Bhagavatapurana 10.56
English (machine translation) 10.56
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- English
Contents
10.56.1
Śrī Śuka said: / Having committed an offense against Kṛṣṇa, Satrājit took the initiative / and gave him his own daughter along with the Syamantaka jewel.
10.56.2
The king said: / What offense did Satrājit commit against Kṛṣṇa, O brāhmaṇa? / Where did he obtain the Syamantaka jewel, and why was his daughter given to Hari?
10.56.3
Śrī Śuka said: / Sūrya was a supreme friend to Satrājit, his devotee; / pleased with him, the sun god, being delighted, gave him the Syamantaka jewel.
10.56.4
Wearing that jewel around his neck and shining like the sun, O king, / he entered Dvārakā, unrecognisable because of his brilliance.
10.56.5
Seeing him from afar, their eyes blinded by his brilliance, / the people mistook him for Sūrya and announced to the Lord, who was playing dice:
10.56.6
'O Nārāyaṇa, obeisance to you, bearer of the conch, discus, and mace! / O Dāmodara, lotus-eyed one, Govinda, delight of the Yadus!
10.56.7
Here comes Savitṛ, wishing to behold you, O Lord of the universe, / blinding the eyes of men with the circle of his rays, the fierce-rayed one.
10.56.8
Indeed, the foremost of the gods seek your path throughout the three worlds; / knowing you are now concealed among the Yadus, the unborn one comes to see you, O Master!'
10.56.9
Śrī Śuka said: / Hearing the words of the foolish folk, the lotus-eyed Lord laughed / and said: 'This is not the sun god; it is Satrājit blazing with the jewel.'
10.56.10
Satrājit entered his own splendid house, decorated for auspicious celebrations, / and had the jewel installed by brāhmaṇas in the temple of the gods.
10.56.11
Day after day it produces eight bhāras of gold, O King; / famine, pestilence, calamities, serpents, mental and bodily afflictions, and ill fortune, / along with deceitful persons, are absent wherever the jewel is worshipped.
10.56.12
Though once requested by Śauri to give the jewel to the Yadu king, / greedy for wealth, he did not give it at all, disregarding the slight of refusing a request.
10.56.13
Once, fastening that immensely brilliant jewel around his neck, / Prasena mounted a horse and roamed the forest on a hunt.
10.56.14
A lion killed Prasena along with his horse and snatched the jewel; / as the lion entered a mountain cave, he was killed by Jāmbavān, who desired the jewel.
10.56.15
He made the jewel a plaything for his child in the cave. / Not seeing his brother, the brother Satrājit was consumed with grief.
10.56.16
'Most likely my brother, who went to the forest wearing the jewel around his neck, / was killed by Kṛṣṇa'—hearing this, people whispered into one another's ears.
10.56.17
Hearing of the infamy smeared upon Himself, the Lord, / in order to wipe it away, followed the path of Prasena together with the citizens.
10.56.18
Seeing Prasena and his horse slain by a lion in the forest, / the people then saw the lion itself slain upon the mountain slope by a bear.
10.56.19
Stationing the citizens outside, the Lord alone entered / the terrible cave of the king of bears, enveloped in blinding darkness.
10.56.20
Seeing there the most precious jewel made into a child's toy, / He resolved to take it and stood near the child.
10.56.21
Seeing that extraordinary man, the nurse screamed in fright; / hearing that, Jāmbavān, the best among the strong, rushed forward in fury.
10.56.22
He indeed fought with the Lord, who was his own master; / deeming Him an ordinary man, he was enraged, ignorant of His majesty.
10.56.23
A most tumultuous single combat ensued between the two contenders / with weapons, stones, trees, and their arms, like two hawks fighting for meat.
10.56.24
It continued for twenty-eight days with their fists, / harsh as the striking of thunderbolts, without resting day or night.
10.56.25
With the joints of his great limbs crushed by the blows of Kṛṣṇa's fists, / his strength spent and his limbs drenched in sweat, he spoke to Him in great wonder:
10.56.26
'I know you to be the breath of life, vitality, vigor, and strength of all living beings, / Viṣṇu, the primordial Person, the all-powerful Supreme Sovereign.
10.56.27
You are indeed the creator of the creators of the universe, and whatever is real among created things; / you are Time, the ruler of those that reckon time, and the supreme self of all selves;
10.56.27.p1
at the discharge of whose side-glance, tinged with a slight surge of anger, the ocean showed the way, / its alligators and timiṅgala whales agitated;
10.56.28
the bridge was built, your fame shone forth, Laṅkā was set ablaze, / and the heads of the rākṣasas, severed by arrows, fell to the ground.'
10.56.28.p1
[…]
10.56.29
To the king of bears, who had thus realised the truth, Acyuta, / the Lord, the son of Devakī, addressed these words, O great king:
10.56.30
Touching His devotee with his auspicious lotus-like hand / out of supreme compassion, the lotus-eyed Lord spoke in a voice deep as a thundercloud:
10.56.31
'We have come here to the cave for the sake of the jewel, O lord of bears, / so that by means of this jewel I may wipe away a false accusation against myself.'
10.56.32
Thus addressed, he joyfully presented his own maiden daughter, Jāmbavatī, / together with the jewel, to Kṛṣṇa as an offering of honor.
10.56.33
Not seeing Śauri emerge after entering the cave, / the people waited twelve days, and then, sorrowful, departed for their own city.
10.56.34
Hearing that Kṛṣṇa had not come out from the cave, queen Devakī, / Rukmiṇī, Ānakadundubhi, and His friends and kinsmen grieved.
10.56.35
Cursing Satrājit, those sorrowful inhabitants of Dvārakā / worshipped Candrabhāgā Durgā in order to recover Kṛṣṇa.
10.56.36
Because of their worship of the goddess, their prayers were granted, and Hari, / having attained His purpose, appeared accompanied by His wife, gladdening them all.
10.56.37
Finding Hṛṣīkeśa returned as if from the dead,
with his wife and the jewel on his neck, all held a great celebration.
10.56.38
Summoning Satrājit to the assembly in the presence of the king,
and recounting how it was recovered, the Lord presented the jewel to him.
10.56.39
Deeply ashamed, he took the jewel with head bowed low,
and full of remorse on account of his own sin, went to his house.
10.56.40
Brooding over that very offence, distressed by enmity with one so powerful,
[he thought:] “How may I wipe away the stain upon myself? Or how may Acyuta be pleased?
10.56.41
What can I do that would be good for me, so that the people will not curse me
as short-sighted, base, foolish, and greedy for wealth?
10.56.42
I shall give him my daughter, a jewel among women, and the jewel itself;
this is the proper means—his placation can come about in no other way.”
10.56.43
Having thus resolved in his mind, Satrājit took the initiative
and offered his auspicious daughter and the jewel to Kṛṣṇa.
10.56.44
The Lord married that Satyabhāmā according to the injunctions—
sought by many, endowed with good character, beauty, generosity, and virtues.
10.56.45
The Lord said: “We do not accept the jewel, O King;
let it remain with you, a devotee of the sun-god, and we shall share in its fruit.”
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit