Harivamsha 43

English (machine translation) 43

Language: English

43.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said:
Having heard the words of the Earth, all the dwellers of heaven / reflected upon what needed to be done for her sake, and then addressed the Grandfather:

43.2

"O Blessed One, let the easing of the burden of this Earth be performed. / For you are the creator of the bodies of the worlds and the lord of the universe.

43.3

Whatever must be done by Mahendra, by Yama, and by Varuṇa, / or what must be done by the lord of wealth, or by Nārāyaṇa himself,

43.4

or what is to be done by the Moon, by the Sun, or by the Wind, / or by the Ādityas, the Vasus, or the Rudras who foster the worlds,

43.5

or by the two Aśvins, foremost of the gods, or by the Sādhyas who dwell in heaven, / or by the Maruts, the best of the gods, or by Fire, O Lord, / or by Bṛhaspati and Uśanas, or by Time or even Kali,

43.6

or by Maheśvara, O Brahman, or by Viśākha, or by Guha, / or by the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and gandharvas, or by the cāraṇas or great serpents,

43.7

or by mountains, foremost among peaks, or by the oceans with great waves, / or by the celestial rivers headed by the Gaṅgā, O lord of the gods—

43.8

command quickly, O Lord, how an incarnation should be employed, / if you have a royal deed to accomplish, a deed in royal battle.

43.9

How shall we all bring about the descent of incarnations, O Grandfather— / both those who move in the atmosphere and those kings on earth?

43.10

Shall we create bodies not born of a womb upon the surface of the earth, / and among the assemblies of brahmins, and in the lineages of kings?"

43.11

Hearing this momentous resolve of the gods united in a single purpose, / the Grandfather of the worlds, surrounded by the gods, spoke these words:

43.12

"I approve, O foremost of the gods, of your resolve. / Emanate portions of your own bodies onto the earth, equal to yourselves in splendor.

43.13

All of you, foremost of the gods, descend with your splendors, / sustaining the goddess Earth, having obtained the glory of the three worlds.

43.14

Knowing beforehand of this birth upon the earth in the royal Bhārata lineage, / hear what was done by me.

43.15

Formerly, O gods, having reached the western shore of the ocean, / I was seated together with my son, the great-souled Kaśyapa,

43.16

with tales of ancient events that follow the ways of the world and the Vedas, / and with many narratives of ancient origin possessing good qualities,

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investigating that lord of the gods through authorities of various characteristics.

43.17

As we were engaged in those various tales, the Ocean, together with the Gaṅgā / and accompanied by cloud-bearing winds, swiftly came near.

43.18

Moving with an uneven course of surging waves, / clad in a garment of water adorned with diverse aquatic creatures,

43.19

with a body spotless with conches and pearls, adorned with coral gems, / joined with the full moon, roaring deeply like rainclouds,

43.20

he, overstepping his own shoreline and treating me with disrespect, / drenched me with restless streams of salty water.

43.21

And when the ocean prepared to overwhelm that region with his waters, / he was addressed by me in an agitated voice: 'You have been stilled!'

43.22

As soon as he was told 'You have been stilled,' the ocean shrank, / his mass of surging waves brought together, standing resplendent with royal splendor.

43.23

And further was the ocean cursed by me, together with the Gaṅgā, / forming an intention with a purpose, out of a desire for your benefit:

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'Since you have approached with a form resembling a king, / go, Ocean, and you shall indeed become an earthly ruler, a king.

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Even there, displaying your innate playfulness through your own splendor, / you will be the protector of men, the perpetuator of the lineage of the Bhāratas.

43.26

Because you were told by me "You have been stilled" (śānta) and became slender (tanu), / you shall be Śaṃtanu, possessing a handsome form (sutanu) and renowned in the world.

43.27

This wide-eyed Gaṅgā too, beautiful in all her limbs— / this Gaṅgā too, the fair-complexioned one who has come for your sake, / the foremost of rivers in bodily form, will approach you there.'

43.28

Thus addressed, the Ocean approached me in anger and said: / 'O Lord, ruler of the gods, why have you cursed me?

43.29

I am submissive to you, made by you, devoted to you. / Why have you yourself cursed me, your son, with unfitting words?

43.30

O Blessed One, if by your grace I swell with speed at the change of the moon, / and if I have surged, O Brahman, what fault of my own is there in this?

43.31

If you were touched by waters cast by the wind at the change of the moon, / what cause for a curse, O Blessed One, is there in this for me?

43.32

Stirred up by fierce winds, swollen clouds, / and the lunar conjunction with the moon, I was agitated by three causes.

43.33

If I have thus erred because of causes set in motion by you, / you ought to forgive me, O Brahman; let this curse be turned back.

43.34

When I am thus helpless and weakened by the curse, / have compassion, O lord of gods, if you heed right measure.

43.35

And toward this Gaṅgā, O god, who must go to the earth by your command, / sharing equally in my fault through me, you ought to show favor.

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Show me favor, O Brahman; a reason for the curse exists.'

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Then I spoke in gentle words to that great ocean, / who was terrified and shaken by the wind of the curse, ignorant of the intention of the gods:

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'Attain peace, do not fear; I am pleased, O wise one. / Hear the future purpose for this curse, O lord of rivers.

43.38

Go into the Bhārata lineage, and with your own splendor / assume a body, O lord of rivers, having abandoned this oceanic form.'

43.39

O great ocean, as an earth-protecting king there, endowed with royal splendour, / guarding the four classes, you will rejoice, O lord of waters!

43.40

And this best of rivers, assuming a human body, / with limbs charming at that time, Gaṅgā shall attend upon you.

43.41

Rejoicing together with this Jāhnavī by my command, / you will forget this dampness of water, O ocean.

43.42

And with haste you must fulfill this divine order / through the rite of Prajāpati together with Gaṅgā, O ocean.

43.43

The Vasus have fallen from heaven and entered the netherworld; / for the sake of begetting them, you have been appointed by me.

43.44

I bestow those eight embryos of Jāhnavī as your offspring, / equal in virtue to the sun, increasing the delight of the gods.

43.45

Having quickly begotten the Vasus and made the Kuru lineage great, / abandoning that body, you will enter your oceanic form again, O ocean.

43.46

In this way, this was formerly done by me for your welfare, O foremost of gods, / seeing the future burden of the earth consisting of kings.

43.47

Therefore, this lineage of Śaṃtanu was established by me upon earth, / in which the Vasus, dwellers of heaven, were born from Gaṅgā.

43.48

Even today the son of Gaṅgā, the eighth Vasu, remains right there upon earth; / these seven Vasus have returned [to heaven], but he alone lingers.

43.49

In a second wife, a second body of Śaṃtanu was created: / radiant Vicitravīrya became an illustrious king.

43.50

The two sons of Vicitravīrya are now the only kings upon earth, / Pāṇḍu and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, renowned as bulls among men.

43.51

There, Pāṇḍu has two wives endowed with beauty and fixed in their youth, / the auspicious Kuntī and Mādrī, resembling divine damsels on earth.

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King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, however, has one wife of matching conduct, / Gāndhārī, famous on earth, ever devoted to her husband's vow.

43.53

Let your portions be divided here as the opposing faction and the faction [itself]; / for there will be a great conflict between the sons of those two kings.

43.54

In their clash over the heritage, the destruction of kings will take place, / and a great terror resembling the end of a yuga will occur.

43.55

As the rulers of men destroy each other along with their armies, / the earth, its hosts of cities and kingdoms emptied, will fall into ruin.

43.56

At the end of the Dvāpara Yuga, it was seen by me of old / that the kings along with their mounts will meet destruction by weapons.

43.57

Then the portion of Śaṃkara, through fire and the fiery energy of weapons, / will burn the remaining men as they sleep at night, unconscious.

43.58

When that cruel deed resembling the Destroyer has concluded, / I shall proclaim this third Dvāpara Yuga to be ended.

43.59

When the portion of Maheśvara has withdrawn, then the yuga belonging to Maheśvara, / the Tiṣya yuga, following next, will arrive, cruel to humanity,

43.60

abounding in men of adharma, holding fast to little dharma, / having abandoned attachment to truth, with an increased heap of falsehood.

43.61

Taking refuge in the two gods, Maheśvara and Kumāra, / all men in the world will not possess old age [as their lifespan].

43.62

Therefore, this is the best resolution, which brings an end to kings upon the earth: / all of you gods, perform without delay the descent of portions!

43.63

Let a portion of Dharma be assigned in Kuntī and in Mādrī; / and let Kali, the root of conflict, be assigned in Gāndhārī.

43.64

The kings, impelled by Time, will become these two sides; / having developed passion for the sake of the earth, all will be eager for war.

43.65

Let this earth, bearer of the world, go to her own abode; / this decisive means, renowned in the worlds, has been devised for the kings."

43.66

Having heard the words of the Grandfather, the earth departed as she had come / along with Time, for the destruction of the rulers of the earth.

43.67

Brahmā urged on the gods for the suppression of the foes of the gods, / and Nara, the ancient seer, and Śeṣa, the bearer of the earth,

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and Sanatkumāra, the Sādhyas, and the gods led by Agni, / Varuṇa, Yama, the sun and the moon, / the gandharvas and apsarases, the Rudras, Ādityas, and the two Aśvins.

43.69

Then all the gods made their portions descend to the earth, / just as the descent of portions was formerly recounted to you by me.

Those gods, unborn from a womb and born from a womb, appeared upon the surface of the earth / as slayers of the daityas and dānavas, lords of men, / thick as groves of kṣīrikā trees, and possessing adamantine frames.

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Some possessed the strength of ten thousand elephants, some were endowed with the force of a flood, / enduring clubs, iron bludgeons, and spears, with arms like iron bars, / hurling mountain peaks, all fighting with iron bars.

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Born by hundreds and by thousands in the lineage of the Vṛṣṇis, / and in the lineage of the Kurus, those gods became kings among the Pañcālas,

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and in the wombs of prosperous brahmins performing sacrifices, / knowing all weapons, great archers, devoted to Vedic vows,

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endowed with all prosperities and virtues, sacrificers, performers of meritorious deeds.

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When angered, they could shake mountains, break the surface of the earth, / soar into the sky, and agitate the great ocean.

43.75

Having thus instructed them, Brahmā, the lord of past, future, and present, / having placed the worlds in Nārāyaṇa, attained peace.

43.76

Hear further how Viṣṇu descended to the surface of the earth / for the welfare of creatures, the lord, master of breath and wealth.

43.77

In the esteemed family of the wise Vasudeva, descended from Yayāti's lineage, / the lord Nārāyaṇa was born, desiring glory.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit