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Bhagavatapurana 10.74

English (machine translation) 10.74

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10.74.1

Śuka said: / In this way King Yudhiṣṭhira, having heard of the slaying of Jarāsandha / and that majesty of the all-pervading Lord Kṛṣṇa, joyfully addressed him:

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Yudhiṣṭhira said: / Those who are the teachers of the three worlds and the great lords of all the worlds / carry your command upon their heads after obtaining it with difficulty.

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That you, O lotus-eyed Lord, O infinite one, carry out the command / of wretched mortals who pride themselves on being rulers, is the utmost mimicry.

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For of the one without a second, Brahman, the Supreme Self, / the splendor neither increases nor decreases through actions, just like the sun.

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Truly, O unconquered one, O Mādhava, among your devotees there is no differentiated thought / of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ or ‘you’ and ‘yours,’ which is a distortion typical of animals.”

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Śuka said: / Having spoken thus, at the proper time for sacrifice the son of Pṛthā, approved by Kṛṣṇa, / chose the qualified priests, Brahmins who expound the Veda:

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Dvaipāyana, Bharadvāja, Sumantu, Gotama, Asita, / Vasiṣṭha, Cyavana, Kaṇva, Maitreya, Kavaṣa, Trita,

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Viśvāmitra, Vāmadeva, Sumati, Jaimini, Kratu, / Paila, Parāśara, Garga, and Vaiśampāyana,

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Atharvā, Kaśyapa, Dhaumya, Rāma Bhārgava, Āsuri, / Vītihotra, Madhucchandas, Vīrasena, and Akṛtavraṇa.

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Likewise, others were invited: Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Kṛpa, and the rest; / Dhṛtarāṣṭra along with his sons; and the wise Vidura.

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Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras desiring to witness the sacrifice, / all the kings, and the subjects of those kings went there, O king.

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Then those Brahmins plowed the place of sacrifice for the gods with golden plows / and initiated the king there according to the Vedic tradition.

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The sacrificial vessels, as once for Varuṇa, were made of gold; / and the guardians of the world, headed by Indra, along with Brahmā and Śiva,

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together with their retinues, the Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, and great serpents, / the sages, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, birds, Kinnaras, and Cāraṇas,

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as well as the kings and their queens, summoned from all directions, / came to the Rājasūya sacrifice of the king, the son of Pāṇḍu; / knowing him to be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, they did not wonder at it, seeing it as well-deserved.

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The priests, possessing the splendor of gods, performed the Rājasūya for the great king / according to the rules, just as the immortals once did for Varuṇa.

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On the day of the pressing of soma, the ruler of the earth, carefully collected, / worshipped the priests and the leaders of the assembly, those very fortunate souls, according to custom.

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Deliberating over who was worthy of the foremost honor among the members of the assembly, / the attendees could not reach a decision because of disagreement; then Sahadeva spoke:

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“Acyuta, the Lord, the master of the Sātvatas, is indeed worthy of supremacy; / for he is all the deities, space, time, wealth, and the rest.

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This universe is made of him, and the sacrifices are made of him; / he is fire, the oblations, the mantras, and the goal of Sāṅkhya and Yoga.

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He is one without a second; this whole universe has him as its self; / by himself, resting on himself, the unborn Lord creates, maintains, and destroys, O members of the assembly.

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Generating various works in this world through the gaze of his eye, / each person seeks whatever welfare is marked by dharma and the rest.

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Therefore, let the supreme honor be given to the great Kṛṣṇa; / if it is done this way, it will be the honoring of all beings and of oneself.

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To Kṛṣṇa, who has become the self of all beings, who sees no other, / peaceful and complete, a gift should be given by one who desires infinity for his offering.”

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Having spoken thus, Sahadeva, who knew the majesty of Kṛṣṇa, fell silent; / hearing that, all the best of the virtuous praised him, saying, ‘Excellent! Excellent!’

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Hearing the words of the twice-born and knowing the inner feeling of the members of the assembly, / the king, delighted and overcome with love, worshiped Hṛṣīkeśa.

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Washing his feet and bearing upon his head the waters that purify the world, / together with his wife, younger brothers, ministers, and family, in great joy,

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and honoring him with garments of yellow silk and priceless ornaments, / with eyes full of tears he was unable to gaze upon him.

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Seeing him thus honored, all the people, with hands joined in reverence, / bowed to him, crying, "Obeisances! Victory!", and showers of flowers fell [upon him].

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Hearing this, the son of Damaghoṣa rose from his seat, his wrath aroused by the description of Kṛṣṇa's virtues;

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raising his arm, intolerant and fearless, he spoke these harsh words in the assembly, making them heard by the Lord:

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[…]

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"True is the Vedic declaration: 'Time, the Lord, is insurmountable,' / since even the intellect of the elders is led astray by the words of a boy.

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You, the foremost among those who know the worthy recipients, do not heed the talk of a boy, / all you leaders of the assembly, that Kṛṣṇa has been deemed worthy of worship!

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Passing over the supreme sages fixed on Brahman, observing austerities, learning, and vows, / whose sins have been destroyed by knowledge, and who are revered by the guardians of the world,

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and the leaders of the assembly—how does a cowherd, the defiler of his family, / deserve worship, any more than a crow [deserves] the sacrificial cake?

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Deprived of caste, stage of life, and family, excluded from all dharma, / acting willfully, devoid of virtues—how does he deserve worship?

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For their family was cursed by Yayāti, cast out by the virtuous devotees, / and constantly addicted to vain drinking—how does he deserve worship?

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Abandoning regions inhabited by brahmin sages, having taken refuge in the inaccessible ocean / devoid of spiritual splendor, these bandits harass the subjects."

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These and other inauspicious words he spoke, his fortune lost; / the Lord said nothing at all, just like a lion [indifferent to] the howling of a jackal.

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Hearing that unbearable slander of the Lord, the members of the assembly, / covering their ears, walked out, angrily cursing the ruler of Cedi.

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Whoever hears the slander of the Lord or of a person devoted to Him / and does not depart from that place also falls into degradation, fallen from his merit.

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Then the enraged sons of Pāṇḍu, along with the Matsyas, Kaikayas, and Sṛñjayas, / stood up with raised weapons, eager to kill Śiśupāla.

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Then the king of Cedi, undaunted, seized sword and shield, / threatening the kings aligned with Kṛṣṇa in the assembly, O descendant of Bharata.

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Thereupon the Lord, standing up, restrained his own men, and himself in anger / severed the head of his rushing enemy with his razor-edged discus.

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Then there was a great sound of tumult when Śiśupāla was slain; / the kings who followed him fled, wishing to save their lives.

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A light rising from the body of the king of Cedi entered into Vāsudeva / before the eyes of all beings, like a meteor fallen from the sky to the earth.

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Meditating with a mind inflamed by hostility multiplied over three births, / he attained oneness with Him; for the devotional emotion is indeed the cause of becoming.

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The sovereign king gave abundant sacrificial fees to the priests along with the members of the assembly, / and having honored all in accordance with the injunctions, he performed the final ablution.

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Having accomplished the sacrifice of the king, Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the lords of yoga, / dwelt [there] for a few months, entreatied by his friends.

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Then, taking leave of the king, who was reluctant [to let him go], the Lord, / the son of Devakī, departed for his own city along with his wives and ministers.

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That narrative has been described by me to you in great detail: / the birth of the two residents of Vaikuṇṭha again and again on account of a brahmin's curse.

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King Yudhiṣṭhira, bathed with the final ablution of the Rājasūya sacrifice, / shone in the midst of the assembly of brahmins and kṣatriyas like the king of the gods.

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All the gods, men, and sky-dwellers, having been honored by the king, / returned to their own abodes with joy, praising Kṛṣṇa and the sacrifice—

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except for the wicked Duryodhana, the personification of Kali, the pestilence of the Kuru clan, / who could not endure seeing that abundant prosperity of the son of Pāṇḍu.

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Whoever glorifies this deed of Viṣṇu, the slaying of the king of Cedi and the rest, / the release of the kings, and the sacrifice, is freed from all sins.

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