by Bibek Debroy
Vaishampayana replied, ‘O king! Listen to what the lord Hari told Phalguna.1210 Cheerfully, the great-souled Keshava recounted these names. O king! Phalguna, the destroyer of enemy heroes, had asked Keshava about these names and the qualities and deeds that led to their being used.
‘Arjuna said, “O illustrious one! O lord of the past and the future! O creator of all beings! O immutable one! O refuge of the worlds! O protector of the universe! O one who grants the worlds freedom from fear! O god! There are names that the maharshis have used to praise you in the Vedas and the Puranas, because of your mysterious deeds. O Keshava! I wish to hear the true explanations about these. O lord! With the exception of you, there is no one else who is capable of explaining these names.”
‘The illustrious one replied, “O Arjuna! In the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Atharva Veda, the Sama Veda, the Puranas, the Upanishads, the sacred texts of sankhya, yoga and ayurveda, the maharshis have recounted many of my names. Some of those names are based on qualities, others are based on deeds. O unblemished one! Listen attentively. I will explain the ones that are based on deeds. O son! I will tell you. It has been said that in earlier times, you were half of me. I bow down to the extremely famous one, the paramatman who exists in all bodies. He is Narayana. He is the universe. He is without qualities. He possesses all the qualities in his atman. It is through his favours that Rudra was generated from Brahma’s rage. He is the womb of everything, mobile and immobile. O supreme among those who possess sattva! He possesses the eighteen qualities of sattva.1211 After me, there is Prakriti, who holds up heaven and earth through her yoga. She is truth. She is immortal. She is invincible. She is the consciousness in the worlds. Everything, the transformations of creation and destruction, flow from her. The ancient and great Purusha is the sacrifice and the person who performs the sacrifice. He is known as Aniruddha and he is the reason behind the creation and the destruction of the worlds. O one whose eyes are like lotus petals! When Brahma’s night is over, it is through the favours of the infinitely energetic one that a lotus manifests itself. It is through his favours that Brahma is generated from this. When the day is over, it is because of that god that a son is born from the forehead, as the outcome of rage. This is Rudra, the destroyer.1212 These two, the best among the gods, are said to be the result of favour and rage. They follow his indicated paths in becoming agents of creation and destruction. Though they are capable of granting boons to all creatures, they are actually nothing but instruments. Rudra is Kapardi, Jatila and Munda.1213 His house is the cremation ground. He is a yogi who engages in fierce vows. He was terrible for Tripura.1214 He destroyed Daksha’s sacrifice and uprooted Bhaga’s eyes. O Pandaveya! From one yuga to another yuga, know that Narayana is always present in his atman. O Partha! Therefore, if Maheshvara, the god of the gods, is worshipped, that is the same thing as the lord god, Narayana, being worshipped. O descendant of the Pandu lineage! I am the atman of all the worlds. Therefore, I single-mindedly worship Rudra as my own self. If Ishana Shiva, the granter of boons, is not worshipped, then I think of that as my own self not being worshipped. The worlds follow my ordinances. Those ordinances must be honoured and I also honour them. A person who knows him,1215 knows me. A person who knows me, knows him. O Kounteya! Rudra and Narayana possess a single essence, although they divide themselves into two, pervade people and make them engage in all the acts. O descendant of the Pandava lineage! There is no one else who is capable of granting me a boon. In ancient times, I mentally thought this and worshipped the great-souled lord of the universe,1216 for the sake of obtaining a son. There is no other god that Vishnu bows down before, with the exception of Rudra, who is my own self. Therefore, I worship him. Brahma, the Rudras, Indra and the rishis worship the god who is foremost among the gods, Narayana Hari. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Among creatures of the past, the present and the future, Vishnu is the foremost and he must always be served and worshipped. Bow down before Vishnu, the one to whom havya is offered. Bow down before the one who is the refuge. O Kounteya! Bow down before the one who is the granter of boons. Bow down before the one who eats havya and kavya. You have heard that four kinds of people are my devotees.1217 Among these, the best are the ones who single-mindedly seek me, and not any other god, as the objective. They are without desire and do not pursue rites. Though virtuous, it is the view that the three other categories of devotees desire the fruits. They follow a dharma that leads to rebirth. The enlightened obtain the best outcome. It is said that enlightened ones may serve Brahma, Shitikantha1218 or any of the other gods, but they obtain me, who is beyond them. O Partha! I have recounted the differences among my devotees. O Kounteya! You and I are known as Nara and Narayana. O Partha! We have entered these human forms to reduce the burden.1219 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I know adhyatma yoga, who I am and where I have come from. I know the attributes of nivritti and the means whereby dharma is awakened. I alone am known as the eternal refuge of men. The water is known as Nara1220 and Nara obtained birth from the waters.1221 Since, in earlier times, the water was my road, I am known as Narayana.1222 Assuming the form of Surya, I envelop the world and the universe with my rays. Since I am the dwelling of all creatures, I am Vasudeva.1223 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I am the destination of all creatures and subjects. O Partha! My extreme splendour pervades heaven and earth. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! At the end, all perishable creatures desire to merge into me. O Partha! Since I make everything progressively flow, I am known by the name of Vishnu.1224 People who desire success in self-control wish for me and I am in between heaven and earth. That is the reason I am Damodara.1225 Food, the Vedas, water and amrita are known as prishni.1226 Since I always bear these in my womb, I am known as Prishnigarbha. The rishis have said that when Trita was flung into a well and hurled there by Ekata and Dvita, he called out, ‘O Prishnigarbha! Save Trita.’ The rishi Trita, who was Brahma’s original son, was thus raised from the well, after calling out the name of Prishnigarbha. The sun fiercely heats the worlds and there are the rays of the moon too. Know these to be my hair. The best among brahmanas, who know everything, therefore call me Keshava.1227 When the great-souled Utathya’s wife had conceived, through a maya worked by the gods, Utathya disappeared.1228 Brihaspati, best among rishis, approached Utathya’s wife for the sake of intercourse. O Kounteya! The fetus had already been formed, constituted of the five elements. It said, ‘O one who is the granter of boons! I am already here. You should not oppress my mother.’ Hearing this, Brihaspati was angered and cursed him. ‘Since you have prevented me when I was about to engage in intercourse, there is no doubt that, because of my curse, you will be born blind.’ In ancient times, thanks to the curse imposed by that foremost rishi, the rishi named Dirghatama was born and remained blind for a long time.1229 He studied the eternal Vedas, the Vedangas and the subsidiary branches. Using this secret name, he invoked me. Following the prescribed ordinances, he repeatedly called out to Keshava. Because of this, he obtained his eyesight and later came to be known as Goutama. O Arjuna! This is the boon that the name Keshava grants to all the gods and great-souled rishis who invoke it. Agni and Soma come together and unite in the mouth.1230 Everything in the universe, mobile and immobile, is based on the essence of Agni and Soma. This is what is said in the Puranas. Agni and Soma are spoken of as having united together. Agni is spoken of as the mouth of the gods. These two great ones come together and hold up the worlds.”’1231
Chapter 1657(329)
‘Arjuna asked, “In ancient times, how did it happen that Agni and Soma came together? O Madhusudana! I have a doubt about this. Dispel it.”
