by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 4(19)
‘Maitreya said, “The king consecrated himself for one hundred horse sacrifices. This land of Manu, with the Sarasvati flowing towards the east, is known as Brahmavarta. The illustrious Shatakratu saw that Prithu would surpass his own deeds and could not tolerate the great festivities of sacrifices he had undertaken. The lord Hari is the illustrious lord of sacrifices and is present in all atmans. The lord, who is the preceptor of the worlds, was himself present at these. He was accompanied by Brahma, Sharva and the guardians of the worlds and their companions. The gandharvas, sages and large numbers of apsaras chanted his praise. There were the Siddhas, the vidyadharas, the daityas, the danavas, the guhyakas and the others and the foremost among Hari’s attendants, Sunanda and Nanda being the chief. Eager to serve him, devotees of the illustrious one, like Kapila, Narada, Datta, 1412 the lords of yoga and Sanaka and the others followed him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The earth was milked in accordance with dharma and yielded every object of desire. She was milked for every object of desire and satisfied the intentions of the performer of the sacrifice. All the rivers flowed with every kind of taste, milk, curds, food and other dairy products. The large bodies of the trees yielded honey and fruit. The oceans brought stores of jewels and the mountains provided four kinds of food. 1413
‘“The extremely generous Prithu regarded Adhokshaja as his lord. However, the illustrious Indra suffered from jealousy and tried to create impediments. Vena’s son, the performer of the sacrifice, was completing the last horse sacrifice, dedicated to the lord of sacrifices. Regarding him as a rival, he 1414 remained invisible and stole the sacrificial animal. The illustrious Atri saw him travelling swiftly through the sky, like a heretic pretending to be someone detached, like a confused person taking adharma to be dharma. Urged by Atri, Prithu’s maharatha son pursued him. Intending to kill him, he angrily said, ‘Wait. Wait.’ However, he looked at his form. His hair was matted and he was covered with ashes. Therefore, taking him to be the embodied form of dharma, he did not release his arrow. When he returned without killing him, Atri again urged him, ‘O son! Kill the one who is destroying the sacrifice. This is the great Indra, worst among the gods.’ Thus urged, Vena’s grandson became angry and followed him through the sky, like the king of eagles 1415 pursuing Ravana. The self-ruling one 1416 gave up the form he had assumed and vanished, abandoning the horse. The brave one seized his own animal and returned to his father’s sacrifice. O lord! The supreme rishis saw the extraordinary deed that he had done and gave him the name of Vijitashva. 1417 The lord Hari 1418 created a terrible darkness and stole the horse again, severing the golden rope with which it was tethered to the ring on the sacrificial post. Atri showed that he was travelling swiftly through the sky. Since he was carrying a skull and a khatvanga, the brave one did not obstruct him. 1419 However, when Atri urged him, he angrily affixed an arrow. The self-ruling one gave up the form he had assumed and vanished, abandoning the horse. Virashva 1420 seized the horse and went to the place where his father’s sacrifice was being held. Since that time, those who are weak and ignorant have assumed the disguise that was used by Hari. 1421 Desiring to steal the horse, Indra assumed these forms. These sinful signs and marks are known as khanda. 1422 Wishing to destroy the sacrifice of Vena’s son, Indra stole the horse in this way. He assumed and discarded the disguise of men who are heretical in intelligence. They are naked, or dress themselves in red garments. They propagate false dharma as dharma. Since they are accomplished and eloquent, people who are misguided are generally attracted to these.
‘“The illustrious Prithu was extensive in his valour. Knowing about Indra, he became angry and affixed an arrow to his upraised bow. The officiating priests saw that he had affixed an invincible and forceful arrow, with a desire to kill Shakra. They restrained him. ‘O immensely intelligent one! It has been instructed that nothing other than the sacrificial animal should be killed here. We will summon Indra, the lord of the Maruts, who sought to destroy your objective, here. Because of your energy, he has already lost his powers. O king! Using mantras that have never been used before, we will thereafter offer the one who caused you injury as an oblation.’ O Vidura! They advised the master of the sacrifice 1423 in this way. Using the sacrificial ladle, the enraged officiating priests started to offer him as an oblation. However, Svayambhu restrained them. ‘Indra should not be killed by you. He is known as Yajna because he is part of the illustrious one’s body. You wish to kill him, but the gods who are worshipped are also parts of his body. O brahmanas! Indra performed the act of trying to obstruct the sacrifice undertaken by the king. Regard this as a great transgression of dharma. Prithu has performed one less than one hundred sacrifices, but let him be more famous than Indra.’ ‘Enough of sacrifices, which you have performed well. 1424 You know about the dharma of liberation. O fortunate one! You should not succumb to rage any longer. Both you and the great Indra are embodied forms of Uttamashloka. O great king! Do not worry. 1425 Respectfully listen to my words. If a man thinks of doing something, but it is frustrated by destiny, when his mind succumbs to great anger, he enters the darkness of ignorance. Since the gods have created obstructions, let this sacrifice be stopped. Indra created the heretics who caused a transgression of dharma. These heretical views, which people find attractive, have been created by Indra. Look at the way he stole the horse and caused an obstruction to the sacrifice. You have descended on this world as a saviour of dharma among people, appropriate for the age. Because of Vena’s wicked activities, those practices have disappeared. O Vena’s son! That is the reason you have been born as Vishnu’s portion. O lord of subjects! Consider the resolutions of the creator of the universe and fulfil them. Indra’s maya is the mother of many kinds of wrong dharma. O lord! Destroy the terrible path of the ascetics.’ Thus instructed by the preceptor of the worlds, the lord of the earth affectionately had an alliance with Maghona. 1426 Prithu, the performer of a lot of deeds, had the bath that is taken at the end of a sacrifice. Satisfied at the way the sacrifice was undertaken, the granters of boons 1427 conferred boons on him. O Kshatta! Respectfully, the king first honoured brahmanas. Having obtained dakshina, they were content and showered benedictions on him. ‘O mighty-armed one! All of us have come here because we have been invited by you. 1428 We have been worshipped, honoured and have been given gifts—the ancestors, the gods, the rishis and men.’”’
Chapter 4(20)
‘Maitreya said, “Satisfied with the performance of the sacrifice, the illustrious Vaikuntha, the lord of sacrifices and the one who enjoys sacrifices, arrived there, along with the Lord Maghavan. He told him 1429 the following.
‘“The illustrious one said, ‘O dear one! This one has caused an obstruction to your hundredth horse sacrifice. But he is asking you for forgiveness. Therefore, you should pardon him. O lord of men! In this world, the best among men are virtuous and extremely intelligent. Since the atman is not the body, they are not malicious towards other creatures. 1430 If men like you are confounded by divine maya, the long period of serving the aged becomes futile exertion. A learned person knows that this body is the creation of ignorance, kama and karma. That being the case, a person in whom knowledge has been generated, has no attachment towards it. If a learned person is not attached to the body, why will he have a sense of ownership towards things that result from it—a house, children and riches? The atman is one and pure. It is self-resplendent and nirguna, though it is a store for the gunas. It is not covered by anything and goes everywhere. It is a witness and there is nothing that is superior to the atman. If a man knows that his atman is within himself, he is established in me. He is not affected by Prakriti and its attributes. O king! If a person follows his own dharma and always worships me devotedly, without any motive, his mind gradually obtains gratification. Such a person discards the gunas and is impartial in his outlook. He obtains unadulterated tranquility in me. Like the brahman, he is indifferent and obtains kaivalya. He is indifferent towards whatever controls mat
erial objects, the senses of perception and action and the mind. He fixes himself on the atman and realizes it, obtaining fortune. The linga sharira consists of different kinds of flows of the gunas, which causes material objects to interact with each other. 1431 Bound in affection towards me, learned people do not react to prosperity or adversity. O brave one! Such a person conquers all the senses and is indifferent towards happiness and unhappiness and looks upon the superior, the medium and the inferior impartially. Having been appointed by me, offer protection to the entire world, accompanied by all the people. A king obtains benefit by protecting the subjects and in the next birth, obtains a one-sixth share of the good deeds they perform. However, if he is only a collector who receives taxes and fails to protect the subjects, he loses his good merits and obtains the sins. 1432 In this way, if you accord prominence to dharma and follow what has been sanctioned by the best of brahmanas, you will be the best among those who protect. You will be loved by people and in a short period of time, you will see the Siddhas come to visit you in your house. O Indra among men! Ask for any boon from me. Because of your qualities and good conduct, I am tied to you. I cannot be easily obtained through sacrifices, austerities and yoga, but can be obtained by those who are indifferent in their intelligence.’ Vishvaksena, the preceptor of the worlds, instructed the conqueror of the world in this way. He bowed his head down and accepted Hari’s commands. Ashamed of his own deeds, Shatakratu affectionately touched his feet and he gave up all enmity and embraced him. Prithu worshipped the illustrious atman of the universe with offerings. He seized his lotus feet and his devotion gradually increased.
‘“The one with eyes like the petals of a lotus was about to leave. However, he looked at him with compassion and lingered on. Since he loved virtuous people, he did not leave. Because his eyes were overflowing with tears, the original king could not see him. Since his voice choked with tears, he could not say anything. He joined his hands in salutation and stood there, embracing Hari in his heart. He then wiped away the flowing tears and saw Purusha standing before him, his feet touching the ground and the top of his hand resting on the enemy of serpents. 1433 Prithu was not satisfied and said, ‘O lord! The lords who grant boons result from your boon. Confused by the transformation of gunas within his own self, which learned person will seek a boon from you? O lord! O bestower of kaivalya! Embodied beings who go to hell also enjoy them. I will not ask for these. O protector! If I can taste the asava of your lotus feet, which flows from the hearts of great ones and emerges through their mouths, I do not desire any of that. Give me the boon of ten thousand ears so that I can hear about your glory. O Uttamashloka! Emerging from the mouths of great ones, drops of the nectar from your lotus feet are borne by the wind. It again brings back memory to those who have forgotten about the true path, the bad yogis. This restoration is sufficient boon for us. O one who knows about qualities! If one can manage to hear about the excellent account of your auspicious fame in an assembly of noble ones even once, unless he is an animal, which person will desire a cessation of that? Even Shri wishes to receive the accumulation of your qualities. I hanker to worship the complete Purushottama, who is a reservoir of qualities, just as the one with the lotus in her hand 1434 does. Since we are competing for the same master, let there be no quarrels between her and me. We are both single-minded in our attention to your feet. O lord of the universe! Even though we wish to perform a little bit of this worship, the mother of the universe 1435 may be angry with us. But you are extremely devoted to the distressed. Since you possess your own powers, why are you content with her? Virtuous people worship you in this way and dispel the confusion that is created by maya and the gunas. O illustrious one! We do not know if virtuous people have any other motive than that of remembering your lotus feet. I think your words confound the universe. You have told your devotee, “Ask for a boon.” If people are not bound by what has been said in your words, who will be confused and perform the rites? 1436 O lord! People are separated because of your maya. An ignorant person desires everything other than his atman. Just as a father himself acts for the welfare of his child, you should also act on our behalf.’ The one who sees the entire universe was thus worshipped by the original king and replied, ‘O king! You will remain devoted towards me. You will possess the good fortune of acting with your intelligence immersed in me. You will cross over my maya, which is so very difficult to cross. O lord of subjects! Therefore, without any distractions, carry out my commands. People who act in accordance with my instructions, obtain benefits everywhere.’ He honoured the words spoken by Vena’s son, the royal sage, who worshipped him. Having shown him his favours, Achyuta made up his mind to leave. Since his mind looked on all of them as manifestations of the lord of sacrifices, the king joined his hands in salutation and devotedly worshipped the divine rishis, the ancestors, the gandharvas, the Siddhas, the charanas, the serpents, the kinnaras, the apsaras, the mortals, the birds and all the other kinds of creatures with sweet words. Worshipped thus, all of them followed Vaikuntha. The illustrious Achyuta robbed the hearts of the royal sage and the priests and returned to his own abode. He had revealed himself to the king, who bowed down to the one who cannot be seen and is not manifest, the god of the gods. After this, he went to his own city.”’
Chapter 4(21)
‘Maitreya said, “It 1437 was decorated with pearls, flowers, garlands, silk garments and golden arches. Here and there, it was embellished with great fragrances and incense. The highways, quadrangles and roads were sprinkled with water mixed with sandalwood and aloe and beautified with flowers, unhusked grain, fruits, minerals, parched grain and lamps. There were pillars of plantain trees and clean areca nut trees with fruits and flowers. Everywhere, it was decorated with garlands made out of the tender leaves of trees. The subjects received him with collections of lamps and an infinite number of auspicious objects. There were beautiful maidens ornamented with sparkling earrings. There were the sounds of conch shells and drums. Officiating priests chanted sounds of the brahman. The brave one was devoid of pride. Praised in this way, he entered his residence. Here and there, immensely illustrious ones honoured him and he honoured back the inhabitants of the city and the countryside, happily giving them whatever would please them. He was the greatest of the great and right from the beginning, had repeatedly performed many unmatched tasks. He ruled the globe of the earth and obtained pervasive fame, eventually ascending to the supreme state.”’
Suta said, ‘Kousharava praised the original king, who possessed great fame because of a large number of qualities, qualities that were praiseworthy. At this, Kshatta, the great devotee of the illustrious one, praised the master of the assembly 1438 and spoke to him. Vidura said, “Prithu was instated by the brahmanas and obtained a great deal of praise from the gods. He was radiant because of Vaishnava energy and used his hands to milk the earth. What experienced man will not listen to his deeds? All the other kings and the guardians of the world survive on his valour even now, obtaining their wishes. Tell me about his auspicious deeds.”
‘Maitreya continued, “He resided in the region that was between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Desiring to exhaust his store of good deeds, he enjoyed only what had matured. 1439 Everywhere, in all parts of the land, in the seven dvipas, he alone was the one who wielded the rod of chastisement. 1440 The only ones who could counter him were those born from lineages of brahmanas and those who were from Achyuta’s gotra. 1441 Once, he consecrated himself for a great sacrifice. O excellent one! The residents of heaven, brahmana rishis and royal sages assembled there. There, everyone was honoured according to what he deserved. In the midst of the assembly, like the lord of the stars amidst the stars, he stood up. He was tall and his arms were thick. He was fair. His eyes were like red lotuses. He possessed an excellent nose and a handsome face. He was amiable and his shoulders were rounded. His teeth and his smile were beautiful. His chest was broad and his loins were wide. His beautiful stomach had three lines, like the leaf of a banyan tree. His shinin
g navel was deep, like a whirlpool. His thighs seemed to be made out of gold and his insteps were arched. The hair on his head was fine, curly, glossy and dark. His throat was like a conch shell. He wore two extremely expensive silken garments, a lower garment and an upper garment. Because of the rituals he had followed, many beautiful signs could be seen on his body. He had cast aside his ornaments. He was attired in black antelope skin. With a blade of kusha grass in his hand, he performed the required rites. He glanced around with eyes that were like stars in a sky wet with dew. He spoke to the assembly in a loud voice and delighted them. The words were beautiful, clear and with colourful quatrains, deep and certain in their import. It was as if he was saying this for the sake of everyone’s welfare.