Harivamsha

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘But the danava laughed. He angrily seized chakras and other weapons. In the battle, he seized all kinds of weapons in his one hundred arms. His eyes red with anger, he struck Vishnu in the chest with these. In the battle, with Maya and Tara at the forefront, all the danavas rushed towards Vishnu, holding swords and other weapons in their upraised arms. The extremely strong daityas struck him with all kinds of upraised weapons. However, Hari did not tremble in the battle, like an immobile mountain. The great asura, Kalanemi, engaged with Suparna. He used all his strength, raised a mighty club in his arms and angrily released this terrible and flaming weapon at Garuda. Vishnu was astounded at the daitya’s deed. The club descended on Suparna’s head. On seeing that Suparna was wounded and hurt, he562 felt as if his own body had been hurt. His eyes red with rage, he seized the Vaikuntha chakra. The lord’s force increased and became like that of Suparna’s. His arms increased in size and enveloped the ten directions. The directions, the sub-directions, the sky and the earth were permeated by these. With this energy, he increased his size and again wished to overcome the worlds. For the victory of the foremost gods, he increased his size in the firmament. The rishis and the gandharvas praised Madhusudana. His crown seemed to write in the sky and his garments touched the clouds. His feet were on earth and his arms covered the directions. Sudarshana was terrible and a sight to be seen. It blazed like the fire. Its complexion was like that of the sun’s rays. It had one thousand blades and was the destroyer of enemies. It was terrible, with a handle made out of diamonds. Its inner parts were also made out of gold. It was smeared with the fat, bones, marrow and blood of danavas who had been destroyed. It was a weapon without a second. It was circular, right up to the razor-sharp edges. It assumed whatever form it willed and could go wherever it wished. It was like an unthreaded garland. It had been created by Svayambhu himself and was a cause of fear to all those who were enemies. Since it was full of the rage of maharshis, it was always proud in a battle. When it was hurled in a great battle, all the mobile and immobile objects in the worlds were confounded. It was only predatory and similar beasts who were satisfied.563 It was unmatched in its deeds and was like the rays of the sun. Blazing with rage, Gadadhara raised this chakra in the battle. With his own energy, Shridhara564 dried up the danava’s energy in the battle. With the chakra, he severed Kalanemi’s arms. The daitya possessed one hundred curved and terrible heads that seemed to spit fire and laugh out aloud. Using his force and strength, Hari severed these with his chakra. Though his arms and heads were severed, the danava did not waver. The headless torso remained in the battle, like a tree bereft of its branches. Garuda stretched out his giant wings and his speed was like that of a storm. He struck Kalanemi with his chest and brought him down. Deprived of a head, the body whirled around in the sky and fell down. Dislodged from the firmament, it fell down and agitated the surface of the ground. When the daitya fell down, the gods and large numbers of rishis pronounced words of praise and collectively worshipped Vaikuntha.565 There were other daityas who wished to exhibit their valour in the battle. In the encounter, he566 grasped all of them with his arms and they were incapable of moving. He seized some of them by the hair. He afflicted the throats of others. When their heads were severed, some were brought down. Others were seized by the waist. Consumed by the mace and the chakra, they lost their spirits and lost their lives. All their limbs were dislodged from the sky and fell down on the ground. Purushottama slew all the daityas. Gadadhara thus accomplished a task that was dear to Shakra.

  ‘When they were crushed, the tarakamaya battle came to an end. Brahma, the grandfather of the worlds, quickly arrived at the spot, accompanied by all the brahmana rishis, gandharvas and large numbers of apsaras. He worshipped the god Hari, the god of the gods, and spoke these words. “O god! You have performed a great deed and have uprooted the thorn of the gods. We are delighted that the daityas have been slain. O Vishnu! You have slain the great asura, Kalanemi, who was full of insolence. There is no one other than you who could have killed him in a battle. He is the one who defeated the gods and all the worlds, with their mobile and immobile objects. He created hardships for the sages and roared back at me too. His fierce oppressions have been terminated by you and I am pleased at your deeds. You have brought down Kalanemi, who was like death himself. O fortunate one! Come with me. Let us go to the supreme celestial regions. The brahmana rishis have assembled there and are waiting for you. You are supreme among those who grant boons. What boon can I possibly grant you? For the gods and the daityas, you are the supreme granter of boons. O Vishnu! In this great battle, the three worlds have now emerged and are bereft of thorns. Let them be returned to the extremely great-souled Shakra.” The illustrious Brahma spoke in this way to Lord Hari. Addressing all the gods through Shakra, he567 spoke these auspicious words. “O residents of heaven who have assembled here! Listen. With Purandara at the forefront, hear with bodies that are now hale. In this battle, all the danavas, whose valour was greater than that of Shakra and who followed Kalanemi, have been slain. He has also been killed. However, there are two who have emerged unscathed from this clash—Virochana’s son,568 Indra among the daityas, and Svarbhanu, the great planet. Let Shakra and Varuna head for whatever direction they desire. Let Yama protect the southern quarters and let the lord of riches protect the north. Let the moon roam around and at the right time, have conjunctions with the nakshatras. With the seasons at the forefront, let the years worship and follow the course of the sun. Let the brahmanas perform the decreed rites and offer oblations into the fire. With assistant priests, let them worship and offer the prescribed shares at sacrifices. Let maharshis study and offer sacrifices and oblations to the gods. Let the ancestors be cheerful and satisfied through funeral ceremonies. Let the wind move along its paths. Let the three fires blaze.569 Let the three varnas570 and the three worlds be satisfied through their own natural qualities. Let sacrifices continue and let brahmanas initiate themselves into these. As has been ordained for sacrifices, let appropriate dakshina be distributed. Let the sun satisfy the earth. Let Soma provide juices. Let Vayu provide the breath of life in all living beings. Let everyone be content through auspicious and peaceful deeds. O great Indra! As used to be the case earlier, let all the waters in the rivers, the mothers of the worlds, arise and flow down to the ocean. Let the gods abandon their fear of daityas and depart in peace. Let everyone be fortunate. I will go to Brahma’s eternal world. In your own houses, in the world of heaven and especially in battles, you should not remain content. The danavas are always inferior. It is certain that they will strike, whenever they find a weakness. Therefore, your sentiments must be upright and peaceful and your intelligence must be virtuous.” Vishnu, whose valour is the truth, spoke in this way to the large number of gods. With Brahma, the immensely illustrious one then went to Brahma’s world. This is how the wonderful battle of tarakamaya was conducted between the danavas and Vishnu. This is what you had asked me about.’

  Chapter 39

  Janamejaya asked, ‘O brahmana! The god of the gods, the one who was created from the water, went with Brahma to Brahma’s world. What did he do there and what did he do in Vaikuntha? After Vishnu had been honoured by the gods because of his deed of slaying the daityas, why did the original god571 take the one who was created from the waters with him? What was his status in Brahma’s world and what kind of yoga did he practise? What were the rituals that were followed by the lord who is the origin of all creatures there? While he was there, what happened to this great world and universe? How did it obtain the great prosperity that is desired by the gods and the asuras? At the end of the summer, how did he sleep on that undecaying ocean and how did he wake up? While he was in Brahma’s world, how did he hold up the burden of the worlds? O supreme among brahmanas! I wish to hear about the celestial conduct of the illustrious one in heaven. Tell me the truth in detail. I wish to know about everything.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘Hear in detail about Narayana’s conduct, about how he found d
elight with Brahma in Brahma’s world. His wishes and his movements are subtle and even the gods find it difficult to follow them. I will tell you what I am capable of. Listen to me with single-minded attention. That god is nothing but the worlds and the three worlds are nothing but him. All this is full of that god and heaven is nothing but that god’s consciousness. Know that everything that makes the gods prosper flows from Janardana. Know that everything that the gods undertake flows from Madhusudana. Learned and knowledgeable people know that the world is full of Agni and Soma. The learned know that the world, full of Soma and Agni, is nothing but Vishnu and the grandfather. Curds are made from milk and butter is created from curd. In that fashion, Janardana churns creatures out of this world. The paramatman is known to exist in senses and in creatures. In a similar way, Hari is known through the Vedas, the gods and the worlds. The embodied bodies of creatures on earth are pervaded by the senses. Similarly, the gods in heaven are pervaded by the lord’s Vaishnava powers. The sacred paramatman distributes the fruits of sacrifices to the performers of sacrifices. He is the one who holds the strands of the worlds and mantras are used to honour him through those mantras. There are many who possess ultimate knowledge about these strands. But even they cannot see his limits. Know that Madhava is supreme in the worlds and that he is the ultimate destination. When the gods are immersed in darkness, he is the one who displays the divine path. Listen to the ancient account of what transpired in Brahma’s world. He went to Brahma’s world and saw the grandfather’s abode. All the rishis worshipped Vishnu, whose deeds are noble. He saw that the maharshis had kindled a fire and were offering oblations into this. Following the ordinances that are laid down for such auspicious occasions, the immensely energetic one honoured them. He accepted his share at the sacrifice, which was established on his body alone. The rishis honoured the immensely radiant one and were honoured back in turn. The one who cannot be thought of roamed around Brahma’s eternal world. He saw the auspicious sacrificial altars, which were bedecked with the best of sacrifices. He saw signs of the brahmana rishis performing hundreds of sacrifices. He inhaled the smoke that arose from these and heard the brahmanas chanting from the Vedas. He saw the sacrifices, which were nothing but manifestations of his own self. All the rishis, gods, priests and assistant priests raised their hands to revere him. They lowered their faces and told the auspicious one, “O best among the gods! O Padmanabha! O immensely radiant one! Welcome. Accept the hospitality of this sacrifice, performed with mantras. You are the auspicious sacrifice, the vessel and sacred padya in the vessel. You are the guest that the mantras have spoken about and it is evident that the guest has now manifested himself. O Vishnu! Ever since you left for the battle, our rites had ceased. It is not recommended that any rites should be performed in Vishnu’s absence. This sacrifice, performed with dakshina, will lead to fruits. However, may we immediately obtain these, since we have been able to see you.” The illustrious one agreed to this and honoured them back in return. With Brahma, the grandfather, he rejoiced in Brahma’s world.’

  Chapter 40

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Worshipped by the rishis, the lord Hari entered Brahma’s ancient and divine abode, which was nothing but Narayana’s hermitage. Cheerful in his mind, he took his leave from those who had come for the sacrifice.572 He bowed down before the original god, Brahma, who had been born out of the lotus. He entered Narayana’s hermitage, which was named after his own name. However, before entering, the illustrious one laid aside his weapons. He saw his own abode there, which was like the ocean. The large number of elements and the eternal maharshis resided there. The lords of the samvartaka clouds573 were there and it was also a place inhabited by the nakshatras. It was enveloped in shrouds of darkness and even the gods and the asuras could not penetrate it. This wasn’t the dominion of Vayu, the moon or the sun. That region was pervaded by Padmanabha’s energy and form. The one with the thousand heads entered there, bearing an extremely great burden of matted hair, and prepared to lie down and sleep. Kali574 knows about the time for the end of the worlds. She bears the form of destiny and her abode is in the eyes. That sleep presented herself before the great-souled one. He lay down on that divine bed, made cool by the waters of the ocean. Hari is supreme among those who follow vows and he followed the vow that is known as that of the single ocean.575 For the creation of the universe, the great-souled lord lay down there. The gods and the large number of rishis continued to worship Vishnu. While he was asleep, a beautiful lotus manifested itself from his navel. This possessed the complexion of the sun and it was Brahma’s original abode. While the great sage576 slept, Brahma was like an original strand created from his upraised hand. This is how he whirls around all the worlds in the cycle of time. The breath is exhaled from his open mouth and the different categories of beings are created from his breath and merge into it again. Following this inviolate principle, the four categories of beings577 are created by Brahma himself and depending on their respective deeds, head towards their own destruction. Brahma himself, nor the undecaying brahmana rishis, know the nature of Vishnu’s sleep and yoga, enveloped as he is in austerities. All the brahmana rishis, with Brahma at the forefront, do not know when he sleeps and when he awakes and is seated on his seat. Who is awake? Who sleeps? Who breathes? Who does not move? Who is the one who enjoys? Who is radiant and fair? Who is dark?578 They are incapable of comprehending the god’s divine origin. They are incapable of understanding his deeds and his birth. The rishis who know about what has been instructed in the ancient texts speak about his ancient character. The gods hear about his ancient conduct, described in the great Puranas and other texts. However, no one knows about his end. They know that the Vedas are themselves a manifestation of his own power and character. The Vedas and the popular texts are pervaded by these and one hears about them. When it is time for the creation of the worlds and for the destruction of the danavas, Madhusudana, the creator of beings, awakes. When Achyuta sleeps, the gods are incapable of looking at him. When it is the end of the summer and the end of the monsoon, he awakes from his sleep. When he sleeps, sacrifices and rites, accompanied by auspicious mantras, are not performed. Sacrifices are performed when Madhusudana wakes in the autumn. While Vishnu sleeps, Purandara, the lord of rain, peforms the Vaishnava tasks that must be performed as part of the yearly cycle. It is this deep maya that is present in the world in the form of sleep. Sometimes it suddenly assumes a hateful and terrible form and appears before kings as the night of destruction. Night is the destroyer of the day. On earth, it assumes this form, envelopes the bodies of all embodied creatures in terrible darkness and takes away half of their lives.579 Sometimes, it penetrates them and makes them yawn repeatedly. They are incapable of withstanding its force, as if they have been immersed in the great ocean. Sleep pervades every creature in the world—because of eating, exertion, or when it is night. Sometimes, creatures on earth are destroyed while they are asleep. When it is time for creatures to die, it confronts them with terrible destruction. Even among the gods, with the exception of Narayana, no one is capable of withstanding it. The maya which emerges from Vishnu’s body is a friend to the one who destroys everything. It can be seen in Narayana’s face and in his lotus eyes. In a short while, all creatures in the world serve it and are confounded. Like a wife who is devoted to her husband, for a short while, for the sake of their own welfare, creatures should serve and bear the one with the black trails.580 For the sake of confounding the worlds, the undecaying Vishnu slept and was immersed in sleep in Narayana’s hermitage. The great-souled one slept for one thousand years. Krita yuga passed and so did treta yuga, supreme among yugas. At the end of dvapara yuga, the maharshis saw that the worlds were extremely miserable and praised the immensely energetic one, seeking to wake him.

  ‘The rishis said, “Abandon this natural sleep, like garlands that have been enjoyed and have become old. With Brahma, all the gods are here, desiring to see you. They know about the brahman and chant hymns towards the brahman.581 O Hrishikesha
! The rishis, rigid in their vows, are praising you. O one who thinks of the creation of subjects! These elements, earth, space, fire, wind and water, and creatures are part of your own soul. O Vishnu! Listen to these auspicious words. The seven sages and other circles of sages are with them. O god! They are chanting your praise in divine and sweet words. O lotus-eyed one! Arise. O Padmanabha! O immensely radiant one! A task that will bring glory to the gods has presented itself.”’

  Vaishampayana continued, ‘Hrishikesha arose in his supreme and blazing form, dispelling the waves of darkness that the entire universe had been immersed in. He saw all the assembled gods, together with the grandfather. They had assembled and wished to say something, because they were agitated because of the universe. With his eyes rested from the sleep, Hari spoke to the gods in words that were full of dharma, meaning and artha and wishing to ascertain the truth. “O gods! Whom is your conflict with? From where has fear arisen? What is the task and for whom? What has devolved on me? What has been caused by the danavas so that all is not well with the worlds? What has caused difficulties for men? I wish to quickly ascertain this. All of you know about the brahman. In your midst, I have abandoned my supreme bed and am stationed here, to do what is good for you. What can I do for you?”’