The Bhagavata Purana 2

by Bibek Debroy

  Chapter 8(17)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘O king! Aditi was thus addressed by her husband, Kashyapa. Attentively, she observed this vow for twelve days. With single-minded intelligence, she thought of the lord, the great being. She used her mind to control the wicked horses, in the form of the senses. She used her intelligence as a charioteer. Her mind and intelligence were single-mindely fixed on the illustrious one who is in all atmans. She meditated on Vasudeva and observed payovrata. After this, the illustrious and original being manifested himself before her. He was attired in yellow garments. He was four-armed and held a conch shell, a chakra and a mace. 1013 On seeing him before her eyes, she suddenly stood up. Like a rod, she respectfully lowered her body down on the ground. Because of her delight, she was confused. After rising up, she tried to praise him, her hands joined in salutation. However, because her eyes were filled with tears of joy, she could not do so. With her body hair standing up, she remained silent. Her body trembled at the bliss of having been able to see him. O extender of the Kuru lineage! The goddess Aditi praised Hari in faltering words that choked with joy. She looked at Rama’s lord, the lord of sacrifices and the lord of the universe and seemed to drink him up with her eyes.

  ‘Aditi said, “O lord of sacrifices! O one who is the sacrifice! O Achyuta! O one whose feet are tirthas! O one whose feet the tirthas seek refuge in! The hearing of the chanting of your name is auspicious. When you appear, you relieve the sins of people who seek refuge with you. O lord! O illustrious one! You are the protector of those who are distressed. Bestow well-being on us. You are the universe. You are behind the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. You have yourself completely accepted the power of the gunas and other potencies. You are eternal and self-poised. You are the one who possesses complete knowledge. You have yourself dispelled the darkness. O Hari! I bow down to you. If you are satisified, from you, men can obtain the lifespan of two parardhas, a desired body, unmatched prosperity, heaven, earth and the nether regions, all the qualities obtained through yoga, the three objectives of existence, knowledge and kaivalya. O Ananta! If one desires victory over an enemy, it is nothing in comparison.”’

  Shri-Shuka continued, ‘O king! The illustrious and lotus-eyed one was praised by Aditi. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The kshetrajna who is in all creatures replied.

  ‘The illustrious one replied, “O mother of the gods! I know what you have desired for a very long time. The rivals have stolen their prosperity and have dislodged them from their own abode. You have worshipped me because you wish to see that your sons obtain victory and prosperity, having vanquished the indomitable bulls among the asuras in a field of battle. Indra is the eldest among your sons and you wish to see his enemies slain in a battle. Their miserable wives will then approach the dead bodies and weep. You wish to see that your own sons sport in great prosperity, stationed in the vault of heaven and having got back the fame and prosperity they were deprived of. O goddess! It is my view that the leaders of the hordes of asuras are now generally unconquerable. They are protected by brahmanas, whom the lord favours. Under these circumstances, valour will not bring happiness. O goddess! However, since you have satisfied me by observing the vow, I must think of a means. My worship does not deserve to be rendered futile. It has been performed faithfully, with a certain objective in mind. You have worshipped me properly, with the excellent payovrata vow. Thus worshipped, I must protect your offspring. O fortunate one! Go and worship your husband. He is an unblemished Prajapati. Think that I exist in the form of your husband. If you are asked, you must never reveal this to anyone else. O goddess! This must be concealed and kept a secret from the gods too. All will be well.”’

  Shri-Shuka continued, ‘Having told her this, the illustrious one vanished from the spot. Aditi obtained the extremely rare boon that lord Hari would be born as her son. She faithfully approached her husband and served him with supreme devotion. Immersed in the meditation of yoga, Kashyapa, whose vision was infallible, perceived that Hari’s portion had entered into him. O king! Through austerities performed over a long period of time, he held that energy and then, with a controlled mind, transferred it into Aditi, just as the wind places a fire into two pieces of wood. 1014 Hiranyagarbha 1015 got to know that Aditi was holding the eternal and illustrious one in her womb. He praised him, using mysterious names. Brahma said, “Victory to the glorious and illustrious one. O Urukrama! I bow down before you. I bow down to the one who protects brahmanas and gods. I bow down to the lord of the three gunas. I bow down to the one born in Prishni’s womb. 1016 You are full of knowledge and the Vedas originate in you. The three worlds are in your navel. You transcend the three worlds. You are omnipresent. You are Vishnu. You are the beginning, the middle and the end of the universe. You are infinite in your powers. You are spoken of as Purusha. You are time. You are the lord who attracts the universe into your own self, just as a current sweeps along everything that falls into it, into the deep. O Vishnu! O god! You are the origin of subjects, mobile and immobile objects, the Prajapatis, the residents of heaven and those who have been dislodged from heaven. Like a boat, you are the refuge for those who are immersed in water.”’

  Chapter 8(18)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘Thus, Virinchi praised his deeds and his valour. Immortal in his appearance, he manifested himself from Aditi. He was four-armed and held a conch shell, a mace, a lotus and a chakra. He was attired in yellow garments and his large eyes were like the petals of a lotus. He was dark in complexion, with dazzling earrings shaped like the king of fish. 1017 Purusha’s radiant and beautiful face was like a lotus. The shrivatsa mark was on his chest. He was adorned in handsome and shining bracelets, armlets, a diadem, an excellent girdle and anklets. Hari wore a beautiful garland of wild flowers and naturally, bees buzzed around it for honey. The Koustubha gem hung around his neck. His own radiance destroyed the darkness in Prajapati’s house. The directions were happy. The waterbodies and the subjects were delighted. The seasons became full of all the qualities. Heaven, the firmament, earth, those for whom fire is the tongue, 1018 cattle, brahmanas and mountains were filled with joy. When the lord was born, the moon was in Shravana nakshatra and it was the twelfth day of shukla paksha in the month of Bhadrapada. 1019 The muhurta was Abhijit. All the nakshatras and stars indicated that this would be an auspicious birth. O king! On that twelfth day, the sun was stationed in the middle of the sky. This time of Hari’s birth is known by the name of Vijaya. 1020 Conch shells and drums were sounded. Kettledrums, tambourines and other musical instruments were sounded. There was the wonderful sound of trumpets being played. There was a tumultuous sound. Delighted, the apsaras danced and the foremost among gandharvas sang. The sages, the gods, the Manus, the ancestors and the divinities of the fire praised him. Large numbers of Siddhas, vidyadharas, kimpurushas, kinnaras, charanas, yakshas, rakshasas, birds and supreme serpents sang his praise. The followers of the gods danced. They showered down flowers on the area around Aditi’s hermitage. Aditi was delighted and amazed to see that the supreme Purusha had taken birth from her womb. Using the maya of his yoga, he had assumed a body. Prajapati 1021 was also surprised and exclaimed, “May you be victorious.” Hari’s consciousness is not manifested. But he manifested himself and assumed that form, with ornaments and weapons. While all of them looked on, divine in his movements, like an actor, he transformed himself into a dwarf brahmana. On seeing the form of a dwarf brahmana, the maharshis rejoiced. They placed Prajapati at their head and performed all the required rites. When his sacred thread ceremony was being performed, the sun god himself uttered the savitri mantra. Brihaspati gave him the sacred thread and Kashyapa gave him the girdle. 1022 The earth gave him black antelope skin. Soma, the lord of trees, gave him a staff. His mother covered him with a piece of cloth and the firmament gave the lord of the universe an umbrella. The source of the Vedas 1023 gave him a water pot. The saptarshis gave him kusha grass. O great king! Sarasvati gave the one whose atman is without decay a string of aksha
beads. 1024 When the sacred thread investiture was over, the king of the yakshas 1025 gave him a vessel for begging alms. Bhagavati Uma Ambika herself gave him the first alms. The assembly was full of large numbers of brahmana rishis. However, the revered dwarf was so suffused with the radiance of the brahman that his resplendence surpassed all of them. The brahmana properly placed kusha grass and kindling and ignited a fire, offering oblations into it.

  ‘He heard that Bali was performing a wonderful horse sacrifice, undertaken by those of the Bhrigu lineage. Accumulating the essence of the entire universe within himself, he went there, and because of the great burden, the earth trembled at each of his steps. In the place known as Bhrigu-kachchha, 1026 on the northern banks of the Narmada, the officiating priests of the Bhrigu lineage were undertaking this excellent sacrifice. From a distance, they saw him arrive, like the rising sun. O king! Vamana’s energy robbed the officiating priests, the assistant priests and the one performing the sacrifice 1027 of their radiance. They asked each other whether the sun god, the fire god or Sanatkumara had come to witness the sacrifice. While those of the Bhrigu lineage and their disciples were debating with each other in many ways, the illustrious vamana entered the arena of the horse sacrifice, holding the umbrella, the staff and the water pot filled with water. His girdle was made out of munja grass. He wore a sacred thread and an upper garment made out of black antelope skin. His hair was matted. Hari had used his maya to assume the form of the brahmana vamana. When he entered, his energy robbed the resplendence of the Bhrigus, their disciples and the sacrificial fires. On seeing him, they stood up and welcomed him. The one performing the sacrifice was delighted to see his pleasant and charming form and limbs. He himself offered him a seat. Bali welcomed and worshipped the illustrious one, washing the feet of the one whose form is pleasant to those who have freed themselves of attachment. The water that had been used to wash the feet was extremely auspicious and was capable of washing away the sins of people. Knowing about dharma, he placed the water on his head. This is the water Girisha, the god of the gods with the moon on his crest, holds on his head with supreme devotion. Bali said, “Welcome. I bow down to you. O brahmana! What can we do for you? O noble one! I think that your form directly holds the austerities of the brahmana rishis. Today, our ancestors have been satisfied. Today, our lineage has been purified. Since you have come to our home, today, the sacrifice has been properly performed. Today, following the proper rites, excellent oblations have been offered into the fire. O son of a brahmana! Your feet have purified this land and people. The water has destroyed and cleansed. Your tiny feet have sanctified everything. O dwarf! You can take from me whatever you wish for, whatever is your objective. O son of a brahmana! Without thinking about it, I will give you land, gold, an abode with excellent qualities, tasty food, drinks, the daughter of a brahmana, prosperous villages, horses, elephants or chariots. O best among those who are worshipped! Accept them.”’

  Chapter 8(19)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘These words of Virochana’s son were full of dharma and extremely true. Hearing them, the illustrious one was delighted. He honoured them and spoke.

  ‘The illustrious one said, “O lord of men! These words of yours are extremely true and worthy of your lineage. They are full of dharma and bring fame. In this world, those of the Bhrigu lineage tell you what to do. For the next world, your yardstick is the serene elder of your lineage, your grandfather. 1028 In this lineage, there has never been a man who is miserly or without spirit. There is no one who has not given to brahmanas. Nor has there been a person who having promised, has gone back on his word. O king! In the tirtha of the battlefield, there was never an inferior person who refused to grant a duel to those who wished for it. Your lineage is unblemished in its fame. Like the moon, Prahlada rises in the sky. Hiranyaksha was born here. Alone, he roamed the earth on his attempt to conquer, with the club as his weapon. However, he could not find a valiant warrior who could counter him. When he arrived to deliver the earth, Vishnu defeated him with a great deal of difficulty. Repeatedly remembering his great valour, he 1029 did not take himself to have been victorious. In earlier times, hearing that his brother had been killed, Hiranyakashipu angrily went to Hari’s abode, wishing to slay his brother’s killer. Vishnu, supreme among those who know about maya, saw him arrive with the trident in his hand, resembling Death. Knowing about the appropriate time, he thought. ‘Like death follows those with life, he will go wherever I go. Therefore, I will enter the heart of a person who only looks outside.’ O Indra among the asuras! Having determined this, he entered the body of his enemy who was advancing towards him. Assuming a subtle form and undetected, anxious in his mind, he entered through the nostrils when he was breathing. 1030 The valiant one searched everywhere, but could not see Vishnu. He searched Vishnu’s residence, but it was empty. He searched the earth, the firmament, the directions, the sky, the caves and the oceans. Unable to see him, he roared in rage. He said, ‘I have searched the entire universe, but cannot see him. My brother’s killer must certainly have gone to the place from where no man returns.’ 1031 In this way, an embodied being is bound by enmity right up to the time of death. Because of the power of ignorance, rage and ego are enhanced. Your father was Prahlada’s son. He knew this and was devoted to brahmanas. Though he knew that it was the gods who had come to him in the disguise of brahmanas and asked, he gave them his own lifespan. You have also followed the dharma that householders resort to, by brahmanas, by your ancestors and by other brave ones whose fame is extensive. You are foremost among those who can grant boons and, in truth, are capable of bestowing the entire earth. O Indra among daityas! However, I only ask for that much of land that can be measured out in three of my strides. O king! O generous one! From someone who is the lord of the universe, I do not wish for anything else. If a learned person only accepts as much as is required by him, he does not contract any sin.”