Bhagavatapurana 8.8

English (machine translation) 8.8

Language: English

8.8.24 — 1 part
8.8.25 — 3 parts
8.8.26 — 1 part

8.8.3

The Daitya chiefs did not accept that action of the Great Person: / 'We will not grasp the tail of the serpent—an inauspicious limb!'

'We are endowed with Vedic study and scriptural learning, renowned for our birth and deeds!' / Seeing the Daityas standing silent thus, the Supreme Person, / smiling, let go of the front and took hold of the tail along with the gods.

8.7.6

Having thus distributed their positions, the sons of Kaśyapa / zealously churned the ocean of milk for the sake of the nectar.

8.7.7

As the ocean was being churned, that mountain, having no support, sank into the waters, / despite being held by the strong, owing to its heaviness, O son of Pāṇḍu.

8.7.8

Their minds utterly dejected, the radiance of their faces faded, / they were dismayed as their own prowess was thwarted by fate that was far more powerful.

8.7.9

Seeing that hindrance brought about by destiny, the Lord of boundless prowess and unfailing resolve / assumed the wondrous, gigantic form of a tortoise, entered the water, and lifted up the mountain.

8.7.10

Seeing that master mountain raised again, the gods and Asuras prepared once more to churn. / He supported it upon His back, which extended a hundred thousand yojanas like another great island.

8.7.11

As the mountain, shaken by the prowess of the arms of the chiefs of gods and Asuras, spun upon His back, / the immeasurable Primordial Tortoise considered its rotation upon Him as the scratching of His body, my dear.

8.7.12

Moreover, Viṣṇu entered into the Asuras with an Asura form, stimulating their strength and prowess, / and into the hosts of gods with a divine form; He entered into the king of serpents as the force of insensibility.

8.7.13

Above, grasping the king of mountains with one hand like another sovereign peak, the thousand-armed Lord / stood in the sky, showered with flowers by Brahmā, Bhava, Indra, and the foremost gods as they praised Him.

8.7.14

Invigorated above, below, and within themselves, as well as in the mountain and the serpent rope, by the Supreme One who had entered them, / they churned the ocean with vehement force, puffed up with pride, while the multitude of crocodiles was agitated by the great mountain.

8.7.15

Their luster struck by the fire and smoke of the breaths from the king of serpents' thousands of fierce mouths and eyes, / the Asuras—the Paulomas, Kāleyas, Bali, Ilvala, and others—became like pine trees scorched by a forest fire.

8.7.16

And upon the gods whose radiance was struck by the flames of his breath, their garments, garlands, excellent armor, and faces darkened by smoke, / clouds under the Lord's control showered down, and winds embraced by the waves of the ocean blew.

8.7.17

When the nectar did not appear from the ocean as it was being thus churned / by the leaders of the hosts of gods and Asuras, the Unconquered One Himself churned.

8.7.17.p1

Dark as a raincloud, clad in yellow silk, His earrings flashing like lightning, / His disheveled locks shining upon His head, wearing a garland, His eyes reddish,

8.7.18

holding the serpent with His victorious arms that bestow fearlessness upon the world, / He shone, as He churned, like a counter-mountain with the churning staff, holding the mountain fast.

8.7.18.p1

[End of section]

8.7.19

As the ocean was being churned, there arose in front a great, terrifying poison called hālahala, / from [the waters] filled with agitated fish, sea-monsters, serpents, turtles, whales, water-elephants, alligators, and timiṅgila fish.

8.7.20

Frightened by its fierce speed spreading and surging in every direction, above and below, irresistible and without match, / the creatures, unprotected, ran along with their lords for refuge to Sadāśiva, my dear [Parīkṣit].

8.7.21

Beholding that best of gods, desired by the sages with his goddess for the welfare of the three worlds, / seated upon the mountain practicing austerity for the sake of liberation, they bowed down with hymns of praise.

8.7.22

The Prajāpatis said:
God of gods, Mahādeva, self of all beings, source of all beings!
Save us who have taken refuge, from the poison burning the three worlds.

8.7.23

You alone are the Lord of the entire world, of bondage and liberation;
you, the teacher who removes the distress of the surrendered, the wise worship.

8.7.24

By your own power consisting of the modes, O all-pervading one, you bring about this [world’s] creation, maintenance, and dissolution;
when, O self-perceiving, infinite Lord, you assume the names of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva.

8.7.25

You are the supreme, secret Brahman, the creator of the manifestations of the existent and nonexistent;
manifesting through various powers, you are the self, the Lord of the universe.

8.7.26

You are the womb of the word, the origin of the universe, the self, the vital airs, senses, substances, and qualities, the inherent nature,
time, sacrifice, truth, cosmic order, and dharma; in you they declare the imperishable [syllable] consisting of three parts.

8.7.27

Fire, the self of all deities, is your mouth; they know the earth as the lotus-feet of the world’s origin;
time as your motion, of you who are the self of all gods; the directions as your ears; the lord of the waters as your tongue.

8.7.28

The sky is your navel, the wind your breath, the sun your eyes, and water your semen;
your self is the refuge of the higher and lower selves; the moon is your mind; the heaven, O Lord, is your head.

8.7.29

The oceans are your belly, the mountains the collection of your bones, all herbs and climbing plants are your hairs,
the Vedic metres are directly your seven bodily constituents, O self composed of the three Vedas; your heart is all dharma.

8.7.30

Your five faces are the Upaniṣads, O Lord, through which there is the group of thirty-eight mantras;
that truth of the Supreme Self, which is called Śiva, self-luminous, O god, is your state of being.

8.7.31

Your shadow is seen in the waves of adharma by which creation proceeds; your three eyes are purity, passion, and darkness;
creation of the scriptures of Sāṅkhya nature is your glance, O god made of Vedic metres, ancient sage.

8.7.32

That supreme light of yours, O mountain-dweller, guardian of all the worlds, cannot be reached by Viriñca, Vaikuṇṭha, or the lord of the gods;
wherein there is neither passion nor darkness nor purity; which is Brahman devoid of differentiation.

8.7.32.p1

To destroy Kāma, the sacrifice [of Dakṣa], Tripura, the poison of time, and many other tormentors of beings—that is no praise of you,

8.7.33

who, at the time of dissolution, do not even notice this universe made by yourself turned to ashes by a spark of flame from your eye.

8.7.33.p1

[…]

8.7.33.p2

Those, however, who, when you—whose pair of feet is meditated upon in the heart by the masters delighted in the self—move about with Umā, scorched by austerity,

8.7.33.p3

those, however, who, when you—whose pair of feet is meditated upon in the heart by the masters delighted in the self—move about with Umā, scorched by austerity,

8.7.34

proclaim you as fierce, harsh, and attached to the cremation ground—they, indeed, shameless ones, do not know your deeds.

8.7.34.p1

[…]

8.7.34.p2

Therefore, even Brahmā and the others are unable directly to attain the true nature of you, the infinite Lord,

8.7.34.p3

therefore, even Brahmā and the others are unable directly to attain the true nature of you, the infinite Lord,

8.7.35

who are beyond the existent and the nonexistent; how much less can we praise you, who belong to the creation of his creation, [capable] only according to our power!

8.7.35.p1

[…]

8.7.36

We see only this highest [form], not your transcendent nature, O Maheśvara;
for your manifestation, whose actions are unmanifest, is for the happiness of the world.

8.7.37

Śrī Śuka said:
Seeing that calamity of theirs, deeply distressed with compassion,
the god, the friend of all beings, spoke thus to his beloved Satī:

8.7.38

Śrī Śiva said:
Ah, alas, Bhavānī, see this slaughter of creatures,
arisen from the kālakūṭa poison produced from the churning of the milk ocean.

8.7.39

Freedom from fear must surely be granted by me to these who desire to save their lives;
for this alone is the purpose of the master: the protection of the helpless.

8.7.40

The virtuous protect living beings with their own lives, which are fragile and momentary,
among beings harboring enmity, deluded by their own creative power.

8.7.41

When a man shows compassion, auspicious lady, Hari, the self of all, is pleased;
when the Lord Hari is pleased, I, along with all moving and unmoving beings, am pleased;
therefore, I shall consume this poison; let there be welfare for the creatures through me.

8.7.42

Śrī Śuka said:
Having thus addressed Bhavānī, the Lord, the originator of the universe,
undertook to swallow that poison; and she, knowing his power, gave her consent.

8.7.43

Then, making it into a handful, the all-pervading hālāhala poison,
Mahādeva, the creator of beings, swallowed out of compassion.

8.7.44

The water-born taint showed its own potency even upon him,
for it made his throat blue; and that became an ornament of the saintly one.

8.7.45

Virtuous people generally suffer at the suffering of the world;
for that indeed is the highest worship of the Person, the self of all.

8.7.46

Hearing of that deed of Śambhu, the bountiful god of gods,
the creatures, Dākṣāyaṇī, Brahmā, and Vaikuṇṭha praised him.

8.7.47

Whatever little spilled from his hand as he drank it, that was seized
by scorpions, serpents, poisonous plants, and other biting creatures.

8.8.1

Śrī Śuka said:
When the poison was drunk by the bull-bannered [Śiva], the gods and Dānavas were delighted;
they quickly churned the ocean, and from it arose the source of sacrificial offerings [the cow Surabhi].

8.8.2

The sages who proclaim Brahman took that sacrificial cow, O king,
for the pure oblation of the sacrifice, the path leading to the gods.

8.8.3_2

Then arose the horse named Uccaiḥśravas, white as the moon;
Bali desired him, but not Indra, by the instruction of the Lord.

8.8.4

Then emerged the king of elephants named Airāvata,
with four tusks, taking away the greatness of the white mountain of the Lord.

8.8.5

Then arose eight quarter-elephants, Airāvaṇa and the rest;
and there were eight female elephants, Abhramu and others, O king.

8.8.6

From the great ocean arose the gem named Kaustubha, a ruby;
Hari desired that jewel as an ornament for his chest.

8.8.7

Then arose the Pārijāta tree, the ornament of the heavenly world,
which constantly fulfills seekers with wealth, just as you do on earth.

8.8.8

Then the Apsarases were born, wearing gold necklaces and fine garments, / delightful women for the denizens of heaven with their charming gaits, playful gestures, and glances.

8.8.9

Then appeared Lakṣmī in person, Ramā, devoted solely to the Lord, / brightening the directions with her splendor like a flash of lightning from Mount Saudāminī.

8.8.10

All—gods, asuras, and humans alike—longed for her, / their minds captivated by the majesty of her beauty, generosity, youth, and complexion.

8.8.11

Great Indra brought for her a magnificent, marvelous seat; / the best of rivers, assuming bodily forms, brought pure water in golden jars.

8.8.12

The earth brought all herbs required for consecration; / the cows brought the five sacred products; spring brought the two spring months, Madhu and Mādhava.

8.8.13

The sages arranged the consecration according to the prescribed rules; / the Gandharvas sang auspicious songs, and female dancers danced and sang.

8.8.14

The clouds resounded with mṛdaṅgas, paṇavas, murajas, ānakas, and gomukhas, / and with the tumult of conches, flutes, and vīṇās.

8.8.15

Then the elephants of the quarters consecrated the goddess, virtuous Fortune with a lotus in her hand, / with full jars to the accompaniment of Vedic hymns chanted by the twice-born.

8.8.16

The ocean presented two garments of yellow silk; / Varuṇa offered the Vaijayantī garland with bees intoxicated by honey.

8.8.17

Viśvakarman the Prajāpati gave various ornaments, / Sarasvatī a necklace, the Unborn [Brahmā] a lotus, and the Nāgas a pair of earrings.

8.8.18

Then, taking in hand a garland of lotuses over which benedictions had been spoken and black bees hummed, / she moved forward, displaying an exceedingly beautiful face with splendid cheeks, earrings, and a modest smile.

8.8.19

Her waist was extremely slender, her two breasts symmetrical, close together, and smeared with sandalwood and saffron; / as she glided here and there to the sweet tinkling of her anklets, she shone like a golden creeper.

8.8.20

Seeking for herself a faultless and everlasting abode endowed with unfailing virtues, / she found none among the Gandharvas, Siddhas, asuras, Yakṣas, Cāraṇas, the dwellers of heaven, and the rest:

8.8.21

‘One may indeed have austerity, but lacks conquest over anger; someone may possess knowledge somewhere, but that is not free from attachment; / someone may be great, but has not conquered desire; how can he be a sovereign lord who is dependent on another?

8.8.22

In one there is dharma, but no friendliness toward creatures; in another there is renunciation, but it is not a cause for liberation; / a person may possess power, but it is not immune to the force of time; indeed, there is no second person free from contact with the qualities [of material nature].

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Bhagavatapurana 8.8

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