Agnipurana 12
English (machine translation) 12
- Language
- English
Contents
12.1
Agni said: / I will proclaim the Harivaṃśa. From the lotus of Viṣṇu's navel the Unborn [Brahmā] arose; / from Brahmā came Atri; from him, Soma; from Soma was born Purūravas.
12.2
From him came Āyus; from him, Nahuṣa; from him, Yayāti. / From him Devayānī bore Yadu and Turvasu,
12.3
and Śarmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vṛṣaparvan, [bore] Druhyu, Anu, and Pūru. / In the lineage of Yadu were the Yādavas, and Vasudeva was the foremost of them.
12.4
To relieve the burden of the earth, from Vasudeva in Devakī / the six embryos, the sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu, were brought by Yoganidrā,
12.5
directed by Viṣṇu, into the womb of Devakī in the past. / And the seventh embryo from the womb of Devakī was Bala;
12.6
he was transferred to Rohiṇī and thus became the son of Rohiṇī. Then Hari / on the eighth lunar day of the dark fortnight of Śrāvaṇa at midnight, four-armed,
12.7
praised by Devakī and Vasudeva, became a two-armed child. / Vasudeva, out of fear of Kaṃsa, carried him to the bed of Yaśodā.
12.8
Taking the baby girl of Yaśodā, he brought her to the bed of Devakī. / Kaṃsa, hearing the cry of the child, dashed her against the surface of a rock.
12.9
Although stopped by Devakī, [saying,] “The eighth pregnancy is my death,” / having heard the bodiless voice, the embryos were indeed killed by him.
12.10
They were surrendered by Devakī, as promised at the time of the wedding. / That girl who was dashed, standing in the sky, said this to Kaṃsa:
12.11
“What is to be gained by having dashed me, O Kaṃsa? He who will slay you has been born!
12.11.p1
[Footnote]
12.11.p2
[Variant reading: 'viṣṇunābhyabjādaja' in manuscript Kha] / [p. 28]
12.11_2
He is the all-in-all of the gods, [born] to remove the burden of the earth.”
12.12
Having spoken thus, she slew Śumbha and the others and was praised by Indra: / Āryā, Durgā, Vedagarbhā, Ambikā, and Bhadrakālī,
12.13
Bhadrā, Kṣemyā, Kṣemakarī, Naikabāhu—I bow to her. / Whoever recites her names at the three junctures of the day shall obtain all desires.
12.14
Kaṃsa also dispatched Pūtanā and others to destroy children. / And [the boys] were entrusted by Vasudeva to Nanda, husband of Yaśodā,
12.15
for protection from Kaṃsa and the rest, out of sheer fear, in Gokula. / Those two, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, roamed about with the cows and cowherd boys.
12.16
The protectors of the entire universe, those two became cowherds. / And Kṛṣṇa was bound to a mortar with a rope by the agitated Yaśodā.
12.17
He went between the twin arjuna trees, and the twin arjunas broke. / And the cart was overturned by a kick of the foot [by the child] seeking breast-milk.
12.18
Pūtanā, who strove to kill him, was slain by the sucking of her breast. / Kṛṣṇa, having gone to Vṛndāvana, subdued Kāliya from the Yamunā pool,
12.19
drove him out, placed him in the ocean, and was praised by Bala. / He made the palm grove safe, having slain the donkey Dhenuka.
12.20
Having slain the bull Ariṣṭa and Keśin who had the form of a horse, / abandoning the festival of Śakra, he caused the sacrifice to the mountain to be performed.
12.21
Having lifted the mountain, the rain from Śakra was warded off. / Bowed to by Mahendra, Govinda was then given to Arjuna [for protection].
12.22
Being pleased, Kṛṣṇa again caused the festival of Indra to be performed. / Standing in a chariot, he went to Mathurā, praised by Akrūra who was commanded by Kaṃsa,
12.23
gazed upon by the cowherd women, who were attached to him and had sporting amours with him.
12.23.p1
[p. 29]
12.23_2
And having slain the washerman who refused [garments], he seized the clothes.
12.24
Along with Rāma, wearing garlands, he granted a boon to the garland-maker. / He straightened the hunchbacked woman who offered ointment, and he slew the elephant
12.25
Kuvalayāpīḍa who was in rut at the gate. Entering the arena / while Kaṃsa and others seated upon the platform were watching, he engaged in close combat
12.26
with the wrestler Cāṇūra, while Bala fought with Muṣṭika. / The two wrestlers Cāṇūra and Muṣṭika were slain by them, and likewise others.
12.27
Having slain Kaṃsa, the lord of Mathurā, Hari made / his father king of the Yādavas. Asti and Prāpti, wives of Kaṃsa,
12.28
were the two daughters of Jarāsandha. Urged by them, Jarāsandha / laid siege to Mathurā and fought the Yādavas with arrows.
12.29
Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, having left Mathurā, came to Mount Gomanta. / Having conquered Jarāsandha in battle, and Pauṇḍraka Vāsudeva,
12.30
and having built the city of Dvārakā, he dwelt there surrounded by the Yādavas. / Having slain the earth-born Naraka, [he took] the maidens brought by him
12.31
from gods, gandharvas, and yakṣas; Janārdana addressed them. / There were sixteen thousand women, and eight [principal queens] headed by Rukmiṇī.
12.32
Mounted on Garuḍa together with Satyabhāmā, the destroyer of Naraka, / Hari, having conquered Indra in heaven, along with the jeweled mountain and gems,
12.33
brought the Pārijāta tree and planted it in Satyabhāmā's house. / Having learned weapons and missiles from Sāndīpani, he returned his child [to him],
12.34
having conquered the Daitya Pañcajana, and was greatly honored by Yama.
12.34.p1
[Footnote]
12.34.p2
[Variant reading: 'rajakañca prajalpantam' in manuscript Kha] / [p. 30]
12.34_2
He had Kālayavana killed, and was honored by Mucukunda.
12.35
He honored Vasudeva, Devakī, and the devoted brāhmaṇas. / From Balabhadra through Revatī were born Niśaṭha and Ulmuka.
12.36
From Kṛṣṇa, Sāmba was born to Jāmbavatī, and other sons were born to other [wives].
12.37
[The fisherman] gave that fish to Śambara, and Śambara gave it to Māyāvatī.
12.38
Māyāvatī, seeing her own husband within the fish, eagerly / nurtured him and said to him: “I am Rati, and you are my husband.
12.39
You are Kāma, made bodiless by Śambhu; and I was abducted / by Śambara, but I am not his wife. You who know illusions, slay Śambara!”
12.40
Having heard that, and having slain Śambara, Pradyumna went to Kṛṣṇa / along with his wife Māyāvatī; Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī were delighted.
12.41
From Pradyumna was born the noble-minded Aniruddha, husband of Uṣā. / Bāṇa was the son of Bali, his daughter was Uṣā, and his city was Śoṇitapura.
12.42
Through ascetic austerity, he became a son of Śiva, having his banner fallen from the peacock. / Śiva, being pleased, said to Bāṇa: “You shall obtain battle, O Bāṇa.”
12.43
Uṣā, having seen Gaurī sporting with Śiva, felt longing for a husband. / Gaurī said to her: “Your husband, seen while sleeping at night,
12.44
shall become your husband among men on the twelfth lunar day of the month of Vaiśākha.” / Addressed by Gaurī, Uṣā was overjoyed and saw him while sleeping in her chamber.
12.45
Knowing him to have united with her, through her friend Citralekhā / who drew pictures on a canvas, she brought Aniruddha
12.45.p1
[Footnote]
12.45.p2
[Variant reading: 'tac chrutvā' in manuscript Ga] / [p. 31]
12.46
from Dvārakā, the grandson of Kṛṣṇa, through the daughter of Bāṇa's minister, / Kumbhāṇḍa. Aniruddha arrived and sported indeed with Uṣā.
12.47
He was reported by the guards due to the falling of Bāṇa's banner. / A fierce battle ensued between Aniruddha and Bāṇa.
12.48
Having heard this from Nārada, Kṛṣṇa, accompanied by Pradyumna and Balabhadra, / mounted on Garuḍa, then conquered the fires and likewise the fever of Maheśvara.
12.49
Then there was a battle with showers of arrows between Hari and Śaṅkara. / Nandin, Vināyaka, Skanda, and the other chiefs were defeated by Garuḍa and the rest.
12.50
When Śaṅkara was yawning and subdued by Viṣṇu using the yawning weapon, / a thousand arms [of Bāṇa] were severed; Rudra pleaded for safety [for him].
12.51
Kept alive by Viṣṇu, two-armed Bāṇa addressed Śiva: / “The safety granted by you to this Bāṇa is also granted by me.
12.52
There is truly no difference between the two of us; whoever sees difference goes to hell.” / Viṣṇu, honored by Śiva and others, along with Aniruddha, Uṣā, and the rest,
12.53
went to Dvārakā and rejoiced with Ugrasena and the other Yādavas. / The son of Aniruddha was Vajra, who learned all from Mārkaṇḍeya.
12.54
Balabhadra became the slayer of Pralamba, the dragger of the Yamunā, / the killer of the monkey Dvivida, and the destroyer of the arrogance of the Kauravas.
12.55
Thus in the venerable and primordial Mahāpurāṇa composed by Agni, the twelfth chapter, entitled 'The Description of the Harivaṃśa'.
12.55.p1
Thus ends the twelfth chapter, named The Description of the Harivaṃśa, in the glorious and ancient Mahāpurāṇa composed by Agni.
12.55.p2
[Variant note on verse 12.54:] 'karṣakaḥ' is the reading in the manuscript marked kha. / [Page 32]
12.55.p3
% Chapter 13
12.55.p5
The narration of the origin of the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas and other matters
12.55.p6
Agni said: / I will fully declare the Bhārata, characterised by the majesty of Kṛṣṇa, / [wherein] Viṣṇu relieved the burden of the earth using the Pāṇḍavas as his instrument.
Other recensions (1)
- Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit