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Chapters 9,10,11,12
CHAPTER 9
Prahlada
We have now to look back a little.
Hiranyakasipu’s tapas lasted for a long time. It was an asuric
form of tapas , cutting of pieces of flesh from the body and casting
it in the sacrificial fire. When there was nothing more to cut off
he was about to cast himself in the fire when Lord Brahma
appeared “My son I am pleased with your tapas. What do you
wish?”. “I wish immunity from death” Brahma replied “Nay, that
is not possible. It is not in my power to give that”. “Then” said
Hiranyakasipu “grant me invulnerability from all weapons, from
beasts and men. I should not be killed either in day time or night”
Lord Brahma said “Be it so” and touched his wasted body and
Hiranyakasipu arose, his body shining like molten gold and hard
as diamond. When Hiranyakasipu had left his palace years ago,
he had left his pregnant wife Kayatu, unprotected. Indra, his arch
enemy, pounced upon the poor lady, took her captive and was
leading her to prison when Sri Narada stopped him enroute. Indra
protested “Great Sire, this lady will have a son and he will be as
powerful as his father. So I am going to destroy it before it is
born”. “You fool!” the sage retorted. “You should not harm a
pregnant lady and moreover the child in the womb will be the
foremost devotee of Hari”. Indra at once agreed to release the
queen. He circum-ambulated her thrice and bowed and returned
to his abode. Sri Narada took the lady under his charge, gave her
shelter and all comfort in his ashram. The queen herself kept the
ashram clean, gathered flowers and fruits for the sages daily rituals.
Sk 7. Ch6 - Slokam 1
And during leisure Sri Narada told the fascinating stories of Lord
Hari, of how he is the friend of the poor and oppressed and punishes
the evil doers. Even in the womb, the child was listening avidly
and after he was born, the maharishi took him under his special
tutelage and needless to say he became a peerless devotee.
Hiranyakasipu ruled over the whole universe. In his palace
of many spacious halls the walls were smooth as a mirror; the
pillars shone with precious stones, the devas were in humble
attendance. Agni cooked his food and the wind god Vayu swept
the courtyard clean and goddess earth gave always bumper crops
without ploughing. The gandharvas (demy gods) were constantly
singing his praise. The apsaras (nymphs) were dancing without
pause and the monarchs of the world regularly brought their
tributes. Even the offerings poured into the sacrificial fires by the
sages were forcibly diverted to him. It was continuous enjoyment
all the time and yet the asura was not satisfied. It was adharma
(unrighteous conduct) all along the line. Nobody should worship
Hari. Instead they could worship him “OM! Namo Narayanaya”
was neatly replaced with “OM! Namo Hiranyaya” Ages passed.
The gods were famished as good men could not perform any rituals
or sacrifices. The gods groaned. They were reaching the limit, Sri
Hari consoled them “The end is near. I am working through my
child Prahlada”.
Prahlada’s Childhood
Hiranyakasipu had four sons of whom Prahlada was the
greatest, the master of all the greatest qualities that waited upon
him as if he was their master. A lover of saintly people, and of
gentle conduct he was like a father to people in distress and a
brother to all living creatures. He looked on his teachers as gods
and was entirely devoid of egoism. He saw the world as unreal
and phantom like. In short his virtues were countless like God’s
and saints do not tire of recounting them in the assemblies of good
people even as they do not tire of recounting the attributes of Hari
himself. Sometime, tears welled up in his eyes; sometimes he
laughed. The reason for all this extra ordinary behaviour was his
inborn devotion to Hari. In short, he was possessed by Hari! And
Hiranyakasipu hated this son! It happened thus.
One day, the Asura took his little son on his lap and asked
“Dear Fellow! What is the best thing a person can do?” The child
immediately replied “In this troubled world where people are torn
with thoughts of mine and thine, they should leave their houses
which are like hidden wells and run to the forests where they may
take refuge in Hari”
The Asura’s brows darkened “My enemy or his agents
have corrupted my poor son’s mind. I must entrust him to proper
teachers for his education”. He summoned Chandamarkas the
two sons of Sukracharya and commanded them to undertake his
education in the proper way. They took the child to their hermitage
and taught him all the usual sastras which he mastered with great
ease. But he was firm in his devotion to Sri Hari. He is the cause
of everything; He is everything. The child affirmed. The teachers
were in a fix “How did you get this idea? was it imparted to you
or is it your own?”
Prahlada replied “The wrong notion that this is mine, that is
yours is created by Sri Hari’s maya. I bow to Sri Hari. When Sri
Hari favours you, this beastly idea “I am one, he is another” gets
cracked. Even gods are not free from this duality. Even sages
who are on the trail miss their way some time. I am aware of this
danger and therefore I am firm in my devotion to Hari”. The tutors
were disheartened “This boy is like a thorny bush among the mighty
sandalwood trees, the asuras”. They then took him to his mother;
she bathed and adorned him in a fitting manner and led him to his
father. Embracing him warmly the Asura spoke tenderly “Prahlada,
my darling, tell me the essence of what you have learned from
your tutors” and Prahlada gently began “Hearing stories about Sri
Hari, singing bhajans about him, remembering and serving him,
offering flowers and worshipping, serving him implicitly by
friendship and offering yourself completely – these are the nine
forms of devotion and if a man follows these he has learned his
lessons properly”. Blind with anger Hiranyakasipu turned on the
trembling tutors “How is this? You traitors have misinformed my
son”
Those poor fellows shaking with fear moaned “It was not
done by us or by any other. This he has learned by himself. Please
wait till your guru, our father returns. He will surely find some
way”.
Turning to his son the Asura thundered “How did you get
this pernicious idea in your mind?”. Gently Prahlada replied
“Devotion to Lord Krishna will not come to those who are devoted
to their own families with uncontrolled senses like unbridled beasts
.They do not understand their own real interest . People who are
led by outward appearances follow others equally blind , like
beasts following other beasts led by the nose string. Their mind
will not turn to the worship of Sri Hari until they follow the footsteps
of the sages and are hallowed by the dust of their feet. As a
magnet attracts iron Sri Hari attracts me.”
The Asura threw down the boy and roared “He is an enemy.
He has forgotten how my brother was treacherously killed and
does not want to avenge it. If a limb of ones own body is diseased
it should be amputated. Take him away, poison him, and throw
him down the cliff” The demoniac attendants needed no further
persuasion. They tried all these tricks and many more. As the
child was merged in Hari, all their efforts were vain. And the
emperor of the three worlds became really anxious. He was afraid.
Chandamarkas, the tutors consoled the Asura “Bind the child
with Varunapasa, so he will not run away and let us await the
return of our father who will certainly find out some way.” And
they continued with their own interpretation of Dharma, Artha
and Kama, carefully omitting the fourth Purushartha of Moksha.
Prahlada was an apt student. When the tutors retired for some
other work, Prahlada would gather his co disciples around and out
of his great kindness addressed them “Dear friends, hear me
carefully. Even from childhood a wise man should hear his duty
We have now to look back a little.
Hiranyakasipu’s tapas lasted for a long time. It was an asuric
form of tapas , cutting of pieces of flesh from the body and casting
it in the sacrificial fire. When there was nothing more to cut off
he was about to cast himself in the fire when Lord Brahma
appeared “My son I am pleased with your tapas. What do you
wish?”. “I wish immunity from death” Brahma replied “Nay, that
is not possible. It is not in my power to give that”. “Then” said
Hiranyakasipu “grant me invulnerability from all weapons, from
beasts and men. I should not be killed either in day time or night”
Lord Brahma said “Be it so” and touched his wasted body and
Hiranyakasipu arose, his body shining like molten gold and hard
as diamond. When Hiranyakasipu had left his palace years ago,
he had left his pregnant wife Kayatu, unprotected. Indra, his arch
enemy, pounced upon the poor lady, took her captive and was
leading her to prison when Sri Narada stopped him enroute. Indra
protested “Great Sire, this lady will have a son and he will be as
powerful as his father. So I am going to destroy it before it is
born”. “You fool!” the sage retorted. “You should not harm a
pregnant lady and moreover the child in the womb will be the
foremost devotee of Hari”. Indra at once agreed to release the
queen. He circum-ambulated her thrice and bowed and returned
to his abode. Sri Narada took the lady under his charge, gave her
shelter and all comfort in his ashram. The queen herself kept the
ashram clean, gathered flowers and fruits for the sages daily rituals.
Sk 7. Ch6 - Slokam 1
And during leisure Sri Narada told the fascinating stories of Lord
Hari, of how he is the friend of the poor and oppressed and punishes
the evil doers. Even in the womb, the child was listening avidly
and after he was born, the maharishi took him under his special
tutelage and needless to say he became a peerless devotee.
Hiranyakasipu ruled over the whole universe. In his palace
of many spacious halls the walls were smooth as a mirror; the
pillars shone with precious stones, the devas were in humble
attendance. Agni cooked his food and the wind god Vayu swept
the courtyard clean and goddess earth gave always bumper crops
without ploughing. The gandharvas (demy gods) were constantly
singing his praise. The apsaras (nymphs) were dancing without
pause and the monarchs of the world regularly brought their
tributes. Even the offerings poured into the sacrificial fires by the
sages were forcibly diverted to him. It was continuous enjoyment
all the time and yet the asura was not satisfied. It was adharma
(unrighteous conduct) all along the line. Nobody should worship
Hari. Instead they could worship him “OM! Namo Narayanaya”
was neatly replaced with “OM! Namo Hiranyaya” Ages passed.
The gods were famished as good men could not perform any rituals
or sacrifices. The gods groaned. They were reaching the limit, Sri
Hari consoled them “The end is near. I am working through my
child Prahlada”.
Prahlada’s Childhood
Hiranyakasipu had four sons of whom Prahlada was the
greatest, the master of all the greatest qualities that waited upon
him as if he was their master. A lover of saintly people, and of
gentle conduct he was like a father to people in distress and a
brother to all living creatures. He looked on his teachers as gods
and was entirely devoid of egoism. He saw the world as unreal
and phantom like. In short his virtues were countless like God’s
and saints do not tire of recounting them in the assemblies of good
people even as they do not tire of recounting the attributes of Hari
himself. Sometime, tears welled up in his eyes; sometimes he
laughed. The reason for all this extra ordinary behaviour was his
inborn devotion to Hari. In short, he was possessed by Hari! And
Hiranyakasipu hated this son! It happened thus.
One day, the Asura took his little son on his lap and asked
“Dear Fellow! What is the best thing a person can do?” The child
immediately replied “In this troubled world where people are torn
with thoughts of mine and thine, they should leave their houses
which are like hidden wells and run to the forests where they may
take refuge in Hari”
The Asura’s brows darkened “My enemy or his agents
have corrupted my poor son’s mind. I must entrust him to proper
teachers for his education”. He summoned Chandamarkas the
two sons of Sukracharya and commanded them to undertake his
education in the proper way. They took the child to their hermitage
and taught him all the usual sastras which he mastered with great
ease. But he was firm in his devotion to Sri Hari. He is the cause
of everything; He is everything. The child affirmed. The teachers
were in a fix “How did you get this idea? was it imparted to you
or is it your own?”
Prahlada replied “The wrong notion that this is mine, that is
yours is created by Sri Hari’s maya. I bow to Sri Hari. When Sri
Hari favours you, this beastly idea “I am one, he is another” gets
cracked. Even gods are not free from this duality. Even sages
who are on the trail miss their way some time. I am aware of this
danger and therefore I am firm in my devotion to Hari”. The tutors
were disheartened “This boy is like a thorny bush among the mighty
sandalwood trees, the asuras”. They then took him to his mother;
she bathed and adorned him in a fitting manner and led him to his
father. Embracing him warmly the Asura spoke tenderly “Prahlada,
my darling, tell me the essence of what you have learned from
your tutors” and Prahlada gently began “Hearing stories about Sri
Hari, singing bhajans about him, remembering and serving him,
offering flowers and worshipping, serving him implicitly by
friendship and offering yourself completely – these are the nine
forms of devotion and if a man follows these he has learned his
lessons properly”. Blind with anger Hiranyakasipu turned on the
trembling tutors “How is this? You traitors have misinformed my
son”
Those poor fellows shaking with fear moaned “It was not
done by us or by any other. This he has learned by himself. Please
wait till your guru, our father returns. He will surely find some
way”.
Turning to his son the Asura thundered “How did you get
this pernicious idea in your mind?”. Gently Prahlada replied
“Devotion to Lord Krishna will not come to those who are devoted
to their own families with uncontrolled senses like unbridled beasts
.They do not understand their own real interest . People who are
led by outward appearances follow others equally blind , like
beasts following other beasts led by the nose string. Their mind
will not turn to the worship of Sri Hari until they follow the footsteps
of the sages and are hallowed by the dust of their feet. As a
magnet attracts iron Sri Hari attracts me.”
The Asura threw down the boy and roared “He is an enemy.
He has forgotten how my brother was treacherously killed and
does not want to avenge it. If a limb of ones own body is diseased
it should be amputated. Take him away, poison him, and throw
him down the cliff” The demoniac attendants needed no further
persuasion. They tried all these tricks and many more. As the
child was merged in Hari, all their efforts were vain. And the
emperor of the three worlds became really anxious. He was afraid.
Chandamarkas, the tutors consoled the Asura “Bind the child
with Varunapasa, so he will not run away and let us await the
return of our father who will certainly find out some way.” And
they continued with their own interpretation of Dharma, Artha
and Kama, carefully omitting the fourth Purushartha of Moksha.
Prahlada was an apt student. When the tutors retired for some
other work, Prahlada would gather his co disciples around and out
of his great kindness addressed them “Dear friends, hear me
carefully. Even from childhood a wise man should hear his duty
as expounded in the Bhagavatham. Do not hanker after sensual
pleasures. It is cheap. Available without effort even for animals.
