Harivamsha 42
English (machine translation) 42
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42.1
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: / Saying simply "So be it," with a voice like a storm cloud, / he set out together with them, having the appearance of a stormy sky like a mountain wrapped in clouds.
42.2
Hari, whose body is dark, bore a circle of matted hair / gleaming with pearls and gems, radiant as clouds accompanied by the moon.
42.3
And on his broad chest, which had rows of standing hairs from horripilation, / the glorious Śrīvatsa shone, adorning the space above both breasts.
42.4
Wearing two yellow garments, the imperishable guru of the worlds, / Hari became visible like a mountain wrapped in twilight clouds.
42.5
As he proceeded on Suparṇa, following the lotus-born [Brahmā], / all the gods followed him, their eyes fixed intently upon him.
42.6
In not very long a time, having reached the mountain of gems, / the deities saw their assembly hall there, which assumes forms at will,
42.7
placed on the peak of Meru, bathed in the luster of the sun, / with pillar-bases of gold and archways of aggregated thunderbolts,
42.8
rich with wondrous creations of the mind, bordered by crowded celestial cars, / having lattice-windows of gems, going at will, adorned with jewels.
42.9
strewn with arranged jewels, abounding in flowers of all seasons, / with stairs of gems and coral, adorned with lapis lazuli gems, / strewn with networks of pearls, adorned with hundreds of small bells, / bearing divine power, celestial, fashioned by Viśvakarman.
42.10
Joyful at heart, all the thirty [gods] entered that splendid assembly / in their proper places, according to age, and as directed.
42.11
They sat down on the celestial chariots and seats that were designated, / on thrones, chairs, carpets, and cushions.
42.12
Then the wind Prabhañjana, properly directed by Brahmā, / traversed the splendid assembly everywhere, saying, “No noise!”
42.13
When that assembly of the heaven-dwellers had grown silent and still, / the Earth, speaking piteously through her distress, addressed these words:
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The Earth said: / “By you, O god, I am to be borne, and by you indeed the world is upheld.
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You uphold the creatures, and you support the world.
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Whatever is upheld by you through your splendor and strength,
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that is subsequently upheld by me by your grace.
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I uphold what is upheld by you; I do not uphold what is not upheld [by you].
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For no creature exists that is not upheld by you in turn.
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You alone, O god Nārāyaṇa, in every yuga,
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bring about the removal of the great burden, desiring the welfare of the world.
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Overpowered by your own splendor, having sunk to the base of Rasātala,
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save me, O best of gods, who have sought refuge in you alone!
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Being tormented by Dānavas and evil-minded Rākṣasas,
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I constantly seek refuge in you alone, the eternal one.
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My fear persists only so long as I do not seek refuge
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in you, the supreme lord, in my mind; for I have observed this a hundred times.
42.14
In the beginning, long ago, I was compressed by this lotus-born one; / and binding me, two great asuras made of clay were first produced.
42.15
They arose from the ear-canals of this great-souled Viṣṇu / as he slept on the great ocean, standing like logs of wood or walls.
42.16
The wind himself, properly directed by Brahmā, entered them both; / and covering the heavens, those two great asuras grew.
42.17
Grasping those two animated by the wind and stroking them slowly, / Brahmā judged one to be softer and knew the other to be hard.
42.18
The lord born of the waters gave names to the two of them: / the soft one was named Madhu, and the hard one became Kaiṭabha.
42.19
Having received their names, the two Daityas roamed about, arrogant with strength, / completely fearless, desiring to fight the whole world of the single ocean.
42.20
Seeing the two approaching, Brahmā, the Grandfather of the world, / vanished right there into the waters of the single ocean.
42.21
On the lotus arisen from the middle of the navel of the lotus-navelled one, / the four-faced Brahmā chose to take up a secret abode.
42.22
Both Nārāyaṇa and the Grandfather, situated in the womb of the waters / and lying in the waters for many sets of years, did not waver.
42.23
Then, after a long time, both Madhu and Kaiṭabha / came to that place where Brahmā was situated.
42.24
Seeing those two terrible, mighty asuras intoxicated with battle, / Viṣṇu was struck long ago by Brahmā with a lotus-stalk; / and the lotus-navelled one of great brilliance swiftly leaped up from his bed.
42.25
Then a terrible battle took place between the two of them and him, / when the world was a single ocean and the three worlds had turned to water.
42.26
That tumultuous battle lasted for thousands of years by count, / and those two asuras did not suffer fatigue in the fight at that time.
42.27
Then, after a long time, the two Daityas intoxicated with battle / said with pleased minds to the god Nārāyaṇa, Hari:
42.28
“We are pleased with your fighting! You are a death to be praised in combat. / Slay the two of us where the earth is not covered by water;
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and being slain, O best of gods, may we attain the status of sons to you! / He who conquers us in battle—we are destined to be his sons.”
42.30
Grasping the two Daityas in battle, he crushed them with his arms, / and both Madhu and Kaiṭabha met their death.
42.31
Both fell into the water, becoming unified in their bodies; / being churned by the waves of the water, the two Daityas discharged their fat.
42.32
That water was covered with fat, and then the two of them disappeared; / and the blessed lord Nārāyaṇa created creatures anew.
42.33
Because it was covered with the fat of the two Daityas, it is remembered as Medinī; / and by the power of the lotus-navelled one, it was made enduring for mortals.
42.34
Becoming a boar again, while Mārkaṇḍeya was watching, / I was lifted up from the midst of the water with a single tusk.
42.35
I was seized again, as he stepped forth before your eyes, / from the Daitya Bali by the all-powerful Viṣṇu.
42.36
Presently distressed, helpless, I have sought refuge in this very club-bearer, / the lord of the world, worthy of refuge.
42.37
Fire is the lord of gold; the sun is remembered as the lord of cows; / Soma is the lord of constellations; Nārāyaṇa is my lord.
42.38
Whatever I alone uphold—the world of the moving and unmoving— / all of that, upheld by me, the club-bearer upholds.
42.39
By Rāma, son of Jamadagni, desiring to relieve the burden, / out of anger I was deprived of kṣatriyas three times seven times.
42.40
Placed upon an altar and satiated with the blood of kings, / I was presented to Kaśyapa by the Bhārgava at his father's śrāddha.
42.41
Foul-smelling with flesh, fat, and bone, smeared with the blood of kṣatriyas, / like a menstruating young woman I approached Kaśyapa.
42.42
That brahmin seer said to me: “Why, O Earth, are you downcast? / Are you practicing this vow of a hero's wife, O wife of heroes?”
42.43
Then I made a request to Kaśyapa, the creator of the world: / “My lords have been slain, O holy man, by the great-souled Bhārgava.
42.44
Bereft of valiant kṣatriyas who live by weapons, / widowed, with empty cities, I do not have the strength to hold out.
42.45
Therefore, O lord, let a king equal to you be given to me as husband, / who will protect me, garlanded with oceans, together with my villages and cities.”
42.46
Hearing my words, that blessed lord said, “So be it!” / Then he gave me to Manu, the lord of men.
42.47
Having attained that great, holy lineage of Ikṣvāku, sprung from Manu, / over a vast time I passed from king to king.”
42.48
Thus was I given to Manu, the wise lord of men, / and enjoyed by royal lineages that equal the lineages of great seers.
42.49
Many heroic kṣatriyas, having conquered me, have gone to heaven; / coming under the sway of time, they dissolved in me alone.
42.50
For my sake conflicts have arisen and continue to arise in the world / among powerful kṣatriyas who do not turn back in battle.
42.51
Moved by destiny that is set in motion by you all, / bring about a cause for the destruction of kings in battle, for the welfare of the world.
42.52
If you have compassion for me to lighten my burden, / let the one glorious wielder of the discus grant me freedom from fear.
42.53
He to whom I have come, tormented by my burden and seeking refuge— / if the burden is to be removed, let this Viṣṇu tell me.
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Viṣṇu said:
Do not fear, auspicious Earth! Attain peace, composed one.
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I shall establish you in your proper place, O bearer of wealth!
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By his grace, O gods, I shall cast off my fatigue.
Linked texts (1)
- Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit