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Bhagavatapurana 9

English (machine translation) 9

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Contents

9.1.1

The king said:
All the manvantaras have been recounted by you and heard by me, / and also the deeds performed therein by Hari of endless power.

9.1.2

That royal sage named Satyavrata, the ruler of the Draviḍa country, / who obtained knowledge at the end of the previous kalpa through service to the Supreme Person,

9.1.3

he indeed became Manu, the son of Vivasvat—so it has been heard; / and from you his sons have been mentioned, kings headed by Ikṣvāku.

9.1.4

Their lineage separately, O brāhmaṇa, and the deeds of their lineages, / glorify, O blessed one, for we are ever eager to hear.

9.1.5

Those who were in the past, those who will be in the future, and those who are present today— / recount to us the heroic deeds of all those of purifying renown.

9.1.6

Śrī Sūta said:
Thus questioned by King Parīkṣit in the assembly of knowers of Brahman, / the blessed Śuka, the supreme knower of dharma, spoke.

9.1.7

Śrī Śuka said:
Listen, O burner of foes, to the lineage of Manu in summary; / it is impossible to describe in detail even in hundreds of years.

9.1.8

He who is the Supreme Person, the self of higher and lower beings, / was this universe alone at the end of the kalpa, and nothing else.

9.1.9

From his navel arose a golden lotus cup; / in it was born the self-born, four-faced [Brahmā], O great king.

9.1.10

From his mind was born Marīci, and from him Kaśyapa; / then from Aditi, daughter of Dakṣa, Vivasvat was born as his son.

9.1.11

From him, O descendant of Bharata, was born Manu Śrāddhadeva by Saṃjñā; / that self-controlled lord begot ten sons upon Śraddhā:

9.1.12

Ikṣvāku, Nṛga, Śaryāti, Diṣṭa, Dhṛṣṭa, Karūṣaka, / Nariṣyanta, Pṛṣadhra, Nabhaga, and Kavi.

9.1.13

Formerly, when Manu was childless, the lord Vasiṣṭha, / the mighty sage, performed a sacrifice to Mitra and Varuṇa to obtain progeny.

9.1.14

There Śraddhā, Manu's wife, observing a milk-diet vow, / approached the hotṛ priest, bowed down, and begged for a daughter.

9.1.15

Directed by the adhvaryu, the hotṛ priest acted with focused mind; / when the oblation was taken up, the twice-born recited the vaṣaṭ-call with his voice.

9.1.16

Because of that deviation by the hotṛ, a daughter named Ilā was born; / beholding her, Manu, his mind not at all pleased, addressed his guru:

9.1.17

"O venerable sir, what is this ritual outcome wrought by you who speak the Veda? / Alas, a perversion! How terrible! May there be no such failure of the sacred word!

9.1.18

You are knowers of the Veda, disciplined, your sins burnt away by austerities; / how could there be a discrepancy in purpose, an untruth, as if among the gods?"

9.1.19

Hearing those words of his, the venerable great-grandfather [Vasiṣṭha], / knowing the transgression of the hotṛ priest, spoke to the son of the sun:

9.1.20

"This discrepancy in purpose arose from the deviation of your hotṛ; / nevertheless, by my own spiritual power I shall bring about good progeny for you."

9.1.21

Having so resolved, O king, that glorious venerable sage / praised the Original Person, desiring manhood for Ilā.

9.1.22

Pleased, the Lord Hari, the supreme master, granted him the desired boon; / thereby Ilā became Sudyumna, a bull among men.

9.1.23

Once, O great king, wandering in the forest on a hunt, / accompanied by a few ministers and riding a horse from the Sindhu country,

9.1.24

taking up an exquisite bow and most wondrous arrows, / armored, the hero went toward the northern quarter in pursuit of game.

9.1.25

He entered the Sukumāra forest at the foot of Mount Meru, / where the Lord Śarva resides, sporting with Umā.

9.1.26

As soon as he entered there, that slayer of enemy heroes, Sudyumna, / saw himself become a woman, and his horse a mare, O king.

9.1.27

Likewise, all his followers, seeing the reversal of their gender, / became dejected, looking at one another.

9.1.28

The king said: / How did that place come to possess such a property, or by whom was it made so, O venerable one? / Explain this question to me, for our curiosity is great.

9.1.29

Śrī Śuka said: / Once, sages of noble vows came there to see the Lord of the Mountain, / making the quarters radiant and free from darkness.

9.1.30

Seeing them, the goddess Ambikā, being unclothed, was deeply embarrassed; / rising from her husband's lap, she quickly tied her waistcloth.

9.1.31

The sages, too, seeing the couple engaged in lovemaking, / turned back and departed from there to the hermitage of Nara and Nārāyaṇa.

9.1.32

Then the Lord said this, wishing to please his beloved: / "Whoever enters this place shall indeed become a woman!"

9.1.33

From that time forth, men indeed avoid that forest; / and she, accompanied by her attendants, wandered from forest to forest.

9.1.34

Now, seeing her wandering near his hermitage—an exquisite woman / surrounded by women—the divine Budha desired her.

9.1.35

She too, fair-browed, desired the son of King Soma as her husband; / he begot upon her a son, Purūravas.

9.1.36

Having thus attained womanhood, King Sudyumna, the son of Manu, / remembered the family preceptor Vasiṣṭha—so we have heard.

9.1.37

Seeing that condition of his, deeply afflicted with compassion, / desiring manhood for Sudyumna, [Vasiṣṭha] took refuge in Śaṅkara.

9.1.38

Pleased, the Lord brought joy to that sage, / and, making his own word true, spoke thus, O ruler of the people:

9.1.39

"For one month this scion of your family shall be a man, and for one month a woman; / under this arrangement, let Sudyumna rule the earth as he desires."

9.1.40

Having obtained manhood under this arrangement by the grace of his spiritual teacher, / he ruled the earth as he wished, but his subjects took no delight in him.

9.1.41

He had three sons, O king—Utkala, Gaya, and Vimala; / they became kings of the southern country, devoted to dharma.

9.1.42

Then, when the time was ripe, the master, the lord of Pratiṣṭhāna, / having handed over the earth to his son Purūravas, went to the forest.

9.2.1

Śrī Śuka said: / When his son Sudyumna had thus departed, Manu Vaivasvata, / desiring sons, practiced austerities on the banks of the Yamunā for a hundred years.

9.2.2

Then Manu worshipped the divine Lord Hari to obtain offspring, / and obtained ten sons equal to himself, of whom Ikṣvāku was the eldest.

9.2.3

Pṛṣadhra, a son of Manu, was made a cowherd by his guru; / he guarded the cattle with diligence, observing the vow of staying in the heroic posture through the night.

9.2.4

Once, a tiger entered the cattle-pen at night while it was raining; / rising from their sleep, the cows roamed in fear within the enclosure.

9.2.5

The powerful beast seized one [cow], and she cried out, stricken with terror; / hearing her weeping, Pṛṣadhra indeed ran after [them].

9.2.6

Seizing a sword in haste in the night when the host of stars was hidden, / not knowing, he severed the head of the tawny cow, mistaking her for the tiger.

9.2.7

The tiger too, its ear severed by the strike of the sword's point, / ran out in great terror, shedding blood along the path.

9.2.8

Believing the tiger slain, Pṛṣadhra, the slayer of enemy heroes, / saw when night had dawned that the tawny cow had been killed by him, and was grieved.

9.2.9

The family preceptor cursed him, who had committed an offense unintentionally: / "You shall not be a kṣatriya; by this deed you shall become a śūdra!"

9.2.10

Thus cursed by his guru, he accepted it with folded hands; / a hero of celibate life, he observed a vow dear to sages.

9.2.11

Attaining single-minded devotion to the Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Self of all, pure, / he became equal-minded and a friend to all living beings.

9.2.12

Freed from attachment, tranquil in self, senses controlled, without possessions, / maintaining his livelihood with whatever came to him by chance,

9.2.13

fixing the mind upon the Self, satisfied in knowledge, concentrated in meditation, / he roamed this earth appearing as if inert, blind, and deaf.

9.2.14

Living thus, the sage entered a forest, and seeing a forest fire that had arisen, / using his senses [as oblations] through it, he attained the Supreme Brahman.

9.2.15

Kavi, the youngest, free of craving for sense objects, having renounced the kingdom along with his kinsmen, / establishing the self-luminous Person in his heart, entered the forest in the bloom of youth and attained the Supreme.

9.2.16

From Karūṣa, the son of Manu, sprang the Kārūṣas, a race of kṣatriyas
who guarded the northern path, devoted to the brahmins and lovers of dharma.

9.2.17

From Dhṛṣṭa arose a kṣatriya lineage called Dhārṣṭa, which attained the status of brahmins on earth.
From Nṛga came the line: Sumati, then Bhūtajyotis, and from him Vasu.

9.2.18

The son of Vasu was Pratīka; his son was Oghavān, the father of Oghavat
and a daughter named Oghavatī; Sudarśana married her.

9.2.19

From Nariṣyanta was born Citrasena; his son was Ṛkṣa.
His son was Mīḍhvas; from him sprang Pūrṇa, and Indrasena was his son.

9.2.20

From Indrasena came Vītihotra; his son was Satyaśravas.
Uruśravas was his son, and from him arose Devadatta.

9.2.21

From him Agniveśya was born as a son, who was the Lord Agni himself,
renowned as Kānīna and Jātūkarṇya, a great sage.

9.2.22

From him, O King, arose the Āgniveśyāyana brahmin lineage.
The line of Nariṣyanta has thus been declared; hear now the dynasty of Diṣṭa.

9.2.23

Another son of Diṣṭa was Nābhāga, who became a vaiśya by occupation.
His son was Bhalandana; from Bhalandana was born Vatsaprīti.

9.2.24

The son of Vatsaprīti was Prāṃśu; his son, they know, was Pramati.
Khanitra was born from Pramati; from him Cākṣuṣa, and then Viviṃśati.

9.2.25

The son of Viviṃśati was Rambha; his son was the righteous Khanīnetra.
Karandhama, O great king, was his son, O ruler of men.

9.2.26

His son was Avīkṣit, whose son Marutta became an emperor;
Saṃvarta, the great yogin and son of Aṅgiras, officiated as his priest.

9.2.27

There was no sacrifice equal to that of Marutta;
every single thing of his that was splendid was made of gold.

9.2.28

Indra was exhilarated by the soma, the twice-born by the sacrificial gifts;
the Maruts served the food, and the Viśvedevas were members of the assembly.

9.2.29

The son of Marutta was Dama; his son was Rājyavardhana.
Sudhṛti was born as his son, and the son of Sudhṛti was Nara.

9.2.30

His son was Kevala; from him sprang Dhundhumān; then Vegavān.
His son was Budha, whose son was King Tṛṇabindu.

9.2.31

The goddess Alambuṣā, an excellent apsaras, took him—an abode of praiseworthy qualities—as her husband;
from her were born sons, and a daughter named Ilavilā.

9.2.32

In her the sage Viśravas, master of yoga, begot his son Kubera, the giver of wealth,
after receiving the supreme knowledge from his father.

9.2.33

Viśāla, Śūnyabandhu, and Dhūmraketu were her sons;
King Viśāla, the founder of the dynasty, built the city of Vaiśālī.

9.2.34

Hemacandra was his son, and Dhūmrākṣa was his son.
From his son Saṃyama was born Kṛśāśva, father of Sahadeva.

9.2.35

From Kṛśāśva came Somadatta, who by horse sacrifices worshipped the Lord of the earth,
the Supreme Person, and attained the highest destination sought by masters of yoga.

9.2.36

The son of Somadatta was Sumati; his son was Janamejaya.
These are the kings of Vaiśālī, who upheld the glory of Tṛṇabindu.

9.3.1

Śrī Śuka said:
Śaryāti, the son of Manu, was a king exceedingly devoted to Brahman,
who indeed recited the second day of the sacrificial session of the Aṅgirases.

9.3.2

He had a lotus-eyed daughter named Sukanyā.
Accompanied by her, he went to the forest and arrived at the hermitage of Cyavana.

9.3.3

Surrounded by her female companions, examining the trees in the forest,
she saw within an anthill two lights resembling fireflies.

9.3.4

Impelled by fate, the young girl pierced those two lights with a thorn
in her childish innocence; blood then flowed out from there.

9.3.5

Instantly there occurred a stoppage of stool and urine among the soldiers.
Noticing that, the royal sage, filled with wonder, said to his men:

9.3.6

"Has no wrong been committed by you against the descendant of Bhṛgu?
Clearly, an offense has been done to his hermitage by someone among us."

9.3.7

Terrified, Sukanyā said to her father, "Something was done by me:
not knowing, I pierced two glowing lights with a thorn."

9.3.8

Hearing these words of his daughter, Śaryāti was seized with fear
and gently appeased the sage concealed within the anthill.

9.3.9

Knowing his intent, he gave his daughter to the sage;
released from difficulty, he took leave of him and returned to his city with composed mind.

9.3.10

Having obtained Cyavana, an exceedingly wrathful husband,
Sukanyā, understanding his mind, pleased him with vigilant and devoted service.

9.3.11

Then, after some time, the two Nāsatyas came to the hermitage;
honoring them, he said, "Grant me youth, O two lords.

9.3.12

I will take a cup of soma for the two of you at the sacrifice, even though you do not drink soma;
let such youth and beauty be made for me as is desired by women."

9.3.13

"Very well," said the two best of physicians, congratulating the brahmin;
"let your honor dive into this pond created by the Siddhas."

9.3.14

Thus addressed, his body seized by old age, covered with veins,
his form wrinkled and gray-haired, he was led into the pool by the two Aśvins.

9.3.15

Three men emerged, exceedingly handsome and charming to women,
wearing lotus garlands and earrings, of identical form and splendidly dressed.

9.3.16

Seeing them identical in form and radiant as the sun, the fair-hipped woman,
not knowing her husband, the chaste wife took refuge with the Aśvins.

9.3.17

Having shown her husband to her, pleased by her devotion to her husband,
they took leave of the sage and departed in an aerial chariot for heaven.

9.3.18

Now Śaryāti, wishing to perform a sacrifice, went to Cyavana's hermitage
and saw beside his daughter a man radiant as the sun.

9.3.19

The king said to his daughter, who had bowed at his feet,
not bestowing blessings upon her, as though displeased in his heart:

9.3.20

"What is this that you intended to do? Your husband, the sage honored by the world, has been betrayed by you,
in that you have abandoned him, seized by old age and regarded as untruthful, to consort with this paramour, a traveler on the road!

9.3.21

How has your mind strayed from the path of the virtuous? Born in an exalted lineage, this is a stain upon the family!
Because you shamelessly maintain a paramour, you are dragging down both your father's and your husband's family to the lowest darkness!"

9.3.22

To her father who was speaking thus, smiling with a pure smile,
she said, "Father, this son of Bhṛgu is your son-in-law."

9.3.23

She related everything to her father—the obtaining of youth and beauty;
astonished and exceedingly delighted, he embraced his daughter.

9.3.24

Making the heroic king sacrifice with soma, Cyavana took a draught of soma
by his own spiritual power, even for the two Aśvins who did not drink soma.

9.3.25

Intolerant and immediately enraged, Indra raised the thunderbolt to slay him;
with the thunderbolt [in hand], the descendant of Bhṛgu paralyzed Indra's arm.

9.3.26

Thereupon all of them consented to a draught of soma for the two Aśvins as well,
who had previously been excluded from the soma offering on the ground that they were physicians.

9.3.27

Uttānabarhis, Ānarta, and Bhūriṣeṇa were the three / sons born to Śaryāti. From Ānarta came Revata.

9.3.28

He built the city of Kuśasthalī within the ocean / and, dwelling there, ruled over the regions of Ānarta and others, O subduer of foes.

9.3.29

A hundred sons were born to him, of whom Kakudmin was the eldest and best. / Taking his daughter Revatī, Kakudmin went to the Lord [Brahmā],

9.3.30

to Brahmaloka, which is uninhibited, in order to ask for a groom for his daughter. / As a Gandharva musical performance was underway, he waited for a moment, finding no opportunity.

9.3.31

At its end, bowing down to the primeval Lord, he made his intention known. / Hearing that, the Lord Brahmā laughed and said to him:

9.3.32

"O King, those whom you held in your heart have all been destroyed by time. / We do not even hear the names of the lineages of their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons.

9.3.33

A span of time measured by twenty-seven sets of four yugas has passed away. / Therefore go; Baladeva, possessing great might, is a portion of the God of gods.

9.3.34

O King, give this jewel of a maiden to that jewel among men. / For the purpose of lifting the earth's burden, the Lord, creator of all beings,

9.3.35

whose hearing and glorification are purifying, has descended with His own portion." / Having been thus instructed, the king bowed to the unborn [Brahmā] and returned to his city, / which had been abandoned by his brothers who had dispersed in all directions out of fear of Yakṣas.

9.3.36

Having given his daughter of flawless limbs to the mighty Bala, / the king went to Nārāyaṇa's hermitage named Badarī to perform austerities.

9.4.1

Śrī Śuka said: / Nābhāga was the son of Nabhaga; his elder brothers divided the inheritance / while he, the youngest and wise, was away living as a celibate student.

9.4.2

"Brothers, what have you allotted to me?" "We allot your father to you." / "My brothers have allotted you to me, father." "Do not take that seriously, my son.

9.4.3

These highly intelligent descendants of Aṅgiras are performing a sacrificial session today. / Reaching every sixth day, O wise one, they become bewildered in the ritual.

9.4.4

Make those great souls recite the two hymns to the Viśvedevas. / When going to heaven, they will give their wealth that remains from the sacrificial session

9.4.5

to you. Go to them at once." He did so in that very way. / Having given him the remainder of the sacrificial session, they departed for heaven.

9.4.6

As he was about to take possession of it, a man of dark appearance / approached from the north and said, "This wealth belonging to the sacrificial ground is mine."

9.4.7

"This was given to me by the sages," said the descendant of Manu then. / "Let the inquiry between us be put to your father." Just as [suggested], he questioned his father.

9.4.8

"Indeed, whatever remnant is left on the sacrificial site, the sages / have assigned as the share for Rudra. That god is entitled to everything."

9.4.9

Nābhāga bowed to him and said: "O Lord, this belonging to the ground is indeed yours; / so said my father, O divine one. I appease you with my head."

9.4.10

"Because your father spoke the dharma and you speak the truth, / I grant to you, a seer of mantras, the knowledge of the eternal Brahman.

9.4.11

Accept this wealth that has been offered, the remainder of my sacrificial session." / Having spoken thus, the Lord Rudra, who loves dharma, disappeared.

9.4.12

Whoever remembers this morning and evening with a fully composed mind / becomes a wise seer knowing the mantras and attains his own true goal.

9.4.13

From Nābhāga was born Ambarīṣa, an exalted devotee and accomplished sage, / whom even a brāhmaṇa's curse, which is never thwarted anywhere, could not touch.

9.4.14

The King said: / O Lord, I wish to hear of that wise royal sage, / against whom the staff of a brāhmaṇa, unleashed and difficult to overcome, had no power.

9.4.15

Śrī Śuka said: / The fortunate Ambarīṣa, having obtained the earth with its seven continents, / imperishable sovereignty, and peerless wealth in this world,

9.4.16

considered all that—though exceedingly difficult for mortals to attain—like a dream, / knowing that the end of power is darkness into which a man enters.

9.4.17

He attained supreme devotional emotion toward the Lord Vāsudeva and toward His virtuous devotees, / by which this entire universe was regarded by him like a clod of earth.

9.4.18

He fixed his mind upon Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, his words upon praising the qualities of Vaikuṇṭha, / his two hands upon sweeping the temple of Hari and other tasks, and his ears upon listening to the exalted stories of Acyuta;

9.4.19

his two eyes upon gazing at the images and temples of Mukunda, his body in touching the limbs of His servants, / his sense of smell upon the fragrance of the auspicious tulasī at His lotus feet, and his tongue upon what is offered to Him;

9.4.20

his two feet upon walking to the pilgrimage places of Hari, his head upon bowing to Hṛṣīkeśa's feet, / and his desire upon servitude, never for the sake of selfish desires—in order that loving attachment directed to the followers of He of highest renown might grow.

9.4.21

Thus offering the entire host of his actions constantly to the Supreme, the Lord of sacrifice, Adhokṣaja, / and cultivating devotion of his whole being, he ruled this earth guided by brāhmaṇas devoted to Him.

9.4.22

He worshipped the Lord, the master of sacrifice, with horse sacrifices where abundant gifts were given, / conducted by Vasiṣṭha, Asita, Gautama, and others along the Sarasvatī flowing through the desert.

9.4.23

At his sacrifices, the members of the assembly and the priests appeared in form / like gods—unblinking and splendidly dressed.

9.4.24

Heaven, dear even to the immortals, was not desired by his people, / who were listening to and singing of the deeds of He of highest renown.

9.4.25

For what desires, nourished by sovereign dominion, / could be hard to attain for one who sees Mukunda in his heart, even among perfected beings?

9.4.26

In this way, by the yoga of devotion joined with austerity, / pleasing Hari through his own dharma, the king gradually renounced all desires.

9.4.27

Regarding his home, wife, sons, and relatives, fine elephants, chariots, and horses, / imperishable jewel ornaments, garments, and boundless treasuries, he considered them worthless.

9.4.28

To him Hari gave His discus, which strikes terror into adversaries / and protects His devotees, being pleased with his unalloyed devotional emotion.

9.4.29

Desiring to worship Kṛṣṇa, the heroic king, accompanied by his queen / of equal disposition, observed the vow of Dvādaśī for one year.

9.4.30

At the conclusion of the vow in the month of Kārtika, having fasted for three nights / and bathed in the Kālindī, he once worshipped Hari in Madhuvana.

9.4.31

Bathing Him according to the ritual of the great ablution with all abundant ingredients, / adorning Him with garments, ornaments, fragrances, garlands, and offerings of reverence,

9.4.32

he worshipped Keśava with his heart absorbed in Him, / and also, with devotion, the fortunate brāhmaṇas who had attained all their desires.

9.4.33

Having cows with gold-plated horns, silver hooves, and fine coverings, / rich in milk, gentle temper, youth, beauty, and adorned with their calves,

9.4.34

he sent sixty billion of them to the houses of virtuous brāhmaṇas, / after first feeding the twice-born with delicious, most excellent food.

9.4.35

Given leave by [the brāhmaṇas] whose desires were fulfilled, he was about to break his fast, / when just then the divine lord Durvāsā arrived as his guest.

9.4.36

The king honored the guest with rising to greet him, offering a seat, and gifts of hospitality; / having approached his feet, he requested him to take his meal.

9.4.37

Welcoming that request, he went to perform his obligatory duties; / he plunged into the auspicious waters of the Yamunā, meditating on the Supreme [Brahman].

9.4.38

With only half a muhūrta remaining of the Dvādaśī for breaking the fast, / he who knew dharma deliberated with the brāhmaṇas over that conflict of duties:

9.4.39

“There is fault in transgressing against a brāhmaṇa, and fault if the Dvādaśī is not broken. / What may I do that would be good for me, or that adharma would not touch me?

9.4.40

Therefore, I shall break the vow with water alone. / For brāhmaṇas say that drinking water is both eaten and not eaten.”

9.4.41

Having thus sipped water, the royal sage, meditating in his mind on Acyuta, / waited, O best of Kurus, for the arrival of the brāhmaṇa alone.

9.4.42

Having performed his obligatory duties, Durvāsā returned from the bank of the Yamunā. / Welcomed by the king, he understood his act by his intellect.

9.4.43

With his limbs trembling in anger and his face contorted with knitted brows, / being exceedingly hungry, he spoke to him who stood with folded hands:

9.4.44

“Ah, look at the transgression of dharma by this cruel man, intoxicated by wealth, / no devotee of Viṣṇu, imagining himself to be the lord!

9.4.45

Having invited me, a guest who arrived, with hospitality, / he has eaten without giving to me; I shall immediately show you the fruit of that!”

9.4.46

Speaking thus, blazing with rage, he tore out a matted lock of hair; / with it he created against him a female demon resembling the fire of cosmic dissolution.

9.4.47

Seeing her rushing forward blazing, sword in hand, / making the earth tremble with her footsteps, the king did not budge an inch.

9.4.48

Commissioned previously by the supreme Puruṣa to protect His servant, / the discus burned that demoness as fire burns an enraged snake.

9.4.49

Seeing it rushing toward him and his own effort frustrated, / Durvāsā fled in terror in all directions, desiring to save his life.

9.4.50

The Lord’s discus pursued him, like a forest fire with billowing flames chasing a snake; / seeing it clinging so close, the sage, seeking to enter a cave, fled toward Mount Meru.

9.4.51

He went to the directions, the sky, the earth, subterranean chasms, the oceans, / the worlds with their guardians, and heaven; wherever he fled, he saw the unbearable Sudarśana.

9.4.52

Finding no protector anywhere, his heart thoroughly terrified, seeking shelter, / he approached god Brahmā: “O Creator, O Self-born, save me from the splendor of the Invincible!”

9.4.53

Śrī Brahmā said:
“My abode, along with this universe, at the end of the divine play called two parārdhas, / will surely disappear by the mere knitting of His brows, when He, the embodiment of Time, desires to burn it up.

9.4.54

I, Śiva, Dakṣa, Bhṛgu and other leaders, the lords of creatures, of spirits, and of gods— / all of us, having surrendered to His command, carry on our heads [His bidding] for the welfare of the world.”

9.4.55

Turned away by Brahmā, tormented by Viṣṇu’s discus, / Durvāsā went for refuge to Śarva, who dwells on Kailāsa.

9.4.56

Śrī Śaṅkara said:
“My dear, we have no power over the Infinite, the Supreme, in whom these and other cosmic eggs / appear and disappear in time by the thousands, and in which we wander.

9.4.57

I, Sanatkumāra, Nārada, the divine unborn Brahmā, / Kapila, Apāntaratamas, Devala, Dharma, Āsuri,

9.4.58

Marīci and the other chief masters of spiritual perfections, who see beyond— / veiled by His creative power, none of us knows His creative power.

9.4.59

This weapon belongs to that Lord of the universe, and is indeed unbearable to us. / Go to Him alone for refuge; Hari will bestow peace upon you.”

9.4.60

Then, bereft of hope, Durvāsā went to the realm of the Lord / named Vaikuṇṭha, where Śrīnivāsa dwells along with Śrī.

9.4.61

Being scorched by the fire of the Invincible’s weapon, he fell trembling at His feet, / crying: “O Acyuta! O Infinite One! O Object of the virtuous devotees’ desire! O Lord! Protect me, a wrongdoer, O Creator of the universe!

9.4.62

Not knowing Your supreme majesty, an offense was committed by me against Your dear devotees. / Grant pardon for it, O Ordainer, upon the utterance of whose name even a denizen of hell is freed.”

9.4.63

The Lord said:
“I am dependent on My devotees, as if not free, O twice-born one; / My heart is captured by the virtuous devotees, and, dear to the devotees, I am [devoted] to My devotees.

9.4.64

I do not desire My own self without My virtuous devotees, / nor supreme fortune, O brāhmaṇa, for those to whom I am the supreme goal.

9.4.65

How can I bear to abandon those who, having renounced wife, home, children, kinsmen, / life-breath, and wealth, in this world and the next, have taken refuge in Me?

9.4.66

Virtuous devotees of equal vision, whose hearts are bound to Me, / bring Me under their control by devotion, just as chaste wives do a good husband.

9.4.67

Content through My service, they do not even desire the fourfold liberation beginning with sālokya / that is attained through service to Me; how then anything else that is ravaged by Time?

9.4.68

The virtuous devotees are My heart, and I alone am the heart of virtuous devotees; / they know none other than Me, nor do I know anything apart from them in the least.

9.4.69

I will tell you the remedy, O brāhmaṇa; listen to it: / for this was an act of harm against yourself; go without delay to him from whom it arose. / Splendor directed against the virtuous devotees brings misfortune to the attacker.

9.4.70

Austerity and learning are both conducive to the highest good for brāhmaṇas; / but in an ill-behaved person, they turn out otherwise for their possessor.

9.4.71

Therefore go, O brāhmaṇa—blessing be upon you—to the king, the son of Nābhāga; / beg the forgiveness of that fortunate soul, and then there will be peace.”

9.5.1

Śrī Śuka said:
Thus instructed by the Lord, Durvāsā, tormented by the discus, / turned back to Ambarīṣa and, in distress, seized his feet.

9.5.2

Seeing his effort and embarrassed by the touch of his feet, / deeply pained by compassion, he praised that weapon of Hari:

9.5.3

Ambarīṣa said:
“You are fire, the divine sun, and Soma, the lord of luminaries; / you are water, earth, space, wind, the subtle elements, and the senses.

9.5.4

O Sudarśana, thousand-spoked one, dear to Acyuta, salutations to you! / O destroyer of all weapons, bringer of blessings, be auspicious to the brāhmaṇa, O lord of the earth!

9.5.5

You are dharma, you are truth and cosmic order, you are the sacrifice and the enjoyer of all sacrifices; / you are the guardian of the worlds, the self of all, you are the supreme splendor of the Puruṣa.

9.5.6

Homage to you of beautiful navel, bridge of all dharma, comet of destruction to unrighteous demons, / protector of the three worlds, of pure radiance, swift as thought, of wondrous deeds—I praise you!”

9.5.7

By your splendor full of dharma, darkness is dispelled and light is given to the eyes of exalted devotees. / Unfathomable is your majesty, O lord of speech; your form is this being and non-being, higher and lower.

9.5.8

When released indeed by the spotless Lord, O unconquerable one, you enter the army of the Daityas and Dānavas; / lopping off their arms, bellies, thighs, feet, and necks, you shine ceaselessly in battle.

9.5.9

As such, O protector of the world, all-enduring one, appointed by the wielder of the mace for the destruction of villains, / do good unto this brāhmaṇa, the cause of our family's divine favor; for his grace is indeed ours.

9.5.10

If charity has been given, or sacrifice offered, or one's own dharma properly performed, / or if our family regards the brāhmaṇa as its deity, may the twice-born be free from fever!

9.5.11

If the Lord, one and without a second, the shelter of all virtues, is pleased with us, / recognizing his presence in all beings as their self, may the twice-born be free from fever!

9.5.12

Śrī Śuka said: / As the king was thus praising it, the Sudarśana disc of Viṣṇu, / which was burning the brāhmaṇa on all sides, subsided at the king's prayer.

9.5.13

Durvāsas, released from the burning heat of the missile's fire and restored to well-being, / praised the lord of the earth, bestowing supreme blessings upon him.

9.5.14

Durvāsas said: / Ah, today the greatness of the servants of the Infinite Lord has been witnessed by me, / in that, O king, you seek the welfare even of one who wronged you!

9.5.15

What indeed is difficult for the virtuous, or what is hard to abandon for exalted devotees, / by whom the Lord Hari, the foremost of the Sātvatas, has been captured?

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