by Bibek Debroy
‘“Avoidance of rites by a grihastha, the giving up of vows by a brahmachari, residence in a village by an ascetic 842 and the agitation of the senses by a mendicant 843—these are indeed the vilest in the respective ashramas and amount to fraud in the ashramas. They are confounded by the divinity’s maya. Out of compassion, one should disregard them. If a person realizes his own atman, that supreme knowledge cleanses his mind. That being the case, for what purpose and for whom, should a lustful person nourish the body? The body is said to be a chariot, the senses are the horses, the mind, the lord of the senses, is the reins, the objects of senses are the paths, intelligence is the charioteer, and the heart is the bondage that has been created by the lord. The ten breaths of life are the spokes, 844 dharma and adharma are the two wheels and because of ego, the jivatman identifies himself as the charioteer. It is said that the sound of ‘Oum’ is the bow, the jivatman is the arrow and the paramatman is the target. Love, hatred, greed, grief, illusion, fear, pride, insolence, dishonour, jealousy, deceitfulness, violence, intolerance, passion, distractedness, hunger and sleep are the enemies naturally caused by rajas and tamas. Rarely does sattva naturally cause these. This chariot in the form of human body, with its constituent parts, is under a person’s control. One possesses the sword of knowledge, sharpened by serving at the feet of great people. One should draw on Achyuta’s strength until the enemies have been destroyed. When a person is content with the internal bliss, he is tranquil and can give this up. 845 Otherwise, if the charioteer is inattentive, the senses will be like wicked horses that drag the chariot along wicked paths, where it is hurled before bandits in the form of material objects. With the horses and the charioteer, the bandits fling him into a well of blinding darkness in the form of samsara, where he suffers from great fear of death. The Vedas mention two kinds of tasks—pravritti and nivritti. One is whirled around through pravritti. Through nivritti, one obtains immortality. Rites that require a lot of objects and involve violence, undertaken for satisfying desires; agnihotra and others that cause lack of peace; darsha, purnamasa, chaturmasya, pashu, huta and prahuta—these are known as ishta. The construction of temples, gardens and tanks and the distribution of things required to sustain life are examples of purta. 846 When material objects mixed with ghee are offered into a fire, they become smoke, the night, krishna paksha, dakshinayana and soma. But they return as herbs and plants. O lord of the earth! As food, they become semen and are born again, after having followed pitri yana. Going through one step after another, they are born again. 847 From the time of birth, if a dvija is cleansed through the sixteen samskaras, any oblations offered to the senses through rites and sacrifices serve the lamp of knowledge. He offers the senses into the mind, the mind, the result of vaikarika ahamkara, is offered into speech, speech is offered into the aggregate of letters 848 and that sound is offered into Omkara. Omkara is merged into Bindu, Bindu into Nada, Nada into Prana and Prana into Mahat. 849 Agni, Surya, day, evening, shukla paksha, raka, uttarayana and Brahma are steps, followed by vishva, taijasa, prajna and turiya. After this, the atman is freed. 850 Pitri yana and deva yana have been described in the Vedas. A person who possesses the insight of the sacred texts is not confounded. He always exists at the beginning and at the end of living entities. He is inside and outside. He is cause and effect. He is knowledge and the object of knowledge. He is speech and the object of speech. He is himself darkness and light. A reflection in an image is not real, but is accepted as real. In that way, because reality is difficult to establish, objects perceived by the senses are accepted as real. This 851 is a shadow of earth and the other elements. But it is not a compound or a mixture. It is not any of them, singly or collectively. Therefore, it is unreal. The elements are the cause behind the body. 852 Without the limbs of the body, the objects of the senses cannot be perceived to exist. When the aggregate is unreal, the constituent parts must also be unreal. If the aggregate and the constituent parts are distinct, any parallel between them must be an error. This is also the case with states of being awake and being asleep. Both are like dreams. 853 This is also true of the injunctions of the sacred texts. A sage realizes that differences in thoughts, action and materials are unreal for the atman. Therefore, he gives up the three states of wakefulness, sleeping and dreaming. 854 He has the insight that cause and effect are the same, like the thread and a piece of cloth. This is said to be the perception of advaita, 855 any differentiation being unreal. O Partha! The surrender of all tasks to the supreme brahman, in thoughts, words and deeds, is said to be kriya-advaita. When one’s own self, the wife, the son, all other creatures and artha and kama are regarded as one, this is said to be dravya-advaita. O king! As long as there is no calamity, a man must perform whatever tasks are recommended for him and not prohibited, wherever and however. O king! If a man follows his own tasks, as recommended in the Vedas and otherwise, and is also devoted to him, 856 he attains his state, even if he is a householder. O lord of men! You faced many kinds of insurmountable difficulties. However, because of the lord, you tided over them. By serving at his lotus feet, you conquered your enemies, who were like diggajas, and performed sacrifices.
‘“In earlier times, in a great kalpa, I was a gandharva named Upabarhana. I was extremely revered by the gandharvas. My body was beautiful in form, attractive, fragrant and handsome. The women loved me and in my own city I was always intoxicated and lascivious. Once, in a sacrifice performed by the gods, a large number of gandharvas and apsaras were invited by the creators of the universe 857 to chant about Hari’s glory. Getting to know and possessing knowledge about singing, I went there, surrounded by women, and sang. Because of the disrespect I had shown, the creators of the universe used their energy to curse me. 858 ‘You have shown disrespect and your prosperity will be destroyed. Leave and immediately be born as a shudra.’ Hence, I was born through a female servant. Nevertheless, I served and associated with those who knew about the brahman. Therefore, I have been born as Brahma’s son. The dharma that destroys the sins of householders has been described to you. Through this, a grihastha can easily obtain the goal intended by a sannyasi. In this world of men, you are extremely fortunate. Sages who purify the worlds have themselves come to your house, where the supreme brahman secretly resided in human form. He is the brahman whom great people seek out for the sake of kaivalya, nirvana and feelings of bliss. He is your beloved well-wisher and the son of your maternal uncle. He is your atman and revered preceptor, though he acted for your sake. Using their intelligence, Bhava and the one born from the lotus 859 and others can themselves not describe his true form. Those who have withdrawn worship him in devotion and silence. May the lord of the Satvatas show us his favours.”’
Shri-Shuka said, ‘The bull among the Bharata lineage heard what the devarshi had said. Extremely delighted and overwhelmed with love, he worshipped Krishna. The sage was worshipped and took his leave from Krishna and Partha. Hearing that Krishna was the supreme brahman, Partha was greatly surprised. The separate lineages of Daksha’s daughters have also been described—gods, asuras, humans and mobile and immobile objects.’
This ends the Seventh Skandha.
Eighth Skandha
Chapter 8(1): 33 shlokas
Chapter 8(2): 32 shlokas
Chapter 8(3): 33 shlokas
Chapter 8(4): 26 shlokas
Chapter 8(5): 50 shlokas
Chapter 8(6): 39 shlokas
Chapter 8(7): 46 shlokas
Chapter 8(8): 46 shlokas
Chapter 8(9): 29 shlokas
Chapter 8(10): 56 shlokas
Chapter 8(11): 48 shlokas
Chapter 8(12): 47 shlokas
Chapter 8(13): 36 shlokas
Chapter 8(14): 11 shlokas
Chapter 8(15): 36 shlokas
Chapter 8(16): 61 shlokas
Chapter 8(17): 28 shlokas
Chapter 8(18): 32 shlokas
Chapter 8(19): 44 shlokas
Chapter 8(20): 34 shlokas
Chapter 8(21): 34 shlo
kas
Chapter 8(22): 36 shlokas
Chapter 8(23): 31 shlokas
Chapter 8(24): 61 shlokas
Chapter 8(1)
The king 860 said, ‘O preceptor! I have heard in detail about Svayambhuva’s 861 lineage, in which, different kinds of creators of the universe were born. However, also tell us about the other Manus. O brahmana! We are listenting. Tell us about Hari’s birth and great deeds in those manvantaras. The wise ones sing about them. O brahmana! What has the illustrious doer and creator of the universe done in the past, what is he doing now and what will he do in the future?’
The rishi 862 replied, ‘In this kalpa, six manvantaras, Svayambhuva and the others, have passed. The first one, with the creation of the gods and others, has been described to you. Manu had two daughters, Akuti and Devahuti. To instruct knowledge about dharma, the illustrious one was born as a son. O extender of the Kuru lineage! The deeds of the illustrious Kapila have already been described. I will now tell you what the illustrious Yajna did. 863 The lord who was Shatarupa’s husband 864 no longer had any attachment for the objects of pleasure and desire. Having given up the kingdom, with his wife, he entered the forest to perform austerities. On the banks of the Sunanda, he stood, with one foot touching the ground, for one hundred years. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! While tormenting himself through these terrible austerities, he said the following. Manu said, “He brought consciousness to the universe, but no one in the universe can bring consciousness to him. 865 He is awake when everything else sleeps. No one can know him, but he knows everything. His atman resides everywhere in this universe, in everything that exists in this universe. Therefore, one should only enjoy what has been given by him and not accept someone else’s wealth. Though he sees, he cannot be seen by any eye. His vision never diminishes. The divinity is the refuge of all creatures and Suparna must always be worshipped. 866 He has no beginning, end or middle, no notion of own or belonging to others, no inside or outside. Everything ascribed to the universe 867 emanates from him. Therefore, his greatness is the only truth in the universe. The universe is his form and he is known by different names—the controller, truth, self-illuminating, without origin and the ancient one. Through his powers and energy, he executes creation and the other things. 868 However, using his knowledge, he exists without any action. Therefore, to end action, rishis first urge people to undertake action. A person who engages in this way, 869 generally attains emancipation. The illustrious lord undertakes action, but is not touched by them. He is completely satisfied by the benefit brought to his atman. Those who follow him do not suffer. He is learned and without ahamkara, acting for our sakes. He is without desire. He is complete and is not urged by anyone else. To instruct men, he sticks to his own path. I seek refuge in the lord. He is the one who thinks of all kinds of dharma.” Controlled, he recited this mantropanishad. On seeing this, the hungry asuras and yatudhanas rushed towards him. Seeing them there, Yajna Hari, who is everywhere, surrounded by Yamas and gods, killed them. He then ruled heaven. 870 Agni’s son, Svarochisha was the second Manu. His chief sons were Dyumat, Sushena and Rochishmat. At that time, the Indra was Rochana and the gods were Tushita and others. 871 Urja, Stambha and others were the saptarshis and they knew about the brahman. The rishi Vedashira had a wife named Tushita 872 and through her, the lord 873 was born and known as Vibhu. He did not marry and instructed eighty-eight thousand sages, who were firm in their vows, and they followed his vow of brahmacharya. The third Manu was Uttama, Priyavrata’s son. O king! His chief sons were Pavana, Srinjaya and Yajnahotra. Pramada and the other sons of Vasishtha were the saptarshis. The gods were Satyas, Vedashrutas and Bhadras 874 and Satyajit was Indra. The illustrious Purushottama was born as the son of Sunrita, Dharma’s wife. He was known as Satyasena and the Satyavratas 875 were born with him. The yakshas and rakshasas were false, wicked in conduct and evil. They harmed creatures. As a friend of Satyajit, he 876 killed them and the large number of bhutas. The fourth Manu was named Tapasa and he was Uttama’s brother. He had ten sons—Prithu, Khyati, Nara, Ketu and others. At that time, the gods were Satyakas, Haris and Viras and the lord 877 was Trishikha. During Tapasa manvantara, the saptarshis were Jyoti, Dhama and others. O king! As the sons of Vidhriti, the gods also had the name of Vaidhritis. Through their own energy, they nurtured the Vedas, which had been lost over a period of time. The illustrious one was born through Harini, Harimedha’s wife. He was known as Hari and he saved the Indra among elephants from the crocodile.’
The king asked, ‘O Badarayana’s son! We wish to hear about this from you. How did Hari save the lord of elephants from the crocodile? The illustrious Uttamashloka Hari’s account is great, sacred, praiseworthy, auspicious and beneficial, wherever it is chanted.’
Suta said, ‘O brahmanas! Parikshit was seated in praya 878 and he urged Badarayana’s son to describe this account. In the assembly of sages who wished to hear, he was delighted and applauded the king. He spoke.’
Chapter 8(2)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘O king! There was a best among mountains, famous as Trikuta. It was beautiful, ten thousand yojanas in height, and was surrounded by the Kshiroda ocean. In every direction, its expanse was as much as its height. It had three summits, made of gold, silver and iron, and it illuminated the ocean of milk, the directions and the sky. There were many other peaks, colourful because of ores and jewels. It was covered with many kinds of trees, creepers and shrubs and there were the sounds of waterfalls. In every direction, its feet were washed by waves of milk, which made the ground, studded with emeralds and pebbles, appear dark green. The caverns were full of Siddhas, charanas, gandharvas, vidyadharas, giant serpents, kinnaras and apsaras, who sported there. The caves echoed and resounded with the tones of singing, and proud lions, suspecting the presence of an enemy, roared in intolerance. The valleys were ornamented with herds of many kinds of wild animals. The divine groves had colourful trees and resounded with the calls of birds. There were rivers and lakes filled with sparkling water, with the shores filled with sand mixed with gems. When celestial women bathed in the waters, these became fragrant and the wind bore that scent along. In one of those valleys, there was a grove that belonged to the great-souled and illustrious Varuna. It was named Ritumat and celestial women sported there. In every direction, it was decorated with divine trees that always had flowers and fruit—mandara, parijata, patala, ashoka, champaka, chuta, priyala, panasa, amra, amrataka, kramuka, narikela, kharjura, bijapuraka, madhuka, sala, tala, tamala, asana, arjuna, arishta, udumbara, plaksha, vata, kimshuka, chandana, pichumarda, kovidara, sarala, suradaru, draksha, ikshu, rambha, jambu, badari, aksha, abhaya, amalaka, bilva, kapittha, jambira, bhallataka and others. That lake was radiant with extremely large golden lotuses. It dazzled because of water lilies, white lotuses, blue lotuses and lotuses with one hundred petals. There was the buzzing of intoxicated bees and the calling of birds. The place was full of swans, karandavas, chakravakas and cranes. There were the calls of waterfowl, lapwings and gallinules. 879 The water was filled with the filaments of lotuses and was agitated because of the movement of fish and turtles. The place was surrounded by kadamba, vetasa, nala, nipa, vanjulaka, kunda, kurubaka, ashoka, shirisha, kutaja, inguda, kubjaka, svarna-yuthi, naga, types of punnaga, mallika, shatapatra and nets of species of madhavi. 880 The banks were beautiful with other trees dense with the flowers and fruits of all seasons.
‘Once, on that grove near the mountain, the leader of a herd of elephants wandered around, accompanied by female elephants. It crushed the various kinds of bamboo, cane and reeds, shrubs with thorns and large creepers and trees. At its mere scent, lions, Indras among elephants, tigers and other predatory animals, rhinos, giant serpents, white and black sharabhas 881 and yak fled in fear. However, because of the favours shown by it, wolves, boars, buffaloes, bears, porcupines, gopucchas, 882 hyenas, monkeys and other small animals like deer and hares were not scared and continued to roam around. Surrounded by the female and male elephants, he suffered from
the heat. Baby elephants followed him and he exuded musth. Because of the weight of his body, he made every part of the mountain tremble. Swarms of bees followed him, drinking the musth. The breeze that blew from the lake bore the scent of pollen from lotuses. With crazy and intoxicated eyes, he smelt that it was not far away. Therefore, he quickly advanced towards the lake. He bathed in the sparkling waters, which were like amrita. It was cool and perfumed with pollen from lilies and lotuses. He drew the water up with his trunk and drank until he was satisfied. He bathed himself in the water and all his exhaustion was dispelled. As kind as a householder towards members of the family, the indomitable one was kind towards the female elephants and the baby elephants. He made them bathe and drink. He drew up the cool water with his trunk and sprayed them with it. Because of the unborn one’s maya, the pitiable one did not consider the imminent hardship. O king! Urged by destiny, a powerful crocodile caught hold of his leg. The extremely strong elephant faced this calamity and tried as much as he could, using all his strength. On seeing that the leader of the herd was suffering, the female elephants were distressed. But the crocodile was swift and stronger. When he was being dragged away, the other elephants were incapable of saving him by grabbing him from the rear. Instead, they screamed. The Indra among elephants and the crocodile fought in this way with each other, inside the water and outside it. O lord of the earth! This continued for one thousand years. Finding that they were still alive, even the immortals thought that this was wonderful. After this extremely long period of time, the Indra among elephant’s mental and physical strength was depleted. Exhausted, he was dragged into the water. However, as is the case with all residents of the water, the opposite was the case with the crocodile. The Indra among elephants faced this hardship to his life and body. He was helpless and incapable. For a very long time, he thought about how he might free himself. After having reflected, he arrived at a decision. “The other elephants, my relatives, are unable to save me from this catastrophe. How can the female elephants possess the powers to free me? Because of destiny, I am in the crocodile’s bonds. Therefore, I must seek shelter with the supreme refuge. He is the powerful lord. Death is like a giant serpent and is pursuing me with its terrible and irresistible force. However, if those who are terrified seek refuge with him, he is the saviour and even Death runs away in fear. I seek refuge with him.”’