by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 3(18)
‘“Maitreya said, ‘He heard what the lord of the waters had said. But the immensely proud and extremely haughty one paid little heed to these words. O dear one! He got to know from Narada where Hari was. 1010 Therefore, he quickly entered rasatala. He saw the victorious one there, holding up the earth. The earth was being raised up on the tips of the tusks. His own radiance was diminished by his 1011 reddish eyes. He laughed, “Aha! This is a vanagochara animal. 1012 O ignorant one! Let go of the earth and come to me. The creator of the universe has granted the residents of the nether regions to us. While I look on, you cannot go away safely with this. 1013 O worst among the gods! You have assumed the form of a boar. Have our enemies nurtured you? Do you use your maya to remain invisible and kill asuras? O one who is limited in virility! You are one who uses the strength of yoga maya. O foolish one! After taking care of you, I will wipe away the sorrow of my well-wishers. You will lie down, with your head shattered by my club. My arms will release it towards you. The gods and the rishis offer you oblations. Even if they remain, they will no longer have their foundation.” He was struck by the words of the enemy, which were like javelins. He saw that the earth, balanced on the tips of his tusks, was frightened. Tolerating the pain, he arose from the water, like a male elephant with a female elephant that has been seized by a crocodile. As he emerged from the water, Hiranyakesha 1014 followed him, like an elephant pursued by a crocodile. With horrible teeth and a voice like thunder, he said, “Have you no shame? What can shame a wicked and reprimanded person?” He raised the earth out of the water and laid it down, within his range of vision, investing it with his own spirit. He was praised by the creator of the universe 1015 and the satisfied gods showered down flowers on him, while the enemy still looked on. He was followed closely at the rear by the one who was adorned with golden ornaments, wearing golden and colourful armour and wielding the giant club. He 1016 continued to continuously strike him with harsh words that pierced the inner organs.
‘“‘The illustrious one pretended to be angry. He laughed at him and said, “It is true that we are vanagochara animals. We are searching for dogs like you. Brave ones are free of the bondage of death. O fortunate one! They pay no attention to your self-praise. We are taking away what belongs to the residents of the nether regions. We are shameless and have been driven away by your club. Nevertheless, somehow or the other, I have to remain on the field of battle. Having generated enmity with a powerful one, where can we possibly go? You are indeed the lord of leaders of foot soldiers. Quickly take steps to defeat us. Having shown us our proper place, wipe away the tears of your own. If a person does not accomplish his pledge, he is not fit to obtain a place in an assembly.” Thus abused and ridiculed by the illustrious one, who seemed to be angry, he became filled with rage, like a king of snakes that was being toyed with. The rage led to his sighing agitatedly and his senses were in a whirl. The daitya quickly rushed forward and struck Hari with the club. With force, the enemy hurled the club towards his chest. But just as one immersed in yoga avoids death, the illustrious one stepped aside and avoided this. Enraged, Hari rushed forward, displaying his rage by biting his lips. However, he seized his club again and started to whirl it around repeatedly. O amiable one! Using his club, the lord struck the enemy on his right eyebrow. But he was accomplished in fighting with clubs and struck him back. In this way, Haryaksha 1017 and he used heavy clubs to fight against each other. Extremely angry and desiring victory, they struck each other. As they rivalled each, their bodies were struck by the clubs. The smell of the blood that flowed increased their anger even more. Desiring victory, they roamed around in different modes of movement. It seemed as if two bulls were fighting for the sake of a cow. O Kouravya! The great-souled one, whose limbs are sacrifices, had used maya to assume the form of a boar. He and the enemy, the daitya, fought for the sake of the earth. Desiring to see this, the one who was his own ruler 1018 arrived, surrounded by the rishis. The daitya was full of power and devoid of fear. He fought back and his great valour was irresistible. On seeing this, the illustrious one, who was the leader of thousands, 1019 addressed Narayana, in his form of the original boar. Brahma said, ‘O god! He causes offence to gods, brahmanas, Surabhi’s children 1020 and innocent creatures who seek the refuge of your feet. He causes fear and his conduct is evil. This asura has obtained a boon from me. Searching for someone to fight with, he roams around the world and is like a thorn. He knows the use of maya, insolent, unrestrained and worst among the wicked. O god! Do not play with him, like a child with a snake that has presented itself. O god! O Achutya! Before his own terrible time arrives and he resorts to his own maya, kill this evil one. O lord! This terrible evening is approaching. O one who is everyone’s atman! Ensure victory for the gods. This is the auspicious conjunction known as Abhijit and it lasts for two muhurtas. 1021 For the welfare of your well-wishers, swiftly destroy this invincible one. With his death ordained, it is good fortune that he has himself come before you. Use your valour to slay him in the battle and bring about the peace of the worlds.’”’
Chapter 3(19)
‘“Maitreya said, ‘He heard Virinchi’s words, which were free from guile and like amrita. Full of affection, he glanced at the beloved one and accepted his words. The lord who was born from the nostrils 1022 leapt up towards the enemy who was wandering around fearlessly in front of him. He struck the asura’s jaw with his club. An extraordinary event occurred. He struck back with his own club and the illustrious one’s club fell down from his hand, whirling in energy. He thus obtained an opportunity to strike back. However, following the dharma of fighting, he did not strike someone who was without a weapon and Vishvaksena was enraged. As the lord’s club was struck down in this way, great sounds of lamentation arose. However, he applauded this following of dharma and remembered the weapon with the excellent nave. He eagerly used the chakra and toyed with Diti’s wicked son, who had actually been chief of his own attendants. Wonderful words were spoken by the ignorant ones who were in the sky. 1023 “May you be safe. May you kill him.” The lotus-eyed one was standing in front of him, holding the chakra. Hearing this, he looked towards him, his senses full of intolerance. He bit his own lips in rage and sighed. He bared his terrible teeth and glanced at him, as if he would burn him down in rage. He leapt up and used his own club to strike Hari with the force of the wind, screaming, “You have been killed.” O virtuous one! While the enemy looked on, the illustrious one, the boar who is the sacrifice, playfully deflected the bow with his left foot. He said, “Come. Since you desire to be victorious, pick up your weapon and try again.” Thus addressed, he struck again and roared extremely loudly. The illustrious one saw that the club was descending. However, standing firmly, he seized it when it arrived, like Garuda seizing a female serpent. The great asura raged that his own virility had been countered and that he had been disrespected. Though the club was offered to him by Hari, since it had lost its brilliance, he did not wish to accept it. He seized a blazing trident, which wished to greedily envelope everything in its flames and hurled it towards the one who had assumed and was wandering around in this form for the sake of sacrifices and brahmanas. The daitya, the great fighter, hurled it with all his strength and it blazed through the sky, increasingly luminescent. However, he severed it with the sharp-edged chakra, just as Indra had dislodged Tarkshya’s feather. 1024 When his own trident was shattered into many parts by his enemy, Hari, the asura became extremely angry. He advanced and using his fist, struck a hard blow on his broad chest, Lakshmi’s abode. Having struck, he roared and vanished. O Kshatta! Struck in this way, the illustrious original boar did not tremble even slightly. It was as if an elephant had been struck with a garland. He 1025 invoked many kinds of maya against Hari, the lord of yoga maya. On seeing this, all the subjects were terrified and thought that the destruction of everything was near. Fierce winds started to blow and shrouded everything in darkness and dust. Stones fell down in every direction, as if they had been hurled
from catapults. In the firmament, the radiance of the stellar bodies was destroyed, covered by masses of clouds tinged with thunder and lightning. Pus, hair, blood, excrement, urine and bones showered down repeatedly. O unblemished one! The mountains were seen to discharge many kinds of weapons. There were naked yatudhana women with dishevelled hair, wielding spears. Many yakshas, rakshasas, foot soldiers, riders on horses, chariots and elephants and assassins uttered violent and murderous cries. To destroy the maya manifested by the asura, the illustrious one with three feet 1026 invoked and used his beloved sudarshana weapon. There was a sudden trembling in Diti’s heart as she remembered the words spoken by her husband. Blood oozed out of her breasts. With his own maya destroyed, he tried to approach Keshava again. He tried to angrily grasp him in his arms, but he saw that he remained outside the clasp. He now started to strike him with fists that were as hard as the vajra. But Adhokshaja struck him at the root of his ear with his hand, like the lord of the Maruts striking Tvashta’s son. 1027 The conqueror of the universe struck him casually. However, his body was whirled around and his eyeballs fell out of their sockets. His arms, feet and head were shattered and he fell down, like a gigantic tree uprooted by the wind. He lay down on the ground, but his radiance did not fade. He bit his lips with his terrible teeth. Brahma and the others arrived and saw him. They said, ‘Wonderful. Who can obtain such a wonderful death? Alone, he is the one on whom yogis meditate. Desiring liberation from the linga sharira, they meditate on him. He is the one who has struck the bull among the daityas with his foot. He gave up his life while he glanced towards his 1028 face. These two attendants obtained this wicked end because of the curse. After some more births, they will again regain their status. We bow down to you. We bow down to you, the one who enjoys all the sacrifices. For the sake of preservation, you assume this pure form of sattva. It is good fortune that the one who made the universe suffer has been slain. O lord! We are devoted to your feet and have found happiness.’ Hiranyaksha’s valour was impossible to withstand. However, Hari, the original boar, killed him in this way. Praised by the one who is seated on the lotus 1029 and others, he returned to his own world, where there are uninterrupted festivities. O excellent friend! I have explained to you Hari’s activities as the first avatara. Hiranyaksha was great in his valour. But in a great battle, he toyed with him and killed him.’”’
Suta said, ‘O brahmana! 1030 Thus, Kshatta, the great devotee, heard about the illustrious one’s account from Kousharava and was supremely delighted. There are others, pious and famous devotees, and one rejoices on hearing about their deeds, not speak of the one who bears the mark of the shrivatsa. When the Indra among elephants was seized by a crocodile, the female elephants shrieked and meditated on his lotus feet. He immediately freed it from its hardship. Which grateful person will not serve the one who can be easily approached by upright men who seek him as their only refuge? Wicked people find it impossible to approach him. To bring about the death of Hiranyaksha, in his pastimes, he performed the extraordinary act of assuming the form of a boar. O brahmanas! If one hears, chants or finds delight in this account, one is instantly liberated, even if one has committed the sin of killing a brahmana. This pure and sacred account brings great merit. It confers wealth, fame, a long life and welfare. In the field of battle, it increases the valour of the breath of life and the senses. O dear one! Those who hear it obtain Narayana as the destination.’
Chapter 3(20)
Shounaka asked, ‘O Suta! After having established himself on earth, what did Svayambhuva Manu do, to establish doors and paths 1031 for those who would be born later? The immensely fortunate Kshatta was a well-wisher who was extremely devoted to Krishna. He abandoned his elder brother because he and his sons committed offences against Krishna. He was born from Dvaipayana’s body and was not inferior to him in greatness. With all his soul, he sought refuge with Krishna and with those who followed him. Having cleansed himself by visiting the tirthas, what did he ask Maitreya, supreme among those who know the truth, after approaching him when he was seated in Kushavarta? 1032 O Suta! They must have started to converse about unblemished accounts that destroy sins, like the waters of the Ganga, which seeks refuge with Hari’s lotus feet. O fortunate one! Recount those pervasive deeds to us. They are worthy of recounting. Hari’s pastimes are like amrita and no one who possesses the taste will be satisfied from drinking this in.’
In Naimisha, Ugrashrava was thus asked by the rishis. His mind was immersed in the atman of the illustrious one and he told them, ‘Listen.’
Suta said, ‘He heard how Hari had used his own maya to assume the form of a boar and raise the earth up from rasatala and about how he had casually toyed with Hiranyaksha and killed him. Delighted, the descendant of the Bharata lineage spoke to the sage.
‘Vidura said, “O brahmana! You know about the progress of the one who is not manifest. After creating the Prajapatis, so as to ensure the creation of subjects, what did the lord of Prajapatis 1033 do? Tell us. Commanded by Brahma, how did brahmanas like Marichi and Svayambhuva Manu indulge in creation? Did they create with their wives or were their actions independent? Did they 1034 collectively engage in the action of creation?”
‘Maitreya replied, “From the three gunas, Mahat was created through incomprehensible destiny, Purusha and time, agitated by the illustrious one. 1035 Rajas dominated Mahat and ahamkara was created from Mahat. It was of three types. 1036 From this was created space and the other elements and so on, in groups of five. 1037 However, acting as independent entities, they were incapable of creating this material world. Through the divine one’s yoga, they came together and created that golden egg. The egg was without an atman and lay down in the waters for more than one thousand years. After this, the lord entered it. A lotus that was as radiant as one thousand suns sprouted from his navel. It was the abode of all creatures and Svayambhu, who rules himself, was manifested from this. For the sake of the creation of the universe, so that it might be exactly as it had been earlier, the illustrious one, who was lying down in the waters, made his intelligence enter him. 1038 From his shadow, he first created five kinds of ignorance—tamisra, andha-tamisra, tamas, moha and mahatamas. However, all of this was full of tamas and he did not like it. Therefore, he gave up his own body, which was in the form of night and was accepted by yakshas and rakshasas. Hunger and thirst result from this. 1039 Afflicted by hunger and thirst, they rushed towards him. Overcome by hunger and thirst, they said, ‘Do not save him. Devour him.’ The god became anxious and told them, ‘Do not eat me. Protect me. O yakshas and rakshas! You have been born from me and are my offspring.’ He then created the foremost among the gods, who blazed because of their radiance. When he discarded his resplendence, the gods accepted this resplendence in the form of the day. The god then created those who were not gods 1040 from his hips and these were extremely addicted to intercourse. Since they were excessively addicted, they wished to have intercourse with him. The illustrious one laughed at the shameless asuras. But finding that they were following him, he was enraged and scared. He fled quickly. He went to Hari, the granter of boons and the one with whom the afflicted seek refuge. To show his compassion towards his devotees, he shows himself in a form that is desired by them. ‘O paramatman! Save me. You commanded me to create offspring, but these wicked ones have attacked me and wish to have intercourse with me. O lord! Save me. You are the destroyer of hardships and you are the only one who can remove the difficulties of the worlds. You are the only one who can create difficulties for those who do not seek the refuge of your feet.’ Since he knows everyone’s mind, he understood the misery and said, ‘Give up your terrible body.’ Thus addressed, he cast the body aside. This body assumed the form of the evening. There were tinkling anklets on her lotus feet and her eyes were mad with intoxication. Her hips were covered with an excellent piece of cloth and she wore a shining girdle with bells above this. There was no gap between her high and thick breasts and they touched each other. Her nose and teeth were excell
ent. Her smile was gentle and she glanced playfully at them. She possessed a mass of dark blue hair and she hid herself in shame. O Dharma! 1041 All the asuras took her to be a woman 1042 and were confused. ‘Wonderful! What beauty. What perseverance. What budding youth. She is without desire, but is roaming around amidst us, who are full of desire.’ They debated a lot about evening, who was in the form of a woman. Wicked in intelligence, they respectfully asked her, ‘Who are you? O one whose thighs are like a plantain tree! Whom do you belong to? O beautiful one! What is the reason behind your coming here? Your beauty is priceless. Why are you tempting unfortunate ones like us? O lady! Whoever you may be, we have had the good fortune of seeing you. While you are playing with a ball, you are agitating the minds of those who are looking at you. O beautiful one! While you are repeatedly bouncing the ball on the ground with the palm of your hand, your lotus feet do not remain in the same place. Your waist is suffering from the weight of your large breasts. Your clear eyes are peaceful and the braid of your hair is excellent.’ In this way, the asuras, foolish in their intelligence, took the evening twilight to be a woman and, tempted, seized her. With a deep sense of purpose, the illustrious one 1043 laughed. From inside his own atman, he created large numbers of beautiful gandharvas and asparas. He gave up that beautiful and beloved form of moonlight. Delighted, with Vishvavasu at the forefront, they 1044 accepted this. From his own distracted form, the illustrious one then created bhutas and pishachas. On seeing that they were naked, with dishevelled hair, he closed his eyes. The lord abandoned a body and they seized the creator’s body that was in the form of yawning. 1045 This is seen in living beings in the form of sleep, that is, sluggishness of the senses. They 1046 attack those who are defiled and this is said to be the unmada state. Thinking himself to be full of energy, the illustrious lord Aja created large numbers of Sadhyas and ancestors, while remaining invisible. The ancestors accepted the body from which they themselves had been created. Wise ones offer oblations to Sadhyas and ancestors. While remaining invisible, he created Siddhas and vidyadharas and gave them his wonderful body that is known as antardhana. 1047 While looking at his own reflection in the water, the lord admired himself and from this reflection, he created kinnaras and kimpurushas. They assumed the form that Parameshthi cast aside. Hence, at the time of dawn, they come together as couples and sing, praising his deeds. He stretched his body out at full length and lay down, thinking a lot, because the creation was insufficient. Therefore, he cast aside this body. O dear! The hair that dropped from this body became snakes. From the body that was still writhing around were born cruel nagas with large hoods on their thick necks. The self-created one took himself to have been successful in his objective. After this, using his mental powers, the creator of the worlds created Manus. In control of his atman, he then gave his own human body to them. On seeing this, all those who had been created earlier praised Prajapati. ‘Wonderful! O creator of the universe! What you have done is a good deed. Since rites have now been established, 1048 all of us will now eat our shares of the offerings.’ Full of austerities, knowledge, yoga and meditation, the rishi who was the controller of his senses 1049 created his beloved sons, in the form of the rishis. To each of them, Aja gave a part of his own body, characterized by meditation, yoga, powers, austerities, knowledge and non-attachment.”’