Harivamsha 85
English (machine translation) 85
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85.1
Janamejaya said: / “O lord, I wish to hear in detail the deeds of the high-souled / Vāsudeva, the wise foremost of the Yadus.
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And for what reason did the slayer of Madhu abandon Mathurā, / the hump of the Middle Country and the sole home of fortune,
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the peak of the earth, well-marked, possessing abundant wealth and grain, / filled mostly with noble and wealthy people, the highest and best of settlements— / why did the Dāśārha abandon it without a fight, O best of twice-born?
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And how did that Kālayavana act toward Kṛṣṇa?
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Having taken refuge in Dvārakā, fortified by the waters, / what did mighty-armed Janārdana, the great yogin of lofty mind, do?
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What was the strength of Kālayavana, and by whom was that valiant one fathered, / observing whom to be irresistible Janārdana retreated?”
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Vaiśaṃpāyana said: / “The spiritual teacher of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas was Gārgya of great ascetic heat; / having formerly been a chaste student, he did not take a wife.
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While he lived thus with his seed drawn upward and imperishable, / a brother-in-law, a brahmin, called the brahmin Gārgya a eunuch in the cowpen; / thereupon all the Yadus laughed in the presence of the Yadus. / [Gārgya said:] ‘Thus for a thousand and six hundred years equal to a king's rule, / and for twelve years, [eating] powder produced from iron filings...’ / The brother-in-law had insulted Gārgya, O king, saying, ‘He is not a man!’
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Having been insulted then, O king, in that city victorious over enemies, / he went away, wishing to obtain a son, and performed terrifying ascetic heat.
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Then for twelve years he ate iron filings, / propitiating the unthinkable Mahādeva who holds the trident in his hand.
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Rudra granted him a boon: a son consisting of all fiery splendor, / capable in battle of subduing the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas.
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Then the king, the ruler of the Yavanas, childless and desiring a son, / heard of that boon granted by the god concerning the birth of a son.
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Having brought that best of brahmins and conciliated him, / the king of the Yavanas left him in the midst of cowherds among cowherd women.
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Now Gopālī, an apsaras who wore the disguise of a cowherd woman, / bore Gārgya's child, difficult to bear and unfailing.
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In the human wife of Gārgya, by the order of the wielder of the trident, / he was born as the heroic and mighty Kālayavana; / and the infant grew up in the inner palace of that childless king.
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When that king had died, O king, Kālayavana became king; / desiring battle, he questioned the foremost of the twice-born, / and Nārada revealed the family of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas to him.
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Knowing of that granting of the boon from Nārada, radiant Madhusūdana / watched him grow up among the Yavanas.
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When that king of the Yavanas, possessed of great strength, had grown up, / the mleccha kings then resorted to him and followed him.”
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Śakas, Tuṣāras, Daradas, Pāradas, Taṅgaṇas, Khaśas, / Pahlavas, and hundreds of other Mlecchas from the Himālayas,
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surrounded by those bandits as if by locusts, / wearing various garbs, terrible, that king marched toward Mathurā.
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With tens of thousands of elephants, horses, donkeys, and camels, / with that vast army, he then made the earth tremble.
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Covering the path of the sun with dust, that ruler of the earth, / through the urine and dung of his army, created a river.
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Because it flowed from the heaps of dung of horses and camels, O lord of people, / the name of that river came to be 'Horse-dung' (Aśvaśakṛt).
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Hearing that vast army approaching, Vāsudeva, the leader of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, / convened his kinsmen and said this:
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“This dreadful and great danger to the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas has arisen, / and our enemy cannot be killed on account of the boon from Pinākin.
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Means such as conciliation have been employed toward him on all sides; / drunk with arrogance and strength, he wishes only for war. / And my stay here has been said by Nārada to last only this long.
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And under such circumstances, conciliation alone is considered best to be spoken.
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Moreover, King Jarāsaṃdha never tolerates us, / as well as other rulers of the earth who have been scorched by the army of the Vṛṣṇis.
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And some kings, alienated by the slaying of Kaṃsa, devoted to him, / have taken refuge with Jarāsaṃdha and wish to afflict us.
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And many kinsmen of the Yadus have been slain by kings. / We shall not be able to prosper in this city.” Thus spoke Keśava. / Then the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, placing the highly intelligent Kṛṣṇa at their head, / assembled and deliberated out of fear of Jarāsaṃdha. / Having made a decision, they all resolved upon flight. / Abandoning delightful Mathurā out of respect for Pinākin, / desiring to inhabit Dvāravatī, [also known as] Kuśasthalī, / having resolved upon retreat, he sent an envoy to him.
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Then Kṛṣṇa caused a great serpent, resembling a heap of split collyrium, / a terrible, black, venomous snake, to be thrown into a jar.
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Then, sealing it, Govinda had it carried by his envoy / as a demonstration and to frighten that king; / that envoy showed that jar to Kālayavana.
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And the envoy spoke this to the king in the assembly of kings:
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“O King, Kṛṣṇa says to you: ‘What use are these locusts of yours?
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I alone am capable and powerful enough to hold back these [troops] of yours.
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And having slain you, O best of kings, along with your army and host of friends,
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I will surely seize this army of yours, O king.'
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Otherwise, depart, O king, together with this army.”
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Having said this, he showed the jar sent by Kṛṣṇa.
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Saying, ‘Kṛṣṇa resembles a deadly serpent,’ O bull of the Bharatas, / Kālayavana, understanding the intimidation attempted by the Yādavas, / filled that jar with fierce ants.
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Then, having written a single verse, he tossed it inside the jar:
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That serpent, being devoured on its limbs on all sides / by those numerous, sharp ants, was then turned to ashes.
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Then sealing that jar just as it was, the lord of the Yavanas / sent it to Kṛṣṇa, illustrating his own overwhelming numbers.
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Seeing what was brought by the envoy, Hari then read that letter:
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“One should not oppose the many; even a great multitude is difficult to conquer.
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Even a mighty king of serpents, while thrashing, will be eaten by little insects.”
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Seeing that his own strategy was set, Vāsudeva / abandoned Mathurā quickly and departed for Dvārakā.
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Wishing to put an end to the hostility, illustrious Vāsudeva, / having established [the city of] Dvārakā, O king, and consoled the Vṛṣṇis,
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on foot, that tiger among men, having his arms as weapons, / that great yogi Madhusūdana returned to Mathurā.
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Seeing him, that Kālayavana went forth delighted, [yet] with anger; / and taking careful thought, mighty Kṛṣṇa stepped forth.
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Then the lord of the Yavanas followed Govinda, desiring to seize him; / but the king was unable to seize him who possessed the nature of yoga.
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Showing himself as if within reach of his hand at every step,
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the lord of the Yavanas was led far away to a mountain cave by Hari.
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Kālayavana said: / “Flight is not fitting for you, born in the Yadu lineage!”
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Thus taunting him as he pursued, the one whose wickedness was struck down did not reach him.
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Though thus taunted, the Blessed One entered the mountain cave.
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For who indeed could approach the Lord of the Universe by force, except through love?
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Janārdana, as he walked, appeared to him as if within reach of his hand.
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Where King Mucukunda, the illustrious son of Māndhātṛ, / that best of kings, was resting, he quickly entered; / [Mucukunda] of great strength, who of old had performed deeds in the war between gods and asuras.
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Granted a boon by the gods, he chose sleep alone; / to him who was exhausted, these words indeed then appeared:
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“Whoever awakens me while I am sleeping, him I will burn / with an eye blazing with wrath!” Thus he said repeatedly.
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“So be it,” Śakra, along with the thirty [gods], said to him. / Permitted by the gods, he came to the world of mortals.
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Entering a certain mountain cave, worn out with exhaustion, / he slept indeed for this long time, until his sight of Kṛṣṇa.
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All that was reported to Vāsudeva by Nārada: / the granting of the boon by the gods, and the power of that ruler of the earth.
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Pursued by that Mleccha enemy, Kṛṣṇa / entered that cave of Mucukunda like a humble man.
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Covering that ruler of the earth with his own yellow garment,
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at the head of the royal seer Mucukunda, Keśava, / the foremost of the wise, stood having removed himself from the line of sight.
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Entering after him, the Yavana saw the ruler of the earth; / approaching him who was fast asleep, like Death himself, the evil-minded one,
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thinking the king was Vāsudeva, kicked him / with his foot to his own destruction, as a moth strikes a fire.
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And the royal seer Mucukunda, awakened by the touch of the foot, / grew enraged at the interruption of his sleep and at that touch of the foot.
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And remembering the boon from Śakra, he looked at him standing before him; / as soon as he was looked upon by the enraged one, he blazed up entirely on every side.
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The fire issuing from the power of his eyes burnt him up in an instant, / like a lightning bolt a dry tree: Kālayavana was consumed.
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Having accomplished his purpose, wise Vāsudeva addressed that glorious lord of men, / who had slept for so long, with these excellent words:
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"O king, you have been long asleep, as Nārada told me. / My great task has been accomplished. May all be well with you; I depart."
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Seeing then that Vāsudeva was short in stature, the king / realized that a long time had passed and that the yuga had turned.
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Beholding him dark as a rain-cloud, clad in yellow silk,
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his chest marked with the Śrīvatsa, adorned with the shining Kaustubha jewel,
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four-armed, radiant with the Vaijayantī garland,
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with a handsome, gracious face and glittering makara earrings,
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splendid to behold, the lord of the three worlds, his smiling glance filled with affection,
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in the bloom of youth, possessing the noble prowess of an intoxicated lion,
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the highly intelligent king, overpowered by his splendor,
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questioned Kṛṣṇa hesitantly and softly, as if unassailable in his glory.
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The king said to Govinda, "Who are you, and why have you come here? / And what length of time has passed while I was asleep? If you know, tell me.
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Without hesitation, devoid of fear, you have reached this mountain cave in the wilderness;
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on your lotus-petal feet you wander through severe thorn-thickets.
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Are you the splendor of the splendid, the lord Vibhāvasu [Agni],
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the sun, the moon, Mahendra, or another world-guardian?
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I think you are the foremost puruṣa among the three gods of gods,
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since you dispel the darkness of the cave just as a lamp does with its light.
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To us who sincerely desire to listen, O best of men,
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tell of your birth, your deeds, or your lineage, if you please."
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Vāsudeva said:
"There was a king born of the Lunar dynasty named Yayāti, son of Nahuṣa;
his eldest son was Yadu, and there were four younger sons.
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Know me, O ruler, to be born in the Yadu lineage, the son of Vasudeva, / Vāsudeva, who have come here, O mighty one.
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Born in the Tretā Yuga, you are known to me through Nārada.
Know that this is the Kali Yuga. What else may I do for you?
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My enemy has been burnt by you, O king—one granted boons by the gods, / whom I could not have slain in battle even in hundreds of years."
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Mucukunda said:
"I recognize you, the divine, eternal, all-pervading lord born in the Yadu lineage,
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the primordial Puruṣa, the supreme master, Acyuta, slayer of Madhu.
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Formerly it was foretold by Garga that in the twenty-eighth yuga,
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at the dawn of Dvāpara, Hari's birth would take place in the lineage of Yadu.
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Homage to that Blessed One, the supreme self, the Puruṣa,
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the infinite, O mighty-armed one, to Viṣṇu, the almighty."
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Vaiśaṃpāyana said:
Praised thus at that time by wise Mucukunda,
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the Blessed Lord Acyuta then offered him a boon.
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Again Kṛṣṇa spoke to the mighty-armed Mucukunda:
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"I have also come for your sake, O hero, awakened to this by Nārada.
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Arise, arise! May good betide you; wander here as you please."
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Spoken to thus by Kṛṣṇa, he emerged from the mouth of the cave, / followed by wise Kṛṣṇa, who had accomplished his goal.
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Then he saw the earth filled with stunted men, / lacking energy, of little strength, devoid of valor and prowess, / and his own kingdom entirely occupied by others.
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[Saying,] "May that merit which comes from seeing you be mine, O Kṛṣṇa!"
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and taking leave of Govinda, he entered the great forest; / his mind set on ascetic heat, the king went to the Himālaya.
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Then, having engaged in ascetic heat and cast off his bodily frame, / the king ascended to heaven, won by his own auspicious deeds.
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The virtuous, broad-minded Vāsudeva too, / having caused his enemy to be slain through a stratagem, took possession of that army.
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by the great-souled Mucukunda.
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Returning again to Mathurā,
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the wise one went, taking that army whose master was slain, / which had abundant chariots, elephants, horses, armor, weapons, missiles, and banners.
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Then, his heart fully satisfied, Janārdana presented it all to king Ugrasena, / and he adorned that city of Dvāravatī with that vast wealth.
Linked texts (1)
- Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit