Matsyapurana 161

English (machine translation) 161

Language: English

161.1

The ṛṣis said: / 'Now we wish to hear of the slaying of Hiraṇyakaśipu, / the majesty of Narasiṃha, and the destruction of sin.'

161.2

Sūta said: / 'Formerly in the Kṛta Yuga, O brahmins, the lord Hiraṇyakaśipu, / the primeval progenitor of the Daityas, performed great asceticism.

161.3

For ten thousand years and ten hundred years / he dwelt in water, having undertaken the vows of bathing and silence.

161.4

Then, by his tranquility, self-restraint, and celibacy, / Brahmā became pleased with his asceticism and restriction.

161.5

Then the self-born Lord himself arrived there / on an aerial chariot shining like the sun and harnessed to swans,

161.6

accompanied by the Ādityas, Vasus, Sādhyas, and Maruts, and likewise deities, / Rudras, the Viśvedevas as companions, and Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and serpents;

161.7

by the cardinal and intermediate directions, by rivers and oceans, / by the lunar mansions, auspicious moments, sky-travelers, and great planets;

161.8

together with gods and brahmin seers, Siddhas and the seven seers, / meritorious royal seers, and hosts of Gandharvas and Apsarases.

161.9

Surrounded by all the dwellers of heaven, the glorious teacher of the moving and unmoving, / Brahmā, the foremost of knowers of the Veda, spoke this word to the Daitya:

161.10

'I am pleased with this asceticism of you, my devotee, O you of noble vows. / Choose a boon; good fortune to you! Attain your desire as you wish.'

161.11

Hiraṇyakaśipu said: / 'May neither gods, Asuras, Gandharvas, nor Yakṣas, serpents, and Rākṣasas, / nor human beings, nor Piśācas slay me, O best of gods!

161.12

Nor may the ṛṣis curse me with their curses, O Great-grandfather. / If the Lord is pleased with me, this is the boon I have chosen:

161.13

Neither by an astral weapon nor by a physical weapon, neither by a mountain nor by a tree, / neither by what is dry nor by what is wet, neither by day nor by night;

161.14

May I myself become the sun, the moon, the wind, and the fire, / the water, the intermediate space, the stars, and the ten directions;

161.15

And I, anger, desire, Varuṇa, Vāsava, Yama, / and Dhanada, the overseer of wealth, the Yakṣa, and the lord of the Kiṃpuruṣas.”

161.16

Brahmā said: / “These celestial, wondrous boons have been granted to you by me, my child. / You will always obtain all your desires, my boy; there is no doubt.”

161.17

Having spoken thus, the Lord went directly through the sky / to the Vairāja abode of Brahmā, frequented by hosts of Brahmarṣis.

161.18

Then the gods, the Nāgas, and the Gandharvas along with the ṛṣis, / hearing of the granting of the boon, approached Pitāmaha:

161.19

“Because of the boon granted, O Lord, that Asura will slaughter us. / Therefore, be gracious swiftly, O Lord, and let his death also be devised.

161.20

O Lord, you are the primeval creator of all beings, the Sovereign Himself; / you are the creator of the offerings to gods and ancestors, the unmanifest nature, the wise one.”

161.21

Hearing the speech spoken for the welfare of all worlds, the divine Prajāpati / comforted the Suras with the cool waters of his words:

161.22

“The fruit of his asceticism must inevitably be obtained by him, O gods. / At the conclusion of his asceticism, the divine Viṣṇu will bring about his death.”

161.23

Hearing that word of the lotus-born [Brahmā], all the deities, / filled with joy, departed to their own celestial abodes.

161.24

As soon as the boon was obtained, the Daitya Hiraṇyakaśipu, / haughty with the granting of the boon, oppressed all creatures.

161.25

In their hermitages, that Dānava assaulted the exalted munis / who observed praiseworthy vows, were devoted to truth and righteousness, and were self-controlled.

161.26

Having vanquished the gods dwelling in the three worlds, that great Asura, / bringing the threefold world under his control, resided in heaven.

161.27

When, insolent with the intoxication of his boon and impelled by the law of Time, / he made the Daityas worthy of sacrificial offerings and made the deities unworthy of them,

161.28

then the Ādityas, the Sādhyas, the Viśvedevas, the Vasus, / the hosts of gods along with Indra, the Yakṣas, the Siddhas, the twice-born, and the great ṛṣis,

161.29

approached for refuge the refuge-worthy, mighty Viṣṇu, / the God of gods, who consists of sacrifice, the eternal Vāsudeva.

161.30

The gods said: / “O Nārāyaṇa, O exalted one, the gods have sought refuge in you! / Protect us! Slay the lord of the Daityas, Hiraṇyakaśipu, O Lord!

161.31

For you are our supreme creator; you are our supreme guru; / you are our supreme god, even of Brahmā and the others, O best of the Suras!”

161.32

Viṣṇu said: / “Cast away fear, O immortals! I grant you fearlessness. / Enter heaven once more, O gods, without delay.

161.33

Here I go: I shall slay that Daitya along with his followers, arrogant with the granting of his boon, / that lord of the Dānavas who is invincible to the chiefs of the immortals.”

161.34

Having spoken thus and dismissed the lords of the gods, / the Lord resolved upon the slaying of Hiraṇyakaśipu.

161.35

Taking the Oṃkāra as his assistant swiftly, the mighty-armed one, / with the Oṃkāra as his companion, the divine, imperishable Viṣṇu,

161.36

Hari, the Sovereign, went to the dwelling of Hiraṇyakaśipu, / possessing the form of the sun in splendor, and like another moon in loveliness.

161.37

Making half his body that of a man and half his body that of a lion, / with a Man-Lion form, striking palm against palm,

161.38

he then beheld Hiraṇyakaśipu’s vast, celestial, delightful, and charming / assembly hall, bright and endowed with every desired object,

161.39

extending a hundred yojanas, one hundred and fifty yojanas long, / moving through the sky, travelling at will, and five yojanas broad;

161.40

free from old age, grief, and fatigue, unshakable, auspicious, comfortable, / having mansions and palaces, charming, blazing as if with brilliance;

161.41

furnished with inner waters, fashioned by Viśvakarman, / filled with trees made of divine gems that yield fruit and flowers,

161.42

with dark-blue, yellow, white, dark, black, and red ones, / and likewise with spreading creepers and bushes bearing hundreds of blossoms;

161.43

resembling a dense white cloud, it appeared as if floating, / radiant, shining, and delightful with divine fragrances.

161.44

It was exceedingly comfortable, devoid of suffering, neither cold nor causing heat; / having reached it, people do not experience hunger, thirst, or weariness.

161.45

It was adorned with various exceedingly radiant forms, / not supported by pillars, eternal, and having no night at any time.

161.46

Surpassing the moon, the sun, and fire, self-luminous, / situated on the vault of heaven, it shone, as if illuminating the sun itself.

161.47

All desires were abundant there, both celestial and human, / with abundant, endless food and drink filled with delightful flavors.

161.48

There were garlands of sacred fragrance, and trees of perpetual flowers and fruits; / in the heat the waters were cool, and in the cold they were warm.

161.49

Having flowering tops and large branches bearing shoots and sprouts, / covered with canopies of creepers, along rivers and lakes,

161.50

the Lord, the king of beasts, saw various kinds of trees there, / having fragrant flowers and succulent fruits.

161.51

The Lord saw there lakes here and there, neither too cold nor hot, / and all the sacred places within that assembly hall,

161.52

covered with red water lilies, white lotuses, hundred-petaled fragrant lotuses, / red water lilies, blue night lotuses, and white water lilies;

161.53

with beautiful Dhārtarāṣṭra swans and delightful royal swans, / with kāraṇḍavas, cakravākas, cranes, and kuraras;

161.54

with birds spotless and crystal-like, having pale white feathers, / sung to by many swans and resounding with the calls of cranes.

161.55

There on the mountain summits he saw fragrant, auspicious creepers / bearing swollen clusters of blossoms and carrying various flowers:

161.56

ketakīs, aśokas, saralas, puṃnāgas, tilakas, arjunas, / mangos, nīpas, prasthapuṣpas, kadambas, bakulas, and dhavas.

161.57

Priyaṅgu and pāṭalā trees, silk-cotton trees along with haridraka trees, / sāla, tāla, tamāla trees, and delightful campaka trees;

161.58

just so other blossoming trees shone within the assembly, / coral-trees and forest trees with brilliance equal to blazing fire;

161.59

endowed with massive trunks and fine branches, rising as high as many palm trees, / bearing the hue of collyrium and aśoka flowers, numerous and variegated trees.

161.60

Varuṇa trees and vatsanābhas, jackfruits along with sandalwoods, / nīpas, sumanasas, nimba, aśvattha, and tinduka trees,

161.61

pārijātas, lodhras, mallikā jasmines, and bhadradāru trees, / āmalakīs, and likewise jambū, lakuca, and śailavāluka trees,

161.62

date palms, coconut palms, myrobalans and vibhītakas, / kālīyakas, drukālas, asafetida plants, and pāriyātras,

161.63

mandāras, kundas, alaktas, pataṅgas, and kuṭajas, / red kuraṇṭakas, and blue ones along with agallochums,

161.64

kadambas, bhavyas, pomegranates, and citrons, / saptaparṇas, and bilvas thronged with bees,

161.65

aśokas and tamālas, entwined with various shrubs and creepers, / madhūkas, saptaparṇas, and many sap-bearing trees,

161.66

and creepers of diverse forms bearing leaves, blossoms, and fruits: / these and many other forest-born trees

161.67

endowed with various flowers and fruits shone on all sides. / Cakoras, peacocks, intoxicated cuckoos, and mynahs

161.68

flowered; and great trees with flowering tops were swarmed [by birds]; / red, yellow, and reddish birds perched on the tree-tops,

161.69

and delighted jīvañjīvaka birds gazed at one another. / In that assembly hall, the king of the Daityas, Hiraṇyakaśipu, then—

161.70

surrounded by thousands of women, adorned with wondrous ornaments and garments, / his earrings blazing with the crest of rays from priceless gems and diamonds,

161.71

seated on a wondrous throne ten nalvas in measure, / divine, resembling the sun, spread with celestial coverings—

161.72

there the wind, carrying heavenly fragrances, blew most pleasantly; / and the Daitya Hiraṇyakaśipu sat with blazing earrings.

161.73

They attended upon the great Daitya Hiraṇyakaśipu then; / the foremost of Gandharvas sang songs with celestial melody.

161.74

Viśvācī, Sahajanyā, and the renowned Pramlocā, / divine Saurabheyī, Samīcī, Puñjikasthalī,

161.75

Miśrakeśī, Rambhā, and sweet-smiling Citralekhā, / Cārukeśī, Ghṛtācī, Menakā, and Urvaśī—

161.76

these and thousands of others, skilled in dance and song, / attended upon King Hiraṇyakaśipu, the lord.

161.77

Seated there, upon the mighty-armed lord Hiraṇyakaśipu, / the sons of Diti, all of whom had obtained boons, waited:

161.78

upon him of peerless deeds, by hundreds and by thousands. / There were Bali, Virocana, Naraka the son of the Earth,

161.79

Prahlāda, Vipracitti, and the great Asura Gaviṣṭha, / Surahantā, Sunāman, Pramati, the excellent Sumati,

161.80

Ghaṭodara, Mahāpārśva, Krathana, and Piṭhara, / Viśvarūpa, Surūpa, Svabala, and the mighty Mahābala,

161.81

Daśagrīva, Vālin, the great Asura Meghavāsas, / Ghaṭāsya, Akampana, Prajana, and Indratāpana.

161.82

Those hosts of Daityas and Dānavas, all wearing blazing earrings, / all garlanded, eloquent, and ever faithful to their vows,

161.83

all possessing boons, heroic, and all freed from death: / these and many others waited upon Lord Hiraṇyakaśipu,

161.84

upon the great-souled one, all in celestial attire, / with aerial chariots of diverse shapes, shining like fires.

161.85

Having bodies like Mahendra, their arms adorned with wondrous armlets, / their limbs embellished, the sons of Diti waited upon him on every side.

161.86

In that divine assembly hall were the mountain-like Asuras, / all with golden bodies, radiant as the sun.

161.87

Indeed, never had sovereignty been heard of or seen / like that of Hiraṇyakaśipu, that lion of Daityas, that great-souled one.

161.88

On a wondrous platform of gold and silver, enclosed by splendid pathways of gems, / the king of beasts beheld him in the assembly hall adorned with lattice-windows set with well-arranged jewels.

161.89

The king of beasts saw the son of Diti, his limbs adorned with necklaces of pure gold, / blazing with the great splendour of the sun, served by hundreds of thousands of Diti's offspring.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit