Bhagavatapurana 8.15
English (machine translation) 8.15
- Language
- English
8.15.1
The king said:
Why did Hari beg Bali for three paces of land, / like a beggar, although He is the Lord of beings, and bind him even after obtaining His wish?
8.15.2
We wish to know this, for our curiosity is indeed great— / [both the begging] of the Lord of sacrifice, who is complete, and the binding of one who was guiltless.
8.15.3
Śrī Śuka said:
Having his fortune stripped away and having been deprived of his life-breaths by Indra, O king, / Bali was revived by the Bhṛgus; the noble disciple worshipped those Bhṛgus with all his heart by offering his wealth.
8.15.4
Those exalted brāhmaṇas, the Bhṛgus, being pleased with him, / having consecrated him according to rule with the great consecration as he desired to conquer heaven, had him perform the Viśvajit sacrifice.
8.15.5
Then from the sacrificial fire, worshipped with oblations, arose a chariot bound with golden plates, / horses of the same color as the steed of Indra, / and a banner adorned with a lion.
8.15.6
And a celestial bow overlaid with gold, two inexhaustible quivers, and divine armor [arose]; / and his grandfather gave him a garland of unfading flowers, and Śukra gave him a conch shell.
8.15.7
Thus supplied by the brāhmaṇas with the implements of war, and with auspicious rites performed by them, / he circumambulated the brāhmaṇas, bowed down, took leave of Prahrāda, and paid him homage.
8.15.8
Then mounting the celestial chariot given by the Bhṛgus, the great chariot warrior, / wearing a beautiful garland, putting on armor, armed with a bow, sword, and quivers,
8.15.9
with his arms gleaming with golden armlets and earrings shaped like sea-monsters glittering, / shone mounted on the chariot like the fire on its altar.
8.15.10
Surrounded by his troop leaders of the Daityas, who were equal in power, strength, and splendor, / who seemed to drink up the sky with their eyes and burn the quarters of the earth,
8.15.11
the mighty one, leading a vast army of asuras, / marched toward Indra's affluent city, as if causing heaven and earth to tremble:
8.15.12
A city delightful with parks and magnificent gardens such as Nandana, / resounding with pairs of warbling birds and humming with intoxicated bees;
8.15.13
with celestial trees whose branches bore heavy burdens of fresh sprouts, fruits, and blossoms; / where lotus pools crowded with swans, cranes, cakravākas, and kāraṇḍavas / were sporting places for celestial maidens attended by the gods;
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encircled by the divine river Ākāśagaṅgā acting as a moat, / and by a high rampart of the color of fire, equipped with turrets;
8.15.15
furnished with doors having gates overlaid with gold plates, and crystal gateways, / with well-divided avenues, built by Viśvakarman;
8.15.16
rich in assembly halls, courtyards, and streets, filled with hundreds of millions of aerial cars, / with crossroads of jewels and altars of diamonds and coral;
8.15.17
where women of youthful beauty, eternally youthful, clad in spotless garments, / shone like flames of fire with their beauty;
8.15.18
where along the streets the breeze blows, gathering the fragrance / of fresh garlands of saugandhika flowers dropped from the hair of celestial women;
8.15.19
and the beloveds of the gods walk along streets concealed / by white smoke carrying the scent of aguru drifting through the latticed windows of gold.
8.15.20
It was covered with canopies of pearls, jeweled and golden banners, / and rooftops adorned with diverse pennants, echoed with peacocks, pigeons, and large bees, / and made auspicious by the sweet songs of women in aerial cars;
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enchanting with the sounds of mṛdaṅgas, conches, kettle-drums, and dundubhis, / with lutes, murajas, and beloved flutes kept in rhythm, / and with dances accompanied by instrumental music and songs of demigods, outshining all brilliance by its own radiance.
8.15.22
The unrighteous, the wicked, the tormentors of living beings, the deceitful, / the arrogant, the lustful, and the greedy do not go there; only those free from these vices reach it.
8.15.23
That capital of the gods the commander of the army besieged from all sides with his forces; / he blew the conch shell given by his preceptor, which produced a great sound, striking fear into the wives of Indra.
8.15.24
Maghavan, perceiving this supreme effort of Bali, / accompanied by all the hosts of gods, spoke thus to their preceptor:
8.15.25
"O revered one, great is the effort of Bali, our former enemy! / I consider this irresistible; by what means has he become so formidable in splendor?
8.15.26
No one anywhere is able to confront him, / who seems to drink up this universe with his mouth, lick up the ten directions, / burn the quarters with his eyes, rising up like the fire of cosmic dissolution!
8.15.27
Tell us the cause of this invincibility of my enemy— / his vigor, power, strength, and radiance, from which comes this great enterprise!"
8.15.28
The preceptor said:
"I know, Maghavan, the reason for this elevation of your enemy: / the Bhṛgus, knowers of the Veda, have imparted their splendor to their disciple.
8.15.29
No one is capable of conquering the mighty Bali— / neither anyone like you nor you yourself—except the Lord, Hari.
8.15.30
None will overcome him, enhanced as he is by brāhmaṇa radiance; / no one can stand before him, just as mortals cannot stand before Death.
8.15.31
Therefore, abandoning your abode, heaven, all of you / should depart, awaiting the time from which the enemy's downfall will come.
8.15.32
His strength will end through the brāhmaṇas, though now his valor is mighty; / through contempt for them alone, he will perish along with his followers."
8.15.33
Thus well-advised on the matter by their preceptor, who perceived what was advantageous, / the gods, able to assume any form at will, abandoned heaven and departed.
8.15.34
When the gods had thus disappeared, Bali, son of Virocana, / having occupied the city of the gods, brought the three worlds under his dominion.
8.15.35
Affectionate toward their disciple, the Bhṛgus had him, who had conquered all / and was devoted to his vows, perform one hundred horse sacrifices.
8.15.36
Then, through the power of that, spreading across every quarter / his renown celebrated throughout the three worlds, he shone like the king of the stars.
8.15.37
And he enjoyed abundant prosperity procured through the twice-born and the gods, / deeming himself to have achieved his purpose, high-minded as he was.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit