Harivamsha 86

English (machine translation) 86

Language: English

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"Homage to you, Kṛṣṇa! Homage to you, delight of Rāma!

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Homage to you, Vāmana! Homage be to you, Kapila!

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Homage to you of manifold forms! Homage to you, witness of deeds!

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Homage to you whose form is the universe! Homage to you, Hṛṣīkeśa!"

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And while being thus praised by the wise Mucukunda, [Kṛṣṇa said:]

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"Relying upon the northern quarter, practice pure ascetic heat."

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Vaiśaṃpāyana said:
Then, at clear dawn when the sun had risen, / having performed his murmured prayers, Hṛṣīkeśa sat at the edge of the forest.

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He walked around that region, wishing to view the site for a fortress;
the Yādavas, the foremost of their family, approached the delight of the Yadus.

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On the excellent day under the constellation Rohiṇī, having had the best of the twice-born recite blessings, / he began the construction of the fortress amid loud proclamations of auspicious days.

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Then the lotus-petal-eyed slayer of Keśin, best among speakers, / spoke to the Yādavas, just as Vṛtra's foe [Indra] spoke to the gods:

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"This ground has been designed by me; behold it, resembling an abode of the gods! / And a name has been given to this city, which will attain renown.

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This charming city built by me on earth, named Dvāravatī, / will be like Śakra's Amarāvatī.

I shall have its emblems and sanctuaries made in that very manner;
and let them establish places here for Brahmā and the other [gods] in due order, / as well as level courtyards, royal highways, and inner apartments.

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Rejoice here like gods, free from feverish anxiety, / repelling hosts of enemies, with Ugrasena at your head!"

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"Let house sites be taken; let three-way junctions and squares be laid out; / let the royal highways be measured, and the course of the surrounding wall."

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"Let the chief artisans appointed to house construction be dispatched, / and let servant laborers be assigned to their places."

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Addressed thus by Kṛṣṇa, intent on securing homes, / they took possession of the house plots with delight according to instructions.

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Then, measuring-cords in hand, the best of the Yādavas took measurements / on an auspicious day, O great king, having worshipped the twice-born,

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and performed the rites to the site-deity according to the rules. / Then the wise Govinda spoke to the master builders there:

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"Let a well-appointed residence be constructed here for our sake, / with distinct intersections and roads, and our chosen deities properly installed."

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Saying, "So be it!" to the mighty-armed one, those master builders then / obtained the materials for the fortress work according to the rules,

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and properly constructed the gateways and temples, / and set down in this place the stations of Brahmā and the others in due order.

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They constructed four gates dedicated to four deities, / of water, fire, the lord of gods, and the grinding stone and mortar, / as well as [the stations of] Gṛhakṣata, Indra, Bhallāṭa, and Puṣpadanta.

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While those high-souled Yādavas were engaged in [building] those houses, / Mādhava thought about quickly laying out the city.

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His divine mind was swift and quick to act: / "That city will indeed bring joy to the Yadus and make them prosper.

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There is the chief craftsman of the gods, the son of Prajāpati, the lord / Viśvakarmā; by his own intellect he shall establish the city."

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Contemplating him in his mind and the cause of his coming, / Kṛṣṇa turned toward the gods and sat in solitude.

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Right at that time, the master architect, of great intellect, / Viśvakarmā, the best of the gods, stood before Kṛṣṇa.

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Viśvakarmā said: / "Summoned swiftly by your divine mind, O Viṣṇu, faithful to your vows, / your servant has arrived. Command me: what shall I do for you?

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Just as the lord of the god of gods, the imperishable Tryambaka, should be honored, / so are you to be honored by me, O god; there is no difference for me, O lord.

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Utter the word that instructs the three worlds, O mighty-armed one! / Here I am, my purpose revealed; command me: what shall I do?"

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Hearing Viśvakarmā's humble words, / Keśava, the best of Yadus, the foe of Kaṃsa, replied with peerless words:

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"The secret of the gods has been heard by you; you know the purpose for which we are here. / A dwelling for me must indeed be made here, O best of gods.

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Therefore, this land must be laid out around me for public splendor, O you of noble vows, / with houses suited to my majesty on all sides,

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and the finest upon earth, just like Amarāvatī in heaven. / Thus indeed must it be made by you, for you are capable, O wise one.

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This place of mine should be made just as it is in heaven, / so that mortals may see my splendor and that of the city of the Yadu lineage."

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Thus addressed, Viśvakarmā, master of intellect, spoke then / to Kṛṣṇa, of unwearied deeds, the destroyer of the enemies of the gods:

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"I will do all this that has been stated by you, O lord; / but this city will not be sufficient for these people.

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Its beautiful growth will become vast, / and the four oceans will wander within it in embodied form.

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If the ocean, the king of waters, should wish to yield some [land] here, / then the city would have an ample extent, O Supreme Puruṣa."

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Thus addressed, Kṛṣṇa, who had already resolved his mind, / the best of speakers, spoke to the ocean, the lord of rivers:

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"O ocean, withdraw yourself by twelve yojanas / into your reservoir of water, if there is respect for me.

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When space has been granted by you, this city, with its vast territory, / will be fully able to accommodate my army."

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Then, hearing Kṛṣṇa's words, the lord of rivers and streams, / the great ocean, retreated by means of the wind.

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Viśvakarmā was delighted upon seeing the site of the city, / and the ocean then rendered honor to Govinda.

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Viśvakarmā then spoke to Kṛṣṇa, the delight of the Yadus: / "From this day forth, O Govinda, let everyone settle [here].

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And this foremost of cities has been fashioned by me in thought, O lord; / in no long time it will be crowned with a density of houses.

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The lovely city will have fine gates and excellent archways, / equipped with ramparts and watchtowers, like the hump of the earth."

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And he made the great inner quarters of Kṛṣṇa, capable of receiving attendance, / in that city, in a region worshipped by the gods.

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Then that lovely city of Dvāravatī was fashioned by Viśvakarmā / through mental effort as sacred to Viṣṇu,

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with gates arranged according to the rules, adorned with excellent walls,

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protected by a moat and rampart, with battlements, walls, and archways,

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possessing lovely throngs of women and men, adorned with merchants, / crowded with various commodities, like a sky-dweller descended to the earth,

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adorned with cisterns, wells of clear water, and gardens, / enclosed on all sides like a long-eyed woman,

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having prosperous intersections, packed thick with the best of mansions, / rich with thousands of crores of streets, and a white, splendid royal highway, / adorning the ocean like the city of Indra adorns heaven, / the sole storehouse of all jewels upon the earth, / an auspicious field even for the gods, agitating the vassal kings, / with the sky rendered hidden, adorned by palaces,

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having broad territories on earth, resounding with crowds of people, / with its breezes cooled by the surges of the king of waters,

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lovely with charming marshy gardens, captivating the minds of people; / like the sky filled with stars, Dvārakā shone forth,

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enclosed by a wall of golden luster, the color of the sun, / and by houses filled with gold, echoing with deep sounds,

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adorned with gates and palaces resembling white clouds, / with broad highways turning here and there with towering crests.

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Kṛṣṇa, the joy of all the Yādavas, dwelt in that city / crowded with beloved people, illuminating it as the moon does the sky.

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It was made by Viśvakarmā, divine and filled with clusters of gems.

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And having made that city like the city of Śakra, Viśvakarmā, / worshipped by Govinda, departed for heaven as a god.

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Then the thought arose further in Kṛṣṇa, who knows the self: / "What if I were to satisfy these people with floods of wealth?"

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The powerful Upendra, in his own palace at night, / summoned Śaṅkha, the best treasure of the treasures belonging to Vaiśravaṇa.

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That Śaṅkha, the king of the Guhyakas, knowing Keśava's summons, / came in person into the presence of that lord of Dvāravatī.

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Joining his palms, Śaṅkha prostrated himself on the earth out of humility / and made his submission to Kṛṣṇa, as he would to Vaiśravaṇa:

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"Lord, what is to be done by me, the keeper of the gods' wealth? / Command me, O mighty-armed delight of the Yadus, in whatever must be done."

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Hṛṣīkeśa said to Śaṅkha, that foremost Guhyaka: / "Whoever are of meager wealth in this place, fill them with riches.

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I do not wish to see a hungry man, or one emaciated or dirty, / or an impoverished man begging, 'Give!' in this city."

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Receiving Keśava's command upon his head, that lord of treasures / ordered the treasures in Dvāravatī, from house to house: / 'Rain down in torrential downpours!' And they all did so.

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There was no poor or unlucky man there, / in Dvāravatī, the city of great-souled Keśava, / nor anyone emaciated or dirty, house to house in Dvāravatī.

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Then the Supreme Puruṣa summoned the wind god; / remaining right there, the blessed one, benefactor of the Yādavas,

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the source of life for living beings approached the elder brother of Gada, / the sovereign who kept secret counsel with the gods, sitting alone in solitude.

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"What should be done by me, O god, who travel everywhere swiftly? / […] Command me, O Supreme Puruṣa! / What you say, O mighty-armed one, […] / Just as I am a messenger to the gods, so am I yours, O sinless one."

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Then Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Puruṣa, spoke in secret / to the Wind, the breath of the world, who had approached in person:

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"Go, Wind, obtain the consent of the lord of gods along with the immortals, / take the assembly hall Sudharmā from the gods, and bring it here.

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For these Yādavas are righteous and valiant by the thousands; / indeed, they should enter into that hall, not one that is man-made.

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For that imperishable assembly hall, O Wind, moves at will and takes shapes at will; / it should support all the Yadus just as it does the gods."

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Receiving the command of that Kṛṣṇa of effortless deeds, / the Wind, with a speed matched only by himself, went to heaven, abode of the gods.

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Having obtained the consent of all the gods and conveyed Kṛṣṇa's words, / he took the assembly hall Sudharmā and returned to the earth's surface.

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Bestowing that Sudharmā, the assembly hall of the gods, on Kṛṣṇa of tireless deeds, who possessed true dharma, / the divine Wind vanished.

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In it there was no fear—that assembly hall loved righteousness.

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It was established in the middle of Dvāravatī by Keśava, / Sudharmā, for the Yadu chiefs, just as it was for the gods in heaven.

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Thus with celestial, terrestrial, and water-born / materials did the imperishable Hari adorn his city, as if adorning a woman.

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That charming city shone, filled with arrays of jewels,

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thronged with various birds and adorned with mansions.

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He instituted social boundaries, guilds, and civil subjects, / as well as military commanders, administrators, and rulers of realms.

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Ugrasena was king, Kāśya was royal priest, / Anādhṛṣṭi was commander-in-chief, and Vikadru was foremost minister.

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Ten elders, founders of the Yādava lineages, were appointed there: / Uddhava, Vasudeva, Kaṅka, Vipṛthu, / Śvaphalka, Citraka, Gada, Satyaka, / Baladeva, and Pṛthu—these ten, innermost in deliberations, / did the wise one appoint as closest in all matters.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit