Harivamsha 100

English (machine translation) 100

Language: English

100.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: / In the very month when Pradyumna was abducted by Śambara, who brought about his own destruction, / Sāmba was born to Jāmbavatī.

100.2

From childhood he was assigned marks of honour by Rāma, / and after Rāma, he was honoured by all the Vṛṣṇis.

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He became the beloved son of Rāma, regarded as the eldest.

100.3

As soon as he was born, Kṛṣṇa entered that splendid city, / having slain his enemy feudatories, just as an immortal enters the garden of Śakra.

100.4

Seeing the fortune of the Yādavas, Vāsava loathed his own fortune; / and out of fear of Janārdana, kings obtained no peace.

100.5

Then, after some time, in the city called Vāraṇa, / all the kings assembled at the sacrifice of Duryodhana.

100.6

Hearing of that fortune of the Mādhava, and Janārdana with his son, / and the city Dvārāvatī situated within the sea,

100.7

all the kings on earth, having formed alliances through those messengers, / went to Kṛṣṇa's dwelling to behold the fortune of Hṛṣīkeśa.

100.8

All those led by Duryodhana who followed the will of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, / and the kings headed by the Pāṇḍavas, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and the rest [arrived].

100.9

The rulers of Pāṇḍya, Cola, and Kaliṅga, Bāhlīkas, Draviḍas, and Śakas, / kings leading eighteen akṣauhiṇīs, / came to the city of the Yādavas protected by Govinda's arms.

100.10

Those lords of the earth, encircling Mount Raivataka, / then entered their own territories extending for yojanas.

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Announced by messengers, the Lord, preceded by Balabhadra,

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placing Sātyaki at the fore, with his army and foot-soldiers,

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and taking up the Śārṅga bow, wondering what this might be—

100.11

then the glorious Hṛṣīkeśa, together with the foremost Yādavas, / lotus-eyed, went out near the lords of men.

100.12

In the midst of those kings, the slayer of Madhu, / the foremost of the Yadus, shone like the autumn moon in the sky.

100.13

Having observed proper etiquette there, according to rank and age, / Kṛṣṇa sat down upon a golden throne.

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The kings also sat down according to their rank / on various ornate thrones and seats, the rulers of men.

100.15

That assembly of Yādavas and kings then shone resplendent, / like the assembly of gods and asuras in the abode of Brahmā.

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The blessed one said this to the kṣatriyas who had come to see him:

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"All this has been proclaimed for you, O kings.

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Whatever is ours, O foremost kings, is always equal to yours.

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Take divine wealth as you desire, O best of kings!"

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They said, "So be it," to the lord of the world in the assembly of the Yādavas.

100.16

Various conversations took place there at that gathering / of the Yadus and the kings, while Keśava listened.

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Seeing that lord of the god of gods, the kṣatriyas were overjoyed.

100.17

At that moment a wind blew, fierce with the rumble of clouds, / and there was a tumultuous foul day, full of lightning and thunder.

100.18

Cleaving through the expanse of that foul day, Nārada appeared, / his mass of matted hair bound up, with a vīṇā resting on his arm,

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singing of Hari in sāman verse, who was dwelling in the assembly of Yadus.

100.19

He descended into the midst of the kings radiant as fire, / Nārada, appearing like a flame of fire, the glorious sage, friend of Śakra.

100.20

When that foremost of sages, Nārada, had descended to the ground, / that foul day with its towering, great clouds dispersed.

100.21

Penetrating the midst of the kings, which was like an ocean, / the imperishable sage addressed the foremost of Yadus seated on his throne:

100.22

"You alone are a wonder of the gods, O Puruṣottama, / and you are blessed, O mighty-armed one; there is no other in the world!"

100.23

Thus addressed, the Lord smiled and answered the sage: / "I am wondrous and blessed along with the sacrificial gifts."

100.24

Thus addressed, the foremost of sages said in the midst of the kings: / "Kṛṣṇa, I have heard enough; I shall go as I came."

100.25

Seeing him depart, the kings spoke to the Lord, / not understanding the secret formula uttered by Nārada:

100.26

"'You are a wonder,' it was said, 'and you are blessed, O Mādhava,' / and even when replied, 'Along with the sacrificial gifts,' O Nārada,

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we do not understand this great divine formula. / If it may be heard, Kṛṣṇa, I wish to hear it in truth."

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Then Kṛṣṇa said to all those foremost kings: / "It should be heard, and this brahmin Nārada will tell it to you.

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Speak, Nārada, the true meaning; let the kings hear / the words spoken by you and replied to by me!"

100.30

Well-seated on a bright golden stool, richly adorned, / he began to relate the origin of that utterance:

100.31

"Listen, O foremost kings, as many as are assembled here, / to how I reached the depth of this great question.

100.32

Once on the bank of the Gaṅgā, an observer of the three ablutions, / I was walking alone at the end of night, when the sun became visible.

100.33

I saw a creature with two shells looking like a mass of stones, / a krośa in circumference, round all around,

100.34

joined with four feet, moist, muddy with moss, / resembling my vīṇā, a tortoise like a heap of elephant hide.

100.35

Touching that water-dweller with my hand, I said: / 'You possess a wondrous body, O tortoise, and are blessed in my opinion,

100.36

you who, covered thus with two unbreakable shells, / wander fearlessly in the water, not worrying about anything.'

100.37

That water-dwelling tortoise himself spoke to me like a human: / 'What is wondrous about me, O sage, and how am I blessed, O powerful one?

100.38

This river Gaṅgā is blessed; what could be more wondrous than this, / in which creatures like me by the tens of thousands dwell in the water?'

100.39

Filled with curiosity, I approached the river Gaṅgā: / 'You are blessed, O foremost of rivers, ever wondrous to behold,

100.40

you who, adorned with wild beasts of great bodies, / a deep river, flow to the ocean, protecting the hermitages of ascetics.'

100.41

Thus addressed, Gaṅgā in embodied form then replied / to Nārada, the divine gandharva, the brahmin beloved of Śakra:

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'I am not blessed, O foremost brahmin, nor adorned with wonders. / The utterance of you, who are established in truth, distresses me.

100.43

The ocean causes wonder in the world and is blessed, O brahmin, / into which rivers broad as I go by the hundreds.'

Having heard the words of the Tripathagā, I approached the ocean: / 'You are indeed a wonder to the worlds, and you are blessed, O great ocean; / for you are the source of the waters, the lord of water!

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Rightly do these water-bearing rivers, bringers of life to the world, / revered by the world, go to you as wives.'

100.46

Addressed thus, the ocean then spoke these words to me, / having risen up, stirred by the wind, breaking the surface of his mass of waters:

100.47

'Do not say so, O divine gandharva; I am not wondrous, O best of brahmins! / This earth is blessed, O sage, upon which I rest; / without the earth, what could be more wondrous in the world?'

100.48

Standing upon the surface of the earth, prompted by the words of the ocean, / filled with curiosity, I spoke to the refuge of the world:

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'O Earth, source of living beings, you are indeed blessed, O fair one; / you are wondrous among beings, endowed with great patience!'

100.50

Because of that indeed, you are the earth, the fire-stick of human beings, / and from you forgiveness was born, as well as the action of those who walk in the sky.

100.51

Then the earth, embarrassed by those words of praise spoken by me, / laid aside her natural composure and spoke back to me:

100.52

‘O god among Gandharvas, fond of strife and battle, do not speak thus! / I am not blessed, nor am I marvelous; this steadfastness of mine belongs to another.

100.53

These mountains are blessed, O best of the twice-born; they support me. / In them marvels are seen; they are the dams of the world.’

100.54

So at the words of the earth I approached the mountains: / ‘You appear blessed and full of many marvels, O earth-bearers!

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Especially [abundant] in gold, foremost jewels, and minerals; / therefore all of you are eternal mines of gems on earth.’

100.56

Hearing these words of mine, the mountains, best among immobile things, / adorned with forests, spoke soothing words to me:

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‘O brahmin seer, we are not blessed, nor do marvels reside in us. / Our master is the wielder of the trident, the mountain-dweller who bears a bull on his banner. / There is no one more marvelous or blessed than him on earth; / leaving aside that Mahādeva, you ought not to praise us here.’ / Hearing their words, I went to Kailāsa. / Seeing that lord of Pārvatī, I then spoke these words: / ‘O god of gods, Mahādeva, blue-throated one, with a bull on your banner! / You alone are marvelous, you are blessed, O lord of the earth! / There is no god whatsoever in the world higher than you. / This world with its moving and unmoving beings which is seen, O god— / you alone are the support of all this, O destroyer of Tripura!’ / Then the god, the odd-eyed, three-eyed one spoke to me: / ‘I am not blessed, nor am I marvelous; you ought not to address me thus. / The creator of the universe is to be known as higher than me, O best of the twice-born: / Brahmā Prajāpati is blessed, and he is marvelous even among the gods.’

100.58

So, having gone to the Grandfather, the imperishable source of all, / I considered the turn of that statement to have reached completion.

100.59

Approaching in succession the self-born god, the womb of the world, the four-faced one, / my face bowed low in salutation, [I said]—

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to bring the statement to completion, I made the self-born one hear: / ‘The Lord alone is marvelous and blessed, the teacher of the universe.

100.61

I see no other being that is equal to you. / From you this entire world, moving and unmoving, was born.

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Mortals along with gods and Dānavas, consisting of the elements and senses in the world, / exist, O lord of all gods; this entire visible form is [you].

100.63

Therefore indeed you are the eternal god of gods among the gods, / since you are their creator and also the origin of the worlds.’

100.64

Then the blessed Brahmā, the Grandfather of the world, said to me:
“Why do you speak to me, Nārada, with words framed in fortune and wonder?

100.65

The supreme marvel is the gods, and the gods are blessed, O Nārada, / the gods who perceive the meaning of reality and who uphold the worlds.

100.66

Know me, O vipra, as consisting of the truth of the Ṛc, Sāman, and Yajus [verses], and what is believed in the Atharvan; / I am supported by them, and they by me.’

100.67

Prompted by the word of the supreme, self-born one, / I directed my mind, wide-ranging in its scope, toward the presence of the Vedas.

100.68

So at the word of the self-born one I approached the Vedas, / and spoke to the four of them, worshiped with the recital of mantras:

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‘Blessed and holy are you, ever famous for marvels, / and the supports of the vipras; thus spoke Prajāpati.

100.70

Even by the self-born one here the ultimate question has been placed upon you; / there is nothing higher than you, either by sacred revelation or by ascetic heat.’

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Then the gods standing all around spoke words in return to me: / ‘Marvelous and blessed are the sacrifices, which have the supreme Self as their final resort.

100.72

We were created for the sake of the sacrifice, O Nārada, by him who created [us]; / therefore sacrifices are superior to us; we are not under our own control. / The sacrifice is higher even than the self-born one here, and the highest destiny of the Vedas.’

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit