Bhagavatapurana 8.9: atha navamo'dhyāyaḥ

8.9.1

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
te 'nyonyato 'surāḥ pātraṃ harantastyaktasauhṛdāḥ /
kṣipanto dasyudharmāṇa āyāntīṃ dadṛśuḥ striyam //

Śrī Śuka said: / Those asuras, snatching the vessel from one another, casting aside friendship, / acting like robbers and scolding [one another], saw a woman approaching.

1. Sri Suka said:-- The Asuras snatched the jar from one another among themselves and threw it; lost mutual affection and reproached one another, -- all acting the thief; --at that time they caught sight of the damsel coming up.

8.9.2

aho rūpamaho dhāma aho asyā navaṃ vayaḥ /
iti te tāmabhidrutya papracchurjātahṛcchayāḥ //

'Ah, what beauty! Ah, what splendor! Ah, what blooming youth is hers!' / Thus crying out, inflamed with desire, they rushed toward her and asked:

2. What beauty this! what splendour! what youthfulness of her! So wondering and with hearts full of anguish (of love) they ran towards her and enquired of her.

8.9.3

kā tvaṃ kañjapalāśākṣi kuto vā kiṃ cikīrṣasi /
kasyāsi vada vāmoru mathnatīva manāṃsi naḥ //

Who are you, lotus-petal-eyed lady? Where have you come from, and what do you wish to do? / Whose wife or daughter are you, fair-thighed one? Speak! You seem to churn our minds.

3. Who art Thou having eyes beautiful like the petals of the lotus? Whence art thou? What wouldst thou do? To whom dost thou belong? (Be) pleased to tell us all, O beauty; (lit. of handsome thighs) thou churnest as it were our hearts.

8.9.4

na vayaṃ tvāmarairdaityaiḥ siddhagandharvacāraṇaiḥ /
nāspṛṣṭapūrvāṃ jānīmo lokeśaiśca kuto nṛbhiḥ //

We know you could never have been touched by gods, Daityas, / Siddhas, Gandharvas, or Cāraṇas before, much less by kings of the worlds, so how by mortal men?

4. Beyond doubt we know that thou wast not touched by the gods, Daityas, Sidhas, Gandharvas and Charanas, and Rulers of the world. How (then) by human beings?

8.9.5

nūnaṃ tvaṃ vidhinā subhrūḥ preṣitāsi śarīriṇām /
sarvendriyamanaḥprītiṃ vidhātuṃ saghṛṇena kim //

Surely you, beautiful-browed one, have been sent by Providence, / moved by compassion to bring delight to the minds and all the senses of embodied beings.

5. O beauty, (Lit. one of beautiful brows) art thou not certainly sent by the merciful Maker (Virincha) to delight all the senses and the heart of the embodied beings?

8.9.6

sā tvaṃ naḥ spardhamānānāmekavastuni mānini /
jñātīnāṃ baddhavairāṇāṃ śaṃ vidhatsva sumadhyame //

Therefore, proud lady, between us who contend over a single object, / kinsmen bound in enmity, bring peace, slender-waisted one!

6. O Lady of beautiful waist, thou being so pre-eminent, mayest thou be pleased to do good to us, who, kindred as we are, are yet jealously struggling for a common object and have therefore created enmity amongst ourselves!

8.9.7

vayaṃ kaśyapadāyādā bhrātaraḥ kṛtapauruṣāḥ /
vibhajasva yathānyāyaṃ naiva bhedo yathā bhavet //

We are sons and heirs of Kaśyapa, brothers who have proved our valor. / Divide it among us according to justice, so that no division arises between us.

7. We are the progeny of Kasyapa, and brothers all. Displayed have we our respective powers; divide (the nectar) justly among us, so that there may arise no quarrel.

8.9.8

ity upāmantrito daityairmāyāyoṣidvapurhariḥ /
prahasya rucirāpāṅgairnirīkṣannidamabravīt //

Thus addressed by the Daityas, Hari, who had assumed the form of a woman through his creative power, / smiled, and gazing at them with charming sidelong glances, spoke these words:

8. Thus accosted by the Daityas, Sri Hari, in the guise of a damsel by virtue of His Maya, laughed and looking at them with her sweet side-long glances, said as follows.

8.9.9

/0 śrībhagavān uvāca
kathaṃ kaśyapadāyādāḥ puṃścalyāṃ mayi saṅgatāḥ /
viśvāsaṃ paṇḍito jātu kāminīṣu na yāti hi //

The Lord said: / How is it that you, heirs of Kaśyapa, place trust in me, an unchaste woman? / A wise man never places faith in wanton women.

9. The Lord said:—How is it, O sons of Kasyapa, that you have set your heart on me who have no constancy? For a wise man never indeed puts faith in women.

8.9.10

sālāvṛkāṇāṃ strīṇāṃ ca svairiṇīnāṃ suradviṣaḥ /
sakhyāny āhuranityāni nūtnaṃ nūtnaṃ vicinvatām //

O enemies of the gods, sages say that friendships with wolves and with / wanton women are transient, for they are ever seeking new and newer partners.

10. O enemies of the gods, friendly relations with wolves and women, especially wayward women, are, the wise say, momentary, since they look for newer and newer things (at every moment).

8.9.11

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
iti te kṣvelitaistasyā āśvastamanaso 'surāḥ /
jahasurbhāvagambhīraṃ daduścāmṛtabhājanam //

Śuka said: / Reassured in their minds by her banter, the Asuras / laughed with deep delight and handed over the vessel of nectar.

11. Sri Suka said:— Thus by her jesting (D. tempting) replies the Asuras (were induced to) surrender their mind to her, (entirely confide in her). They laughed in an expressively solemn way and delivered the jar of nectar (into her hands).

8.9.12

tato gṛhītvāmṛtabhājanaṃ harir babhāṣa īṣatsmitaśobhayā girā /
yady abhyupetaṃ kva ca sādhvasādhu vā kṛtaṃ mayā vo vibhaje sudhāmimām //

Then, taking the vessel of nectar, Hari spoke in a voice adorned with a gentle smile: / 'Whether what I do be good or bad, if you accept it, I shall divide this nectar among you.'

12. Thereupon, Hari received the jar of nectar and said in accents brightened with His gentle smiles, “If you agree to whatever I do, whether right or wrong, in any manner or direction, I would divide (distribute) this nectar amongst you.”

8.9.13

ity abhivyāhṛtaṃ tasyā ākarṇyāsurapuṅgavāḥ /
apramāṇavidastasyāstat tathety anvamaṃsata //

Hearing these words of hers, the leaders of the Asuras, / having no knowledge of true discernment, agreed: 'So be it!'

13. Hearing the words that thus fell from her lips, the great Asuras, not knowing the limit and depth of her words, agreed to her (condition) saying “Be it so.”

8.9.14

athopoṣya kṛtasnānā hutvā ca haviṣānalam /
dattvā goviprabhūtebhyaḥ kṛtasvastyayanā dvijaiḥ //

Then, having fasted, bathed, offered oblations of clarified butter into the sacred fire, / given gifts to cows, brāhmaṇas, and living beings, and had the brāhmaṇas perform benedictory rites,

14. Thereupon they bathed, kept fast, poured offerings into the fire, bestowed gifts on cows, Brahmins and other beings, and had auspicious rites performed (for them) by the Brahmins.

8.9.15

yathopajoṣaṃ vāsāṃsi paridhāyāhatāni te /
kuśeṣu prāviśan sarve prāgagreṣvabhibhūṣitāḥ //

they put on unwashed, brand-new garments according to their liking; / and all of them, well adorned, sat down on kuśa grass whose tips pointed eastward.

15. As it pleased them they wore brand new clothes and having well adorned their persons they all sat down on Kusa grass, whose ends were placed pointing to the east.

8.9.16

prāṅmukheṣūpaviṣṭeṣu sureṣu ditijeṣu ca /
dhūpāmoditaśālāyāṃjuṣṭāyāṃ mālyadīpakaiḥ //

When the gods and the sons of Diti had seated themselves facing east / in a hall scented with incense and graced with garlands and lamps,

16. When, in a hall perfumed with scented fumes and flowers and illumined by lights, they, all the gods and asuras, sat facing to the east,

8.9.17

tasyāṃ narendra karabhoruruśaddukūla śroṇītaṭālasagatirmadavihvalākṣī /
sā kūjatī kanakanūpuraśiñjitena kumbhastanī kalasapāṇirathāviveśa //

then, O king, she entered that hall, thighs like the trunks of elephants, her languid gait weighed down by hips clad in shining silk, eyes languid with passion, / jingling with the ringing of her golden anklets, her breasts like water jars, and holding the nectar flagon in her hand.

17. O king, there entered into that hall with the jar in her hands the divine damsel, of most beautiful and symmetrical limbs, slow in gait on account of the weight of her hips covered over with a brilliant silk garment, with swimming eyes as if under intoxication, seeming to warble by her sonant nupuras of gold and impressive with prominent and full breasts.

8.9.18

tāṃ śrīsakhīṃ kanakakuṇḍalacārukarṇa nāsākapolavadanāṃ paradevatākhyām /
saṃvīkṣya sammumuhurutsmitavīkṣaṇena devāsurā vigalitastanapaṭṭikāntām //

Seeing her—a companion to the goddess Śrī, with beautiful ears, nose, cheeks, and face adorned with golden earrings, known as the supreme goddess, / her breast-band slipping slightly at the edge—the gods and Asuras were completely captivated by her smiling glances.

18. As they saw her, the companion of Sri, with charming ears adorned with gold rings, winning nose, cheeks and face, no other than the supreme deity, over whose breast the hem of the garment had been blown away by the wind, — the gods and the asuras

were completely deluded (captivated) by her brimming smiles and looks.

8.9.19

asurāṇāṃ sudhādānaṃ sarpāṇāmiva durnayam /
matvā jātinṛśaṃsānāṃ na tāṃ vyabhajadacyutaḥ //

Considering that giving nectar to the Asuras, who were cruel by nature, / would be as disastrous as giving milk to serpents, Acyuta did not distribute it to them.

19. Seeing that it was unrighteous to give nectar to Asuras who are like serpents, wicked and cruel by nature, Achyuta did not distribute it among them.

8.9.20

kalpayitvā pṛthak paṅktīrubhayeṣāṃ jagatpatiḥ /
tāṃścopaveśayāmāsa sveṣu sveṣu ca paṅktiṣu //

Arranging separate rows for both groups, the Lord of the universe / seated them in their respective lines.

20. The father of the Universe arranged them both in separate rows and made them sit in their respective rows

8.9.21

daityān gṛhītakalaso vañcayannupasañcaraiḥ /
dūrasthān pāyayāmāsajarāmṛtyuharāṃ sudhām //

Holding the flagon and deceiving the Daityas by pacing about them, / he made the gods, who were seated at a distance, drink the nectar that wards off old age and death.

21. The Lord held the jar of nectar in His hand and while He beguiled the Daityas by His winning attentions, words and promises and movements near them gave the gods seated at a distance to drink the nectar that prevents old age and death.

8.9.22

te pālayantaḥ samayamasurāḥ svakṛtaṃ nṛpa /
tūṣṇīmāsan kṛtasnehāḥ strīvivādajugupsayā //

Keeping their own agreement, O king, the Asuras / remained silent, out of affection for her and loath to quarrel with a woman.

22. O king, those Asuras kept their promise; and remained quiet out of love for her, hesitating (ashamed) to dispute with a lady.

8.9.23

tasyāṃ kṛtātipraṇayāḥ praṇayāpāyakātarāḥ /
bahumānena cābaddhā nocuḥ kiñcana vipriyam //

Having formed an intense affection for her and fearful of breaking that bond, / restrained by great regard for her, they said nothing disagreeable.

23. Cherishing unlimited love for her, and afraid of losing it and restrained by deference to her, they uttered nothing unpalatable (or offensive).

8.9.24

devaliṅgapraticchannaḥ svarbhānurdevasaṃsadi /
praviṣṭaḥ somamapibac candrārkābhyāṃ ca sūcitaḥ //

Disguised in the appearance of a god, Svarbhānu / entered the assembly of the gods and began to drink the soma, but was pointed out by the moon and sun.

24. Disguised in marks and dress like the gods, Rahu entered their row and drank of the nectar; but he was pointed out to, (exposed) by the Sun and the Moon.

8.9.25

cakreṇa kṣuradhāreṇa jahāra pibataḥ śiraḥ /
haristasya kabandhastu sudhayāplāvito 'patat //

With his razor-sharp disc, Hari cut off his head / while he was still drinking; his headless trunk, however, bathed in nectar, fell to the ground.

25. With His sharp-edged Chakra Hari cut off the head of Rahu in the act of drinking; his trunk fell down, because it was not bathed in nectar.

8.9.26

śirastvamaratāṃ nītamajo grahamacīkḷpat /
yastu parvaṇi candrārkāvabhidhāvati vairadhīḥ //

The head, having attained immortality, was made a planet by the Unborn Lord; / and it is he who, bearing an inimical mind, rushes after the sun and moon on the eclipse days.

26. The head became immortal and the Unborn Lord made him a planet; but cherishing enmity at heart he proceeds to chase the Sun and the Moon on the New Moon and Full Moon days.

8.9.27

pītaprāye 'mṛte devairbhagavān lokabhāvanaḥ /
paśyatāmasurendrāṇāṃ svaṃ rūpaṃ jagṛhe hariḥ //

When the nectar was nearly all drunk by the gods, the Lord, the benefactor of the worlds, / Hari, assumed his own form before the very eyes of the Asura chiefs.

27. When the gods had mostly imbibed Amrita, the glorious Lord, father of the worlds, Sri Hari resumed His true form in the very presence of the great Asuras as they were looking on.

8.9.27.p1

evaṃ surāsuragaṇāḥ samadeśakāla $ hetvarthakarmamatayo 'pi phale vikalpāḥ &

Thus, though the hosts of gods and Asuras had the same place, time, / cause, purpose, endeavor, and intention, they differed in their fruit.

28. Thus, though equally circumstanced in respect of place, time, the means and the object, the hosts of Suras and Asuras still differed in the attainment of the fruit; thus the celestial hosts surely obtained Amrita as the fruit of their depending upon the dust on His lotus-like feet; whereas the Daityas did not.

8.9.28

tatrāmṛtaṃ suragaṇāḥ phalamañjasāpur % yatpādapaṅkajarajaḥśrayaṇān na daityāḥ //

Among them, the hosts of gods easily attained the fruit, the nectar, / because they took refuge in the dust of his lotus feet; not so the Daityas.

8.9.28.p2

yadyujyate 'suvasukarmamanovacobhir $ dehātmajādiṣu nṛbhistadasat pṛthaktvāt &

Whatever human beings undertake with life-breath, wealth, deeds, mind, and speech / for the sake of the body, children, and so on, is unreal, because of separateness;

29. Whatever is done by men for the sake of their body, children and the like at the cost of their life, wealth, energy, mind

8.9.28.p3

yadyujyate 'suvasukarmamanovacobhir $ dehātmajādiṣu nṛbhistadasat pṛthaktvāt &

whatever human beings undertake with life-breath, wealth, deeds, mind, and speech / for the sake of the body, children, and so on, is unreal, because of separateness;

(thought) and words, (—all that) is futile, because it involves the idea of difference; but whatever is done employing the same means with resignation to the Lord becomes good and fruitful; since their is no separation of the Lord from anything. And this course is like unto watering the tree at the root.

8.9.29

taireva sadbhavati yat kriyate 'pṛthaktvāt % sarvasya tadbhavati mūlaniṣecanaṃ yat //

whereas whatever is done by those very means [for the Lord] becomes real through non-separateness, / for it is the watering of the root of everything.