Chapter 1174(24)
‘ “Duryodhana said, ‘O lord of Madra! Listen once more to what I am about to tell you. O lord! This is an account of the ancient battle that took place between the gods and the asuras. The great rishi, Markandeya, told my father about this. O supreme among rajarshis! I will recount it, without leaving anything out. You should listen to it, without doubting its veracity.
‘ “‘The gods and the asuras engaged with each other in a mighty battle. O king! At first, there was the encounter known as Tarakamaya.308 It has been heard by us that the daityas were then defeated by the gods. O king! When the daityas were defeated, Taraka’s three sons, Taraksha,309 Kamalaksha and Vidyunmali, resorted to fierce austerities and established themselves in supreme control. O scorcher of enemies! They oppressed their bodies with austerities. O king! Because of their control, austerities and rules, the grandfather310 was pleased with them and offered them supreme boons. O king! They were united in asking for the boon that all beings would always be unable to kill them. They wanted this from the grandfather of all the worlds. The god who is the lord and master of all the worlds told them, “O asuras! There is nothing like immortality and not being killed by anyone. Ask for any other boon that pleases you.” At this, they consulted among themselves for a long time and then, bowing down before the lord who is the master of the worlds, spoke these words, “O god! O grandfather! Please grant us this boon. With your favours, we will dwell in three cities above the earth and roam around in this world. O unblemished one! Once, every one thousand years, those cities will merge with one another and become one. O illustrious one! When they have merged, if a supreme among gods slays us with a single arrow, let that be the means of our death.” Having agreed to this, the god311 left for heaven.
‘ “‘Having obtained the boon, they were pleased and consulted each other about constructing the three cities. They asked the great asura Maya, who was accomplished in everything. He was without decay and was worshipped by the daityas and the danavas.312 Using his own austerities, the intelligent Maya created those three cities, one of gold, another of silver and another of black iron. O lord of the earth! The one that was of gold was resplendent in heaven, the one of silver in the firmament and the one of iron on earth. They were such that they circled. Each was a hundred yojanas in length and breadth and possessed houses, mansions and many walls and gates.313 The roads had many qualities and they were also spacious. There were many kinds of palaces, adorned with gates. O king! Each of those cities had a different king. The great-souled Tarakaksha possessed the expensive city of gold, Kamalaksha the silver one and Vidyunmali the iron one. Those three daitya kings swiftly attacked the three worlds with their energy. They spoke these words. “Who is the one who is known as Prajapati?”314 There were no heroes to rival them and the foremost among danavas went and united with them, in tens of millions. They sought refuge in those three inaccessible cities, desiring great wealth. When they were thus united, Maya gave them everything they wanted. Resorting to him, all of them lived there, without any fear. If any resident of the three cities desired anything in his mind, using his powers of illusion, Maya immediately satisfied that wish. Tarakaksha had an immensely strong son named Hari. He went through supreme austerities and satisfied the grandfather. Having satisfied the god, he asked for a boon. “Let there be a lake in our city. When those killed with weapons are flung into it, let them emerge with life and greater strength.” Having obtained the boon, Tarakaksha’s brave son, Hari, constructed a lake there. O lord! It was capable of reviving the dead. In whatever form and in whatever attire a daitya was slain, once he was thrown there, he became alive in that form. Having obtained them back, those in Tripura315 began to oppress all the worlds. They obtained success through their great austerities and extended the fear of the gods. O king! They never suffered from destruction in a battle. At this, they were overcome by avarice and delusion and were bereft of their senses. They shamelessly uprooted everything that had been established. Everywhere, they drove away the gods and their companions. They roamed around at will, insolent because of the boon they had obtained, through all the celestial forests and other regions loved by the residents of heaven and the sacred and revered hermitages of rishis. The evil-acting danavas did not show respect towards anyone.
‘ “‘O scorcher of enemies! All the gods united and went to the grandfather, to tell him about the depredations caused by those who were not suras.316 They bowed their heads in obeisance before him and told him everything. They asked the illustrious grandfather about a means for their destruction.317 On hearing this, the illustrious god told the gods, “The asuras are evil-souled and hate the gods. Those who commit crimes against you, also oppress me. There is no doubt that I am neutral among beings. But those who are against dharma must be killed. I am firmly telling you this. You elect Sthanu Ishana Jishnu, the performer of undecaying deeds.318 O Adityas! He will save you and kill the ones who are not suras.” Having heard his words, with Shakra at the forefront, the gods placed Brahma ahead of them and sought refuge with the one who bears the mark of a bull. They performed supreme austerities and praised the eternal brahman. With the rishis, the ones who knew about dharma gave up all their souls to Bhava.319 With eloquent words, they praised the one who grants freedom from fear in all situations that cause fear. He is the great-souled one who is the soul of everything. He pervades everything with his soul. They320 knew special austerities and many kinds of yoga to control the soul. They knew about the techniques of sankhya, so that the soul could always be controlled.321 They then beheld Ishana, the consort of Uma, in his mass of energy. He has no equal in the worlds. He is devoted to vows and is without blemish. He is the single illustrious one, though they had thought of him in many different forms. On seeing the form of the great-souled one, whom they had thought of in many different forms in their own souls, all of them were astounded and glanced at each other in great wonder. He is the lord who is in all beings. He is the one without origin and is the lord of the universe. On seeing him, all the gods and brahmarshis bowed their heads down on the ground. Shankara welcomed them with words of benediction over them and asked them to arise. The illustrious one smiled and said, “Tell me why you have come.” Having obtained permission from Tryambaka,322 their hearts were assured. They told Bhava, “O lord! We bow down. We bow down before you. We bow down before the one who is the god of all the gods. You are the archer. You are the one who is supremely angry. You are the one who destroyed the sacrifice of Prajapati.323 You are the one who is worshipped by all Prajapatis. We bow down before you. We praise you. We praise the one who is praised by those who are about to die. You are the one who is red. You are Rudra. You are the one with the blue throat. You are the one with the trident. You are the one who cannot be repulsed. You are the one with the eyes of a deer. You are the one who fights with the best of weapons. You are unassailable. You are the seed. You are the brahman. You are a brahmachari. You are Ishana. You are the one who cannot be measured. You are the one who controls. You are dressed in skin. You are always engaged in austerities. You are tawny. You are the one who observes vows. You are the one who is attired in skin. You are the father of Kumara. You are three-eyed. You wield the best of weapons. You destroy the afflictions of those who seek refuge. You destroy masses of those who hate brahmanas. You are the lord of trees. You are the lord of men. We bow down before you. You are the lord of cattle. You are always the lord of sacrifices. We bow down before you. We bow down before you. O Tryambaka! Fierce in your energy, you are in front of all the soldiers. O god! We worship you, in our thoughts and our deeds. Be pacified.” At this, the illustrious one was gratified and welcomed and honoured them. He asked, “Let the reason for your fright be dispelled. Tell me what I should do for you.” The great-souled one granted a boon to the masses of ancestors, gods and rishis. Brahma honoured Shankara and spoke these words for the welfare of the worlds. “O lord of the gods! Through your favours, I have obtained the status of Prajapati. Having been thus esta
blished, I have granted a great boon to the danavas. Because of that, they are transgressing all norms of respect. You are the lord of the past, the present and the future. Other than you, there is no one who can destroy those wicked ones. Show your favours to the gods and grant this to the residents of heaven. O lord of the gods! O wielder of the trident! Show your favours and kill the danavas.”
‘ “‘The illustrious one replied, “All your enemies should be killed. That is my view. But I cannot kill them alone. Those who hate the gods are capable. Therefore, all of you should unite. Use the energy of my weapons to fight against the enemy in battle. Unity offers great strength.”
‘ “‘The gods said, “We think that their energy and strength is double that of ours. We think that we have already witnessed their energy and their strength.”
‘ “‘The illustrious one replied, “Those who have committed crimes against you and are wicked must always be killed. Accept half of my energy and strength and kill all those enemies.”
‘ “‘The gods said, “O Maheshvara! We will not be able to bear half of your energy. But with half of our united strength, you can kill the enemies.” ’
‘ “Duryodhana said, ‘O supreme among kings! The gods accepted what the lord of the gods had said.324 All of them gave him half of their energy and he became superior. The god became the strongest among all the strong ones. From that time, Shankara came to be known as Mahadeva.325 Mahadeva said, “Armed with the bow and the arrow, I will station myself on my chariot and kill the enemies of the residents of heaven. Therefore, all of you attend to my chariot and my bow and arrows. Behold, as I bring them down on the surface of the earth.”
‘ “‘The gods said, “Let all forms be gathered from everywhere in the three worlds. O lord of the gods! Using that, we will construct an immensely energetic and resplendent chariot for you, which will be fashioned by Vishvakarma with his intelligence.”
‘ “‘The tigers among the gods then constructed the chariot.326 The goddess earth, garlanded with large cities and with mountains, forests, islands and all the beings, became the seat for the charioteer. Mandara327 was the axle and Mahanadi328 became the flank. The directions and the sub-directions became the entourage around the chariot. The flaming planets were the anukarsha329 and the stars were the bumpers. Dharma, artha and kama united to become the trivenu.330 Many kinds of herbs and many trees, with flowers and fruit, became the seat for the charioteer. The sun and the moon became wheels of that supreme chariot. Day and night were the auspicious flanks, ahead and to the rear. The ten lords of the nagas, with Dhritarashtra331 as the foremost, constituted the shaft. The sky was the yoke and Samvartaka and Balahaka were the leather coverings for the yoke.332 Fortitude, understanding, permanence and humility were the staffs. The planets, nakshatras, stars and the colourful firmament were the leather coverings. The guardians of the world, the lords of the gods, the water, the dead and wealth,333 were made the horses. Sinivali, Anumati, Kuhu and Raka, all excellent in their vows, were made the yokes and harnesses around the necks of the mounts, for use by the rider.334 Action, truth, austerities and prosperity were made the reins. The mind became the base and Sarasvati335 the track for the chariot. Many beautiful and colourful flags were whirled around by the wind. With lightning and Indra’s bow fastened to the chariot, it blazed in radiance. O great king! Thus was the supreme of chariots prepared there. O tiger among men! The gods prepared it, for crushing those who hated them. Shankara placed the best of his weapons on the chariot. Having made the firmament the flagstaff for his chariot, he placed the mark of the bull there. Brahma’s staff, Yama’s staff, Rudra’s staff and Fever became the protectors of the chariot and faced all the directions. The great-souled Atharvan and Angirasa became the protectors of the chariot wheels.336 Rig Veda, Sama Veda and the Puranas were in the front. Itihasa337 and the Yajur Veda protected the rear. Divine words and learning surrounded it from all sides. O Indra among kings! Vashatkara338 was the goad there. O king! The syllable Om was at the forefront and made it look radiant. He339 made the year, with its six seasons, his bow. He made the night that destroys men the undecaying bowstring. Vishnu, Agni and Soma were the arrows. Agni and Soma constitute the entire universe and it is said that Vishnu is the universe. Vishnu is the illustrious one’s soul and Bhava’s infinite energy. That is the reason they340 could not bear the touch of Hara’s bowstring. On that arrow, the lord released his fierce and virulent fire of anger, generated from the intolerable wrath of Bhrigu and Angirasa. Nilalohita, Dhumra and Krittivasa looked terrible.341 He blazed like ten thousand suns, amidst a mass of flaming energy. Hara is the vanquisher of those who can be defeated with difficulty. He is the slayer of those who hate Brahma. He is always the protector and the destroyer. He is the refuge of dharma and adharma. He was surrounded by large numbers of terrible and fierce beings who were horrible in form. Surrounded by large numbers of these, the illustrious Sthanu was resplendent. O king! The entire world and universe is established in his limbs and all mobile and immobile objects were beautiful. It was a wonderful sight. On seeing that the chariot was ready, he donned divine armour and picked up his bow and arrow. He grasped the celestial arrows that were generated through Soma, Vishnu and Agni. O king! O supreme among kings! The gods instructed the lord of the wind to blow sacred fragrances. Mahadeva ascended the chariot and terrified the gods. When he ascended, the earth and heaven trembled. The granter of boons was beautiful, with his sword, arrows and bow.
‘ “‘He smiled and asked the masses of gods, “Who will be my charioteer?” The gods replied, “O lord of the gods! There is no doubt that whoever you employ, will be your charioteer.” He told the gods again, “You decide who is superior to me. Decide this yourselves and make him the charioteer.” Having heard the words of the great-souled one, the gods went to the grandfather and having obtained his reassurance, spoke these words. “O god! We have done everything that you asked us to, for destroying the enemies of the thirty gods. The one with the bull on his banner is completely pleased with us. We have constructed a chariot and equipped it with many wonderful weapons. But we do not know who should be the charioteer of that supreme chariot. Therefore, let the best of the gods be appointed as the charioteer. O god! O lord! You should ensure that the words that you spoke become successful. O illustrious one! You told us earlier that you would do that which would be beneficial for us. You should act in accordance with that. The supreme of chariots has parts from all the gods. It is irresistible and will drive away the enemy. The one with the Pinaka in his hand is the warrior. He is ready and will strike terror among the danavas. The four Vedas have become the best of steeds. With all the mountains, the earth is the great-souled one’s chariot. The nakshatras have obediently become the ornaments. But we do not see a charioteer for that warrior. O god! O grandfather! When such are the chariot, the horses and the warrior, the charioteer must be someone who is special in every way, just as the armour, the weapons and the bow are. But except you, we do not see someone who can be a charioteer. O lord! You are the one who is superior to the gods in all the qualities. Ascend swiftly as a charioteer and control those supreme horses.” It has been heard, that in this fashion, the gods bowed down their heads before the grandfather who is the lord of the three worlds and sought his favours, so that he might become the charioteer. Brahma said, “O residents of heaven! There is nothing false in everything that you have said. I will control the horses when Kapardin342 fights.” The illustrious god, the grandfather who was the creator of the worlds, was appointed by the gods as the charioteer of the great-souled Ishana. When he swiftly ascended the chariot, worshipped by the worlds, the horses, which possessed the speed of the wind, quickly lowered their heads and sank down on their knees on the ground. Maheshvara also ascended. The great grandfather of the three worlds successfully grasped the reins and urged those horses, which possessed the speed of thought and the wind. When the granter of boons343 ascended and left in the direction of the asuras, the lord of the universe344 smiled and said
, “Excellent! Wonderful! O god! Go to the spot of the daityas. Urge the horses diligently. Behold the strength of my my arms today. I will slay the enemies in the battle.” At this, he345 urged the horses, which were as fleet as the wind. O king! He went towards the city that was protected by the daityas and the danavas.
‘ “‘Sharva346 strung the bow and affixed the arrow. He affixed the pashupata weapon and thought of Tripura. O king! Having stationed himself there, he angrily stretched his bow. At that point, the cities united and became one. The three cities united and became one and a tumultuous sound of delight arose among the great-souled gods. All the masses of gods, siddhas and supreme rishis became full of joy and uttered words of praise, signifying victory. Tripura manifested itself before the one who wanted to slay the asuras, the god whose form was indescribable and fierce and whose energy was intolerable. The illustrious one, the lord of the worlds, drew his celestial bow. The one who is the essence of the three worlds released the arrow towards Tripura. He consumed the large numbers of asuras and flung them into the western ocean. Thus, Tripura was burnt and the remaining danavas scorched by the angry Maheshvara for the welfare of the three worlds. The one with three eyes then pacified the flames that resulted from his wrath and said, “Do not reduce the world to ashes.” At this, nature, the gods, the worlds and the rishis returned to their natural states and satisfied the infinitely energetic Sthanu with eloquent words of grave import. On receiving the permission of the illustrious one, all of them returned to where they had come from. Having accomplished their objective, the gods, with Prajapati at the forefront, were satisfied. Thus did the illustrious Brahma, the grandfather who is the controller of the worlds, control the horses, and you should do the same for the great-souled Radheya. O tiger among kings! There is no need to debate whether you are especially superior to Krishna, Karna and Phalguna. O unblemished one! He347 is like Rudra in a battle and you are like Brahma. Like the asuras, if the two of you are united, you can vanquish my enemies. O Shalya! Act so that Karna can swiftly oppress and slay Kounteya, the one with the white horses, with Krishna as his charioteer. Karna, the kingdom and our foundation is based on you.
Mahabharata: Volume 7 Page 14