The Sanskrit Epics

by Delphi Classics

  SECTION CCCXXXVIII

  “‘YUDHISHTHIRA SAID, “WHEN the great king Vasu was so wholly devoted to Narayana, for what reason then did he fall down from heaven and why again had he to sink beneath the surface of the Earth?”

  “‘Bhishma said, “In this connection is cited an old narrative, O Bharata, of a discourse between the Rishis and the gods. The gods, once on a time, addressing many foremost of Brahmanas, said unto them that sacrifices should be performed by offering up Ajas as victims. By the word Aja should be understood the goat and no other animal.

  “‘“The Rishis said, ‘The Vedic Sruti declares that in sacrifices the offerings should consist of (vegetable) seeds. Seeds are called Ajas. It behoveth you not to slay goats. Ye deities, that cannot be the religion of good and righteous people in which slaughter of animals is laid down. This, again, is the Krita age. How can animals be slaughtered in this epoch of righteousness?’”

  “‘Bhishma continued, “While this discourse was going between the Rishis and the deities, that foremost of kings, viz., Vasu, was seen to come that way. Endued with great prosperity, the king was coming through the welkin, accompanied by his troops and vehicles and animals. Beholding king Vasu coming to that spot through the skies, the Brahmanas addressing the deities, said,— ‘This one will remove our doubts. He performs sacrifices. He is liberal in making gifts. He always seeks the good of all creatures. How, indeed, will the great Vasu, speak otherwise,’ — Having thus spoken unto each other, the deities and the Rishis quickly approached king Vasu and questioned him, saying,— ‘O king, with what should one perform sacrifices? Should one sacrifice with the goat or with herbs and plants? Do thou dispel this doubt of ours. We constitute thee our judge in this matter.’ — Thus addressed by them, Vasu joined his hands in humility and said unto them.— ‘Tell me truly, ye foremost of Brahmanas, what opinion is entertained by you in this matter?’

  “‘“The Rishis said, ‘The opinion entertained by us, O king, is that sacrifices should be performed with grain. The deities, however, maintain that sacrifices should be performed with animals. Do thou judge between us and tell us which of these opinions is correct.’”

  “‘Bhishma continued, “Learning what the opinion was that was entertained by the deities, Vasu, moved by partiality for them, said that sacrifices should be performed with animals. At this answer, all the Rishis, endued with the splendour of the Sun, became very angry. Addressing Vasu who was seated on his car and who had (wrongly) taken up the side of the deities, they said unto him,— ‘Since thou hast (wrongly) taken up the side of the deities, do thou fall down from heaven. From this day, O monarch, thou shalt lose the power of journeying through the sky. Through our curse, thou shalt sink deep below the surface of the Earth.’ After the Rishis had said these words, king Uparichara immediately fell down, O monarch, and went down a hole in Earth. At the command, however, of Narayana, Vasu’s memory did not leave him. To the good fortune of Vasu, the deities, pained at the curse denounced on him by the Brahmanas, began to think anxiously as to how that curse might be neutralised. They said, ‘This high-souled king hath been cursed for our sake. We, denizens of heaven, should unite together for doing what is good to him in return for that which he has done to us.’ Having quickly settled this in their minds with the aid of reflection, the deities proceeded to the spot where the king Uparichara was. Arrived at his presence, they addressed him, saying, ‘Thou art devoted to the great God of the Brahmanas (viz., Narayana). That great Lord of both the deities and the Asuras, gratified with thee, will rescue thee from the curse that has been denounced upon thee. It is proper, however, that the high-souled Brahmanas should be honoured. Verily, O best of kings, their penances should fructify.778 Indeed, thou hast already fallen down from the sky on the Earth. We desire, however, O best of kings, to show thee a favour in one respect. As long as thou, O sinless one, shalt dwell in his hole, so long shalt thou receive (due sustenance, through our boon)! Those streaks of clarified butter which Brahmans with concentrated minds pour in sacrifices in accompaniment with sacred mantras, and which are called by the name of Vasudhara, shall be thine, through our care for thee! Indeed weakness or distress shall not touch thee.779 While dwelling, O king of kings, in the hole of the Earth, neither hunger nor thirst shall afflict thee for thou shalt drink those streaks of clarified butter called Vasudhara. Thy energy also shall continue unabated. In consequence also of this our boon that we grant thee, the God of gods, viz., Narayana will be gratified with thee, and He will bear thee hence to the region of Brahman!’ — Having granted these boons unto the king, the denizens of heaven, as also all those Rishis possessed of wealth of penances, returned each to his respective place. Then Vasu, O Bharata, began to adore the Creator of the universe and to recite in silence those sacred mantras that had come out of Narayana’s mouth in days of yore.780 Although dwelling in a pit of the Earth, the king still worshipped Hari, the Lord of all the deities, in the well-known five sacrifices that are performed five times every day, O slayer of foes! In consequence of these adorations, Narayana, otherwise called Hari, became highly pleased with him who thus showed himself to be entirely devoted to Him, by wholly relying upon Him as his sole refuge, and who had completely subjugated his senses. The illustrious Vishnu, that giver of boons, then addressing Garuda of great speed, that foremost of birds, who waited upon Him as his servant, said these desirable words:— ‘O foremost of birds, O thou that art highly blessed, listen to what I say! There is a great king of the name of Vasu who is of righteous soul and rigid vows. Through the wrath of the Brahmanas, he has fallen into a pit of the Earth. The Brahmans, have been sufficiently honoured (for their curse has fructified). Do thou go to that king now. At my command, O Garuda, go to that foremost of kings, viz., Uparichara who is now dwelling in a hole of the Earth and incapable of any longer sailing through the sky, and bring him up without delay into the welkin.’ Hearing these words of Vishnu, Garuda, spreading his wings and rushing with the speed of the wind, entered that hole in the Earth in which king Vasu was living. Suddenly taking the king up, the son of Vinata soared into the sky and there released the king from his beaks. At that moment, king Uparichara once more acquired his celestial form and re-entered the region of Brahman. It was in this way, O son of Kunti, that great king first fell down through the curse of the Brahmanas for a fault of speech, and once more ascended to heaven at the command of the great God (Vishnu). Only the puissant Lord Hari, that foremost of all Beings, was devoutly worshipped by him. It was for this devout worship that the king succeeded very soon in escaping from the curse denounced upon him by the Brahmanas and in regaining the felicitous regions of Brahman.”

  “‘Bhishma continued, “I have thus told thee everything respecting the origin of the spiritual sons of Brahman. Listen to me with undivided attention, for I shall now narrate to thee how the celestial Rishi Narada proceeded in days of yore to White Island.”’“

  SECTION CCCXXXIX

  “‘BHISHMA SAID, “ARRIVED at the spacious realm called White Island, the illustrious Rishi beheld those same white men possessed of lunar splendour (of whom I have already spoken to thee). Worshipped by them, the Rishi worshipped them in return by bending his head and reverencing them in his mind.781 Desirous of beholding Narayana, he began to reside there, attentively engaged in the silent recitation of mantras, sacred to him, and observant of vows of the most difficult kind. With concentrated mind, the regenerate Rishi, with arms upraised, stood in Yoga, and then sang the following hymn unto the Lord of the universe, Him, viz., who is at once the soul of attributes and divested of all attributes.

  “‘“Narada said, ‘Salutations to thee, O God of gods, O thou that art freed from all acts! Thou art he who is divested of all attributes, who is the Witness of all the worlds, who is called Kshetrajna, who is the foremost of all Beings, who is Infinite, who is called Purusha, who is the great Purusha, who is the foremost of all Purushas, who is the soul of the three attributes, who is called the Foremost, who is Amrita (nectar)
, who is called Immortal, who is called Ananta (Sesha), who is Space,782 who is without beginning, who is both Manifest and Unmanifest as existent and not-existent things, who is said to have his home in Truth,783 who is the first of gods (Narayana), who is the giver of wealth (or of the fruits of acts), identified with Daksha and other Lords of the Creation, who is the Aswattha and other big trees, who is the four-headed Brahman, who is the Lord of all created Beings, who is the Lord of Speech,784 who is the Lord of the universe (or Indra), who is the all-pervading Soul, who is the Sun, who is the breath called Prana, who is the Lord of the waters (viz., Varuna), who is identifiable with the Emperor or the King, who is identifiable with the Regents of the several points of the compass, who is the refuge of the universe when it is dissolved in the final destruction,785 who is Undisplayed (unrevealed), who is the giver of the Vedas unto Brahman, who is identifiable with the sacrifices and Vedic studies achieved by Brahmanas with the aid of their bodies, who is identifiable with the four principal orders of the deities, who is every one of those four orders, who is possessed of effulgence, who is possessed of great effulgence, who is he unto whom the seven largest offerings in sacrifices are presented with the Gayatri and other sacred mantras, who is Yama, who is Chitragupta and the other attendants of Yama, who is called the wife of Yama, who is that order of the deities called Tushita, who is that other order called Mahatushita, who is the universal grinder (Death), who is desire and all diseases that have been created for aiding the advent of Death, who is health and freedom from disease, who is subject to desire and passions, who is free from the influence of desire and passions, who is Infinite as exhibited in species and forms, who is he that is chastised, who is he that is the chastiser, who is all the lesser sacrifices (like Agnihotra and others), who is all the larger sacrifices (like those called Brahma, etc.), who is all the Ritwijas, who is the origin of all sacrifices (viz., the Vedas), who is fire, who is the very heart of all sacrifices (viz., the mantras and hymns uttered in them), who is he that is hymned in sacrifices, who takes those shares of the sacrificial offerings that are presented to him, who is the embodiment of the five sacrifices, who is the maker of the five sections or divisions of time (viz., day, night, month, season and year), who is incapable of being understood except by those scriptures that are called Pancharatra, who never shrinks from anything, who is unvanquished, who is only Mind (without a physical frame), who is known only by name, who is the Lord of Brahman himself, who has completed all the vows and observances mentioned in the Vedas,786 who is the Hansa (bearer of the triple stick), who is the Parama-hansa (divested of stick), who is the foremost of all sacrifices, who is Sankhya-yoga, who is the embodiment of the Sankhya philosophy, who dwells in all Jivas, who lives in every heart, who resides in every sense, who floats on the ocean-water, who lives in the Vedas, who lies on the lotus (the image of the egg whence the universe has sprung), who is the Lord of the universe, and whose troops go everywhere for protecting his worshippers. Thou takest birth as all creatures. Thou art the origin of the universe (of all creatures). Thy mouth is fire. Thou art that fire which courses through the waters of the ocean, issuing out all the while from an Equine head. Thou art the sanctified butter that is poured into the sacrificial fire. Thou art the car-driver (fire or heat that impels the body and causes it to live and grow). Thou art Vashat. Thou art the syllable Om. Thou art Penances. Thou art Mind. Thou art Chandramas. Thou sanctifiest the sacrificial butter. Thou art the Sun. Thou art the Dikgajas (Elephants) that are sanctioned in the four cardinal points of the compass. Thou illuminest the cardinal points of the compass. Thou illuminest the subsidiary points also. Thou art the Equine head. Thou art the first three mantras of the Rig Veda. Thou art the protector of the several orders of men (viz., Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras). Thou art the five fires (beginning with Garhapatya). Thou art He who has thrice ignited the sacrificial fire called Nachi.787 Thou art the refuge of the six limbs (viz., the Vedas).788 Thou art the foremost of those Brahmanas that are employed in singing the Samans in sacrifices and other religious rites. Thou art Pragjyotish, and thou art he who sings the first Saman.789 Thou art the observer of those vows that depend upon the Vedas and that are observed by singers of Samanas. Thou art the embodiment of the Upanishad, called by the name of Atharvasiras. Thou art he who is the topic of the five foremost of scriptures (viz., those that appertain to the worship of Surya, of Sakti, of Ganesa, of Siva, and of Vishnu). Thou art called the preceptor that subsists only on the froth of water. Thou art a Valikhilya.790 Thou art the embodiment of him who has not fallen away from Yoga. Thou art the embodiment of correctness of judgment of reasoning. Thou art the beginning of the Yugas, thou art the middle of the Yugas and thou art their end. Thou art Akhandala (Indra). Thou art the two Rishis Prachina-garbha and Kausika. Thou art Purusthuta, thou art Puruhuta, thou art the artificer of the universe. Thou hast the universe for thy form. Thy motions are infinite. Thy bodies are infinite; thou art without end and without beginning, and without middle. Thy middle is unmanifest. Thy end is unmanifest. Thou hast vows for thy abode. Thou residest in the ocean. Thou hast thy home in Fame, in Penances, in Self-restraint, in Prosperity, in Knowledge, in grand Achievements, and in Everything belonging to the universe. Thou art Vasudeva. Thou art the grantor of every wish. Thou art Hanuman that bore Rama on his shoulders. Thou art the great Horse-sacrifice. Thou takest thy share of offerings made in great sacrifices.791 Thou art the grantor of boons, of happiness, of wealth. Thou art devoted to Hari. Thou art Restraint of the senses. Thou art vows and observances. Thou art mortifications, thou art severe mortifications, thou art very severe mortifications.792 Thou art he who observes vows and religious and other pious rites. Thou art freed from all errors. Thou art a Brahmacharin. Thou tookest birth in the womb of Prisni. Thou art he from whom have flowered all Vedic rites and acts. Thou art unborn. Thou pervadest all things. Thy eyes are on all things. Thou must not be apprehended by the senses. Thou art not subject to deterioration. Thou art possessed of great puissance. Thy body is inconceivably vast. Thou art holy, thou art beyond the ken of logic or argument. Thou art unknowable. Thou art the foremost of Causes. Thou art the Creator of all creatures and thou art their destroyer. Thou art the possessor of vast powers of illusion. Thou art called Chittrasikhandin. Thou art the giver of boons. Thou art the taker of thy share of the sacrificial offerings. Thou hast obtained the merit of all sacrifices. Thou art he who has been freed from all doubts. Thou art omnipresent. Thou art of the form of a Brahmana. Thou art fond of Brahmanas. Thou hast the universe for thy form. Thy form is very vast. Thou art the greatest friend. Thou art kind to all thy worshippers. Thou art the great deity of the Brahmanas. I am thy devoted disciple. I am desirous of beholding thee. Salutations to thee that art of the form of Emancipation.”’“

  SECTION CCCXL

  “‘BHISHMA SAID, “THUS hymned with names that were not known to others, the Divine Narayana having the universe for his form showed himself to the ascetic Narada. His form was somewhat purer than the moon and differed from the moon in some respects. He somewhat resembled a blazing fire in complexion. The puissant Lord was somewhat of the form of Vishti.793 He resembled in some respects the feathers of the parrot, and in some a mass of pure crystal. He resembled in some respects a hill of antimony and in some a mass of pure gold. His complexion somewhat resembled the coral when first formed, and was somewhat white. In some respects that complexion resembled the hue of gold and in some that of the lapis lazuli. In some respects it resembled the hue of the blue lapis lazuli and in some that of sapphire. In some respects it resembled the hue of the peacock’s neck, and in some that of a string of pearls. Bearing these diverse kinds of hues on his person, the eternal Deity appeared before Narada. He had a thousand eyes and was possessed of great beauty. He had a hundred heads and a hundred feet. He had a thousand stomachs and a thousand arms. He seemed to be still inconceivable to the mind. With one of his mouths he uttered the syllable Om and then the Gayatri following Om. With mind under complete c
ontrol, the great Deity, called by the names of Hari and Narayana, by his other mouths, multitudinous in number, uttered many mantras from the four Vedas which are known by the name of Aranyaka. The Lord of all the deities, the great God who is adorned in sacrifices, held in his hands a sacrificial altar, a Kamandalu, few white gems, a pair of sandal, a bundle of Kusa blades, a deer-skin, a toothstick, and a little blazing fire.794 With cheerful soul, that foremost of regenerate persons, viz., Narada of restraining speech, bowed unto the great God and adored Him. Unto him whose head was still bent low in veneration, the first of all the deities, who is free from deterioration, said the following words.