‘The illustrious one replied, “O descendant of the Pandu lineage! In this connection, there is an ancient account. O Partha! This concerns what was generated from my own energy. Listen with single-minded attention. When four thousand yugas are over, the time for cleansing arrives. All creatures, mobile and immobile, are destroyed and merge into the unmanifest. Light, earth and wind vanish. There is
blind darkness everywhere and the world is covered in water. When everything is enveloped in this fashion, nothing other than the unmanifest exists. There is no night, nor day. There is no existence, or non-existence. There is no manifest, or unmanifest. In this state, Narayana is the refuge of qualities. He is without destruction. He is without old age. He is incapable of being grasped by the senses. He is without birth. He is truth. He is beyond the attributes of injury and gain. He is indestructible, immutable and immortal. He is without form, but pervades everything. In that darkness, he is the eternal Purusha who undertakes everything. The undecaying Hari then manifests himself. These are the signs then. There is no day. Nor is there night. There is no existence. Nor is there non-existence. In the beginning, there was only darkness everywhere in the universe. This darkness is spoken of as the mother of the universe. Purusha was born from that darkness. Brahma, born from the lotus, was generated from Purusha. Having been created, this being wished to create subjects and created Agni and Soma from his eyes. After this, the various categories of creatures were generated, progressively subjects like brahmanas and kshatriyas. Soma is the same as Brahma and Brahma is the same as brahmanas. Agni is nothing but the kshatriyas and the brahmanas were more powerful than the kshatriyas. Why did this happen? This is an evident attribute of the worlds. Everything was created after the brahmanas, not before them. Oblations are offered into the blazing Agni. After having created the various categories of beings, Brahma established these creatures, so that the three worlds might be held up. The mantras speak about this. ‘O Agni! For the benefit of the universe, you are the one who receives the oblations at sacrifices. You are the one who is engaged in the welfare of gods, men and the worlds. There are signs for this. O Agni! In the universe, you are the one who receives the oblations at sacrifices. You are the one who is engaged in the welfare of gods, men and the universe. O Agni! You are truly the one who offers oblations and performs sacrifices.’ Agni is Brahma. No oblations can be offered without mantras. There can be no austerities without someone to undertake them. Oblations are offered with mantras and worship. ‘O Agni! The gods and men have appointed you as the receiver of oblations.’ There are men who have been given the right to offer oblations. For kshatriyas, vaishyas and all the twice-born categories, it is only brahmanas who can officiate at sacrifices. That is the reason brahmanas are like Agni. They uphold sacrifices. The gods are satisfied through sacrifices. The gods sustain the earth. There are hundreds of ways to be a brahmana. If a learned person gives food to the mouth of a brahmana, that is like offering kindling and oblations into a fire. The learned have thus come to think of brahmanas as Agni. Since it penetrates all creatures and sustains life, Agni is also Vishnu. There is a shloka that Sanatkumara sung about this. ‘In creating the universe, Brahma created them first. Through chanting about the brahman, those who are born as brahmanas become immortal and are established in the firmament and in heaven. The intelligence, speech, acts, faith and austerities of brahmanas hold up the earth and the sky, like great amrita sustaining one during the cold season. There is no dharma superior to the truth. There is no preceptor equal to the mother. In this world and in the next, there is nothing superior to a brahmana.’ In a kingdom where brahmanas are without a means of subsistence, bulls do not grow or bear burdens, milk does not produce anything when it is churned and property comes under the possession of bandits. The Vedas, the Puranas and the histories state that brahmanas emerged from Narayana’s mouth. They are in the atmans of everything. They are in all doers. They are in all creatures. It is said that when the god who is the granter of boons had restrained his speech, the brahmanas emerged first and all the other varnas were born later. That is the reason the brahmanas are superior to gods and asuras. In ancient times, I myself created gods, asuras and maharshis and established brahmanas as superior, so that they could restrain other creatures.
‘“Because he oppressed Ahalya, Indra was cursed by Goutama and got a tawny beard. Through Koushika’s curse, Indra lost his testicles and obtained a ram’s testicles.1232 When Chyavana wished to give shares to the Ashvins, Purandara, the wielder of the vajra, tried to prevent this and his arms were paralysed.1233 When his sacrifice was destroyed, Daksha was overcome by great rage. He performed austerities again and obtained another eye on his forehead, to replace the one that had been uprooted by Rudra. When Rudra consecrated himself and advanced for the destruction of Tripura, Ushanas1234 uprooted a strand from his matted hair and hurled it down. Serpents were generated from this. Oppressed by these serpents, his neck turned blue.1235 Earlier, in Svyambhuva manvantara, Narayana had seized his throat with his hand and that is how it had turned blue. To obtain amrita, Brihaspati, born in the Angiras lineage, wished to perform purashcharana.1236 However, when he tried to touch the water, it turned dirty. Brihaspati was enraged and cursed the water. ‘When I tried to touch you, you did not show me your favours and your water turned filthy. Therefore, from now on, you will be dirty and will be populated by fish, makaras, other fish, turtles and aquatic creatures.’ Since then, the waters of the ocean have been thus infested.
‘“Vishvarupa, Tvashtri’s son, was the priest of the gods. But his mother was related to the asuras.1237 Outwardly, he offered shares to the gods. However, secretly, he offered shares to the asuras. With Hiranyakashipu at the forefront, the asuras went to their sister, Vishvarupa’s mother, and asked for a boon. ‘O sister! Your son, Vishvarupa, also known as Trishira, is Tvashtri’s son. As a priest of the gods, he outwardly gives them their shares and only gives us a share privately. Because of this, the gods are prospering and we are suffering. You should restrain him, so that he also serves us.’ At that time, Vishvarupa was in the forest of Nandana. His mother went to him and said, ‘O son! Why are you making the side of the enemy prosper and why are you destroying your maternal side? You should not act in this way.’ Unable to ignore his mother’s words, Vishvarupa honoured her and went over to Hiranyakashipu. At this, Hiranyakashipu was cursed by Vasishtha, Hiranygarbha’s son.1238 ‘Since you have appointed someone else to offer the oblations, this sacrifice will not be completed. A being, the like of whom has never been born before, will slay you.’ Hiranyakashipu was slain because of this curse. To make his mother’s side prosper, Vishvarupa engaged in austerities. To make him desist from his vows, Indra and Agni sent beautiful apsaras. On seeing them, his mind was agitated and within a short period of time, he became attached to those apsaras. Realizing that he had become attached to them, the apsaras said, ‘We will not remain here any more. We will return to the place we have come from.’ Tvashtri’s son replied, ‘Where will you go? Stay here with me and I will do what brings you benefit.’ They answered, ‘We are celestial women, the apsaras. In earlier times, we obtained boons from Indra and the powerful Vishnu.’ At this, Vishvarupa replied, ‘Indra and the gods will no longer exist.’ He chanted a mantra and meditated. Because of the mantra, Trishira began to grow. In all the worlds, the brahmanas offered oblations and soma at sacrifices. With one mouth, he drank the soma. With a second mouth, he ate the oblations. With a third mouth, he sapped the energy of Indra and the gods. Indra saw that because he was drinking the soma, every limb of his body was growing. He began to worry. Indra and the gods went to Brahma and said, ‘Vishvarupa is drinking all the soma offered as oblations at sacrifices. We no longer obtain our shares. The side of the asuras is prospering and we are decaying. O creator! You should arrange for our welfare.’ Brahma replied, ‘The rishi Dadhicha of the Bhargava lineage is tormenting himself through austerities. Go and seek a boon from him, so that he gives up his body. Use his bones to construct a vajra.’ The gods went to the place where the illustrious rishi Dadhicha was tormenting himself through austerities. Indra and the gods went to him and said, ‘O illustrious one! We hope your austerities are proceeding well, without any hindrances.’ Dadhicha replied, 'Welcome. What can I do for you? I will do what you ask me to.’ They answered, ‘O illustrious one! For the welfare of the worlds, you should cast aside your body.’
Dadhicha was a great yogi. Joy and misery were the same to him and he was not distressed at this. He controlled his atman and gave up his body. When he had merged into the paramatman, Dhatri1239 collected his bones and constructed the vajra. The invincible vajra was created with the bones of a brahmana and Vishnu penetrated it. Using this, Indra slew Vishvarupa and severed his head. Thereafter, when the body of Vishvarupa, Tvashtri’s son, was churned, the energy gave birth to Vritra and Indra also killed Vritra. However, Indra was frightened because he had killed two brahmanas.1240 He gave up the kingdom of heaven. He entered a lotus stalk that grew in the cool waters of Lake Manasa. Using the powers of anima obtained through yoga, he became minute and penetrated the fibres of the lotus. Shachi’s consort, the protector of the three worlds, disappeared, terrified at having killed brahmanas. When the lord of the universe vanished, the gods were enveloped in rajas and tamas. Mantras were no longer chanted. Maharshis were attacked by rakshasas. The sons of the brahman disappeared. The worlds were without an Indra. Weakened, they were easily attacked. At this, the gods and the rishis instated Nahusha, the son of Ayusha, in the kingdom of heaven. There were five hundred blazing stars on Nahusha’s forehead and they robbed everyone of energy. He began to rule in heaven. The worlds regained their natural state of comfort. Nahusha said, ‘Everything that Shakra used to enjoy has presented itself before me. Shachi is the only exception.’ Having said this, he went to Shachi and said, ‘O extremely beautiful one! I am the Indra of the gods now and you should serve me.’ Shachi replied, ‘You are naturally devoted to dharma and you have also been born in the lunar dynasty. You should not oppress someone else’s wife.’ Nahusha said, ‘I have obtained the title of Indra. I have obtained his kingdom and there is no adharma in enjoying anything that Indra used to enjoy.’ She replied, ‘There is a vow that I am observing now. Within a few days, after the vow has been completed, I will come to you.’ When he was thus addressed by Shachi, Nahusha departed. Shachi was afflicted by grief. She wished to see her husband and was frightened of being seized by Nahusha. She went to Brihaspati. On seeing her approach, Brihaspati discerned through his meditations that she wished to ensure her husband’s objectives. Brihaspati said, ‘Because of the vow and austerities you have observed, you should summon the goddess Upashruti, the granter of boons. She will show Indra to you.’ She engaged in those great rituals and using mantras, summoned the goddess Upashruti, the granter of boons. Upashruti arrived before Shachi and said, ‘Since you have summoned me, I have come here. What can I do to please you?’ Bowing her head down, Shachi replied, ‘O illustrious one! You should show me my husband. It is my view that you are the truth.’ He took her to Lake Manasa and showed her Indra, hidden in the fibres of the lotus. Seeing that his wife was pale and distressed, he began to think. ‘This is a great misery that has presented itself before me. My possessions have been destroyed and I confront this calamity.’ Indra asked her, 'How are you?’ She replied, ‘Nahusha has summoned me and I have only obtained the pledge of some time.’ Indra said, ‘Go. Speak these words to Nahusha. Tell him that he should come to you on a vehicle that has not been used before. Let him ascend a vehicle to which rishis have been yoked. Tell him that this is the desire in your mind, that there should be a vehicle that is superior to those possessed by Indra and that he should act so as to please you.’ Thus addressed, she left cheerfully. Indra again entered the fibres of the lotus. On seeing that Indrani1241 had returned, Nahusha told her that the time period was over. Shachi repeated what Shakra had asked her to. He ascended a vehicle yoked to maharshis and came to Shachi. Agastya, born in a jar and the son of Maitravaruna, saw Nahusha being dragged by those maharshis. When he was touched by him with the foot,1242 he told Nahusha, ‘You have performed a wicked act and will fall down on earth. As long as the earth and the mountains exist, you will be a snake.’ As soon as the maharshi spoke these words, he fell down. The three worlds were again without an Indra. For the sake of an Indra, the gods and the rishis went to the illustrious Vishnu. They said ‘O illustrious one! You should save Indra from the sin of having killed brahmanas.’ The granter of boons replied, ‘Let Shakra perform a horse sacrifice in Vishnu’s honour. He will then regain his status.’ The gods and the rishis searched for Indra, but could not find him. They went to Shachi and said, ‘O beautiful one! Bring Indra here.’ She again went to the lake. Indra arose from the lake and went before Brihaspati. For Shakra’s sake, Brihaspati arranged for a great horse sacrifice. Instead of a horse, a black antelope was used and Indra, the lord of the Maruts, was made to ride this. In this way, Brihaspati got his old state back for him. The king of the gods was cleansed of sin. Praised by the gods and the rishis, he was established in heaven. The sin of killing a brahmana was divided into four parts and vested in women, fire, trees and cattle. Indra’s energy was thus extended through a brahmana. He could slay his enemies and also regain his own status.