Life is short. At the most a hundred years. Half of it is lost in
sleep; a good part as a child and yet another big part as a mature
adult and householder and the final part in dottering old age and
regrets. All are bound firmly by family affection and very few
want even to escape; wealth is even dearer than life as proved by
the soldier, the trader and thief. And who wants to leave his wife;
the fond memories and secret pleasures? And who wants to forget
the recollections of his children or their artless talk; who wants to
forget the grown up sons and daughters either; or their progeny or
ones own old helpless parents; and who wants to leave his own
comfortable home and hard earned wealth. It is not a question of
learning. Even learned men are powerless to get over the duality
of mine and thine and become the love pets of the other sex even
when inexorable death approaches. Therefore dear friends, give
up the company of sensual fools and worship the foremost and
most ancient of all the gods Sri Narayana, the very image of final
release. And it is not at all difficult to find him, as he is present
everywhere, in everything and in yourself. He is the seer and the
seen; He can be felt as spontaneous, intense pleasure without any
reason and the lesson we should learn from all these, is - Be kind
to all creatures at all times and under all circumstances so that He
may be pleased.
Prahlada told the eager students how he had learned from
Sree Narada Maharishi. How the body is ephemeral, changing
every moment, unreal while the soul is eternal, a part of Sri
Narayana himself. How the differences are unreal and vanish
like smoke when the truth is realized. And there are, a thousand
ways of reaching this truth. The easiest and most pleasant way is
through devotion, through bhajans (Psalms) and kind hearted
service. He is in all. So you are serving God when you are serving
the poor. So, cultivate sat sangh (company of the godly). Finally,
dear friends , it is not birth as a high born brahmin or god or sage
that matters. Poems or songs or vast learning do not matter, giving
alms or austerity and penance are not as dear to Sri Hari as
disinterested devotion. The rest is only pretense. And all are
eligible, asuras, yakshas, women, birds, beasts, reptiles, All, All
are eligible. In fact, they have attained salvation. This is the
truth”
His co-disciples all asura boys listened attentively and began
to sing hymns and danced round Prahlada to the great
consternation of the tutors. On hearing about the strange turn of
events , Hiranyakasipu became blind with fury and grasping a
sword rushed towards his son “You idiot! Where is the source of
your strength? I will finish both of you at once!” and Prahlada
replied “Oh! King! Not only mine but yours and of every creature,
Sri Hari is the source” “Is he in this iron pillar also ?” asked the
furious asura. “Yes. He is there also. I see him clearly”. The
Asura looked at the iron pillar and smote it with his bare hands. It
split in two with a deafening sound and there emerged a huge
form, half lion, half man with many arms, armed with divine
weapons. His head was covered with golden manes, with ears
erect and a cavernous mouth and cruel teeth and red tongue lolling
out. Sparks flew from his eyes and his continuous roar was like
thunder reverberating in mountain top. With great agility, the Asura
jumped aside and snatching a sword and buckler sprang at the
man-lion. With his long powerful arms, the Narasimham caught
the Asura by the hip, laid him on his lap, dug his claws into the
Asura’s breast and pulling out the heart and entrails garlanded
himself with it. It was all over. The great Hiranyakasipu ,
conqueror of the three worlds the terror of the gods and the
tormentor of sages was laid low.
The Narasimham had not calmed down. He was still
shivering with anger. Nobody dared approach him. The gods,
demi-gods, gandharvas, nagas and sages all tried to come near
singing psalms of praise but the Man-Lion showed no signs of
calming down.
He was still growling, drenched in blood lashing his tail and
ready to spring on any one daring to come near. The devas had a
plan. They prevailed on Sri Lakshmy Devi, Vishnu’s consort to
go near. The Devi took one or two steps and stopped short. She
too was terrified and could not recognize her Lord in this guise.
As a last resort the gods prevailed on Prahlada to go near the
awful Man-Lion. Prahlada had no fear and approached
Narasimham , Man-Lion , with folded hands. The Lion’s eyes
became moist thinking of the great sufferings his devotee had
been subjected to. Narasimham gently placed his hands on
Prahlada as if blessing him and at once songs of praise gushed
forth from the Child.
“When Brahma and the gods are unable to please thee,
How can I, a child born of asura hope to please you.
Methinks, neither high birth nor wealth
nor beauty and strength, nor intellect
can please you great God
as the devotion of that elephant in distress
“A chandala of low birth who has
devoted his mind, words and actions to you
Is superior to a brahmin of high birth
Who has turned his face away from you
All things are yours. By giving you offerings
A devotee is increasing his own worth
As a man adorning his face is not doing it
For the image in the mirror but for himself.”
Prahlada does not stake any claim. “A Father cannot save
his son . Medicines do not always save. Even any number of
births and deaths do not take one nearer to you. I do not want
even blessings as they are chimeras in the desert. The senses are
like the several wives of the householder, pulling him in different
directions. Bound by one’s own past actions we are inexorably
led to repeat our mistakes unless you take pity and lead us to you.
Save me, Save all”.
The Lord said “Prahlada, dear child! Wait a little more as
an example to all devotees. You are the emperor of the three
worlds and the master of untold wealth. I know you have no
desire for them. You must exhaust your merit by judicious
enjoyment and demerit by patient suffering and when the account
is clear both ways, come to your final abode with me.” With
these words the Narasimham vanished.
“He prayeth best; who loveth best;
All things both great and small
For, the dear god who loveth us
He made and loveth all”
Coleridge – “ The Ancient mariner”
The story was first told by Sri Narada to Yudhishtira. Sri
Narada continued “How lucky you are in having this same Vishnu,
Sri Krishna, as your uncle, protector and guide all through your
life. I shall now narrate another story illustrating his unique
greatness.
The Story of Mayan, the Master Builder of The Asuras.
After the lapse of a long time, the devas recovered their
former glory and oppressed their rivals, the asuras. They
approached their guru, Mayan the master builder who was also a
great engineer and knew many secrets. He built three great cities
of iron, silver and gold. Residing in these cities the asuras could
fly over any place occupied by their rivals the devas and settle
down crushing all those below. The devas were in great distress
and approached Lord Siva, one of the Trinity. Lord Siva, the kindest
of the Trinity at once obliged took out his mighty bow and showered
arrows. The asuras were laid low but Mayan again came to the
rescue. He dug a great well; filled with elixir and threw the asuras
into it. They were restored and came out like lightning from the
clouds. The elixir had to be destroyed. Sri Hari became a cow
and Brahma became a calf and they jumped into the well and
drank off all the life giving elixir. Lord Siva resumed the fight
with special arrows symbolizing wisdom, forgiveness, fortitude,
truth, etc. The asuras could not withstand these and were
vanquished. The devas were once more restored to their abode.
The magic cities of metal were reduced to ashes and Lord Siva
was henceforth known as the Destroyer of Three Cities
Varna Ashrama Dharmam
King Yudishtira ,Parikshits ancestor, was now desirous of
knowing more about varna ashrama dharmam from no less a
person than Sri Narada Maharishi. The sage obliged “I shall tell
you what I have learned from Sri Narayana Maharshi who is still
at Badary ashram. People should be always optimistic, practice
equality, maintain silence, aim at renunciation and practice self
introspection. These are essential for all castes.”
The caste system was not a water tight division. Some
opted to become brahmins; others preferred soldiering still others
pleasures. It is cheap. Available without effort even for animals.
Life is short. At the most a hundred years. Half of it is lost in
sleep; a good part as a child and yet another big part as a mature
adult and householder and the final part in dottering old age and
regrets. All are bound firmly by family affection and very few
want even to escape; wealth is even dearer than life as proved by
the soldier, the trader and thief. And who wants to leave his wife;
the fond memories and secret pleasures? And who wants to forget
the recollections of his children or their artless talk; who wants to
forget the grown up sons and daughters either; or their progeny or
ones own old helpless parents; and who wants to leave his own
comfortable home and hard earned wealth. It is not a question of
learning. Even learned men are powerless to get over the duality
of mine and thine and become the love pets of the other sex even
when inexorable death approaches. Therefore dear friends, give
up the company of sensual fools and worship the foremost and
most ancient of all the gods Sri Narayana, the very image of final
release. And it is not at all difficult to find him, as he is present
everywhere, in everything and in yourself. He is the seer and the
seen; He can be felt as spontaneous, intense pleasure without any
reason and the lesson we should learn from all these, is - Be kind
to all creatures at all times and under all circumstances so that He
may be pleased.
Prahlada told the eager students how he had learned from
Sree Narada Maharishi. How the body is ephemeral, changing
every moment, unreal while the soul is eternal, a part of Sri
Narayana himself. How the differences are unreal and vanish
like smoke when the truth is realized. And there are, a thousand
ways of reaching this truth. The easiest and most pleasant way is
through devotion, through bhajans (Psalms) and kind hearted
service. He is in all. So you are serving God when you are serving
the poor. So, cultivate sat sangh (company of the godly). Finally,
dear friends , it is not birth as a high born brahmin or god or sage
that matters. Poems or songs or vast learning do not matter, giving
alms or austerity and penance are not as dear to Sri Hari as
disinterested devotion. The rest is only pretense. And all are
eligible, asuras, yakshas, women, birds, beasts, reptiles, All, All
are eligible. In fact, they have attained salvation. This is the
truth”
His co-disciples all asura boys listened attentively and began
to sing hymns and danced round Prahlada to the great
consternation of the tutors. On hearing about the strange turn of
events , Hiranyakasipu became blind with fury and grasping a
sword rushed towards his son “You idiot! Where is the source of
your strength? I will finish both of you at once!” and Prahlada
replied “Oh! King! Not only mine but yours and of every creature,
Sri Hari is the source” “Is he in this iron pillar also ?” asked the
furious asura. “Yes. He is there also. I see him clearly”. The
Asura looked at the iron pillar and smote it with his bare hands. It
split in two with a deafening sound and there emerged a huge
form, half lion, half man with many arms, armed with divine
weapons. His head was covered with golden manes, with ears
erect and a cavernous mouth and cruel teeth and red tongue lolling
out. Sparks flew from his eyes and his continuous roar was like
thunder reverberating in mountain top. With great agility, the Asura
jumped aside and snatching a sword and buckler sprang at the
man-lion. With his long powerful arms, the Narasimham caught
the Asura by the hip, laid him on his lap, dug his claws into the
Asura’s breast and pulling out the heart and entrails garlanded
himself with it. It was all over. The great Hiranyakasipu ,
conqueror of the three worlds the terror of the gods and the
tormentor of sages was laid low.
The Narasimham had not calmed down. He was still
shivering with anger. Nobody dared approach him. The gods,
demi-gods, gandharvas, nagas and sages all tried to come near
singing psalms of praise but the Man-Lion showed no signs of
calming down.
He was still growling, drenched in blood lashing his tail and
ready to spring on any one daring to come near. The devas had a
plan. They prevailed on Sri Lakshmy Devi, Vishnu’s consort to
go near. The Devi took one or two steps and stopped short. She
too was terrified and could not recognize her Lord in this guise.
As a last resort the gods prevailed on Prahlada to go near the
awful Man-Lion. Prahlada had no fear and approached
Narasimham , Man-Lion , with folded hands. The Lion’s eyes
became moist thinking of the great sufferings his devotee had
been subjected to. Narasimham gently placed his hands on
Prahlada as if blessing him and at once songs of praise gushed
forth from the Child.
“When Brahma and the gods are unable to please thee,
How can I, a child born of asura hope to please you.
Methinks, neither high birth nor wealth
nor beauty and strength, nor intellect
can please you great God
as the devotion of that elephant in distress
“A chandala of low birth who has
devoted his mind, words and actions to you
Is superior to a brahmin of high birth
Who has turned his face away from you
All things are yours. By giving you offerings
A devotee is increasing his own worth
As a man adorning his face is not doing it
For the image in the mirror but for himself.”
Prahlada does not stake any claim. “A Father cannot save
his son . Medicines do not always save. Even any number of
births and deaths do not take one nearer to you. I do not want
even blessings as they are chimeras in the desert. The senses are
like the several wives of the householder, pulling him in different
directions. Bound by one’s own past actions we are inexorably
led to repeat our mistakes unless you take pity and lead us to you.
Save me, Save all”.
The Lord said “Prahlada, dear child! Wait a little more as
an example to all devotees. You are the emperor of the three
worlds and the master of untold wealth. I know you have no
desire for them. You must exhaust your merit by judicious
enjoyment and demerit by patient suffering and when the account
is clear both ways, come to your final abode with me.” With
these words the Narasimham vanished.
“He prayeth best; who loveth best;
All things both great and small
For, the dear god who loveth us
He made and loveth all”
Coleridge – “ The Ancient mariner”
The story was first told by Sri Narada to Yudhishtira. Sri
Narada continued “How lucky you are in having this same Vishnu,
Sri Krishna, as your uncle, protector and guide all through your
life. I shall now narrate another story illustrating his unique
greatness.
The Story of Mayan, the Master Builder of The Asuras.
After the lapse of a long time, the devas recovered their
former glory and oppressed their rivals, the asuras. They
approached their guru, Mayan the master builder who was also a
great engineer and knew many secrets. He built three great cities
of iron, silver and gold. Residing in these cities the asuras could
fly over any place occupied by their rivals the devas and settle
down crushing all those below. The devas were in great distress
and approached Lord Siva, one of the Trinity. Lord Siva, the kindest
of the Trinity at once obliged took out his mighty bow and showered
arrows. The asuras were laid low but Mayan again came to the
rescue. He dug a great well; filled with elixir and threw the asuras
into it. They were restored and came out like lightning from the
clouds. The elixir had to be destroyed. Sri Hari became a cow
and Brahma became a calf and they jumped into the well and
drank off all the life giving elixir. Lord Siva resumed the fight
with special arrows symbolizing wisdom, forgiveness, fortitude,
truth, etc. The asuras could not withstand these and were
vanquished. The devas were once more restored to their abode.
The magic cities of metal were reduced to ashes and Lord Siva
was henceforth known as the Destroyer of Three Cities
Varna Ashrama Dharmam
King Yudishtira ,Parikshits ancestor, was now desirous of
knowing more about varna ashrama dharmam from no less a
person than Sri Narada Maharishi. The sage obliged “I shall tell
you what I have learned from Sri Narayana Maharshi who is still
at Badary ashram. People should be always optimistic, practice
equality, maintain silence, aim at renunciation and practice self
introspection. These are essential for all castes.”
The caste system was not a water tight division. Some
opted to become brahmins; others preferred soldiering still others
preferred trade or agriculture and change from one system to
another was natural. Now all that has changed and we have
become the laughing stock of the world.
CHAPTER 10
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*erjesosÞeeNeïÓe: }erμeeÞëeesºeÞeeëe©Óeμe©fèB¡Óe: >>
Gajendra Moksham
In the southern regions there was a great mountain called
Trikuta with three peaks of iron, silver and gold and the foot hills
were strewn with precious gems like diamond, emerald and pearls
and it was girt all around by an ocean of milk. As the shores were
drenched by the ocean, all kinds of trees like the banyan, teak,
sandalwood, deodar grew in profusion and parrots of various hues,
swans and kites, flitted in the sunshine filling the air with their
notes. There were waterfalls, which with a subdued roar were
filling a vast lake. In that lake there grew lilies and lotuses, which
imparted a fragrance to the cool water. The lake was fringed with
leafy trees that sheltered various animals. The deer and hare were
harmless denizens but you could hear also the distant roar of a
lion and growl of the tiger. But even these dared not approach a
herd of wild elephants lead by their king, a huge tusker. He was
undoubtedly the king of the forest.
On a particularly torrid day, the elephant herd decided to
have a plunge and with trunks raised and rolling eyes and ears
fanning and shrilly trumpeting, crashed through the bush woods
and bamboo groves and plunged into the cool lake. The king tusker
was foremost. He waded carefully; filled his trunk with the scented
water, drank his fill and splashed the water over himself and then
over the baby elephants even as a householder bathes his children.
They were thus happily sporting in the cool waters little suspecting
the impending danger. As fate would have it, a huge crocodile dug
its teeth in the feet of the elephant king and began to draw it
towards greater depths and there ensued a great tug of war. The
Sk 8. Ch 2 - Slokam 1
mighty tusker pulled with all his enormous strength but the crocodile
was in his element. The fight went on for days, weeks and months.
The elephant was weakening. The other elephants tried their best
to save their leader but without success. The female elephants
too tried to save their lord. When they too failed, they just stood
by and wept. The story says, the struggle went on for years, a
thousand years. Thus when the Gajendra (elephant king) was
completely helpless and sinking, the associations of his previous
birth revived in his memory and he sang a great hymn calling on
Hari for help.
Neither my cousins nor my wives can help me
I am dragged by fate in the shape of this alligator,
I surrender to Hari the refuge of all in distress.
By your order death comes to creatures
I come to you for help
I bow to you Lord! From whom
All this world has sprung
This world is in you and
To you this world returns
And when there is total darkness
You alone remain and
By your power you;
Bring them back again.
The seers, self-controlled, with no attachment
Walk this world, without scratches
with your help, May you be my friend too-
I bow to you, who illumines the mind
The eternal witness, beyond words
Beyond mind and even intellect
You can be reached only by satvic conduct
By desireless action. You grant saintly happiness
And you are the disposer of final release
My salutations to Thee who art mild
To thee who art terrible, upholder of equality
To thee, the essence of wisdom
Because of your great kindness
You save those bound by beastly qualities
You have entered the body of every creature
And are present everywhere;
I worship that eternal one
Not very clear to ordinary men
But realizable by the spiritual minded
The lovers of solitude desire nothing
They just want thy presence
Getting immersed in the ocean of bliss
Singing the stories of thy deeds
Brahma, Siva and other gods
Are yourself with different names
And different forms and attributes;
Like sparks from fire and rays from the Sun
You emit the worlds and the stream of gunas
With intellect and mind streams of beings
Thou art not god or asura
Not man, not woman not beast
Not the gunas, yet encompasseth all
I do not want to lead this life
With its coverings inside and out
I want realization that is beyond time
To thee of irresistible power
Beyond the gunas and protector
of all supplicants, I bow again and again.”
Praised by the Gajendra in this way the lesser gods held
back and Hari appeared borne on Garuda wafting the Vedas with
his wings. Plucking a lotus with his trunk the elephant king
offered it to Sri Hari in adoration crying “O! Narayana, Master
of all , my salutations!” Sri Hari threw his chakra; the alligator
was split into two; its jaws relaxed and the elephant was free! Sri
Hari caressed his trunk and he was transformed as a Deva having
the same form as Sri Hari.
Previous History of The Elephant and Alligator
Indra Dyumna the Pandiyan King was a great devotee of
Sri Hari. One day, while he was engaged in rigorous worship, the
sage Agastiya arrived with his disciples. But the king neither
rose to welcome him nor even moved. The sage’s ire was aroused
“You are neglecting your duty of receiving holymen. You are dull
like an elephant . You must be born as an elephant” and straight
away he was born as an elephant . His former memories lingered
and came to his rescue in the end.
And this alligator was a gandharva Huhu by name. Once
accompanied by his wives he was bathing in sacred godhavari,
splashing the water when he spied the Maharishi Devala who
after the ablutions was praying to the sun. In a spirit of fun, perhaps
to amuse his wives, the foolish gandharva dived in the water and
caught hold of the feet of Devala, perhaps to frighten him. The
Maharishi at once recognized the gandharva and cursed him to
become an alligator. As soon as Hari’s chakra touched him he
regained his former shining form and departed to his own world,
singing the Lord’s praises. The devas and sages had assembled
as usual to see the release of the elephant, singing praises of the
Lord and Sri Hari spoke as follows in the hearing of all.
“If in the early hours, before sunrise anyone sings about
this release of Gajendra , I shall give him a clear intellect and final
release at the last moment when the spirit of everyone leaves the
body”
CHAPTER 11
The Great Churning
Briefly describing the succeeding manuantaras (regions of
various manus) and minor avatars (incarnations) of Sri Vishnu
Sri Suka mentioned the churning of the ocean of milk and Sri Hari’s
part in it. Sri Parikshith was curious and prayed the sage for a
more detailed account.
Sri Suka continued “Once, Indra incurred the curse of
Durvasa and had to go into hiding and the asuras with Bali at their
head usurped their abode. The devas as usual approached Brahma
their common forefather; but Lord Brahma too could not help as
the times were not propitious. With Brahma at their head they
went in a deputation to Vishnu (Hari). A great hymn in praise of
Vishnu (Hari) gushed forth from Brahma and its gist is as follows:
“Great Lord! Thou art without beginning or end
Beyond thought, eternal witness, ever present
Thou art the Truth, the axle supporting
The wheel whose spokes are the senses and pranas
Thy mind is soma, face is fire that gives wealth
Thy eye is the sun and thy prana the cosmic energy
We all follow as the retinue follows the King
Indra is your strength and devas your grace
Your anger is rudra (Siva) and Brahma is your intellect
Your chest is the seat of Dharma and back of Adharma
Sk 8. Ch 7 - Slokam 1
Yama resides in your brow and eyelids are time
Your yoga maya created the all powerful gunas
Desire prompted work may do some good but more trouble
Even insignificant work done for you brings great reward
With our limited powers we cannot understand you
Salutations to you again and again”
Thus extolled Sri Hari appeared in full splendour. He was
azure blue in colour; face and eyes beaming with kindness and his
long powerful arms carrying divine weapons. He spoke with a
voice like rolling thunder.
“O! Brahman, O! Sambho (Siva) and you gods! I know why
you have come. Bide a little more . Your rivals ,unlike you, have
great respect for their preceptor the highly learned Sukracharya,
the master of many secret mantras and their leader Bali is a
righteous ruler and invincible. But you come to me for succour.
You must get divine amrita by churning the ocean of milk with the
help and cooperation of the powerful asuras. The Manthara
mountain shall be your churning rod, serpent Vasuki will be the
churning rope. Let Indra with a few attendants go to Bali and
request his help.” The celestials agreed and Indra with Varuna,
Agni and a few devas approached Bali surrounded by his
councillors and gently broached his scheme. “Great King! Why
should we quarrel? Let us be friends and cooperate hereafter.
Moreover, are we not cousins descended from the same ancestor,
the great Kashyapa Maharishi? I have a plan by which we both
can become immortal. By churning the ocean of milk with mount
Manthara as the churning rod and serpent Vasuki as the rope we
can get many precious things (which we can divide fairly of
course) and divine amrita, by drinking which we can become
immortal”. King Bali was pleased with the proposal especially
with the modest behaviour of Indra and agreed to cooperate.
The devas next approached the great serpent Vasuki and
requested him to be the churning rope. Vasuki at first demurred
but agreed when the devas offered him also a share of the elixir.
The devas and asuras now approached mountain Manthara from
either side and began digging furiously. Thrusting their mighty hands
under the mountain and shouting in unison they heaved and raising
it shoulder high staggered slowly towards the ocean. But the weight
proved too heavy and the mountain slowly settled down crushing
the bearers. The surviving devas prayed to Hari. And Hari now
assumed a colossal form sitting on a colossal garuda , easily lifted
the mountain and placing it on the back of garuda flew towards
the ocean and dropped it in the ocean. Vasuki the great serpent
wound himself round the mountain. Sri Hari, as a participant took
his position at the mouth end and all the devas followed suit. The
asuras had to catch the tail end. But now a problem arose. The
asuras refused to take the tail end. “We are high born warriors
and conquerors. Well versed in all the sastras and Vedas. We
refuse to take the ignoble position at the tail end.” Sri Hari smiled.
He had anticipated this “All right! No problem. We shall exchange
positions”. Accordingly the asuras were positioned at the mouth
end and devas at the tail end. And the great churning began. It
ended also at once. The mountain slipped down easily from the
slimy coils of Vasuki. The participants were in a fix and the devas
again prayed to Hari. Sri Hari of course responded. Taking the
form of an immense tortoise he crawled under the mountain and
heaved it up. And now the churning began. Soon, the participants
tired and stopped. And then a wonderful sight was seen Sri Hari
was seen at the top of the mountain. With one hand he was holding
the tail end and with the other hand the mouth end of Vasuki. The
mountain turned one semicircle and then back again and the
churning went on briskly.
A precious stone of great beauty and brilliance turned up.
It was the Kaustubha and by common consent it was given to Sri
Hari. A white horse the Uchaisravas next surfaced. Bali
appropriated it as his own special war horse. Next to surface was
Airavatham, the white elephant with four tusks and Indra was
glad to accept it as his own carrier. The churning became brisker
and there arose a glorious lady Sri Lakshmy Devi the goddess of
wealth. Every one wanted her but Sri Devi walked nonchalantly
through the lane of suitors and garlanded Sri Hari who took her
to his bosom. Now arose Varuni a beautiful damsel carrying a
large vessel brimful with wine. The asuras wanted nothing else
and accepted the damsel with the vessel overflowing with wine
and made merry. However this merriment was short lived . Soon
the sea was agitated, black fumes were spouting; the deadly poison
Halahalam was surfacing. The devas panicked. This time they
decided to approach Sri Siva, the kindest of the Trinity. “Hail!
Great lord! Thou art the personification of wisdom and mercy’
Save us your dependants in this crisis”. The great God Siva was
in contemplation with Uma (Parvathy) by his side. He had given
half his body to her “O! Uma, Bhavani, my dear! Do you see
these poor devotees who have come to me in their distress. It is
the duty of all good people to help people in distress even unasked!
How much more when they actually crave for help in distress. I
shall swallow this poison!” Bhavani was not shocked. She knew
well the all merciful and all powerful nature of her Lord.
The churning proceeded and the blue black poison emerged.
No cup could hold it. So Lord Siva cupped his palms and received
it. Seeing no other safe receptacle the great Lord just swallowed
the deadly poison, retaining it in his throat. The fair throat turned
blue and Lord Siva gained one more name Neelakanda or the god
with the blue throat. The celestials who were witnessing all this
from above, showered flowers and garlands worshipped Sri Siva’s
feet and returned singing hymns of praise about this unheard of
sacrifice.
Soon, the atmosphere cleared; the churning became brisker,
sweet airs were blowing, the water became luminous and a
magnificent form was emerging; Bhagavan Dhanvantari, the
foremost of all physicians, their patron and ideal , carrying the
vessel of nectar in one hand and the book Ashtanga Hridayam
(The great treatise on medicine and healing) in the other. The
asuras became restless and suddenly snatching the vessel of elixir
scampered with it to their camp and placed it in their leader’s
hands The poor gods were again in a fix. It was sad to miss the
prize by a hairbreadth. Their infallible refuge benefactor and patron
was also not to be seen.
Just then, they could hear a sweet sound as of ringing silver
bells at a distance.
The Coming Of Mohini
Looking in that direction they saw a damsel of extraordinary
beauty approaching . All eyes ,of devas and asuras , were now
riveted on the dancer. She was draped in gossamer silk held in
position by a golden girdle. The pearl pendants were of the purest
become the laughing stock of the world.
CHAPTER 10
Deúero¡ f¼efjNejes jeºexfú^ektàJ FfÓe fNe}e©Óe:>
*erjesosÞeeNeïÓe: }erμeeÞëeesºeÞeeëe©Óeμe©fèB¡Óe: >>
Gajendra Moksham
In the southern regions there was a great mountain called
Trikuta with three peaks of iron, silver and gold and the foot hills
were strewn with precious gems like diamond, emerald and pearls
and it was girt all around by an ocean of milk. As the shores were
drenched by the ocean, all kinds of trees like the banyan, teak,
sandalwood, deodar grew in profusion and parrots of various hues,
swans and kites, flitted in the sunshine filling the air with their
notes. There were waterfalls, which with a subdued roar were
filling a vast lake. In that lake there grew lilies and lotuses, which
imparted a fragrance to the cool water. The lake was fringed with
leafy trees that sheltered various animals. The deer and hare were
harmless denizens but you could hear also the distant roar of a
lion and growl of the tiger. But even these dared not approach a
herd of wild elephants lead by their king, a huge tusker. He was
undoubtedly the king of the forest.
On a particularly torrid day, the elephant herd decided to
have a plunge and with trunks raised and rolling eyes and ears
fanning and shrilly trumpeting, crashed through the bush woods
and bamboo groves and plunged into the cool lake. The king tusker
was foremost. He waded carefully; filled his trunk with the scented
water, drank his fill and splashed the water over himself and then
over the baby elephants even as a householder bathes his children.
They were thus happily sporting in the cool waters little suspecting
the impending danger. As fate would have it, a huge crocodile dug
its teeth in the feet of the elephant king and began to draw it
towards greater depths and there ensued a great tug of war. The
Sk 8. Ch 2 - Slokam 1
mighty tusker pulled with all his enormous strength but the crocodile
was in his element. The fight went on for days, weeks and months.
The elephant was weakening. The other elephants tried their best
to save their leader but without success. The female elephants
too tried to save their lord. When they too failed, they just stood
by and wept. The story says, the struggle went on for years, a
thousand years. Thus when the Gajendra (elephant king) was
completely helpless and sinking, the associations of his previous
birth revived in his memory and he sang a great hymn calling on
Hari for help.
Neither my cousins nor my wives can help me
I am dragged by fate in the shape of this alligator,
I surrender to Hari the refuge of all in distress.
By your order death comes to creatures
I come to you for help
I bow to you Lord! From whom
All this world has sprung
This world is in you and
To you this world returns
And when there is total darkness
You alone remain and
By your power you;
Bring them back again.
The seers, self-controlled, with no attachment
Walk this world, without scratches
with your help, May you be my friend too-
I bow to you, who illumines the mind
The eternal witness, beyond words
Beyond mind and even intellect
You can be reached only by satvic conduct
By desireless action. You grant saintly happiness
And you are the disposer of final release
My salutations to Thee who art mild
To thee who art terrible, upholder of equality
To thee, the essence of wisdom
Because of your great kindness
You save those bound by beastly qualities
You have entered the body of every creature
And are present everywhere;
I worship that eternal one
Not very clear to ordinary men
But realizable by the spiritual minded
The lovers of solitude desire nothing
They just want thy presence
Getting immersed in the ocean of bliss
Singing the stories of thy deeds
Brahma, Siva and other gods
Are yourself with different names
And different forms and attributes;
Like sparks from fire and rays from the Sun
You emit the worlds and the stream of gunas
With intellect and mind streams of beings
Thou art not god or asura
Not man, not woman not beast
Not the gunas, yet encompasseth all
I do not want to lead this life
With its coverings inside and out
I want realization that is beyond time
To thee of irresistible power
Beyond the gunas and protector
of all supplicants, I bow again and again.”
Praised by the Gajendra in this way the lesser gods held
back and Hari appeared borne on Garuda wafting the Vedas with
his wings. Plucking a lotus with his trunk the elephant king
offered it to Sri Hari in adoration crying “O! Narayana, Master
of all , my salutations!” Sri Hari threw his chakra; the alligator
was split into two; its jaws relaxed and the elephant was free! Sri
Hari caressed his trunk and he was transformed as a Deva having
the same form as Sri Hari.
Previous History of The Elephant and Alligator
Indra Dyumna the Pandiyan King was a great devotee of
Sri Hari. One day, while he was engaged in rigorous worship, the
sage Agastiya arrived with his disciples. But the king neither
rose to welcome him nor even moved. The sage’s ire was aroused
“You are neglecting your duty of receiving holymen. You are dull
like an elephant . You must be born as an elephant” and straight
away he was born as an elephant . His former memories lingered
and came to his rescue in the end.
And this alligator was a gandharva Huhu by name. Once
accompanied by his wives he was bathing in sacred godhavari,
splashing the water when he spied the Maharishi Devala who
after the ablutions was praying to the sun. In a spirit of fun, perhaps
to amuse his wives, the foolish gandharva dived in the water and
caught hold of the feet of Devala, perhaps to frighten him. The
Maharishi at once recognized the gandharva and cursed him to
become an alligator. As soon as Hari’s chakra touched him he
regained his former shining form and departed to his own world,
singing the Lord’s praises. The devas and sages had assembled
as usual to see the release of the elephant, singing praises of the
Lord and Sri Hari spoke as follows in the hearing of all.
“If in the early hours, before sunrise anyone sings about
this release of Gajendra , I shall give him a clear intellect and final
release at the last moment when the spirit of everyone leaves the
body”
CHAPTER 11
The Great Churning
Briefly describing the succeeding manuantaras (regions of
various manus) and minor avatars (incarnations) of Sri Vishnu
Sri Suka mentioned the churning of the ocean of milk and Sri Hari’s
part in it. Sri Parikshith was curious and prayed the sage for a
more detailed account.
Sri Suka continued “Once, Indra incurred the curse of
Durvasa and had to go into hiding and the asuras with Bali at their
head usurped their abode. The devas as usual approached Brahma
their common forefather; but Lord Brahma too could not help as
the times were not propitious. With Brahma at their head they
went in a deputation to Vishnu (Hari). A great hymn in praise of
Vishnu (Hari) gushed forth from Brahma and its gist is as follows:
“Great Lord! Thou art without beginning or end
Beyond thought, eternal witness, ever present
Thou art the Truth, the axle supporting
The wheel whose spokes are the senses and pranas
Thy mind is soma, face is fire that gives wealth
Thy eye is the sun and thy prana the cosmic energy
We all follow as the retinue follows the King
Indra is your strength and devas your grace
Your anger is rudra (Siva) and Brahma is your intellect
Your chest is the seat of Dharma and back of Adharma
Sk 8. Ch 7 - Slokam 1
Yama resides in your brow and eyelids are time
Your yoga maya created the all powerful gunas
Desire prompted work may do some good but more trouble
Even insignificant work done for you brings great reward
With our limited powers we cannot understand you
Salutations to you again and again”
Thus extolled Sri Hari appeared in full splendour. He was
azure blue in colour; face and eyes beaming with kindness and his
long powerful arms carrying divine weapons. He spoke with a
voice like rolling thunder.
“O! Brahman, O! Sambho (Siva) and you gods! I know why
you have come. Bide a little more . Your rivals ,unlike you, have
great respect for their preceptor the highly learned Sukracharya,
the master of many secret mantras and their leader Bali is a
righteous ruler and invincible. But you come to me for succour.
You must get divine amrita by churning the ocean of milk with the
help and cooperation of the powerful asuras. The Manthara
mountain shall be your churning rod, serpent Vasuki will be the
churning rope. Let Indra with a few attendants go to Bali and
request his help.” The celestials agreed and Indra with Varuna,
Agni and a few devas approached Bali surrounded by his
councillors and gently broached his scheme. “Great King! Why
should we quarrel? Let us be friends and cooperate hereafter.
Moreover, are we not cousins descended from the same ancestor,
the great Kashyapa Maharishi? I have a plan by which we both
can become immortal. By churning the ocean of milk with mount
Manthara as the churning rod and serpent Vasuki as the rope we
can get many precious things (which we can divide fairly of
course) and divine amrita, by drinking which we can become
immortal”. King Bali was pleased with the proposal especially
with the modest behaviour of Indra and agreed to cooperate.
The devas next approached the great serpent Vasuki and
requested him to be the churning rope. Vasuki at first demurred
but agreed when the devas offered him also a share of the elixir.
The devas and asuras now approached mountain Manthara from
either side and began digging furiously. Thrusting their mighty hands
under the mountain and shouting in unison they heaved and raising
it shoulder high staggered slowly towards the ocean. But the weight
proved too heavy and the mountain slowly settled down crushing
the bearers. The surviving devas prayed to Hari. And Hari now
assumed a colossal form sitting on a colossal garuda , easily lifted
the mountain and placing it on the back of garuda flew towards
the ocean and dropped it in the ocean. Vasuki the great serpent
wound himself round the mountain. Sri Hari, as a participant took
his position at the mouth end and all the devas followed suit. The
asuras had to catch the tail end. But now a problem arose. The
asuras refused to take the tail end. “We are high born warriors
and conquerors. Well versed in all the sastras and Vedas. We
refuse to take the ignoble position at the tail end.” Sri Hari smiled.
He had anticipated this “All right! No problem. We shall exchange
positions”. Accordingly the asuras were positioned at the mouth
end and devas at the tail end. And the great churning began. It
ended also at once. The mountain slipped down easily from the
slimy coils of Vasuki. The participants were in a fix and the devas
again prayed to Hari. Sri Hari of course responded. Taking the
form of an immense tortoise he crawled under the mountain and
heaved it up. And now the churning began. Soon, the participants
tired and stopped. And then a wonderful sight was seen Sri Hari
was seen at the top of the mountain. With one hand he was holding
the tail end and with the other hand the mouth end of Vasuki. The
mountain turned one semicircle and then back again and the
churning went on briskly.
A precious stone of great beauty and brilliance turned up.
It was the Kaustubha and by common consent it was given to Sri
Hari. A white horse the Uchaisravas next surfaced. Bali
appropriated it as his own special war horse. Next to surface was
Airavatham, the white elephant with four tusks and Indra was
glad to accept it as his own carrier. The churning became brisker
and there arose a glorious lady Sri Lakshmy Devi the goddess of
wealth. Every one wanted her but Sri Devi walked nonchalantly
through the lane of suitors and garlanded Sri Hari who took her
to his bosom. Now arose Varuni a beautiful damsel carrying a
large vessel brimful with wine. The asuras wanted nothing else
and accepted the damsel with the vessel overflowing with wine
and made merry. However this merriment was short lived . Soon
the sea was agitated, black fumes were spouting; the deadly poison
Halahalam was surfacing. The devas panicked. This time they
decided to approach Sri Siva, the kindest of the Trinity. “Hail!
Great lord! Thou art the personification of wisdom and mercy’
Save us your dependants in this crisis”. The great God Siva was
in contemplation with Uma (Parvathy) by his side. He had given
half his body to her “O! Uma, Bhavani, my dear! Do you see
these poor devotees who have come to me in their distress. It is
the duty of all good people to help people in distress even unasked!
How much more when they actually crave for help in distress. I
shall swallow this poison!” Bhavani was not shocked. She knew
well the all merciful and all powerful nature of her Lord.
The churning proceeded and the blue black poison emerged.
No cup could hold it. So Lord Siva cupped his palms and received
it. Seeing no other safe receptacle the great Lord just swallowed
the deadly poison, retaining it in his throat. The fair throat turned
blue and Lord Siva gained one more name Neelakanda or the god
with the blue throat. The celestials who were witnessing all this
from above, showered flowers and garlands worshipped Sri Siva’s
feet and returned singing hymns of praise about this unheard of
sacrifice.
Soon, the atmosphere cleared; the churning became brisker,
sweet airs were blowing, the water became luminous and a
magnificent form was emerging; Bhagavan Dhanvantari, the
foremost of all physicians, their patron and ideal , carrying the
vessel of nectar in one hand and the book Ashtanga Hridayam
(The great treatise on medicine and healing) in the other. The
asuras became restless and suddenly snatching the vessel of elixir
scampered with it to their camp and placed it in their leader’s
hands The poor gods were again in a fix. It was sad to miss the
prize by a hairbreadth. Their infallible refuge benefactor and patron
was also not to be seen.
Just then, they could hear a sweet sound as of ringing silver
bells at a distance.
The Coming Of Mohini
Looking in that direction they saw a damsel of extraordinary
beauty approaching . All eyes ,of devas and asuras , were now
riveted on the dancer. She was draped in gossamer silk held in
position by a golden girdle. The pearl pendants were of the purest
and her bewitching smile proclaimed that she was no puritan. The
sensual asuras fell all in a heap. Even the devas who ought to
have known better, were bewitched. On hearing the problem of
the asuras about the distribution of the elixir, Mohini offered to
help provided they raised no objection in the process. The asuras
were so fargone in their infatuation that they solemnly promised
to keep quiet and Mohini took up the vessel and ordered them all
to take a bath as it was going to be a sacred function.
When they had bathed, dressed and ornamented themselves
she arranged them to sit in a long row with their plates before
them. Facing them the devas sat in another row with their plates.
The lady with the vessel now approached with mincing steps and
turning right and left began to serve. She was so overwhelmingly
beautiful the asuras could see nothing else. The serving began
with the devas. The asuras remembering their promise kept quiet.
One asura was impatient. He changed rows and nudged himself
between the sun and moon gods. He too was served the nectar
and he promptly put it in his mouth. But before he could gulp it
down the mistake was pointed out by sun and moon and the lady
(Sri Hari) cut off his head. The body immediately fell dead but the
head became immortal. Ever since it is floating in the sky as Rahu,
eclipsing the sun and moon during the eclipses. The elixir pot was
empty. All the devas were rejuvenated and strong. They had
become immortals. The asuras were weary and disillusioned but
had lost none of their ferocity. Taking up their arms, they rushed
to their leader Bali for further orders.
The Great Deva Asura War
King Bali was a great warrior and devotee of Hari and
grandson of Prahlada. He rallied all the asuric forces and seated
in Vaihayasa a magic vehicle and surrounded by warriors like
Namuchi, Jhamba advanced into battle. To them were opposed
Indra mounted on Airavata, Matali, Vayu and Agni. The heroic
warriors on both sides had curious mounts. Lions, tigers, hyenas,
leopards, even cats and dogs were opposed to elephants, camels,
bulls and rhinoceros. Birds were also engaged. Eagles, peacocks,
larks and parrots were opposed by vultures, kites and crows. Even
aquatic creatures entered the fray, whales against sharks and so
on. In short half the creation was ranged against the other half.
Indra wielded his thunder bolt Bali had his magic bow and
inexhaustible quiver full of arrows. The battle was long and fierce.
In the end by the grace of Hari the devas and their partisans
prevailed. Bali and his partisans announced a temporary retreat
biding their time. They retreated to the western mountains where
the great Sukracharya revived them with his mantras (spells) and
medicines.
Sri Siva’s Illusion
In his retreat at Sri Kailasa Lord Siva heard of the
happenings at the end of the great churning; how the asuras were
deprived of amrita (elixir) by Sri Hari taking the form of a female.
Accompanied by Uma Devi and the cohorts (goblins) they set out
to Vaikunta, Sri Hari’s abode. The Lord received them with great
respect and after the usual greetings Sri Siva said “Great Lord!
Thou art strength and existence. We have heard how you gave
the elixir to the devas and not to the asuras by assuming the form
of a lady. We too are desirous of seeing that form” Sri Hari smiled
and warned them of the danger. Presently there was a great calm
and then as suddenly a breeze sprang up and the party found
themselves in a garden thick with flowering trees. The same divine
damsel (who had duped the asuras earlier) appeared. This time
she was playing with a ball striking it with either hand as it
rebounded (as girls often do). A naughty breeze partly blew aside
her silk dress revealing her charms. The great ascetic that Siva
was, could restrain himself no longer and darted after the dancer
forgetting all decorum and even the presence of his own consort
Umadevi. The dancer was quicker; she slipped fast leading him a
pretty dance over hill and dale through briar and thorn; with
bruised feet and perspiring brow. The great doyen of ascetics
realized his error. He had once burned to ashes cupid in his ire
and the same cupid, since revived, had his revenge now. Wherever
the earth was drenched with blood or perspiration, a mine of
diamonds or gold materialized. And Sri Hari appeared, fresh and
glorious and smilingly said “O! Sambho! You have gallantly passed
the test. Still, you see the danger of the proximity of the other sex.
May this be a warning to all sanyasis” Saying this Sri Hari vanished
and Lord Siva, sadder and wiser now, returned with Sri Umadevi
and his cohorts back to the icy solitudes of his abode Mount Kailash.
Sri Suka said “I have described to you the great power of
Sri Hari. He who reads this with devotion will be freed from all
desires especially the sex.
The Manwantaras And Revival Of Bali
Sri Suka then proceeded to describe the different
manuvantaras. He spoke about the manus (rulers) and sages and
Indras over a period of time that staggers the imagination. He
also spoke about the minor avatars (incarnations) of Sri Hari as
Yagna, Prajeswara, sustaining the Vedas and Dharma and how
they were retrieved when lost. Parikshit wanted to hear the story
of Bali which was left incomplete. Sri Suka continued. Bali was in
oblivion for a long time. He never lost faith in his preceptor and
guide, the great Sukracharya . Sukracharya, by his potent medicines
and mantras (spells) revived all the asuras. The sage and his
disciples, next conducted a great yagna (sacrifice) called Viswajit
. Sri Hari himself emerged guiding a splendid chariot and splendid
horses and a divine coat of mail and weapons. From the flag staff
floated a flag with the emblem of a roaring lion. Thus equipped
and at the head of his mighty warriors, Bali approached the gates
of heaven (Indra’s abode) and blew his conch. The devas,
immersed in pleasure all the time, now trembled. Their guru the
wise Brihaspathy advised them to lie low, hiding wherever they
could and wait for better times. In great haste they forsook the
pleasure gardens, temples and palaces of marble, and ran for their
lives and hid wherever they could. Bali and his cohorts now
occupied Indra’s place and ruled the world.
Aditi, Indra’s mother, retired to a hermitage in the midst of
a forest, spending her days in worship . One day, her lord and
husband the great rishi Kashyapa came to the hermitage. Hiding
her sorrow as best as she could Aditi washed his feet, offered
him a seat and fruits and flowers. The rishi performed his usual
ablutions; took his seat and now noted that his dear wife was sad
and anxious. He kindly enquired “Are not the affairs of the ashram
going on well? Are you not performing the daily pujas without
fail? Did you send any sanyasi coming for alms, empty handed?”
Aditi replied “Lord! By your grace and power, the ashram is running
well. No seeker of food is turned away and the pujas (worship)
are performed punctually. You are the progenitor of all creatures,
devas, asuras, gandharvas and every living being and therefore
equally concerned with the well being of all. My children, the
devas, have been driven from their abode and are wandering
homeless and unhappy. Deign to have pity on them, so they may
again come back to their abode.” The rishi smiled and observed
“Wonderful is the power of maya (illusion). Who is the son? who
is the father, who is a relative and who is not a relative? Still, if
you desire a restoration, worship Hari with all your heart. He is
kind and generous and the giver of all things. And the best way of
worshipping Him is by observing the Payovrita (milky discipline)
as I have heard from Lord Brahma, my father. It is as follows.
The Payovrita
“In the bright fortnight of the month of Phalgun the devotee
should make an image of Sri Hari.After taking bath before sunrise,
adorn it with fresh flowers and garlands, light lamps with ghee;
burn incense; recite stotras (hymns) invoking the almighty even in
that earthen image and prostrate in all humility casting out all
egoism . Perform arati and offer nivedyam (food for god). This
holy food should be made of rice well cooked in milk adding sugar
and honey. This should be made in generous quantities and offered
to holy brahmins, guests and strangers. And again prostrating
before God’s image should say “Great Lord! Absolve me of all
sin and tendency to commit it” This should continue for twelve
days and on the thirteenth day there should be general feasting.
Even the blind and beggars should be fed. It must be clearly
understood that food given to the poor, the sick and the disabled,
reaches God direct. This alone is real charity, real worship and
real wisdom .”
Worshipped and addressed in this way, the lord immediately
appeared, dressed in yellow silk , with lustrous eyes and beaming
face, four armed, bearing the conch, the discus, the mace and the
lotus . “I know what you desire. I was born as your son in the
past and I shall be born again as your son and Kashyapa’s and
regain your lost splendours”. Saying this the lord vanished. Aditi
felt a great exultation and returned to the hermitage to inform
Kashyapa about the great vision and its promise. But the sage
knew all this through his foresight. Moreover he felt a great power
within him and in due course at a particularly auspicious time when
all the planets had positioned themselves favourably on sravana
dwadasi, the divine child was born to Aditi. The devas who had
prior knowledge of this, had assembled overhead. Singing and
dancing, they showered flowers and garlands. As the delighted
parents were still looking on, the baby suddenly changed his form
to that of a young boy ripe for initiation into Brahmachariyam. As
the ashramvasis (other sanyasis) were preparing for the ceremony
of investiture with the sacred thread the celestials took a hand.
The sun himself instructed him the Gayatri manthra . Brihaspathy
was ready with the sacred thread. Kashyapa gave the grass girdle.
Prithvi , earth goddess gave the deer skin to sit on and Soma lord
of the forests, presented the Brahmachari’s staff. His mother Aditi
gave him a loin cloth. An umbrella was presented by the sun and
Brahma gave a kamandalu (Vessel) . A japa mala of precious
pearls was presented by goddess Parvathy herself. Kubera (the
lord of wealth) gave the begging bowl. The young brahmachari,
thus equipped had a divine halo of light and he immediately began
to perform a homam (worship of fire).
The assembled sanyasins heard a rumour that King Bali,
now master of the three worlds was performing a great yagna
called Aswamedha or horse sacrifice. Great gifts were distributed
and they too wanted to go. Aditi’s son, Vamana also decided to go
with them. The yagna campus was on the northern bank of the
river Narmada at a place called Bhrigukacha. As he walked, the
earth trembled. With his staff and kamandalu and umbrella Vamana
looked brilliant like the rising sun. The Bhrigus and all the officiating
priests arose with one accord, dazzled by the brilliance. King Bali
accompanied by Sukrachariya and the bhargava priests hastened
to receive the approaching Vamana “O! Noble Brahmacharin! We
are surely blessed by your coming” Bali then washed his feet
sprinkling the holy water on himself and his queen and son and
continued “What will you have? A house, farmland or a whole
village? Or a damsel with attendants so you can become a
householder, grahastasrami? Command me and all this will be
yours”.
To this, Vamana replied “I expected no less from the
descendant of Prahlada. Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha were
sensual asuras fell all in a heap. Even the devas who ought to
have known better, were bewitched. On hearing the problem of
the asuras about the distribution of the elixir, Mohini offered to
help provided they raised no objection in the process. The asuras
were so fargone in their infatuation that they solemnly promised
to keep quiet and Mohini took up the vessel and ordered them all
to take a bath as it was going to be a sacred function.
When they had bathed, dressed and ornamented themselves
she arranged them to sit in a long row with their plates before
them. Facing them the devas sat in another row with their plates.
The lady with the vessel now approached with mincing steps and
turning right and left began to serve. She was so overwhelmingly
beautiful the asuras could see nothing else. The serving began
with the devas. The asuras remembering their promise kept quiet.
One asura was impatient. He changed rows and nudged himself
between the sun and moon gods. He too was served the nectar
and he promptly put it in his mouth. But before he could gulp it
down the mistake was pointed out by sun and moon and the lady
(Sri Hari) cut off his head. The body immediately fell dead but the
head became immortal. Ever since it is floating in the sky as Rahu,
eclipsing the sun and moon during the eclipses. The elixir pot was
empty. All the devas were rejuvenated and strong. They had
become immortals. The asuras were weary and disillusioned but
had lost none of their ferocity. Taking up their arms, they rushed
to their leader Bali for further orders.
The Great Deva Asura War
King Bali was a great warrior and devotee of Hari and
grandson of Prahlada. He rallied all the asuric forces and seated
in Vaihayasa a magic vehicle and surrounded by warriors like
Namuchi, Jhamba advanced into battle. To them were opposed
Indra mounted on Airavata, Matali, Vayu and Agni. The heroic
warriors on both sides had curious mounts. Lions, tigers, hyenas,
leopards, even cats and dogs were opposed to elephants, camels,
bulls and rhinoceros. Birds were also engaged. Eagles, peacocks,
larks and parrots were opposed by vultures, kites and crows. Even
aquatic creatures entered the fray, whales against sharks and so
on. In short half the creation was ranged against the other half.
Indra wielded his thunder bolt Bali had his magic bow and
inexhaustible quiver full of arrows. The battle was long and fierce.
In the end by the grace of Hari the devas and their partisans
prevailed. Bali and his partisans announced a temporary retreat
biding their time. They retreated to the western mountains where
the great Sukracharya revived them with his mantras (spells) and
medicines.
Sri Siva’s Illusion
In his retreat at Sri Kailasa Lord Siva heard of the
happenings at the end of the great churning; how the asuras were
deprived of amrita (elixir) by Sri Hari taking the form of a female.
Accompanied by Uma Devi and the cohorts (goblins) they set out
to Vaikunta, Sri Hari’s abode. The Lord received them with great
respect and after the usual greetings Sri Siva said “Great Lord!
Thou art strength and existence. We have heard how you gave
the elixir to the devas and not to the asuras by assuming the form
of a lady. We too are desirous of seeing that form” Sri Hari smiled
and warned them of the danger. Presently there was a great calm
and then as suddenly a breeze sprang up and the party found
themselves in a garden thick with flowering trees. The same divine
damsel (who had duped the asuras earlier) appeared. This time
she was playing with a ball striking it with either hand as it
rebounded (as girls often do). A naughty breeze partly blew aside
her silk dress revealing her charms. The great ascetic that Siva
was, could restrain himself no longer and darted after the dancer
forgetting all decorum and even the presence of his own consort
Umadevi. The dancer was quicker; she slipped fast leading him a
pretty dance over hill and dale through briar and thorn; with
bruised feet and perspiring brow. The great doyen of ascetics
realized his error. He had once burned to ashes cupid in his ire
and the same cupid, since revived, had his revenge now. Wherever
the earth was drenched with blood or perspiration, a mine of
diamonds or gold materialized. And Sri Hari appeared, fresh and
glorious and smilingly said “O! Sambho! You have gallantly passed
the test. Still, you see the danger of the proximity of the other sex.
May this be a warning to all sanyasis” Saying this Sri Hari vanished
and Lord Siva, sadder and wiser now, returned with Sri Umadevi
and his cohorts back to the icy solitudes of his abode Mount Kailash.
Sri Suka said “I have described to you the great power of
Sri Hari. He who reads this with devotion will be freed from all
desires especially the sex.
The Manwantaras And Revival Of Bali
Sri Suka then proceeded to describe the different
manuvantaras. He spoke about the manus (rulers) and sages and
Indras over a period of time that staggers the imagination. He
also spoke about the minor avatars (incarnations) of Sri Hari as
Yagna, Prajeswara, sustaining the Vedas and Dharma and how
they were retrieved when lost. Parikshit wanted to hear the story
of Bali which was left incomplete. Sri Suka continued. Bali was in
oblivion for a long time. He never lost faith in his preceptor and
guide, the great Sukracharya . Sukracharya, by his potent medicines
and mantras (spells) revived all the asuras. The sage and his
disciples, next conducted a great yagna (sacrifice) called Viswajit
. Sri Hari himself emerged guiding a splendid chariot and splendid
horses and a divine coat of mail and weapons. From the flag staff
floated a flag with the emblem of a roaring lion. Thus equipped
and at the head of his mighty warriors, Bali approached the gates
of heaven (Indra’s abode) and blew his conch. The devas,
immersed in pleasure all the time, now trembled. Their guru the
wise Brihaspathy advised them to lie low, hiding wherever they
could and wait for better times. In great haste they forsook the
pleasure gardens, temples and palaces of marble, and ran for their
lives and hid wherever they could. Bali and his cohorts now
occupied Indra’s place and ruled the world.
Aditi, Indra’s mother, retired to a hermitage in the midst of
a forest, spending her days in worship . One day, her lord and
husband the great rishi Kashyapa came to the hermitage. Hiding
her sorrow as best as she could Aditi washed his feet, offered
him a seat and fruits and flowers. The rishi performed his usual
ablutions; took his seat and now noted that his dear wife was sad
and anxious. He kindly enquired “Are not the affairs of the ashram
going on well? Are you not performing the daily pujas without
fail? Did you send any sanyasi coming for alms, empty handed?”
Aditi replied “Lord! By your grace and power, the ashram is running
well. No seeker of food is turned away and the pujas (worship)
are performed punctually. You are the progenitor of all creatures,
devas, asuras, gandharvas and every living being and therefore
equally concerned with the well being of all. My children, the
devas, have been driven from their abode and are wandering
homeless and unhappy. Deign to have pity on them, so they may
again come back to their abode.” The rishi smiled and observed
“Wonderful is the power of maya (illusion). Who is the son? who
is the father, who is a relative and who is not a relative? Still, if
you desire a restoration, worship Hari with all your heart. He is
kind and generous and the giver of all things. And the best way of
worshipping Him is by observing the Payovrita (milky discipline)
as I have heard from Lord Brahma, my father. It is as follows.
The Payovrita
“In the bright fortnight of the month of Phalgun the devotee
should make an image of Sri Hari.After taking bath before sunrise,
adorn it with fresh flowers and garlands, light lamps with ghee;
burn incense; recite stotras (hymns) invoking the almighty even in
that earthen image and prostrate in all humility casting out all
egoism . Perform arati and offer nivedyam (food for god). This
holy food should be made of rice well cooked in milk adding sugar
and honey. This should be made in generous quantities and offered
to holy brahmins, guests and strangers. And again prostrating
before God’s image should say “Great Lord! Absolve me of all
sin and tendency to commit it” This should continue for twelve
days and on the thirteenth day there should be general feasting.
Even the blind and beggars should be fed. It must be clearly
understood that food given to the poor, the sick and the disabled,
reaches God direct. This alone is real charity, real worship and
real wisdom .”
Worshipped and addressed in this way, the lord immediately
appeared, dressed in yellow silk , with lustrous eyes and beaming
face, four armed, bearing the conch, the discus, the mace and the
lotus . “I know what you desire. I was born as your son in the
past and I shall be born again as your son and Kashyapa’s and
regain your lost splendours”. Saying this the lord vanished. Aditi
felt a great exultation and returned to the hermitage to inform
Kashyapa about the great vision and its promise. But the sage
knew all this through his foresight. Moreover he felt a great power
within him and in due course at a particularly auspicious time when
all the planets had positioned themselves favourably on sravana
dwadasi, the divine child was born to Aditi. The devas who had
prior knowledge of this, had assembled overhead. Singing and
dancing, they showered flowers and garlands. As the delighted
parents were still looking on, the baby suddenly changed his form
to that of a young boy ripe for initiation into Brahmachariyam. As
the ashramvasis (other sanyasis) were preparing for the ceremony
of investiture with the sacred thread the celestials took a hand.
The sun himself instructed him the Gayatri manthra . Brihaspathy
was ready with the sacred thread. Kashyapa gave the grass girdle.
Prithvi , earth goddess gave the deer skin to sit on and Soma lord
of the forests, presented the Brahmachari’s staff. His mother Aditi
gave him a loin cloth. An umbrella was presented by the sun and
Brahma gave a kamandalu (Vessel) . A japa mala of precious
pearls was presented by goddess Parvathy herself. Kubera (the
lord of wealth) gave the begging bowl. The young brahmachari,
thus equipped had a divine halo of light and he immediately began
to perform a homam (worship of fire).
The assembled sanyasins heard a rumour that King Bali,
now master of the three worlds was performing a great yagna
called Aswamedha or horse sacrifice. Great gifts were distributed
and they too wanted to go. Aditi’s son, Vamana also decided to go
with them. The yagna campus was on the northern bank of the
river Narmada at a place called Bhrigukacha. As he walked, the
earth trembled. With his staff and kamandalu and umbrella Vamana
looked brilliant like the rising sun. The Bhrigus and all the officiating
priests arose with one accord, dazzled by the brilliance. King Bali
accompanied by Sukrachariya and the bhargava priests hastened
to receive the approaching Vamana “O! Noble Brahmacharin! We
are surely blessed by your coming” Bali then washed his feet
sprinkling the holy water on himself and his queen and son and
continued “What will you have? A house, farmland or a whole
village? Or a damsel with attendants so you can become a
householder, grahastasrami? Command me and all this will be
yours”.
To this, Vamana replied “I expected no less from the
descendant of Prahlada. Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha were
great heroes, Vishnu overcame them only by stratagem. They
were generous and freely gave to holy men whatever they wanted.
I want three feet of land measured with my feet”. Bali smiled and
said “O! ho! I see you have only a child’s intellect. Ask for
something more. A village, a country, a continent?” Vamana gently
replied “Great King! A person who is not satisfied with three
feet of land will not be satisfied even with three villages or even
with a continent. A brahmin should be content with what he gets
accidentally. Otherwise he loses his lustre . I want three feet of
land and nothing more”. Seeing the boy so firm in his demand, the
great emperor smiled and asked his queen Vindhyavali to bring
holy water to make the gift.
Just then, the astute Sukracharya intervened. “Hold! Hold!
This is not a common boy. He is Sri Hari himself who has come in
this guise to help the devas. He will assume a colossal form and
with two steps he will measure earth and heaven. What will you
do after that. There is a limit to alms giving. One’s wealth should
be divided into five parts one each for the king, for family for
guests, for ancestral worship and only one part for alms giving.
Giving everything to this Hari, how will you maintain yourself, you
fool! You are reluctant to say no after saying yes. There are five
occasions when a lie is permissible! to please a woman, in jest, to
finalise a marriage, for preserving one’s livelihood , to save a life.
Bali, the emperor of the three worlds, pondered for a while
and then said meekly but firmly “Great Master! All that you are
saying is true; but how can I, born in the family of Prahlada refuse
to give a boon after promising it? Besides; if this boy is Sri Hari
himself, what greater happiness can I have?” So saying he asked
Vindhyavali his queen to bring the vessel containing holy water.
She was ready at hand . Together they solemnly poured the holy
water into the boy’s palms giving the land and then a great wonder
was seen.
The boy grew taller and taller; his head was beyond the
clouds and touched the sky. With one colossal step he measured
earth; with another he measured heaven; for the third step there
was no place. Bali quickly pointed to his own head. “Place it on
my head my lord, so I can fulfill my promise” Bali and the attending
onlookers looked up and wonder of wonders! They saw the whole
of prakriti, the earth, sky , heaven and all the fourteen worlds,
ranged in perfect order. Oceans formed the stomach region. Rishis
and forests were in his matted locks . The netherworlds formed
the undersurface of his feet. His chest was the region of the stars.
Dharma was the heart . Vedas and sounds were in the region of
the neck. There was sun in eyes, fire in face and vedic
commandments in his brows . Day and night were in his eyelids.
Anger was in his forehead and adharma in his back . Death was
in his shadow and maya in his laughter.
Nanda, Sunanda , Sri Chakra (the deity of the discus) and
the great eagle Garuda were in attendance. As a final test of
Bali’s attachment to truth, Sri Hari ordered Garuda to bind him
hand and foot. Even in this extreme predicament Bali did not flinch.
He kept his vow. The celestials who were hovering above, all the
time, could contain themselves no longer. Singing songs and hymns,
they showered flowers and garlands shouting “Hail! Hail! To Maha
Bali!” and Sri Hari said “Maha Bali, you have stood every test.
Loss of power, wealth and fame. Let Indra remain in heaven for
some time more. Meanwhile I shall send you to Sutala which is no
less magnificent and there you shall rule with your queen and son
and the foremost of devotees your grand father Prahlada will also
be there and I will be the watchman at the gate, guarding your
city from all enemies. And in due time you will even return to
Heaven.”
CHAPTER 12
Matsyavataram The Lord’s Avatar As Fish
At the end of every long epoch of time, there occurs a great
flood submerging everything except Sri Hari and Adisesha the
great serpent. We shall now narrate some events leading to the
impending great flood. In the southern part of Bharat (India) there
is a broad land through which flows the sparkling river Kritamala
(modern Tambraparni). On either bank at intervals are grand
temples whose gopurams glisten in the morning sun. Satyavrata
the devout king of a devout people was one fine morning performing
the morning ablutions in the river. He filled his palms with the
river water and was about to pour it down as an offering to the
sun god, when he noticed a tiny fish within his palms. The fish
began to speak “O!King! do not throw me into the river which is
teeming with my enemies sharks and alligators” Moved with pity
the king put it gently in his own kamandalu (brass vessel) filled
with water, intending to deposit it in a lake or big pond. Soon the
fish increased in size and the king hastily deposited it in a pond.
Here too, it became too big for the pond and then it was arranged
that it should be deposited in the sea. Now wisdom dawned on the
king “You are no ordinary fish. You must be Lord Hari, Sri Narayana
himself who has taken this form for some definite purpose” and
the fish replied “True! O! King! I have assumed this form to warn
you and all good people. On the seventh day from now, there will
be a great deluge. The seas will over run the land submerging
everything. You must build a big boat . Fill it with provisions for a
long time. Take specimens of plants and herbs and their seeds.
Sk 9. Ch 4 - Slokam 15
Take the seven rishis too. As the billows toss your boat in the high
seas against a strong wind I shall come as a huge fish with a horn
protruding from the head. With Vasuki (serpent) as a rope, attach
your boat to my horn. I will guide you safely over the turbulent
waters to a safe haven.”
Everything happened as foretold. During this dreary time
the great fish told Satyavrata some home truths “Every living
creature is born according to his previous actions. He has to be
purified in the fire of suffering and intense devotion. No other
means will suffice. As gold and silver cannot be purified by any
amount of washing but only by fire. Service to god (fellow
creatures) is that fire” The king and the seven rishis listened with
bowed head. The great flood was over. The sun shone again. All
were generous and freely gave to holy men whatever they wanted.
I want three feet of land measured with my feet”. Bali smiled and
said “O! ho! I see you have only a child’s intellect. Ask for
something more. A village, a country, a continent?” Vamana gently
replied “Great King! A person who is not satisfied with three
feet of land will not be satisfied even with three villages or even
with a continent. A brahmin should be content with what he gets
accidentally. Otherwise he loses his lustre . I want three feet of
land and nothing more”. Seeing the boy so firm in his demand, the
great emperor smiled and asked his queen Vindhyavali to bring
holy water to make the gift.
Just then, the astute Sukracharya intervened. “Hold! Hold!
This is not a common boy. He is Sri Hari himself who has come in
this guise to help the devas. He will assume a colossal form and
with two steps he will measure earth and heaven. What will you
do after that. There is a limit to alms giving. One’s wealth should
be divided into five parts one each for the king, for family for
guests, for ancestral worship and only one part for alms giving.
Giving everything to this Hari, how will you maintain yourself, you
fool! You are reluctant to say no after saying yes. There are five
occasions when a lie is permissible! to please a woman, in jest, to
finalise a marriage, for preserving one’s livelihood , to save a life.
Bali, the emperor of the three worlds, pondered for a while
and then said meekly but firmly “Great Master! All that you are
saying is true; but how can I, born in the family of Prahlada refuse
to give a boon after promising it? Besides; if this boy is Sri Hari
himself, what greater happiness can I have?” So saying he asked
Vindhyavali his queen to bring the vessel containing holy water.
She was ready at hand . Together they solemnly poured the holy
water into the boy’s palms giving the land and then a great wonder
was seen.
The boy grew taller and taller; his head was beyond the
clouds and touched the sky. With one colossal step he measured
earth; with another he measured heaven; for the third step there
was no place. Bali quickly pointed to his own head. “Place it on
my head my lord, so I can fulfill my promise” Bali and the attending
onlookers looked up and wonder of wonders! They saw the whole
of prakriti, the earth, sky , heaven and all the fourteen worlds,
ranged in perfect order. Oceans formed the stomach region. Rishis
and forests were in his matted locks . The netherworlds formed
the undersurface of his feet. His chest was the region of the stars.
Dharma was the heart . Vedas and sounds were in the region of
the neck. There was sun in eyes, fire in face and vedic
commandments in his brows . Day and night were in his eyelids.
Anger was in his forehead and adharma in his back . Death was
in his shadow and maya in his laughter.
Nanda, Sunanda , Sri Chakra (the deity of the discus) and
the great eagle Garuda were in attendance. As a final test of
Bali’s attachment to truth, Sri Hari ordered Garuda to bind him
hand and foot. Even in this extreme predicament Bali did not flinch.
He kept his vow. The celestials who were hovering above, all the
time, could contain themselves no longer. Singing songs and hymns,
they showered flowers and garlands shouting “Hail! Hail! To Maha
Bali!” and Sri Hari said “Maha Bali, you have stood every test.
Loss of power, wealth and fame. Let Indra remain in heaven for
some time more. Meanwhile I shall send you to Sutala which is no
less magnificent and there you shall rule with your queen and son
and the foremost of devotees your grand father Prahlada will also
be there and I will be the watchman at the gate, guarding your
city from all enemies. And in due time you will even return to
Heaven.”
CHAPTER 12
Matsyavataram The Lord’s Avatar As Fish
At the end of every long epoch of time, there occurs a great
flood submerging everything except Sri Hari and Adisesha the
great serpent. We shall now narrate some events leading to the
impending great flood. In the southern part of Bharat (India) there
is a broad land through which flows the sparkling river Kritamala
(modern Tambraparni). On either bank at intervals are grand
temples whose gopurams glisten in the morning sun. Satyavrata
the devout king of a devout people was one fine morning performing
the morning ablutions in the river. He filled his palms with the
river water and was about to pour it down as an offering to the
sun god, when he noticed a tiny fish within his palms. The fish
began to speak “O!King! do not throw me into the river which is
teeming with my enemies sharks and alligators” Moved with pity
the king put it gently in his own kamandalu (brass vessel) filled
with water, intending to deposit it in a lake or big pond. Soon the
fish increased in size and the king hastily deposited it in a pond.
Here too, it became too big for the pond and then it was arranged
that it should be deposited in the sea. Now wisdom dawned on the
king “You are no ordinary fish. You must be Lord Hari, Sri Narayana
himself who has taken this form for some definite purpose” and
the fish replied “True! O! King! I have assumed this form to warn
you and all good people. On the seventh day from now, there will
be a great deluge. The seas will over run the land submerging
everything. You must build a big boat . Fill it with provisions for a
long time. Take specimens of plants and herbs and their seeds.
Sk 9. Ch 4 - Slokam 15
Take the seven rishis too. As the billows toss your boat in the high
seas against a strong wind I shall come as a huge fish with a horn
protruding from the head. With Vasuki (serpent) as a rope, attach
your boat to my horn. I will guide you safely over the turbulent
waters to a safe haven.”
Everything happened as foretold. During this dreary time
the great fish told Satyavrata some home truths “Every living
creature is born according to his previous actions. He has to be
purified in the fire of suffering and intense devotion. No other
means will suffice. As gold and silver cannot be purified by any
amount of washing but only by fire. Service to god (fellow
creatures) is that fire” The king and the seven rishis listened with
bowed head. The great flood was over. The sun shone again. All
heaved a sigh of relief Satyavrata was made the Manu (Ruler) of
the next Manvantara called Vaivaswata Manvantara. The puranam
(story) adds that the lord killed two demons named Madhu and
Kaitabha who had stolen the Vedas and restored them back to the
rishis
Ambarisha
Nabagha the son of Manu had four sons, the youngest of
whom was also named Nabagha. He was sent to an ashram
(hermitage) for gurukula education. After a long period , he became
a learned scholar and with his guru’s blessings returned to his
father’s house. Thinking that he would not return and might become
a naishtika brahmachari (celibate for life) the elder brothers had
partitioned their father’s scant property among themselves and
when Nabagha asked for his share they simply said “You can
take our old father as your share” Nabagha was content but the
old father was angry “I am not a property to be partitioned”.
Nevertheless he told his son “Not far from here the rishis are
performing the Angiras sathram with a view to ascend to heaven.
The mantras are difficult requiring expert practice. You are well
versed. Go and help them to recite correctly. When they ascend
to heaven, they will give you the golden vessels and the remnants
of the sacrifice.” The son did as he was advised. The sages were
delighted with his services and presented him with all the remnants.
Just as he was taking possession a stranger appeared and claimed
the remnants as his share. It was Sri Rudra (Lord Siva) himself
and he added “If you have any doubt, go and ask your father”.
Nabagha returned to his father and said rather sadly “Father,
I got the presents alright but a stranger with an imposing figure
came from the north and claimed them.” The father thought for a
while and replied “My son, the stranger is right. He is no other
than great Rudra. According to a previous agreement arrived at
the end of the Daksha yagna, he is entitled to the remains.” The
son immediately returned and prostrating before Sri Rudra begged
his forgiveness. Sri Rudra was pleased “I am pleased with the
truthfulness of your father and your own modest behaviour. I give
you freely all these”. So saying Lord Siva disappeared. Nabagha
took possession of these remnants and spent the remainder of his
life worshipping Sri Hari and taking care of his old father to the
very end. Ambarisha was the son of this Nabagha.
Ambarisha, the darling of the gods became a kshatriya.
Because of his devotion to Sri Hari and truthfulness he became
invincible. He soon became the overlord of the seven continents
girt by the oceans. Tributes came pouring in and he became the
master of immense wealth unequalled since or before. The subjects
were so happy and prosperous that they did not want anything
better , not even heaven. All this prosperity, only strengthened
the king’s piety and love of truth, if at all, it could be strengthened.
The festivals of the Lord were conducted with pomp and splendour.
And yet the great emperor was the humblest of the humble. He
was perfectly aware all the time that all these material blessings
were unreal insubstantial as a dream. He observed religious fasts,
especially the fast on ekadasi day as it was particularly dear to
Lord Hari. He was always engaged in service to Hari. He
personally cleaned the temple precincts; his eyes feasted on Hari’s
idol; his ears were constantly hearing stories or hymns and he
was enveloped by the fragrance of the tulasi garlands adorning
the idol. As he was always thus engrossed Lord Hari sent his
own weapon sudarsan to guard and help him in every way.
Once as usual he had fasted on ekadasi day, kept vigil all
night and bathing in the yamuna early morning was preparing
slowly to break his fast. The brahmanas and every one present
were sumptuously fed. It was dwadasi; only a few hours were
left and the fast should be broken before it was over. Just then,
came the sage Durvasa with a large retinue of sages. The king
received them with great courtesy. They were quite hungry but
they said “We shall take our bath in the holy Yamuna first and
after the morning ablutions shall certainly come for lunch” So
saying, they departed and the king waited. Hours passed. No sign
of the guests. The king was becoming anxious. If he did not break
his fast before dwadasi was over, the vow would be broken; if he
took food, he would be guilty of insulting his guests. He was in a
serious dilemma.
He consulted his ministers, wise men and sages. They
pondered for a while and then they said “O! King! It is written in
the sastras that by taking a little holy water you can keep your
vow and you would not be showing any disrespect to your guest
also” The king was relieved. He took just a few drops of holy
water. His vow was kept and he had not offended his guest and
so he calmly awaited the return of great Durvasa maharishi.
Soon after, Durvasa and his followers appeared. His lips
were quivering with anger. With his spiritual insight he had already
known of what had happened. With flashing eyes and quivering
white beard he shouted “How dare you to invite a sanyasin for a
feast and break your fast in his absence? Your riches and power
have made you arrogant. I will teach you a lesson”. So saying,
the angry sage took a strand from his mattered locks and threw it
on the ground. A fierce genii sprang up and rushed towards
Ambarisha. But the king neither moved nor even winked his eyes
.He stood firm knowing well that he had done no wrong. But
sudarsana chakra the flaming disc which had been deputed by Sri
Hari to protect the king came into action. It burned up the genii
as fire consumes a serpent . Darting fierce tongues of scorching
fire it approached Durvasa who immediately turned and fled.
Over hill and dale he fled. Over rivers and oceans, over
mountains and valleys over continents he fled with the flaming
sudarsan in hot pursuit. At last he reached Brahmaloka and falling
at Brahma’s feet cried “Save me, Save me O! Father of gods and
men. Save me from Sudharsana” . But lord Brahma said “Sorry
my son. Try some one else. This is beyond my power” Durvasa
fled and sought refuge with Sri Rudra at Mount Kailas. But Sri
Rudra also pleaded his inability “Dear son, none of us can save
you. There are countless universes like this revolving around. Who
can understand Sri Hari’s maya? Approach Sri Hari alone. He
alone can give you peace”. Dispirited and humbled and scorched
by the pursuing sudarsana, Durvasa at last went to Sri Vaikunta
Sri Hari’s abode and falling at his feet cried “Pardon, Pardon! O!
Lord for wronging thy devotee. Deign to tell me how I may atone
for my sin” Sri Hari replied “Noble Brahmin! It is as if I am not
free, being bound to my devotees. How can I be free from those
who have left their wealth and homes; wives and sons and even
their lives, seeking shelter with me? Those , whose hearts are
bound to me, good people who view all things equally, they attract
me by their devotion even as good women attract good husbands.
My devotees want only to serve me , not caring even for the four
forms of mukti (freedom). These good people are my heart. I am
their heart. I do not even care so much for Sri Devi (consort) as I
care for them. And let me tell you a secret. tapas (austerity) and
knowledge if properly used are ornaments to a brahmin but if
misused they look otherwise. Therefore O! Learned Brahmin go
back to Ambarisha himself and beg his pardon and all will be well”.
Thus instructed Durvasa went back to Ambarisha and was
about to fall at his feet. Greatly embarrassed the king raised him
up and turning to Sudarsana praised him as follows:
“I bow to thee O! Sudarsana dear to the lord;
Thou art Agni the god of fire
You have a thousand spokes
And can swallow all other weapons
You are Dharma, you are Truth
Protector of all and source of all energy
Destroyer of those that follow Adharma
Irresistible, you destroy asuras in battle
Be thou gentle to this sage, calm down
For our sake and for the welfare of our clans
And if there be any merit in my action’
Calm down and be cool to this sage.”
Praised thus, Sudarsana immediately cooled down. Durvasa
was fully relieved and began to praise the king “ Today have I
experienced the greatness of Sri Hari’s devotees. They return
only good for evil. What is there impossible for them? What is
there, they cannot give up? And what is there, they cannot attain
whose very touch makes men holy. O! King! I have been blessed
by your astounding mercy. You have pardoned my crime and saved
my life” and blessing every one around Baghavan Durvasa
returned to his tapas (penance).
Ever since Durvasa had fled for life, the king was praying
and fasting for one full year. He had feasted Durvasa before he
left and now began to break his year long fast. All these trials
only deepened his devotion. At the end of a long and prosperous
reign, entrusting the kingdom to his son he too departed to the
forest for tapas and attained the feet of Lord Hari.
It is said that he who reads this story of Ambarisha, with
faith, will also attain the feet of Lord Hari.
Thrisanku And Viswamitra
As we look at the galaxy of illustrious kings of the solar line
some are outstanding for particular qualities. King Thrisanku was
famous for the steadiness with which he pursued his objectives.
He wanted to go to heaven with his present human body. He
implored his guru sage Vasishta, to conduct sacrifices for this
purpose. The sage became angry and left. The king then
importuned the sons of the sage. They got angrier and cursed the
king saying “You are telling us to do something that our venerable
father has refused to do. We curse you therefore to have a dwarfish
body and black complexion”. The poor king immediately found
himself transformed into an ugly looking dwarf. But the king did
not despair and was in search for other powerful sages. At this
juncture, as fate would have it, Viswamithra the arch rival of
Vasishta, appeared and agreed to conduct the yagna. It was
conducted in grand style attended by sages and gods and at the
end they invoked the presence of Indra with his golden chariot.
When Indra did not appear the Maharishi became furious and
raising both hands towards heaven he cried “Rise O! King! To
heaven” A tremendous miracle then happened. Thrisanku slowly
began to rise. Higher and higher he rose till he almost reached the
sky. Indra too became angry at this intrusion and hurled his
thunderbolt at the king who began to fall down head long towards
earth. “Save me! Save me!” wailed the king. At this Viswamithra
roared “Stop! Stop” The descent was stopped. And as the onlookers
were gazing, speechless with surprise Viswamithra raising the
stuva (a vessel) thundered “Let there be other stars, other planets
another sky” and all these did appear. The gods and even Brahma
were agitated. They implored Viswamithra not to proceed further.
So Thrisanku had his heaven and there they stand to this day, the
seven rishis and the duplicate stars proclaiming to the world the
mighty power of these ancient rishis.
Sagara And His Aswamedha
Prominent among the descendants of Harischandra was
Sagara. He was the overlord of many rulers and decided to
perform the horse sacrifice or Aswamedha. Indra (Chief of gods)
was alarmed at the growing power of Sagara and stole the horse
before the end of the function. The king ordered his sons by his
first wife Sumati to go in pursuit and recover the horse. They
were a hundred in number, powerful warriors proud of their
strength, and started in hot pursuit. They searched everywhere
but found no trace of the horse anywhere. And then they began
to dig underground and reached a cave where a hoary Maharishi
was sitting immersed in deep tapas, sunk in contemplation , and
the missing horse was grazing peacefully by his side. The foolish
soldiers thought that the thief had assumed this disguise as a hermit
to escape justice and rushed towards him. The hermit who was
none other than the great Kapila Maharishi opened his eyes and
they were reduced to heaps of ashes. It is said that this was the
result of their own sin for, a great sage, an avatar of Vishnu himself
could not be so ignorant. When the princes did not return, search
parties were sent under his grandson Amsuman. Following the
same trail he too reached the same place, saw the heap of ashes,
the next Manvantara called Vaivaswata Manvantara. The puranam
(story) adds that the lord killed two demons named Madhu and
Kaitabha who had stolen the Vedas and restored them back to the
rishis
Ambarisha
Nabagha the son of Manu had four sons, the youngest of
whom was also named Nabagha. He was sent to an ashram
(hermitage) for gurukula education. After a long period , he became
a learned scholar and with his guru’s blessings returned to his
father’s house. Thinking that he would not return and might become
a naishtika brahmachari (celibate for life) the elder brothers had
partitioned their father’s scant property among themselves and
when Nabagha asked for his share they simply said “You can
take our old father as your share” Nabagha was content but the
old father was angry “I am not a property to be partitioned”.
Nevertheless he told his son “Not far from here the rishis are
performing the Angiras sathram with a view to ascend to heaven.
The mantras are difficult requiring expert practice. You are well
versed. Go and help them to recite correctly. When they ascend
to heaven, they will give you the golden vessels and the remnants
of the sacrifice.” The son did as he was advised. The sages were
delighted with his services and presented him with all the remnants.
Just as he was taking possession a stranger appeared and claimed
the remnants as his share. It was Sri Rudra (Lord Siva) himself
and he added “If you have any doubt, go and ask your father”.
Nabagha returned to his father and said rather sadly “Father,
I got the presents alright but a stranger with an imposing figure
came from the north and claimed them.” The father thought for a
while and replied “My son, the stranger is right. He is no other
than great Rudra. According to a previous agreement arrived at
the end of the Daksha yagna, he is entitled to the remains.” The
son immediately returned and prostrating before Sri Rudra begged
his forgiveness. Sri Rudra was pleased “I am pleased with the
truthfulness of your father and your own modest behaviour. I give
you freely all these”. So saying Lord Siva disappeared. Nabagha
took possession of these remnants and spent the remainder of his
life worshipping Sri Hari and taking care of his old father to the
very end. Ambarisha was the son of this Nabagha.
Ambarisha, the darling of the gods became a kshatriya.
Because of his devotion to Sri Hari and truthfulness he became
invincible. He soon became the overlord of the seven continents
girt by the oceans. Tributes came pouring in and he became the
master of immense wealth unequalled since or before. The subjects
were so happy and prosperous that they did not want anything
better , not even heaven. All this prosperity, only strengthened
the king’s piety and love of truth, if at all, it could be strengthened.
The festivals of the Lord were conducted with pomp and splendour.
And yet the great emperor was the humblest of the humble. He
was perfectly aware all the time that all these material blessings
were unreal insubstantial as a dream. He observed religious fasts,
especially the fast on ekadasi day as it was particularly dear to
Lord Hari. He was always engaged in service to Hari. He
personally cleaned the temple precincts; his eyes feasted on Hari’s
idol; his ears were constantly hearing stories or hymns and he
was enveloped by the fragrance of the tulasi garlands adorning
the idol. As he was always thus engrossed Lord Hari sent his
own weapon sudarsan to guard and help him in every way.
Once as usual he had fasted on ekadasi day, kept vigil all
night and bathing in the yamuna early morning was preparing
slowly to break his fast. The brahmanas and every one present
were sumptuously fed. It was dwadasi; only a few hours were
left and the fast should be broken before it was over. Just then,
came the sage Durvasa with a large retinue of sages. The king
received them with great courtesy. They were quite hungry but
they said “We shall take our bath in the holy Yamuna first and
after the morning ablutions shall certainly come for lunch” So
saying, they departed and the king waited. Hours passed. No sign
of the guests. The king was becoming anxious. If he did not break
his fast before dwadasi was over, the vow would be broken; if he
took food, he would be guilty of insulting his guests. He was in a
serious dilemma.
He consulted his ministers, wise men and sages. They
pondered for a while and then they said “O! King! It is written in
the sastras that by taking a little holy water you can keep your
vow and you would not be showing any disrespect to your guest
also” The king was relieved. He took just a few drops of holy
water. His vow was kept and he had not offended his guest and
so he calmly awaited the return of great Durvasa maharishi.
Soon after, Durvasa and his followers appeared. His lips
were quivering with anger. With his spiritual insight he had already
known of what had happened. With flashing eyes and quivering
white beard he shouted “How dare you to invite a sanyasin for a
feast and break your fast in his absence? Your riches and power
have made you arrogant. I will teach you a lesson”. So saying,
the angry sage took a strand from his mattered locks and threw it
on the ground. A fierce genii sprang up and rushed towards
Ambarisha. But the king neither moved nor even winked his eyes
.He stood firm knowing well that he had done no wrong. But
sudarsana chakra the flaming disc which had been deputed by Sri
Hari to protect the king came into action. It burned up the genii
as fire consumes a serpent . Darting fierce tongues of scorching
fire it approached Durvasa who immediately turned and fled.
Over hill and dale he fled. Over rivers and oceans, over
mountains and valleys over continents he fled with the flaming
sudarsan in hot pursuit. At last he reached Brahmaloka and falling
at Brahma’s feet cried “Save me, Save me O! Father of gods and
men. Save me from Sudharsana” . But lord Brahma said “Sorry
my son. Try some one else. This is beyond my power” Durvasa
fled and sought refuge with Sri Rudra at Mount Kailas. But Sri
Rudra also pleaded his inability “Dear son, none of us can save
you. There are countless universes like this revolving around. Who
can understand Sri Hari’s maya? Approach Sri Hari alone. He
alone can give you peace”. Dispirited and humbled and scorched
by the pursuing sudarsana, Durvasa at last went to Sri Vaikunta
Sri Hari’s abode and falling at his feet cried “Pardon, Pardon! O!
Lord for wronging thy devotee. Deign to tell me how I may atone
for my sin” Sri Hari replied “Noble Brahmin! It is as if I am not
free, being bound to my devotees. How can I be free from those
who have left their wealth and homes; wives and sons and even
their lives, seeking shelter with me? Those , whose hearts are
bound to me, good people who view all things equally, they attract
me by their devotion even as good women attract good husbands.
My devotees want only to serve me , not caring even for the four
forms of mukti (freedom). These good people are my heart. I am
their heart. I do not even care so much for Sri Devi (consort) as I
care for them. And let me tell you a secret. tapas (austerity) and
knowledge if properly used are ornaments to a brahmin but if
misused they look otherwise. Therefore O! Learned Brahmin go
back to Ambarisha himself and beg his pardon and all will be well”.
Thus instructed Durvasa went back to Ambarisha and was
about to fall at his feet. Greatly embarrassed the king raised him
up and turning to Sudarsana praised him as follows:
“I bow to thee O! Sudarsana dear to the lord;
Thou art Agni the god of fire
You have a thousand spokes
And can swallow all other weapons
You are Dharma, you are Truth
Protector of all and source of all energy
Destroyer of those that follow Adharma
Irresistible, you destroy asuras in battle
Be thou gentle to this sage, calm down
For our sake and for the welfare of our clans
And if there be any merit in my action’
Calm down and be cool to this sage.”
Praised thus, Sudarsana immediately cooled down. Durvasa
was fully relieved and began to praise the king “ Today have I
experienced the greatness of Sri Hari’s devotees. They return
only good for evil. What is there impossible for them? What is
there, they cannot give up? And what is there, they cannot attain
whose very touch makes men holy. O! King! I have been blessed
by your astounding mercy. You have pardoned my crime and saved
my life” and blessing every one around Baghavan Durvasa
returned to his tapas (penance).
Ever since Durvasa had fled for life, the king was praying
and fasting for one full year. He had feasted Durvasa before he
left and now began to break his year long fast. All these trials
only deepened his devotion. At the end of a long and prosperous
reign, entrusting the kingdom to his son he too departed to the
forest for tapas and attained the feet of Lord Hari.
It is said that he who reads this story of Ambarisha, with
faith, will also attain the feet of Lord Hari.
Thrisanku And Viswamitra
As we look at the galaxy of illustrious kings of the solar line
some are outstanding for particular qualities. King Thrisanku was
famous for the steadiness with which he pursued his objectives.
He wanted to go to heaven with his present human body. He
implored his guru sage Vasishta, to conduct sacrifices for this
purpose. The sage became angry and left. The king then
importuned the sons of the sage. They got angrier and cursed the
king saying “You are telling us to do something that our venerable
father has refused to do. We curse you therefore to have a dwarfish
body and black complexion”. The poor king immediately found
himself transformed into an ugly looking dwarf. But the king did
not despair and was in search for other powerful sages. At this
juncture, as fate would have it, Viswamithra the arch rival of
Vasishta, appeared and agreed to conduct the yagna. It was
conducted in grand style attended by sages and gods and at the
end they invoked the presence of Indra with his golden chariot.
When Indra did not appear the Maharishi became furious and
raising both hands towards heaven he cried “Rise O! King! To
heaven” A tremendous miracle then happened. Thrisanku slowly
began to rise. Higher and higher he rose till he almost reached the
sky. Indra too became angry at this intrusion and hurled his
thunderbolt at the king who began to fall down head long towards
earth. “Save me! Save me!” wailed the king. At this Viswamithra
roared “Stop! Stop” The descent was stopped. And as the onlookers
were gazing, speechless with surprise Viswamithra raising the
stuva (a vessel) thundered “Let there be other stars, other planets
another sky” and all these did appear. The gods and even Brahma
were agitated. They implored Viswamithra not to proceed further.
So Thrisanku had his heaven and there they stand to this day, the
seven rishis and the duplicate stars proclaiming to the world the
mighty power of these ancient rishis.
Sagara And His Aswamedha
Prominent among the descendants of Harischandra was
Sagara. He was the overlord of many rulers and decided to
perform the horse sacrifice or Aswamedha. Indra (Chief of gods)
was alarmed at the growing power of Sagara and stole the horse
before the end of the function. The king ordered his sons by his
first wife Sumati to go in pursuit and recover the horse. They
were a hundred in number, powerful warriors proud of their
strength, and started in hot pursuit. They searched everywhere
but found no trace of the horse anywhere. And then they began
to dig underground and reached a cave where a hoary Maharishi
was sitting immersed in deep tapas, sunk in contemplation , and
the missing horse was grazing peacefully by his side. The foolish
soldiers thought that the thief had assumed this disguise as a hermit
to escape justice and rushed towards him. The hermit who was
none other than the great Kapila Maharishi opened his eyes and
they were reduced to heaps of ashes. It is said that this was the
result of their own sin for, a great sage, an avatar of Vishnu himself
could not be so ignorant. When the princes did not return, search
parties were sent under his grandson Amsuman. Following the
same trail he too reached the same place, saw the heap of ashes,
the horse grazing by and the sage Kapila. He praised Kapila and
begged forgiveness for his uncles’ mistakes. The sage was pleased
with the young man’s wisdom and modesty and further consoled
him saying “My dear child, fate is irresistible. I shall tell you
however how to raise your uncles to heaven. Bring the holy river
Ganges down to earth. As the waters touch the ashes your uncles
will rise again and go straight to heaven”. With this message and
leading the horse the prince returned. King Sagara completed the
yagnam (sacrifice) but neither the king nor his sons and grandsons
could bring holy ganga down from heaven. This great feat was
accomplished by Amsumans son, great Bhagiratha.
Bhagiratha Brings Ganga
When Bhagiratha became king the land was peaceful.
People were contented and happy. The king had only one
consuming desire. “How shall I bring the holy ganga down to earth”
He worshipped and prayed so intensely that Ganga devi appeared
before him and said “I am pleased with you for your devotion to
purify your ancestors and shall come down. But who will bear the
force of my descent?” The king thereupon performed intense
penance to please Sri Siva who graciously agreed to bear the force
of the descent. And so, Ganga devi from her place at the feet of
Lord Vishnu, gushed forth; a small rivulet at first but she soon
gathered volume and became a mighty river and vainly thought “
I am so powerful I will bear Lord Siva in my waves and rush with
him down to patala (the nether world)” The all knowing Lord Siva
immediately grew to enormous size and absorbed the rushing
waters completely in his matted locks. But the real sufferer was
Bhagiratha. He began to do penance, a tapas of utmost severity
to please Sri Siva. At the end of one full year the Lord relented
and let out the river. Ganga again became a mighty river,
sometimes gurgling, sometimes roaring, jumping over precipices,
always sparkling, teeming with fishes and presently she was a
broad river. In her pride she swarmed through the hermitage of a
poor old hermit, Jahnu by name, washing it down completely.
Maharishi Jahnu was enraged and using his mystic powers drank
up the whole river. The king now prayed to the Maharishi to set
her free. The sage relented and let Ganga out through his ears so
that Ganges is known by another name also Jahnavi or daughter
of Jahnu. The king now led the way, Ganga meekly following him
wherever he went. At last he entered Patala. Ganga followed
washing the heaps of ashes. At once his ancestors arose with
glowing bodies and slowly rose up to heaven and were received
with joyous welcome by the devas.
Holy ganga flowing past Kasi washes away the sins of all
who take a bath with faith, irrespective of caste or creed. In honour
of Bhagiratha who brought ganga to earth she is also known as
Bhagirathi.
Khatvanga
Khatvanga was one of the greatest of kings of the solar
line. He was invincible and his help was sought by devas in their
frequent wars with the demons. During his last visit the war
dragged on for a very long time and on its successful conclusion,
Indra gave him many valuable presents but also told the king that
he had only one hour more to live.
The king was shocked but not distressed. “I have not done
any wrong or unjust action and I have done my duty to gods and
men. Surely, Hari will stand by me in this hour of greatest need.”
Thinking thus he detached his mind from all earthly possessions,
relatives and friends, concentrated on the ultimate divinity that is
peace unutterable and happiness everlasting and merged with it.
Moral “Time is not too important. Even in the short space of one
hour Khatwanga was able to attain Brahmam. Why not we? With
much more time?”
Khatwanga’s Descendants
Khatwanga’s son was Dirghabahu.; his son was Raghu of
great fame; Raghu’s son was Aja and Aja’s son was Dasaratha
and Dasaratha’s son was Sri Rama. We can only briefly recount
the story of Sri Rama.
begged forgiveness for his uncles’ mistakes. The sage was pleased
with the young man’s wisdom and modesty and further consoled
him saying “My dear child, fate is irresistible. I shall tell you
however how to raise your uncles to heaven. Bring the holy river
Ganges down to earth. As the waters touch the ashes your uncles
will rise again and go straight to heaven”. With this message and
leading the horse the prince returned. King Sagara completed the
yagnam (sacrifice) but neither the king nor his sons and grandsons
could bring holy ganga down from heaven. This great feat was
accomplished by Amsumans son, great Bhagiratha.
Bhagiratha Brings Ganga
When Bhagiratha became king the land was peaceful.
People were contented and happy. The king had only one
consuming desire. “How shall I bring the holy ganga down to earth”
He worshipped and prayed so intensely that Ganga devi appeared
before him and said “I am pleased with you for your devotion to
purify your ancestors and shall come down. But who will bear the
force of my descent?” The king thereupon performed intense
penance to please Sri Siva who graciously agreed to bear the force
of the descent. And so, Ganga devi from her place at the feet of
Lord Vishnu, gushed forth; a small rivulet at first but she soon
gathered volume and became a mighty river and vainly thought “
I am so powerful I will bear Lord Siva in my waves and rush with
him down to patala (the nether world)” The all knowing Lord Siva
immediately grew to enormous size and absorbed the rushing
waters completely in his matted locks. But the real sufferer was
Bhagiratha. He began to do penance, a tapas of utmost severity
to please Sri Siva. At the end of one full year the Lord relented
and let out the river. Ganga again became a mighty river,
sometimes gurgling, sometimes roaring, jumping over precipices,
always sparkling, teeming with fishes and presently she was a
broad river. In her pride she swarmed through the hermitage of a
poor old hermit, Jahnu by name, washing it down completely.
Maharishi Jahnu was enraged and using his mystic powers drank
up the whole river. The king now prayed to the Maharishi to set
her free. The sage relented and let Ganga out through his ears so
that Ganges is known by another name also Jahnavi or daughter
of Jahnu. The king now led the way, Ganga meekly following him
wherever he went. At last he entered Patala. Ganga followed
washing the heaps of ashes. At once his ancestors arose with
glowing bodies and slowly rose up to heaven and were received
with joyous welcome by the devas.
Holy ganga flowing past Kasi washes away the sins of all
who take a bath with faith, irrespective of caste or creed. In honour
of Bhagiratha who brought ganga to earth she is also known as
Bhagirathi.
Khatvanga
Khatvanga was one of the greatest of kings of the solar
line. He was invincible and his help was sought by devas in their
frequent wars with the demons. During his last visit the war
dragged on for a very long time and on its successful conclusion,
Indra gave him many valuable presents but also told the king that
he had only one hour more to live.
The king was shocked but not distressed. “I have not done
any wrong or unjust action and I have done my duty to gods and
men. Surely, Hari will stand by me in this hour of greatest need.”
Thinking thus he detached his mind from all earthly possessions,
relatives and friends, concentrated on the ultimate divinity that is
peace unutterable and happiness everlasting and merged with it.
Moral “Time is not too important. Even in the short space of one
hour Khatwanga was able to attain Brahmam. Why not we? With
much more time?”
Khatwanga’s Descendants
Khatwanga’s son was Dirghabahu.; his son was Raghu of
great fame; Raghu’s son was Aja and Aja’s son was Dasaratha
and Dasaratha’s son was Sri Rama. We can only briefly recount
the story of Sri Rama.
| Tales from Bhagavatham(Contents) |  |
| Preface | |
| Prologue | |
| Chapters 1,2,3,4 | |
| Chapters 5,6,7,8 | |
| Chapters 9,10,11,12 | |
| Chapters 13,14,14,16 | |
| Chapters 17,18,19,20 | |
| Chapters 21,22,23 | |
| Chapters 24,25,26 | |
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| Om! namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya |