[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [The Mahābhārata and its versions](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata) › [The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa) › 3.260 # The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 3.260: ṣaṣṭhyadhika dviśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ Mahābhārata 3.260 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### ṣaṣṭhyadhika dviśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ### [3.260.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.1) mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato brahmarṣayaḥ siddhā devarājarṣayastathā | havyavāhaṃ puraskṛtya brahmāṇaṃ śaraṇaṃ gatāḥ || 1 || > "Markandeya said, 'Then the Brahmarshis, the Siddhas and the Devarshis, with Havyavaha as their spokesman, sought the protection of Brahma. And Agni said, 'That powerful son of Visrava, the Ten-headed cannot be slain on account of thy boon! Endued with great might he oppresseth in every possible way the creatures of the earth. Protect us, therefore, O adorable one! There is none else save thee to protect us!' > — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa ### [3.260.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.2) agniruvāca | yaḥ sa viśravasaḥ putro daśagrīvo mahābalaḥ | avadhyo varadānena kṛto bhagavatā purā || 2 || ### [3.260.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.3) sa bādhate prajāḥ sarvā viprakārairmahābalaḥ | tato nastrātu bhagavannānyastrātā hi vidyate || 3 || ### [3.260.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.4) brahmovāca | na sa devāsuraiḥ śakyo yuddhe jetuṃ vibhāvaso | vihitaṃ tatra yatkāryamabhitastasya nigrahe || 4 || > "Brahma said, 'O Agni, he cannot be conquered in battle by either the gods or the Asuras! I have already ordained that which is needful for that purpose. Indeed his death is near! Urged by me, the four-headed God hath already been incarnate for that object. Even Vishnu, that foremost of smiters will achieve that object!' > — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa ### [3.260.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.5) tadarthamavatīrṇo'sau manniyogāccaturbhujaḥ | viṣṇuḥ praharatāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ sa karmaitatkariṣyati || 5 || ### [3.260.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.6) mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | pitāmahastatasteṣāṃ saṃnidhau vākyamabravīt | sarvairdevagaṇaiḥ sārdhaṃ saṃbhavadhvaṃ mahītale || 6 || > "Markandeya continued, 'Then the Grandsire also asked Sakra, in their presence, 'Be thou, with all the celestials, born on earth! And beget ye on monkeys and bears, heroic sons possessed of great strength and capable of assuming any form at will as allies of Vishnu!' And at this, the gods, the Gandharvas and the Danavas quickly assembled to take counsel as to how they should be born on earth according to their respective parts. And in their presence the boon-giving god commanded a Gandharvi, by name Dundubhi saying, 'Go there for accomplishing this object!' And Dundubhi hearing these words of the Grandsire was born in the world of men as the hunchbacked Manthara. And all the principal celestials, with Sakra and others begot offspring upon the wives of the foremost of monkeys and bears. And those sons equalled their sires in strength and fame. And they were capable of splitting mountain peaks and their weapons were stones and trees of the Sala and the Tala species. And their bodies were hard as adamant, and they were possessed of very great strength. And they were all skilled in war and capable of mustering any measure of energy at will. And they were equal to a thousand elephants in might, and they resembled the wind in speed. And some of them lived wherever they liked, while others lived in forests. And the adorable Creator of the Universe, having ordained all this, instructed Manthara as to what she would have to do. And Manthara quick as thought, understood all his words, and went hither and thither ever engaged in fomenting quarrels." > — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa ### [3.260.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.7) viṣṇoḥ sahāyānṛkṣīṣu vānarīṣu ca sarvaśaḥ | janayadhvaṃ sutānvīrānkāmarūpabalānvitān || 7 || ### [3.260.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.8) tato bhāgānubhāgena devagandharvadānavāḥ | avatartuṃ mahīṃ sarve rañjayāmāsurañjasā || 8 || ### [3.260.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.9) teṣāṃ samakṣaṃ gandharvīṃ dundubhīṃ nāma nāmataḥ | śaśāsa varado devo devakāryārthasiddhaye || 9 || ### [3.260.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.10) pitāmahavacaḥ śrutvā gandharvī dundubhī tataḥ | mantharā mānuṣe loke kubjā samabhavattadā || 10 || ### [3.260.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.11) śakraprabhṛtayaścaiva sarve te surasattamāḥ | vānararkṣavarastrīṣu janayāmāsurātmajān | te'nvavartanpitṝnsarve yaśasā ca balena ca || 11 || ### [3.260.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.12) bhettāro giriśṛṅgāṇāṃ śālatālaśilāyudhāḥ | vajrasaṃhananāḥ sarve sarve caughabalāstathā || 12 || ### [3.260.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.13) kāmavīryadharāścaiva sarve yuddhaviśāradāḥ | nāgāyutasamaprāṇā vāyuvegasamā jave | yatrecchakanivāsāśca kecidatra vanaukasaḥ || 13 || ### [3.260.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.14) evaṃ vidhāya tatsarvaṃ bhagavām̐llokabhāvanaḥ | mantharāṃ bodhayāmāsa yadyatkāryaṃ yathā yathā || 14 || ### [3.260.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260.15) sā tadvacanamājñāya tathā cakre manojavā | itaścetaśca gacchantī vairasaṃdhukṣaṇe ratā || 15 || ## Translations (1) - [The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa~en-ganguli.3.274.1) — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, English ## Commentaries (5) - [Bhāratabhāvadīpa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!nilakantha.3.276.1) — Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara 1650, Sanskrit - [Lakṣābharaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!vadiraja-laksabharana.376.29) — Vādirāja Sūri, Sanskrit - [Lakṣaślokālaṅkāra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!vadiraja.402.29) — Vādirāja, Sanskrit - [Jñānadīpikā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!devabodha) — Devabodha, Sanskrit - [Mahābhārataṭīkā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!nilakantha-mahabharatatika) — Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita, Sanskrit ## Other recensions (2) - [Southern recension](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*southern.3.277.1) — Sanskrit - [Vulgate (Nīlakaṇṭha's text)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*vulgate.3.276.1) — Sanskrit ## Linked texts (3) - [Rāmopākhyāna](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.ramopakhyana) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [The Great Epic of India: Its Character and Origin](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.hopkins-1901.c7.s2.t4.11) — E. W. Hopkins, English - [Epic Mythology](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.religion.hopkins-1915.c9.5) — Edward Washburn Hopkins, English --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.260) · Pramāṇa