The Mahabharata

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘“At this, the god spoke to me. ‘O Krishna! Look at me and speak to me.’ Delighted, I bowed my head down before the god and the goddess, Uma. I praised Sthanu in words that are used by Brahma and the other gods to praise him. ‘I bow down before the eternal one who is the womb of everything. The rishis speak of you as Brahma’s lord. Virtuous ones speak of you as austerities, sattva, rajas, tamas and truth. You are Brahma. You are Rudra. You are Varuna. You are Agni. You are Manu. You are Bhava. You are Dhatri. You are Tvashtri. You are Vidhatri. You are the lord who faces all the directions. All creatures, mobile and immobile, originate in you. You are the origin of all beings and you are the one who destroys them. The rishis speak of you as being superior to all the objects of the sense, the mind, the wind, the seven kinds of fire and all the male gods who are in heaven. O illustrious one! There is no doubt that you are the Vedas, the sacrifices, soma, dakshina, the fire, the oblations and everything else required for a sacrifice. Sacrifices, gifts, studies, vows, rituals, modesty, fame, prosperity, radiance, contentment and success are offered to you. O illustrious one! Desire, anger, fear, avarice, insolence, confusion, malice, pain and disease are your offspring. You are deeds. You are the outcome of those deeds. You are destruction. You are the foremost one. You are power. You are immutable. You are the supreme origin of the mind. Your nature is eternal. You are the unmanifest. You are the purifying lord. You are golden and possess a thousand rays. You are the origin of all the qualities. All life is dependent on you. The great atman, Mati,174 Brahma, the universe, Shambhu, Svayambhu, Buddhi,175 Prajna,176 realization, consciousness, fame and fortitude are all words that the great-souled ones have progressively used in the sacred texts to express your greatness. It is through comprehending you that learned brahmanas overcome the confusion that is in the hearts of all beings. The rishis have praised you as kshetrajna. Your arms and feet are in all the directions. Your eyes, heads and faces are in all the directions. You hear everything in the worlds. You are established, pervading everything. You are the fruits of everything that the one with the sharp rays177 performs in a nimesha. As Purusha, the rays of your power are in all hearts. You are the obtaining of anima and laghima. You are Ishana, the resplendent and undecaying one. The worlds resort to your understanding and intelligence and seek you out as a refuge. Those who have conquered their senses and are devoted to the truth always use yoga to meditate on you. There are those who know you as the eternal one, the lord who is the deep refuge, the Purusha who is everywhere in the universe, the one who is golden in complexion, the one who is supremely intelligent and is the greatest destination. These intelligent ones based themselves on what transcends intelligence. Those intelligent ones know the seven subtle forms,178 the six of your attributes179 and the main techniques of yoga and penetrate into you.’ O Partha! I spoke in this way to Bhava, the destroyer of all afflictions. At this, the entire universe and all mobile and immobile objects roared like lions. The large numbers of brahmanas, the gods, the asuras, the serpents, the pishachas, the ancestors, the birds, the large numbers of rakshasas, the large numbers of spirits180 and all the maharshis bowed down before him. Fragrant and celestial flowers showered down on my head in large numbers. A pleasant breeze began to blow. For the welfare of the universe, the illustrious Shankara glanced towards the goddess Uma, Shatakratu and me and said, ‘O Krishna! O slayer of enemies! We know of your great devotion towards us. I am extremely pleased with you and I will do what brings you benefit. O Krishna! O supreme one! Ask for eight boons and I will give them to you. O tiger among Yadavas! Tell me what you desire, even if it is something that is extremely difficult to get.’”’

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  ‘Krishna said, “I bowed my head down before that great mass of energy. Filled with great delight, I told the illustrious one, ‘Firmness in dharma, the ability to destroy enemies in battle, fame, ferocity, supreme strength, devotion to yoga, your proximity and hundreds and hundreds of sons—these are the boons I seek.’ On hearing my words, Shankara agreed that it would be this way. Thereafter, the mother of the universe, the one who holds up everything, the one who cleanses everything, the store of austerities, Sharvani Uma, spoke to me. ‘O unblemished one! The illustrious one has granted you a son named Samba. Ask for eight boons from me too and I will grant them to you.’ O descendant of the Pandu lineage! Addressed thus, I bowed my head down before her and said, ‘Lack of anger towards brahmanas, the favours of my father, hundreds of sons, supreme objects of pleasure, affection towards my family, the favours of my mother, the attainment of tranquility and skill—these are the boons I seek.’ The goddess replied, ‘It shall be that way. You will possess the power of an immortal. I never speak anything that is false. You will have sixteen thousand wives. Your love for them, and their love for you, will never decay. You will obtain great affection from your relatives. I also grant you a handsome body. Seven thousand guests will always feed in your house.’”

  ‘Vasudeva continued, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The god and the goddess granted me these boons. O Bhima’s elder brother! Then, with those companions,181 they instantly disappeared. O supreme among the Kourava lineage! I recounted all these wonderful incidents to Upamanyu, the extremely energetic brahmana. The one who was excellent in his vows bowed down before the god of the gods and said, ‘There is no one who is Sharva’s equal in giving. There is no one who is Sharva’s equal in battle. There is no god who is Sharva’s equal. There is no refuge that is equal to Sharva. O son! In krita yuga, there was a famous rishi named Tandi. For ten thousand years, he meditated on that god. He worshipped him with devotion. Listen to what he obtained as a consequence. Having satisfied Mahadeva with his praises, he saw the lord. He said, “You are the most sacred of the sacred. You are the supreme destination among all destinations. You are the fiercest energy among all kinds of energy. You are the supreme austerity among all austerities. You are the wealth of the universe. You are the golden-eyed one. You are the one who is invoked by many. I bow down before you. O lord! You are the one who grants a lot of fortune. You are the supreme truth. I bow down before you. O lord! You are the one whom ascetics, scared of birth and death, strive to obtain. You are the one who grants emancipation. You are the one with the one thousand rays. I bow down before you. You are the abode of bliss. Brahma, Shatakratu, Vishnu, the Vishvadevas and the maharshis are incapable of comprehending your truth. How can those like us comprehend you? You are the one who gets time going. You are the one into whom time merges. You are spoken of as Kala.182 You are spoken of as Purusha. You are also spoken of as Brahma. The celestial rishis who know about the Puranas speak of you as possessing three forms.183 You are Adhipourusha, Adhyatma, Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva, Adhiloka, Adhivijnana and Adhiyajna.184 Even the gods find it difficult to know you. But when learned people know you in the body, they are emancipated and obtain the supreme state of welfare. O lord! Those who do not wish to know you, undergo many births and deaths. You are the gate to heaven and emancipation. You grant and you take away. You are emancipation and heaven. You are desire and anger. You are sattva, rajas and tamas. You are the lower regions. You are the upper regions. You are Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Skanda, Indra, Savitri, Yama, Varuna, the moon, Dhatri, Vidhatri and the lord of riches.185 You are earth, wind, water, fire, water, speech, intelligence, understanding and mind. You are deeds. You are both truth and falsehood. You are the existent. You are the non-existent. You are the senses. You are the objects of the senses. You are beyond Prakriti. You are permanent. You are superior to the universe and superior to everything that exists in the universe. You can be thought of. You cannot be thought of. You are the supreme brahman. You are the supreme destination. There is no doubt that you are the objective of those who follow sankhya and yoga. There is no doubt that I have become successful today.186 There is no doubt that I have obtained the destination of the virtuous. This is the destination obtained on earth by those whose knowledge and intelligence are unblemished. Alas! I was foolish. For a long period of time, I di
d not possess the consciousness. I did not know the supreme god, the eternal one who is known by the learned. It is through the devotion of many births that the god has shown me his favours and I have been able to directly see him. Knowing you is like obtaining amrita. You are the eternal mystery to gods, asuras and men. He is the illustrious god who does everything. His face is in every direction. He is inside all atmans. He sees everything and goes everywhere. He knows everything. He creates life and is the one who upholds life. He is the creator of beings and is the destination of all creatures. He is embodied and is the refuge of all those who are embodied. He is the one who enjoys a body. He is the destination of all those with bodies. He is adhyatma, the destination of all those who are virtuous, those who meditate and know about the atman. He is also the lord who is the immortal objective. He is the one who grants good and bad ends to all creatures. He is the one who ordains birth and death for all creatures. He is the lord who grants success to the rishis who desire success. He is the lord who grants emancipation to the brahmanas who desire emancipation. Beginning with the earth, he is the creator of all the worlds, including the residents of heaven. He maintains the gods and grants them welfare in his eight forms.187 Everything flows from him and he is established in everything. It is into him that everything is destroyed. He is alone the one who is eternal. He is the world of truth, desired by the supremely righteous ones who desire truth. He is the emancipation and freedom from hardships, sought by those who know about the atman. He is the lord whom Brahma and the Siddhas have kept secret and do not reveal to gods, asuras and humans.188 That is the reason that gods, asuras and men do not know about Bhava. Though he resides in their hearts, they are confused. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He resides in all atmans and shows himself to those who resort to the yoga of devotion. Knowing him, one is not born and does not have to face death. If one knows that supreme one, there is nothing else that remains to be known. Having obtained that supreme gain, there is nothing else that remains to be obtained. By obtaining that supreme and subtle being, one obtains a state that is without decay. There are those who know the truth about the qualities of sankhya, they are accomplished in the sacred texts of sankhya. Having got to know about that supreme knowledge, they are freed from bonds. He is the one known by those who are learned in the Vedas. He is the one who is established in Vedanta. Those who are devoted to pranayama and immerse themselves in it, meditate on him. He is devayana and is said to the gate to the sun. He is pitriyana and is said to be the gate to the moon.189 He is the colourful progress of time, the years and the yugas. He is existence and non-existence. He is uttarayana and dakshinayana.190 Earlier, Prajapati praised him in many chants. He accepted you as a son, under the name of Nilalohita. In their rites, officiating priests praise you with many hymns from the Rig Veda. Officiating priests know you in three different ways191 and offer oblations with hymns from the Yajur Veda. Those who are pure in their intelligence and know about the Sama Veda chant Sama hymns to you. You are the supreme origin of sacrifices. You are said to be the supreme lord. Night and day are his hearing and sight. Fortnights and months are his heads and arms. The seasons are his energy. Austerities are his patience. The year constitutes his anus, thighs and feet. He is Mrityu and Yama. He is the fire of destruction. He is time. He is the force of destruction. He is the supreme origin of time. He is eternal time. He is the moon, the sun, the nakshatras, the planets, the winds, Dhruva, the saptarshis and the seven worlds.192 He is Pradhana and Mahat. He is not manifest. He is the specific destination of all deeds. He is all creatures, beginning with Brahma and ending with the lowest. He is the eight Prakritis.193 He is beyond Prakriti. He is the state of lack of anxiety. He is the eternal brahman. He is the supreme objective that those who know about the sacred texts and Vedangas meditate on. He is the supreme kashtha. He is the supreme kala. He is supreme success. He is the supreme objective. He is supreme tranquility. He is supreme detachment. Having obtained him, learned ones think that they have obtained everything. He is contentment. He is success. He is said to be shruti and smriti. He is the objective of adhyatma, sought by the faithful. Learned ones obtain the one who is without decay. Those who desire to perform sacrifices, with a great deal of donations given away, seek him. He is the destination of the divine gods. He is the eternal destination. There are those who meditate, offer oblations and observe vows, subjecting their bodies to hardships and rituals. Their torments are with that god as an objective. Bhava is the objective. There are those who are detached and cast aside all rites. They desire Brahma’s world, but you are actually that eternal objective. There are others who seek to overcome death and abandon all detachment, seeking an end to transformations and destructions. He is that eternal end too. He is the refuge of jnana and vijnana. He is said to be without form and without blemish. That god is the objective of emancipation. Bhava is the supreme goal. He has been spoken about in the Vedas, the sacred texts and the Puranas. He has been spoken of as the end after death. It is through the favours of the lord that one obtains, or does not obtain.” Thus did Tandi satisfy the undecaying Ishana through his austerities and yoga. He spoke these words, which Brahma, the creator of the worlds, had said in ancient times. “Brahma, Shatakratu, Vishnu, the Vishvadevas and the maharshis are incapable of knowing him.” Shiva was pleased at this and replied, “You will be without destruction and without transformation. You will be free from all misery. You will be famous and full of energy. You will possess divine knowledge. The rishis will come to you. Your son will be the composer of sutras.194 O best among brahmanas! There is no doubt that this will happen through my favours. What will I give you or someone else? What do you desire? Tell me what you wish for.” Joining his hands in salutation, he195 replied, “Let my devotion towards you be firm.” The god granted this boon. Praised and worshipped by the gods, the rishis and the residents of heaven, he then disappeared. O lord of the Yadavas! With her companions, the goddess also disappeared. The rishi came to my hermitage and told me everything that had happened. O best among men! For my success, Tandi recounted to me all those famous names.196 Listen to those. The grandfather knew ten thousand names. The sacred texts have one thousand of Sharva’s names. O Achyuta! Tandi mentioned some names of the illustrious one, but those are secret. Through the favours of the god,197 in ancient times, the great-souled lord of the gods198 uttered those names.’”’

  Chapter 1698(17)

  ‘Vasudeva said, “O father!199 O Yudhishthira! The brahmana rishi200 controlled himself. He joined his hands in salutation and told me those names, starting at the beginning.

  ‘“Upamanyu said, ‘I will satisfy Sthanu through these names, famous in all the worlds. Some were spoken of by Brahma and the rishis. Others are in the Vedas and the Vedangas. These are great names and uttered by those who are truthful, ensure success in every kind of endeavour. Having cleansed his soul, the rishi Tandi devotedly used these names for the god. These names, famous in the worlds, have been uttered by sages who know about the truth. He is supreme. He is the foremost. He is heaven. He is the one who is engaged in the welfare of all beings. These names have been heard everywhere in the universe and open up entry into Brahma’s world. This is the supreme and eternal mystery that Brahma spoke about earlier. O best among the Yadu lineage! I will tell you. Listen with single-minded attention. You are devoted to the supreme god Bhava, Parameshvara. Therefore, listen to what the eternal Brahma said. Even if one tried for one hundred years, one is incapable of speaking about Sharva’s powers in entirety and detail. Even the gods are incapable of comprehending his beginning, middle and end. O Madhava! Therefore, who is capable of speaking about all his qualities? Who is capable of speaking about that god’s greatness of conduct? Through his favours, I will use phrases and syllables to touch on it briefly. Without his blessings, one can neither obtain nor praise the lord. Since I have been granted permission by him, I always praise Bhava. The great-souled one is without beginning and without end. He is the origin of everything. His own origin is unma
nifest. I will tell you about some names that have been used for him. He is the granter of boons. He is the one to be revered. The intelligent one’s form is the universe. Listen to the names that were used for him by the one who was born from the lotus.201 The great grandfather spoke of ten thousand names. Like clarified butter being churned out of curds, I will use my mind to churn names from those. Gold represents the essence of the mountains. Honey represents the essence of flowers. Cream represents the essence of clarified butter. This essence has been extracted like that. It cleanses all kinds of sins and is in conformity with the four Vedas. They need to be studied carefully and remembered with clean souls. They grant tranquility and benefit. They are great and auspicious and destroy rakshasas.202 They should be told to devotees, those who are faithful and believers. They should not be told to those who are not devoted, have not cleansed their souls and are non-believers. The god who is the wielder of Pinaka is in all atmans. O Krishna! If a person hates him, he will go to hell, with his ancestors and his descendants. This203 represents meditation. This represents knowledge. This is the supreme mystery. If one gets to know them at the time of death, one goes to the supreme destination. This is sacred, auspicious, pure and supremely beneficial. O mighty-armed one! Recite these names. This is the best chant among all chants of praise. In ancient times, Brahma, the grandfather of all the worlds, composed these. He thought of it as the divine king of all chants. Since that time, this praise to the great-souled lord has been famous in the universe and has been revered by the immortals. This king of hymns descended from Brahma’s world. In ancient times, he recited it to Tandi and it is therefore thought of as something composed by Tandi. It was Tandi who brought it down from heaven to earth. It is the most auspicious among all things that are auspicious. It is destructive of all sins. O mighty-armed one! I will recite this hymn, which is supreme among all hymns. It is about the one who is the brahmana among all brahmanas, supreme among all things supreme, energy among all kinds of energy and austerity among all types of austerities. He is peace among all kinds of peace, resplendence among all kinds of resplendence, restraint among all kinds of restraint, intelligence among all kinds of intelligence, god among all kinds of gods, sage among all kinds of sages, sacrifice among all kinds of sacrifice, auspicious among all things auspicious, Rudra among all the Rudras, the lord among all lords, the yogi among all yogis and the cause among all causes. All the worlds originate from him and merge into him when they no longer have existence. He is in the atman of all beings. He is the infinitely energetic Hara. Hear Sharva’s one thousand and eight names. O best among men! If you listen to them, you will be successful in all your desires.