The Mahabharata

by Bibek Debroy

  Chapter 1654(326)

  ‘Bhishma said, “The illustrious one was thus praised with secret names. The one who upholds the universe in his form showed himself to the sage Narada. His pure soul was somewhat like the moon, but it was also somewhat different from the moon. The lord’s complexion was somewhat like that of the fire and his form was somewhat like that of a meteor. His complexion was somewhat like that of a parrot’s feathers and his radiance was somewhat like that of a crystal. His radiance was seen to be somewhat like that of a mass of black antimony and somewhat like that of gold. His complexion was a bit like that of young coral and somewhat white. Some of the complexion was like that of gold and some of it was like lapis lazuli. The hue was a bit like blue lapis lazuli and a bit like sapphire. The complexion was somewhat like that of a peacock’s neck and somewhat like that of a necklace of pearls. The eternal one was thus radiant in many diffierent kinds of complexions and diverse forms. He possessed a thousand eyes, one hundred beautiful heads and a thousand feet. There were one thousand stomachs and one thousand arms and some of those could not be seen. With one of his mouths, he chanted ‘Om’. With another mouth, he chanted ‘Savitri’.1168 When this was over, with other mouths, he chanted the beneficial four Vedas. The Aranayakas were also under the god, Hari Narayana’s, control. In his hands, he held a sacrificial altar, a kamandalu, some darbha grass, some gems, a pair of sandals, a deerskin, a wooden staff and a blazing fire. The lord of gods and the lord of sacrifices held these in his hands and was cheerful. Narada, supreme among brahmanas, was delighted at this. Restrained in speech, he bowed down before the supreme lord. While his head was still bowed down, the first and undecaying god said, ‘Wishing to see me, the maharshis Ekata, Dvita and Trita came to this spot. However, they could not see me. With the exception of someone who is single-minded in devotion towards me, no one can see me. O brahmana! It is my view that you are thus single-minded. These are the best of my forms, born in Dharma’s house. You must always endeavour to worship these, who have appeared before you. O brahmana! Ask for whatever boon you desire from me. I am pleased with you today and have appeared in my universal form, which is without decay.’

  ‘“Narada replied, ‘O god! My austerities, yama and niyama have instantly received their fruits now, since your illustrious self has been seen by me. That I have seen your eternal self is the ultimate boon. O illustrious one! O immensely great lord! In your different forms, you see the entire universe.’”

  ‘Bhishma continued, “Having thus shown himself to Narada, the one generated from Parameshthi again spoke these words. ‘O Narada! Without any delay, leave this spot. These devotees of mine are like the moon in their complexions. They are devoid of senses and do not eat. They single-mindedly think of me. Let there not be any obstructions in their pursuits. They are successful and immensely fortunate. In ancient times, they were single-mindedly devoted to me. They have been freed from tamas and rajas. There is no doubt that they will merge into me. There is one who cannot be seen with the eyes. He cannot be touched with touch. He cannot be smelt through smell. He is beyond taste. He is beyond the qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. He is a witness to everything and people speak of him as the atman. He is in the body of all creatures and is never destroyed. He is without birth. He is everlasting. He is eternal. He is without qualities. He cannot be divided into components. He is beyond the twenty-four principles and is known as the twenty-fifth. He is the passive Purusha and is said to be comprehended through knowledge. O supreme among brahmanas! A person who merges into him is emancipated. He is known as Vasudeva. He is the eternal paramatman. O Narada! Behold the greatness and power of that god. He is never touched by good and bad deeds. Sattva, rajas and tamas are said to be the qualities. These exist in all bodies and roam around there. Though these qualities are enjoyed, kshetrajna does not enjoy them. He is without qualities. He is free from the qualities. He is the creator of qualities. He is superior to the qualities. O devarshi! When the universe is destroyed, the earth merges into water. Water merges into light. Light merges into the wind. The wind merges into space. Space merges into the mind. The mind is a supreme element and it merges into the unmanifest.1169 O brahmana! The unmanifest merges into the inactive Purusha. There is nothing that is superior to the eternal Purusha. There is no creation in the universe, mobile or immobile, that is eternal. The only single exception is the eternal Purusha Vasudeva. The immensely powerful Vasudeva is in the atmans of all creatures. The great-souled one exists in bodies, known as the accumulation of the earth, the wind, space, water and light as the fifth. O brahmana! Though he cannot be seen, he uses his great valour to enter. That is how birth occurs, through the efforts of the lord. Without a combination of the elements, there cannot be a body. O brahmana! Without the jivatman, that combination of elements wouldn’t have moved. That jivatman is also known as the lord Shesha or Samkarshana. Using his own deeds, the one who arises from this is known as Sanatkumara. When all creatures are destroyed, it is into him that they merge. The mind of all creatures is known as Pradyumna. It is from him1170 that the the doer and cause and effect arise. Everything in the universe, mobile and immobile, is generated from Aniruddha. He is also known as Ishana and he manifests himself through all his deeds. The illustrious Vasudeva is kshetrajna and possesses no qualities in his soul. When that illustrious one is born in any creature, he is known as the lord Samkarshana. Pradyumna is said to be generated from the mind and is born from Samkarshana. Aniruddha is generated from Pradyumna and is consciousness, or Maheshvara. Everything in the universe, mobile and immobile, is generated from me. O Narada! This is true of the destructible and the indestructible, the existent and the non-existent. Those who are devoted to me, enter me and are emancipated. Know that I am the inactive Purusha, the twenty-fifth. I am without qualities. I am without separate constituents. I am without opposite sentiments and I am without possessions. You will not understand this, since you are seeing me in a form. However, if I so desire, I can make this form disappear instantly. I am the preceptor of the universe. O Narada! That you can see me is only because of a maya that has been created by me. I seem to possess the qualities of all creatures, but that’s because you cannot comprehend me. I have appropriately told you about my four forms. O sage! There are successful and immensely fortunate men who are single-minded in their devotion to me. They are freed from both tamas and rajas and they enter me. O Narada! I am the doer. I am the cause. I am the effect. The consciousness of creatures is because of me. All creatures find a refuge in me. All creatures are pervaded by me and do not think that you have seen me. O brahmana! I go everywhere. I am in the atmans of all categories of creatures. When the bodies of creatures are destroyed, I am not destroyed. I am Hiranyagarbha, the origin of the worlds. I have four faces and can be understood through nirukta. The eternal god Brahma thinks of me in many ways. Behold! The eleven Rudras are established on my right. The twelve Adityas are established on my left. Behold! The eight Vasus, supreme among gods, are established to my front. Behold! Nasatya and Dasra, the physicians,1171 are to my rear. Look at all the Prajapatis. Look at the seven rishis. Look at the Vedas, hundreds of sacrifices, amrita, the herbs, the austerities, the niyamas, the separate yamas and the eight kinds of prosperity.1172 Look at them in their embodied form. Look at Shri, Lakshmi,1173 Kirti,1174 the earth, the mountains and the goddess Sarasvati, the mother of the Vedas. Behold! They are all established in me. O Narada! Look at Dhruva1175 and the best of the stellar bodies in the firmament and also at the oceans full of water, the lakes and the rivers. Behold the embodied forms of the best among the four classes of ancestors.1176 Behold the three qualities. Abandoning their embodied forms, they are vested in me. O sage! Tasks undertaken for ancestors are held to be superior to tasks undertaken for gods. I alone am the original father of the gods and the ancestors. Along the northern and the western ocean, I became Hayashira. I drank the havya and the kavya, offered faithfully, to the accompaniment of mantras. Earlier, I created Brahma and he himself honoured
me through sacrifices. Thus pleased with him, I granted him many excellent boons. At the beginning of the kalpa, I told him, “You will be born as my son and will be the supervisor of the worlds. Once there is consciousness, you will progressively be addressed by different names. No one will transgress the ordinances you lay down. O Brahma! For those who desire boons, you will also be the granter of boons. O one rich in austerities! O immensely fortunate one! Large numbers of gods and asuras, the rishis, ancestors who are rigid in their vows and many kinds of creatures will worship you. To accomplish the tasks of the gods, I will always manifest myself. O Brahma! For such purposes, you can always instruct me, like a father instructs his son.” Since I was pleased with him, I granted the infinitely energetic Brahma these and many other excellent boons. Thereafter, I again resorted to nivritti. Among all the kinds of dharma that lead to emancipation, nivritti is said to be the supreme. That is the reason one should follow nivritti and act so as to withdraw all one’s limbs. Preceptors like Kapila have set out their firm conclusions in the knowledge of sankhya. That is an aid in advancing towards my eternal self, with the resplendence of the sun. Metrical compositions have praised me as the illustrious Hiranyagarbha. O brahmana! In the sacred texts of yoga, I have been spoken about as the objective of yoga. I am established in the eternal firmament and am thus manifest in the sacred texts. At the end of one thousand yugas, I will destroy the universe again. I will withdraw all mobile and immobile objects into myself. O supreme among brahmanas! I will then exist alone, with nothing except knowledge. Using that knowledge, I will again create everything in the universe. My fourth form creates the undecaying Shesha. This is also spoken of as Samkarshana, and Pradyumna is created from this. From Pradyumna, I repeatedly create myself as Aniruddha. Brahma, the one who is born from the lotus, results from Aniruddha. All mobile and immobile creatures are created by Brahma. Know that this repeatedly happens in several kalpas. It is I who make the sun rise and set in the sky. When it has disappeared, at the right time, I use my force to bring back the extremely radiant one. For the sake of the welfare of creatures, it is I who will bring the earth forcefully back and restore her to her proper state.1177 When all her limbs are destroyed in the girdle of the ocean, I will assume the form of a boar and bring her back to her right place. I will slay the daitya Hiranyaksha, intoxicated of his valour.1178 To accomplish the tasks of the gods, I again will slay Diti’s son, Hiranyakashipu, the destroyer of sacrifices, in the form of narasimha.1179 The great asura Bali will be the powerful Virochana’s son. He will dislodge Shakra from his own kingdom. Defeating Shachi’s consort, he will deprive him of the three worlds. I will be born as the twelfth son of Aditi and Kashyapa.1180I will give the kingdom back to the infinitely energetic Shakra. O Narada! I will establish the gods in their own places. I will act so that Bali becomes a resident of the nether regions. In treta yuga, in the lineage of Bhrigu, I will be born as Rama.1181 I will exterminate the kshatriyas, powerful with their soldiers and mounts. At the conjunction of treta and dvapara, I will be born as King Rama, the son of Dasharatha. Because of the injury that they caused to Trita, the two rishis who are the sons of Prajapati, Ekata and Dvita, will become malformed and will be born as monkeys.1182 Born in those forms, those noble ones will be residents of the forest. O brahmana! They will become my allies in accomplishing the tasks of the gods. The terrible lord of the rakshasas will be the worst among those born in the Pulastya lineage. He will be like a thorn to the worlds. In a battle, I will kill Ravana and all his companions. When the intervening period between dvapara and kali is about to end, for Kamsa’s sake, I will again manifest myself in Mathura. There, I will slay many danavas, who will be like thorns to the gods. I will dwell in Kushasthali, in the city of Dvaraka. While residing there, I will slay Naraka, the son of the earth, who will cause an injury to Aditi,1183 and also the danavas Mura and Pitha. The beautiful city of Pragjyotishapura1184 will be full of many kinds of riches. Having slain that supreme danava, I will bring those to Kushasthali. Shankara and Mahasena will be revered in the world of the gods, but they will be engaged in ensuring the welfare of Bana.1185 Though they will exert themselves on his side, I will defeat the thousand-armed Bana and win back my son through force. I will also destroy all the residents of Soubha.1186 There will be the famous Kalayavana, born from Garga’s energy. I will slay him.1187 The powerful Jarasandha will act against all other kings. That powerful asura will be born as the king of Girivraja. It is through my intelligence that someone else will kill him. When the armies of all the kings on earth come together, I alone will be the excellent aide to Vasava’s son.1188 The worlds will speak of us as the rishis Nara and Narayana. To accomplish the objectives of the world, these two lords will consume the kshatriyas. As is desired, we will reduce the burden of the world. O excellent one! I will create a terrible destruction that will devastate my own kin and absorb the foremost among the Satvatas and Dvaraka into my own self. With the four forms, I will thus perform immeasurable deeds. Honoured by Brahma, I will then go to the worlds that I have myself created. O supreme among brahmanas! It is I who will manifest himself as Hamsa and Hayashira. When the sacred texts of the Vedas were lost, I retrieved them.1189 Earlier, in krita yuga, it is I who had composed the sacred texts of the Vedas. Whenever the Puranas and the sacred texts have suffered, from my excellent self, I have resurrected them several times. Having performed the tasks of the worlds, I have myself entered Prakriti. Single-minded in your devotion, you have been able to see me now and even Brahma has been unable to see me in this kind of form. O brahmana! O excellent one! Because you are faithful to me, I have told you everything, about the mysteries of the past and the future.’ The illustrious and undecaying god, with the universe as his form, spoke these words and immediately vanished. The extremely energetic Narada obtained the desired favour. He went and saw Nara and Narayana in the hermitage of Badari. This great Upanishad1190 is in conformity with the four Vedas and sankhya and yoga, and is referred to by this name in the pancharatra rituals. O son! This song arose from Narayana’s mouth and was heard by Narada, in exactly the same way that it is uttered and heard in Brahma’s abode.”

  ‘Yudhishthira asked, “The greatness of the intelligent one is extraordinary. Did Brahma not know what Narada had heard? What is the difference between the grandfather and that illustrious god? Why should he not know about the power of that infinitely energetic one?”

  ‘Bhishma answered, “O Indra among kings! There have been thousands of mahakalpas and hundreds of mahakalpas and cycles of creation and destruction. At the beginning of every cycle of creation, Brahma is thought of as the lord who creates creatures. O king! He knows that the supreme among gods1191 is superior to him. He is the paramatman. He is the powerful lord of the atmans. There were large numbers of siddhas who assembled in Brahma’s abode and they wished to hear about the ancient accounts that were in conformity with the Vedas. He recited it to them.1192 There, Surya heard it from the brahmana with the cleansed soul. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He repeated it to the sixty-six thousand rishis, with cleansed souls, who follow him.1193 Surya had earlier been created to heat the worlds. Surya repeated the account to all those with cleansed souls. O son! Those great-souled rishis were Surya’s followers. They repeated this excellent account to the gods who assembled on Meru. The brahmana Asita first heard it from the gods. O Indra among kings! That supreme among sages recounted it to the ancestors. O son! My father, Shantanu, told me about it. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I have recounted to you what I had heard. All the gods and sages who have heard this Purana repeatedly worship the paramatman. O king! This account has progressively been handed down by the rishis. It should never be recounted to someone who is not Vasudeva’s devotee. O king! You have heard many other hundreds of accounts from me, but this represents the essence of the dharma described in those. O king! In ancient times, the gods and the asuras churned the ocean for amrita. In that fashion, the brahmanas churned the accounts for this amrita. If a man continuously reads
it or hears it, alone, controlled and single-minded in his devotion, he obtains the great Shvetadvipa and becomes a man with the complexion of the moon. There is no doubt that he merges into the god with the one thousand rays. If a diseased person listens to this account, he is freed from his affliction. A curious person obtains the objects of his desire. A devoted person obtains the object of faith. O king! You should also always worship Purushottama. He is the mother and the father. He is the preceptor of the entire world. The illustrious and eternal one is the god of the brahmanas. O mighty-armed Yudhishthira! Let the mighty-armed Janardana be pleased with you.”’