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Matsyapurana 146

English (machine translation) 146

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English

146.1

The ṛṣis said: / How was the great slaying of Tāraka told by Matsya? / At what time did this story take place, O son of Sūta?

146.2

This story arising from the ocean of milk that is your mouth has the nature of nectar; / no satiety arises in us who drink it with our ears. / O sage of great intellect, explain this that is in your mind!

146.3

Sūta said: / When questioned by Manu, the Lord Janārdana in the form of Matsya [said]: / 'How was the six-faced god born in the reed-thicket, O Lord?'

146.4

Hearing this speech of the king of boundless might, / the blessed son of Brahmā, pleased, spoke to the highly intelligent one.

146.5

Matsya said: / There was a Daitya named Vajrāṅga, and his son was Tāraka; / that exceedingly mighty one drove the Suras out from their cities.

146.6

Then, afflicted with fear, they went to the presence of Brahmā; / and seeing the gods terrified, Brahmā said to them:

146.7

'Abandon fear, O gods! A child, the son of Śaṃkara / and grandson of the Snow Mountain, will slay that Dānava.'

146.8

Then, at a certain time, Śiva, seeing the daughter of the mountain, / discharged his semen into the mouth of Agni for a specific reason.

146.9

That semen received into the mouth of Agni did not satisfy the gods; / having burst through their bellies, O sage, it came forth undigested.

146.10

It fell into the best of rivers, and then into a reed forest;
from that, indeed, was born Guha, resplendent as the sun.

146.11

When only seven days old, the boy slew the Asura Tāraka.
Having heard this statement, the best of ṛṣis said to him:

146.12

The ṛṣis said:
Most wondrous and delightful is this sin-destroying story!
Tell it to us in full detail, in its true reality, as we listen.

146.13

From whose lineage did the lord of Daityas named Vajrāṅga arise of old,
whose son was the mighty Tāraka, the tormentor of the Suras?

146.14

And who was created for the slaying of that lord of Daityas?
Tell us the birth of Guha in its entirety, O giver of honor!

146.15

Sūta said:
The mind-born son of Brahmā was the lord of progeny named Dakṣa.
He begot sixty daughters on Vairiṇī, so we have heard.

146.16

He gave ten to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa,
twenty-seven to Soma, and four to Ariṣṭanemi,

146.17

two to the son of Bāhuka, two to Aṅgiras,
and two to the wise Kṛśāśva—the lord, the son of the lord of progeny.

146.18

[Kaśyapa's wives were] Aditi, Diti, Danu, Viśvā, Ariṣṭā, Surasā,
Surabhi, Vinatā, Tāmrā, Krodhavaśā, Irā,

146.19

Kadrū, and Muni—the mothers of the world, mothers among cattle.
From them was the birth of beings consisting of mobile and immobile entities,

146.20

of various kinds; from them other embodied beings are remembered.
Devendra, Upendra, Pūṣan, and others—all of them are considered the offspring of Aditi.

146.21

From Diti came beings such as Hiraṇyakaśipu and others;
the Dānavas were Danu's sons, and cattle were the offspring of Surabhi.

146.22

Birds, headed by Garuḍa, are remembered as sons of Vinatā;
serpents are known as Kadrū's sons, and others are the remaining creatures.

146.23

Having conquered Śakra, the lord of the three worlds, the master of all the hosts of immortals,
the mighty Hiraṇyakaśipu established his rule.

146.24

Then, after some time, Hiraṇyakaśipu and the others
were slain in battle by Viṣṇu, and the remaining Dānavas by Indra.

146.25

Then, having lost her sons, Diti begged a boon
from her husband, the divine Kaśyapa: another son of great strength,

146.26

a slayer of Śakra in battle; and the lord granted it to her.

146.27

"Abide by a vow for a thousand years with a pure mind, O goddess,
and you will obtain a son." Thus addressed, she acted accordingly.

146.28

While she was observing the vow, the thousand-eyed [Śakra], with focused mind,
attended upon her, and she accepted his service.

146.29

When ten years remained of the thousand, Diti,
standing in austerity, was well-pleased and said to Śakra, ready to grant a boon:

146.30

Diti said:
"Know me as almost having completed the vow, O son, O Pākaśāsana;
and there will be a brother for you. Together with him, this prosperity

146.31

enjoy at will, my child—the three worlds freed of thorns!"
Having said this, overcome by sleep, resting her feet on her hair,

146.32

she herself fell asleep improperly, due to the inevitability of destiny.
Then Pākaśāsana, having found that vulnerability, entered her womb,

146.33

and the king of the gods divided the fetus into seven parts with his thunderbolt.
Then Maghavan made each piece again

146.34

into seven parts, in his wrath. Then Diti woke up;
awakening, she said: "O Śakra, do not strike down my offspring!"

146.35

Hearing that, Śakra came out, stood before her with joined palms,
and, terrified, spoke these words spoken from his mother's mouth:

146.36

Śakra said:
"Mother, indulged in daytime sleep, resting your head upon your feet,
therefore your fetus was divided by me into seven sevens.

146.37

Your sons have been made into forty-nine portions by the thunderbolt;
I will give them places in heaven, O you revered by deities!"

146.38

Addressed thus, the goddess then said, "Let it be so."
And again the dark-eyed goddess spoke to her husband:

146.39

"O lord of progeny, give me a mighty son, a conqueror of Śakra,
who will not be slayable by the missiles and weapons of the dwellers in heaven."

146.40

Thus addressed, he spoke to that wife who was overwhelmed with sorrow:
"Having performed austerity for ten thousand years, you will obtain [him].

146.41

With limbs of adamantine substance, uncuttable, firm as iron,
your son will be named Vajrāṅga, O lover of your sons!"

146.42

Having obtained the boon, the goddess went to the forest for austerity;
she practiced terrible austerity for ten thousand years.

146.43

At the end of the austerity, the goddess gave birth to an invincible [son],
of uncountered deeds, unconquerable, unbreakable even by the thunderbolt.

146.44

As soon as he was born, he was a master of all weapons and missiles;
with devotion he said to his mother, "Mother, what shall I do?"

146.45

Then, delighted, Diti said to him, the lord of Daityas:
"Many sons of mine were slain by the thousand-eyed one, my child;

146.46

go to retaliate for them, and for the slaying of Śakra."
Saying "So be it!" to her, the mighty one went to heaven.

146.47

Then, having bound the thousand-eyed one with an unfailingly bright noose,
he went to the vicinity of his mother, like a tiger with a small deer.

146.48

In the meantime, Brahmā and Kaśyapa of great austerity
arrived where the fearless mother and son were.

146.49

Seeing them, Brahmā and Kaśyapa said this:
"Release this Devendra, son; what is the use of this?

146.50

Humiliation is declared to be death for an honored person, O son;
and know him who is released at our word to be truly dead.

146.51

Released by the authority of another, he will bear a burden before enemies;
living indeed, my child, he will be dead day after day.

146.52

When an enemy has fallen into the power of the great, enmity no longer exists."
Hearing this, Vajrāṅga bowed and said these words:

146.53

"I have no business with him; the command of my mother was carried out by me.
You are the lord of Suras and Asuras, and my great-grandfather.

146.54

I will do your bidding, O god; here Śatakratu is released.
May my delight be in austerity, O god, and may it be without obstacle,

146.55

by your grace, O Lord!" Having spoken thus, he ceased.
When that Daitya stood silent, Pitāmaha said this:

146.56

Brahmā said:
"Though you undertook cruel austerity, you stand by our command;
by this purity of mind, the fruit of your birth is fulfilled."

146.57

Having said this, the lotus-born one created a large-eyed maiden;
the god born of the lotus gave her to him as a wife,

146.58

and having given her the name Varāṅgī, Pitāmaha departed.
Vajrāṅga, too, along with her, went to the forest for austerity.

146.59

With raised arms, that lord of Daityas spent a thousand years, / lotus-petal-eyed, pure in mind, performing great austerities.

146.60

For that same length of time he hung head downwards, for that same time he stood amid the five fires, / fasting, performing dread asceticism, he became an embodiment of austerity.

146.61

Then he spent a thousand years submerged in water; / and while he was entered within the waters, his wife, who had taken severe vows,

146.62

sat in silence on the bank of that very lake out of love for him, / and without food, the highly radiant one engaged in dread austerity.

146.63

While she was engaged in austerity, Indra created terrors: / having become a huge monkey there, he [entered] that hermitage

146.64

and completely tossed about every water-jar made of gourd, water-pot, and basket. / Then in the fury of a cloud, the mighty one caused her to tremble.

146.65

Then, having bound her two feet in the form of a serpent, / he dragged her roaming far across this earth.

146.66

Endowed with the power of austerity, she could not be killed by him. / Then, in the form of a jackal, he defiled her hermitage.

146.67

Then, in the form of a cloud, he drenched her hermitage. / Tormenting her with countless terrors, Pākaśāsana,

146.68

when he still did not cease in this way, Vajrāṅga's queen then, / believing the mountain to be wicked, prepared to pronounce a curse.

146.69

Seeing that she was ready to curse, the mountain assumed human form / and, terrified in his heart, spoke to that fair-limbed Varāṅgī:

146.70

"O beautiful lady, I am not wicked; I am to be resorted to by all living beings! / It is Pākaśāsana who, enraged, is causing this confusion."

146.71

Meanwhile, a period of a thousand years had passed. / When that time had passed, the blessed Lotus-born Lord, / pleased, approached that reservoir of water and spoke to Vajrāṅga:

146.72

Brahmā said: / "I grant all your desires; rise up, O son of Diti!" / Addressed thus, the lord of Daityas, a treasury of austerities, arose / and, with folded hands, addressed this speech to the Grandfather of all the worlds:

146.73

Vajrāṅga said: / "Let there be no demonic nature in me; let imperishable worlds be mine; / let my delight be in austerity alone; and let my body have only sustenance."

146.74

Saying, "So be it," the god departed to his own abode; / and when his austerity had concluded, Vajrāṅga, firm in self-restraint,

146.75

desiring food, did not see his wife in his hermitage. / Overcome with hunger, he entered the deep forest of the mountain

146.76

to gather fruits and roots, and there he beheld / his beloved, miserable, weeping, her face covered by her slender [arms]. / Seeing her, the lord of Daityas spoke, consoling her:

146.77

Vajrāṅga said: / "Who has wronged you, timid one, wishing to go to the world of Yama? / Or what desire may I grant you? Tell me quickly, O beautiful lady!"

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