The Bhagavata Purana 2

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘He himself understood the greatness of the one who is the atman of the universe. Thinking of his 979 incomprehensible valour, he did not think that this was at all extraordinary. Madhusudana saw that he was not disturbed or ashamed. Extremely pleased, he assumed a male form and spoke the following. The illustrious one said, “O best among the gods! It is good fortune that you have regained your stable state. O dear one! This is despite my having deluded you in the form of a woman, using my maya. Having been ensnared in my maya, which man other than you is capable of freeing himself from it? For those who are not in control of themselves and their sentiments, this is extremely difficult to overcome. This maya, full of gunas, will never bewilder you again. I unite it with time and assuming the form of time, it has many different components.” O king! In this way, the illustrious one was honoured by the one with the shrivatsa mark. Having taken his permission, he 980 circumambulated him and left for his own abode, with his followers. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Delighted, the illustrious Bhava spoke to Bhavani about the maya, revered by the best of rishis as being created as a part of the atman’s portion. “Have you witnessed the maya of Aja, the supreme Purusha, who is superior to all the divinities? I am one of his prominent portions. Yet, I was brought under his control, lost my independence and was confounded. What can be said of others? I performed yoga for one thousand years. At the end of that, you came and asked me about him. He is himself the ancient Purusha. He is not affected by time. Nor can one understand him.” O son! I have told you about the valour of the one who wields the Sharnga bow. For the sake of the churning of the ocean, he bore the great mountain on his back. If one repeatedly chants about his deeds and listens to them, one’s efforts never fail. A description of Uttamashloka’s qualities removes all the exhaustion of samsara. His lotus feet are understood by devotees, not by those attached to wicked objects. Amrita was produced from the churning of the ocean and he only fed it to the noble immortals. Disguising himself as a young maiden, he confounded the enemies of the gods. He satisfies the desires of all those who resort to him. I bow down before him.’

  Chapter 8(13)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘The Manu known as Shraddhadeva was descended from Vivasvat. That is the seventh, 981 current now. Hear about his offspring. His sons are Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, Dhrishta, Sharyati, Narishyanta and Nabhaga. 982 The seventh is said to be Dishta. There are Karusha and Prishadhra and the tenth is known as Vasuman. O scorcher of enemies! These are the ten sons of Vaivasvata Manu. O king! The gods are the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Vishvadevas, the Maruts, the Ashvins and the Ribhus. Their Indra is Purandara. Kashyapa, Atri, Vasishtha, Vishvamitra, Goutama, Jamadagni and Bharadvaja are said to be the saptarshis. The illustrious one took birth as the son of Kashyapa and Aditi. Vishnu was the youngest of the Adityas and he assumed the form of vamana. I have briefly described seven manvantaras to you. I will now tell you about the future ones, each associated with Vishnu’s powers. Vivasvat had two wives and both were Vishvakarma’s daughters. O Indra among kings! They were Samjna and Chhaya and I have told you about them before. 983 It is said that there was a third named Vadava. Samjna had three offspring—Yama, Yami and Shraddhadeva. Now hear about Chhaya’s offspring. There was a son named Savarni and a daughter named Tapati, who became Samvarana’s wife. Shanaishchara was the third. The two Ashvins were Vadava’s sons. O king! When the eighth manvantara arrives, Savarni will be the Manu. Nirmoka, Virajaska and others will be his sons. At that time, the gods will be the Sutapasas, the Virajas and the Amritaprabhas. Bali, Virochana’s son, will be the Indra among them. When Vishnu asked for what could be covered in three strides, he gave him everything. Thus giving it up, he will obtain success and the status of Indra. The illustrious one bound him and happily instated him in Sutala again. He is like the king of heaven there. He has been instated there, in a place that is superior to heaven. O king! At that time, Galava, Diptiman, Rama, 984 Drona’s son, Kripa, Rishyashringa and our father, the illustrious Badarayana, will be the saptarshis, as a result of their own yoga. At the moment, they are all in their respective hermitages. Through Devaguhya and Sarasvati, the lord will be born as Sarvabhouma. The lord will take away Purandara’s position and confer it on Bali. O king! The ninth Manu, Daksha-savarni, will be born through Varuna. Bhutaketu, Diptaketu and others will be his sons. Paras, Marichigarbhas and others will be the gods. It is said that Adbhuta will be the Indra. The foremost among the rishis will be Dyutimat. Through Ayushmat and Ambudhara, the illustrious one’s portion will be born as Rishabha. He will make Adbhuta enjoy the prosperity of the three worlds. The tenth Manu will be Brahma-savarni, the son of Upashloka. His sons will be Bhurishena and others. Among the brahmanas, Havishmat will be the chief. Havishmat, Sukrita, Satya, Jaya, Murti and others will be the brahmanas. 985 The gods will be Suvasana, Viruddha and others. Shambhu will be the lord of the gods. 986 As his own portion, the illustrious lord will be born as the son of Vishvasrija, through Vishuchi. He will be known as Vishvaksena and he will be Shambhu’s friend. The eleventh Manu will be Dharma-savarni and he will be in control of his atman. In future, he will have ten sons, Satyadharma and others. The gods will be Vihangamas, Kamagamas and Nirvanaruchis. The Indra will be Vaidhriti and the rishis will be Aruna and others. Aryaka’s son, born as Hari’s portion through Vaidhrita, will be known as Dharmasetu. 987 He will sustain the three worlds. O king! The twelfth Manu will be Rudra-savarni. His sons will be Devavan, Upadeva, Devashreshtha and others. Ritadhama will be the Indra and Harita and others will be the gods. The rishis will be Tapomurti, Tapasvi, Agnidhraka and others. During the rule of that Manu and that manvantara, Hari’s portion will be born as the lord Svadhama, the son of Satyasahasa and Sunrita. The thirteenth Manu will be Deva-savarni and he will know about his atman. Deva-savarni’s sons will be Chitrasena, Vichitra and others. The gods will be Sukarma, Sutrama and Samja, while Divaspati will be the Indra. At that time, the rishis will be Nirmoka, Tattvadarshi and others. A portion of Hari, the lord of yoga, will be born as Devahotra’s son, through his wife, Brihati. He will bestow everything on Divaspati. The fourteenth Manu will be Indra-savarni. Indra-savarni’s sons will be Uru, Gambhira, Budha and others. The gods will be the Pavitras and Chakshushas, while Shuchi will be the Indra. The ascetics 988 will be Agnibahu, Shuchi, Shuddha, Magadha and others. O great king! Hari will be born as Brihadbhanu, the son of Satrayana and Vitana. He will undertake all the rites. O king! These fourteen cover the past, the present and the future and have been described. They amount to one kalpa, consisting of one thousand yugas.’

  Chapter 8(14)

  The king asked, ‘O illustrious one! Who determines the tasks of the Manus in these manvantaras? Who engages them? Tell me that.’

  The rishi replied, ‘O lord of the earth! Manus, sons of Manus, the sages, Indras and the large number of gods—all of them are under the supreme being’s control. O king! I have described the forms Purusha takes, Yajna and the others. The controller of the universe invokes the Manus and others, and controls them. At the end of the four yugas, the shrutis and other texts are devoured by time. Through their austerities, the rishis know that eternal dharma can no longer be seen. O king! Urged by Hari and thus engaged, during their own respective periods, the Manus establish dharma’s four feet again. Until the end of their periods, these protectors of subjects divide the shares of sacrifices. The gods also obtain their shares and perform the same tasks. Bestowed by the illustrious one, Indra obtains the prosperity of the three worlds. He protects the three worlds and, as desired, showers down. According to the yuga, Hari assumes the forms of Siddhas, forms of rishis and forms of lords of yoga, to expound the paths of jnana, karma and yoga. He creates in the form of Prajapatis. In the form of the king, he slays bandits. In the form of time, with different qualities, he destroys everything. Because of his maya, people praise him in different names and forms. They are confounded by their insolent belief in different schools, but are unable to see him. I have thus described the dimensions of kalpas and subdi
visions of kalpas. Those who know about the ancient accounts say that a kalpa consists of fourteen manvantaras.’

  Chapter 8(15)

  The king asked, ‘Hari is the lord of everything. Like a distressed person, why did he ask Bali for as much of land as can be covered in three strides? Having obtained his objective, why did he bind him down? We have a great curiosity and we wish to know about this. The lord is absolute. Yet, he begged and bound down an innocent person.’

  Shri-Shuka replied, ‘O king! He 989 lost his prosperity and was also deprived of his life by Indra. However, Bhrigu’s descendants 990 brought him back to life. The great-souled Bali worshipped the Bhrigus with all his soul and became their disciple, offering them everything they wanted. The brahmanas of the Bhrigu lineage were delighted with him. He wished to conquer the three worlds. Following the rites, they consecrated him and performed a Vishvajit sacrifice. The great-minded ones performed this great act of consecration for him. When oblations of clarified butter were offered into the fire of the sacrifice, a chariot encased in gold plates, four tawny horses, and a standard with a lion astride it emerged from the fire. There was also a divine bow plated with gold, two inexhaustible quivers and divine armour. His grandfather 991 gave him a garland made out of flowers that did not fade. Shukra gave him a conch shell. Thus, the brahmanas arranged all the equipment required for victory. After this, the brahmanas pronounced benedictions over him. He prostrated himself before them and circumambulated them. He then bowed down to Prahlada and took his leave. The maharatha ascended the divine chariot given by the Bhrigus. He was armoured and adorned in an excellent garland. He held a bow and a sword and girded the quivers. There were dazzling gold armlets on his arms. He resembled the king of oblations 992 on an altar. His own leaders and the leaders of other groups of daityas were his equal in prosperity, strength and beauty. He seemed to drink up the sky and scorch the directions with his sight. The lord attracted and was surrounded by a very large army of asura soldiers. Making the space between heaven and earth tremble with his own prosperity, he left for Indra’s city.

  ‘There were beautiful groves and gardens there, the enchanting Nandana and others. Pairs of birds chirped there. There was the buzzing of intoxicated bees. The branches of celestial trees were heavy with the burden of fruits and flowers. The lotus ponds were full of the calls of swans, cranes, chakravakas and karandavas. These were frequented by the gods, and their women sported there. The place was surrounded by a moat, in the form of the goddess Akasha-Ganga. 993 There was a wall with the complexion of the fire and tall mansions. The doors and entrances were made out of gold panels. The gates to the city were made out of crystal. Constructed by Vishvakarma, there were many roads that connected the different parts. There were beautiful assembly halls, quadrangles and roads. There were ten crore vimanas. The quadrangles were paved with gems and there were seats made out of diamonds and coral. The place was radiant with beautiful women, dark 994 and perpetually young, attired in clean garments. They looked like the flames of a fire. A breeze blew along the roads and dislodged fresh and fragrant flowers from the hair and garlands of the divine women, bearing that scent along. There were golden lattices on the windows, and white smoke with the fragrance of aloe emerged through these. Women loved by the gods 995 walked along the streets. The canopies were made out of pearls and the flagpoles were encrusted with gold and jewels. The tops of the mansions were adorned with many flags. There were the sounds of peacocks, pigeons and bees. As women climbed on to the mansions, they sang in auspicious tones. There were melodious and rhythmic tones of drums, conch shells, kettledrums, veenas, smaller drums, flutes and other musical instruments. In harmony with musical instruments, minor divinities sang and danced. The place was so beautiful in its own radiance that it surpassed all kinds of radiance. Those who did not follow dharma, the wicked and deceitful, those who were insolent, lascivious and greedy and those who caused injury to creatures did not go there. Those who went there were devoid of such vices.

  ‘Such was the city of the gods. With his own soldiers, the leader of the army surrounded it from all sides and laid siege to it. He blew loudly on the conch shell that had been given to him by his preceptor. With this sound, he generated fear among Indra’s women. Maghavan understood Bali’s intentions and his supreme efforts. With the large number of gods, he went to his preceptor 996 and said, “O illustrious one! Because of the former enmity, Bali is making efforts. I think that he is impossible to withstand. How has he earned this energy for himself? No one, from anywhere, is capable of fighting against him. He seems to be licking the ten directions and drinking them up with his mouth. He has arisen like the samvartaka fire and seems to be burning down the directions with his sight. Tell me the reason for this. How has my enemy become invincible? What is the reason for his prowess, strength, energy and enterprise?” The preceptor replied, “O Maghavan! I know the reason behind your enemy’s elevation. He has obtained this energy through becoming the disciple of the Bhrigus, who know about the brahman. No one will ever be able to vanquish the energetic Bali, you, or anyone else on your side. The only exception is the lord Hari. He is full of the energy of the brahman and no one else will be able to defeat him. Just as people cannot stand before Death, no one is capable of standing in front of him. Therefore, all of you should abandon heaven and go and hide. Wait for the time when your enemy faces a calamity. He is flourishing because of the strength of the brahmanas. Right now, he is valiant and invincible. When he dishonours them later, he and his followers will be destroyed.” Their preceptor knew about objectives and they received this excellent counsel and instruction from him. The gods, who could assume any form they willed, abandoned heaven. When the gods had hidden themselves, Bali, Virochana’s son, brought the city that was the capital of the gods and the three worlds under his subjugation. Bhrigu’s descendants were affectionate towards disciples and were kind towards a disciple who had conquered the worlds. He followed their instructions and performed one hundred horse sacrifices. Because of this act, he obtained fame in the three worlds. His glory spread in the directions and he was as radiant as the king of the stars. He enjoyed his own opulence and prosperity, obtained because of brahmanas who were like the gods. The great-minded one thought that he had become successful in his objective.’

  Chapter 8(16)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘When her sons were destroyed and heaven taken away by the daityas, Aditi, the mother of the gods, was tormented, like one who was without a protector. Once, when the illustrious Kashyapa had taken a break from his meditation after a long period of time, he came to her hermitage and saw that it was cheerless and sad. O extender of the Kuru lineage! As is proper, he was honoured and accepted a seat. He spoke to his wife, whose face was distressed. “O fortunate one! In this world, I hope brahmanas are not facing any misfortune now. I hope dharma or people, who have to follow the caprices of death, do not face a calamity. You are following the path of a householder, and is everything well in your house? In such a state, even those who do not follow yoga are engaged in the pursuit of dharma, artha and kama. Because you are excessively attached to your family, I hope unexpected guests 997 who have visited have never returned without being properly welcomed. A home where an unexpected guest is not even offered some water before departure is indeed like the home of a king of jackals. O fortunate one! O virtuous one! When I went away, was your mind so anxious that you did not offer oblations into the fire at the right time? Brahmanas and the fire represent the mouth of Vishnu, who is in the atmans of all gods. By worshipping them, a householder goes to the world where all the objects of desire are satisfied. O spirited one! Are all your sons well? I can see the signs that all is not well with you.” Aditi replied, “O fortunate one! O brahmana! Brahmanas, cattle, dharma and people are well. O master of the house! This house is a place where the three objectives 998 are pursued properly. O illustrious one! O brahmana! Since I always think about you, the fire, unexpected guests, servants and all mendicants who desire something are
always tended to properly. O illustrious one! Since you are a Prajapati and have spoken to me about dharma, how can all the desires of my mind not be satisfied? O son of Marichi! All the subjects, born from your body and your mind, possess sattva, rajas and tamas. O lord! Beginning with the asuras, you are impartial towards everyone. However, even the great lord is partial towards his devotees. O lord! O one who is excellent in vows! Therefore, think of the well-being of those who worship you. They have lost their prosperity. Their rivals have robbed them of their place. O lord! Save us. With me, having been exiled by the enemy, they are immersed in an ocean of hardship. Stronger ones have robbed us of our prosperity, opulence, fame and status. O virtuous one! Let my sons get all that back again. O one who does good things! Please consider and arrange for their well-being.” Thus requested by her, he seemed to smile and said, “The strength of Vishnu’s maya is wonderful. The universe is bound in bonds of affection. What is this physical body, made up of the elements? What is the atman? The atman is superior to Prakriti. Whom do husbands, sons and others belong to? Delusion is the reason behind all this. Worship the illustrious Purusha Janardana. Vasudeva dwells in the inner cores of all creatures. He is the preceptor of the universe. Hari, who is compassionate towards the distressed, will fulfil your desires. It is my view that nothing except devotion to the illustrious one is invincible.” Aditi asked, “O brahmana! What rules need to be observed for worshipping the lord of the universe? How can my intentions come true? How will he fulfil my desire? O best among brahmanas! Instruct me about the rules for worshipping him, so that the god is quickly satisfied. I, and my sons, are suffering.”

  ‘Kashyapa said, “Desiring offspring, I asked the illustrious one born from the lotus 999 this. He told me about the vow for satisfying Keshava and I will tell you about it. For the first twelve days of shukla paksha in the month of Phalguna, 1000 one must observe the vow of subsisting only on milk. Full of supreme devotion, one must worship the lotus-eyed one. If earth dug up by a wild boar is available, on the day of sinivali, one must smear oneself with this and have a bath. Standing in a current, 1001 one must chant the following mantra. ‘O goddess! 1002 You desired a place and the original boar raised you up from rasatala. I bow down to you. Destroy all my sins.’ Having finished, one must complete the daily rituals and, controlling oneself, worship the god. He can be worshipped on an altar, 1003 or in the form of the sun, the water, the fire or the preceptor. ‘O illustrious one! I bow down to you, the great Purusha. You dwell in all creatures. O Vasudeva! You are the witness. I bow down to the one who is not manifest. You are subtle. You are Pradhana and Purusha. You are the one who knows about the twenty-four principles. You are the cause behind the principles of samkhya. I bow down before the one with two heads, three feet and four horns. Your form has seven arms. I bow down to the one with the three kinds of knowledge in him. 1004 I bow down to the one who is Shiva. I bow down to the one who is Rudra. I bow down to the one who wields the powers. I bow down to the one who is the lord of all kinds of knowledge. I bow down to the lord of all creatures. I bow down to Hiranyagarbha, the source of the breath of life, the atman of the universe. Your body is full of yoga and opulence. I bow down to the one who is the source of yoga. I bow down to the original god. I bow down to the one who is a witness to all creatures. I bow down to the rishis Nara and Narayana, to Hari. I bow down to the one whose body is as dark as emerald, to the one who is Shri’s master. O Keshava! I bow down to you. I bow down to the one who is attired in yellow garments. You are the one who bestows all the boons. You are the being who should be worshipped. You are foremost among those who grant boons. That is the reason, for their benefit, persevering ones worship the dust of your feet. You are followed by the gods and Shri. They desire the bliss of your lotus feet. O illustrious one! Show me your favours.’ Hrishikesha must be honoured and invited with these mantras. He must be worshipped with devotion, with padya and the other ingredients. He must be worshipped with incense, garlands and other objects. The lord must be bathed with milk. He must be adorned with garments, a sacred thread and ornaments and again offered padya and the other ingredients. He must be worshipped with fragrances, incense and other objects, using the mantra with twelve aksharas. 1005 If it is possible, shali rice 1006 cooked in milk mixed with clarified butter and molasses must be offered. Using the root mantra, 1007 this must be offered to him as an oblation in the fire. Or one can offer it to a devotee, or eat it oneself. After this worship, one must offer him water to wash the mouth and betel leaf. One must praise the lord by chanting the mantra one hundred and eight times. Having circumambulated him, one must happily prostrate oneself on the ground, like a rod. One must bend one’s head down to whatever is left of the offerings to the god. After this, depending on what they deserve, two brahmanas must be fed payasam. 1008 Honouring them and with their permission, with one’s relatives, one should eat whatever is left. On the night of the first day, one must observe brahmacharya. Next morning, one must perform the proper ablutions. With a controlled mind, one must follow the rituals and bathe him 1009 with milk. Such worship must continue until the period of the vow is over. Without exception, one must observe this vow of worshipping Vishnu, subsisting only on milk. As has been stated earlier, one must offer oblations into the fire and feed brahmanas. In this way, every day, one must observe the vow of subsisting on milk for twelve days. One must worship Hari, offer oblations into the fire and satisfy brahmanas. Beginning with pratipada, 1010 until the thirteenth day of shukla paksha, one must observe brahmacharya, sleep on the ground and bathe thrice a day. One must not speak an untruth, nor converse about superior or inferior objects of pleasure. One must be devoted to Vasudeva and avoid violence towards all creatures. On the thirteenth day, following the instructions of those who know about the rites, one must follow the rites and bathe Vishnu with the five objects. 1011 Abandoning all deceit and thought of wealth, one must perform this great act of worship. One must perceive Vishnu as omnipresent and cook charu in milk. Extremely controlled, one must worship Purusha with mantras. One must offer food with excellent qualities to Purusha, so as to satisfy him. One must satisfy the learned preceptor and the officiating priests with garments, ornaments and cattle, understanding that this is also a form of Hari’s worship. O one with the beautiful smiles! According to one’s capacity one must feed them and the other brahmanas who have assembled there, with excellent food. As they deserve, dakshina must be given to the preceptor and the officiating priests. Those who have come there, even svapachas, must be pleased with food. One must recognize that pleasing everyone, the distressed, the blind and the miserable, is the same as pleasing Vishnu. After this, with the relatives, one can enjoy what is left. Every day, the worship of the illustrious one must be accompanied with dancing, singing, the playing of musical instruments, the pronouncement of praises and benedictions and the rectial of his accounts. This supreme worship of Purusha is known as payovrata. The grandfather told me about it and I have explained it to you. O extremely fortunate one! With pure sentiments and controlling your mind, you must properly worship the undecaying Keshava. This is said to be sarva-yajna. 1012 This is said to be all the vows. O fortunate one! This is said to be the essence of all austerities and all worship to the lord. This is the best of yama and niyama, austerities, gifts, vows and sacrifices. Adhokshaja is directly satisfied with this. O fortunate one! Therefore, be faithful in conduct, control yourself and observe this vow. Satisfied with you, the illustrious one will swiftly bestow a boon on you.”’