Bhagavatapurana 10.42
English (machine translation) 10.42
- Language
- English
10.42.1
Śuka said:
Then, walking along the royal highway, Mādhava, the bestower of aesthetic flavor, seeing a young hunchbacked woman with a beautiful face carrying a vessel of ointments, smiled and asked her as she walked along:
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“Who are you, O woman of lovely thighs? For whom is this ointment, O fair lady? Tell us truthfully;
give us the excellent ointment for our limbs, and supreme welfare will soon come to you.”
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The maidservant said:
"I am a servant of Kaṃsa, favored by him, O handsome one, Trivakrā by name, in the service of ointments. / This preparation of mine is very dear to the king of the Bhojas; except for the two of you, who else could deserve it?"
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Her heart captivated by their beauty, delicate grace, sweetness, smiles, words, and glances, / she gave a generous amount of ointment to both of them.
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Then, anointed with that body ointment which set off their contrasting natural colors, / and attaining the ultimate contrast, the two of them shone resplendently.
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Pleased, the Lord resolved to make the hunchbacked, lovely-faced Trivakrā straight, / demonstrating the fruit of beholding Him.
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Stepping upon the front of her feet with His two feet, and taking her chin with His upturned hand using two fingers, / Acyuta raised her body upward.
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Then, having straight and even limbs, with broad hips and breasts, / by the touch of Mukunda she instantly became the most excellent of women.
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Endowed then with beauty, virtues, and elegance, / pulling the hem of His upper garment, she smiled, struck with desire, and spoke to Keśava:
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"Come, O hero, let us go to my house! I do not have the heart to leave You here. / Be gracious, O best of men, to me whose mind has been agitated by You!"
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Thus entreated by the woman, Kṛṣṇa, in the sight of Rāma / and looking at the face of the cowherds, laughed and said to her:
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"I will come to your home, O fair-browed one, which dispels the anxiety of men, / once my objective is accomplished. For us homeless wayfarers, you are the final refuge."
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Dismissing her with sweet words, as He went along the road through the merchants' quarters, / He and His elder brother were honored with various offerings of betel nuts, garlands, and scents.
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Agitated with passion at the sight of Him, the women lost all awareness of themselves; / with garments, braids, and bracelets slipping down, they stood like painted figures.
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Then, inquiring of the city's residents about the place of the bow, Acyuta / entered it and beheld the bow, wondrous as Indra's own.
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Guarded by many men, worshiped, and splendidly decorated, / Kṛṣṇa seized the bow by force, despite being forbidden by the men.
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Effortlessly lifting it with His left hand, stringing it in the blink of an eye before the watching eyes of the people, / and drawing it back, He of wide strides snapped it in the middle, just as a rutting elephant breaks a sugar cane.
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The sound of the bow breaking filled the sky, heaven and earth, and the directions; / hearing it, Kaṃsa was seized with terror.
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Its enraged guards, treacherous men with their retinues, / seeking to capture [them], surrounded Him, shouting: "Seize Him! Kill Him!"
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Then, seeing their evil intentions, Bala and Keśava / became angry, took up the two pieces of the bow, and struck them down.
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Having slain the force sent by Kaṃsa, they emerged from the entrance of the arena / and wandered about delighted, admiring the splendors of the city.
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Witnessing their wondrous prowess, brilliance, boldness, and beauty, / the inhabitants of the city regarded them as the foremost of gods.
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As the two wandered at their pleasure, the sun set; / surrounded by the cowherds, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma went from the city to the carts.
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The gopīs, who in distress of separation at Mukunda's departure had uttered blessings, had their hopes fulfilled in Mathurā; / for seeing the splendor of the limbs of Him who is the ornament of men, the goddess of fortune abandoned all others and desired Him as her sole refuge.
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Having washed both their feet and eaten a meal of rice mixed with milk, / they passed that night in comfort, knowing what Kaṃsa intended to do.
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Kaṃsa, however, having heard of the breaking of the bow and the slaying of the guards and his own army, / which was the supreme sport of Govinda and Rāma,
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spent a long night sleepless with fear; the evil-minded one saw many bad omens / in both states, acting as messengers of death:
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not seeing one's own head even when the reflection was present, / and seeing double images of the luminaries even when there was no second;
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the perception of holes in his shadow, failing to hear the sound of his breath, / the perception of trees as gold, and the failure to see his own footprints;
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in a dream, embracing a corpse, riding a donkey, eating poison, / and going alone, wearing a garland of spikenard, smeared with oil and stark naked.
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Seeing these and other such portents in dreams and while awake, / terrified of death, he could not find sleep due to anxiety.
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When night had dawned, O descendant of Kuru, and the sun had risen from the waters, / Kaṃsa arranged the great festival of wrestling matches.
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Men swept and sprinkled the arena, trumpets and kettle-drums sounded, / and galleries were decorated with garlands, banners, cloths, and archways.
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Upon them the citizens and countryfolk, led by brahmins and kṣatriyas, / took their seats according to their pleasure, as did the kings.
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Surrounded by his ministers, Kaṃsa sat on the royal dais / in the midst of the rulers of the provinces, with an aching heart.
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As musical instruments were played to the high rhythmic beat of wrestlers, / the well-adorned, proud wrestlers sat down with their trainers.
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Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kūṭa, Śala, and Tośala / arrived at the arena, exhilarated by the pleasant music.
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The cowherds, headed by Nanda Gopa, summoned by the Bhoja king, / presented their gifts and sat together on one platform.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit