Bhagavatapurana 10.72
English (machine translation) 10.72
- Language
- English
Contents
- 10.72.3 — 1 part
- 10.72.4 — 3 parts
- 10.72.5 — 3 parts
- 10.72.6 — 1 part
- 10.72.36 — 1 part
- 10.72.37 — 3 parts
- 10.72.38 — 1 part
10.72.1
Śrī Śuka said:
Now once, seated in the midst of the royal assembly, surrounded by sages,
brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and his brothers,
10.72.2
and by teachers, family elders, kinsmen, relatives, and friends,
Yudhiṣṭhira, while all these were listening, addressed [Kṛṣṇa] and spoke as follows:
10.72.3
Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira said:
O Govinda, by means of the king of sacrifices, the Rājasūya, I wish to worship
your purifying manifestations; bring that to pass for us, O Lord!
10.72.3.p1
Those who constantly serve your sandals, / who meditate upon them as destroyers of misfortune, and who, purified, sing their praises,
10.72.4
attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth, O lotus-navelled one; / and if they pray for blessings, O Lord, they obtain them, but others do not.
10.72.4.p1
[…]
10.72.4.p2
Therefore, O God of gods, let this world behold / the power of serving your lotus feet in this world;
10.72.4.p3
Therefore, O God of gods, let this world behold / the power of serving your lotus feet in this world;
10.72.5
reveal, O pervasive Lord, the ultimate destination / of both the Kurus and the Sṛñjayas—those who worship you and those who do not.
10.72.5.p1
[…]
10.72.5.p2
In you, who are Brahman, there can be no distinction of self and other, / the Self of all, of equal vision, experiencing your own bliss;
10.72.5.p3
In you, who are Brahman, there can be no distinction of self and other, / the Self of all, of equal vision, experiencing your own bliss;
10.72.6
like the celestial wishing tree, your grace manifests / for those who worship you according to their service; there is no prejudice here.
10.72.6.p1
[…]
10.72.7
The Lord said:
Your resolve is excellent, O King, O destroyer of enemies,
by which your auspicious renown will spread throughout the worlds.
10.72.8
By the sages, the ancestors, the gods, and even by us, your friends, O Lord,
indeed by all living beings, this king of sacrifices is desired.
10.72.9
Conquering all the kings and bringing the earth under control,
and gathering all the necessary provisions, perform the great sacrifice.
10.72.10
These brothers of yours, O King, are born from portions of the world-guardians;
and I have been conquered by you, who are self-controlled, though I am unconquerable by the uncontrolled.
10.72.11
No one devoted to me can be overcome in this world in power, fame, majesty,
or opulences even by a god, let alone by an earthly king.
10.72.12
Śrī Śuka said:
Hearing the words spoken by the Lord, delighted and his lotus-face blooming,
he dispatched his brothers, augmented by the power of Viṣṇu, for the conquest of the quarters.
10.72.13
He directed Sahadeva to the southern quarter with the Sṛñjayas;
Nakula to the western quarter; Arjuna to the northern;
and Bhīma to the eastern quarter with the Matsyas, Kekayas, and Madrakas.
10.72.14
Those heroic warriors, conquering kings by their might,
brought abundant wealth from all the quarters, O King, for Ajātaśatru, who was about to sacrifice.
10.72.15
Hearing that Jarāsandha was unconquered, while the king was pondering, Hari
spoke that very strategy today which Uddhava had told him.
10.72.16
Bhīmasena, Arjuna, and Kṛṣṇa, the three wearing the guise of brāhmaṇas,
went to Girivraja, my dear [king], where the son of Bṛhadratha resided.
10.72.17
Arriving at the time for guests at the house of the householder,
the kṣatriyas disguised as brāhmaṇas begged him, who was devoted to brāhmaṇas:
10.72.18
"O king, know us to be guests who have arrived, supplicants come from afar.
Therefore grant us what we desire, and may good fortune be yours!
10.72.19
What is unbearable for the forbearing? What is not to be done by the wicked?
What is not to be given by the generous? Who is a stranger to those of equal vision?
10.72.20
He who, though capable himself, does not earn with his impermanent body
the enduring fame sung by the virtuous, is censurable, he is truly pitiable.
10.72.21
Hariścandra, Rantideva, the gleaner of grain [Mudgala], Śibi, Bali,
the hunter, and the pigeon—many indeed have attained the permanent by means of the impermanent."
10.72.22
Śrī Śuka said:
Recognizing them by their voices, their forms, and also their forearms scarred by bowstrings
as belonging to the kṣatriya order, though they looked familiar to him, he reflected:
10.72.23
"These are indeed fellows of the kṣatriya class, though wearing the marks of brāhmaṇas;
yet I shall give them whatever is begged, even my own self, though hard to give up.
10.72.24
Indeed, Bali's spotless fame is heard of, spread through all the quarters,
even though he was deposed from sovereignty by Viṣṇu under the pretext of a brāhmaṇa.
10.72.25
Knowing that [the disguised petitioner] was Viṣṇu in the form of a twice-born wishing to seize Indra's fortune,
the king of the Daityas still gave him the earth, even when forbidden [by his guru].
10.72.26
What is the use of a member of the kṣatriya order living, if not for the sake of brāhmaṇas,
with a body that must fall, without striving for vast renown?"
10.72.27
Having thus a noble mind, he said to Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, and Vṛkodara:
"O brāhmaṇas, choose your wish! I will give you even my own head."
10.72.28
The Lord said:
"Give us battle, O king of kings, in single combat, if you deem it fit;
we have come seeking battle, being kṣatriyas wanting nothing else.
10.72.29
This is Vṛkodara, the son of Pṛthā; this here is his brother Arjuna;
and know me to be their maternal cousin, Kṛṣṇa, your enemy."
10.72.30
Thus addressed, the king of Magadha laughed out loud,
and, filled with indignation, said: "O fools, then I give you battle!
10.72.31
I will not fight with you, a coward, your vigor broken in battle,
who abandoned your own city of Mathurā and took refuge in the ocean.
10.72.32
This [Arjuna] is unequal in age, not of superior strength, not my equal;
Arjuna cannot be a match in fight; Bhīma has strength equal to mine."
10.72.33
Having spoken thus and handed a massive club to Bhīmasena,
he took a second one himself and went out of the city.
10.72.34
Then, on the level ground, the two heroes engaged each other
and struck each other with clubs resembling thunderbolts, wild with battle-frenzy.
10.72.35
Moving in diverse circles to the left and to the right,
their combat was magnificent, like that of two actors on a stage.
10.72.36
Then came a sharp clattering sound, like the clash of thunderbolts,
from the clubs when hurled, O king, like the tusks of two elephants.
10.72.36.p1
Those two clubs, brought down with the speed of their arms on each other's shoulders, waists, feet, hands, thighs, and collarbones,
10.72.37
shattered into pieces on impact like the branches of an arka plant, as between two infuriated elephants locked in combat.
10.72.37.p1
[…]
10.72.37.p2
Their clubs thus broken, the two human heroes, enraged, struck each other with their fists, which felt like iron;
10.72.37.p3
their clubs thus broken, the two human heroes, enraged, struck each other with their fists, which felt like iron;
10.72.38
as they struck, like two elephants, there arose a sound born of their slapping blows, harsh as a thunderclap or thunderbolt.
10.72.38.p1
[…]
10.72.39
As the two struck each other thus, of equal skill, power, and strength,
and with undiminished speed, the fight was without difference [between them], O king.
10.72.40
Knowing the enemy's birth and death, and that his life was preserved by Jarā,
Hari, while invigorating the son of Pṛthā with His own power, considered [what to do].
10.72.41
Contemplating the means to slay the foe, He of unfailing vision
showed Bhīma a tree branch, as if tearing it apart by way of a sign.
10.72.42
Understanding that, Bhīma, of great strength and the foremost of striking warriors,
seized his enemy by the feet and threw him to the ground.
10.72.43
Holding one foot down with his foot and seizing the other with both hands,
he tore him in two from the anus, as a great elephant tears a branch.
10.72.44
The people saw the two halves, each with one foot, thigh, testicle,
hip, back, breast, and shoulder, and each with one arm, eye, eyebrow, and ear.
10.72.45
A great cry of lamentation arose when the lord of Magadha was slain;
and the two, Arjuna and Acyuta, embraced Bhīma and honored him.
10.72.46
The Lord, the creator of living beings, the all-powerful of immeasurable self,
anointed his son Sahadeva as the ruler of the people of Magadha,
and released the kings who had been imprisoned by the Magadhan.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit