Harivamsha 62

English (machine translation) 62

Language: English

62.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: / Seeing Govardhana held up and the Gokula protected, / Śakra, filled with wonder, desired to behold Kṛṣṇa.

62.2

Mounting the elephant Airāvata, who looked like a waterless cloud, / in rut and sprinkled with rutting fluid, he came to the earth's surface.

62.3

Puruhūta, the destroyer of citadels, beheld Kṛṣṇa of unwearied deeds / seated upon a rock of Govardhana.

62.4

Seeing that child blazing with great splendour, imperishable, / wearing the guise of a cowherd, the destroyer of citadels recognised him as Viṣṇu.

62.5

Dark as a grove of palm trunks, bearing the mark of the Śrīvatsa— / Śakra, with unsated eyes, gazed upon him with all his eyes.

And seeing him endowed with fortune, resembling an immortal in the world of mortals, / ever intent on deeds for the success of the gods' affairs, / sitting comfortably upon the surface of the rock, Śakra was abashed.

62.7

As he sat comfortably, the foremost of birds, the eater of serpents, / remaining invisible, made shade for him with his two wings.

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Approaching Keśava, who was invested with that shade, the embodiment of sacrifice,

62.8

seated on the mountain in solitude, attentive to the ways of the world, / the slayer of Bala dismounted from his elephant and approached Kṛṣṇa.

62.9

Having approached him, adorned with celestial garlands and unguents, / the lord, the king of the gods, shone brightly, his hand filled with the thunderbolt.

62.10

“Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, mighty-armed one, who increase the joy of your kin,
you have performed a deed surpassing the gods out of your love for the cattle.

62.11

"Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, O mighty-armed one, increaser of the joy of your kin, / a superhuman deed has been performed by you out of love for the cows!

62.12

When the clouds were unleashed by me, causing a deluge like the end of an aeon, / that you protected the cattle has brought me great satisfaction.

62.13

And that this best of mountains was held up by self-existent power / like a house in the sky—who indeed would not marvel at this?

62.14

When my festival was forbidden, this excessive rain lasting seven nights / was brought upon the cows by me in my wrath, O Kṛṣṇa.

62.15

That torrential shower of clouds, irresistible even to the gods / and hordes of Dānavas when I stood [unleashing it], has been checked by you.

62.16

Ah, how pleasing it is to me, Kṛṣṇa, that having assumed a human body / you conceal your full Vaiṣṇava splendour, even when angered!

62.17

I consider the everlasting task of the gods to be accomplished, / since you have attained humanity endowed thus with your own splendour.

62.18

The purpose of the gods will be achieved, O hero, nothing will fall short, / since you are their leader, who goes before them in every undertaking.

62.19

You are the one eternal lord of the worlds and of the gods; / I see no second who could bear your yoke.

62.20

For just as an excellent bull is harnessed when the yoke sinks down, / so are you [the refuge] for the sunken gods, O you who ride the bird!

62.21

Indeed, this world-striking weapon residing in your body / was correctly indicated by Brahmā, as gold from among minerals.

62.22

The self-born Lord himself, whether by intellect or by age, / cannot equal you, just as a lame man cannot match a swift runner.

62.23

The Himavat is the best of immovable things, the ocean of water-reservoirs, / Garutmat the best of birds, and you the foremost of deities."

62.24

Beneath the waters indeed is the realm [of Pātāla], and above it are the mountains. / Above the nāgas is the earth, and upon the earth are men.

62.25

Above the realm of men, the realm of the birds is proclaimed. / Above the sky is the sun, the radiant gate of heaven.

62.26

Beyond that is the realm of the gods, vast and dense with celestial aerial chariots, / where, O Kṛṣṇa, I have been placed in Indra’s station over the gods,

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by you, the protector of the world, Viṣṇu, the all-powerful sovereign.

62.27

Above heaven is the realm of Brahmā, frequented by hosts of brahmarṣis; / there is the movement of Soma and of the great-souled stars and planets.

62.28

Above that is the realm of cows, which the Sādhyas protect. / Indeed, it is omnipresent, O Kṛṣṇa, situated in great space, immense.

62.29

Higher and higher even beyond that is your realm, made of ascetic heat, / which none of us comprehend, even when asking the Grandfather.

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Even the holy Grandfather, through your grace and of his own free will,

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which those devoted to yoga, the knowers of brahman, revere, O Viṣṇu.

62.30

Below is the realm of evil-doers, the cruel realm of the nāgas; / the earth belongs to those devoted to action, the field of all action.

62.31

The air is the domain of the unsteady, who move like the wind; / heaven is the realm of those rich in tranquil self-control, of those who do good deeds.

62.32

For those intent upon the ascetic heat of brahman, the realm of Brahmā is the supreme destination; / but Goloka belongs only to cows, a realm hard indeed to ascend.

62.33

That world, O Kṛṣṇa, was sinking, but you of cultivated soul, / resolute hero, held it up, destroying the affliction of the cows.

62.34

Therefore I have arrived, impelled by the words of the cows / and of Brahmā, O fortunate one, and I have come out of reverence for you.

62.35

I am the lord of beings, O Kṛṣṇa, king of the gods, Puraṃdara, / your elder brother from ancient times in the order of births from Aditi.

62.36

Whatever splendour of a splendid one I displayed toward you / in the form of clouds—all that you should forgive me, O lord.

62.37

With a forgiving mind, O Kṛṣṇa, through your own gentle splendour, / listen to the words of Brahmā and of the cows, O you of elephant-like prowess!

62.38

The holy Brahmā speaks to you, as do the sky-faring cows in heaven, / delighted by your divine deeds, beginning with your protection [of them]:

62.39

‘By you the cows have been protected, and by the cows the worlds are preserved, / so that together with the bulls we may flourish with offspring.

62.40

Moving at our will, we shall satisfy the farmers with draft oxen, / the gods with pure sacrificial oblations, and Fortune with purifying dung.’

62.41

‘Therefore you are our master and the giver of our breath of life, O mighty one. / From this day forward you shall be our king, our Indra!’

62.42

Therefore, be consecrated by me with these golden jars, / filled with celestial milk and tilted by my hands.

62.43

I indeed am the Indra of the gods; you have attained Indra-ship of the cows. / The worlds on earth will praise you eternally as Govinda.

62.44

Since you have been established above me as Indra, the lord, by the cows, / the deities in heaven will sing of you as Upendra, O Kṛṣṇa.

62.45

And of these four rainy months that are allotted to me, / I grant half of them to you: the latter season of autumn.

62.46

And in the half of the rains, my banner will constantly receive worship; / then the peacocks will abandon their pride born of water.

62.47

And whatever other roarers at clouds there are, whose rut has little power, / all roaming in the rainy season, will pass into silence.

62.48

And the thousand-rayed sun will traverse the quarter / frequented by Triśaṅku and Agastya, burning with his own heat.

62.49

Then, when autumn has set in, when peacocks are silent and mute, / when flooded and submerged by pleasanter waters,

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and on the riverbanks filled with geese and sārāsa cranes,

62.50

amidst the cries of intoxicated krauñca birds and lusty bulls, / and cows joyful, flowing with abundant milk,

62.51

when the clouds have withdrawn, draining the water from the world, / when the sky resembles a sword and the geese roam about,

62.52

when lotuses have appeared in the waters, ponds, and rivers, / and in charming lakes with clear waters, / when rows of ripe fields are bent at the tips with kalama rice,

62.53

when rivers cause their flow of water to moderate, / and on the cultivated borders pleasing even to a silent sage,

62.54

on the earth possessing vast realms, delightful at the end of the rains, / when roads of packed rows are weary, grasses bear fruit, / regions are rich in sugarcane, and sacrifices commence—

62.55

then holy autumn will proceed when you arise from sleep, / in this entire world, O Kṛṣṇa, just as in the third heaven.

62.56

May men honor both you and me on staff-shaped banners, / saying: 'May Mahendra and Upendra be glorified on the surface of the earth!'

62.57

And those mortals who, abiding in our conduct, which is known as that of Mahendra and Upendra, / shall bow down, will suffer no misfortune.

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Bringing a jeweled throne from the world of heaven, the lord of the gods

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seated Kṛṣṇa upon it and first consecrated him with gems, pearls, and other treasures.

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Having performed the waving of lights and adorned him with celestial ornaments,

62.58

Śakra then, knowing yoga, took those jars holding celestial milk / and joined Govinda with consecration.

62.59

Seeing him consecrated, those cows, together with the herd-leaders, / drenched the imperishable Kṛṣṇa with their streaming udders.

62.60

And the clouds in heaven sprinkled the imperishable one as he was consecrated / with streams of water containing pearls and nectar on all sides.

62.61

From all the trees of the forest flowed moon-like sap, / they rained showers of flowers, and musical instruments sounded in the sky.

62.62

All the sages, devoted to mantras, praised him with words: / Vasiṣṭha, Vāmadeva, Jābāli, then Kāśyapa, / Viśvāmitra, Bharadvāja, Kaṇva, the blessed lord Atri, / all these sages, perfected beings, and supreme seers; / and the earth assumed a form free from the universal ocean.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit