Krishna's Lineage
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27 Janārdana gave the brahmin all of his sons: the three who’d been abducted previously, and the baby one who’d been born that same day. 28 The brahmin was overjoyed to see his sons again, mighty brother, and I was delighted and amazed, your majesty.
29 Then all of us, including the brahmin’s sons, returned once again by the way we’d come, bull of the Bhāratas. 30 We reached Dvārakā in the twinkling of an eye, before it was yet midday, supreme king, and I was amazed about that too. 31 Then glorious Krishna fed the brahmin and his sons, gave them as much wealth as they wanted, and sent them home.
104. The Greatness of Krishna
1 Arjuna said:
Krishna then discharged his obligations by feeding many hundreds of brahmins who were practically seers, 2 and when he and I and all the Vrishnis and Bhojas had eaten too, he told various wonderful stories, Bhārata. 3 After the stories had finished on that occasion, I approached Krishna Janārdana and asked him about the events I’d witnessed. I said:
4 How did you make the ocean’s waters solid, lotus-eyed one? And how did you make a gap through the mountains, exalted one? 5 And how did you tear through that horrible solid darkness with your discus? And that supreme brilliance that you entered into—where did it come from? 6 And why did it abduct those babies, my lord? Also, how did that long journey of yours become so short? 7 How did we manage to travel there and back again in such a short period of time? Tell me all these details, Keshava.
8 Vāsudeva said:
That august entity abducted the babies in order to set eyes upon me. It thought that I would come for the sake of a brahmin, but that I wouldn’t come otherwise.
9 The divine marvel that you saw was made of the power of brahman. It was me, best of the Bhāratas. That was my everlasting power. 10 The transcendent matrix is mine in her manifest and unmanifest aspects, Bhārata. In this world, those who penetrate her mysteries become liberated, supreme Bhārata. 11 She’s the refuge of those who follow the sānkhya philosophy, son of Prithā, and she’s the refuge of the yogis and ascetics. The whole world shares in the highest brahman, which lives in her. 12 You should know, Bhārata, that that treasured power is nothing but me.
I was the ocean with its waters solidified, and I was the one who solidified the waters. 13 I was those seven different mountains that you saw. I was the darkness that became solid, and I was the one who tore through it. 14 I’m the time that destroys creatures, and I’m the approved duty. I created the four classes, and the four estates too. 15 The set of four directions is my own body made fourfold, and I created the four Vedas. Understand that, Bhārata!
16 Arjuna said:*
Your holiness, master of all beings. I want to understand you, my lord. I come before you and ask about you. Homage to you, supreme person.
17 Vāsudeva said:
Brahman and the brahmins come from me, as do austerity, truth, the ukthya offering, and the vehicle that is the brihat chant. Understand that, Pāndava Bhārata. 18 I’m dear to you and you’re dear to me, strong-armed Dhananjaya, so you shall know me as I truly am. I’ll explain the matter to you in detail, blameless man.
19 I am the verses, the chants, the formulae, and the spells. The seers, deities, and rituals are my essence, bull of the Bhāratas. 20 Earth, wind, space, water, and fire as the fifth, and sun and moon, day and night, and the fortnights, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and years, 21 and the various sacred texts, son of Prithā, and whatever Shāstras there are, and the fields of knowledge, and whatever else can be known: all these only exist because of me. 22 Understand, Bhārata son of Kuntī, that creation and destruction depend on me. The existent and the non-existent are my own self—the existent, the non-existent, and whatever’s beyond them.
23 That’s what Krishna kindly told me, bull of the Bhāratas. And my mind became fixed upon Janārdana exactly as such.
24 This is the greatness of Keshava as I’ve witnessed and heard about it, which is what you asked me about, supreme king. And there’s yet more to Janārdana than this.
25 Vaishampāyana said:
After hearing this, the supreme Kuru, Yudhishthira the king of righteousness, revered Govinda the supreme person in his heart. 26 The king and all his brothers were amazed, and so were the assembled kings who were seated there.
105. Vaishampāyana Lists Krishna’s Deeds
1 Janamejaya said:
Supreme brahmin, I want to hear about the wise Yadu lion’s fathomless deeds once again, as they really happened. 2 I’ve heard about various wonderful deeds, splendid brahmin: countless celestial ones, and also all kinds of terrestrial ones. 3 The various deeds of his that I’ve heard about have pleased me greatly, great sage, so you should describe them to me again. Tell them all, sir!
4 Vaishampāyana said:
Many of the great Keshava’s marvellous deeds have certainly been mentioned, your majesty, and moreover you’ve listened to 5 the ones I’ve narrated, my good man. It’s impossible to complete a full description of the great one’s deeds, tiger of the Bhāratas, 6 so inevitably I can only give a brief account of Vishnu the peerlessly bold, whose deeds are famous and noble, Bhārata. I’ll list his deeds one after another. Listen with an attentive mind, your majesty.
7 While living in Dvāravatī, the wise Yadu lion rocked the realms of the earth’s most powerful ruling kings.
8 He killed the Dānava Vichakra, who was trying to find the Yadus’ weakness. 9 The great man also travelled to the town of Prāgjyotisha and killed the wicked Dānava Naraka beneath the ocean.*
10 He took the Pārijāta Tree by force after defeating Vāsava in battle.† He also defeated Lord Varuna, in Lake Lohita.
11 He killed Dantavaktra of the Kārūshas in the south, and he killed Shishupāla after his one hundred transgressions had been completed.*
12 He went to Shonitapura and defeated Bali’s valiant son Bāna the Arrow, who had a thousand arms and was protected by Shankara. After defeating him in a great battle, your majesty, he dismissed him while he was still alive. 13 While the great man was in the mountains, he also defeated the fires.
He conquered Shālva in battle and destroyed Saubha. 14 He shook up the whole ocean and took control of the Pānchajanya conch. He also killed Hayagrīva Horse-Neck and other powerful kings.†
15 When Jarāsandha was dead, he set all the kings free.‡
After defeating various kings, he abducted the Gāndhāran princess on his chariot.
16 He looked after the Pāndavas when they were sick with sorrow after losing their kingdom.§ He burned down the awesome Khāndava Forest that belonged to much-invoked Indra, 17 and presented Arjuna with the Gāndīva bow donated by Agni.** He also played the unenviable role of ambassador in the quarrel, Janamejaya.††18 That eminent Yadu was a credit to the Yadu lineage. Standing before Kuntī, he made a promise concerning the Pāndavas, her sons: he said he would return them when the Bhārata war was over.‡‡
19 He freed majestic Nriga from a terrible curse.§§
In their encounter he killed the king famous by the name of Kālayavana.
20 He defeated Mainda and Dvivida, two powerful and dangerous monkeys, in battle, and he vanquished Jāmbavat.
21 By means of his brilliance he also brought Sāndīpani’s son and your own father back to life after they’d fallen under the sway of Yama Vaivasvata, your majesty.*
22 There were numerous terrible battles, in which outstanding men lost their lives. He assumed his supernatural form, and then all the kings were killed during the hostilities, Janamejaya, just as I narrated to you earlier.†
The Battle Against Bāna
106. Kumbhānda’s Deliberations
1 Janamejaya said:
Best of brahmins and best of the learned, you’ve listed wise Vāsudeva’s fathomless deeds. 2 Now I want to hear in detail, great ascetic, about his deed against the great demon Bāna the Arrow, which you mentioned just before. 3 How did Vāsudeva defeat Bāna in battle? And how was it that although the raging Bāna loved figh
ting duels, Vāsudeva dismissed him while he was still alive?
4 Vaishampāyana said:
Listen attentively, your majesty, to how the great battle took place, in the human world, between Bāna and the immeasurably brilliant Krishna— 5 the battle in which Bali’s son, who was a boastful fighter and received assistance from Rudra and Skanda, was defeated by Vāsudeva and dismissed while still alive.
6 The great Shankara had granted him a wish, promising always to be near him* as well as giving him permanent lordship over his gangs of sprites. 7 Now Bali’s son approached bull-bannered Rudra, bowed down before him, addressed him respectfully, and asked him this question:
8 Because of your assistance, and because of my pride, passion, and power, my army and I have repeatedly defeated the gods, including the Sādhyas and the company of Maruts. 9 When I last defeated them they were disturbed by their defeat and despondent, and they’ve ascended to the vault of heaven to live there as best they can. 10 So now I have no hopes of battle and nothing to live for. Since I can’t fight, there’s really no point in my having all these arms. 11 So answer me this: Could there be any prospect of a fight? There’s no joy for me without a fight, god. Take pity on me!
12 The holy one with the bull as his emblem chuckled and said: There’ll soon be a battle for you, Bāna Dānava, and I’ll tell you how. 13 Your standard is currently fixed in its proper place, but when it gets smashed, my boy, then there’ll be a fight.
14 On hearing this, Bāna’s face lit up and he burst out laughing. He fell at Rudra’s feet in transports of delight and said: 15 Thank goodness I don’t have a thousand arms for nothing! Thank goodness I’ll vanquish thousand-eyed Indra in battle once again!
16 The ruin of his rivals fell to the ground, his eyes filled with tears of joy, worshipping his god with five hundred pairs of palms put together in respect.
17 Maheshvara said:
Get up, get up. In this battle you’ll encounter peerless combat worthy of your arms, yourself, and your family, hero.
18 After hearing the great bull-bannered Tryambaka say this, Bāna bowed before him and then stood up quickly in delight. 19 Then, after dark-necked Rudra had dismissed him, Bāna the conqueror of enemy towns went back to his own home, and more specifically, to the large room where he kept his standard.
20 When he got there, he smiled and said to Kumbhānda: I’m going to tell you something pleasant that’ll tickle your fancy.
21 Hearing this, Kumbhānda smiled and replied to Bāna peerless in battle:
Your eyes are wide in wonder, your supreme majesty, and judging by your excitement, it seems that you’re keen to tell me something I’m going to like. So what is it?
22 Is it that because he favours you and Skanda protects you, the dark-necked and trident-wielding Rudra has assigned the kingship of the triple-world to you? 23 Is it that Indra’s going to retreat to the underworld because he’s scared of you? Is it that the sons of Diti are going to stop being frightened of Vishnu, 24 whose discus they cower underwater in fear of? Is it that demons will no longer scatter in all directions trembling in fear of Vishnu, who stands firm in the fiercest battle with his mace and Shārnga bow in his hands? 25 Is it that on the basis of your strength, the great demons are going to abandon their home in the underworld and settle in the home of the gods?
26 Is it that your father Bali, who was overcome by the power of Vishnu and imprisoned, is going to emerge from the deep waters and take charge again, your majesty? 27 Is it that we’re going to see your father, the son of Virochana, wearing celestial robes, garlands, unguents, and crown, sire? 28 Is it that we’re going to defeat all the residents of heaven and take back the worlds that were previously stolen from us in three strides, my lord? 29 Is it that we’re going to defeat the war-winning god Nārāyana of the deep and tender voice, who’s accompanied by the call of his conch?
30 Since your heart is fluttering and you’re crying tears of joy, could it be, sir, that the bull-bannered god has granted you a favour? 31 Through the master’s pleasure and Kārttikeya’s approval, have you secured us all a position on earth?
32 Prompted by what Kumbhānda said, Bāna, a bull of a male and an expert orator, responded with a flowing speech:
33 I haven’t had a fight for a long time, Kumbhānda, so I asked the glorious dark-necked god for some joy. 34 I said god, I’m absolutely desperate for a fight. Surely I’ll come across a fight to satisfy my soul? 35 And after laughing for a long time, today Hara the enemy-slaying god of gods told me the beloved words. 36 He said demon Bāna, when your peacock standard gets smashed you’ll come across a great big fight, great like no other. 37 So I was extremely thrilled, and after bowing my head to the holy bull-bannered god, I came to find you.
38 Hearing this, Kumbhānda said to the king: Oh no! What you’ve said isn’t good news, your majesty . . .
39 As the two of them were talking to each other like this, Shakra’s thunderbolt suddenly struck the raised standard, which tumbled to the ground. 40 When the demon saw that the splendid standard had been felled, he thought his battle had come, and he became extremely excited.
41 When she was struck by Shakra’s thunderbolt, the jewel-bearing earth trembled. An invisible underground cat seemed to yowl and growl, 42 and from just above the town, Vāsava himself, the god even of the gods, rained blood all over Shonitapura the Town of Blood. 43 A massive meteor burst through the sun and crashed onto the face of the earth, and for its part the sun was provoked, and oppressed the earth with heat. 44 Hundreds and thousands of grisly streams of blood suddenly gushed onto sacred trees, and many stars fell out of the sky. 45 Rāhu swallowed the sun at an inappropriate moment that portended the destruction of the world, your majesty. There was a great whirlwind, 46 there was a comet that travelled to the southern region and stayed there, and vicious winds blew without rest or interruption. 47 The sun’s twilight blush was concealed by a three-coloured band of clouds, which had white and red edges and a black neck and was lit up by lightning. 48 The fearsome red planet turned retrograde near the Krittikās, as if roundly to revile the constellation under which Bāna was born, 49 and a many-branched sacred tree that was revered by all the daughters of the principal Dānavas collapsed onto the ground.
50 Though he saw these various kinds of signs, Bāna was befuddled by lust for battle, and he didn’t understand their meaning. 51 But wise Kumbhānda, who was Bāna’s minister at that time, could see the facts of the matter. He was worried, and he tried to explain the great calamity to Bāna, 52 but Bāna, supreme in his strength, was busy drinking the best liquor, in the company of Daitya and Dānava women, his heart full of joy.
53 So Kumbhānda, filled with anxiety, made his way to his royal quarters. Thinking about the true meaning of the various portents he’d seen, he said to himself:
54 The stupid king’s reckless. The great demon’s acting as if he’s triumphed! He craves war and war only, and because of his passion he can’t read the signs. 55 No major portent of disaster proves to be false, and even if it did, could every portent that we’ve seen prove to be false? 56 The three-eyed god lives here, as does brave Kārttikeya, but can he override an omen that we’ve already seen? 57 Great destruction is coming, and that’s the source of the omens that’ve occurred. Omens can’t be overridden, that’s my settled opinion. 58 The disaster that’s foretold will inevitably come to pass, no doubt about it. Because of the king’s corruption, the Dānavas are doomed.
59 But Bhava is the lord of the world. He created the companies of gods and Dānavas, and along with Kārttikeya he’s made his home in our town. 60 Guha is forever and always dearer to Bhava than life itself, but Bāna is always even more dear to Bhava than Guha is, 61 and when both Bhava and Kumāra want to help Bāna, who is there that’s capable of coming here and waging war against them?
62 In this way the great demon Kumbhānda, who could see the facts of the matter, was filled with anxiety, but made up his mind to hope for the best. 63 However, the gods destroy those they
oppose with virtuous deeds in battle, just as they curbed Bali.
107. The Rape of Ushā
1 Vaishampāyana said:
Once, on a charming and delightful riverbank, Lord Bhava was indulging in amorous fun and games with his wife the goddess Umā. 2 There in the charming Sarvartuka Forest, the Forest of All Seasons, hundreds of celestial nymphs frolicked on all sides with their light-elf husbands. 3 Because of the coral-tree flowers and the wishing-tree blossoms, the air and the riverbank all around were quite thick with perfume. 4 Bhava listened to celestial nymphs singing accompanied by the music of thousands of flutes, vīnās, mridangas, and cymbals. 5 The god of gods looked handsome in his garland and red clothes, and companies of celestial nymphs praised him with eulogies that were worthy of professional storytellers and praise-singers.
6 A magnificent celestial nymph called Chitralekhā the Painter of Pictures entertained Bhava by taking the form of the goddess, and the goddess laughed. 7 Other celestial nymphs joined in the game by taking the form of the goddess and imitating her voice, and the goddess burst out laughing. 8 Cries of joy were heard all around, and Bhava was more thrilled than anyone—he was tickled pink.
9 Bāna’s daughter, a beautiful young woman by the name of Ushā, saw the god playing around with the goddess by the river, 10 and in Pārvatī’s presence Ushā thought to herself: Lucky are the ladies who unite with husbands and enjoy themselves like this!
11 Understanding what Ushā wanted, the goddess, the daughter of the mountain, spoke to her gently to cheer her up. She said: 12 Ushā, you too will soon enjoy yourself with a husband in this way, just as the foe-slaying god Shankara enjoys himself with me.
13 When the goddess said this, Ushā’s eyes clouded over with anxiety and she thought to herself: But when will I enjoy myself with a husband?
14 Himālaya’s daughter chuckled and said: Ushā, my good lady, I’ll tell you when you’ll have sex. 15 On the twelfth day of the month of Vaishākha,* while you’re asleep in your palace at the end of the day, a man will overpower you. That man will become your husband.