by Bibek Debroy
‘“The rishis said, ‘Victory to you. O one who cannot be vanquished! Victory to you. O creator of sacrifices! We bow down before you. You are shaking your body, formed out of the three. 947 Your pores and body hair are the sacrifices. We bow down to the one who assumed the form of a boar to raise up the one who was hidden. 948 O god! This is your form as sacrifices. 949 Those who are wicked in their deeds find it extremely difficult to see this form. The metres are your skin, the kusha grass is your body hair, the clarified butter is your eyes and the four types of officiating priests are your feet. O illustrious one! The sacrificial altar is your tongue, the ladles are your nose, the plates are your stomach, the spoons are your ears, the prashitra 950 is your mouth, the graha 951 is your throat and what you chew is agnihotra. Your repeated births are the initiation of the sacrifice, the upasads are your neck, prayaniya and udayaniya are your tusks. 952 The pravargya 953 is your tongue, kratu is your head, both sabhya and avasathya. The bricks arranged for the sacrificial ceremony are your breath of life. The soma juice is your semen and the ablutions are your seat. O god! The seven kinds of sacrifice 954 are the elements of your body. All the sacrificial sessions are the joints of your body. You are the sacrifices and kratus, the ishtis are the tendons of your body. We bow down to you. You yourself are all the mantras, gods, all the sacrificial objects, kratus and rites. We bow down to you. You are the knowledge that can be obtained through non-attachment, devotion and the perception that results from conquering one’s atman. For the sake of learning, we repeatedly bow down before the preceptor. O illustrious one! O one who has held up the earth! With all its mountains, you have held up the radiant earth on the tips of your tusk. It looks like a lotus, with its leaves, resting on the tusks of a crazy and giant elephant that has just emerged out of the water. This is your form as a boar, full of the three. 955 You have held up the circle of the earth on your tusks and it shines like a mountain surrounded by the clouds. It looks as radiant as a kulachala. 956 For the sake of the people, establish this world, which is like a mother to the mobile and immobile objects. She is your wife and you are their father. Together with you, we bow down in obeisance before you. You have deposited your own energy in her, like fire in a piece of kindling. O lord! Who but you could decide to raise up the earth, which was submerged deep in the waters? However, this does not cause wonder, since you are the wonder behind this universe. Using your maya, you have performed the extremely wonderful act of creation. The Vedas constitute your body and we, the residents of janaloka, tapoloka and satyaloka, have been sanctified by the pure drops of water from your bristling body hair when you shook yourself. O lord! We have been sprinkled and have been extremely sanctified. There is no end to your deeds. A person who seeks to enumerate your deeds is confounded in his intelligence. You are full of yoga maya and the entire universe is confounded by the qualities of your maya. O illustrious one! Bestow good fortune on us.’
‘“Maitreya said, ‘He was thus praised by the sages who knew about the brahman. His hooves had agitated the water. He stabilized it and placed the earth there. Thus, in his pastimes, the illustrious Vishvaksena Prajapati raised up the earth from the deep and placed it in the waters. Thereafter, Hari departed. Hari destroys all miseries. Hari is full of maya and his extremely fortunate deeds are worthy of being recounted. If a person hears them, or makes others hear them, Janardana, who is inside the heart, is immediately pleased. When the lord of all benedictions is pleased, there is nothing that is impossible to obtain. There is no need for trifling gains. Barring the worship of the one who is hidden everywhere, there is nothing else that is worthy of being seen. For those who are devoted to him, he himself confers the supreme destination, vested in him alone. The ancient accounts of the illustrious one are accounts full of nectar. They destroy all desire for material objects. Other than a person who is worse than human, who can refuse to drink this in through the ears? In this world, there are no other objectives of human existence.’”’
Chapter 3(14)
‘Shri-Shuka said, “Vidura, firm in his vows, heard what Kousharava described, about Hari’s account and about why he had assumed the form of a boar. However, he was still not completely satisfied. Therefore, he joined his hands in salutation and asked yet again.
‘“Vidura asked, ‘O best among sages! We have heard that the first daitya, Hiranyaksha, was slain by Hari in his form of a sacrifice. 957 O brahmana! In his pastimes, when he raised up the earth on the tips of his tusks, why was there a clash between him and the king of the daityas?’
‘“Maitreya replied, ‘O brave one! You have asked a virtuous question about Hari’s avatara. The truth about the account you have asked severs the bondage of death for mortals. When he was a child, Uttanapada’s son 958 heard the sage 959 sing about this account. After this, he placed his feet on death’s head and ascended to Hari’s abode. There is a history about this. In ancient times, I have heard it described by Brahma, the god of the gods, when the gods had asked him about this. O Kshatta! Diti, Daksha’s daughter, had Kashyapa, Marichi’s son, as a husband. In the evening, she was afflicted by desire and approached him, desiring a child. He was then meditating, controlled, seated in the place where the fire is worshipped. He had offered oblations into the tongues of the fire and had worshipped Purusha, the lord of sacrifices. The sun was about to set. Diti said, “O learned one! Kama’s arrows are making me suffer and I desire you. I am distressed and miserable. It has attacked me, like a mad elephant attacks a plantain tree. O fortunate one! I am tormented because my co-wives are prosperous because they have children. Do this for me and show me your favours. The fame of women who are respected by their husbands spreads throughout the world. You are my husband and in the form of my sons, it is you who will be born through me. My illustrious father, Daksha, loved his daughters. In earlier times, he separately asked each of us, ‘O daughter! Whom do you desire to choose as a husband?’ However, since he knew about the thoughts of his children, he knew what his daughters wanted. He handed over thirteen of us to you, the possessor of good conduct, and we have followed you. O lotus-eyed one! Therefore, fulfil my desire and make me fortunate. If an afflicted person approaches a great being, the wishes should not remain unsatisified.” O brave one! Miserable, she spoke many words to Marichi’s son. Thanks to Ananga, her desire was increasing and he replied to her in words of entreaty. “O beloved one! O timid one! I will do whatever you desire. The three objectives of human existence are for you and who will refuse your wish? A ship can be used to cross the ocean. Like that, a person with a wife follows the norms of his own ashrama and crosses over this ocean of grief, 960 thus serving the objective of all the ashramas. O proud lady! A wife is said to share half in whatever beneficial acts a person undertakes. Entrusting all his own burdens over to her, a man can roam around, freed of all anxiety. Seeking refuge with the wife, one can conquer the enemies that are the senses. Those in other ashramas find them extremely difficult to vanquish. We can vanquish them easily, like the lord of a fort driving away bandits. O mistress of the house! It is impossible for us to obtain all the kinds of powers you possess, in this life and other lives. Nor can others who appreciate your qualities. Therefore, I will indeed satisfy your desire and give you offspring. However, so that I am not reproached, you must wait for the right muhurta. This is a terrible time. Everything is horrible and fearful to look at. The bhutas, the companions of the lord of the bhutas, are wandering around. O virtuous one! This is evening. The illustrious creator of bhutas and king of the bhutas, 961 is travelling around on his bull, surrounded in all directions by bhutas who are his attendants. Your husband’s younger brother, the god with the three eyes, 962 is looking at us. 963 His pure and golden body is completely covered with ashes. His shining mass of matted hair is dishevelled, tawny because duststorms in cremation grounds have covered him with smoke. In this world, there is no one who is his relative. But there is no one who is not a relative either. He does not favour anyone, nor does he reprimand anyone. We follow the vow
of serving at his feet, respectfully worship him and enjoy his leftover food. 964 Learned ones who desire to cast away the veil of ignorance chant praises about his unblemished conduct. There is no one who is his equal or his superior. He is the destination of virtuous ones, but has adopted the conduct of a pishacha. He finds delight in his own atman. However, extremely unfortunate ones do not know the reason behind this conduct and laugh at him. They adorn themselves with garments, garlands, ornaments and unguents, while he is immersed in his own atman and eats the food of dogs. Brahma and the others observe the ordinances set by him. He is the cause behind this universe and maya. Those who follow the conduct of pishachas follow his commands. The wonderful conduct of the lord is mysterious.” Though her husband educated her in this way, her senses were agitated by Manmatha. 965 Without any sense of shame, like a prostitute, she seized the brahmana rishi’s garments. He got to know that his wife was obstinately going to perform the perverse act. Having bowed down to destiny, in a secluded place, he lay down with her. After this, he touched water and controlled his speech and his breath of life. He meditated and chanted hymns about the pure brahman, the eternal light. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Diti became ashamed of the perverse act. She approached the brahmana rishi. With her face lowered, she spoke to him. Diti said, “O brahmana! May the embryo not be killed by the bull among the bhutas, Rudra. He is the lord of all creatures and I have committed an offence against him. I bow down to the great Rudra. He is the fierce god who fulfils all desires. I bow down to Shiva. In his rage, he exerts the rod of punishment. May he cast aside that rod of punishment. May my sister’s illustrious husband be pleased and show me his favours. 966 He is the god who is Sati’s husband. Even hunters show compassion towards women.” Hoping for the welfare of her own offspring in the world, she was trembling. Having completed the evening rites, Prajapati spoke to his wife. Kashyapa said, “Your atman was polluted. There was a taint due to the wrong muhurta. You disobeyed my command and you disregarded the gods. O unfortunate one! You will therefore have two unfortunate sons who will be the worst among those who have been produced from wombs. O insolent lady! They will repeatedly make the three worlds and their guardians shriek. Creatures will be slaughtered and innocent ones will be distressed. Women will be abducted and great-souls will be enraged. The illustrious one, the creator of the worlds, the lord of the universe, will be enraged. He will then descend and slay them, just as the wielder of the weapon with one hundred joints 967 shatters a mountain.” Diti replied, “O lord! I desire that my sons should be killed by the generous and illustrious one himself, wielding the weapon with the excellent nave 968 himself. May they not be slain by angry brahmanas. If a person causes fear to beings and is burnt down by the rod of punishment exerted by brahmanas, the residents of hell do not show him any compassion, nor does the species into which he happens to be born.” Kashyapa said, “You are grieving and repenting over what you have done, having carefully thought about it. You have now affectionately shown your respect towards the illustrious one, 969 Bhava and me. Therefore, a son born from your two sons will be revered by virtuous ones. They will chant about his pure fame and his glory will be like that of the illustrious one. Just as inferior gold is purified, virtuous ones will follow his good conduct and purify themselves, such as by not engaging in enmity. Everyone in the universe will be pleased with him, since the illustrious one will be himself pleased with him. He will use the intelligence in his atman to be devoted to no one else. He will be extremely fortunate and great-souled. He will be great in his sentiments and will be the greatest of the great. Through his increased devotion, when he gives up this life, he will enter Vaikuntha and find bliss there. He will not be lustful. He will be a store of good conduct and a store of qualities. He will be happy when others are happy and miserable when others are miserable. He will have no enemies in this world and he will be the reliever of all sorrows. He will be like the king of the stars, 970 relieving the heat of the summer. Both inside him and outside him, he will see the unblemished lotus-eyed one, who assumes the form desired by his own devotees. Your grandson will see the lord’s ornamented form, the one that delights Shri, with his form adorned by dazzling earrings.” Hearing that her grandson would be devoted to the illustrious one, Diti was extremely delighted. She was also extremely happy that both her sons would be killed by Krishna.’”’
Chapter 3(15)
‘“Maitreya said, ‘Diti was anxious about the energy of others and suspected that the gods might cause suffering. 971 Therefore, she bore Prajapati’s seed for one hundred years. Because of this, 972 light disappeared from the worlds and darkness enveloped the directions. The guardians of the worlds lost their energy. They went and reported this to the creator of the universe. The gods said, “O lord! You know about this darkness. This is causing us great agitation. Your progress is not impeded by time and there is nothing that is not known to an illustrious one like you. O god of the gods! O creator of the universe! O supreme jewel among the protectors of the universe! You know about the thoughts of creatures who have come before us and will come after us. We bow down before you. Knowledge is your valour. You have obtained your body through maya. You have accepted the guna 973 for the sake of differentiation. Your origin is from the one who is not manifest. We bow down before you. There are those who do not deviate and meditate on you, the source of everything. Cause and effect and the superior worlds are interwoven into your atman. There are those who have ripened themselves through yoga and have conquered their breaths of life, their senses and their atmans. They have obtained your favours and are never vanquished. Just as a cow is tethered with a rope, all the subjects are bound to your words. 974 You are foremost among the ones who obtain a share in sacrifices. We bow down before you. O lord! You are the one who ensures good fortune. Because of the darkness, all the rites have ceased. We are afflicted and you should glance towards us, the unfortunate ones. O god! This is because of Diti’s foetus, with the energy of the seed deposited by Kashyapa. Like a fire into which kindling has been offered, it is growing and enveloping the directions with darkness.” O mighty-armed one! The illustrious one, who can be approached through the use of words, the one who created himself, smiled. He replied in gentle words.
‘“‘Brahma said, “Sanaka and the others were my sons through my mental powers and were born before you. Without any desires, they travel through the sky and go to all the worlds and the residents there. They once went to Vaikuntha, where the illustrious one with the unblemished atman resides. All the worlds revere Vaikuntha. All the people who reside in Vaikuntha have a form like Vaikuntha. 975 They are not driven by any material aspirations, but worship Hari because of dharma. The original and illustrious Purusha is there and he can be approached through the use of words. He accepts the pure form of sattva and the foremost confers happiness on us, his devotees. There is a grove named Naishreya 976 there. It has trees that yield all the objects of desire. In every season, it is radiant and prosperous. It is like the embodied form of emancipation. With their women, the residents always roam around in vimanas. Devoid of everything inauspicious, they chant praises of their lord. There are fragrant and blossoming madhavi 977 flowers in the water. The breeze wafts this scent along and tries to distract their concentration. There are the loud calls of pigeons, cuckoos, cranes, chakravakas, gallinules, swans, parrots, partridges and peacocks. These cease only when the lord of the bees loudly chants Hari’s account. There are trees like mandara, kunda, kuraba, utpala, champaka, arna, punnaga, naga, bakula, ambuja and parijata. 978 However, because of the austerities she 979 performed, the extremely good-minded one revers her a lot and is satisfied with the fragrance of a garland of tulasi leaves. In Hari’s abode, those who bow down to him can see many vimanas made out of lapis lazuli, emeralds and gold. There are women with large hips and beautiful smiles on their faces. However, despite their allurements, they cannot stimulate desire in those whose atmans are in Krishna. Their forms are as beautiful as that of Shri and anklets tinkl
e on their lotus feet. Free from all sins, they play with lotuses in Hari’s abode and seem to be sweeping the walls, which are seen to be made out of crystal, encrusted with gold. They take extreme care to obtain his favours. The banks of the lakes are made out of coral. The sparkling water is like amrita. Surrounded by her servants, in her own grove, Shri worships her lord with tulasi leaves. One can see her face, with beautiful hair and a raised nose. O dear ones! It is as if she is being kissed by the illustrious one. There are people who listen to compositions and renderings about other subjects. 980 These are perverse accounts and destroy the intelligence. They cannot approach the place where the destroyer of sins resides. Men who listen to these are robbed of their fortune and the essence of truth. Without any refuge, they are flung into a darkness 981 and destroyed. Birth as humans is desired even by us, because one can then obtain true knowledge, while following dharma. However, after this, if one does not worship the illustrious one through rites, one is confounded and enveloped in a pervasive maya. There are those who follow the foremost one. Through their self-restraint and conduct, they keep Yama away and aspire to reach a place that is above that of gods like us. 982 Lovingly, they converse with each other about the great glories of the lord. They are in ecstasy and tears flow from their eyes. On all their limbs, their body hair stands up. Through their yoga and the strength of their maya, the sages 983 reached Vaikuntha, a place that they had not reached earlier. They were delighted to reach the abode of the preceptor of the universe, a place worshipped by the worlds. It was divine and wonderful, illuminated by the vimanas of the learned ones. Without being attracted, the sages passed through six decorated chambers and reached the seventh. They saw a pair of gods there. They were equal in age and wielded clubs. They were attired in beautiful garments and the upper parts of their bodies were ornamented with bracelets, earrings and diadems. Garlands of wild flowers hung around their necks, spread in between their four blue arms, and intoxicated bees hovered around. There were arched eyebrows on their faces. Their nostrils were wide and their eyes were red. They looked at them, as if their minds were agitated. Without asking these two doorkeepers, the sages entered. As before, in front of them, they saw doors made out of diamonds everywhere. Without any distinction, these sages roamed around as they willed. Since they were without any sense of fear, they were not obstructed. 984 The four Kumaras were naked. Though aged, they seemed to be only five years old and had grasped the truth about the atman. The doorkeepers laughed because of their strength and did what they should not have done, since it was against good conduct. Acting contrary to the wishes of the illustrious one, they used their canes to obstruct them. While the gods looked on, they were thus restrained by Hari’s two doorkeepers, though they should have been respected. In their eagerness to see their beloved well-wisher, the eyes of the sages were suddenly agitated by rage, the younger brother of lust. They said, ‘Who are you? You have obtained this position by having served the illustrious one earlier. Though you dwell in a place meant for the followers of dharma, there is a discordant trait in your natures. The tranquil Purusha is beyond all enmity. Other than yourselves, who can suspect anything like deceit? Here, there is no difference between the illustrious one and everything else. Learned ones see their atmans in his atman, like a small bit of space 985 inside larger space. We can see that you possess the marks of gods. 986 That is the reason a fear has arisen in you and you can discern differences within the stomach. 987 Therefore, we need to do something for the supreme lord of Vaikuntha and bring you benefit too. Let us consider what can be done for those like you, who are wicked in intelligence. Since you see differences inside a place like this, go to a different world, where the three evil enemies 988 exist.’ Hari’s attendants were extremely terrified. They understood the terrible purport of the words that had been spoken in the form of a brahmana’s curse and this could not be countered through weapons. Extremely distressed, they prostrated themselves and seized their feet. ‘O illustrious ones! Let the punishment be inflicted on wicked ones like us. It will absolve us of any sins that remain because we have disregarded the god. We are repentant. As we leave this place and go to the regions below, let us not be confounded, so that we no longer remember the illustrious one.’ At that time, the illustrious Aravindanabha 989 got to know that his attendants had committed a transgression against noble and virtuous ones. Paramahamsas and great sages seek out his feet and with Shri, he used these to go to the spot. They saw him advance, with his own attendants and objects. He is the object of vision and those who are fortunate can see him in their meditations. His white umbrella was like the moon. The two whisks were as beautiful as swans and led to an auspicious and gentle breeze that made drops of water that were like pearl drops from the ends of the umbrella. The one with the beautiful face is the source of all favours and is the desired refuge. His affectionate glance expands and touches every heart. Shri was radiant on his blue and broad chest and was like jewel worn on the head, extending good fortune throughout the illustrious one’s abode. There was a radiant girdle over the yellow garment around his broad hips. He wore a garland of white flowers and bees hummed around it. There were beautiful bracelets around his wrists and one of his hands was placed on the shoulder of Vinata’s son. 990 The other hand twirled a white lotus. His cheeks, which deserved to be decorated, were ornamented with earrings in the shape of makaras and their brilliance surpassed that of lightning. Because of his prominent nose, his face was beautiful. There were gems on his diadem. The Koustubha jewel was around his neck and a beautiful and expensive necklace also hung between his four thick arms. The goddess of fortune possessed a beauty to be proud of. However, his devotees used their intelligence to decide that his beauty surpassed that of hers. For the sake of me, Bhava and you, 991 he assumed a form that deserved to be worshipped. They were not satisfied and kept looking at him. From the toes of the lotus feet of the lotus-eyed one, the fragrant air carried the smell of tulasi leaves and this entered through their noses, agitating their minds and bodies, though their minds were attached to the one without decay. 992 The lord’s face was as beautiful as the inside of a blue lotus. The smile on his charming lips was like a kunda flower. They glanced at him and obtained his benedictions. They glanced again at his two lotus feet, with red nails that were like rubies, and meditated on them. In this world, men use the path of yoga to search him out as a destination. As a result of meditation, he shows his extremely revered human form, which is delightful to the eyes and is eternally praised. However, this is only accessible to a person who possesses the eight kinds of siddhis. The Kumaras said, ‘You are in the hearts of evil-souled ones, but are not visible to them. O infinite one! However, we have obtained you today, in front of our eyes. Our father, 993 born from you, described your mysteries to us. This entered our hearts through our eyes and we used our intelligence to grasp it. O illustrious one! We know you as the truth, as the paramatman. You are the one who uses sattva to create affection in those who have obtained your mercy and have comprehended you through firm bhakti yoga. Sages who have severed the bonds of attachment know you in their hearts. There are those who have a great desire for emancipation. They obtain your favours, not to speak of those who are scared of the knitting of your eyebrows and have given themselves up to other things. 994 O dear one! They have taken shelter before your lotus feet and seek out accounts about your deeds. They are experts in savouring these glories, which are like tirthas. Because of our sinful deeds, even if we find ourselves in hell, we desire that, like black bees, our minds should continue to find delight in your lotus feet. May our words be like tulasi leaves and become beautified by your lotus feet. Let a multitude of your qualities be chanted and fill our ears. You have shown us this greatly revered form. O lord! We have obtained satisfaction at having been able to see this form, which is impossible for those who have not controlled themselves to see. Therefore, we offer our worship to this illustrious form. The illustrious one has been seen by us.’”’”’