Harivamsha 29

English (machine translation) 29

Language: English

29.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: / That jewel, the Syamantaka, which Kṛṣṇa had given to Satrājit, / Babhru held through the Bhoja Śatadhanvan.

29.2

For Akrūra, seeking an opportunity, constantly longed / for the blameless Satyabhāmā and for the Syamantaka jewel.

29.3

Then, having slain Satrājit, the mighty Śatadhanvan / took that jewel at night and gave it to Akrūra.

29.4

Taking the jewel then, O best of the Bharatas, / Akrūra made an agreement: 'I must not be disclosed by you to Acyuta.

29.5

We shall stand by you when you are assaulted by Kṛṣṇa; / today all of Dvārakā is unquestionably under my control.'

29.6

Her father being slain, the glorious Satyabhāmā, stricken with grief, / mounted a chariot and departed for the city of Vāraṇāvata.

29.7

Having reported that deed of the Bhoja Śatadhanvan / to her husband, Satyabhāmā, stricken with grief, stood beside him shedding tears.

29.8

Then Hari, having offered water for the burnt Pāṇḍavas / and for the sake of his kinsmen, appointed Sātyaki for the funeral rites of his brothers.

29.9

Then swiftly arriving at Dvārakā, the glorious slayer of Madhu / spoke these words to his elder brother, the plow-wielder:

29.10

'Prasena was slain by a lion, and Satrājit by Śatadhanvan. / That Syamantaka belongs to me; I am its master, O lord.

29.11

Therefore mount the chariot quickly; having slain the mighty Bhoja, / O mighty-armed one, that Syamantaka will belong to us both.'

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Then the mighty Rāma and Kṛṣṇa mounted their chariot,

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from the city of Vāraṇāvata, for the destruction of Śatadhanvan.

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Then Śatadhanvan, learning that Acyuta had arrived, was terrified.

29.12

Then a tumultuous battle began between the Bhoja and Kṛṣṇa; / Śatadhanvan then looked in all directions for Akrūra.

29.13

Considering both the Bhoja and Janārdana untrustworthy and deserving of death, / though capable, Akrūra out of deceit did not come to the aid of Hārdikya.

29.14

Then the Bhoja, afflicted with fear, resolved upon flight; / he set out over a full hundred leagues on a mare.

29.15

Known as Hṛdayā, able to travel a hundred leagues, / was the Bhoja's mare, O king, with which he had fought Kṛṣṇa.

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Then the enraged Bhoja and Kṛṣṇa, both swift and mighty,

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Having then deceived Kṛṣṇa, the exceedingly intelligent Śatadhanvan

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went swiftly to the eastern quarter on the mare swift as the wind.

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Then Kṛṣṇa, foremost of charioteers, went swiftly in his chariot;

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accompanied by Bala, O king, he set out in pursuit of him.

29.16

Seeing that Hṛdayā's speed was exhausted at a distance of a hundred leagues, / and seeing his own chariot gaining ground, he pressed Śatadhanvan hard.

29.17

Then, from exhaustion and fatigue, O Bhārata, / the breath of life of that mare flew into the sky; then Kṛṣṇa spoke to Rāma:

29.18

'Stay here, O mighty-armed one; a flaw in the mare has been observed by me. / Going on foot, I shall take the Syamantaka jewel.'

29.19

Then, going on foot, Acyuta, skilled in supreme weapons, / slew Śatadhanvan near Mithilā, O king.

29.20

And having slain the mighty Bhoja, he did not see the Syamantaka; / when he returned, the plowman said to Kṛṣṇa, 'Give me the jewel.'

29.21

Kṛṣṇa said, 'It is not [there]'; then Rāma, filled with wrath, / repeatedly replied to Janārdana, prefacing his words with 'Fie!':

29.22

'Because of brotherhood I bear this; may well-being be yours, I am leaving. / I have no business with Dvārakā, nor with you, nor with the Vṛṣṇis.'

29.23

Then Rāma, crusher of foes, entered Mithilā, / honored by the king of Mithilā with all desired offerings.

29.24

At that very time, Babhru, foremost among the wise, / performed all kinds of unhindered sacrificial rites.

29.25

For protection, that wise and illustrious son of Gāndī / entered the armor composed of consecration on account of the Syamantaka.

29.26

For sixty years, the righteous one dedicated riches, prime jewels, / and various materials to sacrifices.

29.27

Those [sacrifices] of that great soul became famed as Akrūra's sacrifices, / having abundant food and priestly gifts, granting all desires.

29.28

Then King Duryodhana, being capable, went to Mithilā / and obtained divine instruction in the mace from Balabhadra.

29.29

Having appeased Rāma, the great car-warriors among the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, / along with the great-souled Kṛṣṇa, brought him back to Dvārakā.

29.30

Akrūra, however, departed with the Andhakas, O bull of the Bharatas, / having slain Satrājit along with his kinsmen in battle, being very mighty.

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And on Tārā, the daughter of Śvaphalka, O best of men,

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the two sons of Bhaṅgakāra, renowned and exceedingly mighty,

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were born to that foremost of the Andhakas, namely Śatrughna and Bandhumat.

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By virtue of a boon from Bhaṅgakāra, he was an equal to Kṛṣṇa.

29.31

Then Kṛṣṇa disregarded him for fear of a schism among kinsmen. / When Akrūra had departed, the Chastiser of Pāka did not send rain.

29.32

Owing to the drought, the realm then became sorely emaciated in many ways. / Thereupon the Kukuras and Andhakas appeased Akrūra.

29.33

When that lord of gifts returned once again to Dvāravatī, / the thousand-eyed [Indra] poured down rain on the shore of the ocean.

29.34

And the wise Akrūra gave a maiden, his sister renowned for good character, / to Vāsudeva to show goodwill, O delight of the Kurus.

29.35

Then Janārdana Kṛṣṇa, knowing by yoga that the jewel was held by Babhru, / spoke to that Akrūra as he sat in the midst of the assembly:

29.36

"That jewel, the foremost of gems which is in your hand, O lord— / surrender it, O worthy of honor; do not act dishonorably toward me.

29.37

When sixty years had elapsed, whatever anger I had then / became entrenched, recurring often; and therefore much time has passed."

29.38

Then, at Kṛṣṇa's word, in the assembly of all the Sātvatas, / the wise Babhru gave up that jewel without difficulty.

29.39

Then Kṛṣṇa, the subduer of foes, having received it honorably from Babhru's hand, / joyfully gave that jewel back to Babhru again.

29.40

Having obtained the Syamantaka jewel from Kṛṣṇa's hand / and fastening it on, the son of Gāndinī shone like the sun.

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Whoever listens to this constantly, having become pure and concentrated,

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will become a sharer in the fruit of pleasures according with their desires.

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And up to the realm of Brahmā his fame will be proclaimed, no doubt,

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it will come to pass, O best of men; this truth I speak to you.

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Then all the foremost of the Yadus, delighted and with cupped hands,

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revered the great-souled, lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit