Harivamsha

by Bibek Debroy

  Chapter 92

  Vaishampayana said, ‘After Bhouma Naraka, who was like Vasava in his valour, was killed, Vishnu, Vasava’s younger brother, saw Naraka’s residence. Entering Naraka’s treasure house, Janardana saw an infinite quantity of riches and many kinds of jewels. There were gems, pearls, corals and a store of lapis lazuli. There were large heaps of silver and a store of diamonds. There was molten gold and pots full of refined gold. These blazed like the fire and were also as cool as the moon’s beams. There were extremely expensive couches and thrones. He saw the large and beautiful royal umbrella, golden in complexion. It was as cool as the moon’s beams and looked like a cloud that was about to shower down. There were hundreds and thousands of streams of pure and sparkling gold. We have heard that all this was seized by Naraka from Varuna earlier. The many kinds of riches that he saw in Naraka’s residence are not matched by what exists with King Kubera, Shakra or Yama. That kind of store of riches has not been seen before, nor heard of. When Bhouma, Nisunda and danava Hayagriva were killed, the danavas who were left and those who were entrusted with the task of guarding the treasure troves, brought all these riches and everything in the inner quarters to Keshava. It was Janardana who deserved these extremely expensive objects. The danavas said, “There are many kinds of gems, jewels and riches. There are fierce elephants, their goads decorated with coral. Bows and spears are tied to their giant flanks with golden ropes. They are decorated with beautiful flags and many kinds of cushions and seats. There are twenty thousand male elephants and forty thousand female elephants. There are eight hundred thousand horses that have come from the best of regions. O Janardana! There are as many cattle as you wish for. All of these will be taken to the residences of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. There are beds and seats, covered with the fine hide of goats. There are birds who are pleasant to look at and they can chirp agreeably. There is sandalwood and agaru. There is also turmeric.936 By following dharma, there are riches that you can obtain in the three worlds. All of these will be available in the residences of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas.” All the jewels of the gods and the gandharvas and all the riches of the serpents were available in Naraka’s residence. Examining them, Hrishikesha accepted all these. He made the danavas deliver all these to the city of Dvaraka. Madhava himself held aloft Varuna’s umbrella, which seemed to shower down gold, and mounted the bird Garuda, supreme among birds.

  ‘Looking like an embodied cloud, he went to Maniparvata, best among mountains. An auspicious breeze started to blow there and a golden-hued and pure radiance sparkled, emanating from the gems and surpassing that of the sun. Madhusudana saw lapis lazuli there and walls, flags, gates and couches. Maniparvata possessed the radiance of a cloud tinged with lightning. There were colourful and decorated celestial vehicles and beautiful palaces. There, Madhusudana saw the best of women and their complexion was like that of gold. They were the wives and daughters of the best of gandharvas and gods. He saw the wide-hipped ones. They had been imprisoned in a cave in the mountain. They had been brought there by Naraka and guarded in every possible way. Those unvanquished ones resided in a region that was like that of the gods. They happily lived there like goddesses, abandoning desire. The mighty-armed one was surrounded by women who possessed a single braid of hair. All of their garments were ochre and all of them had controlled their senses. Because of vows and fasting, their limbs were emaciated. They were waiting, desiring to seek Krishna. All those women joined their hands in salutation and assembled around the lion of the Yadu lineage. Knowing that Naraka, the great asura Mura, Hayagriva and Nisunda had been killed, they surrounded Krishna. All the aged danava guards also joined their hands in salutation before the descendant of the Yadu lineage and he honoured those who were senior in age. Those supreme women looked at the one with the eyes of a bull. All of them resolved that he would be their husband. His face was like the moon. The ones who had controlled their senses glanced at him. They happily spoke these words to the mighty-armed one. “In earlier times, the wind that speaks the truth has spoken to us in these words. So has devarshi Narada, who knows about the nature of all creatures. ‘The god, Vishnu Narayana, holds the conch shell, the chakra, a mace and a sword. Having slain Bhouma Naraka, he will become your husband.’ O scorcher of enemies! We have heard about you for a long time and we are able to see our beloved now. Today, we are satisfied at having been able to see the great soul.” Vasava’s younger brother comforted all those women. All of them possessed eyes like lotus petals. Madhava looked towards them and spoke to them. As is proper, Keshava comforted them and addressed them. Madhusudana instructed the servants that they937 should be seated on vehicles. There were thousands of rakshasa servants, with the speed of the wind. As they raised the palanquins, a great sound arose. The foremost summit of the mountain was extremely revered. It had gates adorned with jewels and gold and it sparkled like the sun and the moon. There were large numbers of birds and elephants there and predatory beasts, deer and serpents. There were extensive stony slopes, inhabited by large numbers of monkeys. Ranku and ruru deer and boar inhabited the place. The giant summit was adorned by the tops of many kinds of trees. It was extremely wonderful and unthinkable and full of many kinds of animals. It echoed with the noise made by herons, pheasants and peacocks. With his two hands, the extremely strong Vishnu uprooted the shining peak and placed it on Garuda, supreme among birds. The bird Garuda, supreme among birds, carried Maniparvata, Janardana and his wife,938 as if it was mere sport. The king of birds was like the summit of a huge mountain and used the strength of his wings and a great noise erupted in all the directions. He broke down the peaks of mountains and flung away trees, scattering and dispelling some of the clouds. He passed the regions of the two gods, the sun and the moon. Obeying Janardana’s instructions, the bird’s speed was like that of the wind.

  ‘Madhusudana reached Mount Meru, inhabited by the gods and the gandharvas. O lord of men! He saw all the residences of the gods, of the Vishvadevas, the Maruts and the Sadhyas. The scorcher of enemies passed over these and the radiant residences of the Ashvins. The scorcher of enemies reached the world of the gods, attained by the performers of auspicious deeds. Janardana reached Shakra’s abode and entered. On seeing the lord of the gods, he got down from Tarkshya.939 Shatakratu, the king of the gods, was delighted to see him and welcomed him. Achyuta Janardana, best among men, gave him the divine earrings and, with his wife, worshipped the best among the gods. Thus worshipped, the king of the gods worshipped him back with jewels. Satyabhama was appropriately greeted by Puloma’s daughter.940 Together, Vasava and Vasudeva went to the sacred and prosperous abode of Aditi, the mother of the gods. There, Aditi was being worshipped in every direction by the apsaras. The two great-souled and immensely fortunate ones saw the ascetic one. Placing Janardana ahead of him, Shachi’s consort worshipped her and gave her the earrings, telling her what had happened. Delighted, Aditi embraced and greeted her two sons. She uttered identical words of benediction over both of them. Puloma’s daughter and Satyabhama were filled with great joy. They touched the sacred feet of the goddess who deserves to be revered. Affectionately, the illustrious mother of the gods addressed them and spoke these words to Janardana. “No creature will be able to assail you. No one will be able to slay you. Like the king of the gods, you will be worshipped in the worlds. Satyabhama, supreme among women, is extremely fortunate. O Krishna! As long as you remain in human form, this wife of yours will always be young and old age will not touch her.” The immensely strong Krishna was thus honoured by the mother of the gods.

  ‘Honoured with jewels, he then took his leave of the king of the gods. With Satyabhama, he climbed onto Vinata’s son. Praised by the divine rishis, he circled around the pleasure garden of the gods. The mighty-armed one saw Vasava’s pleasure garden. Worshipped by the gods, the great Parijata tree was there. This celestial tree blossoms with flowers all the time, with sacred and supreme fragrances. Men who approach it remember the incidents of their earlier lives. It was protected
by the gods. However, the infinitely valourous Vishnu uprooted the giant tree.941 As they left for Dvaravati with the speed of the wind, Satyabhama and Hari saw divine apsaras. The king of the gods heard about what Krishna had done, but said, “What the mighty-armed one has done meets with my approval.” Worshipped by the gods and praised by large numbers of maharshis, Krishna, the scorcher of enemies, left the world of the gods for Dvaraka. In a short while, the mighty-armed one covered that great distance. Worshipped by the king of the gods, he saw the city of the Yadavas. Thus, Vasava’s illustrious younger brother performed a great task. Astride Garuda, the prosperous Vishnu reached Dvaraka.’

  Chapter 93

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Astride Garuda, Krishna saw the city of Dvaraka. It was like a residence of the gods and echoed in all directions.942 After the visit to Maniparvata was over, Devaki’s son proceeded there. The king of the gods summoned Vishvakarma and told him, “O supreme among artisans! If you wish to do what brings me pleasure and also for Krishna’s pleasure, make the city of Dvaraka beautiful, like heaven, with gardens and groves. O best among the gods! Make it like my city. Whatever stores of riches you can see in the three worlds, swiftly assemble those in the city of Dvaravati. Krishna is always ready to undertake the tasks of the gods. The immensely strong one immerses himself in terrible battles.” Accepting Indra’s words, Vishvakarma went to the city and in every direction, sought to make it like Indra’s Amaravati. Following divine instructions, Vishvarkarma ornamented it and, astride the bird, the lord of Dasharha saw this. The lord Narayana Hari saw the city of Dvaraka and was about to enter. He was delighted to see that it had become full of riches. As he headed towards Dvarka, Dasharha saw the trunks of trees that were beautiful to behold, colourfully created by Vishvakarma. There were blossoming lotuses along the banks and swans on the water, which dazzled like the water of the Ganga. The city was surrounded by moats. The walls had the complexion of the sun. Embellished with gold and silver, the tops looked like a garland of clouds against the sky. The groves were like Nandana and Chaitraratha. Beautiful Dvaraka was as resplendent as the clouds against the sky. The beautiful peaks and caverns of Mount Raivataka shone. In the eastern direction, there was a handsome gate, constructed out of jewels and gold. The southern gate was entwined with creepers of five colours. The undecaying western gate looked like Indra’s standard. O bull among kings! The gate towards the northern direction was adorned by Mount Venuman, as resplendent and white as Mount Mandara. Towards Raivataka, there was the large forest of Panchajanya, with a hue that was speckled and grey. In every direction, there were other colourful forests too. There was the great forest of Meruprabha, covered throughout with creepers. The forest of Bharga dazzled, while that of Pushpaka was large. The forests known as Shatavarta and Karavirakarambhi were adorned with trees like akshaka, bijaka and mandara.943 In every direction, Mount Venuman was rendered beautiful by large forests that were as shining as Chaitraratha and Nandana. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the eastern direction, there was a beautiful and sparkling lake that was filled with aquatic plants with petals like lapis lazuli, and so was the river Mandakini. Urged by Vishvakarma and to ensure Keshava’s pleasure, many gods and gandharvas were seated on the summits. The river Mandakini in Dvaravati had fifty different outlets. With auspicious waters, it entered the city and dazzled every direction. The city was large and immeasurable and was surrounded by a fathomless moat. There were the best of palaces and these were painted as white as milk. The city of Dvaraka was protected by fierce shataghnis and adorned with machines of war. There were large and iron chakras. The city possessed eight thousand chariots that were decorated with bells. Standards arose aloft them, as in the city of the gods. The city was like a mountain, eight yojanas wide and twelve yojanas long. The habitations in the city of Dvaraka could be seen to occupy double that area. There were eight main roads and sixteen large squares. There was a single highway and it seemed to have been constructed by Ushanas944 himself. The women could also fight, not to speak of the Vrishni maharathas. Along seven major roads, there were paths that led to the battle formations. These had been laid out by the divine Vishvakarma himself. This was the best and supreme city of the illustrious Dasharhas.

  ‘Delighted, Devaki’s son saw the houses. The steps were decorated with gold and jewels, causing pleasure to men. There were palaces and squares that echoed loudly. There were fluttering flags and swimming pools. The white tops of the white buildings were decorated with refined gold. The beautiful tops of the buildings looked like the colourful summits of mountains. Decorated with five colours, it seemed as if flowers had showered down on them. They looked like many different kinds of mountains and resounded like thunder. They blazed like a forest conflagaration and had been created by Vishvakarma. Because of the paint, they rose up into the sky like mountains and were like the sun and the moon. Vasudeva945 was the immensely fortunate Dasharha and his house, surrounded by clouds, was like the house of Indra Parjanya. The illustrious one’s beautiful house had been constructed by Vishvakarma himself and could be seen in Dvaraka, surrounded by the clouds. Vasudeva’s residence could be seen and it extended for four yojanas. It was large and immeasurable and was filled with great quantities of wealth. Instructed by Vasava, the immensely fortunate Tvashtri had constructed this city on earth and it was full of the best of palaces and mountains. The palaces had the complexion of gold and all creatures found them to be delightful. Rukmini’s supreme house had been constructed by Vishvakarma. It was large and golden and it rose up, like the summit of Mount Meru. Yet again, Satyabhama’s house was white and was filled with all the objects of pleasure. It had colourful steps decorated with jewels and sparkled, with the complexion of the sun. It was adorned with flags. The best of adorned palaces was for Jambavati. There were flags on four sides and the residence was located on even terrain. Like the sun, this residence surpassed all the other residences in its brilliance. Like the rising sun in complexion, this was located between the other two.946 This divine building had been created by Vishvakarma and was like the peak of Mount Kailasa. There was a house that blazed like molten gold and was like the flames of a fire. It was as large as the ocean and was famous by the name of Meru. O best among the Bharata lineage! Gandhari, born in a noble lineage as the daughter of the king of Gandhara, resided there and served Keshava.947 There was a house known as Padmakuta. It was immensely radiant and possessed the complexion of a lotus. This large residence was supremely revered and was Bhima’s abode.948 There was a palace that possessed the complexion of the sun and had all the objects and qualities to satisfy desire. O best among the Kuru lineage! The wielder of the Sharnga bow earmarked this for Lakshmana.949 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There was a palace that was green in colour, with the complexion of lapis lazuli. All creatures knew this as a supreme building. This abode, worshipped by the gods and the rishis, was where Mitravinda950 resided. She was Vasudeva’s queen and her residence was like an ornament. Vishvakarma constructed a foremost palace. This was extremely peaceful and was like an immobile mountain. This was praised by all the gods and was famous as Ketuman. This was where Vasudeva’s queen Sudatta resided.951 Tvashtri had himself constructed this best of palaces. It was auspicious and full of all the jewels, extending for one yojana. There was also an extremely handsome and resplendent resting house for the great-souled Keshava. Flags with golden poles indicated the way towards this. Flags fluttered along the way towards Vasudeva’s house. Here and there, nets of jewels were laid out.

  ‘The lion of the Yadu lineage had brought the giant mountain of Vaijayanta. Its peak was known as Hamsakuta and this was placed in the lake known as Indradyumna. It952 was as tall as sixty palm trees taken together and its expanse was half a yojana. There were kinnaras and infinitely energetic giant serpents as its inhabitants. It was famous in the worlds and while all the beings looked on, he had brought it there. The supreme summit of Mount Meru obstructs the path of the sun. It is encrusted with celestial gold and is famous in the three
worlds. For Krishna’s sake, Vishvakarma had uprooted it and brought it there. The summit was extremely radiant and was decorated with all the herbs. To accomplish the intention behind Indra’s words, Tvashtri had brought it there. Keshava had himself brought Parijata there. This was a supreme tree, protected by the gods. Krishna, the performer of extraordinary deeds, had brought it there, along with hundreds of lotus flowers and golden and celestial vehicles. For Vasudeva’s sake, a place known as Brahmasthala had been laid out, with giant trees. There were gems, water lilies and fragrant lotuses there. There were ponds and lakes, with jewels, gold and boats. The excellent banks were decorated with the best of trees, with hundreds of branches—sala, palm trees, kadambas and sandalwood. There were trees that could be found in the Himalayas and Meru. For the sake of the lion among the Yadus, Vishvakarma had them brought and laid out there. The groves had trees with red, yellow, pink and white flowers and these yielded every kind of seasonal fruit. In that supreme of cities, there were rivers and pools with sparkling water. Yellow sand and gravel lined the banks. There were other rivers with golden gravel and sand along the banks, with blossoming aquatic plants and many kinds of trees and creepers. The supreme trees were filled with happy and excited groups of peacocks and cuckoos. In the city, abodes were created for herds of elephants, cattle, buffaloes, boars, animals and birds. With golden walls, the city was beautiful. Hundreds of buildings could be seen there and these were one hundred cubits tall. All these were created by Vishvakarma. Bhouma953 laid out these large mountains, rivers, pools, forests and groves there.’