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VOLUME XXXIV.

BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANAM.

PAR'],' IV.

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RAJENDRA NATH SEN, M.A.,LL.B.

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THE

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Major B. D. Basu, I. M. S. (Retlred.)

VOLUME XXIV.

BI{AHMA·VAIVARTA PU~ANAM.

GANESA AND KRISNA JANMA KHANDAS.

TR~NSLATED BY

RAJENDRA NATH SEN, M.A., LL.B.

PUBlSHBD BY

Sudhindra Nath Vasu, at the Panini Office, Bahadurganj, Allahabad.

1922.

,.- ."

BL 1)'Ie,:

J ._)

P n : A (~

I ~~D 0~

\.

PREF1t.CE.

This part which is mainly devoted to Kl'i~l,la might aptly be said to eonstitut~ the testament of the Hindus. Leaving ample margin for figures of speech and miracles from which gospels of no creed could possibly be immune, what testimony, I ask, can carry g reater weight than the statement of Vyasa, the versatile genius who, with tl e might of his magic quill, brought about a revolution in the world of thought and raised philosophy to the dignity of religion?

Kri~T}a as represented in this Pur;\l}:J. is, indeed, the same Brahman, the supreme Being alluded to in the Upanisada, Hut Brahman is incomprehensible hy hypothesis. Vylsa who bad a head on his shoulders realised the difficulty of his position and hastened to give a sketch of the life of Kri~l}a. fur the edification of the public and the illustration of the Vedas.

Tl!e Uhagant-Gita which is unquestionably a philosophy of sublime order is mainly confined to a dialogue between Kri~!J.a and Arjuna. In the Mahltbharata, he figures, for the most pnrt as a past-master of politics and espouses the cause of the virtuous Yudhiethira in the great Armageddon raging between the Kauravas and the P~\I).~avas. The ~ri Kri~l}a Jahma KLal,lqa, on the other hand, deals with the lord in an exhaustive fashion leaving nothing to be desired.

Many interesting episodes have likewise b ieu introduced into this portion of the PUra!}a not only with a view to establish the glory and the greatness of the Lord, but also to denounce self-conceit, anger and other vices to which human nature is suseepbihle. For instance, the great ~i~i Du~vasa, conscious of his superhuman powers, abuses the hospitality of King Amvari!}1, a votary of Kri~l)a and rushes to kill him in a fit of temper. The discus of the Lord comes to the rescue of the King. The ~i~i perceives his danger. The insbinet of self- preservation proves too much for his characteristic intrepidity. He runs away fOI' his life with all his might and finds no place beneath the face of the sun to hide his head: for the celestial weapon haunts him like his shadow, whereever he goes. How amusing! A part from the humourous aspect of the incident, it embodies sublime doctrines of ethics and casuistry which might carry eonvictiou even to the mind of a sceptic.

2 )

But the i ncidents oC the above nature are so various, the cbaraeters introdueed are so complex that in the. language of Milton we are lost in the wandering mazes of a labyrinth. ~ Behind these incide nts, we cannot help realising the operation of an extraordinary species of mind, all powerful, opulent, equally master of the sublirue and the low. The most inventive that was ever engaged in the copy of the details of actual lift} in the sallies of imagination, in the deep-rooted cornplicat ions of superhuman passions: a nature, poetical. inspired, superior to reason by the sudden revelations of his celestial vision; extreme in pleasnre and pain: unexpected ill his movements, ·boistero']s and violent in his transports. Such, indeed, Was ·Vyfisa! Whence comes ~sucb another? The gap caused by his disappearance, centuries vgo, hat' never been filled.

Or to put it in a nutshell :

"0 Vyusa, our sky is overeast :

\,\Te mourn : 0111' eyes arc wet:

Through v isba of the ages past, We feel thy presence yet l"

RAJENDRA NATH SEN.

Cnu lE t I-Disturbance in the sexual intercourse between Hara and Put'vat,j

II-The lamentations of Parvt al before S'ankara ... Ill-Instructions given by l\Iahadeva to Parvati with rsgard to t he vow called Punyaka ;

gift to the goddess by Siva of the Mantra relating to Hari on the coast of tho G unges, IV-The method of the perforn-anee of the vow called Punyaka

V-A history or narrative of the above vow VI-The grand festival of the vow; and permission secured by Pii rvabi to perform tbisfesti val ...

VII-The performance of the vow; the g ifb by

Parvat! of her husband to Sanat Kumara by way of priest's fee at Kri~l)a's command;

ode to Lord Kri~ga by Parvat! with a view to get back her husband

VIII-'l'he attainment of a Loon bv P:1rvati from Lord Krisna ; the recovery ~f her husband

from Sanat-Knmara , aud the birth of Ganes 'a ...

IX-Observation of Gal)es'a by Ham and Parvat], X-Auspicious rites with a view to seeure tbe

welfare of Ganes'a .,. ...

XI-Discourse between Parvati and Saui

XII-The removal of obstacles or calamities by

Ganes'a •.• ...

XIII-Th~ naming of Ganes'a: his amulets, etc

Xl V -Securillg the message of Kil l'tika XV-Arrival of Nandi and other .Myrmidons of

~iva at the home of Krittika to fetch Kurtika; the conversation between Nandi awl I\.ul'tika

X VI-The arrival of Kal'tika at the Kailasa

XVII ~The inauguration of Kartika; the

weddings of Ganes'a and Rarti!':a ..•

X VIII- Under the pretext of explaining the reason why Ganes/» lost his head, curses prononounced by Kas'yapa against S'ankara... 35

XI X-Euioo-ies and amulet sacred to the Sun 36

XX-Reaso~s explaining why GaI)es'n. was pro.

vided with the face of an elephant ...

XXI-Re-attainment of Laksm i by Indra XXII-Ode to Maha-Lahgm] and her amulet as sseured by Indrs from Hari

CONTENTS.

GANESA KHANDA,

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CHAPTER XXIII-A sketch of the character of Laksm!

" XXIV-In connexion with the treatise explaining

why Ganes'a has got only one tooth or tusk, a reference to the discourse between J amadagni and Karta- VirJya

XX V -The defeat of Karta Viryya in his fight with the llrmy of Kapila

XX VI-The defeat sustained ?,Y Kurta- Viryye, at the hands of J B madagni

XXVII-The death of Jnmadagru while fighting with Ka rta- Viryya and the resolu tion of Pras'urama

XXVIlI-Disc',urse between 13hrig'l aud Renuka ;

the departure of Paras'u- Ramo. for

13rahma-Lcka; conversation between

13rahmi and Paras'u-Ramn XXIX-Description of boon granted by Brahmn to Paras'urama, the arrival of the latter at S'iva .. loka; recital by him of an eulogy sacred to Siva .... ..

XXX-DiRcollrse between Siva and Paras'urama ...

XXX 1- Bestowal of an amulet called TrailokyaVijap, (conquPror of three worlds) on Bhargava hy Sin!.

X XX II-The gifc of Hari's ::\Iantra, ode, ete., by

Siva to Paras'urft rna ... ...

XXXIII-:\IilitiU-y expedition of Paras'urnma , visions in his sleep

XXXIV -'rhe despatch of an ambassador to

I(arta. Viryya by Bh:hgava (Paras'u-

ra rna); the recitation of a dream

experienced by Kfll't.a V iryy« to his

wife Mancramf,

XXXV -'rhe exit of l\hnoramft to the next world;

the discourse between Bhar£ava and Karta Vtryya ; the narration of ~iva's amulet inciden tall v connected with the description of the "battle fought between l\Iat;:ra-l'aya and Paras'urama

XXXVI-The recitation of the ode to Kftli as

composed by Bhrigu incidentally connected with tbe account of the battle fought between Par~s'ur£ima and King Sucbandra; the discourse between Brahma and Bhargava : the destruction of Suchandra

XXXVII-Descl'lption of the amulet of Bbadrakuli XXX VIII-Description of the battle between . - - Parai?'uruma and Pu~karf\k~!l. j an aecouut of the amulet of l\Iah1\. Vi~l}u,

51

54 51

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C!U.PTBR XXXIX-Delineation of Durga's a.mulet ..

" XL-The fight of Paras' mama with l\.ilfta.-Viryya;

the possession of the amulet fraudulently secured by Siva from Karta- Viryya; thc exit

of KArta- Virjya to ,the next world; the discourse between the king and Paras'ursma :

the dialogue between Bl'ahma and Bhargava, 80 XLI-Arrival of Paras'uruma at the Kailasa ... 83 XLII-Discourse between Ganes'a and Bhargava, 84 XLIII-The breaking or extraction of a tooth

(tusk of Ganes'a) by Paras'urama XLIV-Counsel by Lord Vi!?I,lu to Paras'urflma taken to task by Phvati; recitation of the ode to Ganes's

XLV -Ode to Parvati 'composed by Paras'urama ... XLVI-A description of the reciprocal curses of

Tulsi and Ganes'a as connected with the narrative of t'he worship of Ganes's by Bhsrgsva without the use of the holy basil lea yes

KRISNA JANMA KHANDA,

'Ih~ Rhonda orpari retati?lg to the bi1'th of Lord Kriena,

CHAPTER I-Interrogatories to the saint Nfu,ayal]a. by Page •• N arada concerning Hari, and the recitation

of the virtues of Vi~J?u and the Vai~Qavas incidentally connected with the narrative of

Har i addressed to Narada by NarayaI,l&, 99 II-The amorous pastimes of Lord Kri~Qa with Viraja, the disappearance of Lord Kri~Qa

through fear of Rihlha ; and the transformation of Viraji'i into river

11I-Curse pronounced by Riidha ugainst Lord Krisna, the account of Rfldhil and Srldama. cur;i~g one another

I V-The departure of the earth for t he Brahms-

loka with a view to get her burden relieved; the representation of her case to Brahma ; the arrival of the gods at the domain of Hari; the description of the Goloka or the

cow-world 191

. V-The arrival of Brahma and others at the Cow-

world; ode to Lord Hari as composed hy Brahms

" , VI-The manifestation of Lord Kri~l)a ; ode to the Lord, as composed by Bl'ahma and others; their conversation with the Lord VII--The description of hhe marriage of V asu-deva and Devak i after a recital of tho history

of their previous births; destruction of

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114

118

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their six sons by Kamsa ; ode to Lord Kl'i~l)a as composed by Bramil. and others; a brief account of the birth of the Lord and

Balarama ; ode to Lord Kri~r:a as composed by Vasudeva; an account of the goddess

Prakriti 01' Nature 127

VIII-Determination of the vow called Janma~.

, tam i and other vows 132

IX-A 'description of the festival observed by

Nanda. 135

X-A treatise on tl.e redemption of Putana ... 138

:XI-An account showing how the demon Tril}i\..

Varta was put to death. 1 JoO

XII-The breaking of the car ana the wielding

of the amulet 14J

XIII-The discourse between Garga and Nanda: the performance of Lord Kri~l)a's Anna. Prfts'ana ceremony ,i. e., when the child takes his food for the first time), the description of th« ceremony to give him

a name H3

XLV-The subject dealing with the breaking of the tree called Arjuua ; and an account of the curse to which the son of Kuvera was

rendered liable 152

XV-The discourse of Rudhfl. and Krisr a , the arrival of Brahma ; ode to Ril.dh5. as composed by Brahma; a description of the wed.

diner and Kl'isna 154

XVI-Th; subject" 'dealing with the death of Vaka Kesi Pralamba ; description of the

. circumstance under which Vasa and other Gandhsrvas were rendered liable to the curse of Siva; au account of the arrival of

Lord Ktisne at Vrindu-Vana 160

XVII-The cdnstruction of Vl'indll-vana; the marriage of Kali'tvati with Vrik-bhanu; reasons why Vrindll-vana is so called the etymology of toe sixteen names of Radhft; and ode to Raclhii. as composed

by the Lord . • .• 166

XVIII-The redemption of the wives of the Vipras or Brahmins; ode to Lord Kri~l)a' as composed by the wives of the Brahmins; reasons why the fire is called all

consuming 176

XIX-The subjugation or control of l\:,\lia ode to Lord Kri~l)a as composed by lCi\liya; ode to Kri~t:a as composed by tbe Wife of K<\liya; tho extinction of the wild fire ; and

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ode to Lord Krig.a as composed Cowherds and Cowherdesses CHAPTER XX-The stealth of the calves by Brahrna and ode to Lord Kri~l]a as composed by Bran-

ma .

XXI-The dissolution of the sacrifice performed

by Indra; ode to Indra as composed by Nanda; the wielding of Govardhana by Lord Krigla; ode to Lord Kri~':Ia. as composed by N and a

XXII-The death of Dhanuka and ode to Lord Kri~l}a as composed by Dhanuka

XXIII -The curse pronounced against Tilottama and the son of Bali described by way of

episode 200

XXIV-Durvasa's marriage and death, of his

. wife ... ... - ..• 206

XXV--The defeat (or humiliation) of Durvasa through the curse of Aurva; ode to Lord Kri~l}a, as composed by Durvasa. An

account of his redemption ... 200

XXVI-The method of performing the vow of

Ekiidas'i 2]6

XXVII-Ode to Lord Krisna as composed by

the milkmaids; stealth of their clothes; ode to Lord Kri~l]a as composed by Ra<1hii, the method of performing the vow of GOUr1; a description of the vow, ode to Piirvati; the gift of a boon by

Parvat! at the termination of the

vow 220

XXVIII--A description of the amorous pastimes

of the Rasa 229

XXIX-The redemption of the saint A~~a-bakra

and ode (as composed by him) to Lord

Krisna 235

XXX-In ~~nnexion with the anecdote of Radhil,

a reference to the ode of Lord Kri~l}a as composed by Asita; and It narration of the fact that the crookedness of the eight members of the body of Devala was due

to Rambha's curse •.. 237

XXXI-Mohini's advances to Brahmfi; ode to

Kama as composed by Mohini ... 242

XXXII-Questions and answers by Brahma and Mohini; ode to Lord Kri~l)a as com-

posed by Brahma 246

XXXIII-Curse pronounced by Mohini against Bra.bm~. Curbing the pride of Brah •

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Pa.ge;. CH~l'Tl:R XXXI V -The birth of Ganga; etymology of Bhllgirathi and other names of Gangt\

XXXV-Uemoval of Brahmft's curse by his bath-

iug in the Ganges; his sexual inter,eourse with Sarasvati , the birth of Rati and Kama;, the perturbation of the mind of Brahmf; pierced by the darts of cupid; advice to Brahma by Narayal).3 and the

saints 254

XXXVI-Curbing the pride of Hara, A descrip-

tion of his Divine attributes ... 259

XXXVII-The inadmissibility of the ingredients

of sacrifice offered to Siva through

Parvat i's curse; ode to Parvati as composed by Siva

., _ XXXVIII-In connexion with the narrative

relating to the curbing of Durg~'B

pride, a reference to the suicide

of Sati which she committed through

hnmiliation: l.er birth in the shape

of Pa rya.ti; an interview of the Moun-

tain with Hari ... ... 266

XXXIX-A view of Siva by Himalaya and Par-

vati and reduction of Kuma to

ashes

XL-Meditation (religious) of Piirvati; the appear-

ance 01 Siva before Piirvati in the guise of a Brahmin boy; their mutual conversation; the appearance of Siva in the guise of a mendicant before Purvati dwelling in her paternal house counsel of tbe gods with

Brihaspat.i ... - ... ... 272

XLI-The self-slander of Siva who appeared in

the guise of a Brahmin before Himalaya; the arrival of the seven Riais with Arundhabi a.t the region of Himalaya, the .ki~g of mountains, Narration to the king Va sistha of the anecdote of Anaranya, by way of episode in connection ,with t~e subject of tbe gift of a daughter In marri-

age by the father... ... . .. 280

XLII-Narration of the discourse between Padma

and Dharma by Vasistbn ; the suicide of

Sati ... 286'

XLI II - Pang of separation and bereavement caused

to Sankara ; alleviation of his grief ... 290

XLIV -Mahacleva. starting for marriage; ode to Siva as composed by Himnlaya , XLV-Description of the marriage of Siva

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CH.lPTER XLVI-The amorous pastimes of Hara and Gonri;

recitation of everything that is auspicious, XLVII--Cu~billg' the pride of Indra XLVIII-Curbing the pride of the Sun XLIX-Curhing the pride of the Fire L-Curbing the pride of Dllrvi\s:J.

LI-Cllrbing the pride of Dhan vantari ; anti the

victory achieved by MaIlM:J.

LIl-Lamentations by Wldhit

LIII-Amorous pastimes of HiitlhCt au.l Kril?l)a ... L I V-A brief s ketch of the character of Krisu-, •.•

LV-A description of Kri~l)a's might "

LVI-Curbing the pride of Maha- Vi~l)lI and ethers

ode to Lakshm i as composer! tJy the godg .•• LVII-The departure of Bl'ahmit for the Vaikn n-

tha with R5dha and his company, as she was offended at the slig ht which she received at the hands of Krian., and in her wounded susceptibilities w'a:s ready to commit suicide

LVIH-A brief account of t.he pang' of separation from Kl'iSlIa caused b Rfluhit

LIX-In the de't~iled account of the humiliation of Ir.dra. It reference to the' discourse between '~achl and Nahusa, by way of episode

LX-A dialogue between Vrihaspa ti and the messenger of N ahusn ; tho conversion of Nahusa into a snake; the redemption of lndra

.'l) • LXI-A discourse between Indra and Ahalyu; rape

of Ahalya by Tndra : all account of the curse of Ahalya by Gautama

LXII-A short account of the lt1imayal,la LXIII-E\'il dreams experienced by Kamsa LXIV-An account of th e sacrifice performed

by Kamsa ...

LXV-Felicitv of Akrum ...

LXVI-Conso·latioll of Radbil. in her g-rief LXVII-Statement to Rftdhfi bv Krisna. of

Metaphysical or psychic Yoga (;~erltal abstraction)

LXVIII-The alleviation of the g rief of nadha ••. LXIX-Convrrsation of Lord Kril?l)a with

Brah mft ; statement of Ratna-Malii to

Lord Kr isnn

IJXX-Narl'atio;]'by Akrfira of his dreams; ode as composed by him to Lord Kri!;iI,la ; a sketch by Akrfua of affairs relating to the cowherdesses

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Page •. LXXI-On the eve of the expedition of Lord

Kri§l!a to M athurfl, performance of

auspicious rites 360

LXXI-The admission of Lord Kri~l}a into Mathuru ; a view of the tuwn; chastise-

meet of the washerrnan; grace to the hunch- backed woman; the slaughter of Kamsa ; and release of Vasudeva and Daivuki

LXXIll-Cousolation of Nanda, etc., ID their

arief hv Lord Krisna ... 372

IJX XIV -Con"nsel as to how tbe fetters of Karma. could be split asunder

LXXV-Counsel as to the wisdom concerning temporal matters

LXXVI-A description of the religious merits Rcquired by auspicions sights; a reference

to the fruits attainable by gifts ... 382

LXXVII-Hesults of good dreams 386

LXXYIII-Psychic counsels; a description of the sins aeq uired by inauspicious sights LXXIX-DeterminatiulJ of the cause of the solar eclipse

LXXX--ln connexiou with the subject relating to the cause of the lunar eclipse, an incidental reference to the curse pro. nonnced against the Moon by TfLril.

LXXXI-Release of Tara

LXXXII-An account of evil dreams and their

pacification ... ... ... 400

LXXXIII-Assignment of duties to the four castes resp:ctiyely

LXXXiV-Assignment of duties to the house holder ; delineation of a. woman's character; determination of the characteristic features of a true believer: a short account of the universe (of Brahma\ etc.

LXXXV -Determination of the articles of food that mayor may .Dot be consumed; a description of Karma-Vipaka

LXXXVI-An account of the daughter of the King of Kedara j the curse pronounced

by Padma against Dharma appearing in

the guise of a Brfihmin j the remission of

the curse affecting Dharma by Padmd

upon the entreaties of the gods ... 423

LXXXVII-Appearance of Pulaha and other saints before the Supreme Lord; their

conversation... •.. ... 480

LXXXVIII-Ode to Nature (as composed by ~iva)

367

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Pages. received from the Supreme Lord by king

Nanda ••• 434

LXXXIX-Statement made by the Lord to King

Nands .•• 437

XC-A sketch of the character of the

Y uga (age) •.• ... ... 438

XCI-Conversation of Vasudeva and Devaki

with the Lord 442

XCII-The arrival of Uddhava, as deputed by

the Lord, at V rindaveua ; ode to RftdhA as composed by Uddbava

XCIII-Conversation between Rfldha and

Uddhava

XCIV -State;nent hy Rfldha to Uddhava and narration by Uddhava of the KaJavati aud others

XCV-Lamentations made by Radha XCVI-Counsel to Uddhava by Rtldhll.

XCVII-DiH.logue between Rfl.dht\ and Vd. dhava

XC;VlIl-Return of Uddhava to Mathura and his description of V rindsvane to the Lord ... 465

X(JIX-The appearance of saint Garga to Vasudeva ; proposal by him to perform the ceremony of the investiture of Rama and Krisna with sacred thread; the arrival of ~i~is' at that place; a description of

Nature by Vasudeva ... ... 4(;]

C-A ppearl\nce of the goddesses before Vasudeva, 468 Cl-1'he investiture of Rama and Kl'i~l)a with sacred thread ; and the return of the gods

(who bad assembled there to witness the

ceremony) to their respective places '" t 71

Cll- The appearance of Hama and Krisua before the saint Sandipani to study the Vedas j ode to Lord Kri~l,la. as composed by the wife of the Muni and gift by Ril rna and

Krisna of sacerdotal fee to the Muni 473

CUI-Under the pretext of giving instruction to Vis'va-Karma. 011 the construction of Dwarka, the recitation by Lord Kri~ga. of the auspicious 01' ominous sites of a house

under construction ... 474

CIV -'l'he appearanee of Brahms and other gods, Sanat-Kumara and other holy saints before Lord Kri~r.Hl. i the admission with Ugra-sena

and others ... 478

CIV-'l'he statement of Rukmini (who was exasperate~ at th~ words ?f Sa~ananda) to king Bhismeka In connexiou wIth the pro-

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451 456 458

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posed marriage of Rukmin! ...

Ca'APTEIt CVI-rrbe marriage of Balar1ma with Revati

" CVII-'rhe defeat of Rukmin i in his fight with

Balara ma ; the Adhivasa (a ceremony preVIOUS to a great festi val such as marriage)

of Lord Kri~l)a ; the arrival of the Lord in

the court-yard reserved for marriage ; ode

to Lord Kri~l,Ia, as composed by Bhismaka i

the overthrow of Sfd va and others by the Lord

CVIII-The gift of Itukmin! in marriage to Kri§~la by her father

CIX-Convcrsation of Sarasvati, etc., with Lord Kl i~l)a in a bantering spirit j and admis-

sion of the party of the bridegroom with the bridegroom and bride into Dwul'kil. eX-Departure of Nanda and Yas'otla for the grovE' of plantains; and the dialogue be.

tween Ritdbaand Yas'odil. 494

CXI-Collnsel of IWdhft to Yas'odu with regard to knowledge and faith; and in eonnexion with this subject a disquisition, by way of episode, on the etymology of the names of

Bana, Lord Kri~I)1, etc. ... 49G

CX II-The birth of the god Kama out of the

womb of Rukuiin i; the slaying of Sambara exit of Kama to Dwarkilj Kri~I_la's marriage with 60,000 damsels; the determination of the number of their sons; the bestowal by Lord Kri~l!a of his d'J.ughter (in marriage) on Durvnsa; eulogies pronoun-

ced by Durvasa on Lord Kri~9R. .... ... 500

eXIIl-Retnrn of Durvssa from Kailn.~a to

Dwark1t agreeably to the advice of Parvati; a brief account of l\fnhflbhhataj the fall of J ara-Saudha and Sal va by Lord Kri~J}.a; the slaying of Sis'ura'a and Danta-bakra, The restoration of the dead son of Daivaki to life and delivery of the boy to his mother, the stealing of Purijata; the celebration of the vow of Punyaka by

Sat.ya-bhamil.... ... • .. 508

CXIV--Conjllgal intercourse between U~a and

Aniruddha in dream; the abduction of Aniruddha by Chitre-lekba; the marriage of

-O~a and Aniruddha according to the Gandharva rites

CXY-Useful advice givcn by Mahudeva and others to Bana who wss highly incensed

( 10 )

Pages. 482 486

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491

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492

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Pages. to heal' from the sentinel the news concern.

ing the pregnancy of Lr~a, the military expedition of Ba na, the demon; the dialo-

gue between Bdna, and Aniruddha ..• 510

CUHTF:n eXVI -The description by Bana to Aniruddha of the five husbands of Draupadi; the incident of the abduction of Rati by Sambara;

the defeat inflicted upon Bana by Anirud-

dha ... ...

CXVII-The description of the valour of Anirud-

dha by ~ivR to Ga~es'a ... • •• 518

CXVIII-Theconference of Hara and Parvati when

they heard from the messenger about the arrival of Lord Krisna

CXIX-The arrival of Bali 'at the council of Bana;

the dialogue between Ham and Bali; the eulogies pronounced by giva on the Vai{ll).avasj the discourse between Hari and Bali, ode to Lord Krisuans composed by Bali; the guarantee of immunity from danger held

out by Lord Kril?l)a and Bali ... 520

eXX-The war between the armies of Yadavas

and the demons; tbe genesis of the Vai~l}ava fever; the defeat of Bina at the hands of

Lord Krisna ... ... 524

CXI-The redemption of King ~!,igala 527

eXXII-The anecdote of S'yamautaka 530

CXXIU-The worship of Ganes'a performed by

R&dha i 0 the hermitage of adepts .•• 531

(XXIV -The statement made by Gal].es'a to

IUdh5; the gift of a boon by Pal'vati; the adjustment of the toilet of Riidhi by her female attendants at the command of Parvati; the appearance of the gods, ete., before Radhaj ode to Rfldhii as composed

by Brahma... • ..

eXX V -The acquisition of know ledge 01' wisdom by Vasudeva from Siva; the performance

of the vow of the grand Royal Sacrifice 539

CXXVI-'l'h6 re-union of H:1dh& and Kri~J?a; ode,

o etc, to Lord Krisna as composed by Riidha, interol'gatol'ies to Lord Kri~l)a by Riidha counsel on psychic 01' metaphysical wisdom administered to Hftdhi by Lord Kri~l)a ... 542

CXXVII-The amorous pastimes of Rndhfl and

Kl'I~lta; the felicity of Yas'oda ... 547

ex XVIII-The narration of the character of the' Yusra (o(J'e) bv Lord Krisna to Nanda;

ancl the'" exit' of Rftdhfl to the Cow-world

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with all the inhabitants of Gokul ... 548

CXXIX-Ode to Lord Kri~l)a by Brshmd and other gods assembled in the forest of the fig-trees; annihilation of the race of Yadu; accession of the PalJ~aVa8 to Heaven; the gift of a boon by the Lord to Bhagirathi; ascension of the Lord to the Golob

(Cow-world) ... 551

CXXX-Exit of Narada from the hermitage of Jujube to the Brabuia-loka; the wedding of Narada with the daughter of ~rifija.ya; their honeymoon; departure of Narada for the contemplation of the deity according to the advice of Sanat K umflra; the advice of

~iva. to Nara.da; his redemption 556

CXXXI-The Gene sis of the fire and gold 559

eXXXII-The determination of the meaning of

the four parts of this PuraJ}.a, Brahma,

etc. 560

ex XXIII-The character of the great Puranas; (secondary treatise on Hindu coegomony); the number of the verses of all the great Puranas; the recitation of the names of all the upa-PuraQas; the meaning of the name of Brahma- V aivarta; the description of its greatness or glory and the subsequent recitation of the fruits reaped by people

listening to this Pura\1a in due order .. , 564

JiRISiVA JANilfA KHANlJA

233

nine ways, kissed them ill eight ways and co-habited with them in sixteen ways. The most licentious Hari embraced each limb oftbe milk-maids with each of the members of his bodv. Savants conversant with sexual intercourse are familiar with 16 kinds of intercourse out of which 12 are real and 4 are performed in an inverse order. Kri'.'l}a, however, performed them in a superior mann!'!". At the eom mencament of the sexual intercourse, iu the middle and in the end, Lord Kri~l)a performed the incidental acts connected with the intercourse for the satisfaction of the girls in a manner bcttsr than that prescribed by the sexual science. As a mountain is decorated with red chalk, so the body of Lord Kr:~l!a also was decorated .• ith the scratches caused by armlets and with the lac-dye paintin~ the rnernhars or-tho feet of the milk-maids. When this game of Rasa in its sphere was in full s wing. the gods with their wi ves and attendants mounted the golden car and assembled III the heavens, The Right of the sports sent a thrill of emotion across their bodies and aflli'ctod them with darts of Cupid.

117 -132. In this way, sages, saints, adepts, manes Vidyadharas, G» ndarvas, Yaksas, Ra.k~a.sas and Kinnars came there joyfully with their wives and witnessed the sports. Afterwards Siva with PAn-ati arrtved there on a csiestial car constructed with gold, adorned with gem!", equipped with valuable furnitnre, covered with cloth chastened by the 51'2, containing pure looking-glasses of diamond, white chowries and wheels, speedy like the wind, lovely and with its top brightened by pure diamond jars. :GLtha-KiUa was on the left side of the Lord, Nandikes'wara was on his right side, Kar tik and Ganes'a were on his front. He was attended by the tawny-eyed Lord of the Ksetra-palas, 8 Bhairavas &c. His henrb was occupied by Dlll'g<l graced with arch looks and a smiling face. At that time Bra hma arrived there with Bharati on a golden car. His left side wa- occupied by the sphere of the seven ~i~is and his right side, by Sanaka, Sananda and other saints who all arrived there to see the Rasa. Then Dharma, the wit.ness of good and bad deeds, arrived there on a golden chariot. At that time the chaste ~'I6.rti with the face of Klmaoccupied the heart of Dharma and passionately witnessed the game of R<ls:-t with slanting eyes. Surrounding the deifies on all sides sat their attf>lld8nt.~ eITulgent with the lustre of Brahma, At that time, Tudra with Sa~hi, Chandra with Rohin i, Agni with Swaha, Kama with Rtt.i in his embrace, tIle Sun with Sanjii1 arrived there. The regents of the quarters likewise came with their wives to witness the Rasa. They remained in the sky and from that place they saw the tasteful sphere of the tUlsa. The gods smiled for a while and gladly showered on the scenes sandal-liquid and flowers. Some of them were spell-bound; others almost fainted. 'I'he saints showered on the assembly wreaths perfumed with musk. The goddesses were animated with passion at the sight.

133-148. Afterwads the Eternal Brahma Krisna after having finished the sports of the Rasa on the land entered into the waters of the Yamuna. The imaginary forms of Lord Krisna accompanied the eowherdesses to the Yallltln~. Oppressed by darts of Cupid, they engaged themselves in aqueous sports. The passionate Kriana, in the first place, sprinkled R:'ic1h1\.'s body with water. Rft(tha also poured three handfuis of wat er on the body of the passionate Kri~l}a. Hari snatched away

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234

THE BRAlIllIA- VA]VARl'A PURAJ.VA.

the cloth of Radh!l. and thus denuded her. Then he tore her wreath and loosened her chignon. When the damsel was engagad in .aqueous sports by the vermilion marks on her forehead, the Ime:; of painting on the body by cosmetics, her lovely toilet, the wonderful hue of her lips and the linings of her eye with collyrium were all obliterated by the ,churning of the water, Hari embraced the na ked Rfidba, sank into the water and after having played therein got lip .again along with her. Then Kril.'i].a. after having displayed the abashed, naked Ridha to the cowherdesses threw her again at a distance iuto .the 'water. R,lldhll got up in haste from the water, seized KI'I~L,la. by force, took away his flute in anger, cast it at a distance, snatched Ius .yellow garment, tore the wreath of wild Howers and sprinkled water on him again and again. Then RadiHl dragged Hari and gu.ve him a push whereupon the Lord of the universe was immersed in deep water at ,3 distance. But shortly afterwards he emerged from the hquid With a smile, kissed and embraced the naked Rftdhfl, again and agalll. In this way the imaginary forms of the Lord mer~·ily. played with the cowherdesses on tbe coasts of the Yamuna and wit-hin the water. After the play was over, the naked Lord and Hadh§. both came to the coast and demanded their clothes from one another. Kl'i~I,la gave Rfldbil her doth and lovely wreath. Then, the mistress of the Hasa gave him his cloth and flute wibh pleasure. Rallha reverentially placed him on bel' lap and annointed his body with sandal mixed with flowers, aloe, musk and other perfume. She abo constructed for his bead a crest calculated to enchant the heart of ladies and encircled him with lovely wreaths of jasmine.

149-160. Lord Kri~l,la, in his turn, set up a lovely chignon on the back of her head, arranged the lock of her hair and drew liues of painting on the body with cosmetics. He applied to her forehead marks of vermilion and musk. Below these mark", be drew a thin line in the .shape of half-moon and having made au impression with his nails on her thighs and rising breasts wrapped her wi th a dress chastened by fire. Then he -applied to her body saffron, aloe, musk-liquid and embraced and kissell her, again and again. Then the Lord embraced her once more, cast a garland around her neck and after having decked bel' with oruaments, adorned her feet with anklets. Lord Hari painted her feet with j~cdye and in this way separately adorned all the girla. They went again to the lovely sphere of the Rasa illumined by the moon-light and fit for - sexual enjoyment while they were excited with passion. 'The sphere,

at that time, was redolent of ~If4l:lhavi, Champak, pine-apple and various species of jasmine. Radha when she saw the flowers depu ted the cowherdesses to pluck them. She appointed them severally to bwrue wreaths of flowers, to prepare betel or to rub the sandal. When this was

all over, she presented the above wreath, sandal, betel etc. most affectionately to Kri~l).u. 'I'hen she deputed SOllie nulk-uiaids W SlUg the virtues of Krisna 01' to play UpOIl small drums 01' tabors.

161-171. The milk-maids having wantonly played with Hari in the sphere of tha Hasa played with him again on different occasions and in ditierent places. ill SOUle lovely solitary place, in a grove of JlOI'o'OI':=, on the coast of a river, in the cave of a mountain, ill a crematoriuui,

J{RTSNA JANAfA-KIlAN.DA.

in the forest of the holy fig tree, in the Vrindflvana; in the pleasing forest of the Kadam, in the forest of Nim, in the wood of the holy basil, in the grove of Kunda, in the Madhuvana, in the forest of lime, cocoanut, areca nut, plantains. plum. bamboo, pomegranate, peepul, bael orange, mandnr, palm, mango, screw-pine tree, As/oka, date. emblic myro-bolan, rose-apple, sal, thorn, lotus, jasminum grandjf}oruID, Indianfig- tree, sandal and kesara. In these 33 forests very much liked by girls tbey passionately sported for 33 days and yet their desire was not satisfied. Their passions instead of br.ing satiated inereased like fire feu with clarified butter. The· gods and god·desses were very much astonished at the sight and eulogising the scene went home. Subsequently actuated by the desire of sexual intercourse with Hari, the passionate goddesses assumed their birth in the houses of kings in India through their digits.

_ ..

CHAPTER XXIX

1-10. NarayaI)R said, "0 saint, the milk-maids, though they were grown 11 p and respectable, could not realise the divinity of Lord KriHJ.[~ but regarded him as their husband in the infatuation of their heart. A certain female cow herd in solitude glanced at Lord Kri~l!a and said, "Lord, pick lip these jasmine flowers, twine a wreath and give it to me." Some one said, "0 Krisna, place me in your lap." Some one held and mounted his shoulders. Some passionate milk-maid said to Kri~12aJ the lord of her life, "Kri~I)a, wrap me ih your yellow dress." Some ons said to Kri§I.1a, the Lord of the universe, "Lord, apply vermilion to my forehead." Some one arri ved there soon and said, "Lord, arrange the lock of my hair and bind my chignon." Some milk-maid bent on her toilet deputed Krigla to fetch sandal foliage for her ear-rings, Some one by

mysteriollS signs explained to him what WI\S passing in her

heart and with a face beaming with smiles- looked at him

soliciting sexual intercourse. Some milk-maid dragged him by force, snatched from him the flute, took away his yellow dress, made him naked and smiled. Some· dignified girl said to- the eonqusror of Madhu, "Lord, paint the nails of my feet with lac-dye." Some one said affectionntely to him, "0 Lord of my life, paint my cheek and breast with lines of

.. cosmetics of various colours."

11-21. When the milk-maids were thns excited with passion; Kri?l,1a knew what was passing in their heart and disappeared wit.1i H£\dhil. 'J'he "elf-determining Lord went at diffei ent times to ddiereot hills, islands, coasts of rivers (fre e from animals), cow-pens, mountain of gem~, coast of the Gang-es, temples ofKalinc1a and Pulindn, Gandha-l\1ilrhn mountain, the_ lovely grove situated 00 the dust-less coast of the Kfl veri, and flowerg'1rden on the coast of the Puepnbhadra. 'I'he Lord having wandered in those places prepared the toilet of H,ildba and went to the top of lovely :Malaya farmed by the wind redolent of sandal. There be constructed a bed of flowers and enjoyed the society of RadM. Rftdhll in the height of

he)' passionate exultation embraced Krisua and almost

fainted. Then Kri~l)a saw Rfrdha with he"r stooping breast

and discovered that she was crest-fallen. oxci ted with passion, senseless and naked. Her toilet bad disappeared and bel' hail' had

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236

THE BRAIIJ1IA-VAIVARTA PUR.JNA.

been dis-hevelled. Then he embraceJ the sleeping and prostrate Rftdbl1 and restored her to consciousness. He clad her and decked her with an excellent girdle, tied on the head a crooked chignon inclining" a little towards the lefc and attrached to it lovely jasmine-wreaths and Kunda flowers.

32-32. He put on her forehead a beautiful mark of vermilion and painted lines of cosmet.ie , on her breast. He also painted t!.!e members of her lotus feet with lac dye and then lI'i th his nails constructed ao arti ficial lotus Oil her loins and breast. Then' Krisna got up and along with R<1dha went to the local lovely pond fall of water pure like crystal and teeming with. lotuses of various kinds. Therein the ganders and the drakes were gambolin~j and the water-fowls were making' a melodious sound. The bees tempted by the boney of the water-lilies of the pond were wandering to and fro and sweetly hutn,ning without intermission. Kri~l.la, bathed with Raub!\' in the pond and being eugsged in aqueous sports first poured water ou the body of R1Jba. Rcldbi\. retaliated in kind. Kri!?l)>l took two lotnscs of a thousand leaves. Tho one he gave to Ril.dhil. and the other he reserved fell' himself. I'hen Hari, the prince of the humorous, voluntarily annointed the body of H.i'tclh:1 with sandal, musk. saffron aud other perfume. After traver..;ing a short distance, he sa w all expansive banian tree with elevated branches. At a short distance frOID that tree, there is a forest of screw-pine trees ove rshadowc I by that baniau tree extending to a distance of oue Yojan. There the wind carryiug the pet·fume of the flowers blew gently and made the shadowy I'egiou extr(Jm~ly fragrant Govinda seated at the root of tbe holy bariiun tree was explallling cheerfully the wonderful ancient history of the old. people to Radba.

83-46. At tbis time, he saw that a. great sag e was app.oaching there with a cheerful mien. The Muni could Hot finel iu his heart the eternal being' and so he desisted from his meditntion, And as soon as he 01' ened his eyes, he saw before him that indesc-ibable image. All the members of the body of this saint were crooked. He was black in appearance, dwarfish and naked. His name was A~ !a-vakm. He posoessed knotted hair and was eUlligcllt with the - rays of Urah'tua. He was vomiting fire which was, as it were, the emblem of his collective reliO'ious austerities, emanabine fro.n his mouth. It appeared from li.s applaran~e as if, the energy of Brahrna was arriving there incarnate. H:s 13o .. s, baiL' and beard were very long. He was v.rlorons and of a trnnqu il disposi tion'Vltb folded palms, frightened looks, iucliuirnr he.ul and re\'el'cnti,~l posture he stood lip before Hari. As SOU11 as It;luhfl smiled ,\t hi~ ~i(l'ht, Kri~:.la prohibited her fl'<)111 tbe di-play of'levity au.i expluiued to her "'his prowess. Then the Muui bowed to Krisna unci adored him accordinsr to the hymn first g_iven by Siva thus . "0' container of "ll virtue, "'yoll transceud all attributes, You are the genesis and the spirit 01 all v irtue. You are the LOI'd, the germ and the cause of tho virtuous. I bow to \'OU again anti again. 0 L:JI'd, yon are the em blem of perfection. You are -the part, the image and the Cause of perfection. Y Oil are the LorJ au.l the spiritual guide of the adepts. I bow to you, a~<liTl ami again. 0 Lord. you arc the eau se of the Vedas. Y ou are COli versan t with the auxiliary branches uf the Vedas and you are the best of thll;C who kuo w the Vedas. o LOI'lI, you can take any form. You are l~e likeness of N ature. You p:i.rtake

KRISNA J.fNJ1IA-KllAtVD.f.

237

of Nature. You are wise. YOIl are the supreme Lord of Nature. You represent the tree of the temporal world, its seed and Iruits. I bow to J.Oll with folded palms. 0 god, you a re the cause of the creation, preserv: siou and the des trnction of the world. You are the origin of the tree of' Maha- Vira!a. Therefore, 0 Lord of Rilclh&, I bow to you. 0 Hari, you are the primeval tree. Brahm a, Visnu and Siva are the three t ruuks of this tree. The gods are its braoL:hes.Exce llent devotion is its flower and the world with its enjoyment is its fruit. Nature is the bud of that tree and you are its coutuiner. But yon have no container; rather, you are the container of all tb:ngs. I bow to you.

47 -52. 0 Lord, yon are the emblem of effulgence, invisible and selfevident. You are incontrovertible, eternal, very much obvious to the senses, assuming every form and self-determining, I bow to you." The great Muni so saying fell at his lotus feet. Then his body dropped close tel the teet of the Lord and a lustre like the burning flame of fire emanated from it. That accumulation of light got up to the height of seven tills, dropped down again on earth, and wandering for a while on all sides merzed in tbe lotus feet of Hari. ·Whoever in the morning while gettmg up from the bed reads the hymn composed by Al?ta.vakra gets the redemption of final emancipation. 0 saint, this ode which is bhe prince of odes is dearer to those who desire redemption than their lives. In days of yore Hari gave it to SJ.ukara in the Vaikuntha,

CHAPTER XXX.

1·10. Nnrada said, "0 great saint, I gathered from you a wonderful mystery. When the great saint died, what did Kri ~l}a. wh? is kiud to his believers do?" Naril.yal}':lo said, "0 Nfl.ra:rla~ when Krl~l}a saw that the great saint died, he prepared to perforll his funerals in a regular way. Afterwards he clasped his dead body to his breast and wept loudly like an ordinary mortal. By the embrace of the Lord and the friction of his hands, the body of the saint WlLS pulverised or reduced to ashes, The cause of the emanation of ashes is this, the saint without taking any food had prayed lor sixty thousand years. His body was denuded of blood and flesh. His boues (consumed in the fire of his stomach) hac! become red. Having been always eusraeed in the contemplation of the lotus feet of Krisna, he had no idea' of tbe"' e~ternal world. A ftc l' wards the dest.roye r of i\1adbu constructed a funeral pile with the sandal wood and being overwhelmed with grief placed therein his dead boJy ami set fire to it. Then the Lord fainted [01' a while. When the body of the saint was reduced to ashes, there was a beat of drum in the heaven and there was a rai o of flowers from the sky. At this time a beautiful chariot; constructed wit.h excellent gems and crowded with attendants (who resembled Krisua, sper dy like the wind, decorated witb clothes and wreaths furnished with suitable paraphernalia, descended from the Goloka.

Ll- 2 I. Then the attendan ts IV ho were vested with the charms and v ir tu e s of KrigIa hasbilj- descended from tbe carriage and bowed to H.<ldha and Kl'li?!.la. 'I'bey caused the great Muni (who wielded a subtle frame) to bow to the lotus feet of Lord Kri~I,la, mounted the ehariof alon ; with the saint and then weut lip 110 the Goloka. When the great M.lIll a::;cended the Goloka, ltt,Lilla who revels ill the Vrin.iuvaua was as-tonished

238

TIlE BRAllJfA-VAJl'AR'fA PURANA.

v.t the phenomenon and asked the Lord of the world thus, "0 Lord, who was that great Muni, deformed, crooked, dwarfish and effulgent? And why did curiously ashes come out of his body? And why did fill his va_lonr, resplendent like fire, merge ill your lotus feet? And why did you being the Suprema Being, weep for him? And why did that pions grandminde~ being ascend a celestial car and go up to the Goloka? And why did you, With streaming eyes perform his funeral ceremony in var ious ways? 0 Lord, relate to \pe all this in detail". 'I'h« destroyer of Madhu smiled at her words and narrated to her the events of the past age thus, "0 my dear, tho history of the great A~ta·vakra is famous throughout the world. In course of time, you will learn everv thinz in detail from Savants. Asba-va kra is the best of s lints and "famous 0 throughout the world. 0 mother of the world, the universe rings with his fame."

22·35. When Ra.dha, the spouse of Hari, heard this, she ruefully and with parched throat, gently and reverentially spoke thus:-"O Lord of my life when the thirst of. the mind cannot be extingiushed by the ocean of hooey, how Can it be satiated by the water of a place marked by the foot-prints of the cow? Yon are the dispenser of the V edas, those whe recite the Vedas and Brahma, You are the Lord of l\IahaV!~lfu. Who is a greater orator than you?" Kri~lfa was very pleased WIth the words of Radha and prepared to reveal to her the extraordinary ~ystery. He said, "my dear, I am going to describe to you an anciens hls~ory which is connected with your queries. The narration of this subject or listening to the account dispels sins. Listen to that account. In days of yore, when the three worlds were deluged with water, then Brahm a,. the dispenser of the world, sprang out of the fleshy navel of Maha- VI~~U through my digits. From the mind of that Brahmd carne out subsequently four boys devoted to Nar.iyalfa and effulgent with the lustre of Brahmn, viz. Sanaka, Sananda, SaniHana and Sanat-Kumar. They were five years old and naked like senseless children. They had no idea. _of the external world and yet they had full knowledge of the realities of Brahma. Once upon a time Brahm a said to them, "0 my SODS, take part in the act of creation." Rut they did not carry out the behest of their father and went out for my devotion. Brahma tbereu pan became a Ii ttle dejected. For if a son wilfully disobeys his father, .the former causes gl e.~t grief to the latter. Then the gran~-father· of all, ~ e., Brahrnu, by the strength of his wjsriom , created from hIS .b.ody sons engaged in devotion, conversant with the Vedas and the auxi liary branches of the Vedas and effulcenb with the lustre of Hrah ma , 'I'hcir names are as follows: -Atl'i. pu:last\,'l. Pulaha, ~J>tdchi, nhrig-n, Angirfl~ Kratu, V asi~ ~ha, V oJhu, Kapila, A.smi, Ka v i, S:lll kn, S3!lkha, 1'a nehaS.kha and Pr acheta. 'I'hey prayed for a long time and I,)' the eomm a nd of Brahma exercised themselves with the propag'l,tioll of creation. 'I' It ey married aud Ied worldly lives (01' adopted the stage or life- appropriate to a house-holder). Gradually they multiplied and begat sons and grandsons '. 0 fair damsel I need not now deal in detail with the sacred and iuteresbing account of the descendants of the above sage". Listen only to the main

point. .

36-51. In course of time, Prachetft, the son of Bmhmii, begat It son named Asita who was the best of sages. Asita with a view to get a son

239

engaged himself in meditation along with his wife for a thousand celestial years. And yet he did not get a son. When he was about to commit suicid- , there was a voice from the ski, "0 saint, please take l\Iantra. from SIva aud make it Mature or perfect. Theil the deity presiding over the Mantra will accede to Jour wishes and grant you a boon by virtue of which you will get a son." The saint when he heard this wonderful voice; went to the pure region of s: ra i naecessihle even to the Yogis. And this great Yogi, with his wife, adored Si\-a with a modest inclination of the head and folded palms, and said, "0 Lord; you are all- good, the source of good, the lord of Yogis, and the head of the spiritual guide of the Gurus. I therefore bow to you. 0 Lord, in that you are the death of deaths, you are the lord, the germ and victor of death. I bow to you. 0 S unbhu YOIl are the death of the destroyers, the lord and the 'cause of time. You transcend the bounds of time. You reside in time and are the time (or ender) of time. 0 Lord, I bow to you. 0 receptacle of virtue, you transcend all the properties of Nature. You are the germ and soul of virtue and the spiritnal guide of the virtuous. I bow to you. 0 Lord, you are the image of llrahma. You know Brahm.a Yon are devoted to. the thought of l:lrahma. You are the seed of Brahms and kuown as the son uf lhahma. I bow to you." The great l\luni having thus adored the efficient creator of beings, with a thrill of raptures ill his body and with sbt earning eyes, stood up before him like one who is poor. \Y hoe ver , subsisting merely lipan ghee aud boiled rice reverentially reads the hym 0 composed by Asrta for a year surely attains long life and wisdom aud gets a son devoted to Vi~l}u. If he is poor, he becomes wealthy; and if he is illiterate, he becomes learned, no doubt. A man without a wife gets a. chaste and good- natured wife. enjoys happiness in this world and in the end goes to the domain of Siva At first Brahma gave this hymn to Prucheta who gave it to his son Asita.

52-66. Lord Kri§l}a said, Lord Sankara devoted to his adherents personally having heard the hymn said to Asita, the SOIl of Brahms, " 0 great saint, compose yourself. I understand what is pas-ing in your heart. 'I hrough my digits, It son will. be born to you who will be equal to me in every respect in form and virtue. Therefore I give to YOll a Mantra eq ual to me ill every respect and unattai nable by people." So sayiu~ Sankara gave him your Mantra eonsist.ing of 16 letters, ode, method of worship. the wonderful amulet called Sauisar Vija and the method of Puras'charan. " 'I he tutelary goddess wiil come in person and grant you everything." So saying he gave everything to Asita. 'I'here-upon Asita bowed to him a hundred times and muttered the Mantra of 16 letters for a hundred years. 0 chaste nymph, you appeared to him in person and granted him the boon saying, '0 saint. by my grace, you will get a wise son.' So saying, you returned tc the Goloka. In course of time, Asita got a son through my digits. '1 he son of the Muui was named Devala. He was the best of those who knew Brahrna and more graceful than Cupid. After a while, Suvala married the fair and world-enchanting Ratnamala, daughter of King Suyajfia. Afterwards the gallant Devala enjoyed the society of his wife in secret places for a hundred years. After the lapse of a time,he desisted from his amorous ps st imes and pleasures. He devoted himself to religiou and recollected Hari, Once upon a time, he

24')

THE 13RAIlJfA- VAIVARTA PURANA.

was sleeping with his wife in t he night. B"t in a short t.ime be beeime ap-ctbebic to the world, suddenly goot IIp from his bed and went for devotion to the cave; of G Ludlu-.\L5.dan mounta.ns, On the ot.her hand, when HatnaMali\. got up from her bed, she could not see her husband. She was a.tllicted wib.: the fire of the pain of separation and lamented his absence very much, Every now and chen, she sat, got - up and bemoaned loully. Her mind Was vel'y much agitated like paddy placed over fire in a heated vessel. She totally abstained from foo.l and gave up her ghost, whereupon her son performed bel' funeral rites.

In -~O. Afterwards my adherent. the dispassionate, great Muni Devals eueasred himself in devotion in the hollow ot the Gandha-Madan mountain fOI':' a °ce!estial thousand years. Accidentally one day Rambha saw him and desired his sexual intercourse, For the saint was graceful like Cupid and tranquil in disposition. Then Ramhhft who enchaubs the three worlds carefully prepared her toilet in solitude and said to the Muni, "0 saint, listen to me. Your grace is attractive to female!'. Therefore, be pleased to lay aside your rigid devotions for a. while and enjoy my society. You excel the excellent in grace on earth. I too who am a graceful nymph, court Jour society. 'I'he union of 11 clever gallallt with a clever nymph is most desirable, In India kings offer sacrifices tor-the sake of heaven; but we constitute the essence of Heaven. \V ho is not pleased with our rising breast,s thighs, our lotus face, smiles and the sweet contortions of our eye-brows? The pleasures of woman's society constitute the cream of happiness. They are desired even by saints. But jf the woman be voluptuous or jovial, she affords a pleasure rarely to be enjoyed. Nay, any individual, be he a god, man, Gandharva 01' demon, if he is deprived of the pleasures of the society of Rarnbhfi- is actually deprived of the joy of a woman's company. If anyone who has subdued his passions does not enjoy the society of a woman who has come to him voluntarily certainly dwells in the hell called the Knmbhipftka for as many yearE as there are pores on the skin of his body. Whoe~'er quits a woman who makes advances to him practically kicks her and is himself destroyed by bel' curse, Look! Brahma, by the curse of Mohini, has forfeited his position among those who are worshipped. Whoever shuns a woman who bas come to him voluntarilv is regar derl bv her with greater indignation than the murderer of-be;' husband, son ~r relations . . j\ prostitute rogm ds a gallant as the clearest persun on earth. But if the gallant forsakes her, she tries her best to kill him. A prostitnte is more wicked iu disposition than the beasts of prey or murderers ami is always cruel in her nature in every birth.

81·1)2. 0 great saint, in this solitude I myself entreat you to give IIp your meditatioos, and by accepting' me you will ever enjoy the frurts of your devotion." The great saint was much afraid at the words

of Ralllbh& and addressed to her words beneficial, full of ethical

maxims and delightful in the end. He said, •. 0 Rambh5, I am

tellinz vou truthful words constituting the essence of the Vedas and befitting the virtue of the tinnily of the saints. A Br{\hmil,l who

- comm irs sexual m.ereourse with a woman at the propPl' time as pr s-

-errbed by l'eli~ion is always esteemed either in this world or it) the next.

J3ut i~.t Br;lllluil,l, KI?J.triya, ur Vu,i,;'ya cohabits with the wife of another

KRISN 1. .. J JNM A iIllJN])J.

Ire scares away the indignant goddess of fortune from his bouse, though he nny be worshipperl throughout the world. He is condemned everywhere, in this world and is not entitled to perform any act. In the next world, he resides in the hell called the "blind hell" for a hundred years. It bas been, no donbt, helel that a house-holder should accede to the wishes of a woman who has voluntarily come to him. If he shuns her, it is said that he is cursed and commits a sin. But this rule does not apply to asceti as. Brahma, the dispenser of the world, by virtue. of his marriage, it is true, has secured a wife. Association with a woman may not cause in the mind of Brahma and others indifference to tho world. But we have quitted for good the sooiety of a woman. Why then should we cherish desire for a woman in our hearb.? Whoeyer leaving hiswife affectionately courts the wife of another perSOll forfeits his fame and longevity. His rife is just like death uuto him. In .this world aman who has not acquired the slightest degree of fame leadsan idle life. To him wealth, kingdom, happiness 01' prosperity is useless. Fair one, I am an old anchorite. I do not stand in need of you: Therefore, 0 mother, go to a well-dressed, handsome, youthful person." Ramhha, the besb of Heavenly whores,., was incensed at these words and her lips and chins'

quivered. She again said to the Muni thus: ." .

. 93-101. "0 best of saints, the colour ofyour body is like the lovely Champalm; you are handsome like Cupid. By dint of your devotions, you have

.nequired a lovely enchanting grace which appeals to the taste of women.

Therefore, 0 Lord, to whom else should I go, if not to yourself? ~Who is .more handsome than you? Ho rv can a passionate whore manaze to live without your 0 best of saints, my heart is very much consumed with tho flame of lust. Come and enjoy me immediately, As an elephant suddenly destroys a plantain tree situated in a forest, so passion that has sprung into existence nt your sight is ready to destroy me. 0 besb of those who know the Vadas, yield to my desire, otherwise I shall curse YO'1. . Either take me soon 61' my curse in tho alternative. My mind and life are being constantly consumed by passion, and my soul is weeping continually. My inflamed mind aild body CJ.n. ill no way, be appeased without drin king the nectar of your sexual intercourse. Look, the best of saints, Brahma, the Lord of the universe, was not able to avert the curse pronounced by an indignant woman in tho utmost distress of her heart. " When the Muni made no reply and was again absorbed in meditation, Rambbil. was very angry and cursed him thus, '·0 crooked Brahmin, all your body will be deformed and swarthy. You will be void of grace and youth. You will be most deformed in the three worlds; and .nndollbtedly all the powers of devotion which yOJ. acquired in the past will vanish immediately."

102-111. So saying Rambha. the best of heavenly whores, went home, After a. while the great.. Muni failed to perceive any longer the lotus feet of Hari in his heart. Then this separation from his feet agitated him much and seeing that he was void of all his previous religious sanctities and that he was deformed in appear~nce, with an afiiicted r heart he prepared a pit of fire and was about to rush rnto the flame. At that time I went to him and granted to him a boon. 'rile saint was

31

--------------------------------------------------~r_----J

consoled by the celestial knowledge wbichl imparted to him and assumed a tranquil mien. As I saw that the eight members of his bodY were crooked, out of fun I named him A§ta-vakra. The Muni, by my ad vice, came at once to the summit of the Malaya and enga.ged himself in, great devotion for sixty tll9usand years. When that devotion was over, I gave him redemption, as' lie' was my adherent. 0 my dear, everything is destroyed at the time of the ~ternal dissoluticn; but my adheren ts are never destroyed. He was immersed fpr' along time in devoticn without food. His body was consumed in the,flaming . fire of his stomach. His body was burnt and reduced to oshes, 0 my dear, I have come to the summit of this monntain merely for the sake of the l\funi. There is no one so devoted to me or will be e'~er so devoted to me as A~bl-vakra. As Brahma lost his lustre through the, curse of a prostitute, so did this devote l great-grandson of Brahma, though the best, of sages, lose bis lustre. Thus I narrated to you the c1e1igh~ful, sacred, abstruse account of the great-minded A~ta-vakra. ~,ow what do you want to hear more?

, OR AP'l'ER XXXI.

1-2. Radha said, "0 Lord, I heard the delightful, wonderful history of the great saint. Now I wnnb to know.why Brahma was cursed. How could 11 heing who is the creator of the world and yields benefits of devotion come to be regarded as unworthy of worship by the mere curse of a prostitute ?"

8-9. Lord Kri~l}a said, "0 my dear, in the Raivata Manwantara, there was a royal saint named Suehandra, lie was a great ascetic, the best of the Vai~I)avas and very pious. This great-minded king, in days of.yore, came to the delightful top of this Malaya mountain situated in, India and was absorbed in asceticism for a thousand years. As he performed the austere rites of the Murris, bis body was worn-out and coveted with ant-bills. At this sight the merciful Brahrnd arrived at the solitary place of.devotion to grant him a boon. Brahm:} annointed him with the water' cf.his wooden pot, the outcome of my body, by means of the Mantra giv~ by me. The best of kings, by the bare touch of that water. got np. reverentially worshipped the creator of the world nn-I with folded palms stood up before him. Then Brahmn said to the prostrate king Sucbandra, '0 best of kings, solicit any boon desiredby you.'

10,20. Thereupon the best of kings demanded from bim faith in my feet and my bondage. Brahmfl kindly gaye him tbe bonn desired. Tho royal saint Suehandra who was effulgent like Cupid, after having got the boon required, stood IIp before him. At this t ime; the king saw thn,t 8" chariot was descending from the sky to the earth and was valorous like a hundred suns. 'fhat cal' was excellent, constructed with excellent gem~, had a hundred wheels and was effulgent, with its own rays. Its light kindled up the ten quarters. It was constructed with invaluable diamonds and brightened up by picturesque jars. It was graced wibh rubies, diamonds, pearls and radiant and pure looking-glasses of gem. It was decorated with celestial cloths, ten millions of white ehowries and surrounded on all sides by wreaths of Pi'nipft ta, It was speedy like the wind and as it was adorned with several sorts of pictures it looked most wonderful. Within that car, were seated attendants of Vi~nu decked with many ornaments, having foul' hands, dark-blue aud bright in appearance, ~.v.~l1g perennial youth,. clad in yellow dress and anuointed with sandal,'

'aloe 'and other perfume. When the king saw the assembly of tbegogs in the ear, he bowed to them with pleasure. At that time suddenly there 'was a rain of flowers on his head; andthere was a flourish of drum, trumpet an 1 other sorts of music in the heavens. 'I'hen the saint, sages~nd udepts blessed the kin;. The over-rejoiced go:ls eulogised him. The king having adored the attendants of Viglu attained their form.

2]·31. Afterwards the attendants mounted him on the car and brought him to the Goloks. The king Suchanrlra, there, became one of my 'l.ttendants and remained for ever in my vicinity. Afterwards Brahma was goin!! homo when Mohini who was wandering in a grove of flowers beheld him. She was at once consumed with the flame of passion ILI:d became spell-bound. She cast a slanting g lance at him, smiled and conccale-l ber face with the hem of Let' cloth. At that time the vsrmiliou-mark on hor forehead mixed with the mark of musk gave her a superb g'rJ.ce. The COlO:11' of her hJdy.r Was like the enchanting Champ.ik fb vers, Her youth WM perpatual. Her loins, buttocks and breasts were thick. Her face thieved the Cha1'1113 of the full moon of autumn which added to her own grace. She was clad" in fine, slender dress and decked with several ornaments of gem. It seemed that Mahin! by a mere glance of hor eye", could easily captivate the three worlds. This nymph, while she was g-ently w:dkill~ with th~ g-ait of an elephant aC1'OS3 the uvenue of the g:ll'den, behek! llt'ahll1i1 on his way homo, was enraptured at the sight aud fainted, 'l'ho heart of Brahma who sprang from the lotus, who had subdued his passions ant! who is self-contented was not defiled ill the least by the sight. He passed along, absorbed in the meditations of Hari. When Brahmd went to his domain, the passionate Mohini almost lost her senses an J, either asleep or awake, day and night remembered the four-faeed llrabma. She abstained from food ani sleep and forgot all hOI' other gallants, The p.issionate Mohini got up and slept at times and wandered, to and fro, in the way like paddy put over fire in a heated vessel.

32·44. At this time the clever Rambha, the best of the heavenly whores was passing by that way to her trysting-place with some object in view and saw th:\t her associate was strotting, here and there. ltaul'~ hha saw that her lips, thro Lt and palate were dried up and realised the condition of her heart. And yet she asked Mohini smiling, '~:\fy associate, you can enchant the heart of the people of the three worlds; and yet II by are YOll wandering in tbi.:; way? 0 blessed being, ,tell me quickly. Look here. I am Rambhs , your dear companion. Go to th.at favourite gallant of yours, on whose account you have been excited with passion and restore him to consciousness. For he, too, has lost his senses My dear companion, we are prostitutes by profession and. are always fortunate. We are not liable to any anxiety with a view to maintain the chastity of our race. Particularly consider that overy one desires sexual pleasures. 'Why should a person feol ashamed of her passion when her heart always inclines to her lover? In these three worlds, there is no object dearer than the soul. Our attachment to our gallant is solely actuated by selfish motives. We love him as a. woman loves her husband, 60_ lo~g: ii;s the body and soul live together. He. to whom the mind or~~ wprii,!-,ri oatdrally leans is as dear to bel' as her life; Dear friend; look at nW,'

TIlE BRAIlMA TAITT ARTA PURANA.

I, too. baing excited with passion, am going to my trysti~g place. 'Therefore discuss the p oi nb very well with me, who am your friend in every respect and then go to your lover. My friend, prepare your Nibi (the ends of It woman's cloth tied in front into a knot upon waist) Bud the lock of your hair in an excellent manner. Dress yourself in a lovely, tasteful g:ll'metit likely to enchant the heart of saints. 0 blessed being, express to me the feelings of your heart. In these three worlds, the influences 01 the ~ woman-kind and one's soul both ought to he preserved. A woman ought not to rev cal her desire of sexual inbereourse to any body else: But there is no harm in revealing it to your dear and simple-minded female associate 01' to your gallant. Therefore, my dear companion, carefully reveal Yo<1r sec, ret to me. If YOll do not do so, you will be subjected to ridicule and bring about yonr own ruin. Rambhfr's words abashed Mohin] who smiled and disclosed her heart to her sympathetic friend.

45-50;' She said, "0 Rambbu, since that dnv forth that I saw the four-faced Lord Bralunft in the solitary g arden, I' ha ve been consumed with the fire or lust. Since that day. I have cherished no desire for food. I have no idea of the time when the sun or the moon arises. 0 my companion, at present I cannot realise the difference between my waking momentsuud my dreams, :Jly life always seeks the.xlesired embrace. If my desire is not fulfilled in a moment, my sOl11 will so in quit the body for· the sake of the lord of my life. My deur companion, what can I say more? My body, which is just like gold, being consumed by the fire of lust is taking the aspect of a burnt mountain for want of 'nollrisli'. ment. Now, I cannot determine if I am walking, sitting or sleeping. Therefore- fie lipan prostitutes, partieularly fie upon me II. hundred times. 0 Rambha, what measures shall I now adopt? Shall I quit my shame or my body? Please tell me which of these two methods shall I adopt 1"

51-BO, Rambhii, the greatest of the celestial whores, when she beard he~ words, pointed out to her celestial met bods productive -of future good saymg: "O'good nymph, what you say i~ true; but I shall dispel ali the evils by which you have been Leset. 'rake heart of crace and listen to .th~ method w hie~. Isnggest. 0 Mohin i, d L'CSS YO~ll'self. gorgeously at this time and adore h.ama. Go personally alan" With him and trv to cause distraction in the mind of Brahmn , yonI' '\elo,'ed gallant. "'ith. out the help of the god K1ma, which woman will be able to subdue the heart of 13rahma who is best of those that subdued their passions and who is .lik~ Narayana himself? 'I'borefore, 0 my companion l\Iohini, go at this time to the holy lake of Puskara and there on its coast eog-age yourself in the adorations and devotions of Kama. Then the Lord Kama. who is kind to the female sex will appear before you in person," So saying Rarnbhu, tho Lest of the celestial prostitutes, went to IGlma for the gratifaction of her lust. Mohini, to adore the god Kama, went to the shrine of Puakara, Afterwards l\Iohin 1 hu ving prayed Kuma for a very long time was able to see the god and along with him wont to the spotless land of Brahmft, She found the offspring of the lotus, (Brahmfi., alone and tried by facing him to cause bewilderment in his mind. At one time, she danced ill a lovely lI:tall'ncr and with well-regulated .lllo~elUents .•

. .....

KRISNA JANMA K1IANDA.

245

i\t another time, she sang in a way likely to :J.i-:.i;ate the

heart of a gallant. Th'en the Lord of the world was

spell-bound by the enchaut.iug music. 'I'ht re was a thrill of raptures in his body and tears trickled down his eye s,

61.64. Mohini saw that the four-faced Lord was en ell mted,

Then gladly and pluyfully according to the measure prescribed by the sexual science, she m.ide hlan lishments of love and with a smiling face and with the grace caused by distortions of her eye-brows, 'displayed her beauty. A person, reudered senseless by the darts of Cupid, loses all sense of shame. Brahmfl., as SOOI1 as he realised the mean thougbts which swayed her heart, hung dowu his head abashed. He remembered l Iari, gave her a suitable reward and refrained froin witnessing the song and the dance any more. Xl ohini was discouratred when she realised the feelings of Brahmj, and with parched throat ;dored Kama, the source of passion thus:

(j5~(j7. ',0 formless god Cupid, mind is the best of the passions and is the outcome of the digits of Vis nu , :'Iin(1 is the root. of all acts and you are the outcome of mind, Therefore I bow to YJlI. In the bodies of corporeal animals, Hari himself represents the soul' Siva represents knowledge and Brahmft represents the mind, Yon arc the offspriug of that mind. Therefore I bow to you. You elwell in all .the parts of the body of those w ho wield bodies. You have a part ieular rezard even for ascetics. You can be brought under control by the world. Y~II can be adored with the greatest difficulty. You are irresistible. I therefore bow to you.

68· 78. •• 0 Lord of Rati, you are in vincible in the world. You yourself have conquered the world. lOU are the radical cause of all creature>'. ,You are' the 1'0oL of the sexual intercourse euchantiuc- to every body and j on are yourself tbe favourite of your, spouse l~ati. I bow to you. 0 friend of women, you always d well in the bodies of women. . You nre dearer to women than t heir Ii ves, 'Yomen serve you and Iike ~ our vehicles 01' sharp weapons. I bow to you. You engender love in the mind of the husband. lOU are the prop of endless charms and the shelter of virtue : the fragrant wind is your minister and the spring is yonI' friend. Therefore, 0 Lord, I Low to yon. 0 wielder of the weapon of flowers, yon always dwell in youths. You excite in the heart of youths the desire to see women. lOU destroy those whose heart is consumed by the pang of separation. I bol\' to you. 0 ocean of mercy, you destroy the wisdom of those who, unkind to YOll, quit the enjoyments of then senses by the exercise of wisdom and you reside in your belie vers in a very subtle form, I bow to you. ,You are the germ of asceticism and the virtue of the ascetics. You can easily impassion the mind of those who have. obtaiued ernnncipa, tion. So, 0 Lord, I bow to you. Persons whose bodies are composed

of five elements can easily be controlled by yon and

such persons are submissive t o yon. The five senses are

your harbour. Therefore, 0 wielder of five arrows, I b iw to you." In the presence of Brahmn, Mohini, having adored Kenna thus in hr-r mind, absorbed herself in jhis meditations with a eres t-fallen appearance. o my, d~fl.r R~dbJl, ;his enchanting hymn is stated in the Mihlbyandin

246

'!'lIE B1UIlJJ.J r.JIVARl'A PURANA..

~1khtl. Durvasa whose sole wealth is his asceticism gave this hymn to Mohini at Gandha Madan. A lieentious man who reverentially reads this most sacred hymn surely attains his object. Cu pid never seeks to opprcss this individual, who is his favourite, Rathel', incidentally he becomes healthy and .vigorous like Kuma and gets a chaste wife \"Ii bo Can enchant the three worlds.

CHAPTER XXXII.

1-10. Lord Krisna said "0 RQdh:.i dearer. than my life, then Kuma was pleased" with the eulogies of Mohini and remaining in the sky discharged his arrows at Brahmft, When Kama discharzed at his father the weapon of Mohan consecrated with ~1antr4s Brahma ~as very much agitated in his hea-t and for a while beheld the lotus face of Mohini again and again. After a while coming to his senses he recollected Hari and desisted from tha~ mood. Brahmfl having realised in hIS mind the tactics of Kama cursed him in anger. He did not foreive him at all on the ground that he was his son. He cursed him tlJUs: "0 foolish Kama, infatuated with youth and the pride of prosperity, thou art attemp'ing to cause distraction' in the mind of thy elders. Thy pride will soon be crushed." Thereupon the palate and lips of Kama were dried np. By the curse of Bralnna he was frightened and disappointed and he departed with his friend, the spring. Then the dispenser of the universe having said thus to Kama, addressed Moliiu i who was excited with passion and casting at him lustful glances thus "::-'{other Mohini, go to such a person as can pander to the desire of a prostitute. I have realised your intention .. Abominable deeds are not fit for me. 'Vhat is more detestable to the author of the Vedas than a lustful act like this? 'I'be theory that evcn yogis should not disappoint a woman who has voluntarily approached them for an immoral purpose does not appeal to their taste.

11-21. "All women should be avoided. Particularly a prosbitute should be avoided by all means. For a prostitute after having destroyed the wealth, longevity, life and fame of bel' gallant ultimately causes him great pain. A prostitute daily desires a new gallant and interferes 'with the duties which he ought to perform. Whores are more crueltban murderers and are the root of all calamities, As the flash of ligb tning, water-mark, and wealth acquired by defrauding others and by treachery to a friend are fleeting, so is the love of a prostitute. Tbere is greater apprehension of danger from a prosti tute than from a beast of prey. A fool who is entangled in her love apprehends danger at every step. 0 Mohin i, you are beautiful and blessed among Heaven's women. You represent the prosperity of young men and the poison of ascetics. You arc the best of celestial whores and your youth is everlasting. Try to find out a gallant suited to your tas teo You are clever among' women. It behoves you, therefore, to bring under your control a clever gallant. For the union of a clever man with a clever woman' is most delightful. I am an old B'l'ihmin, worn out by deerepibude, and devoted to Visnu, How CJ.1l T, therefore, be atbache.l to a prosbitute? Child, I am like YOllr f a ther. Leave me, therefore, an I go to another person. POl' I am tho creator of tho world. '!'he creator is, truly speaking, tho father. A licentious WO:n:1.t:! who, leaving K:tI!lJ., the moon;

KRISN.J. J.JNMA KHANJJA.

247

Jayanta, Nala-Kuvara, the two As'wini-Kumars, Budha (the son of the Moon) or the handsome demons expert in sexual science and competent in sexual intercourse comes to me and desires my society is decidedly void of all taste.

Z2·31. "A man seeks a. woman for sexual enjoyment; but if a woman seeks a man, the order is reversed and the result is a hideous mockery. A woman is rare among gems; your lover, therefore, ought to court you and !Iou should not court a lover. A woman who voluntarily goes to a man and courts his society forfeits her self-respect. For a gem also that spontaneously comes into the possession of a person loses its value. A man goes to his wife only. A woman also goes to her husband. This is sanctioned by the S lstras. But a woman who goes to any other man violates the tenets of the Vedas and rules of society. A man who at the proper time enjoys his possessions according to the rules prescribed by the s'astras is esteemed throughout the world. But be who covets the possessions of others can never be so esteemed. Frail nymph, none has got an enemy in the world. One's passions are regarded as one's enemies and thc root- cause of all enmity. Performance of acts sanctioned by the Vedas creates friendship; but an act opposed to the Vedas turns also a friend into one's enemy. Hart is pleased with a person who performs an act according to tho Vedas. The world is pleased. with him, if Hari is pleased with him. If Hari is displeased with him, all are displeased with him. Both prostitutes and chaste women reap the fruits of their actions. Hari has constructed a woman as a digit.of Nature. He has created the prostitute as ill-natured and contemptible and the chaste woman as good-natured.

32·34. "A chaste woman and a prostitute are of three kinds. Among them there is none who voluntarily seeks the society of her husband or lover. In the whole world there is no woman who casts so great; a slur on her race as she who voluntarily courts a gallant in an elegant dress. You are the only exception."

35·41. Mohini was much enraged at the words of the Lord of the universe and thus spoke, "0 Brahmft , I have just· studied your nature in full. You preach morality; but I cannot compose my mind. illy heart is set upon you, so long as you encounter my sight. I have forgotten all. my other gallants since I saw your lotus face. Lord, ccnsumed by the fire of Tust, 1 was going to sacrifice lu.y life when Rambha gave me the advice which has brought me here and prevented me from carrying out my design. Agreeably to her advice, I came here with Cupid. But Kuma also has been disappointed by your curse and has left with his frieud, the spring. 0 Lord, though you are rebuking me in several ways, yet I am unable to leave YO'I. All the members of my body have been paralysed. 0 ocean of mercy, show compossion to your slave. It is not proper for you to destroy me. Lord, your embrace alone can .despel the fever of my body.

42·55. "Yon are the dispenser of the world and, unluckily, I am a prostitu teo 'I'he saints are never, however, proud. For everyone is subject to Karma. Some people mount cars, others convey them. Through the influence of Karma, kings realise revenue; and subjects pay them thesaid revenue. Some are nl way" seated. on the throne as kings: others

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TIlE 13RAHMA rAI'fTARTA PURANA.

are their subjects and r.ttelllants. Karma accounts for this difference. Some are mounted on the bae k of elephan ts and horses; some ride on consveyance: and others heal' them. 'I'hrour-h the intluence of Karma, some are born through sows; others are bO~ll through Stchi or as your sons. In this world through the influence of Kuma n nd faith in Hari sOll?e are born as the Lord's attendants : others unfortunately are born as the worms of ordure. Some - kings, as a. result of their Karma. go to heaven; others go to hell and eat ordure mixed with urine. Through Karma one is born as Indra, the best of gods: others are born as the inferior order of gods, or men or inferior animals. Some are born in the world as Brahmins, the best of castes j other are born as K;l1triya, Vai'syas, Suaras 0;' infidels. Some are born as wise and impartial ; others are born as illiterate, blind and deformed. Some people teach S~lstras to their pupils, others receive knowledge from their spiritual guides. 'I'hrough Karma some bodies become moveable or immoveable. Some are anchorites; others are murderers, As the result of your Karma, yon have become Hrahma. Some women are chaste fur the same reason and are esteemed in this world as well as in the next. Others are whores and earn their livelihood by the sale of their bodies. I am a celestial whore. This is why I am enjoyable and adorable by the gods. Our bare embrace cuts asunder the ties of Karma.

56-60. "The mind breeds character. Character is the germ of Karma.

"I'hat Karma is the cause of fruits. i3ut Lord Hari is the fountain-head of everything. The Lord always awards fruits of action through Karma. That J anflrdana who represents Kal ina is. eternal and most powerful. 'Why, was I so much slandered and why did you so much rebuke mo? You are emphatically the creator of the world and I have come to see only your lotus feet. I have voluntarily eorne to court as my husband that being whose lotus feet cannot be beheld even by the yogis in- their dreams. Either in this world or in the next I shall not seek the society of any one else, nor shall I touch any O1\e. No woman looks so graceful as she who is touched by the dust of your feet."

61-72. Mohin i, having said so, sat before Brahrn t, the ruler of the world who trembled through the fear of the prostitute. l\lobini with crooked eyes and a smiling f:lce expressed her sensual feelings and being oppressed by the darbs of Cupid displayed her body to Brahmd, At this time, the whole-bodied Kfunn, expert in abstract meditation appeared and discharged five arrows at one and the same time. Enchanting, staying', infatuating, fever-producing, benumbing and other weapons Cnpid discharged while remaining' in the sky and having deputed his myrmidons tried to be-witch hi, father. Cupid also deputed to the task, the spring, the ctckoo, the delightful fragrant breeze and other myrmidons. He e~tered into the body of Bralnns and attempted to cause distraction in his mind. By his side, the male cuckoos uttered a melodious sound. refreshing breeze gently begnn to blow and the spring cheerfully wandered in all directions. 'l'hen there was a thrill of' raptures in the body of the Lord of the universe. At that time Mohin]. the enchantress of the universe, smiled and being rendered senseless by darts of Cupid expressed bel' seusunl desire with her slanting glal1ce~. Brahmit could

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KRISNA JANMA KHANlJA.

realise very well that the disorder in his heart was due to the prepondorance of passion recollected Lord Had in fear to dispel Kama, the enemy of his heart from his mind. Afterwards Brahmd mentally adored Lord Had who was charming and dark- blue in appearance, who had a tranquil mien and smiling feature, who was decked with gems, who had a neverfailing youth, a charming apparel, who was clad in yellow garments and

who wielded 11 flute with both of his hands thus: .

7382. "0 Hari, I have beon immersed in the sea of evil and lust, which is full of water and di fficult to cross. P1 eserve me soon. This impassable sea Causes oblivion of faith in the mind of the devout. It is the only stepping-stone to danger, and is instrumental in obscuring the eye of wisdom. 1 t is full of the waves of birth and ever teems with alii. gators in the shape of women. Its bed is very deep: and the eun-enbs of sexual intercourse flow there with a great force. 'rho sea (If lust appears at the firsb flush, to be full of honey but ultimately it is discovered to bo' replete with poison. It blocks the way to redemption and widens th 0 way to hell. 'I'herefore, 0 destroyer of Mndhu, be a pilot yourself and with the boat of intellect and supreme wisdom relieve me from tbis imp.issabl'' ocean. 0 Lord, no one can ascertain the number of Brahmfls like my humble self deputed to the task of creation: and 110 one can say how many Brahrnfls are there in this world. 0 Lord of the world, preserve me. 0 Lord, though this land is not a field rf action and is called Brahma-Io ka, yet I have no atbaohment fur worldly enjoyments being so nllny impediments to YOllr faith, 0 Lor.l, 0 ocean of m"rcy, 0 fricud of the poor, show mercy to me. 0 all-illusiou, I have been obscured completely by the darkness of ignorance. Do not e.iuse me to experience ominous visions." AIOl'in<:i me thus, the h)(·J of the universe paused and with an inclination of his head he can It'tntly meditated my lotus feet and remembered me. 'Vhoever reverentially reaIs this hymn composed by Brahrnd does not get immersed in any matter calculated to bring him notoriety or evil fame. He gets rid of all delusion, secures my homage ant! b,~I11.~ ren-lered devout in this world turns out to ,be the best of my votaries.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

1-11. Sri Kri~1)a said, "Bl'ahma adored Lord Hari and restrained the infatuated elephant- of his mind with the iron-goad of the celestial knowledge imparted to him by me and sat down by t.he side of Mohini." '1 hen Mohin i ridiculed him saying "0 Lord, a being who, allured only by hines from a we mau, drags her to his side and enjoys her society is regarded as the best person. Whoever having clearly perceived the intentions ot a woman commits sexual intercourse with a woman after he is entreated by her to do so is regarded as the second best, And a wretch wit) being entreated by a passionate WOIO:111 fails to commit sexual intercourse with her even in solitude does not deserve to be culled a malt but a eunuch, Anyone, be he a house-holder or an auchorite, 01' a licentious person, if he avoids a woman who vcluntaeily seeks his society, is condern ned in this world and goed to hell in the next world. By the curse or' that woman he is deprive I of gritCd, beauty and pride and

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THE BRAiltJA_ VAIVARTA PURANA.

subseqnently he becomes impotent. 0 Lord of the world, get up. I have fallen into the dreadful, impassable sea of lust. Be a. pilot and rolease me. In this solitary place which is free from all animals, which is redolent of fragrant and gentle breeze. which is full of the sweet melody of the cuckoos, purchase this slave of yours at every birth, who is devoted to yon with her whole head and heart by payment of the consideration of sexual intercourse." Mohini who was agitated with lust, after having said-so, pulled the clothes and arms of Bralnnfi, the creator and ruler of the world.

12-2G. Brahrnft feeling that the time was suited to an address, with a heart agitated with fear; addressed Mohin i, using words that were gentle and sweet like honey thus: - "0 Mohini, I tell YOIl plain, truthful, substantial, beneficial words. Listen. In these three workls.jt. is not proper for a woman to adopt a course of impudence. 0 mother, I am your dispassionate, old son. 'I'herefore leave me and try to find cut a merry youth adapted to your purpose. Fail' one, it is only through tho dispensation of fortune that a wife, a spiritual leader, bus band, EOn, good and evil results, mystic formula and skill are secured. No one has to make special efforts b secure them. 0 nymph devoted to ~ood vows, fate has not ordained that I should commit sexual intercourse with you. Be an act groat or small, it is performed through the dispensation 'Of fute." So saying, Bralnnft rem nnbercd my lot us feet. The prosti I ute, rendered senseless by lust, pulled him again. At that time, in tbat delightful place, at my instance, refulgent with the lustre of Brahmf; arrived Atri, Pulastya, Pulahn , Vasi~tba, Kratu, Angirii, n!.rigu, Mar ichi, Kapila, Bodhu, Panchu-Sikhfi, Ruchi, Asuri, Prachetft, Sllkl'a, Vrihas-pati, Utathya, Karabba, Kanwa, Kas'yapa, Gautama, Snnakn, Sananda, Kardarn, Sanfttal). the Lord Sanat-Kumar, (t.ha great spiritual guide of the anchorites), Satatapfl, Pippala, Sanku, Sal~kha, Parftsara, ~15l'kandeya, L()ma~a, Chyavanu, Durvftsa , .Tnratkiiru, Ast.lb, Vibhiil!~ab, Hi~ya·Sl'illga, Bharadwfija, Vurnadeva, Knus'ika and others. Seeing them, Mohini let go the hold of Brahrnd. Brahmft took his seat ant] Mohin] sat down on his left; side. ,Yben the saints howed to Blailln,l with p. reverential inclination of their heads, Brah 111ft blessed t he In and al lotcd to them their appropriate seats. He shone iu their midst like the moon surrounded by stars.

27·30. 'l'hen the saints asked Drahmit' thus : "0 god, whv is Mohini, the chief of the heavenly prostitute!', seated by your side?' ''I'be Lord of Creation thus answered, "The females are nuun allv bashful. 'I'his nym ph is unable to speak ont the matter for herself. Rl; I speak for her. Listen. This :;'I[ohini took part in the most ' ..... onderful dall(!e and song for a long time and has conscqucntlv been exhausted. Therefore like a C:aughter of mine she is seated by the side of her father.' Brahm a l~ugbe(l while he addressed the eonneil of the ,ages in the above way. o ItHdhil, tbe omniscient sageE, by dint of their wisdom, baying realised the secret, laughed also.

31.40. The heavenly whore Mohin i having' realised the mental condition of Brahnut ill his laughter wa~ highly ince nsc.l. Her body quivered. H er oyes Lee uno crooked UIlLI red Ii kc a pair '01' lotuses. Her lips and

.. <~ •• ,.

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chin shivered. Mohini got up in a. rage, stood up before the assembly, and in their presence like damsel death addressed Brahmft saying, " 0 Br~hmi\, yon are the Lord of tho world and the author of the Vedas. Now, is yonI' ncb smet.ioued by the Vedas or adverso to the Vedas? 0 spiritual leader of those who know the Vedas, discuss in your mind how a pJL',;on who is atbach-d t') his 0\\'11 daug hto» e.m ridicule a dancing' girl. God hall made me a prostitute privileged to resort to any lover. But an adverse act porf orrncd by a saint is highly objectionable. Inasmuch as in th,~ pride of your heart, you have ridieuled a woman who, through the dispensation of fate, modestly sought yonI' protection like a slave, you will soon be excluded from wors hip in the world aud Hari will quickly subdue yonl' vanity, 0 Hrahm't , now realise YOLlr own strength and the relative str eng th of a whore. Whoever will accept your amulet, mystie fJrmllla or hymn will encouuter obstacles at every step and be. subjected to ridicules. In every a~e, the gods receive annual worship. But YOII alone will not be eutibled to the worship which you used to get in the mouth of 1\U gila.

41-50. \\'bat is the lise of discuss] ng the meri ts of that worship which you 115PU to receive? But henceforth in any age, in this body 01' in allY other body, you will no longer be worshipped." Moh ini havinr:said so went to the house of IGlina and there enjoyed his society whereby she dispelled the fever of her body. 0 my deal', when Mahin! came to her senses, she lamented again and ag-ain sayini!, "Ala5! Why did I curse the ereutor of the world ?' Sorrowing thus, the celestial prostitute went away and the saints became very sorry. The ruler of destiny, through fear of her curse, inclined hi" head aTH.! trembled. At tbat timo the saints advised Brahrna to adopt beneficial methoJs with these words: "0 Brabma, go to the Vuikun tha and seek the protection of Hari." So saying they went away. Thorell [lUll Bra h mil. sough t the protection of N:1ra yal}a, the lord of Kamala, dark-blue in appear:lDCe, chat ming, of a tranquil mien and a modification or form of myself. 'lhe dispenser of the world with a crestfallen appearance, parched t h roat , palate and lips Lowed to the four-banded gOll and sat by his side. 11e revealed his mystery to Narayal).a, the friend of the POOl', tbe ocean of mercy and preserver in dnncer. Hari smiled when he heard all this and addressed him with words, "delightful, substantial, tru thful and beneficial bo the world thus; ,r 0 Brabma, you are conversant with the Velas. You nre the chief of the spiritual guides of the learued ; and yet you have performed an act which cannot be committed by

a murderer. .

51-C3. ., Wo,nell arc the digits of Nature and represent the germ of the world. Humiliation of a woman is offering insult to Nature. Your region is not th~ excellent, sacred land of India. 'I'hab is nrahll'it world, a field of amusement. Wliy did you subdue YOUI' passions? Nav, even in India, if a woman excited wi th passion accidentally appears before a man and desires his company, the latter, even if dispassionate, should not reject her offer. If he rejects bel' offer, he is defrauded in several ways in i.his worl.I and goes to hell in the next world, The woman also, oppressed by S,)l'l'OW, curses him. 'Vhoever abandons his own wife au.I out of avarice or love courts the wife of another man is surely the basest of men. Ho

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THE BRAHJIA T"LfIVARTA PURLfNA.

degrades himself and abo degrades ten ancestors and ten descendants in his own line. If a household woman abandons bel' husband an I courts another man, she is contaminated by bel' condueb. Bu t a man is not eontamincted by sexual intercourse, if the woman desiring his society be a prostitute or if the woman, though she belongs to a certain household, seeks hi" society voluutarily. If a woman with various devices brings under her e.mtrul the husband of another woman, she must reside in the hell called the blind well so long' as the sun and the moon exist. lIeavenly prostitutes always dwell in heaven under the rules wbieh bind them. But a person who slights them is surely guilty. 0 dispenser of the world, for a while pass your days in the sea of the world designed for sinners. Afterwards I shall adopt means to relieve you from sins.' At. this time a sentinel arrived and said, "Lor', the ten-faced Brailm3 of another universe awaits YOlll' orders at the threshold and respectfully solicits an interview with YOll." Hari hal'ing heard his words permitted him t.o enter. The ten-facet! BmhmfL, introduced by the sentinel, appeared before Ilui-i and was allotted a scat superior to that of' the four-faced llrahm;l. A t the command of l Im-i, he sat down and, in a wonderful hymn unheard-of before hy the four-faced Hralun I, adored the Lord.

(j.J.-7G. N~lri\j'al,1a again said to the four-handed sentinel of his, "If any new visitor appear . .; again at tho tb re-hold, bring him to me with esteem" o nymph who rovellost in Vriudavana, 0 lUllllu't, at this time the hundredfaced lsruhuut carne to Hari bowing anl with his hundred month" adored Him with an abstruse and excellent hymn unheard-of by the ten-faced Hrahmft. lIe then occupied a position ahead of the ten-faced Hra hrn I. At this time the thousand-faced Br;titm:i, lord of another universe, put in appearance and with a mo.Iost inclination of his haad a. lored the Lord wit!1 a hvmn unheurd of by others and then sat down at his e rmmund. 'r:1C1l Hari asked the Brahm.t mentioned l ist about the affa irs of the people (sunk ill worldly enjoymeut and dwelling in the worlds of all the Brahmds) uml the g'ods. 'I'he four-faced Brahmfl used to rE'gard himself as the go I VI~I.lll ; but whcn he observed the hundred-heed and thousut.d-fuoe.l Hra lnnus, his pride was crushed. Wben l Iari saw th.Lt the four-faced Brahm.l, uba-hvd , almost looked like a corpse, he kindly pointed out to him the Br;~lIrn'ls of the other world". In fact, the worlds al'tl as numerous as the pores on the skin of Nar11yal,1a, who is a modification of Illy form; and ill each universe, there is a Brahma. 'I'he Brahmas bowed to Hari awl went home. 'I'ho four-faced Lord now came to regard himself as the owner of very ordinary or humble resources. Vi~I.lu asked tbe abashed, bowiug, four-faced llrahmil.. "0 Bruhmit, what were you observing at this time, as if in a state of dream"? Brahmfl replied, "Lord, the present, tho past and the future are nil the outcome of you!' illusion." So saying he sat down with his head hung down in shame. Afterwards Hari devised schemes for the purification of Brahma,

CHAPTER XXXIV.

1-12 Lord Kri~l,1a said, "At this time, before the assembly of l Vi~l_IU, Sallkarn himself, possessed of a cheerful mien, mounted on a bnl. lock and covered with ashes put in appearance, He was clad in a tiger-hide,

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hie neck was decked with the sacred tltrcafl of snakss ; his head was loaded with clusters of bail' of golden colon!'; his forehead was covered with the crescent or the half moon ; be held in his hand t he encbauting trident, the axe, an e xcallent bedstead and a pure, vocal instrume nt eonstrueted with gems. Siva hastily descended from his convega nce, bowed to the lord of Kamala and to Brahrnu «nd cheerfullv took his se u , At this time, the sages, the gods including Indra, Aditya, Vas : , Ii udrn, Manu, the adepts and the snakes all arrived a.d with a thrill of raptures in their bcdy adored t l.e Lrst r.f Leings (lhq'i); au] t l.e gcd stooping low w ith reverence bowed to Siva and Bra hmft , At this time Saukara respectfully busied himself in sillging the delightful song of the Riisa which was an e-xposition of our virtues a nd adapted it to the measure nud key of the vocal inst.r ume uts. 'l'hat ~ong w ns suit ed to t ue occasion, and based on delightful moues of rnusie: and olVing to 1 he harmony of the instrument, tone and measure it was fascinating in the hig l.est tJpgree. Owing to the variety uf feet and eader.ee (rise and fall I, and its moderate length, it emitted a Sill et s ound and hac! a gelltle flow of music. 11e sang this song which is rarely heard eve n in India. It was pathetie, f:J1I of meanings, audible and sweet. I::l is body was repe-rtcdly thrilled with raptures: am! tears dropped f1"'111 his eyes. 0 my denr, the mjrrn idons of the Hud!'a~ who sat before S urks ra, the sages, gods, the rulers offate, the at.teudants of Hari, J\arilyal):l, L,t1\~I1lI aud tbe singer Sint himself swooned at che song.

13·25. 0 mistre ss of Ii1\' life, at that time Vuik un thn was inundated with water. At this sight, . i 'YaS fi ighteued ar.d cl~a'tE'd the imago ef Gangii out of tLe heap ol waters; and having supplied the gedde-s with n weapon, a ecnveyau ea, ornament, wind. resources and p'oclivities suited to her form and nature assigned to her a place round the Vai kun tha. 'I'ben the presiding' goduess of t he Gauges went to her allotted destination and as she emanated from the body of the gods, she was sty led Sura- N iuinagao She is the source of redemption to the devout and promotes in the mind religious zeal for Hs ri. By the mere contact of the wind ,charged with her vapour, heaps of sins noournulated by a sinner in millions of births are destroyed. 0 mistress uf my life, when I L!O not know the fruit secured hy the sight and touch of Gang-fl, theu IJOW cau I determine the fruits of ablutions III her waters? Of all the 0::1cI'8\1 places on earth, tbe lake Puskara is regarded as the best in the Vedas; but even the Pu~kal'a is not even equivaieut to a sixteenth part of this river in point of religiolls efficacy. Bhilgiratha brought. iier down to the car t h; hence ~>he is celebrated by the name of Bhilghathi. And as she descended to the earth in tho form of a current, she is known by tbe name of Gang,!. In days gone by, the saint Jahnu, in a rage, drank tbe Ganges and emitted her throllgh his knee. As sue is like a daughter to tbe sage, she is known by the name of Jfihna-vi. Vasu was Lorn oat of her womb iu the shape of Bhi§ma; hence she is called the mother of Bb isma, By my command, Gangfl began to flow ill three currents passing to the heaven, earth and the nether world; lienee she is called 'l'ripathagfl, Her principal current called ~hIldfikini flows in the heaven. \landukinl is a 100 Y ojans long and IOU .Y ojans broad, Her water is like milk and full

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of huge waves. At first 1\landftkinl came from the Vailru n tba to the Bruh ma-lo ka and thence proceeded to the heaven.

20-38. The current of the Ganges co:niog down from heaven descended to the Himu layu rangc and the eurt.h was united with the sea of salt. Hence she is also called ,\ lakuand I. Her water i s pure) li 1;:8 crystal all I is vet·y rapid. As fire consumes fuel, so Lhis strcaui destroys sins of the wicked. The sages ascend the sta.ir-c.isc of the Ganges, surmount Hrahma-Ioku, ride on a chariot free I't'OIl1 danger and como to my U imnin. Sinners dying through the grace of God un.l as a re su lt of K:uma 011 the waters of the Ganges are relieved I-om all sin- an.l acqu ire Illy form. 'I'hey becnnc the best of the attendants of Silfa and dwell hy his side. Being eq ual to me in form, they never die even on the day of eternal dissol ution. If the dea I body of a person falls into the water of the Gamres

. in all y way, the said persall d \VB lls ill the tem pie of Hari for as many yoars as there are pores 011 the skin 01 his body. Persons dying 011 the bosom of the Ganges can wield many forms at one an.I the sam s timc : and in the course of a short time, they enjoy the fruits of virtue 01' reap the consequences of vice. Afte rwurds in India, they are born in the house of virtuous men and, bcius devote.l to me, cerbuiulv attain the position of my atteudunts. If a "'Suclra bears the bo Iy 0(;1 deud t.wiecborn person, the latter d wells in hell fur a num bel' of ye-ars COmmemlll'ate with his footsteps Afterwards the Ganges who has the image of the merciful lhu-i co n es to the rescue an I u ltimabely brings about his redernptiou. In India, she causes his birth in the house of a virtuous mun anel, in tlJ'3 next world, Vnikuu ths give~ him shelter.

30-47. If a m m sturts on an a~lspicioas diy to bathe in the

Ganges, he cheerfullv (I wells ill tho Vaiku n tha for a umuber of' years commcnsurate wit h his footsteps. If ar:y sinner going on some other hn siucss ineidentally bathes in the Gauges. he is still released from other sins, provided that he is not implicated in allY other sinful act, This Gallgel will remain ill India for five thousand years o r' Ka!i, 80 10Ilg as she will remain there Kali will not be able to exercise his influence over tho world, My imuges aud tha Pur.t nas u lso will subsist ill India for 10,000 ye.us of Kdi. As long as we remain there, Kali will not bc 'able tv exercise any influence over the people. 'I'he current of Gang<t which has descended to the P:iLftl is c rllcd Bho;av.tti. Its waters resemble the f.iain of milk, 'I'his stream is very rapid and is the mille of all germ. '1'113 female snakes of perpetual youth always SpOI·t on the banks of llhn,;;:t\·atl. 0 mistress of my life, the G<111ges personally surrounds the Vaiku n tha and dwells there constantly. It IS one lakh Yojnns long and a thousand Yojans broad. My daughter GalJg'ft can by no means die, Her co isf is the ore of lllaoy delightful mines, 0 god(less, I thus narrated to YOtl tho sanctifying account of J:lhl.lad. Now listen to the account how Hrahmf, was relcaascd from the curse of Xlohini.

CHAPTER XXXV.

1-7. Sri Kl'i~l_l~, "aiel, "On the other hand, when all the people observed UQ.llgi'l at the assembly of NUl'il.ya~la, thoy thought tbat all this was

/{RISNA JA.NjJIA KHANIJA.

255

due to my illusion. Then the lord of the Vaik"IJ tha kindly said to Brahrnft, II 0 tour-facerl god, you have been cursed Therefore I commund you to get IJp. Go and bathe in the Ganges: and all will be well WIth you. If yon bathe there, you will be consecrated. Holy places also desire the touch of the principal Vais navas including yourself. Hut in spite of consecration, YOll arc still te a certain extent a victim of the curse for having subjected to indignity the goddess Nature. Pride is at the root of all evil and is tho germ of sin. You had better go ql1 ickly to the supremo Cow-world. There you will attain the benefactress Saraswati, a digIt of Nature. You had Letter adore Nature, t.he gel'lll of this auspicious creation. It is a matter of great regret that although you were enO'nged in devotion for full one Kulpa, rio-body will now accept your Mantra, a; you are the victim of the curse of a pn stitute." Then Brahmft , at the command of Hari "IV ho is but a modifieation of myself, bathed in the Ganges andbowed before the form of Nn rayanu, the spiritual guide of the world.

8-20. Then the gods and the Murris eulogisod my blot less fame and went bacK to their respective homes. Brahma came to the Goloka and was ver.y glad to attain the presiding chaste goddess of knowledge who emanated from my mouth and cogitated in his mind that this incident could not possibly have been brought about except throug-h the intervention of 011(; well versed in sexual science. Then be cam e and bowed to me; and having secured Saraswat.i, the encbantress of the three worlds, as his bride Brabmfi dallied with bel' in several places in solitude. A fter a good deal of diversiou, he desisted from his amours and came back to Brahma-Icka. The residents of the Brahma-loka saw that the very fair, white coloured smilinc goddess Saraswat i was dwelling therc with a cheerful heurb. Her face resembled the moon of autumn; her merry eyes bloomed like a pail' of all tumna l lotuses. Her lips and chin were very enchanting. It seemed as if they thieved the grace of ripe bimbas. The row of her teeth pnt to shame the pearls. Her cheek was decorated with diamond ear-rings. lIer breast was adorned with a garland of excellent gems. She was clad ill dress chastened by fire. She had a prime youth and was v ery lovely. Her hands held a lute and a book. Theil they performed anspioious rites, greeted Brahmfi and the goddess 13barati, gladly ushered them in into the la nd of Hrahma. Brahmft sported with her day and night and was absorbed in se xual enjoyments. 0 my dear, I thus related to you the mysteries of the I'urf nas, Now let me know w ha t you want to hear.

il.36. N:\rayi'll.la said, ., The great goddess Rfldha, when she heard the worJs of the lord of her life, smiled. merrily expressed to him her ideas and said," Lora, why did not Brahma who yields fruits of all actions accept the prostitute who voluntarily arrived at tlut solitary fi~ld of action. Ab-uidonment of a woman who comes voluntarily out of lust is very siuful. The dispenser of the Vedas knew all this and yet he rejected her. Pray why"?" The destroyer of Madhu smiled at these words and told the mistress of rncrry damsels the account relating to the Pi\dma age thus:-"O my sponse, in clays of yore, events affecting the conduct of sages which are very mysterious, iudescribuble nnd sdandalous had come to P:1SS. I am going to dC3( ribe them to you. Pray, listen. Ouce upou a bime I deputed Brahmu to tile task of

256

THE BR.dHMd JTAIVART.J. PUR.J.NA.

..

creation, Brahm:'!. thf' off-spring of lobus, created issuos out of Lis mind, eifltlCTol,t with tile 1118t,1"0 of Bmhmil. Their names are as follows: Sanaka,

O. A A

Sananrla, Sanfi tann, Sanat- KuU)ii rn, Ilod hu, Kuvi, Panch-Sikhft, Asuri,

Siddh i, Kapiln a nd the adepts, 'I'he father, i, e. the foul' faced TImhmil. e orn mnnd-nl the nakc.l ch il lre n who were five years old to create, Devoted to Ilnri, thov did not carrv out. the command of their father and at once left thc plac'e for devotion~ 'I'hen Brahml in a l'ag-c again created eleven hideous, weeping Hndrns Later on, BrJ.llln,i, the greatest of ascetics, pllro in spirit and of a tranquil mien eoutemplat ed me thron qh the powers of his abstract meditabions (logas) awl crcatccl Vnsis thn, I'u luha, Kratu, Angirfi, Bhl'igll, Atri, Pulastu, D,Lki?;l, Kardnm, and Mar icb i and com-nanded them to create. 'I'hen with a cheerful disposition, he created another son named K{im~ aud a t1allghtcl', 'I'he girl decked wit.h ornaments of gcm n nrl aged Iii years locked very b mutiful. Afterwar.ls Umllln:1 addressed his beautiful son (K:rlma) standing by hi" side, who was the product of my digit~, who was sclf.contented and who was irre-ist.iblo and graceful t.hus : "0 S'JIl, I gladly created yon for the mutual dalliance of men and women. By virtue of yonI' abstracl, mcditntions, roa will dwell in the heart of e 'cry one.

37-46, I give you the fullowing arrows or wa:lpons viz, onch:wting. agitating,stnpefying, maddening, fever-producing and sense-depriving. Please accept them fl!ld bewilder everybody, Child, by my boon, yon will be irresisbible." '}'he dispenser of tho world was pleased to g'r,lllt til is boon to Kama. Then he perceived his duug hter before him and prepared to grant her a buon, A t this time. lGi.ma decided to test thc efficacy of till' weapons and di~ch,uged all of them at Brahm". Then t he grcat adept and ascetic (Yogi), Br.ihmft lo-t his senses thl'o!l:jh the pro\Ve;;~ of tho irre sistiblo d.rr ts, c.insecrate.l by i\[antl'cls and disebarg nl by Cupid. In a momenb he recovered his con-ciousness and S.tW his c1a'l~htel' before him. Tho senseless Bohmil, with fI view to enjoy her socieby , ran after her. The eh iste nymph fled, The girl, .sceingo tlut she w.is being pursued by her father, soon son~ht the protec+ion of her devont brothers. 'I'he sages sheltered her by ~hoir side an-I in all6'cl' a.d.JI'CSS3l1 their {'lther with words, beneficial, ethic:d and c J115titnLin~ Lh·) essence of the Vedas t hu-, ,. 0 father, what a vile act yoa arc gl)il1~ to psrform ? Yon are abo.ib to commit a deed which can only be performed by a mean wrotch. Virtuous people re>g'lrd other women as mothers; and for havinu sub.lued their passions they are worshipped in this world as well as in the next.

47-56, A (blighter has been classed among mothers, as stated in the Vedas, How is it that you, ltein~ the aut hor of thc Vedas.are about to ravish YO'lr c1allgh tor? 0 sire, the followi ng women are clas-ed among mothers, viz, the wife of n spirit ual preceptor, thcgueen, the wife of a Brilhruin, a chaste WJm:l11, the wife of a brother. danghter-in-I .. w, the mother of a frien.l,' tho wifc of it friend. the mother of tho father, thc wife of the brother of either oJ th : parents, dlll!.rhtel', mother, step-mother, sister, Surahh i (cow), the wife of the tutclnry deity. the nurse, the woman who sustains the issue in the womb anrl the wi le of the pl'c~ervcr in times of d,tnger, Out of these, no one is infl'l'ior in rank or posit ion to the otUOI', and according to the Ve.las, oue who uiarries his daughter to another, one who gives food aud

KRISN.1 JANlJIA ]{IIANDA.

257

knowledge, one who gnarantees iunnuuity from danger, one who gives 1:hlltm~, one who begets, tho elder brother, and the fa.ther of the motber are classed among fathers. Infamy to a man of fame is worse than deabh. A fool wbo inj ures his hme or who oppresses the fathers described above suffers the pa.ngs of hell for the period of life allotted to Brahuin and being thrust into the" blind pit" is chastised by the myrmidons of Yam., and there has constantly to eat the ordure, unpalatable to the taste. You are yourself the lore! of the world, the chastiser of y,\lua and dis. penseI' of the universe. And still are you going to ravish your daughter?

57 -UG. Licentious fellow get you out from this place. Your mind has very milch been polluted with feelings of lust. Though we are able to consu me yOel to ashes, yet we excuse you because you are our father. If an elderly relation h:18 a thousand faults, a savant ought to forgive him. A moralist destroys all oppressors but spares his spiritual guide, If the Guru rushes in like a tyrant, appropriates every th iog and is read v to curse, still he should not be slandered but respectfully adored by his disciple or pupil. Anyone who slanders or spites the supreme Guru suffers torments in the hell called the Blind pit as long as the sun and the moon exist where he is chastised by Yama and where being oppressed by hunger he eats ordure. He is also bitten there clay and ni~ht by snakes as big as the Sal·tree." ~he sages having said so, fell down prostrate at his lotus-feet and resumed their respective functious. Then Brahma , thinkiug that "a.1l this mishap \V~tS due to Providence, pierced the six mystic circles of his body through the powers of abstract meditation with a view to commit suicide and blocked up all his vital airs which he introduced into the aperture of his head. And, thus as a result of his Karmn, he gave up his ghost. While dying he mentally remembered Hari and cherished in his heart a desire to this effect that his mind might never be attrneted by other objects." Thinking thus, he merged in the Supreme Being. The girl when she saw th It her father was dead lamented very much quitted her frame, by dint of ber devotions and merged in the Supreme Being, Brahma.

67-7(j. Afterwards tbe g'l'eat saints when they saw that their father and sister were no more, lamented much and in a rage remembered the self-contented Hari, There N[Lrayat,1a, all offspring of my digits, soon arrived and thron~h his divine knowledge he revived Bl'ahm£1 and his daughter. Bmlllnft seeing Ha.ri before him accepted this boon from him that h is faith in my feet might be firmly and permaneutly established. The merciful N,1,ruyal.lfl. seeing the dejected plight of DrahmEl addressed him thus using truthful, ethical, lovely and consolatory WOlds, "0 Brahrnft , get rid of the shame which oppresses your heart, tift up your face and listen to what I say. Whether a persoll be great or smal l he acquires a good or bad reputation i.e. celebrity or infamy or suffers calamities according to his Karrnn. Karma is the most powerful of all agencies; hence saints always perform goorl acts. Some virtuous people after having reaped the couseque necs of their acts dedicate their heart to the lotus feet of Hari and thus roo t out their Karma. Infamy is the result of Il. bad act; and shame is caused by infamy. Fame is the result of a goo,i act; an.I fame alone loads to celebri ty. 0 Brah mu, in course of time, throLLg II decrepitude, a nun loses his body, strength, beauty, grace, the merits

33

258

THE nil.JIIJIA VAlfTARTA PURAXA.

or demerits caused by his good or bad deeds;'. but celebrity. virtue arul fame are by no means destroyed.

77-86. In course of time, people are relieved from their debts, Bores on the skin and disgrace ; but in case of great mou, the first two only disappear, the last viz, disg raee, never lea yes them. Tue notoriety caused by offences afft:ctilJg' the wi \'8S and property of others remains intacb at all times, Therefore virtuous in en never interfere with the property Of wives of others, the SOUl'CO of all trouble. Now externally <lUU internally yon should always remember mo. Then your mimi will never be attracted by property beloueinr- to others. (:'I:1yu) i.e., the 'feminine spirit of illusion t hut confo~nJ~ everyone can easily bewilder the Supreme Being who dolig hts in hiuiself Those men who love the coquettish blandishments of women, their modern youth ar.d fascinating smiles always regard their rising ibreast as the most supreme thing on earth. 'I'he ir heart never rushes towards pure morality, 'I'he loins, face and breast of women constitute the home of Cupid; this is why saints afraid of losing their sanctity and merits never look at women, To those whose mint! is always set upon women, piety, fame, celebrity, devotion, intdligence, knowledge and wisdom which they possess are all fruitless, The infamy of foolish men increases in this world; and in the next worhl they suffer terrible pangs of hell where they are chastised by the myrmidons of Yama and constantly bi tten by WOI'I11S. Unfortunately, they regard tbe radical cause of misery as happiness and glauly minister to the wives of others. In this world good men always contemplate my lotus-Ieet ; men of average goodness perf o rill good deeds; and base men always minister to the wi ves of others,

87-97. A person whose heart is set upon objects owned by others, pnrt i'eularly the wives of others 01' the land of others apprehends, danger at every .step, If an)' one accidentally sees the wife of another man, he should recollect Had and desist from pursuing her. If any oue touches the golJ of another, he should wash his hands in the above way and purify himself. Saints afraid 'lest .they should be attacke.I by - phthisis or any other disease or sustain -loss of wisdom and incur public criticism are not constantly attacl.!ell even to their own wi ves. Ascetics are engazod in their ascet.icism ; savants, in the culture of sciences, Yogi>" in their abstract meditations , household people, in their house-hold affairs. and my worshippers ill my service. Everyone separately sets to his own work. 'l'hus people are praised in couucil according to the deeds which they perform it] confor, mity with tho Vedas. And those who perform rites which confliot with the Vedas arc consequently condemned. 0 Brahma , from this thy forth throughout yOllt' lifo, by my boon, YOllI' mind will never be attracted by sensual enjoyments and it will never be attached to the wives or thing-s of others. 0 umhmii, perform tl.e good acts prescribed by me and cherish in yOlll' mind thoughts in relation tu myself and my lotus-teet calculated to destroy all calamities. 0 Hruhunt, this your dallghtE't' is the presiding' deity of sexual intercourse. Celebrated by t.ho nunie of Hati, she will be tho -wife of Kama. ,. 0 lady who rcvcllest ill Vritlllii\'ana, the husband of Kamali thus consoled lil'al.lmit and weut to his owu house in the Vuikuntlia,

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259

CH,APTER XXXVI.

1-7. R[lrlhft said, "Lord ]~rahmi1 rejected Mohin! for the above reason : this is intelligible. But why was his worship discontinued through the curse of a prostitute? And why-did the husband of Kamala crush his pride ? 0 root of everything, yon are the god of all. Dispel the doubt from my mind by dwelling on this point." The Lord of Riidhn. w hen he heard the words of'.the mistress- of the JUsa described to her the mysterious history thus :-" My beloved, Brahmfi having performed his devotions in various ways obtained a boon from me and as he created things in various ways he was celebrated by the name of Vidhilti1. He yielded fmits of devotion and was the Lord who governed the entire universe. 'I'his eireumsbance led him to consider himself-as a god and filled his heart with a little pride. A man prospers- in this world, so long as pride does not set in. This thought led. me to crush his pride. I being tbe all-c-pervading spirit am able to realise the feelings of those who are animated with pride in this world. Therefore I am at once prepared ta subdue their pride.

S·lS. 0 my beloved, you have already heard how at first I crushed, the pride of Brahmil. Afterwa.rds in due course of time, I subdued the pride of S:LI1kara, Pdrvati, Chandra, the Sun, the Fire, Durvasa, Dhan-, wantar i and others. Listen, to these accounts. 0 my dear, I crush the. pride of all, great: or small. ,. At these words, the palate, lips, and throaf of Wi-elhD. were parched lip. She was bewildered with fear and earnestly asked him thus :-" 0 Lord of my life, how and in whom did the pride originate and how did you crush it? You are the crusher of pride :, you give immunity from danger; and you arc the matchless cause of tho life which sustains the bodies of all individuals. Therefore narrate to me how the pride of those just named by you was crushed. "Kri~Q-a. said, "0 Radhtl, you know how the. pride of Brahma, the ruler of the. worlJ,.was humbled. Now I tell you in detail how others had to eatthe humble pie. Listen, my deal', Siva, the destroyer of the world, isn. digit of mine. He is equal to me in valour, virtue" and. wisdom. He is perfect, The Yogis call him the leader of the spiritual guides of the. Yogis and contemplate him as the emblem of wisdom. and happiness. L am going to narrate to you .his anecdote. Listen. 'I'he wielder of ths. spear (Siva) after hnving been engaged in devotion for ()OOOO years, day and night, bas attained perfection in respect of all his digits and is eqnal to me in 'every respect. He is the personification of the accumulation. of all energy and always effulzent through his asceticism and valour. He is valorous like ten millions of suns and fruitful to his votaries like the Kulpa tree.

H).33. The Yogls after contemplating the mass of light of which he is co mposarl.for a very long time afterwards behold his wonderful form. within that light. That form is white like pure crystal, has five faces" three eyes, holds [), trident and a spear and is clad in tiger-skin. With a wreath of white lotno,J18 himself adores the Supreme Being. His, facehas a smiling and cheerful aspect. 'I'he half-moon or crescent adorns, His forehead. His head wields clusters of hail' of the colour of gOIJ~ His tranquil mien is desirable in the three worlds j and he is ready to.. fuyou.L: his worshippers, Regarding himself as a, god; he gives proseeri.ty.-.

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THE BRAIIJIA VAIVARTA PUR.dNA.

to every body and grants boons to a person according to his desire. S.mkara, the lord of boons, who is self-contented easily grants boons, as stated above. This idea produced some conceit in his mind. Once upon a time, a certain demon named Vr ika by the performance of austere rites praye I S'iva for a year. Siva, the ocean of mercy, was propitiated awl every d.ry came to him to give him the desired boon. Buf the demon would by no means accept it. After the lapse of a year, :5iva dwelt constantly by his side. The demon respectfully adored him so much that he could not leave his society even for a moment. 'I'hs holder of tho spear, Si vu, repeatedy entreated him to accept the boon of all prosperity, all-perfection, final emancipation or faith in the lotus feet of Hari. The demon did not accept any boon but continually contemplated the lotus feet of S'ive. Then Si\'a was frightened and seeing his non-supplicatory and paralytic attitude was overwhelmed with grief and wept. 'I'he great lamentations of S'iva interrupted the devotions of the demon and he observed in his presence the giver of all prosperity.

31-41. Deluded by me, he (the demon) reverentially craved this boon from him that tho person on whose head the demon would lay his hands would at once be reduced to ashes. Siva complied -with his wishes and departed. But the best of demon also pursued him. Thereupon. the conqneror of death, being afraid of death, was much agitated in mind and speedily ran away. At that time, his small drum dropped from his hand; the tiger-skin slipped from his loins. He became stark-naked and through the fear of the demon ran in all directions for safety. But the fr iend of the devout (Siva) out of compassion did not kill him. If a virtuous person sees another person doing a bad deed, he docs not retaliate. Saints, no doubt, kill assassins unless the latter turn out to be their servants, sons or wives. But the holder of the ~pear, the friend of the devout, could not make up his mind; i,e. be could not bring himself to take that line of action. Siva, taking me to be his own image, with a frightened heart agaiu and again recollocted me and songht my protection. Good lady, then I saw that his throat, lips and palate were dried up, He repeatedy said," 0 Hari, preserve me, preserve 1110;" and, being bewildered with fear, came to my hermitage. I seated Siva by my side and ill a consolatory tone asked of the demon what thc matter was, 'I'he demon narrated to me every thing from start to finish. Being- b3wilt1ered with tho powers of my illusions, and <\t my eomrnau.l he placed his hand on his own head and was immediately reduced to ashes, At that time, n.lepts, gQ(ls, the rnunis and the manns reverentially , .. lore.I me; and Si\·:t abashed, also worshipped me. 'When his pride was crushed, he was consoled br me

and went home. .

42 G1. On some other occasion, Siva eo~itated in his mind that he was the destroyer of the world. With this idea prevui lin.r iii his mind he was puffed lip with conceit and vanity and prepared to kill the demon 'Pripura . "'l'his demon is as insignificant as an ordinary worm. No pompOllS prcparatiou is necessary to kill him." This idea le.l him to leave behind him tho amulet and the spear which I gave him. Afterwards he fO\l~ht with Tripura day and night for one year; but they could not subdue one another. Both of them fOIl~ht with equal valour, 0 my do a r, the krug of demons then set his foot on tho ground and through tls e

I{RISN J J.LLV1)IA KllANDA.

power of his illusions got lip Iif'ty Yojn ns high. Then S ankara. the lord of the world, at once ascended the same belght with a view t. kill te deruon. In tu,tt place which was absolutely wit.hou t uny suppo rt, there was a coutinu, ous tight for one month. The powerful 'I'ripuru cu t off the \v. apons and bow of S_'iva. S'iva also having broken the chariot of the demon and eat off his weapons and bow vcry angrily inflicted a blow on the head of the demon with his fist. 'I'his t.hu n.Ier like blow rendered the demon senseless, In a moment, he recovered and having raised the prostrate :::;'iva threw him on the ground. When :::;'iva fell down with his chariot, tho gods and godly saints were much frightened and adored me agaiD aud ag,Lin saying: "Kri~l)a, to the rescue." Then S'iva fearlessly remembered me knowing that 1 was the source of immunity from all danger and reverentially adored me with the hymn given by rue. At that time, turough my digits I took the form of a bull and with my horns, -with gl'eat valour I supported the fallen S'i va and gave him my arnu lut as well as my spear which kills the enemy, 'I'hen S'j va went up vel'y high and resting in a place which had alsolutely no support approached the demon and kille.l him with the spear. 'I'ho demon was re.lueed to dust by the hurt caused by the spear and fell on the grollnJ. Then S'ankara kno IV me to be the crusher of pride and wi tb a heart fnl! of shame continued to adore me, Afterwards, S'iva who is the emblem of happiness and wisdom," who is dissociated from all acts, laid aside his pride, which is the germ of impediments. 0 my beloved, in this world, there is none so dear to me as S'iva ; and therefore I, in the shape of a bullock, always sustain my favourite S'iva. 0 my love, Brahma represents my mind; S'iva, my wisdom j the primordial Nature Durgu, my intellect; and sleep and other faeulbies of mine are the digits of Nature. Suraswani is the presiding deity of my language; Ganes's presides over Illy joy and welfare ; Dharma represents the highest aim or object of my life; tho Fire represents my valour ; Kamala IS the presiding deity of my prosperity.

62-(>9. You are the presiding deity of my life and always dearer to me than my life. The cow-herds residing in the cow-world are the ontcorna of the pores of my skin; the sun represents my energy j the wind represents my life; Varu na represents the perspiration of my body; the earth is the outcome of my mind; the great sky represents my void ~[1RCO 01' vacuum; Kama is the outcome of my inclinations; InIra an.] ot.her gods lire the offspring of the parts of my Jigits; tho ~Iahat, the first principle evolved from nature being the fundamental intellect fl.I1U first step towards ereabion and 'I'attwa etc., represent the germs of creation, 1 am the germ of everything, the suprema spirit and exist without any support. 'I'he soul ihat is liable to suffcrrng or enjoyment is but my retlection. Bub I am the witness of every act. void of will aud free from hability to cnjoyuient or suffering. I wi~ld a form to enable my worshippers 'to contemplate me. I am the Supreme Nature, and the Supremo Being. 0 B,c'tdbD, I narrated to yo;] how I crushed the pride of S'iva. When the supreme spirit, Lord KI'I~I)a thus said, the goddess lUdh~ referred to him abstruse and desirable matters. She said; "Lord, you are conversant witb the mysteries of everything. You arc the gernl of all and eternal. Therefore, 0 Lord, who dispellest the feat' of the world, answer my questions in detail.

261

TIlE BRAJl.l!.1 V.nT.IRTA PURAJ:.rA.

71)-7G. Lon! S m kara is the presi[!in~ d'1ity of all wisdom. Ho

is a thorough 0'1101o~i,t the c()n'j'lonr of rle:.th, the time of time and. is great like yorrself Wby doc- he apply 'I~h~s to his body? Why has he got five faces and three eves ? "-hv is he nik e.I ? \vh,' does he wield clusters of hcir a nd why tloes"ho rut on ornaments of sna kes ? He is the best of the gods: and yet whv does he ~i\'e lip excellcut. conveyances and wander, here and there, rnouur.ed on the back of a bull ? Wby does he not ptH on. ornaments made of gems? Wby does he lea\'e aside clothes chastened by fire and pu s on a tiger skin ? \\'h,l' dues he leave l',irij'l.t flowers am! wield the Dhatura, i.e., t.horn-apple ? \\'hy has he no taste for a diamond dindem? Hut he is vel}' pleased to wield clusters of hair. L3aving- his celestial domain, he loves tlie crematorium; and leaving- the sandal, aloe, musk, vermilion a n-l flower, he loves lenves of b.iel and the paste of thc wood of bacl, What is the reason? 0 Lord, I am vcry curious and desirous

to know all this. Therefo.re,O Lord, deal with the subject in detail. ~

77 -S 7. 'l'he destroyer of Mud hu laughed at her words, em braced her and commenced the narration of the accounts concerning S'j va, He. said, Ii 0 my love. in days of yore, S'iva medidated for sixty thous md years, attained perfection and then desisted from his Yoga. Mentally he contemplated mr figure. At this time in the form cf a youth, dark-blue in appearance and 1l100t enchanting, I appeared befor« him. He saw my attractive appearance. 'rhe eyes of the three-eyed Lord could not be sufficiently satisfied with the gazp. of mv excellent charms. Th ou my adherent S;iva, not being satisfied wit h the" gaze with which he feasted his e.re~, was subdued by love through the exuberance of religious zeal in his minI nod w ith tile following thought uppermost ill his mind, he wept "The.thon.sancl-faced Annnta and the four-facr-d 13rabm:l see the Lord. with nun,)' eyes and adore h nn with many mouths. 'Yith a pair 0.£ eyes and one mouth how is it possible for me to sec the charms of the IJ.(J,rd and to eulogise hi m ?, Thin king thus, he absorbed himself in meditation with the result that- he got four faces which, added to his original face, amounted to five. Each of his faces was blessed with, three eYES. This is why he is called the five-faced Lord and the three. eyed Lord, The sight of my figure is more plonsing to S'iva than my au 01'[1 tions, Hence he possesses extraordi nary eyes. Dearest. the eyes. of S'ivn are vested with the principles of virtue, activity and ignorance •. I tell \'.011 whv, Listen.

8S~g~. rrbro.ugh the eye which is the production of the di zits of virtue, he sees and protects the virtuous. Through the eye vested with the principle of act iviby, he preser ves the active; and. tbrouirh the eye of , ignoranoo, he saves the ignorant. At tbe time of etl'rnallle~truction, tire comes out of hi, eve of i<rnorane{\. It is buce like tell milhons of palm-

• b '" k •

t rccs and. valorous like ten millions of suns. Its !lame touches the s 'y.

and is colossal in size. The fire is able to consume the three worlds. O. my beloved, S'iva has nnnointed his bod,' with tho ashes of Sat.i dearer than his life; hence ashes arc his ornaments; ~nrl the garland. of the bones of that goddess, IIC' wields round his neck affectionately, Though S'1,'a is the supreme spirit, yet be w'ept in c\'elT town through wliich he passed with. the dead body of Sat i cast upou his shoulders. 'I'he places where the. members of the boily Dr Sat i were tliro wu, were turned into holy spots

klUSj'A J.1NJ!A KHAND'}.

263

where acts of s;'cri!1ce; m:ty be p~rforllled adopted to render success to (wf',ry tlllli'll'lakillg' tb:'<JlIgh myst i« i nc.mtar.ions. 0 IUdbfI. at tlut tim a Siv:t held the ro muauts of the bo If of :::laLl. swooned ami [HII into a place uccomplished ill sancti ty. Theil I affl:ctionately wuut to Siva, took him ill my lap, consoled hun ami couusclled him on celestial our.ology likely to dispel SOl row. Then ,siva was pl(';(I?t'd, want home and in course at' time obtained Sati in another f,mn. Through puwer~ uf his Yog-a, he puts 'On the rlress fur nished by the quarters i. e. he is sta i k naked. He does oat desire allY other tires". Wuile absorbed. in meditation be wielded clusters of hail' whichconscientiollsly he still puts on, He- is ,1 Yugi (a rned itat.ivo devotee] ; hence he does no t like to adorn Iii,; hail' or cleck his body with ornament". He retrar.l» with equal feelings the sandal and. the mud, t.ho excellent £:,em aud the pebble.

\)9-1l5. At one i.ime, through fear of Garud", the snakes sought the shelter of Siva who thereupon kindly wielded them on his body. None eleo call bc.ir him: and so I bear the b.mlcn of his body in the for m of a bull. At the time of the destruction of the demon Tripura, this bull camo out of my d.igits. Pa rija t, and sandal. he bas givetl to me ami therefore h3 is uot satisfied with them. lie only likes the thor n-upple, leaves of bael, the paste of bael-wood, flower" without smell and the Yoga, He always likes the tiger·shn. His mind is not attmcted. by a celestial bed, a celestial region 01' H crowded place. I,n the solit arv crematorium, day and night he adores me. He regal',ls everything from 13rahma down to a gra,'s imaginary like a

tlrearn. His mind is ,alwaysil.1l1ler:;ed. in the contemplation of my •

indescribable grace. Siva is not destr iyed even if Bl'ahma falls.

I myself do not know the duration of hi" longevity. How could the Srutis know it? Siva is conversant with the science of conquering death. l Ie holds a speal' as valiant as myself. Therefore no one em subdue him except my~elf. lIe is deal'er than my life, the emblem of

my supreme spirit and is all good. lily mind is always set firmly upon the three eyed lord. There is no one dearer to me than ,siva. I am the lord

01 the entire uuiverse which is obscured by my illiisioas. 'I'here is none who

can bewilder S'iva except my illusion. 1 do not dwell in the Goloku, Vai-

ku n i ha 01' even ill your heart. Bllt I a'n al ways entangled. in the meshes

of love in the heart of Si'"fI. Sin, with his live faces !l.lways sings my eulogies with the proper tune ami measures. TId; is why I always dwell by

his si Ie, By the mere coutortious of his 01'0,\" through his powers of abstract meditation, he can dvsbroy an.I create all the worlrl~. 'I'here is

110 one so gl'e<lt 3. Yogi ,,8 he. There is none wiser thau S.va who, by

the mere twi nk lin.r of his pye, by dint of his cele~tial lVi~clo:Il, can destroy and create death and time. \Vlth his five mouths, day ami uight,

he sings and recitcs-m y fame, and he always contemplates my i majre,

In the whole world, there is none so devout as he. Sud.usuna, S .m'ihu

and I are ail equal in valour. 'I'he creator Brahm!\. is not equal to us in point of Yoga or valour, 0 my beloved, thus I recited to yon the celebri-

ties acd st,ren:,;th of Siva. and the subjugation of his pride, Now tell me

what more vou want to hear. -

" CHAPTER XXX \T1I.

1-13, ILldhD. said, " 0 remover of duubt., the great-minded Sankara is the Ion! and ui.ister of all. But tho refuse of his food is not sacred. Now

2G-t

TIlE BR.lIIJU VAl V ART L1 I'UR.1N.1.

who.t is the reaso n, I pray? " L)[([ Kri9~la solid, "0 go,ltless, as fire oo nsu mes 1't18I, so the hi-tory I am goin;.:" to tell you destroys sin'). Once upon a time, ::-iana.t-Kumiira. went ,to the Vaikn!_l~I.1!l. and saw that Nil,l'iiY<lV;t wus eating. Then the best of the Br.lhrnins bowel respeetfully ' to him ali'} adored him with mys t.orious hyrn ns. At that time the friend uf the devout (Huri] was sati.;tied with him and gave him the refuse of his food. The twice-born sa int ate it as sO')[1 as. he gor, it. But a littlil_ quantity of that rare article he reserved for his (rieulk Afterw;l.rus N,mtt-Kullla.ra ill tbe herillitage accomplished in suncbity gave it to SLV;t, the hokl-r of the spear, who, as soon as he got it, ate it up at once thro.i.rh access of rclig ious zeal. After eating- t.hat rare article, he Was sub.lue.I by love and, with a thrill of raptures in h is body, indulged in a d.iuce. Tears flowed from his eyes, vVith hi" live mouths, he reverentially s:.WS{ Illy praises, adapting his soug to the propel' t uue, cadence anrl measure, The sma.ll drum shaped like an hour-jrlnss and tho horn llroppeJ from his hands ; the tiger-skin slipp id frolU his loins, lIe fainted. Weeping much, he fell down on the e.rr th ; au.l at that time with r,~pt atGcutioa he eontnm pl.rte.I my gr' 'O;lflll form ; and within the lotus of a thousand leaves fixed in his mind, he beheld me, At this time, D.uga, the destroyer of calamity, came there with a happy awl cheerful mien, She S:1IV there th-tt the holder of the spear overpowered by relie ious zeal and shedding copious tears was Iyiug down in a swoon. At this si~ht the god-less smile.I and asked of S,LlUtKumam the reason. \Vith folded pal ms, Sauat-Kum d ra told her what the matter was, When the golde,s hear.I this, she was hizhly incensed. Her lips quivered. She was au.).,t; t~ curse S.tllktl'a, S'iva knowing her fcelmgs I;ot up, consoled her and with foIled p rhus adored her wit h ,

various kinds of hymns, \Vnen D.ll'!:il. heard the d"li"hLful l-vmn ,

" ~ "'.'

"he did [Jot curse lord Siv:t bUG o n ly declared that the refu-e of

Siva's food would thenceforth be unholy and therefore proscribe.I it to thc savants,

I(i-27. Leb alone other individuals who have been renderel luekv and powerful by dint of their devotiop-, oven the ile-itroye r of th-e uuiver se \I1;L, ,~rl'-Lill of P,hv,~tl an IshII l.lere.I from fear. 'I'heu D,Il'·,J, t he mother uf the univer.se and the source of all virbuas, with h~~ 'eyes burning; with indignation and crimson like a pair of lotuses addressed to Siv<t words full of ethical maxims thus: ., 0 Lord, you are the destroyer of the world un.I L am the chughter of the king of mountains. When you tremble ub my b vre si:;h~, wlut is the ellieacy of a person's aseetici~m and what is the use of his v.ilour ? You are the reciter and the author of the Vedas, You yourself are the lord of the universe. YOII l1clibRmtely give to people salv:Ltiou and pL'osperity of all sorts, Hut if yOll yourself misbehave, who, then, will practise virtue? Lord, I am YI)III' servui t, ILl w:tys liable to be mviutaiue.l and SII pported by you, 'I'hrou eh the fault of Illy Karrn,\ alone, I have been deprived of the refuse of the food caben by ILU'i. Sorne objects are consecrated bv purchase or payment of price. Some objects arc consecrated by ail'; ~!ll obhcr-, by wash or polish. Bnt; everything is consccruted by its dcdic .i tion to tho deity. Pand its, with tho food dedicated to Vi~I.Hl, perform tho worship of the goJs aud the manes and accord hospitality to guest::>.

1tRISNJ. J.JNMA KH.JNDJ..

2M

This matter is specified in the Vedas. An article of food not dedicated to Vi!;!1,l1l is unholy; and the food dedicated to Hari alone is wholesome. A person who eats food .led ieated to Hari becomes equal to him. A man of virtnous dispoaition, if he voluntarily eats the food dedicated to Hari, acquires the fruits of devotion performed by a m m for sixty thousand years, If a person eats food daily after having reverentially dedicated it to Had, he need not practise asceticism. For even without it he can be as valorous as Hari, How can I recite to you tLe greatness of Hari so well as you recited it in the assembly of sages at the holy place named Puskara frequented by pilgrims? For you are the author of the Vedas and it is impossible for others to describe it so well as YOll did on the occasion.

28-40. My lord, I have got YOll as my husband after a long course of asceticism. Why did you depri ve me of the refuse of his food? But as yon have deprived me of it, YOIl must reap the follo wiug consequence: Whoever will from this day forth eat the food dedicated to you will acquire his birth once as a clog ill India. "Pan'aLI after having said so, with offended dignity, wept before the lord," The glance of Parvat], when she was in that frame of mind having been directed at the throat of Siva, it (his throat) became blue. Then Siva reverentiallv and affectionately embraced her to soothe her outraged feelings, wiped her tears with his hands and tried to comfort her with many pleasing ethical maxims. Then the goddess IV as appeased and said to the lord of he~ life. "0 Lord, I shall commit suicide as I have been deprived of Hari's offering s. 0 my master, I wield my body only because I have been fortunate enough to secure your affection. But if I run deprived of that affection, why should I wield a body at all? Lord, 1 have defiled your offering which removes birbh, death and Edecrcpitude. It is therefore meet that I should part with my body. 0 great lord, the ~hing' which will be offered to your male organ will be unacceptable. Hut it :vill be consecrated if it be mixed with the offering of Visnu." So say- 109, the goddess was about to put an end to her I fe when Hara was frightened, adored her and acceded to her wishes. He then spoke thus: "Fail' one, YOll should excuse me, though I commit mnny faults. o merciful goddess, I am your slave puchased with the price of your asceticism. Show compassion to me. 0 mother of the world, you are eternal, the germ of Brahms, Vi~l)u, Mahes'a &c. 0 Chandika, being such a great goddess, why arc you so angry? Compose yourself.

41-47. 0 goddess void of all attri butes, you transcend all attribu tes, You are the constant associate of the lord of the eow-word, You represent all energy. You are visible and invisible. You arc self-determmmg, 0 my beloved, througb the grace of that lord, you dwell in my heart. You are the germ of everything, the spirit of the great illusion and enchanlre ss of the heart. 0 goddess, yon grar.t every kind of perfection, redemption and genuine faith for the teat of Hari. I am by no means able to give yon the offering of Hari personally. III that case, 0 deity, void of all attr-ibutes, quit yOUl' body as YOll desire and go to that deity who is void of nil attributes." When the mooncrested zou adored her thus and became silent, Piil'vati was pleased

3-11

286

TlIE BRAlIlJ.J r.JIP.JRT.J puilANA.

and bowed to him." Thus SJ.nkara in days of yore had adored Par. vatl. Whoever in emergency reads the above hymn composed by Siva is positively released from danger. 'I'he rupture with his friend ceases with the result that th~ friendship is strongly re-established, Parvati being propitiated always dwells iu his bouse and never leaves it.

48-53, Lord Kri~l.1a said, "0 my beloved. P;nvati was much pleased to hear of Siva's vow aud. by hi, command went hast-ily to bathe in the Mends kini. After having bathed therein, she reverentially worshipped the tutelary diety void of all attributes and quickly prepared sweet. meat, vegetables, etc. Then Sim, after having bathed, reverentially worshipped the eternal Hai-i, the emblem of the etfulgence of Brahma seated in his heart and eulogised me. 'I'hen I left every thing, went there, ate the food and the cuny and granted the boon as desired by Hara. Parvati arrived at the root of the tree and received the remnants of the food which was offered to me, pan'atl herself along with her husband cheerfully ate the remnants of the food, vegetables, etc. reverentially adored S'ankara and bowed to him again and again. 0 god-

. doss, I thus related to YOll how the remainder of the offerings made to S'iva was cursed, a point concerning which you had put a question to me.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

I-II. Lord Krisna said, "0 goddess, yon beard how the pride of Sankara, the spiritual guide (If the world, was crushed. Now I am going to tell you how the pride of Dllrg:'t was crushed. Listen. In days of yore, Durga who emanated from the valour of all the gods assumed the very lovely and e nchantiug form of a damsel. AftE'rwards she was born out of the loins of Dak sn and secured the wielder of the spear as her husband, (the lord who is adored by all the gods) and with great reverence devoted herself to the service of her husband. _ Theil Oll a certain occasion Brahmf •. performed a sacrifice on the Himalaya ruounbain. There was an assembly of the gods at that place. III that assembly, there was a meani ni-less (useless) rupture, accidentally, between Daksa and Si\'a, Afterwards, Daksa went home from tbat sacrifice iu a rage and performed a sacrifice himself. 'l'here he invited all except Sinl.,/, Later on, the gods came to that assembly with their wives. TInt Siva through angel' and wounded susaept.ibilit.ies dill not turn up with his attendants. Then Sati out of affection used earnest consolatorv words to her hnsban d with a view to induce him to jo iu the ceremony b~lt could not dissuade him from his pm'pose, Wl:.erell]Jon with the permission of hor husband in the pride of her heart she went to her father's house ; but Siva's curse curbed her pride. "'hen she went to her father, Da ksa (lid not greet bel' even with words : but, on the contrary, he blamed Siva "cry much. Sati, when she heard tllf) slanders used against her husband, committed suicide. I just toM YOll holV. her I;riJe w~s crushed. ~ ow I am goi ng to tell yOll how it \V2.S subdued IU hcr next ulI,th,

2-2~. WLen Sati died, she was born out of the womb of Me nakfl, the wifc of Himalaya. Out of affeetion, SiYa reverentially held the ashes of her boJy awl skeleton , "ith the bones, be constructed his garland and with thc ashes he besmeared Lis bo-Iy ; and, being subdued by the

I{RlSNA JAj'JlfA KHANJ)A.

emotion of love, he again and again remembered Sat i and wandered thro rg h different places of the world. Menaki1. gave birth to this euchans , ing goddess, incomparable in the whole creation. The goddess Uma, the mother of virtue, vested with all virbue and grace, shone out resplendently. None of the wives of the gods had even a ltith part of her grace. In the house of the mountain, the goddess gre.v up day by day like the dicits of the moon in the bright lull' of the lunar mouth and abtaiued the aO'~ of puberty. Afterwards on a certain occasion, there was a voice from t> the sky addressed to th! m other of the uni verse to the following efIect: "0 ~iva, attain Siv<t as YO:lf hush .nd by a course of austere asceticism. You have been born out of the IVO ub ; therefore, without asceticism yO\! will not bJ able to secure S.va as your husband." Having heard this celestial voiee, the l!:tu.;htel· of the mourita.in lang-hell in the prrde of her youth and cOJit:Lted thus ill her mind : •• Will not he who wields the ashes and the bones of the bo.ly which I ha I in my previous birth accept me in this life as his bride when he beholds my fresh ana blooming youth? Why should not a being (who, b iwildered with grief on my account, wanders throllgh Jltt tile u uiverse ) accep~ me when he will find me so very be.iutiful ? Why sho.ild not the merciful lord who interrupted the sucrifice of Dak~J. for my sake marry me ill every birth? It has been previously ordaine I by the antecedent Karma that, such and such persons are the husbands 01' wives of such and such per sons. Only donors are different, For the natural c msejuonccs of Karma Can by no means he

obviated;' ,.

23·31. Lcd by this idea, the chaste da'lghter of the mountain regarded ~iva, the coutainsr of all virtues, as one of her own creatures and not as a god. She did not therefore, worship him. She was so much fille-I with pride on the occasion that she thought that there was no wornm more beautiful than herself. In the pride of her heart therefore, she did not en':;;I~e herse lf in asceticism. She also thought that every man wa' solicitous of a woman vested with youth and beauty. ''l'bercforc S.V:1, as soon as he would hear of he;' personal charms and youthfnl appearance, would accept her without any ascesticism practised by her. Thinking thus, she gave herself up to sports with her female a\tend'tllts aui passed her days merrily. In the meantime, one day a messenger carne to the assembly of the mountain and with folded p ilrn s addressed the king of the mountains thus: "0 king of the mountains, get npSJon and go to the immortal holy fig-tree. There Siva mounted on a bull , has arrived with his attendants. With a reverential inclination of your head, adore ~ inkara, the king of the gods, imperceptible to the senses, with oblations of milk and honey. 0 king, ho is the emblem of psrfect.ion, the lord of perfection and the leader of the spiritual guides of the Yogis. He is the conqueror of death, the time of time, all effulgence and eternal. He is the eternal spirit. the lord vested with all attributes and void of <\11 property. 'I'his god takes a form simply to enable his votaries to meditate him. I.'

32·50. The king of the mountains having heard the words of the herald cheerfully got up, secured oblations of honey and milk and quickly went to Siva, The face of the daughter of the mountain was also lighted

2G7

2G8

TIlE BRAll11JA rAIV.J.RTA PURA

up with joy wh in she heard from the herald of the arrival of Siva, She thought in her mind that Siva had come for her sake and led by this ides, she dressed herself gOI'g~()llslr, She put on ellticil16 elobhes, cast a delightfill wreath of gem, an.I a. wreath of p.irij,,\t annointed with san.lal round her neck, e msulteI her faatures ill various IV Iy~ in the IOJkins-gla.;s, pat on the mark of verurilion an-I mu-sk on the forehead an l line.I her erimsou eye;; with umlloye.l collyrium. 1"1'<.)[11 her eye3 it appeared u.; if thc lotus blooming- ill the mouth of autumn at mid-day was adorned with a cluster of uee;;, Her lips, ueing coloured with the j'lICL: of betel-leaves, looked crimson awl very gr.cceful like I':PJ bimb is, Her cheek sh in inz with the lustre of ear l'illg~ looked like the bright sum.n it of the Sum aru mountain at sunrise. Like pearls of water, glitterin~ at the approach of the rainy se:1501l, her te0th had all indescribable grilca, As the ~Iern is be::l.1ltifit1:1 with the cn rrents of the water of Xlandu kin i, so the gracefnl nose of tlw (htl~hter of the mountain was sweetly bedecked with the pearl pro.lnec I in the head of the elephant. As the rJW of heroes looks attr.rct ive boueat.h the new clouds, so the wreath of jasm ine attache I to the lock of the durnsel looked very lovely, 'I'he splendour of bel' rising broast v ied with the rud iauce and ell U'III of the heated Q'old, IIer g-ari'II1LIs of pure gelll Lo ked like the limpid eurrents of :'ILUldtd;:ini. Her attractive nipples which b.«l the colour of the f.lil' Chrunpak resembled the jujube and were covered with l iues of }ninting with c isiuetics. lIer navel was deep a nd very bright, Bel' belly was circu lur and yet gracefnl. lIer thig-l13 put to shame the plantain-tree, 'I'hcy ware very lovely and at the same time hard and represented the miusiou of the goJ of love. They were covered with cloth, Her graceful feet thieved the grace of the lotus. She adorned them with goillon PCls'ab and painted them with lac-dye, She also decked her feet with anklets whose ringing notes imitated thc sound of the swan, She also decked her body with excellent ornaments of gem constructed by Yi~ .va-Karma. S he wielded on her head a diadem coustructod with excellent diamonds rendered bright by the lotus used as a toy, She g!'<leJ.l her fing-er.5 with lovely riugs, She decked her delicate hands hailing the lustre of golll with a rm le bs, bracelets a-id ornaments constructed with conch shells,

51-6·1, The gOlllless, daughter of the mouubrin, after she had ex rmned her own beauty, mentally grasped the feet of SJ.nkara and remembered him incessantly, nal'l'ill~ Si\'3, none in t be world including her parents, relations, her chaste ferni lo associates, brother had a place in her memory. All her thoughts were llIcrged in S.tnkara (Siva). L'rt.er on, Himalaya. went there and saw that the mOon-cl'ested ''''od had arrived with a smiling appearance at tlie coast of the Mand:lkini~ lIe held a chastened wreath in his hnnd and was constantly mntterino m v name. His head wa.s covered with clusters of hail' which abstracte(l the gl'ace of heated gold, He was mounted on a bull, and decorated with the ornament of snakes, Ilis body was white and shining like pure crystal. He was clad in tit.er-hide. l Iis skin was besmeared with ashes; his uee k was adorned WIth a garl.lIld of bones, He was naked. Il e hall five frces, each of which bad throe oyes, effulgent like ten millions of SUIl,;, The king of the mountains sa 7 th It the IOI'J was surrounded by the Rudras

KRISXA JA.YJU !{!1..LYD.f

2GD

eff'll~ent with bhe lustre of Brahma, He IV:]'S atbemlerl OIl his l'ight and left sides by Nandikiswara ghOlts, evil spiiits, the malignant spirits called the Pis'ftches false coneeption-, Br.ihm ida.nons, Vetd las (spirits oecllEy.ing dead bo.lics), K~etr.lpilas (the gu\rc1 iaus of the fields) aI1(1 valorous lhiravas. He was attended in till) van bv Sn.naka, Sanauda, Rtnn,t. Kumam. S;tu:lt:tm, Jaigisavyn". DCV;lLt, Kal~alh, Gnutama; Pippalftda,' Ap;~al1gn" Bod hn, Paneha Sikha , Kat lra , J<)vi\li, Karatha, Ka1).wa, Loiuas'a effulgent like the sun, l\atyfty<tua, -Pa.nini, San kha, Durva sft , S'at:\tapa, Pa ribhadra, A\>tfl-bakra and o ther wourlcrfu] saints, Himitlap. saluted these sa6e~ and wit.h Io hled hands throwing himself prostrate on the ground ~<iluted S,va, He then got 11P, held his lotus-feet rcverentia.lly and with a thrill of rapt.nres in his body and with streaming eyes bowed to him again and ag"in, Afterwards, perceil'ill:s ill S'i\'a the same image that t.he sun had witnessed in days of yore at the holy place of Puskars at the term inat.ion of the 13rf1hm:.-day, t ho king of tho mountains adored the great. god with the hymn which was given to him by Dharma thus :-

G5-75, 0 Lord, yon create in the, shape of Brahmn , preserve in the shape of\Ti~i)n. d(; goorl in the shape of Sil':L and ultimately destroy the world-Lord , yon are the gael t.ra.mc'~nding all properties of Nature. Yon are efful gall t and eternal. Y"lI are the ell! blern andcligi t of Nature, You are natural (conjoined II;ith Nature) and distinct from Nature. o god, to help the contem pl ction of yoar adherents, YOIl tuke many forms, You take any form as yon plaase. You are the cause of creation, the container of all energy and in the shape of the moon, through YOllI' cool and gentle ray~, yon preserve the crops &c. 0 Lord, you are the sv mhol of the wind, the water as well as the fire which cousumes all bhing~, You are Inclra, the king of go.Is, time, death and Yama, Yon are yourself the conqnerer of death, the time of time, the death of death and tne Yarna of Yama, You arc the Vedas, the author of the Vedas, and YOl1 are versed in the auxiliary branches of the Vedas, It has been ascertained that YOll are t.he father of savants and the spiritual g'uide of the learned, YClI are the symbol of Mantras, the recitation of the Mantras, and asceticism respectively: you grant the fruits of asceticism and yon are the presid ing dci ty and the master of hnguage, its spiritual guille and the germ of Saraswat i, Who, therefore will be able to adore you? Adoring him t.lius, Himalaya continued to hold the lobus-feet of the L)]'(1. Then Sint consoled him with gentle words and, seated on the bull, lingered tbero for a while. Whoever reads this most sacred hymn in thc morning, noon and evening is rcleased from all sins and all kinds of fear III the dreadful sea of the world, 1£ a son-less mar: reads this hymn for a tnont.h, he will positively get a son; and a man without a wife by reading this hymn will get a good-natured wife.

7G-78. By the perusal of this hymn and by the grflce of Siva, the things that have long been ' stolen are recovered and a man who has lost a kingdom certaiuly gets it back, In prison 01' ill a crematorium, or when a person is attacked by an enemy, or in a place deluged with water, 01' when a man is drowned, 01' when a man trkes poison,

2iO

TIlE BR.1HJJ.l rAlrA RTA ITRLYA.

or in :J. wil.lsrn B3. or in a dn'l. H,II p hc ~ full of wil.l ani ill 11,;, the person in peri! is s irely re sc.ie I uy the gl';lC) of St::tkara, if he adores him with this hymn,

CHAPTER XXXIX.

1 11. Lord Kri~I).fI said, "The ki[]~ of the mountains worshipped Slllkal'.l mounted on fI belli, stoo-l up before him at his command and reverensi vlly presenbed to 'him oblations of honey "nil milk. Afterwards he duly worshipped the m unis an I the adherents of Sva. The king of the mountains, with :'[enakii and his re labions, agtin approached the holy fig.tl'Ga an1 saw th s m ))11-CI' iste.l IOI'J S8 LtCJ at ,its root. His faC] was cheerful an.l smilinz. He ;V.lS ch I in ti~~l'-hiJe. As the moon shine s a111:):]' stars iu th ~ skv, so S'ank.ua e lfulzent with the ruvs of Brahms looked radiant in the ci'rcle of the muuis, '" His gracein! -[01'01

. was tleligh~ful like ten m illio.is of Cupids. At that tim '. he shook off his ol.l ag-e and wielLled the appearance of a yomg m m grnceful, enehiuting and likely to win the heart of damsels. Later 0;1 he, looke I like the ILlm'l. of Iiccunious W01113n, like the son of a chaste wom m , h ke the ~hh,1 Vi~1)11 of the VJ,i~l).av,ls, lib the ebernnl Siv.1 of the ::)aivils, like .:iakci of tIll ::)'ilktrt::, like the sun of the Sauras, Ii ke the death of the wicke.l, like the preserver of the virtuous, like the time of time, the death of death an, I Ya'na of Y tin 1. with a llrJ;l.clfltl appearance. He put on the tiger-skin au 1 a deli.;htful drc ss; 11.n I his ashe. were s.ib sequ eutly converted into san Ial-p tsbe. 'I'he wreath of srrvkes was trau-forrn «I into au euehant inq garland of flowers : a-id the SLron; poison of the snakes was converted iuto musk. IIis graccfnl CI'Cst with clusters of hair, the mark of the moon on his forehead, and the beautiful currents of the Ganges on his head took the form of a wreath of jrsmine. 'I'he g u+and of bones round the neck of the Lord resembled a wreath of gems; an.I his thorn-apple took the aspect of a fail' Champak. His five faces ware converted into oue face vested with two eyes.

12-21. The grace of his bo.ly eclipsed the lustre of the full m con of autnmn. His lip, .seemej to rebuke the Ban Ihu-Jiva flowers. His bull was converted into an excallent white horse and his spiritual attendants turned into dancers. 0 my dear, when .Henrtk:t wibnesse I this wonderful tramfol'mation of Si\'a, she was m-ieh rleiigll~e.J. Certain women infatuated with lust observed him With eycs wide open. Some women excited with passion almosb fainted. Some women cri cicise.l their respective husban Is and eulogised Siva. Some with hearts full of desire embraced other women. Some out of passion kissed S.v1. in their he irt. Some said thus, "In this sea of love, we shall make 81\'3. who resemble" Cupid om pilot." Some said, "In this world, we shall enjoy the society of this being: and in the next world, we shall also try by our devobions to secure him as our husband." Somc women. as they witnessed the grace of SIV:J., hid their faces with the hem of their garments and with smiling appearances and slanting eyes con tinned to observe him. Some ~aiJ, "\Ve wtll no more return home; even this moment we shall go to Siva find constantly behold his face which resembles the auturnnnl moon." Obhees said, "We shall no more go hack to the worl.l; but with tho desire

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to secure Siva as our husband in our next birth we shall consign ourselves to the flames and commit suicide."

22-30. Then some women said, "Oh! how meritorious is DUl'ga !

Born in India, she is truly blessed." So saying in order to minister to him, they sent DUl'g'il to Siva. Parvat], in a. eharrniug dress arid with several sorts of blandishments, went with her female associates to Siva. Then with a cheerful aspect and gaze, she saw the tranquil S'iv:1, circumambulated round him seven t.imeso nd bowed to him smiljng, Siv3. blessed her saying, " 0 auspicious virgin, you will be blessed in respect of your husband whose love you will be ablo to secure and you will get a well-qualified son like NftntyaI,I:1. Fair one, you will get a graceful COIlSOl't beyond the power of ndoration by others, the container of all virtues and the best of sages. In the whole universe you will excel others. 0 mother of the universe, in the three worlds, your worship shall be first performed. You have express. ed your humiliation to me out of reverence by circumambulating ronnd me seven times. JlJay you plea, e me at every br th. 1<~01' this reason, 0 fair one.you will get a suitable reward. My spouse, a person reaps fruits accordiul!' to the degree of his confidence in pilllTimage, tutelary deity, suiritual

. guide, mystic formula, medicine etc. "So saying S'ankara, the lord of the Yogis, soon adopted a posture cf meditation on the tiger-hide used as a seat and contemplated my form, the emblem of the effulgence of Brahma, Afterwards tho goddess was hed both his feet, drank the r.ectar of his feet (water with which they were washed) and respectfully rubbed them with the cloth chastened by fire. Later on, the daughter of the mountain offered to him a beautiful throne of gem constructed by Vis'waKarma and sweet oblation of honey and milk deposited in a wonderful cup of bell-metal, presented to him the water of the Mandfrkin i for-washing his feet with oblations of grass, 'barley, et e., fragrant sandal, graceful musk and saffron. Hound his blue throat she cast a garland of jasmine presented to him four hand-fuls of flowers and in this 'IV,:!Y worshipped him. A ftcl'warc1s the daught.er of the mountain made to Sankara offerings of honey deposited in a vessel, hundreds of diamond lamps shedding ustre on all sides, delightflll frankincense, cloth rarely to be had in the three worlds, sacrificial thread, flagrant cool water for drinking, delightful ornaments constructed with excellent gems, precious cows of plenty with golden norm, water of sacred streams, water for bathing, delicious betel leaves etc. cous tituting the sixteen ingredients and bowed to him. Pft rvat] thus used to worship Siva, the holder of the spear, every-day and go home.

40-51. Siva was thus putting' IIp at that place when Iudra heard of this affair from the dancing girls of Heaven and himself dancing with joy sent messengers to bring Kama, the god of love. When Ka rna over went to heaven at the ,command of Tudrn, the latter directed the former to go where Siva and Siva were dwelling at the time, Kama, with a cheerful mien, took his five arrows and floral bow and, being vested with mjgt~, went to that place. He saw there that Sim, the lord of the world, sustaining a tranquil form attractive to the three worlds, was dwelling, with Siakti (Piirvati) with acheerful mien. Seeing this frc m the sky, he wielded the bow with his arrow, and gladly discharged at Siva with pleasure his irreeietible and infallible weapon. Though it is infallible, yet, like

272

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It weapon aimed at the unassilable sky, it fell fiat upon the ornuiscieut, eternal spirit S'iva dissociated from all objects When the dart was ineffectual, Kama beheld the conqueror of death in dismay, sat down before him and trernbled from fear, Siva shook with anger. At this sight, Kama, bewildered with fear, remembered Iudra and other ~ods who thereupon came to S'iva, the lord of immortal beings, and eulogised him, At this time, the lire of anger enlanated from the eye of Siva. fixed on b is f.irehead, The .gods engaged themselveg in the adoration of S'iv3:' 'But the burning £h me

of fire emanating from his third eye like the fire of bh i time of eternal destrnction blazed upwards awl ascended the sky. Then whirling round, and round, it dropped on the groun I, Afterwards with a tremendous fury it wandered in ~ll directions an 1 eventually swallowe I Kllln who, through the ang-el' of Siva, .was reduced to a,h33 in a m rm mt. At thi5' si<.:'ht, the gods were afflicted with sorrow and Parvatl hung clown her head,

52-60. Then Rl1ti wept much before TIara; and the gooel,;, trembling with fear, rulored the moon-crested god. Afterwards, the gods said to Rati, " mother, banish your fear and hold a little quantity of these ashes." So saying the cods wept again and again and said - to Rati, "0 Rati, when S'iva is appeased and an auspicious clay sets- in, we shall again brillg to life the lord of your life. Then only you will get him bsck? Pu rvat.i,: hearing the lamentations of Rati, fainted.' Afterwards she adored the moon-crested lord who transcends the passions and ntt.ributes. Then S'ankara left the weeping Pan-at! and went to his destination. Thus the pride of PUI'\'ati was crushed. She at that time laid aside her pride resulting from the consciousness of her youth aud beauty, and was so much humiliated that through shame she could not show bel' face to her female associates. Afterwards the gods consoled her and with an afflicted heart, howing to Si\T:1, went home. 0 R:ldb:1, Rati weeping through grief and fear and with her eyes crimson with rage adored S'ankaru and went home. 'I'hen the abashed Purvat'i did not go to her patorual home and iu spite of the remonstrances and entreaties of her female ssscciates she slighted them and went to the forest for devotion,

(j I-GS. IIcr aftiicted fern lIe associates followed her. At til is time her mothers tried to dissuade her from her purpose; but Ph-vaH could not be prevailed upon to gi\'e up the austeribic, which she had proposed. Later OIl, after a. long' course of asceticism ill a forest situated on the coist of the Ganges, she secured the three-eyed lord as her husband. 'l'hrongh the boon of SJ.llb!'a, lbti also got back :.'IIadana. 0 IUi.dh&, I just to!.l yon all the mysteries oonuected with the subjugation of the pride of Pftrvat i; Now what more do you want, to hear:

CIIAPTEH. XL.

1·] 1. IUdh,'\ sail!," L1rJ. oh! ",h·tt a wonderful nar ra.tive, (loligbb. ful to the cars like drops of nectar and likely to give wisdom, dill I hear. Hilt YOII Lold me this ill hrief. I want to heal' of It ill detail. Lord, tell n.e the incident (n"detail. 0 my consort, what austere rites tli.l Pun'atl perform? By that austere devotion what boon did she receive from Si\'n? Aud bow did R3.ti restore K:lnn. to life? 0 L'JrJ Kri~l) l~ th'l marriage of P .ll'vatl awl $ i va, their sec rot iutercourso, the COll~olatioll

snus» J..1NiVA KIIANJJA.

of Pdl'vati. All these points, 0 ocean of mercy, kindly narrate to 1116 and dispel t.he horrors of this afflicted creature (myself'). Q Kri~lla, the • story of the separation of the married pail' affiicts the ears of a womau wh» ha s been listenintr to it. She thereforo naturallv desires to bear of their re-union. A i~oman can tolerate the pansrs o{fi\:.o 01' poison ; but she eannob tolerate the pang's of separation from her h!l:lb.11111". 'Wheu Kri~l.la heard the words of .H,[tdh;l, he smiled. bowtld 0<Jwn 'his head and with an amic~erl heart took up the thread of the narrative in detail. 'l'h!)n this idea was predominant in. his mind that when niluhil, W,IS unable 'to hear the description of tne pang caused by tbe sep-u-aticn of~the married pail', what would be her cor.ditio~ when she herself would be separated from him for a century? "Hari who is the ocean of mercy and all illusion having pondered thus in his mind set himself to nurrate to her the main story thus, "0 Rauhfi. dear to ,my life, you are the presiding g'oudess of my life. dearer to me than my Tife and toe. su pport of my life. Now I am goi ngo to answer thp points raised by you. Listen.

12 24. When Siva d ep'iLI; ted from the' base of the holy fig-tree, P.trv'Lti went away' for devotion, in spite of the remonstrances of her p uents, which site ilid riot mind. The goulless went to the e-rnst of the Mauda kin], batheu.i; -t.heholy water of the river and soucbt mv pro. tection when 1 gave- .her the mystic formula. of Si\'a. AfLel'\vards the m rther of th . world being engaged in the recitation of the Mantra reverentially recited it for one year full and performed austere devotions, In summer, she kindled the fire Oil all sides and in the centre of the fire she placed herself day and night and uttered the Maut.ra of the Lord. Again, in the rainy season, in the crematorium she assumed the posture of medtat ion and being moistened continually by the rain of hail or currents of water, sbe prayed day and night. In winter she was immersed continually in water and reverentially prayed god. Similarly, without food she engaged herself in asc(lticism duriug the day in spite of the heat of the sun in autumn , and during the night, she meditated in spite of the snow with which she was covered. But in "pitJ of her austerities lasting for a year, Parvat.l did not attain S,mb,1'Il.. 'l'hen being very much agitated with SOI'l'O\\', she prepared a pit of fire and attempted to cuter into the Harne. At that time, the mind of S m knra, the ocean of mercy, was moved with compassion to find th,,\t tbe attenuated PArvatl was about to rush headlong into the flame. Then, by his valour, he assumed the form of a dwm fish, boyish ilra hrni n and arri ved there. He held the pirasol and the club in his haud, He had clusters of hail' on his head and assumed a cheerful appearance. His ueck II''lS adorned with a white sacred thread and his body was wrapped witb a white garment. He had on his neck a car land of the seeds of the white lotus; and his forehead

. I "

WIC ded a oright mark of sandal. Then Purvati having seen tbe .boy

in solitude, her mind was filled w ith feelings of compassion for him and she b~gan to.:smile. Being obscured by his mys, all t.he fatigues of her devotion were relieved. 'I'heu she asked the boy standing before her tbus "0 best of Brfvhmins, who ~'e yon?" So saying, she paused. Then shu jelt a natural inclination to embrace Siva who had the shape of a boy with affection. The great god when he heard the question pufby the dal1ghtel' of the moun tain, addressed bel' with words full of honey thus.

~ ',,85

:,. ~

•

THE BIU.lI.JfA V.J.IV'ARTA PURANA.

253G-. Lady, I am an ascetic and the Sou of a Brahmin. We voluntarily wan'der everywhere. Fair one, who are you? Why are YOIl engaged in this inaccessible. solitary forest in meIitabion ? Fair one, to what family do yoa belong? \vho~e dau rhter are YOIl? \V hat is your name? Yo'] can yourself bestow fruits of devotion on others. Then why do you practise these rigid austerit.ies ? 0 god Jess, arc you the mass of llevotiolls incarnate? Goddess, arc you the, primordial Nature, the em blern of energy? 1I aye you wielded a form to help t he contemplation of your devotees? Or aloe yon the representative of prosperity, the goddess fortune -of the three worlds arri vod here for the preservation of the world? Are YOll Sil vitri herself, the. m other of the Vedas, and descended to the earth to besubject to birth in InIia ? Are you Saraswnt i,

< the personal goddess of lan:,{llage 01' words who was born in

India to reveal the knowlodue of various kimls to mankind? Who are YOIl among these, I am unable to determine: O' auspicious nymph, I need not discuss what goddess you are, Be propitiate with me. 0 chaste one, if you are propitiated, Nfirayal)3. himself will he propitiated. For he is propitiated, if a chaste woman is propitiated. As t..e branches are moistened, if tho root of a tree is moistened, so the three worlds arc

e always saLisfieu if N:1r<1.y3.l)a is satisfio 1." I'he gj'cat go(jcless smiled at t,he words of the boy and spoke to him sweet words full of~ haney thus: "0 great minded being, I am neither Suvitri, the mother of the world nor Lak~hll'l nor Saraswat i, the presiding' deity of speech, At present I have been born in India as the daughter of the mountain. In my previous birth, I was born in the house of Daksn :Jnd known by tho name of Sati. Hear-ing the Slanders of my husband from the mouth of my father, I parted with my body by the powers of Yoga,

37-45. 0 twice-born saint, in this birth also, by virtue of my sanctity, I had attained Sankara but" unfortunabelv, h(' left me, reduced Kama to ashes and departed to some ot-her place. "'hen Sa II kar.i went away. through the affiiction of my heart and shame I left m v t~ltlJr.r's house, arrived at the coast oft ho M~lldakilli and ell~aged myself If} devotion. 'I'hough I gave myself np to aust ere rites. yet I did not att,:lin the lord of my lifo. 'I'hereupon 1 at.temited to enter into the pit of tire. I desisted from the act for tile time heing at your ,<ight. 'I'hAr<'fure, go now 0 Brahmin, in order that with the de-ire of oht,ainill~ l l ara as Ill.\' husband uppermost in my mind, I may enter into the flame which resembles the fire of eter nal destruction and dispel t.hl'1 aguny of Ill." mind. \\'h(,l'c\'er I mOlY be born, at overy hirth may I get Siva who is dearnr to me than Ill," life as my has. hand, Every woman desires to g-et a lmsbntul after her heart at every birth. "'omen are hom to srenre suitahle ma tches fur t.hcrnselves. This has been ordained ill the Ve.las. A womnu gpt~ the same man as her hnsband at everv birth whom she hud secured as such in her previous birth. Siurilarlv tl;e same woman cont inues to 1:(' t he wife of a mall at everv birth. j~nt" alas 1 even by meuns of u ustere devotions, I have not beeit able to secure tho husb-md, o)ll~rniLll to 1lI\' hr art, With the avowal of the plll'po;;e that I would get him in the next birth, I would enter into the flame and thus secure hill] hereafter. So sayill!!; in t.he presence of the great gull in the shape of a llnlbruilll she entered into tho burning flame

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of fire. The. Bt'ilh:nin repeatedly tried to prevent her from her design but she would urt listen,

46-52. 0 great goddess H.idha, when P:irvatl entered into the fire, it, became cool Iik i san.Ia] through the might of her d evohiuns. 0 R\!lhil. who revellest in Vrinl ivan I, the !hughtel' of the mountaiu rem rine.I for a. while in the fire an I then e.une out when Siva in tho shape of a Br-i hrnin addross id her thus : 'Good lady, what a wonderful power of asceticism you have goot! But "0'1 have no sense at all. Neither Valli' b xlv was consumed by fire, "n11' dill you~ !!et t!lI~ husb uid as "desired by YOll. YO:I desire to attain r he auspicioi s Srva as y01l1' husbaud. But supposing YO'l get that incorporeal being'. how will yOltl' obj-et 03 accomplished ? 0 damsel of sweet smiles, von want t) tn'Ury the d",tl'oyCI' of the world. \Vh:.t is the meaning- of all this? Which woman wants to wed the destroyer? 0 go lrless, if by this intended III tl'l'iage yon· desire salvation, then )'0111' devotion is i'lefft'c'lIal. FOI' yUII yourself cm give salv.iticn. And t.he n, a:;ain, th'lt ~,va whom you would wed 101" the sake of redemption is the destroyer. I-{] CJ.II11,:)t ~!'ant welf'u-o or salvation. Tho V tJ las h.rvo put a ditfareut 1I1eal1- ing upon the word salvut ion.

51-(jS. Fair one, if yon are debermine.l to h-ive the destroyer as your husband, theu surelv you will secure the society of It~llll'a who is fearful to [til the worlds. Rlt without the worship of yo.rr tu te lary deity Had. there can be no redemption; For it has been said that the reeolleeviou of Hari alone is capable of be:;towing a good th ~t d:)e3 not perish. Go ldess, now goo to yo-ir pnterual house. By my blessinz awl as the result of your a..:ceticism, you will behold there the inieeessible S.mkn.r't." So saying', the Bri\~miJl disvppeared. D!lrg'l. also ll1uttpring again and again the name of Siva, went to her paternal house. On the other hand.. Hirn l luya and ~lenaki\, heariu z of the arrival of purvatl. were animated with joy and having eng'flged a celestial car went to her; and at the command of the king. sandul, aloe. musk and auspicious j'us full of fruits and branches were placed on the m irg in of the royal roads. 'I'he foliage of mangoes attached to jars with silken thread looked vel'Y beautiful. On all sides of the roa i, trees of plantains were fixed in a 1'0 IV. On the royal 1'0 «ls, women blessed with their respective husbm.ls and sons also arrived, Vii-tuous Br thmius, Munis and Br.ihmaeh.tris nnive.l there with leaves, fried rice, P «ldy, bent gr'lss etc. :MallY dram it.ic actresses and female dunoers busied themselves with d incing. Elephants, horses etc., -vellrleeorated, arri ved there, The best and most praiseworthy priests with graceful, jasmine wreaths in their hands reached there. Simultaneously- there was a flourish of music of v.uious kinds as well as the sound of conches. The roval road was be smeared with the dust of vermilion and reverberated \~'ith the souu-l of couch ss, Then the goddess D:Irga entered into the city and saw th ,t her parents were ad vaneing' to her, greatly a~itated. There was a thrill of ruptures in their body; and tears were freely tl'icklillg' down their cheeks. At this sight, the goddess with her female associates cheerfully bowed to thorn, Her parents embraced and blessed her and being subdued by love, said," 0 mother, o child," So sa) iug they placed her on the chariot ~nd took her to sheir house, PArr!\ti was welcomed by the women and blessed by the

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111 E BRdIliJIA FAIr ARTA PlTRA XA.

Bnlhmins. Then the king' distributed to the bards and the Bnlhmil.ls w ealt h in a lmndu ut quau tiry and caused thrill to recite various kinds uf auspicious verses, 'l'he king' of t.;o lll()lIut"illS and :\[ellakfl wit h their dangbter passed their c:ap hall'ily in their horne .

. (la·so Once upou <t limo the I;in~ of the mo.mta ins went ant to

pray at the coast of tho Malidilkilli. Mellak:! I'elll:tined in her bouse with her dau-rhter. At thi~ time, a gOJ,1 ~illg'rl' and dancer who was a me ndican t slll1delll~ appeared before .:'IIen~lk·1. lIo wa-s a dE'cl'Ppit old man. IIe hel.l wilh lis lo:t hand the horn und wit n his right han 1 the small dru m shaped like all hou r-g lnss. His b «ly was bcsnrc.vre.I with ashes. With 11 melodions voice , he sang of my virtues and danced; nnl every now anrl then he pIaye,l IIp.1I1 his U"UlI1 an 1 horn. l Ie.uing the sou n.], he citizens including' I he children, old men and women, young men n ml womr-n ll.:ek!J.I thoro ill lL bo.l v inf'rt uated with joy. They Ilere all ellchanted w ith t/lJ melodious and licant iful sougs. ;\[ellakil ai-a Ia inted. 'l'hen the !!oddess })ur~:\ also swooned aud ill a state llf in-ensilnlitv tuu m] that ::I'allkal'~ \\'iel~lill~ a tlidl1llt :III.! all axe, urd clad ill tig"~I'-sl~iD ruanifested himself in her heal t, - As hes WOIO his oru.unents. ,\ Iovelv wreath of bones was C 1St l'OIIIlt! his neck. His ehnrms were spot.le-s ; hi's f"ce was lit up wii.h n smile and h «] a cheerful aspect. Both his eyes were sereue. The five vory bean t i 1'111 faces of the III oou-crcsted 10rJ. the g'arland ill h is Land and the sacred t.hread of snrkes were pleasing to the view. TIs said • .. 0 p~ rvat.i, sol ici t the boon desi red uy yon. J, 'l'hn d:lI1ghter of the mountain having thus Lehel(1 Ham in her mind mentally adored him and ernved a boon tbn~," 0 lord, be m.l· husband },olll'"elf." S'iva gal'o her the UOOIl and vanished from her mind. Afterwards, DUl'gft failil g to see that t.ra-iqul appearauee ill hpl' heart reeovere.l consciousness, opened her ~'yes an" saw the mendicant devoted to music.

81-92 Then .Henakfl havi'l;,\" heard the song aml witnessed the

dance of the UE'g'g'ill' approached him wit.h a view to gl\'O him various kinds of gems deposited ill a garden vess. l. But the be;,!'g';tl' dill not accept them. He demanded her daughter as nn alms and then d.inced with j,)y. :Meuaki\' was at first surprised lit hi" words ; Ullt afterwa r.ls Itighly incensed she rebuked him in various ways nud asked her relations tn tu rn him out. Sho also said .. " Vmp. will·bo t.he beloved spou~e of Siva, the lord d the three worlds, the ~tlprell1e spirit : and this beggar, behold. is demanding- her. Turn out this mendicant who has got an evil tongue." In the menntime the king of the mountains, after his devotions were over, came back home and saw that a graceful beggar was standing in the court-yard. On the lovely coast of the Ganges, the king of the mountains, while a.dorillg Nar:1yal,1u, conld not see his image ill spite of his meditations and heing over-whelmed with grief returned home. At that time he bpanl all this news from :\[allakft. At first, a gent.le smile was visible on his lips; but, later all, it disappeared and he W:1S \ ery a'lfTry Then be commanded his attendants to turn out the mendicant. 'l'L~reupon his atten-dants, far from being- able to turn out the be6'gar, untonchable like the sky and effulgent witb the rays of Brahma, could DOt even approach him, 'I'hen the king of mountains saw for a moment that thc beggar was tho four-handed lord decorated with diadem and

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ear-ring" and clad in yellow dress Then he fonnd that 1.8 was dal'k-hl!lE', eh.um ing in appearance and clad in a beautiful dress. Wben he marked him att euti vcly , he fou nd that he had a smiling, lovely fare; ami all hi~ bo.ly wus Lesmeured with sandal. He was inclined to favour his adherents. A II the flowers which the king' of the mountuius b.ul offered to the holder til' tho mace were found on his b xly. 'I'he lovely frn nkincense, I Lmp an.I sacrifieial offering, which he had re verun tin.lly 'presented to the holder of tho in.vee ware, (he saw), pl.icel before .Jie man.lie uib.

V3·103. Later on, the kin~ of the mountain'> perceived for a tiGlcl thn.t the beg~ar was vested with two hi.nds, youn~, dark blue ill appearance, ill the glli~e of a cow- herd awl holding' a Ilu te in his hands, l1e also S:l\V th,l he was d-cke.] with ornaments and th"t hi, crest was adorned with tb~ plum tge of pcicock. The whole of his body was be-una ired with sand d .11:1 C iv-re I With wild wreaths. He ag,tin saw fur a moment that the mcudic.mt \\(t" clad in ti.~pl'.skin, that he was holding a trident and au ax', i1"t he IV L~ Ledecked with ashes and that he wa- the moon-crested IOI'J SitllbLra. IIis neck was adorned with a pure garland of bones and a saerod t.hrua I of snukes. His beall was loaded wi th golden clusters of knot to.l hall', In the hands he held a small dru 111 sha ped Ii ke an

.ho :r-g-lass as well asa horn. He had a lovely, t.raiquil appsarauce. He was cllll,tantly reciting the name of Hari with a wreath at white crystal in his bands, 'I'he king of the mountains agaill saw that for a time the mundicunt was shining with the lustre of Brahrna in the shape of the radiant sun and vested with three att.rihutes. Afterwards he saw for II. 1lI0Ini111t that he had assumed the form of the fire effulgent with t he lustre of Brahm». 'l'hen be also l'eheld in him t be dl'li~htfnl and graceful form of the moon, Then for a limp he beheld th'Lt he was form -less, incorruptible, dissociated from all objects, wi thont desire, the emblem of the Stlpl'eme spirit and symbol of absolute lig-h-" When the king of the mountain, thus saw the self-detArmining- Sankara wielding so ll1'l.ny form-, wi t h tears of joy in·h is eye~. and a. thrill of raptures i n his body he throw him-elf prostrate Oll the ground like a club or staff before him, He cirou m.nub.ilate-l round him reverentially, saluted him repeatedly and approaching him with a cheerful heart beheld him again, Afterwards when the king- of the mountains saw the beg-gILl' as he had originally appeared. be was bewildered by the illusion of Vi~I:U and forgot all about the different forms which he had witnessed before,

104-115. 'I'hen the mendicant ag'll.in be .. :~~ed alrns of the king of the mountai I}S, The satchel 01' wallet by his side, the red dress which he put 011 and the musical horn and the small drum in the shape -of the hour-glass in his hands became again prominent. The beggar was not inclined to beg any alms other than DurgfL. The king of the mountains being bewildered by the illusion of Vii?l_lll by no means acceded to his request. 'I'he beggar did not accept any tbing but di8appf'al'ed. 0 my beloved, at that time the mountain anrl I\!enakft were disillusioned and came to their senses. Theil they thought thus, ., Oh! what It wonderful system of ereabiou the lord of the U Il i verse has. In the day, he f1'Pl'e tred to IlS p irsonally like a dream. He defrauded us a_r;ain u.nd vanished.' 'I'he gods including Indra etc. seclllg the immovable faith of

278

TIlE BRAllJIJ., V,dlr.JRTA PURA~lA,

Hirnftlav« ann :\lenaka became anxious. Then thev assembled in the Sumeru' mountain at the 1'0;)G of the immortal holy ng tree and hit l1pon a plan, If the king of the mountains reverentially hand over his daughter to Siva, he will be at once redeemed If he goes away leaving the ca~th which 1S a mine of ~~em,:, thau the n'lmJ,'< the mother of g('Il1S " a~ apl'lic;l to the eart l: will be quite ineff'rctu.il and rueanimzless. IIimillnY:1 »fte r h:willg' bestowed his dallghtcl' on the holder of the spear ill l1l:tniage will god rid of the quality of hi" immovableness, wield n celestial form and surely pass til the domain of Vi~l.l'1 wh-re he will e:lsih' attain the form of Had and ba claqsp.d am lit" his a teu.lvnts. A dallghter is eq ual to ten ponds, If any aile g'i ves his ,l;ul ~h. or ill m-crria re to a Hr rhmiu who docs not accept gifc~, who is hilv, con versnnt with the Vedas ami tbe Sandh,,<'\ rites, who stu-lies the Ve·.h~ an] is truthful certaiuly gaills the reward which C III be -ecured by the ~iffi of ten pon Is, But if the Bra hmin to whom the daughter is givcn be a h ruse-holder who performs Sandl1ya ill the morning, noon and evening , who is trut.hf.i] awl conversant with the Vedas, the benefit reaped hy the donor is one-half of the lasb-named benefit,

116- ~41. And if the person to whom the d:lIlghtol' be givclI accepts gifts from others. and be void of religion- rites in the m orning , noon and evening, the donor will still reap fruits lo the extent or one h .lf of the last-named benefit, And if the donee be a Bl'i\hmin he ravishes the wives of others, who is a professional beg'~al" who will sbill acquire religions merit equivalent to that secured by the gif~ of one tank. It' the donee he without religions rites and treacherous, the donor will still aeqrire the merit secured by the gift of half a tank, Hut if I he d.uurhte:: In given to a person similar to a Cbll.l(~al b3g'ltton by a ::Sadri up)n a vile I{r£ihmin \IIOI11'\n, she pI'oves to he a SOI!I'C~ of hell. B It if the da.ll~htel' b~ g iven to the SOil of a Bra bmin devoted to V i.,ll_PI , learne.l, truthful an I dispassionate, the fruit reaped by the donor is equal t·) tne frnit reaped by the gift of thirty tmks. And any one who ~ives his dall~hter t» such a brilltJ-~r'oom wields a c·)lestial form aud lives happily for GJ,OJO .\"tJ:11'3 ill the bnd of Visu.i, 0 my beloved, it is sp seifie.l in th~ Vedis that a'IY one who gi ves his gooll-nature I dall~h ter to ILir i or H ira attai ns th ~ form of N :ll'fl ral)a. If allY mag-n'l,~i m ius p }r4Qll devoted t<) Hvr i gi Vf'S hi, (bllghtsl' to the son of a Br.i hmin out of deference to Vi~I.lu, he att'l.ins the b:mJage of lLtd 0 my d<1.rlin~, the go is. after consultation and due deliberation departed with a view to send Vrihuspabi to the house of Himftlayu. Subsequently the gods appronobsd the spiritual preceptor of the (~oJs, bowed to him and submitted to him evervthinz th-is :-" 0 Gnr;7, go to thR house of Him alava aurl blame (S'iva) the wielder of the axe in various \v;l;'S. Dlll'g-:l Will wed none except the holder of the trident (S'iva). 'I'hus Himu.laya, provided thaf he is mode to give his daughter to Llura in marriage :Lgaill"t his will shuil uot reap t he benefit commensurate with the gift of his dau.rhter. It follows then, thtt fJr the time being- he must remain on earth, 'l'hervfore, 0 religi ius loader, preserve the Earth, the one of endless gems, Thereupon Vrihaspati thrust his hands into his ears, remembered N'lrilyall:1 and said, " By no means I shall be able to perform this act." So sayi ng Vrihaspati IV ho was couversant with the Vedas and their auxiliary branches and who was

kBISNA JA.iVllIA KHAN])A.

279

nevoted to Hari and Ham again rebuked the gods saying, " 0 selfish gods, I am going to tell you truthful words prescribed by the Vedas pregnant with ethical maxims and beneficial in the end. Listen. A sinner who slanders a person (devoted to Har i and Ham). or a Bruhmin who is regarded as a god on earth, or a chaste woman 01' his own spii-itunl gnide, 01' an ascetic, or a mendicant or.u Hrahmacha r}, 01' the gnlls who consbitute the c m=e of creation will remain in the hell called the 'I'hread of Time so 101l~ as the sun and the moon exist, sleep there day and night on saliva, uight-suil and urine and be bitten continually by worms where he \\ ill "cream in agony. A sinner who slanders Hrah mfi , the creator of the wor'd, the goddess Durga who is the best of female deities, Lnksmi, Saruswat i, i::iita, Tulsi, Ganga, the Vedas, the mother of the Vedas, avow, devotion, mystic formula pertaining to worship or the spiritual guide who gin1s the formula will dwell in the hell called the "blinr1 well" for half the period of the longevity allotted to Brabma, where bitten by snakes be will SCream dreadfullv. Whoever s landers Lord Hr iaike'sa (Vi~I_lU, literally. lord of the senses) rt'g,mliug him as an ordinary' god or talks ill of the Pura nas (which engender faith in Had and are more praiseworthy th-in the S'rntis) or blames the cow- berdess, Hi'tdbil, who sprang out of half of the' body of Kri~l)a or the ever- adorable Bru hmins must dwell in the hell called Avatoda so long as Brahms exists. lIe dwells there with his feet upwards 'and face downwards surrounded by snakes, There, bitten by fearful snakes, he screams horribly and oppresse I by hililger, he consumes sa liva, ordure ann urine. 'l'ben the fearful myrmidons of Yama in an cer t.hrust torches into his mouth, chastise him in the morning, noon and ~veniDg: storm and thunder. He is then very milch frighteoe 1 and with the torments caused by beating he is rendered thirsty and drinks urine to queneh his thurst,

142,150. The offpring of the lobus hath Slid, "In the next Kalpa, only at the commencement of creation by Brah.uft , such a sinner will he released from hell. 0 gods, by the sl.mder of S'iva, shall I go to hell ? Do YOIl request me to render you this benefi t ? In days gone by, Daksa at Hrahma's command. g:l\'e his dallg'hler in marriage to the bolder of the speal'; but when he slau.lcred S'i\'[1, he did not obtain redemption but merely aequired prosperity. D,d;:~rt u n w il l i njr ly married his daughter to S'iva and acquired only religion, nu rib. Ilnt, for a wonder, he sacrificed the redemption in the shape of the attainment of che form of Vii?l,ll1, and in lieu of that" he only secured the insig nifica nt bliss of heaven. 0 goels, lot some one amontr yon go to the house of Himfilnya and attain his object by hook or by crook. Let the king of the m ountaius 1L"~ui!lingllj give bis daughter in marriage to Siva and thus abide with pleasure in India; for, bear in mind, if he gives his dnuchter 'reverentiall!J to S'iva, he will surely be redeemed. Subsequeutly to obtain thc consent of Himalaya to the marriage, the seven Hisis will undoubtcdlv "0 with Arunrlhabi to tlie house of the king of the mbuntains and use ~o~xiJlg and consolatory lallQ'llage. Dmg:1 also will accept no husband except S'iva, Therefore in spite of his relictance, Ll ima laya shall have to make 0\'81' his daughter to S'iva, 0 gods, I now stated to you the whole case. Now go home. Vrihaspati, so saying, went to the coast of the Maudn kini,

256

THE BRAHJIA 'VAIVARTA PURANA.

CHAPTER XIL.

. .

1-10 Lord KI'i~1!~ said, "The gods then, after discussing the matt!'!' arnonq themselves. went to Brahmft and stated everything to the lord of the uni, \'pr~e thus:-"O dispenser of the world, Himalaya in the midst of your ereati.in. i,; l'e~tl',Il(t :1S th~ coutainer of gems. If Hirnftlay a. therefore, b'} release'], tlte earbh will no lonccr be called the mine of gems. 'I'h» kine uf the mountains, if he volunbari ly fllill'ry his daughter to the holder of the spear. will nndoubte.lly attain the same [orlll as N~ldl_ral)~, Therefore, 0 lord, go to the house of Himalaya. slander S'iva and pervert the intellect of the mountain. 'Vithout you, no one is c tp ible of this act' Bl'ahmtL thareupo n spoke words deli~htflll to tho ears, soft like nectar 'lnd full of ethical mixims thus: "0 my children. I am incapable of slanclel'ing S/i va , an act which is arduous and calculated to de stroy prosperity and SOIV tho seed of calamity. Go to S'iva and send him to the house of Himalaya. fIe will slander himself; and he cannot be polluted by thi:1 act For tbe slander of others is the cause of destruction. But self-slander increases one's fame." 0 my deal', the gods thereupon bowed to Brahma, went to Kailas/a and adored S'Iva. Afterwards thev submitted the whole affair to the al l-mm-eifu! S'aukara. S'iva sn.iled, cons~lecl the gods and went to the house of the mountain, The gods were vcry pleased and went home. 'l'ha accomplishment cf one's desire is the cause of one's happiness, and the frustratiOIl of one's d('sign is always d istressful.

11·2;). Later on. when Himalaya in council was passing his days happily with l':lI'vati, Siva in tho gniRc of a Brahmin suddenly turned up there with a cheerful mien. He held in his band the mace and parasol. He was dressed ill a lovely manner. His fore-head was impressed with a very brie-ht m ark. HI) held a wreath of ervstul and his neck wielded th e holy st~ne (emblem of Visun] covered ;vith cloth. As soon as Hillli'tlapL s iw him, he got up from his seat aut! throwin ; himself prostrate on the ground ,..lI11ted revere nti.dly the wonderful g'uc~t. Aftnr-wards Hima layn enquired about his welfare and asked the Brahmin thus, "Lord, who are YOIl? Let me know vour antecedents." The best of the Brahmins respectfullv t hu s anslVc,'ell :-"0 kin~ of mountains, I wander over the su rf ace of the glohe by adopting the profession of a m:ltch-l~1aker (one who Ilr~otiatcs matriuicuinl alliances). By the boon of my I'cltgrolls preceptor, 1 have become om ni-cient aud can goo anywhere with the speed of 111 ind , You wallt to bestow yOlll' dangh tel' IV ho resell! bles Kamala on S'unkura whose ol'igill and nnburo are mysterious. 'I'h is I know, Bllt that S'lJkara has neither house nor society nor grace nor virtue. Be dwells in t he erematorinm. He is the lord of all mulignaut spirits and is famed as a Yogi. He is sturk naked. Ashes and snakes constit.nre his ornaments. lIe is si111 ilur to n catcher of snakes, He 18 kind only to snakes who represent time 01' death. He knows nothing alwilt ,1(,~,th. 'fhi" Bhava is i~lloral1t, lIe is wit.hout patrouil and friends. }1 is hl a.l is covered w ith (~oIJen clusters of hail', He is p:lOr, decrepit and incorrnpt iblo. His ag-e is ~10t known. He is a vagrant and hath his horne evcrv-whero. His neck is adorned with the sacred thread of snakes. IIe is a "mendicant. Therefore, 0 King of mountains, it docs not becouio vou to trive vour ditll"hter Pill'nLii to him, 'rho saiuts wi

~ ~. c

"281

KRISN.J. JANMA KH.A.NlJA.

ridicule you when they heal' of this matter, You are the best of sages, and YOll have sprung from the digits of Narayal).R. Yon should consider this point. 0 King, you are the Lord of a. hundred mountains. Have you no friends or relntions ? Just refer the matter to your friends and :Mena.ka and hear what they say. Barring Parvabl, the best of your relations, carefully enquire into the matter of all others. It is useless to ask pa.rvat i ; for a patient has no taste for medicine and rather likes to eat forbidden articles."

26.38. 0 you who revel in Vrindd vana, the Brahmin having said so finished his bath and diet soon and went home with pleasure. Menakfl, as she heard the words of the Brahmin with an afflicted heart, said to Himalaya, " 0 King of mountains, listen to my words which are delight. ful in the end and then refer the matter to your kinsmen, the mountains. I will by no means give nly daughter to the Mahadeva, 0 King of mountains, if you do not listen to me, I shall leave your house; or I will die of poison. Or, look, I shall tie Ambiki\. to my neck and go to the solitary forest. So saying Menakfl took Parvati to the house of. indignation, slept on the earth, abstained from food and wept constantly. At this time Vasi~tha with his brothers went to the king .of mountains and was followed there by Arundhati. Then the mountainking bowed to them, provided them with seats and worshipped them with sixteen ingredients. In that assembly the saints sat down with pleasure. Thereafter Arundhati went to Menaka whom she found, lying down almost in an unconscious condition. Then the chaste Arundbati addressed to her gentle and beneficial words thus," 0 chaste Menaka, get up. 1 am Arundbati, the intellectual daughter of the manes and the daughter-in-hw of Brahma. I have come to Jour hous':)." Thereupon Menaka got ur, bowed low to Arundbati who was as effulgent as the goddess of fortune and waited on her. 'I'hen she addressed bel' thus, "Ah ! How blessed is our existence today. Great is the strength of our pious deeds! for today the wife of Vasistba, the daughter-in-law of the creator of the world (Brahmft), has graced our house. Goddess, we are your servants. Why out of courtesy did you refer to this house as mine? Today the goddess by virtue of my religions merits has come to see her female servant."

49·48. Then l\Ienak,i seated the virtuous Arundbati on a golden sep.t, offered her libation for washing the feet and entertained her with sweet-meat. 'I'hen she ate something herself along with her daughtel'. Incidentally, Arundhat i having raised the question of betrothal. engaged herself in giving ethical precept to MenakB. with reference to S'iva. On the other ' hand.ythe excellent saints, baving suniliarly raised the question cf betrothal incidentally set themselves to the task of giving ethical counsel to the king of monntains. The saints

_said, "0 king of mountains, take our blessed Advice; bestow your daughter Parvat] on Siva and thus attain the position of the father-in. law of the destroyer, 0 king of mountains. the wielder of the spear will not sue for the hands of your daughber ; but Brahma with a view to the destruction of Ta raka, the demon, carefully explained to Si va the desirability of the proposed alliance. 'I'hat best of Yogis Sanl;:ara himself is unwilling to marry j but he has consented to take your daughter

36.

THE 1JRAllMJ. PAIVJRTA PURANA.

282

onlv throuzb tho entreaties of n-rahmii. And he has consented to marry you"r daugh tor on the termination of he r asceticism. For both these reasons, the best of snints will marry." Hirnii luya ;vhen he Leard the words of the saints smiled and being a little bit frightened modestly spoke to them thus, ., 0 great saints, I do not see any paraphernalia of S'iva, i,e. either his prosperity consists in hermitage or his friends 01' kitth and kin. Therefore it does not behove me to give my daughter to this ascetic who has no connexiou with the world. YOIl a re the sons of Brahmfi, conversant with the Vedas. Please tell me what is your opinion on this point.

39·48. If the father through ignorance, avarice or fear bestows his dauchter on an unworthy bride-groom, he has to suffer the torments of hell for;: hundred years. It follows then that wilfully I shall never bestow my

. dauchter on the holder of the trident. Therefore, 0 saints, tell me what ia p~oper for me to do. Hearing this, Vasi~!h'l. who was conversent with the Vedas and the auxiliarv branches of the V edas addressed to him words prescribed by the Veda~ thus :-" 0 king of the mountains, there are three sorts of statements prescribed by the Vedas and society. An omniscient person, at any place. can know all by virtue of his clear oye of wisdom. A statement which is sweet to the ear onlv for the time being but untruthful and injurious in the end is used by ~ person only to his enemy who is by no means edified or enlightened by the same. But 1\ merciful and pious man uses words calculated to give relief in danger and bring happiness in the end to his friend and consoles him thereby. A wort! which is trnthful, substantial and beneficial, which sounds like nectar and delightful in the end is tho best of 1111 words and approved by ail. 0 best of mountains, these three kinds of words have been sauet.ioue.l by ethics. 1\01\' tell me ,,-hat kind of' words out of tnose specified above shall I use to you? 0 mountainlord, S'ankara, the lord of god~, is devoid cf kingdom or material prosperity. His mind at all times is absorbed in the ocean of metaphysical speculation. Like the flashes of transient lightning. the g oddess of fortune shines for a moment only in material prosperity which is but a delusion and instantly disappears. How can Gall who has eternal happiness awl who is self-contented have a taste for eueh prosperity.

(5~.71). If n. home-holder m uries his d iuvhter to a kinO' and if in. spite of this she passes her days mournfully oll"the :,!ronnd tb~t her husband is not congenial to her heart, the fatherprnot.iculty kills his daughter. Kuvera is the slave of Sin.. 1I0w then is Siva poor? lIe is cnp.ihle of destnying the entire creation by a mere twinkle of his eye. The Lord, the wielder of the trident, is void of attributes. He is the supreme lJeing, God,snperior even to nature. lIe is nnconnocted with e\·en·thin.l' and is still associated with all creatures He is the sale author of d~struc~ tion. lIe can wield any form at pleas lire, therefore he is incorporeal as well. as corporeal. For purpose of creation, preservation I1Il'J destruction be wields three different forms uiz., Brabmn, \'i~I,111 and Siva. Out of these, Brahrna lives ill the Brahlll<I-IJok:t, Visnu, in the ocean of milk and ~iva. in the Kaila sa, These three lorms constitute t he essence of Krisua. Lord Krisna has two arms as well as rOIlI·. \\'ith four hand" he lives in'the Vaikn),1tl.;:~, and with two hn nds in the Golob. Hrahmii, VI~l)n and S'iva are the lligits of Kl'i~l.la, the Supreme Being. Among

2$3

KRISNA JANilfA KlfLVDA.

the gods, some are His digits; others nre the digits of his

digits, The same Kl'i~~la at the time of creation determines

himself and at the outset ha\'ing created Nat.are i'upre~n;tted her with

"his semen, Then she laid an egg' out of which emanated a Illighty B.:~ing (Mah;I.Vi~~ll). He is the 16th part of K!·i~l.1a and is called iI1ahil-Vi~l)ll. Brahms emanated from the lotus of the navel of this )Ialul· Visnu while he was reposing in the w.rters ; and S.lllkaJ'J. witl; the moon onhis summit (head) came out of his forehead. Thereafter Yi~l.lll sprangout of his left sid-, 0 mountniu.Iord, Brahm5, ViSIlU, S.I'a etc, are all creabions of Nature. Nature, the outcome of KJ'is;H~, a,SIIII1C'S tlij'f,'rcnt forms and wantonlv beinz en "tCl'eu ill the task ~{cred.tion thronzh her di~it" an.I puts sn;tail!s C'OV:tl"O~S "imago;,,,. ltld II it , the mist.re:» of R~lsa (the o iw-herd.danns) herself came out of the lefc side of Krisu«. V,lUI, the presiding diety uf speech, ~pnllg' ant, of his mouth; and L i k sm], the source of alf prosperi'Y e oiauuted from his chest,

72·8 I, 'I'Lereartsr S.v:1 ui.mifested hers-If o.it of the aoeumulat-d valour of the gods Sivii haring' tln:·o:lghly extir!lIted the race of the clemons restored to the goJ., all jll',lspority which they desired. ] n a subsequent kalpa, she ernun tte.1 fr.nn t.he \\'0 nb of the wife of D .... k-a. was celebrated by the nan e of Sat! and obt aiue.l S'iva as her husband. DLk~, married hOI' to S'iv.r, A fte I' 1I':l1'. I;; hal'ing heard the slanders a~;lir:s~ her hu-han I, sue parted with bel' 0.1'11 bod," by dint of her ah.-traet meditations (Yoga.) an I took her birth out of the womb of YJ!ll' wife Menakl as the mother of the world. 0 mountain-Ior.l, this Siv,l is at every birth the \\ !fe of S va an I in every a~'e she is ee lebrato.l as the symbol of intellear to the wise an I a-s the grelt mother, . She remembers the eonlitions of lrer previous birt.h, Sue is o.nnisciens, fnltils rlesires and is herself tha ill1:l~e of perfeetion. Siva with ~r<l.tt care sustains in his bo ly - her ashes and bones, If yllil are propare.I to ~i\"~ ~'011r (tLllgliLer to him of yOUl' own accord, then please d o so im.nediutely. Otherwise she will herself go to her consort, A WJ:n,Ln act:lillS t:lat man as her 11I1~L:mJ who h:t.i b ren sill~le,1 out fer her by fate. This la ,v has been o.rlaine I by the Lord of Creation and C II! b~ I'e;ci nded by none, 'I'hat ruetaphysican S'arnbhu who is se'f c iut ene.l is n at parbicularly anxious for marria!;e, Only the galls b,)ill~ oppressed a good deal by '1':l:-llk:L have entreute.I him ill v .rious W'L\'~ to mrrr-v. Therefore LOl'l1 S 'ankara. the ocean of mercy, havinsr IV i LnessflLl the ·oppression of the go Is and yieldin; to the pl'itytH'S of' BI',t1I:u1, has e.m seited to mll'ry while present ill the S liel asserob'y of the good;.

83·91. LJI'd S'iv., in the g'lli:;e of a twice-born (Brlhmin) went to the place alotted to the meditation of yo 11' daughter and having wituessed her nountless torments, pledge I him-elf to accede to bel' prayers, granted her a boon using suitable words for her eousolation and returned horne. Hearing this, the goJs including Indra, Lord Nhi\ya.l,la, Brahmft, Dharma, the saints and )lunis assembled to~ethel', discussed the m lttel' and leputed us to y01l1' pI iee, Arun.lhat i has preceded IH and has already arrived at your plae -. We shall be highly obliged if Y0:1 kindly yield to our wishes. You regard our counsel inauspicious for the time being, it is true; but ultim itely it is fraught witb good results. o mountaiu-Iord, :f you voluntarily do not gi ve..,hirn youI' daughter

TH]!; BRAHMA VAIJTARTA PUR..ANA.

28-4.

she is bound to be his bride by prelesti nation. The primeval god who gave the boon to Parvati after having arrived at the place of her meditation is the best of all go.Is, He has n) beginning, end or mid.Ile ; he is the preceptor of the wise, iuccrruptible, birthless and the best of ascetics. lIe will ride on a diamand- Cal' along wi th N ,\ rii yal}a and go to your place :_for the VOIV of a goJ can never go amiss.

02-101. 0 King of mountains, in this world everything from Brahms down to an insect is transitorv ; but the IVO ds of ~aints are rare alld inviolable. Indra, the king ~f the gods to preserve his vow, unassisted easily clipped the wings of the mo untains : the good of Wind also easily broke the summit of Suma-n. 'I'hereforev O l Iimftlaya, who is there amon~ the mountains so brave as to combat the gods? If anyone rashly advances with a view to fight with the gols, the might of the wind will soou hurl him into the bosom of the sea. Therefore, 0 King of the mountains, if the preservation of only one person entails the destruction of all, then it is propel' to haud over that per~on to the opposite side for che preservation of all property; only refugee, ougbt 1I0t to be surrendered. Moralists have hekl thut for the preservation of a. fugitive, the surrender of a sou, wife. wealth and even life is desirable, In days of yore, a killg named Anaranya by b.~~to.vi"g' his daughter in mal'l'iagc on the son of a lldthmin was released from the curse of the Urahmin and thus preserved all his property. The moralists advised the king, a pley to the curse, (who was very much afflicted with sorrow) to perform the above beneficial act. 'rherrfol'e, 0 king of mot: ntains, JOu too should bestow your daughter ou Siva and thus pn'se!'vo yOUI' relations and friends and appease the race of gods." The king of mountains, having heard this, with a heavy heart enquired into the history of king Anarany« and said with a smile, "0 Brahmin, to what r.ice did Anarauya, the best of kings, belong? Why did he preserve all his property by giving his daughter ?'

102-110. VU9i§lJ)a. said, ',0 king cf mountains, Anaranya, the best of kings, came out of the stock of Manu ; he was longevous, pious, the best of Vai~l)avas and had a complete mastery over his passions. In days of yore, the pious Manu, the son of the self existent Brahrnft justly ruled Lis kingdfllll for seven yugas. and afterwards went to Vaikunt ba with his wife Sata-rupa where he attained the bondage cf Bar! and was classed among his myrmidons, Afterwards S'waroehisa Manu came into being and after his death the pious Tamasa M'mn came into prominence. When the period of his jurisdiction was over, Ruivata, t he wisest was born. After him respectively came into being Chaksnsa Manu, then the seventh Manu called Vaivas c ata-Muun, then the eighth Manu (the son of the sun) called S:lvarna Manu (who was in his previous birth n king named Suratha descended from Chaitra), then after his demise the nint h Manu call. ed Daksasfivarni, then the 10th called Brahma.Sfivarni, then the lIth c.dled Dhanna-Savarni, the best of ::\Ianns, then-on his demise, the great Vai~l)aVa, Hudrasavami who had subdued his passions ; then after his jurisdiction was over Devasavarui ; and after him, Indrasftvarui, 0 best of friends, I have thus given you an account of the origin of the 14 Manus, The period covered by all these Manus is equivalent to one day of 131'a.hma.

285

J(R1SNA JANJIA KHANDA.

111-125. 0 king of mountains, I am now going togive you an account of Indrasft-varn i ; hear it in detail. This ~IaIlu, the best of ~lanus. was very pions and a great adherent of Gadadhara. After ha.ving- justly ruled his kingdom for seven Yugas, he entrusted his government to his son Suchandl'a and went away for devotion. This Suebandra begat a very powerful son, the graceful S'ri-Niketu, S'ri-Niketll begat a son named Puri~a-Tara, fl. great a,cetic who begat a son named Goka-Mukha, Goklii\.-;\Iukha. besrat Srimbhu r.a. '1 he last-named begat Vriddha-Srava who begat Bb isms. Bhnull begat Pun darika who begat Sring! who begat nh sma, Bh isma berrat Jnsasehnndra who it) point of celebrities acquired by him excelled even the moon. His spotless fame is recited by the gods even upto this day. He Ilegat Varenya who begat Punyaranya out of whose loins was born the pions, and gl'acefnl, Adharura n ya who begat Mangalilral)ya, a great saze ar.d all ascetic. Being sonless, he went for devotion to the shrine of Puskara were after a course of austere meditations last inr- for a long 'timtJ he received a boc n trom :'Ilabflclcva. B~' virtue of that boon he got a son named Anara nys who was de{'oted to Visnu and had subdued his passion. The king handed over the reins of government to him and went aw av ~o the forest for devotion. Anarauva

.. Ow ,

the best of kings, oE'camc the lord of the earth consisting of se

ven islands aud performed a hundred sacrifices through Bhrigll, his priest. The kine Anaranva did not wish to attain the transit.orv position of ILd:'I,'" on the 'ground that in was insignificant. He wau. touly conquered Indra, subdued Bali and other demon- kings and by dint of his OWIl valour he gloriously developed the system of his goverll. ment. 0 King of mountains, afterwards, Anaranya begat a hundred sons and a daughter o illed P"dma who was as charming as Kamala. The king was more att .ehed to his daughter than to his sons. 'rhe king had fifty queens, the best of womeu, most fortunate and possessing a never-fadmg -youth.

126-136. The princess grew up, day by day, in her paternal house and attained puberty. Then the kiug sent messengers to several places. At this time the l\Iuni named Pippa.lftda while anxious to return to his hermitage, beheld a Gandarbha in that solitary place designed for meditation. This Gandarva ITaS so much infatuated with iexllal intercourse wit h his wife that he had no idea of day or night. The great Muni, 'IV hen he witnessed this mood of the Gandarbha, was himself smitten with lust and through he was given to religious meditations, yet he II as inclined to take a wife. Once U pOll a time this gl eat :'II uni wer t to bathe in the river called Pnspa.bhadrn , where he saw Padma, the d.urghter of Anara nya who was as enchanting and beautiful as Kamald, 'l'here he enquired of the people close by as to who she was. They said that she was Padrna, the daughter of the king Anaranya, 0 Himalaya, thereupon the ~luni bathed, worshipped his tutelary deity Srikri~'.la and with a heart agitated with passion, he went to king Anaranya to solicit the hands of that princess. When the king saw the Muni, then with a frightful heart he bowed low to hi Ill, offered to him the oblation of hvney al,13 milk and reverentially worshipped him. The Muni, out of lust, baving accepted everything, sought subsequently the bands of his daughter. Thereupon the king became silent and was unable to speak anything.

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286

'I'he Mnni again said to the king. "0 king Anal'~l)yt. bestow your daughter Oll me; otherwise by the fire of my CUI'se, I shall reduce everything to ashes, Then, the valour of the Muni obscured every one i. e. threw everyone into the shade. The ki[)g' seeing that tin ;\[ulli was old and decrepit Leg-an to weep along with his kinsmen,

187-Ho. The queens also L~in~ at a loss what to do lamento.l a. ~ood deal and the principal queen, the mother of the princess, being agita.ted with sorrow, fainte.l, At that t ime a servant conversant with ethics eO:lsolell the king, the q:1""en, his sons and diu rhters with Iff<letion3.te terms thus: ":J kin r, either at pre sent or in futm-e ),0'.1 must have to ~ive aW;IY YOllr c1 wghter in marriage. It d:)eJ not th erefore b ihove you

to give hwar your d:wghter to anyone except thi~ Bra hm i n I do It see

a better mit ch for YOllr daurrhter ill this world th.m you Brfthrnin. 'I'herefore pl'e,erve all )'0111' Pl·.)pJl:'ty by givin~ th~ princess to th.l :\hni. 0 kinz if YOll do n rt emsent to th : act, all YOll' property will probably be destroyed for the sak s of YOllr d Lughter ; therefore it is proper for yOl1 to preserve all YOllr thin~s by parting with YOllr d:Lu~htf>r. 0111)' a rafugee c:wnot be abandoned." 'I'he king- h:wing heard the word, of the s'lge continued to weep ag Lin and again. After.v.lrds ha\"illg' decorated lns .lauzhter with ornammts, he han.le.I h:1I' over to the best of saints. 'I'he \Iu~l having accepted her cheerfully went to his h.~l'mita2e. Then the king renounced the world. and went to t lie for~3t for devotion. The princip:d qneen .lied of sorrow oeeasioaed by the seprrataou from her husband ani daughter. - The ministers, sons and servant, al m )st r.L i ntcd tlll'ou~ h the grief of sepal"ltion fro m the monarch. Anarau va, with his heart absorbed in the thought of the LOl'l1 of Radh:1 gave l1illBelf up to meditation and laving ministered to the Lord of the CJ\v-world went to th:>, Go-lok-i. 0 King of mountaius, afterwards his el.lest sou b.ie un ; a fun ):n k:n; and ru led his subjects as if he were their father,

CHAPTER XLII.

1-20, Ya~'~tha snid, •• 0 Kin~ of mountuins, the llan~htel' of

Annra nya, by acbs, words ane thnug-ht reverent.i tlly serve.l the saint as Lak~:ui serve.3 i'Lli'ay;tl)a. Once upon a time, the chaste daughter of Anarunya went to Mtndftkinl to habhe. By virtue of his tlllisl1unic powers, Dharma in the _gui~e of a king beheld her in thc way, Thereupon in di~guise, he mounted a chariot of gem, decked himself with orn-i.meuts of gem an 1 arrived there. His vou th was in its prime; and his bally was eff1l1gent like tha t of Cupid. . Having seen that graceful an.l lovely lady, Lord Dharma wanted to know the h-art of the 1\lulli's wifll and craftily asked her thus: "F'Lil' one, I see you possessing the oharms and constant beauty of Luksm i. Therefore you are a wo man fit for the enjoyment of a king, no doubt. It does Jut b~hJI'J roa to d veil with the decrepit old mill who is your husban 1. It behoves yO:1 to dwell ill the heart of kin~s, after having auuoi uted yourself "ith "In Ial and aloe. Therefore, 0 fall' one, leave this 13r:1hm:m who is C)I15t:\Illy devoted to ausberit.ies, conversant with maxims of truth and is about to die. Look at me, the best of kings, adept in sexual iutereou rso and afflicted with lust. A beautiful damsel attajll~ her b:HlItj' by virtue of the pious

287

KRISNA JAN11IA KHANlJA.

deeds which she performed in her previous birth; but that beauty is rendered effectual and worth its name by the embrace given to the girl by a jovial or wibtv man. I am t.he husband of a thousand ftir uamsels and an expert" in sexual science. Therefore, 0 r~.I' love, accept me' as your 51;1\'e, If 1 attain yon, I shall leave other wives of mine, 0 enchantress of my heart, I shall flirt with yon in solitary places irr every mountain and each river and in every grove redole-nt of the wind kissing the flowers, Fair one, I alone am capable of dispelling the mental a~oHy from the heart of women \\110 are nfflicted with the fevel' of 1113t, 'l'herefore bless your life by dallying with me," So saying Dharma dismounting' from his car was about to catch hold cf her. Then the chaste P'L'-ima thus addressed the malereaut Dharma, "0 sinner, 0 most profound villain ill the line of kings, avaunt! If thou hast the face to address me again in a lustful m auner, I shall su re ly reduce thee to ashes. Shall I after leavin;; Pippaluda, the best of Mu njs, who has been rendered sacred by his devotions, court a lien-pecked licentious wretch like thyself? The bare touch of a luxurious individual like thee, tbe meanest of mortals, is calculated to des troy all virtue. There is no sinner greater in the world than a man subdued by a. woman. I am as a mother to thee and yet thou usest words to me as if I were thy wife. Therefore by my -ClH'Se, thou shalt be reduced ill size." Then Dharma, when he heard the words of that virt.uous woman, shook off the dis~uise of a monarch and baving wielded his owu form uh us Faid with his bony quivering. " 0 mother, I am Vbal'llln, the preceptor of the preceptors of those who know virtue. Chaste aile, 1 regard other women in the light of my mother. I came to YOIl simply to study yo.ir heart, and ye~ by all irony of fate, I have been defrauded. Chaste one, III I' ehastismeut has not been irupropel'; I have been righty served,' The punishment of recalcitrants has been ordained by god himself.

21·3.5 .. I bow to Kri~J.1a, the sllpreme being who C.l1l teach virbue to Dha-ma (the principle of virtue), who can destroy time, who can be the d ispenser of the dispe 113£'1' (Hrah m t ), 1 bOI\", to that Lord

Krisua who is able to destrv Siva. the dcstrover in course of

tim~ 'a1l11 to create even the creat~l' 13raU~)CI. I bow to 'L'Jrd Krisun. who can destroy Yama, who is the cause of the death of death and ~;bo can create aud ~le~tl'oy providence. I bow to that eternal Kri~l)a who is the source of curse, pleasure, pain, bOOIl, prosperity, calamity. 1 bow to tha.t great Lord Kri~I)a. who is cap ible of giving a friend or a foe an.l causing amity or rupture etc, at whoso desire the milk has become white, the water has-become cold anu the fire ba~ acquired the property of burning'. I bow to the Supreme being, Lord Kri~l~fI, who lias created nature ;'lah&· Vi~l)II, BmiJma, Vi~l)l1, Siva etc, I bow to that Lord Kri~l,1a who is the embodiment ot light and yet wiekls different forms LInaugh that light, who is the best of the virtuous and yet void of all attributes. I bow to Lord Kl'i~I)a, the friend of all, who pervades all, who is the seed of all and ~ho is the soul of the whole universe," So saying, the preceptor of the world took h is stand before her. 0 1111' dear, than the chaste Padm t knew [rim to be J)bUl'lll:J. and respectfu lly ·~aiu, I. 0 lord, you are th?_ ~itness of al! acts; yon k uov the hcart «f all; yO:l are o.TImSCL!nt and versed in 1',11 thing.;, Why then did you defraul you!' slave

THE BR.JHJIA VAlVA/lTd PURdNA.

288

in order to know her hearb ? 0 Brahman, the inevitable has happened; I am not to blame for ~his. 0 lord, through anger and folly due to my feminine nature I have cursed you; but now I am thinking what will be your fate. Even if the sky, the wind and all the quarters of the globe are destroyed, the words of a. chaste woman can never go amiss. On the other hand, if you perish, the whole creation will be destroyed, I am quite at a loss what to do. Yet I shall suggest to you a method. Listen.

36-47. 0 best of the gods, as on the occasion of the full Moon, the moon-god appears in his entire form or his four feet, so yon will maintain your form intact in the Satya. Yuga. 0 Lord, in the 'I'reta, one of your feet will wane : in the D.vapara, two of yonI' feet and in the Kali, three of your feet will disappear. At the end of .Kdi the only remaining foot of yours will be latent. In the Satya-Yuga, again yon will be omnipresent; 'tod in other Yugas you will only manifest yourself in some places. o lord, I am going to describe to you the places of persons wherein you will reside. Listen 0 prince of virtue, you will dwell completely in the Vaisnavas, Brahmins, Yatis, pious kings, Brahm't-Charls. chaste women, pnre-S'lges, Vana-prasthas i.e. Brahmins who in the 3rd stage of their lives retire from all world's affairs for meditation in the woods, beggars, good men, virtuous Vaisyas. S'udras devoted to the service of Brahmins, people who keep good company and persons of stable disposition, i.e . wellregulated principles. In every age, the above people will constitute your receptacle. You will also remain in the holy fig tree, the banyan tree, the holy basil, bael, flowers dedicated to the gods, saints etc. You wiil also constantly d well in temples, places frequented by pilgrims. houses of good men, place where the Vedas and the auxiliaries of the Vedas are chanted and in councils. You will also preside over places where the name of Kri~i)a and his virtues are chanted, heard and sung, where vows are undertaken and sacred acts are performed, where asceticism is practised, justice is administered, sacrifices are made and truth is maintained, where initiation in sacrifices is made, trial takes place, oath is taken, planes where foot- prints of COIVS are left au the soil and also oyer cow-pens and enclosure of cows. 0 Brahmn, you will not be reduced in such plaee-, Conversely, I am going to tell you the places where )'Ul1 will suffer reduction. Listen.

48-50. Lord, you will suffer deterioration in prostitnta-, brothels, murderers and their houses, base-rnimled people, ignorant men awl hypocrites as well as in those who steal the wealth of goJ~ or re.igious preceptors or Brahmins or virtuous men and likewise in wicked and cra.fty people, in places designed for C arn 801 intercourse, in gambling houses and in places where kings quarrel. Yon will suffer de~raciation in places which are void of the Holy stene, pious men, shrines or the Pura nas, in places frequented by robbers and proud men, in places frequented by those who subsist upon the sword, the Deval or the village priest, the bearers of bullocks, those who earn their livelihood by killing- aui rnals, women who slander their husbands, hen-packed husbands. Brahmins void of initiation, Gaetri and faith in Vi~I)II, the vendors of their own persons, dan~hter.-; or wives, vendors of holy stones, idols, books and land. You will likewise

KRtSNLl JLlNMA KllLlNiJA.

289

suffer reduction in ,persons who betray their friends, in miscreants, traitors. in people who slay or betray the fugitives, in habitual liars, in those who transcend the boundaries of land, in those who perjure out of lust, angel' or a varice, in those who do not perform virtuous deeds and who interefere with virtue. 0 Lord, all this will make good my statement and likewise preserve 'you. Now I am going to minister to my husband. Be pleased to go home. " When the chaste daughter of AOl\ra!)ya spoke thus, Dharma, the son of Brahma, cheerfully and gently "poke thus, "Chaste one, you are a blessed woman, devoted to your busband: may yon be always happy. You preserved me ; and so, ask a boon and I shall grant it to you.

60-73. Daughter, by my boon, your husband will enjoy constant youth j he will be clever in sexual intercourse, handsome, virtuous and eloquent. You, too, will be immensely prosperOllS and possess everlasting youth. Your husband will be more longevons than the sun, more wealthy than Kuvera, more resourceful than Indra, a Vaif}l)naVa like S'iva and more accomplished than Kapila, Throughout your life, you will be blessed in respect of your husband whose love you will secure and your house will be more thriving than that of Kuvera. By my boon you will be the mother of sons more handsome and virtuous than Ku vera.' 0 king of mountains, when Dharma paused, the chaste Padma circumambulated round him, then bowed to him and went home. . Dharma blessed her and also went home. Subsequentlly he praised her before every assembly. 'Vhen Padmft weut home, she constantly sported IV ith her husband now restored to youth by the boon of Dharma in solitude. Afterwards she gave birth to eons more qualified than her husband. 0 mountain-king, I narrated to you the uucient history showing how Anaranya preserved all his property by giving his daughter to the i\Iuni. You, too, by giving your daughter to the 100'd of all, should preserve ,vour kinsmen, .relatione and property. 0 royal mount, from this day forth, when seven days will expire, the rarest auspicious moment will arri ve. On that day the lord of auspicious moments will attain its auspicious position. On tbut.day, the moon-god will be auspiciously united with his son Budha and attain purification by his combination with Rohin i, '1\\1',1 will also be purified. That day is the monday of the month of Agrahayal.l:l. That day is free from nil defect. On th;lt day all planets will cast a favourable glance all round: and the glances of ominous planets will disappear. Marriage on that day secures a suitable bridegroom and brings in a good son. That is a moment which secures immunity from widow-hood and is productive of happiness. 'l'here can be no diminution in the nuptial love which shall be deep and lasti ng by virtue of that auspicious moment. There. fore, 0 mountain-lord, make over your daughter to Siva. on that auspicious day and thereby acquire celebrity.

74-79. 0 royal mount, this <l:l.ug'hter of yours represents the valour of all the gods. She is adored by the gods ; she is the mother of the "'OI'lu, the supreme goddess, the primordial Nature. Make her over to Siva, the hther of the world. In days of yore she came out of the valour of the gods (or their preservation aud illumined all the sides with her lustre. Solely through her personal valour and strength, some of the demons were consumed, some were routed aud some were reduced to ashes,

87

290

THE ERJHJ.1IA 7TLlIVARTA PURANA.

others entered iu to hollows or fainted or sought her protection with grass which they held with their teeth. Subdued by her hideous prowess some became stark-naked, some were astounded, others fought for a long time find eventually passed to Heaven which is free from disease. In olden times, the gods, through her prowe,s, were relieved from their foes, In the age which succeeded this eveut, the goddess, at tbe command of Lord Kri~l)a, acquired her birth as the daughter of Daksn.

82·95. Afterwards Duksa in due course gave his danghter to the wielder of the spear. By chance, in t.he sacrifice performed by my father, there wag a great quarrel in the council of the gods between Si"a and D.tk~ t, 'I'hen the three-eyeel lord became angry, bowed to Brahrnd and went away. Daksa, too, was incensed and went home with his relations. Then t.be displeased Daks., performed a sacrifice at his place with great eclat and out of spite did not give to Siva, any share in the sacrifice. When Sat! beheld thc ill-treatment to which her husband was subjected by her father, she flushed crimson with rage, sorrowfully rebuked her father and went to her mother. 'I'hereafter the supreme and fore-seeing Sati wbo is conversant witt. three ages (the present, the past and the future) related to Ler mother everything concerning the coming disruption of the ceremony, the defeat of bel' father and all future events. 0 royal mountain, she related to her mother an account of the retreat of the gods and gavc her a. viviI description of the sacrificial ministers and the mountains, the victory of the army of Siva, her own death and the subsequent travels of her husband to several places who would be overwhelmed with grief by the 105s of his wife. She also described to ber the origin of l\ pond from tbe tears of S:va. She said that she would again attain Slva when she would wield anot.her form and then enjoy his society. These events she predicted to her mother; and ill spite of the remonstt ances of her mother and sisters whieh she slighted, she went away sorrowfully. Then that accomplished ascat.ic Sati went to the coast of the Ganges, in 1\ for II im pnrcep tihle to others, (a condition which she attained by virtue of her .'·agoa). She bathed and worshipped S'an kara, Afterwards she remembered his lotus feet, parted with her frame and entered the oval veRse! representing the body of' Gaudha-Mndan, This g;)Llcles~, while resicl:n~ in the Gandhu-Mdda.n, in days of ),ore, had destroyed all the demons. ·When the goddess entered into that body, all the gous lamented much. On the other hand the army of S'ankura destroyed the sacrifice of Daksa, defeated his party lind being- overwhelmed with gorief went and related the whole affair to Siva.. When S'iva hear.l this account, he suddenly fllintC'd along' with the Rudras. Wheu he regained conoiousness aft.er a while, the three-eyed lord g'ot up and went to the coast of Mauel,ikinl where the body of the goddess lay.

,

CHAPTER XLIII.

1-24. Nartlj'al)a said," 'l'hercafter Siv'l, while ~oillg, saw that the lovely form of Sat) gi'8ceful like the lustre of pure lotus was lying prostrate on the coast of the river. That form wielding a rosary of beads was effulgent like heated gold, burning with lustre and was clad in white. At the sight of this image Siva was consumed with the fire of the

KRISNA JANMA KIlANDA,

291

",------,-----------------------

fi pa.ng of separation. Though he is the embodiment of all the sciences connected with ontology, yet he lost his consciousness. 'I'he deep sorrow occasioned by tho 103s of his wife tormented even S'ankara , the lord of the best ascetics, the germ of the Vedas, the self contented supreme being. The three-eye 1 lord. after a while recovered his wits and wanted to speak to hcr, bat the sig-ht of her lotus-face made him oblivious of tho subject on which he had a mind to speak. 'I'he n hp, stood transfixed at that place like an immoveable piece of stone. Then Sin1., the harbour

"of tho po;)r anti remover of their poverty, with streaming- eyes, after the manner of the poor, lamented much and said thus, "0 mistress of my life, 0 my b-Ioved spouse, get up. Nay, get lip but once. Fair one bahold ! I am _yonI' husband S'aukara. I hav.i come to YOIl. 1 grant good things; I am the lord of everyone j I am the imflg'e of nil ; I am the source of suceess ; I am the universal spirit; but, 0 m v beloved, without you, I am but a corpse. Jly dear, you represent the strength of all objecbs. Shel tercd by yon, I was vested with strength. Now devoid of stren rth. my will has become parulysed so that. I am powerless to do any act and [ have been reduced to a. corpse. \Vise nymph, whoever does not know the nature of pri.nordial energy criticizes it. He alone should be abandoned by you, 0 goddess of energy. Why then did you abmdon me, my' love? 0 mistress of my life, Brahrn d himself, Vi~~u and [ are entirely subject to your control. With a srnihug face,' deign to ca;t a glance at me and using words like honey relieve my heart. My dear, with interesting and sweet dialogues and by sprink linq on me the water cf delicious ami honeyed glances, relieve Illy affhoted heart; and looking at me from a dist-moe, quickly necost me with sweet and affectionate words, \Yhr do ),011 not address "OUI' helpless ~ va who is lamenting so milch? My dear, you are supreme and the refuge of my life. Get up SOJO. You !!i"e harbour to the world and you are the mother of the universe. 'I'het efore, 0 goddess, I modestly eutreat you to get up. 0 daughter of Daksv, get. up. Will yO\! not opr a your eyes and see even once your 0 vn S'iva lamenting your loss? Fair one, you should not go away and thus leave me and my life in the lurch. 0 chaste one, get np. 'Vhy are you not ministering to me today? 0 mother of the gods, why do you knowingly br aa k the vows?" L'unentinz thus and afflicted with grief, he held the dead body of his beloved wife to his breast an.I kissed and embraced 'it again and again. SIva pressed his lips to the lips of his beloved, his breast to he]' breast and cmbracing bel' repeutedy swooned again, When he regained his senses, he got up hastily in sorrow and though he is the spiritual guide' of the preceptors of the wise, he ran hke a lunatic. Afterwards, like one void of intelligence, be held the corpse of his wite resembling a golden image and rambled over the seven islands, human localities and deserts, mountains and seven oceans, Afterwards in india by the side of the mountain containing 1UO summits in the solitude 'of the Jambu islands, at the root of the immortal banian tree he wandered, here and there, en the eoast of the river aud lamented loudly saying, "0 Sati! 0 virtuous one!" A tank was created out of the tears which flowed copiously fro n his eyes. It was called the pond of tears. 'I'here the munis pra.y. '1'he pond is, two yojans wide. It is a lovely place frequented by pilgrims.

292

TIlE stuiuu rAIVARTA PURANA.

o king of mountains, ablution in th-is pond !lbsolves a person from rebirth. A dip in the tank at once relieves a man from the sins of a hun. dred births and enables him to quit his mortal frame and go to the land of Had.

25-3~. A Iterwards the great Yogi S'i va .left the tn n k and with a heart agitated with the pang of separation revolved round the world for one yeRr full. 0 mountain king, the places where the limbs dropping from the body of Sati fell were celebrated by t be name of Siddha-Pi lha which yields all desire. Afterwards S'iva performed the fnnerals of the remaining body of Parvati and constructed a garlauu of bel' bones with which he decked Lis neck. S'jva every day reverentially applied to his • body the ashes of the body of Sat i and again fainted saying, .. 0 mistress of my soul, 0 Sat i." 'l'heu the self-existent lord S'i\'a who is also self.contented and who has secured the fulfilment of all his desires became quite helpless, a prey to the agony caused by separation and forgot the supreme being. the eternal spir it, The g'Olls seeing that S'j va was lying down neal' the huge fig-tree, went to him astonished. Lord

N 1\ rflya I)a whose lotus feet are constantly adorned by Laksm i arri ved

at that place mounted 011 a diamond chariot with his attendants. He was decked with gems, clad in yellow and vested with fonr bands. He had a smiling arid cheerful face and was decorated with wild wreaths, At that time, Dharma, Adharma, Auanta, the gods and t h« great saints, rushing hastily, assembled at the spot, bowed low to Huri find took their seats:

34-45. Then H ari, the lord and spiritual guide of the wise, held the senseless Si va to his breast and with consolatorv words addressed him thus, "0 Siva, how could you- bring the supremo being, become p'ossibly impatient like all ordinary man? I am going' to tell you m(~taphysical, beneficial, substantial doctrines likely to kill ~OI'I'OW. 0 Si"a,

you are the dispenser of Brahmfl and yon are omnisea It You repr esr-nt the system of wisdom and knowledge and are the emblem ofthe 'sentient soul or animate being. All metaphrsical truths subsist in ."011; and yet must I console you. For when life is in peril, even the igIlolant can console the wise. It is the practice in society that people console one another in emergency. All attributes are harboured by delusion; this is why attributes occasion pleasure and pain. This is why the powerful delusion of Vi~l,111 oppresses people vested with att.r ibu tes. 0 Siva. in evil times, sorrow. grief. fear and other injurious agencies crop np. But when the bad days eventually make way fur good (lays. all the evil agencies stated above llimppeal'.- Then prosperity, plonsure and pride multiply; but savants regard them as transitory as 1111'11111." 0 king of mountains. the three-eyed lord, when he hoard the words of Huri, opened his throe eyes find said, ,. 0 magnanimolls beinj-, I see you as an nmbodime nt of glory. I pray YOI1 tell me w ho yon are. \Y ho arc these by your side? What i~ youI' name? What arc their name's? Who is Sati? Who am l? '1'0 whom are von speaking' and what? Why have I como here.? Wbere shall I go to? What arc yon speaking to mo? Where will they go to? Please answer all these questions." 0 mountain, when Lord Had heard this, he wept with his adhereuts and annointed Siva

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293

with his tears. The tears of Had and Ham created a shrine likely to sanctify the three worlds.

4r.·55. Whcn that shrine came into existence behind the A~~a mountain, near the immortal fig.tree, it was reserved for meditation likely to graut salvation totbe ascetics. Then Hari, being rendy agaiu to adm inister ecunsel to the gods, Munis and those who had subdued their passions on mete-physionl subjects spoke thus, "0 S'iva, you are supreme, eternal, and full of wisdom and happiness. You are the ocean of knowledge, At this time a pre)' to sorrow, yon have lost the excellent wisdom that rOil ever possessed. List an ; I am going to lecture you on Ontology. 0 Siva, in t his world, gooll arid bad days constantly rotate. Good and bad days occasion worlJly (natural] misery and happiness. Pleasure, pride, heroism infatuation, passion, prosperity. desire and envy deri ve their genesis from _ happiness; and mental agitation and fear spring from grief and sorrow. 0 S'iva, these are destroyed, when the cause is dest.royod, 0 S'iva, good and bud day" arc t he result of Karma, K~rll1a i~ controlled by asceticism; and good and had deeds are controlled by Karma: asceticism is controlled by dsposition anrl disposition by practice. 'I'his pmctice is secured by comp:tllY which is the result of good deeds. 0 S'i va, mind is the e.i u-e of both virtue am]. vice; and min-I, which is the best of passions is the product of my digits. 0 S'iva, yon, 1 and. the lord of e reat.ion Hrahmft fire the prog en itors of all; only through modification of attributes as Image;:, we receive different nomenclatures 0 S'iva, this Hrahrna is of two kinds. one vested with attribu'cs; t.he other, void of attributes. Whl'n Bruhrna is snbject to delusion, he has attributes; when be is free from delusion. he is void of attributes .

..

56.G7. The LOl'(1 is self-willed. He creates everythinz at his pleasure. The fucult.v of his desire is called Nature and is eternal. 'I'his Nature gave birth' to the whole world. Some hold there is aile Hr ahm a, the emblem (If eternal light. Ot he rs hold, Brahma is of t.wo kinds, Prakriti and Purusa. These who hold tbat Hra.luna is one, maintain that Hrah mit is the cause of all and transcends both Prakr iti and Purusa, both of whom emanate from Him; or, they rnuintuin th~tt the same Brahm[\ wilfully divided himself into two parts. 'l'hat force is Nature productive cf all other forces, \\'lJ ... n the supreme Brahma is attached to the faculty of desire, he is vested with att.ributes and described as natural. ,When lIe is not so associated. he is described as void of all attributes aud unrestrained. 'I'hat Eternal Deity is the supreme spirit, constant, the refuge, the lord, the witness of all. lIe is omnipresent and gives fruits in respect of everything. 0 Lord his body is two-fold, one is eternal and the other nutur il. The former is immort.al and t.he latter. mortal .0 lord, your body and mine are eternal; hn t the bodies of those who spring from our dig-it.; are destruobible and unreal. The Rudras are the offspring- of YO'Jr fli~its; and the beings having the forms of Vi~!).u are the offsprings of my digits. I have two forms, one vested with two arrns ; and tho other, with four arms. As the fonr handed lord, I preside over the Vaikun tha with Laksm i and ury udherents. "\Vith two hands, I preside over the Golob with the co w-neards and Radhil. Those who hold .tha.t Brahma has two distinct forms maintain that both

294

THE BRAJIJIA P"AIPARTA PURANA.

the forms are pre-eminent. Purusa is eternal; and so is goddess Prakriti. o Siva, they are the parents of the world and both are always connected with one anot her. Roth of them take forms voluntarily ; and they at will become formless, too. Volnntarily, they assume different kinds of forms.

68-78. The Prakriti (Nature) is as pre-eminent as Purusn. Therefore, if you wish to g-et Sat i, you hall better reei te her hymns. 0 Siva, you had better adore the mother of the world with the ode which is mentioned in Kfll)lva-S'akha. and which in days of yore I have given to Dnrvil.s:1. o S'iva, may YOllr grief be dispelled by my blessings and likewise the pain (caused by separation hom YOlll' wife) the cause of your bereavement, disappear. 0 king of mountains, when Had paused, Siva reverentially and with folded palms bowed to Lord Krif;ll,la and Brahrna and eulog ised Nature thus. '0 eternal goddess, you are the supreme spirit: you are the source of perfect happiness. You are the image of Hrahrna and celebrated by the name of Bdhm!_ 'I'herefore be propitiated witb me. 0 Durg.I, the destroyer of calamities, you lave destroyed the demon Durga, You confer blessings. Yon are like a new boat to enable a person to cross the sea of the world. Therefore. 0 good uyrn ph , be propitiated with an individual who has been merged in the sea of the worl.l. 0 goddess, wh o coust take all kinds of'foruis, you represent the seed of the world, Yon are the mistress and reeep tacle of e very th in.r and confer on people the boon of victory. o omniscienb g oddsss, be propitiated with me. 0 all virbuous nymph, YOIl are the emblem of ble,~sin~;; ; .rou are the source and container of all good, Therefore be propitiabe-i with me. 0 mother of the world, YOll are the emblem of sleep, ind ilenco, forg iveness, pucity, contentment, development, mercy, victory an I ~rectt delusion, Therefore be prop itiated with' me. 0 goddess, merciful to your votaries, YOI1 are the emblem of peace. forbearance and the intellect of all people You are the in.lex of huuger, thirst, wisdom and memory. Therefore, 0 goddess, be propitiated wi th me.

79-90. 0 mother of the Vedas, you are the imnge and e iuse of all the Ved.i s. Yoi l,{ivJ th a Ve h~ an I r.~pre,e~t all the Veu'tngls_ Therefore be propiti-ite.I with m a. 0 d alusion of Vi~!).l, YOIl are the Laksm i seated in the I ~p of N11·,lya.l,1 t ai ] yt1:l sit on the chest of Hrah mu in the shape of Saraswnt.i, an] YOLl occupy my lap as the great goddess of delusion- 0 frien 1 of the P )01', you represent tbe measure of time including its divisions, K:l~~l.lt'l (a K:l~~l.l\ =8 seeonds ). You give results of action~ to ev~l'y boJy.. 'I'herefore, 0 go:ldes3, be propitiated with me. 0 good nymph, you are the cause of all energy and occupy the heart of L'Jrc1 Kris na as R~Lllh,t_ You are to Krisna more endeared than his life and he con~tantl'y worships you, Be pr'o-pitia,ted with me. 0 goddess, YOIl represent fame Alond are the source of all fame, You are the image of all the goJ.,. You have created everything' in the garb of a woman and yllll have wielded tho form of a woman through the (ligits of YOllr dig-its. 'I'herefore, 0 godd~ss, be propitiated with mo. 0 blessed nymph, YOIl are tho cause, the image and source of all prosperity ; therefore, 0 all-happy god· less, be pleased with me. 0 celebr;l.ted goddess, yon are adored by dis tiug uished sages; therefore relent. 0 gOlltless, you arc the recept.icle of tue whole world

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295

and you represent the castle (the eontaiuer of gems) and you repre~ellt. the animate as well as the inanimate ere.it ion. 0 accomplished nymph, you are the image, source aml cause (If all success. Therefore, 0 goddess, relent. 0 great goddess, people differ in the eom mentaries or interpretations of all religious books; therefore, goddess, [.)rg'l'.e whatever I have said knowing ly or unknowingly. Some of the savants holJ that Nature IS superior to PU],Il/?a and others hold the contrary: ill a word, different views give rise to conflicting commentaries.

91·107. Goddess, in olden times, the indomitable Madhu-Kaitabh-i was about to kill promptly Brahmf seated in the lotus of the navel oHIaha. Vi~I.lu. At that time, you held ant an assurance to Govinda saying that you would destroy the demons and preserve Brahrua : and this, at the intercession of Brahrnf who was eulogising you. Then Hari assisted by you who represented energy killed both the clemons. 'I'brough )'0111' help, oue may bea god; but, without you, I am godless. 0 queen of the gods, in old times when I swooned ~nd fell from the sky in my fight with the demons, then YOU preserved IDe along with Visnu. A t present, I am consumed by the "fire of bereavement. 0, preserve me. 0 g-reat goddess, purchase me with the price of your vision "(i. e. manifest yourself before me)" Si\'a paused after this prayer. All at once, the ten- handed goddess manifested herself before his eyes and was seated on A. chariot of g-em in t he sky. Her body vied w ith the heated gold in the splendour of hue. S he was decorated with ornaments (If gem. She bad a smiling' and yet cheerful appearance. She was Sat i, the mother of the wor!I!.Si\-a, in the pain of _ his bereavement, wh=n he beheld the tl~n handed g-odde~s wept and quickly re prese nted to her the pangs of separat.ion which he was experiencing. He again adored her and showing to her the wreath of bones and ornaments of ashes tried most modestly to appease the godt!ess. Then Hari, Brahma, Dharma, Auant a the godly saints and all others said "0 goddess, console SiVa," So saying. they eu log ised the eternal goddess, who wns nppensed w i t.h their hymns. 'I'he goddess, Naturr-, who WI\9 as dear to S'iva as his life mercifully said to him (SiYa), the lord of her life, '0 S'ivn dearer to me th.,n my lito, compose yourself. Lord, YOIl are the Supreme Being, the spirit'!al head of the meditative ascetics and the husband of mine at ever)' birth. 0 gre1t gau, I shall be your wife after rnv birth out of the womb of 11enakft, the wife of Himalaya. Better relieve yourself of the pang of separation.' Thus consoling S'iva, she disappeared. The gods also having consoled S'iva who was hanging down his head with shame went home. Then S'i"3, with his heart filled wit.h rapture, went to the Kailflf,a, banished from his mind the anxiety caused by thA fever of bereavement and danced with his retinue A person who studies this ode to Nature composed by S'iva is never separated from his wife at any birth and after having tasted the pleasures of this life goes to the abode of S'iva, He unquestionably attains the four-fold objects of human pursuit, viz, virbue, wealth, enjoyment and beautitude,

CHAPTER XLIV.

1·10. Lord K.ri~l).a Shiel, "When Hirna lava heanl the words of V a.si~!hl\, he . was astonished along with his wife and ministers, Then

TOE BRAllMA VAIP LiETA PURAlJA.

the g'o(luess Pclrvad having herself heard those words indulged in a hearty laugh. On the other h md, Arundhat i ROllgbt to console ~lenakt\ who was weeping' ant1 nffiictcd with hungor. 'I'he latter dismissed the grief from her mind, euterbuined Arundhat] to many kinds of delicacies. She then partook of meul herself, Afterwards witb a light heart she took part ill many auspicious ceremonies, a my spouse, Himalaya was

also relieved at the comrnan-l of Vasiat lia am} sent Ietters ' to

lIlallY pl iecs rehting to tho marl'ia~e or' his daughter, Afterwards, he sent an auspicious letter to S'iva and caused many objects to be distributed arid musical instruments to be played upon. Fair one, the king of mountains caused many hills to be constructed of betel leaves and flattened rice and got excavated se veral ponds consisting of oil. ghee, CIlI'd, molasses, honey, milk, fresh g-hee. He like-wise ordered most carefully the preparation of cakes called Swastika, sugar balls, cakes of w heat-flour ana cakes boiled witb g-hee, On that auspicious day he secured many ki uds of cloths consecrated by fire, moon-stones, gems, corals, gold, silver and other articles and dilly performed many auspicious deeds.

11-~3. Afterwards the hifiy woman applied themselves to the task of makmg toilet for P:l1'vatl. Tbey bathed her and decked her with a pair of clothes. They applied ~raceful lac dye to the members of her feet, drew lines of painting with oosuiet.icsjon her cheek. They likewise applied lamp-bhck to her eyes, decorated her with ornarno nbs of gem and g'oocl clothes allli placet! in her hands a looking-glass with bent grass ana barley-or sunned rice, 'I'hey pI:epal'ed also a graceful chignon for her .hea']. interwoven with silken thread, sli~htly curving' towards the I"ft si.l-. a lUdbtL, at this time the excellent gods eseort.ing the threeeyell lonl who was seated on a. chariot arrived at Himalaya's house, The king of the mountaius with a view to gl'eet them with greater esteem sent for revered Ild\ hm ins dnd his subjects, the mountains. Aftel'lvllrds at Lila command of Himn laya, in the court-yard of the city,.a row of plantain-trees conjoineu with jack-leaves interwoven with' silken thread were planted; and fruits and flowers \ were beautifully prominent on those trees, At the root of those trees were placed jars full of water associated wiuh jasmine leaves, sandal, 1l111sk, and fra;;rant saffron, whereby thc beauty of t.he court-yard was enhanced, Then lIim:lhya seeing the god~ before him bowed to. them nnd ordered his servants to provide them with thrones of gem .... --Loi'd Nal'flya~a who had foul' hands hastily descended from the car and sat down with his retinue in that council. lIe W:1S decorated with Val'i~U9 kinds of ornaments made of gems. His four-handed followers tended him by brundtshing white ehowries with han.lles of diamond. lIe was ministered to in that assembly by the best of sainbs and gods. At tllat time his lotus-face looked cheerful and with a view to favour his votaries, he sat down and j-iiued thl,t assembly. Afterwards Brahm:l and the !.pds took thoir seats by his side ; aut] saints and sages also graced that auspicious place with pleasure.

24-38. At th'is time Siva alighfe.l from the car, took ~p his quarters in the house of gom aud witnessed tho charms of the city. 'I'ucu old

KRISNA JANMA KHANDA.

women, girls: VOUIlO' damsels and other h.-ties of the town, decked with gems arrived there "to see Siva. Some held in their' hands vermilion; others held boxes of betel or collyriu m or cloth. Others were either h vlf-deeorated 01' denuded of half of their ornaments. Others were wholly devoid of ornaments. Others were fully equipped with jewel". Everyone came to that mountainous rmnaion with joy and lingered there .. In this wa.y the enchanting daughters of thes aints, gods, snakes, Gandharvas, hills and kin~5 n.rri ved also. Then Rarnbha and other celestial whores arrived by turns. Men \kfl with her dau~hter9 saw the bride-groom Siva.. At that time they saw that the hue of the body of Sin was bright like that of the graceful flower charnpnk. He had at that time 'ouly one face and two eye~. He was decked with gems and had a smiling, and hence, cheerful appearance. He was brightly conspicuous by a pure diadem of gem associated with jasmine flowers which adorned his head j and he was decker! with m-isk, sandal, aloe and fragrant saffron. He was likewise decked with a pair of matchless clothes consecrated by fire. The clothes were fine, invaluable and wonderful, whereby his grace was enhanced. He is the preceptor of the spiritual guides of t he Yogis, self determining, transcending all abbributes, emblematic of the lustre of Brahroa and at.erna!' He held at that time in his h and a diamond looking. glass. He is formless; the variation of attributes alone gives him differeub forms. He is the cause of creation, preservation and destruction of the world j only he redeems the fallen in the world. He is the container, the seed, the master arid the life of 11.11. He is a witness fo all deeds, the supreme being, void of all desires, indestructible, without beginning. end or middle. He is the origin and image of the entire creaton. Menaka when she beheld this grace of her son-in-law was pleased and reiieved of her sorrows. The other young women, at the sight of his beauty, eulogised him saying, .. Blessed is he, blessed is he." Some of the girls were simply' astonished and said, " How lucky is Durga ! Since wa attained the age of discretion, we have never witnessed such a bride-groom.

89·53. Some women beheld ~iva with eyes wide-open j some fainted at his ~ight; others slandered their respective husbands or desired to secure Siva as their husband or wept with raptures at his sight or being excited with lust were stupefied. 'l'he gods were pleased at the sight of his grace. 'Then the Gandharvas Aang and the Apsarus danced, At this time the musicians played upon delightful musical instrumenu of various aorta with a great dexterity. At that time the serving maids of the Seraglio decked with gems seated Durga on a 'seat of gem and subsequently bringing her outside caused her to circumambulate round ~iva. The gods beheld the goddess Parvati with all her limbs decorated and with her colour vie-ing with heated gold in splendour. 'l'hey saw that Durgd possessed a graceful chignon. Her cheek was decked. with lines of paintings with cosmetics j her forehead was marked with vermilion mixed with musk, which added to her grace. Her brow was round like the moon and brightened with marks of sandal. Her breast was adorned with a pure wreath of gems. Without casting her eyes elsewhere, she wrJ,S constantly looking at the three-eyed Lord with side-long glances. She had a smiling appearance, by which the charm of her glances was enhanced. Her arms were decked wit4 armlets and bracelets: the extremities of her

a8

29T

298

)' :.

cheeks were graced with carvings. Her face 'us kindled with the lustra of her teeth looking like excellent psarls. Her lips shamed the bimbas i her feet were decorated with '1'8sollnding anklets and Pii~:\ka. She put on a pail' of invaluable clothes interwoven with incomparably graceful and picturesque figures. lIer bands gracofnly held lotuses meant for sports reflected in diamond 100k;T1g-~lasses. The whole of her· body was

annointed with aloe, sandal, musk snd saffron Then every one beheld J

the primordial mother of tho world wi th pleasure. The three-eyed lord also

beheld her with pleasure with the corner of his eyes.

54-59. Seeing that ha was the exact counterpart of Sati, the pang of his bereavement was removed. Then §iva having set his heart entirely upon Durg& banished everything else from his memory. There was a. thrill of rapture in his body. Tears of joy flowed from his eyes. At that time the king of mountains arrived with the priest and reverentially welcomed or bailed the bride-groom §iva with celestial graceflll incense, libations for washing the feet, wreaths, clothes rind sandal. Then by incantations of the Vedas, he bestowed his <laughter on Siva. in marriage. 0 Riidhil, thereafter-the king of mountains gave to Sankara a hundred thousand heads of cow, blankets intel'woven with gems, a thousand excellent elephants with iron-goods, 30 lakhs of well-furnished horses, one lakh submissive maid-servants decked with pure gems, a hundred twice-born boys who were like brothers to Pa,rvatt and a hundred good-looking cars constructed with excellent gems. ~ankara after having uttered Swasti, or the particle of benediction to PUl'vatl, accepted the articles offered by Hima laya with esteem and pleasure. Himalaya after Laving bestowed his daughter on Siva very modesj ly and with folded palms eulogised Siva according to the hymn stated by Mudhyan-din-:§ilkha thus, "0 destroyer of the sacrifice of Daksa, YOIl relieve people from the ocean of hell. You represent the soul of every one: you are the lord of all. Your body thrills with raptures caused by religious zeal. You are the ocean of attributes; you transcend attributes ; you are vested with attributes i you are the lord and cause of attributes j you are the best of those who possess attributes. Therefore, 0 most blessed being, relent. 0 container of asceticism, you are the image and the canso of Yoga (concentration of mind with a view to meditation) j you know Yoga; you are the lord and cause of Yogis (meditative or contemplative saints) : yon are the best of ascetics. Therefore relent. 0 preserver, YOIl nre the cause and origin of absolute destruction of the world. You have no match j and you are the seed of creation again after the dissolution of the world. _.- Relent towards me. 0 101'<1, you are the imace, tbe source, tho seed and container of virtue. Your essence and son I consist in. virtue; and you are the gl'e:tt hnrbour of tbe world." 'Vhen Himalaya paused after the hymn, the gods and the saints praised

,him loudly. 0 H.:1dha; whoever attentively reads the ode composed by Himalaya receives bis desired need from §iva.

CHAPTER XLV.

1-11. Lord Kri~lpt said, II' Then the lord Sint after having' fixed or consccl':lte,1 the fire accordi II go to the met.hod prcsceibe.l by the Vedfl9 put P£ll'vat.l on his left side and sot himself to the task of perforuiing the

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299

saerifice.; 0 you who revel in the Vrindavana, after the sa~rifice. was over

.. he gave a hundred pieces of gold to tho llrahmlI,ls as their priestly fee.

Then the women of the hills bl'Ought lamps, performed auspicious deeds and took Siva and Parvati to the interior of the house. Then 'with pleasure, they shouted words of victo'ry, performed the auspicious ceremony 01 Nirmanehhan (or greetings P) and with their bodies animated with joy and with smiling mien looked at :Siva, Sankara when he entered into the house meant for the married couple to pass the night with their friends saw that IG women, in the prime of their youth gorgeously clad and decked with gems, were seated in the bridal chamber, Their bodies were annoiuted with sandal and aloe paste, musk and suffron: the grace of their glances was en hanced by their smiling find hence cheerful aspects. 'I'hey put on very fine garments. 'I'heir foreheads were marked with lovely vermilion, Their figures from head to foot were very' graceful and possessed the colour of the lovely Charnpak. Noone was able to connt the number of the daughters of the gods, snakes and Munis that ware present on the occasion, S'i va occupied a' seat' of gem offered by the damsels, Then by turns they used to S'iva words sweet like nectar, First S'l.rRSwati said, "0 S'iva, now you have obtained Sat i who is dearer to yon than your life, Therefore, 0 lord of time, pitSS yonI' time by giving' embraces to YOUl' dear spouse and by looking- a,t her lunar face, the fairest part ot the body. By my blessing, henceforth YOll will never be separated, '

12·20. Laksm i said, "0 Jon] of gods, now dismiss shame from yonr mind And hold that Sat! to your heart by whose sepirat.ion you nearly lost your life. You need not be ashamed of the women assembled here, You need not sorrow any more. Now take food yourself, feed Sa.t!, rinse your Iriouth and then reverentially take betel-leaves mixed with camphor', H.hnavi said," 0 Sankara, take this golden comb and polish the hair of your wife. The good fortune of a woman in securing a suitable person as her husband is very delightful to her. Rati said, ., 0 god, in securing rurvatl, you have been exceptionally lucky, Why did you without any cause reduea ths lord of my life to ashes? 0 lord, restore to life Kama,the source of lust and relieve me of the pangs of bereavmenb. 0 ocean of mercy, you know the pain of separation and, knowing this, why did you in anger consume the lord of my life? So saying Rati gave to Siva the ashes of Kama tied in a piece of cloth and wept loudly saying, "Oh my lord I Oh my lord I" 'L'hen Hari, the ocean of mercy, hearing the lamentation went to ~iva's weddincroom along with, Brahms, Dharma and other gods, Siva got up hastiiy. from his seat wlfen he saw Hnri, Brahmfl, Dharma and the gods and said to them with folded palms," what is your command in the matter of Rati 1" Hari when he heard the words ot Sankara said, "0 Rudra, restore Kama to life." So saying he left that place. The goddesses also entreated Siva. modestly in various ways to revive Kama; when rejuvenated by the nectared glances of the wielder of the spear, lea rna manitested himself out of the heap of ashes, When Rati saw Kama. restored to life with his floral dart and > a smiling mien, she bowed low before the lotus feet of Siva. a hundred times. Then Kama eulogised ~iva a.ccording to the Srutis, sacred scriptures ot the esoteric .s'astra.s, that is, hymns stated by the Agama in various ways and bowed prQstfate before him. Then he went away from that place and bowing

300

THE ERAHllfA rAlrARTA PURANA.

low to Lord Hari and other ~otls mixed with them. The gods blessed Kama, conversed with him kindly and said, "0 Cupid, people live and die in time. The inevitable can never be avoided." Then the king of mountains feasted most hospitably Na ri\yana and 0\ her gods and allotted proper places to them for their sleep.

27-43 'l'hen Siva seated PUl'vati Oil his left side in the weo.ding room, cheerfully entertained her to sweets and then hunself took his tood. 'I'hen Diti, the mother of the eods with a smiling lace, affection-

ately and merrily spoke thus: ,. 0 Siva, after having feasted Pfu vat],

provide her with water for pnl'ificatioll and oblige mil thereby.

Nuptial love is so very rare." Sachl said, ,. Why should YOIl be so much ashamed of your beloved spouse, when you bewailed the loss of Sati for a long time, held her dead body to your breast and roamed throughout the world in several places, Lopa-rnudrn said, "0 Siva, this practice is enforced by ladies in the wedding-room that the bride-groom should offer betel-leaves to his bride and then lie down with her. Arundbati said, "Siva, ~Ienaka was unwilling to give her daughter to you. It was I who caused her to make you this gift. Therefore propitiate your bride with consolatory words and dally witb her." AhalyA said, "0 god, you have got rid of your olel age and become young again. Tberefore Menaka consented to give her daughter to you," 'I'ulaai said, "Lord, in olden days, you abandoned Batl and lately eonsumed Kama. Why then did you send Vasistha as a messenger, being solicitous for the hands of the same Sat i?" Swuhi\ said, "0 Siva, by no means answer the questions, put by the ladies. I advise you to maintain a studious silence; for it is sanctioned by custom that women of the town, at the time of wedding, assume an impudent behaviour. Rohini said, "0 lord adept in sexual science, gratify the desire of Parvat]. You should DOW be~ come lustful and help YOllr spouse to cross the ocean of lust." The Earth said, "0 omiscient lord, you know the condition of women oppressed by lust. A woman does not preserve her husband. The latter always preserves his wife." Satarupa said, "0 $ambhu, a hungry man is never satisfied except with food. A person should do those things whereby hia wife is appeased. Sanjna said, ., 0 my female associates, light a diamond lamp, prepare betel leaves and get ready a lovely bed in a solitary place. Then send Siva there with Parvat i", Lord Krisna said, "The ineorruptiblelord Sail kara, the leader of the spiritual 'guides of the ascetics, when he heard the words of the ladies said, ., 0 goddesses, you should

- not use such words to me. Why should you (who arc the mothers of the world) display such sort of levity to your son?" 'I'he celestial damsels when they heard the words of ~iva were abashed and respectfully maintained the attitude of pictured toys. Then lord ~ankl\ra ate sweet-meat, rinsed his mouth and cheerfully chewed bet~l leaves incensed with camphor along with his spouse.

48-51 Siva also sat on'the diamond throne offered by ~Ienaka nnd witnessed joyously the beauty of the house. He saw that the house was lighted up with hundreds of diamond lamps and on all sides ornamented • with pearls and gems, diamond cups and jars. In some places he found diamond lamps and white chowries and in other places he observed sandal

THE BRAJiMA r .. nrAR1A PURIJNA.

- SOl

aloe, and bedsteads of flowers. perfumed with mnsk. Vis'wa-Karma had Clonstructeu the house with the best of gems and adorned it with good many pictures. Some places were inlaid with best diamonds III other places were constructed fig-ure" of the lovely Vaikul) tha, the V rinda- vana, the sphere of the Rasa, the Kailasa or the heaven of Indras. This sight pleased ~iva very much. 0 darling of my life, at day-break musicians played upon different sorts of musical instruments. Then the lord s of all Ii. e. the gods) got up, dressed themselves, mounted their eonveyances and prepared to go to tho Kai!asa. At that time Dharma ut the command of Nilrilyal.Hl arrived at the Vasal'a, the room in which the married couple are led to Pass their nights alone with their friend" and addressed suitable

~ 0

words to Sankara, the preceptor of the yogis thus, "0 lord of ghosts, get

up. May you be blessed I At this allspicious moment, remember Lord Hat-i and stll.rt with parvati." Then §iva opened his eyes and saw that Dharma was standing before him. Hearing his words he soon got up and

started at the auspicious moment. ~iva, the lord of gods, the ocean of mercy" prepared to start with" Pa rvati, 'I'hereupon ~lellaka loudly wept !l",j said, "0 ocean of mercy, 0 lord who is liable to be easily propitiated, kindly forgive a thousand faults of Parvati (dearer to me than my life) and maintain her carefully. She is at every birth the slave of your lotus feet and ei ther in dream or in her senses, she thinks of none except the Lord.

58-70. 0 conquerer of death. tbe recibation of your ode sends a thrill across the frame of U mil. and causes her to shed tears of jOJ' Your Blander shuts her month and reduces her to a corpse. So sayin:{ ~leuaka banded over Pa rvat! to S'iva at once, wept loudly and fainted before S'iva and S'iva. The wives of the gods also fainted when they beard the lamentasions of parvatl. S'iva himself, the lord of ascetics and other gods wept by virtue of the delusion caused in his mind by Visnn. At this time Himalaya quickly arrived there,affectionalely embraced Parvat i, lamented loudly and said, "child, where are you going by causing a gap in the Himalaya ? 1\Iy heart bursts when I call to my mind again and again the recitation of y01l1' virtues." So saying he handed her over to S'iva and with HI son and subjects the mountain wept loudly off and on. ThEHI thd Lord Nartlyal)a, the ocean of mercy, busied himself with consoling each and everyone by virtue of h is metaphysical know ledge. Because Parvati wept, all t:ie women, Munis and g'ods wept with their wives and followers, Then the gods fleeting like the mind, ready to go promptly to the Kailasa, arrived in a moment at the house of S'iva with very great glee. On their departnre, the wives of the gods and Munis to perform auspicious rites, held lamps ill their bands and quickly followed snit. 'I'he wives of the wind, Kuvera, S'ukra, Vrihaspati and Durvasn , Anusuyu, the wife of Atri, the wives of the moon- god and thousands of goddesses, serpents, nymphs and giIls of the Xlunis also reached that place, (Kailasa), No one could possibly count these nymphs.

71-80. All these ladies ushered in Hara and Durga into the house and seated S 'ankara on a lovely throne of gem. Then 10rJ ~i va cheerfully pointed out to Sati his former dwelling and said 0 Sat I, do you remember this former bonse from which you went to your paternal house, In your former birth, you were the daughter of D .. k~:l. i and now you are the dsugb ter

302

KRISN~ J.JNMA KH.JND.J.

of the mountain. I remind YO·I of the fact. though I a-n sure you know the condition of YOIlI' former birsh. My beloved, tell me if YOIl remember that," Sat i smiled when he heard the WOd5 arul said, "0 lonl of gods, I remember all, Hold yOlll' peace, I pray yOll, at this time." After this sort of can versnbion , lord S'i va en tertained ~ a 1'iiya~la etc, who were

much relieved with many k iuds of delicacies. After eating, the gods )

well decorated with ,gains bowed to the moon cresbe.l Lord Siva with their

wives and went hOI1lP, 'I'hen Siva himself Lowed low to Hari and Brabmft who embraced am! blessed him in retnrn aud went away. After

a while, Himfthra and ~(enaka called their sou i\lailHlka and said to

him, "'Ve bless you, son: go and fetch Piirvati and Siva soon." 'I'he said Muinaka when he heard the words of his parents soon went to Kailasa and brOlight back Si\'a and Ptl['vati, 'I'hen, hearing of their arrival, children,

olel women. young dani-els and bills rushed with very great pleasn rs to

see them 'fhe smiling :\Ienald with her two sons and daughters-in-law,

ant! Himalaya wiLli great pie ISUl'e ran to see Pa rvabi. Thereafter the goddess Guuri alighted from the car, cheerfully bowed to her parents and

elders whose sight immersed 'bel' in the sea of joy, ~Ianaka held Pttrvati •

in her lap and fluttered with joy. 'I'he sight of his daughter pleased Himftlay t also a gooa deal. Afterwards _ in great glee he took his daughter home, offered a throne of diamond [,0 the holder of the spear

(Siva) and, cheered his followers with oblntinn- 1)1' honey and .milk, Tbe

101'11 (wit.h the moon on his hear!) and his wif-~ \1'1'1'0 constantly worshippsd

with Hi ingredieuts and Siva stayed at Li" f.u lier-in-Iaw's with his

retinue. 'l'hus, 0 Wldh,l, I related to rOil the' uuspicious event of the ~

marriage of S;lll kara c'llclI luted to destroy grief and bring happiness.

Now what do you wish to heal' agnin ? e

CHAPTER XLVI.

1-15, Ri"tdhli said, 0 Lord, tell me when S'ankara revived the hlls_ band of, Ra~>wh.o was, dead f?l' a 10~1g time, w,hat dill she do joyfully !tfter haviutr attaiued him agam.? 'I'ho separation from the hlHbnd is more painful to a woman than (leath; bub re-union gives the rarest happiness. And what did the Lonl Siva do, after having' rogailled S;,ti (lost to him for a long time) by the auspicious act of marriage? The bereavement of a wife is most painful to a man; but re-union gives him greater pleasure than his restoration to life, Therefore how did the re-union of Rati witn her husband after a long course of se parabiou, and the re-union of Siva with his wife after hi~ pangs of hereavment contribllte to the happiness of both? 0 Lord, I am very much anxious to bear of the matter, Yon are the best of sages; so kindly narrate the subjece to me aeeuratelv , 'I'he re-union ~f the god (less of energy with Siva, and the re-union of Rati with Kama are matters the recitation of whie.i destroys grief and secures all sorts of blessings, N:1l'll,val,la said, "When Radha. paused with a smile. Lord Kl'il}~la also smiled and said. ,. 0 Rfldhii, when the lustful Rabi got back K:1ma, she broug ht him from the wedd ine room of S'iva to her own house and with a view to sexual intercourse carefully mnrIe her toilet, She also dressed her husband with the help of per female attendants. The god ~uma, expert in seXUal intercourse

reg BRAHM4 VAlFA R1'A PURANA.

Ma

realised the fcelin~s of Ibti, rode on a diamond car ann along with her, left his house an I went to the woods. Afterwards he enjoyed her society in the lovely mountains. every great or small river, every island , 01' tbe coast of the ocean in the graceful bowel' of flowers, and at the solitary rout of the holy fig-treo near El-Dorado (lan~ of gold), Lastly he revelled with her in the midst of the wood of blooming flowers in places reverber.ibing with the hum of bees 01' the sound of male cuckoos, in places fanned by redolent winds charged with aqneolls vapuurs. 'I'hcre according to the measure of Kald, a division of time according to.38 IO~~h5.s or about 8 seconds, he 1Ildulged in sexual intercourse likely to enchant women,

16- 29, The god Kama enjoyed the society of Ratl at that place for 110 hundred celestial years. At that time his heart was -0 tnuch engrossed or taken up by his wife that he had no idea of day and night. '1' he young god and the young nymph got constantly united with one auother and lingered there with great pleasure N one of them desisted from the act of intercourse, 'I'hnt pleasure banished from the heart of Rati the pangs of separubion ; ill It word, this sort of excess is by no means a matter of wonder. Irol' it' H, person gets back his stolen property, he does not want to part with that property for a moment. 0 ltlldhi\ I thus narrated to YOll the incident which relieved the sorrows of Rani. Now I am going to tell you the history of the incomparable amours of ~iva and S tkti, which is very wonderful, desirable and as sweet as nectar to the ears. The recitation of this event alleviates g'rit,f and secures h<tppi. ness and virtue, While Siva was living at his father-in-Inw's place, once upon a time, at his own in-Lance, with a vie w to flirt with Pt'trvatl he

-rode on a car of diamon.l well eqllipped with the paruphemali.i of gem, inlaid with diamonds and constructed by Vis' IVa K:lrma and went with her to the woods, 'I'here-sfter with pleasure and with H he<tl't full of lust he enjoyed the society of l',lrvati in the mountains of Stt.a·Sringa, Surasana Malaya and Gandba Th\;lclall, in the grove of N anda.na, in the gra-eful woods of Pindra, Pu~~:\raka, Audha.ka, Puspabhudra, Pa ri-bhadra, Bhudra Rod Kalinaa in each of the coasts of the oceans at the graceful root of the holy fig tl'~'l by the side of the mountain of Asba where in days of yore he had lamented after having left Sati (reduced to 11 corpse) aud in other solitary places void of beasts an~~ bird". After wnrd« Si va joyfully pointed out to her the places on the surla.ce of the globe where he hal wandered along witb the corpse of Sat], As this association hstiug even for a long time failed to satisfy the pair, Siva, the father of the world, indulged in the great act of sexual intercourse which lasted for a thousand year:!, The great Siva who transcends illusion and is the lord of illusion was deluded bv virtue of his own illusion and olVing to the excess of pleasure caused by the carnal act, he ha-l 110 idea of Jay and night, though he is a great Yogi and the creator of time.

30-44. At that time, Pal'vati (who is the direct emblem of energy) and the powerful Sankara were not in the least exhausted by the above act j on the other hand, their intolerable sufferings which were occasioned by a long course of separation were reruoved , At that time they slept On a bed covered with flowers and with their heart animated with joy and with their bodies thrilling with raptures, they were pierced wi th the

KR1SNJ JANJIA ]{HANJJA,

darts of Cupid, fainted and thus passed their days. Both of them who were expert in sexual science were rendered stark-naked th rough excess of pleasure ; and their bodies were marked with the injuries inflicted by teeth and nails, The sandal- paste. aloe-pns te and musk of their bodies and the vermilion on the forehead of Parvat] disappeared; the garland of both were torn and the chignon of Gauri was relaxed, 0 fair one, at the time of intercourse her anklet, bracelet, anklet and earrings continued to resound, Both were equally vested with energy and through the accession of energy due to the excess or enjoyment, the bed of flower was trampled down by the movements of their feet. The earth being overloaded with the energy of Siva., the supporter of the wor! 1. was about to be rent asunder and quaked along with mountains, forests and oceans, The god Ananba was burdened with the weight of the earth. 'l'he weight of Ananta oppressed NarayaI].'l in the shape of a tortoise. Afterwards oppressed by the weight of the tortoise the winds which constitute the refuge and life of all became paralysed. whereupon, tbe ' gods including Brahrna who saw that the three worlds were bewildered with fear met together, took shelter with the Lord of the Vaikunth» and represented everything before his lotus-feet, 'I'he lord Had said to Brahrua, ,. 0 Brahm a, this is not the proper time to interfere with the intercourse of Ham and Parvati, Look I Every :lct begins in time and ends in time. After the lapse of a thousand years, ~an kara will himself desist; now, none will be able to interrupb him in his act oflnst. Particularly. if anyone some- how offects a separation between the god-and his wife in their

amorous act, he m usb himself suffer the pangs of separabion from his wife. v

45-60, And t,h:1t sinner in this world will forfeit wisdom, celebritj' • and f')I,t,une and in the end must dwell in the hell called the threa.d of time for a lakh of years. In olden times, the great Muni DurvasA, havinJ separated.the lustful Iudra from Rambhft, had to part with his own wife. Afterwards Indra by praying Siva for lO~O celestial yearl atta,i,ned H.ambha and was thus relieved from the pangs of bereavement. Again, V rihaspati hall call sed a breach in the association of Kama and Ghritilchi with the result that the moon- god stole his wife in the course of .Rix months. Thereupon Vrihaspabi prayed Siva, battled for the sake of his wife Tara, got her Lack pregnant and was thus relieved from his sorrow. In this way the great :'Iruni Gauta.ma interfered with the carnal intercourse of tho moon-z o I wiLh ]{"JhiC).! and h-id to lnrf-, f"o:11 his wife, Afterwards at the holy place called the Puskara, he prayed Siva for 1000 celestial years, got back Ahaly<1 and was thus relieved of his pangs. Again, the yoamg Muni VivilI].~'lka having disturbed a certain sage who was associated with his own wife in a solitary place in the' day had, after the lapse of a time. to part with his son, Afterwards by ministering to ~iva, he got back his SOil and was consoled. And king' Haris Chandra

having- prevented a certain helpless agriculturist who was united in -/

solitude with It S'udra woman from the act of sexual intercourse reaped consequences which I am going to describe to you below, Listen. The

great saint Vis'wd-Mitm very easily deprived him of his wife, son and kingdom and turned him onto Thereupon the king worshipped lord

S'i ~a, the source of all prosperity ,and very soon arri ved with his

retinue "t tho Vaiku'ttha, lDy domain. In days of. yore, AjaUlilt

KRISNA JAYMA KIIANIJA.

the greatest of saints having been united with a Vril?all, i. e. an unmarried girl 12 years old, a barren woman or a S 'udra woman, no god through fear could prevent him from his purposes. Afterwards, the said Ajamila. after he had finished the act was bewildered and in distress remembered my name, whereupon he at once came to my kingdom. Therefore, 0 Brahman, the result of every act, good or bad is determined by fate. That Nisaka (predestinal'ianism) is stronger than Providence or Brahma, I also give fruits of Niseka which no body can trans-gress. This act of enjoyment by ~iva must last for a 1,000 years, as fixed by destiny. From the being who gives fruits of the Niseka, he has obtained this boon of sexual enjoyment lasting so long. After the lapse of a thousand years, Indra will go there and see that his semen should drop to the ground. This is inevitable.

6l-71. From that semen the auspicious Kill'tika would derive his birth.

I am always the emblem of your prosperity. So 10llg as I am· by your side, you need not be afraid of anything. Now go with the gods and let the lord ~iva enjoy the society of Parvatl in that solitary place. The husband of Kamala having said so .went to his seraglio and the gods went horne. On the other hand S'iva was also engaged in the sexual act." Saint Narayana said, 'Lord Kri~!}-a having said so to the glancing, smiling Rfldh& went along with her to the sandal forest. That place is very solitary, incensed by the refreshing wind, teeming with' groves, and reverberating with the hum of bees and sound of cuckoos. It was therefore very enchanting to women. Lord Kri\lt;la enjoyed the society .of Ril.dhil. in that place containing floral beds, Enraptured by her association with Krisna., Radhil. at once fainted; and Krisna bv the bare touch of her body swooued like-wise. 0 saint, IUdhil and the L~rd of the sphere became paralysed through the pleasures of sexual intercourse and being intimately associated with one another, they spent their time there. Now what do you want to hear more?' 0 Narada, whoever with wrapb attention hears this auspicious account is never dissociated from his . friends. And if a person being immersed in the ocean of sorrow caused by the separation from his son, family, good servants or friends listens to it for a month, he surely attains the object desired by him. Suta said, "The great sage, tho 80n of Dharma, having paused, Narada, the godly saint, being excited with euriosiby.vfurther queried him thus."

CHAPTER XLVII.

1-12. Naralh, said, ';0 ocean of mercy, when the amorous pastimes were over, what further questions were put by Radha to Lord Had 1 'Yhat was said by Harl to him? Please reveal this matter to me." Ni'lruyal)a said, "Lord Had there-after finished his enjoyments with l{i\dha and sat down at the root of the graceful holy fig-tree. ·Then R5dhii questioned the smiling, lovely Had anent the pleasing, mysterious account of the humiliation of Indra thus: "0 Lord, I have now heard abollt. the fame of the wielder of the "pear, his humiliation which was due to chance, the humiliation of Parvabi and her wedding with S'iva. Now I wish to heal' the account of the humiliation of Indra. 0 Lord of the universe, please narrate 'to me by turns the history of the humi-

aa .

306

THE BRAHMA VAIJTJRTA PURANA.

Iiation of others also." S 'r i Kri~\la said, "Fail' one, listen to the story of tlle humiliation of the king of gods, celebrated throughout the three worlds. It is just like a drop uf nectar to the ears and very pleasing. In days of yore Indra the lord of u. hundred sacrifices, with pride and glee having performed a hundred sacrifices, was vested with prosperity and became the officer of all the gods. Then as a~res!llt of his devotion his prosperity increased clay by day: and Vrihaspati initiated him in the perfect mantras. Afterwards this great Xl antra was recited by Indra for a hundred years. As he accomplished or perfected the Mantra, his object was gained. Then Lndra, being infatuated with prosperity, slighted the godJess Nature, the emblem of Brahma, She became angry and cursed the lord of gods saying, "You will be cursed by your spiritual guide." Once upon a time Indra, the king of gods, being bewildered by the curse of N ature, while seated in his council, did not stand up at the sight of his- Guru or bow to him. Therefore Vrihaspat.i was offended.· He did not sit down there: but he returned home in disgust. Keenly realising his disgrace, be could not even remain with Tart\. but went to the forest for devotion.

13·26. The sorrowful Vrihaspati heartily desired the dissolution of the prosperity of Indra. When" Indra came to his senses, he said, "'Where is my Guru gone?" So saying he hastily got up from his throne, went to Tara, the wife of his spiritual preceptor, and with reverential inclination of his shoulders he bowed to her. Then with folded palms he represented to her the whole story and loudly wept again and again. 'l'aril. also wept when she witnessed the lamentations of her son and said, "0 child, go home. At this time you will not be able to see the face of your Guru, ,"Vhen your evil days are over, you will get back your Guru and prosperity Now reap the consequences proportionate to your lolly and wickedness. And know it for certain that your spiritual guide is displeased, when your days are bad and pleased when the days are good. 0 Indra, good days are the cause of happiness and bad days, the cause of misery." So saying', Tilnl the chaste paused. Then Indra having gone to bathe to tho lovely coast of Manda kini witnessed there the approach of Ahalyn, fair, smiling and possessing huge buttocks and slanting glances. Indra seeing her bulky hips and lovely pair of nipples was excited with passion and was suddenly spellbound. 0 mistress of my life, Iudra shortly afterwards recovered from his trance, gave np bathing and assuming the form of her husband approached Ahalyt\.. 'I'heu the licentious Lndrs dragged her by her wet dress and tbus committed sexual intereource with her in several way" pleasing to a woman .. 'I'he wife of the Muni was rendered senseless and drowsy with lust and pa ralysed through excess of pleasure. The lord of the gods abo lost his volitiol~ as be Was over-powered by the excess of his enjoyments. 11y dear, at t his time the Muni, after his devotions were over, Callie into the house and seeing that

Loth of them were engaged in sexual intercourse became a.ngry and -;

flushed crimson like a fire-brand. But as 'he wus particularly wise, he

did not disturb their carnal pleasure, though highly iuceused.

27-M. 'I'hen Inurn, when 1](' recovered, observed the best of Mnnis burning with anger and standing before him as if he were the personal embodimen t of time. 'I'boroupou he held his lotus feet, At that tilllQ

J(RISNA JANU A J(HANlJ.1.

the face and the eyes of the lIIllni became red with anger. And yet seeing that Indra sought the protection of his feet through fear, he did not kill him, but addressed him thus using words fl'augbt w-ith ethical maxims: 0 Iridra, fie upon you! For you are the best of the gotls, a savant, the grandson of the creator of the world and the son of Kas'yapLl. And yet how has your intellect been pervorted f Daksa himself is your maternal grRlldf'lther: the chaste Aditi is yOUl' mother. From this I know that character is determined by Karma and has no regard for the rites observed in one's race. 'I'herefore, 0 Indra, as you have become attached to the Vagina inspite of yonI' omniscience and wisdom, you wiil get 1,000 vaginas in your body .. Fur one year full, youI' body will remain in this condition: after-

. wards by praying the sun, your vaginas WI II be converted into oyes.

And, 0 fool, as thou hast defiled my darling spouse, so even at this moment through my curse and the anger of thy offended spiritual guide, thou shalt be depri ved of thy prosperity. 0 foolish I:(od, through fear of losing my friend and on the entreaties of my great friend, thy Guru, the valorous Vrihaspati, I did not kill you. 0 king of gods, now go home.

The good and the evil spring fro-m one's Karma." .

36-45. Then Iudru, by the advice 01 the great Muni, went to the holy place called Puskara, reverentially worshipped the sun and was cured of his vaginas. On the other hand, addressing !t\.halyil who crouched before his feet, the great Mu ni Gautama said, "Yon h,1U better go to the forest and assuming the shape of a stone dwell there fa I' a long time. ~My darling, Indra has enjoyed you in the' innocence of your heart, and

this I have happened to know. And yet when another person has enjoyed your soerety, you can no longer be accepted by me. Therefore, wretch, go away from this place. 0 Ahalyft, through lust or otherwise if the semen of another man en ters, as a dispensation of providence, iuto the womb of u woman, she may be purified and I tell you the method. If she is enjoyed by another man while she is free from lust she is Dot defiled and can be purified by penance; and if she lltStjtLUy surrenders her person to another man, she should be forsaken. She can be only purified after she had reaped the consequences of her Karma. She cannot cook food for tho gods or the manes; nor can she worship them. For 60,000 years she lives in the hell called the thread of time. Then Ahalya, at the words of her husband, was frightened, bowed to him saying, "0 my husband' 0 my husband! and went to the forest. Then the spo~se of the Muni, after having reaped the consequences of her act for 60,000 years, was at once purified by the touch of the feet of the lord Rfima, Thereupon she wielded a form which could enchant the three worlds and went to Gautama. 'I'he great Muni took back the fail' lady on her return. Fair one, now I am going to tell you in detail the wonderful account of Indra . whioh is the occasion of virtue and the bane of sins. Listen.

46.57. Once upon 3t time, the wrath of the spiritual guide and the contempt of nature entailed upon the senseless Indra the sin of tLa murder of a Brahmin. 0 goddess, Indra (being abandoned by his Guru, oppressed by the demons and affrighted) sought the protection of Brahma, the spiritual leader of the world. Then. at the command of Brahma,

307

308

THE BRAHNA rAIP ARPA PURANA.

the bewildered Indra appointed Vis'wa-rupa as his priest and as providence would have it, he reposed trust ill him. After a while, the clever Indra perceived the bad intention of Vis'wa-rfipa, the son of the daughter of the demon and at once cut-off his head with a sharp arrow. 'I'he sage Twa~ta. the father of Vis'wa-rupa was incensed at the news: and, ill order to create enemies for Indra, he performed a sacrifice: and from. the sacrificial pit came out a great demon called Vr itra, who in a ra~e continued to persecute the gods freely. Indra, the vanquisher of demons, with a view to chastise his enemy constructed the hideous thunder with the bones of the great Muni Dadh iehi and killed Vritra-SUI'a who was a thorn in the way of the gCd5. Wherebpon Brahma-hatyf (murder of a llrahmiu incarnate), clad in searlet and in the guise of all old woman rushed towards the be-wildered Indra. Her body was as huge as seven palm-trees one above the other: and the row of her teeth was as fearful as the blades of a plough. Her appearance showed that her throat, lips and palate were constantly parched. She wielded A. scimitar and was strong and merciless. She ran towards the frightened, oppressed, and disarmer! Indra. At first he fled, than lost his senses and fainted. Later on, as -Indra beheld the hideous spectre by his side, he remembered again and again the lotus leet of his Guru and entered into the slender fibre of the stalk of lotus of the Mil.UlIsa- pond, Therein Brahrna-hatyf, was unable to enter through the curse of Brahma. So she lingered on the branches of the holy fig-tree situated on the coast of the sacred pool of Mfi.nasa.

58-G8. On the ot.her Land, the powerful Nahusa having. conquered the, kingdom of heaven solicited the goddess S'LChl from the gods. She was much frightened to heal' this and sought the protectioo of Tara, the wife of the spiritual leader of the gods. Whereupon Tarf~ rebuked bel' husband and asked him to protect Bachl, his servant's wife. Then

Vrihaspat! consoled Sacul, joyfully went to the lake of Manesa and said ..

to the aggrieved, bewildered Iudra, "Child, get up. So long as I remain by your side, you need not fear anything. I, your spiritual guide,

have eome. 'I'hub you can know from the tone of my voice. Lndra, the

source of all snccess, recognising thc voice of his Guru, quitted his slender

form and got up soon. Seeing that his Guru effulgent like the sun was appeased and free from anger, Iudra rushed and joyfully and respectfully

bowed before his feet. Vrihaspati, subdued by love and softening at the piteous condition of the weeping, friuhtened and prostrate Iudra, em-

braced him affectionately and wept. The )OI'd of the gods, finding that Vrishaspati was appeased and weeping, adored him with Iolded pnln.s

and with reverential inclination of his shoulders. With his body thrilling

with raptures he said, ,. 0 lord. excuse my fault. 0 ocean of mercy,

be propitiated with me. Look'! if the servants err, every now and then,

a good master is never offended with them. Strong or~weak, which person

is unable to chastise hi, servant, wife or pupil? 0 god. out of 3 crores of

gods I alone am foolish but, by your grace, I had attained the condition

of the best of the gods and you have always kindly nourished rue,

69-82. You are yourself the grandson of Brahruft ; I am but It worm by your side. You can destroy all and then create evorything aga.in. Vrihaspati was much pleased with the hymn of Iudra, His face and eyei

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KRISNA JANMA KHANlJA.

309

showed that he was appeased. He then addressed him complacently thus: " 0 blessed being, cOlllpose yourself. Xl ay your fortune list for ever! You shall be four times as lucky as you were before. Go tu heaven and rule your kingdom. 0 child Indra, by lily grace yonI' enemy will be destroyed. Now go and see the chaste gocdess Sach I." So saying, as V rihasp .t i was about to go away, he saw before him the hideous and intolerable L~illg Brahma-Hatya. lndra was frightened as he saw her and sought the protection of his Guru, Vrihaspati was also much afraid and remembered Hari, the destroyer of Madhu. At this time, there was a voice from the sky, s hort but pregnant with mon ning to the following effect "0 Guru, by the gift of Rlldhll's amulet called the conqueror of the world (Samsa r., Vijaya) calculated to remove all kinds of evil, you had better pl'esprve your disciple.' Vribaspati haarrl it. 'I'hen Vrihaspat.i who was affectionate to his disciple gave him the amulet and immediately witl: a shout reduced Brahrna- Hatya to ashes. Afterwards the Guru with hi" disciple went to heaven and realised the bad condition of Indra cau-nrl by his enemies. S'aeh i hearing tho arrival of her husband, joy fu+ly approached him and roverentially bowed before the feet of her C)-lIlli, S he then bowed to her husband. 0 my dear, at th is time, the gorl~, saints and Muuis hearing of the arrival of Indra, poured in from all directions with their heart pulsating with joy. Indra 011 his part, il pn ted Vis'wa-Karma to construct; Heaven again and that divine architce] conpleted the eonstruebion of the lovely city in one year full. 'l'h;lt city constructed with excellenb gems and being oru-nnanbed with woude r-, ful diamonds looked very lovely indeed. Nay. it was incouiparuble ill the world: but Indra was not, even then, satisfied.

,83-95, Vis'~a-Karma unable to go away without his eorumnnd, with an 'a:ggrieved heart, soug ht the protection of Brahma who, knowing' his purpose thus addressed him, "0 god, to-morrow you will De relieved from your task :'. Hearing this, 'the divine architect soon wcnt back to lIeaven. On the other hand, Brahms went to the Vaiklu~tha, bo,~ed to Had and announced Ins will. Had consoled Brahmu, sent him back to the Brahma.loka, wielded the form of a child, and arrived at Heaven's gate. He held ill his hand Il. parasol and a staff put on a white dress and fixed a bri~ht mark OIl his forehead. He was dwarfish, smiling and very lovely. He looked like a child, but he was wiser and more clever than an old man. The dispenser of even the creator, the source of all prosperity, Had himself arrived at the threshold of Indra and "aid to the warder" 0 warder soon go to Indra and tell him that !I. Bra h miu has' arrived at the 'gate to see him. The warder, went accordingly and told Indra who came hastily and 8ftIV the Brfthrn in boy. He saw that the smiling Brahmin was full of the lustre of Brahms, 'I'he boys and girls prompted by curiosity and with faces beaming with smiles had surrounded him. Indra reverentially bowed to Harl in the guise of a child: and Had, kind to his adherents; cheerfully blessed him. Indra having- greeted the Brahmil) boy with oblations of honey and milk &c., asked him, "0 lord, tell me the cause of your arrival." That Bra lunin who was the Guru of the Guru even of Vrihaspati, when he heard the words of Iudra replied with words which were as deep as the voice of the clouds thus" 0 king of the gods, I have heard about the construction of

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THE BRAII!J1A VAIVARTA PURANA.

vour wonderful citv: and so I have eoru e to see vou and refer yon to some points I desire to I~now. 0 king of the gods, in how many years do yon wish to g'<lt YULlr city constructed and what more engineering will Vis' IVa· Karllla display in the mnbte r ?

95.l0S. () best of gods, no Indra before yon was capable of effecting such a coustrucbion." Indra infatuated with the wino of prosperity and hearing the words of the boy laug hed loud ly unrl asked him again." U ]blhtlli~) Loy. please reveal co me, how many Indras or V:~wa-Karmils, yon have seen and about how many yon have beard." The Brfthmi n boy, ha ving heard the words of Irid ra h.u!;h<ld in his turn and addressed . I nd ra Il!':ill~ words delightful to the ears like nectar thus : .' Child, I know yourfather, Praja-pat.i Kas'p.pa and yo:u' grandfather l\farichi, the sai nt whose wealth consisted in his devotions. I know also lord Hruhmft, the offspring of the navel of Vi~9u and I know the virtuous Visnu, the preserver of Bra.lnnu. O· king of the gods, I also, know of that dreadful dissolution of the world turning it into a huge mass of water void of all auiuia.ls, Indeed, no one call say how many kinds of creation, 01' universes or ~ges are there and in each universe how many Brabm:1s, Vi~91:S 01' S'ivas exist. 0 king- of gods, the servants hold that it is pas sible to count the particles of sand 01' the currents of rain-water lnt no one can count the In.lra s. Indru's longevity and jurisdiction consist of seven yuga.s according to the Divine standard of calculation j and the periol covered by ~S Indras is equivalent to one day and night of Brahm I. Brahm:t's longe\·ity consists of lOS years according to the above standard. Child, not to talk of the number of Indras, there is no end of those Brahmas. NODe o.in calculate those universes each of which eon taius a Brahmft , Vi~l_la and S'iva, As an artificial boat floats on the waters of the world, so the Brah ma ad as float on the pure water! arising' out of the pores of tbe skin of ~Iahf, Vi~J? u.

i"S-I22. Like the pores of )[aba.Vi~I).ll, the universes are count-less,

which contain many gous like yourself." While the best of beings was

:speaking thus, at that place a row of ants happened to pass

by that way in the form of a bow. Theil the Bnlhrnil). when he saw them, laughed loudly: but !i'e said nothing and kept quiet like one too deep iu his nature. Indra, when he witnessed the laugh of the Brahmin boy and heard his ballad was astonished. His palate, lips and throat became dry and he again asked, "0 llr:lhmil)-, why did you laugh? . A ud who ure you in the guise of a boy? Y Oll seem to me to be the ocean of virtue obscured by delusion." 'I'he I3rtl.hmit.l boy, hearing th~ _ words of Iudra, addressed him thus using words pregnant with meta. physical doctrines and ethical maxims" I laughed ~t the sight of the ants, 'I'he cause is mysterious. Do not query me OIl the subject which contains the gerlll of SOtTOW and is otherwise a fruitful source of your wisdom. 1'hat mysterious subject strikes an axe at the root of the tree

of tho world, and serves like all excellent lamp to people obscured by the darkness of ignorance. It can very rarely be secured oven by adepts. It is the life of Yogi:> versed in the Vedas and calculated to crush the pride of fools," 'I'he 1l~·lhmi1.1 boy having said so paused with a smile

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