted to their Gurus and the eldest son,
those are the fit recipients thereof. Whoever reads or hears with greatest
devotion this Mahâpurânam, equivalent to the Vedas, fraught with sound proofs
and the essence of all talks, becomes, in this world, possessed of great
wealth, becomes wise and passes his time in the greatest happiness. There is no
doubt in this.
Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter on the
Sixth Book on the glory of Mâyâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
The Sixth Book Finished.
(My humble
salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophic Scholars, Knowledge
seekers for the collection)
1 comments:
Extremely Good Collections and excellent presentation.May Maa's blessings be showered on you. In Skandha 6, Chapter 31, the first 1 - 17 is not found. Can you locate the same and publish. ( It is not found even in the sacred texts.)
Rgds.
Kaleekrish.
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