Bhagavatapurana 10.44
English (machine translation) 10.44
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Contents
10.44.1
Śrī Śuka said: / Having his purpose thus agreed upon, the Lord, Madhusūdana, / confronted Cāṇūra, and the son of Rohiṇī confronted Muṣṭika.
10.44.2
Locking hand to hand and foot to foot, / they forcefully dragged one another, eager for victory.
10.44.3
Forearm against forearm, knee against knee, / head against head, and chest against chest, they struck one another.
10.44.4
By twirling around, tossing, embracing, and throwing down, / by advancing and retreating, they countered one another.
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By lifting up, raising, pushing, and holding firm, / seeking to conquer one another, they wore down their opponent’s body.
10.44.6
Watching that unequal match of the strong and the weak, all the women assembled there, / moved with compassion, spoke to one another in groups, O king:
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“Alas! Great is the unrighteousness of these members of the king’s court, / who desire an unequal fight while the king looks on!
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Where are these two wrestlers whose limbs are like diamond, resembling mighty mountains, / and where are these two youths of exceedingly tender limbs who have not yet reached youthfulness?
10.44.9
Transgression of dharma will surely befall this gathering; / where unrighteousness arises, one should never remain.
10.44.10
A wise person should not enter an assembly, remembering the faults of its members; / a person who does not speak, or who speaks falsely, or who remains ignorant incurs sin.”
10.44.11
Look at Kṛṣṇa's lotus face as he springs around his enemy, / sprinkled with drops of sweat like a lotus calyx with water!
10.44.12
Do you not see the face of Rāma with its reddish eyes, / furious toward Muṣṭika, adorned with smiles and fierce intensity?
10.44.12.p1
How sacred, indeed, are the lands of Vraja, where this ancient person, disguised in human form, wearing varied forest garlands,
10.44.13
tending the cows together with Bala, sounding his flute, / walks about in playful sport, his feet worshipped by Śiva and Ramā!
10.44.13.p1
[…]
10.44.13.p2
What austerities did the cowherd women perform, that they drink in his form—the essence of beauty, unequalled and unsurpassed, not achieved by any other means—
10.44.13.p3
What austerities did the cowherd women perform, that they drink in his form—the essence of beauty, unequalled and unsurpassed, not achieved by any other means—
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with their eyes, ever fresh at every moment, difficult to attain, / the sole abode of renown, beauty, and sovereignty?
10.44.14.p1
[…]
10.44.15
Those women of Vraja are blessed, whose minds are borne away by Urukrama, / who with loving hearts and choked, tearful voices sing of him while milking, threshing, churning, smearing [the floor], rocking the cradles, pacifying crying children, sprinkling, and sweeping!
10.44.15.p1
When in the morning he departs from Vraja and in the evening returns with the cows, / hearing his flute as he plays it,
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the women, richly meritorious, swiftly rush out onto the path / and gaze upon his smiling face and compassionate glance.
10.44.16.p1
[…]
10.44.17
While the women were speaking thus, O bull of the Bharatas, / Hari, the Lord of yoga, the Lord, made up his mind to kill his enemy.
10.44.18
Hearing the fearful words of the women, the two parents, / stricken with grief born of parental affection and unaware of their sons' power, were filled with sorrow.
10.44.19
With various techniques of close combat, Acyuta and his opponent / fought against each other, as did Bala and Muṣṭika.
10.44.20
From the impacts of the Lord's limbs, harsh as thunderbolt blows, / Cāṇūra's limbs were shattered, and he repeatedly fell into faintness.
10.44.21
Springing up with the speed of a hawk and balling both hands into fists, / he struck the Lord Vāsudeva furiously on the chest.
10.44.22
He did not flinch from that blow, like an elephant struck by a garland of flowers. / Seizing Cāṇūra by both arms and whirling him around many times, Hari
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hurled him forcefully to the ground, his life drained away; / with ornaments, hair, and garland dishevelled, he fell like an Indra banner.
10.44.24
Likewise, Muṣṭika, who had earlier struck powerful Balabhadra / with his fist, was struck severely with the palm of his hand.
10.44.25
Trembling violently, vomiting blood from his mouth, crushed, / he fell lifeless upon the lap of the earth like a tree struck down by the wind.
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Then, as Kūṭa approached, Rāma, the best of strikers, / contemptuously struck him down in sport with his left fist, O King.
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At that very moment, Śala's head was smashed by Kṛṣṇa's toe, / and Tośalaka was torn in two; both of them fell dead.
10.44.28
When Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kūṭa, Śala, and Tośalaka were slain, / the remaining wrestlers all fled, eager to save their lives.
10.44.29
Drawing in their cowherd companions, mingling with them, they sported, / prancing about with tinkling anklets while the horns and drums were sounded.
10.44.30
All the people rejoiced at the deed of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, / except Kaṃsa; the foremost Brahmins and virtuous men cried, “Bravo, bravo!”
10.44.31
When the foremost wrestlers had been killed and the rest routed, the king of the Bhojas / silenced his drums and spoke these words:
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“Expel the two ill-behaved sons of Vasudeva from the city! / Seize the wealth of the cowherds, and bind the foolish Nanda!
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Let Vasudeva, that evil-minded and most wicked man, be quickly put to death, / and my father Ugrasena too, along with his followers, for he has taken the enemy's side!”
10.44.34
As Kaṃsa was boasting in this way, the imperishable Lord was enraged; / leaping up with agility, he swiftly climbed onto the elevated dais.
10.44.35
Seeing him approaching like his own death, the resolute [Kaṃsa] / suddenly rose from his seat and seized his sword and shield.
10.44.36
As he moved swiftly right and left in the open space, sword in hand, like a hawk, / [Kṛṣṇa], whose fierce splendour is irresistible, seized him by force, like the son of Tārkṣya seizing a serpent.
10.44.37
Seizing him by the hair while his crown shook, throwing him down from the high dais onto the arena, / the lotus-navelled Lord, the independent shelter of the universe, jumped down upon him.
10.44.38
Hari dragged him, dead, along the ground as an elephant [drags a carcass], while the world looked on; / then a great cry of “Alas, alas!” was raised by all the people, O king of men.
10.44.39
Because with an ever-anxious mind he had envisioned that Lord while drinking, eating, walking, sleeping, or breathing, / seeing the discus-wielder before him, he attained that very form, so difficult to attain.
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His eight younger brothers, headed by Kaṅka and Nyagrodhaka, / rushed forward in extreme fury, seeking to avenge their brother.
10.44.41
As they advanced impetuously and prepared for battle, the son of Rohiṇī, / raising his club, struck them down as the king of beasts strikes down animals.
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Drums sounded in the sky; Brahmā, Śiva, and other powers, / delighted, praised him and showered him with flowers, and the celestial women danced.
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Their wives, O great king, grieving over the death of their kinsmen, / came there beating their heads, their eyes flooded with tears.
10.44.44
Embracing their husbands lying on the warrior's bed, the sorrowing women / wept aloud, constantly venting their grief:
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“O lord, O dear one, O knower of dharma, compassionate to those without a protector! / By your being slain, we, together with our households and children, have been slain.
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Deprived of you, its lord, O bull among men, / this city, its festivals and auspiciousness ended, does not shine, just like us.
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You committed terrible violence against innocent living beings; / brought by that to this condition, alas, who that injures beings can find peace?
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For he indeed is the origin, dissolution, and protector of all beings here; / one who harbors malice toward him never prospers in happiness.”
10.44.49
Śrī Śuka said: / Having consoled the royal women, the Lord, the author of the world's welfare, / had the customary worldly rites performed for the slain.
10.44.50
Then, releasing their mother and father from their bonds, / Kṛṣṇa and Rāma bowed down to them, touching their feet with their heads.
10.44.51
Recognizing the two sons who had bowed to them as the Lords of the universe, / Devakī and Vasudeva, filled with awe, did not embrace them.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit