Matsyapurana 61

English (machine translation) 61

Language: English

61.1

Nārada said: / Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka, Svarloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, / Tapoloka, and Satyaloka: these seven are proclaimed the divine worlds.

How can sovereign lordship over all of them be attained in turn? / And how, in this world, might handsome appearance, long life, good fortune, / and vast wealth be gained, O Lord, destroyer of [the three] cities?

61.3

Maheśvara said: / Formerly, on the earth's surface, the fire-god along with the wind / was commanded by Puruhūta to destroy the enemies of the gods.

61.4

When thousands of Dānavas were burnt by him, / Tāraka, Kamalākṣa, Kāladaṃṣṭra, Parāvasu, / and Virocana fled from the battle, O ascetic.

61.5

Entering into the waters of the ocean, they made their encampment; / deeming them invincible [there], Fire and Wind disregarded them.

61.6

From then on, having tormented the gods, human beings, / and all mobile creatures along with the sages, they would enter the water again.

61.7

In this way, for five and seven thousand years, O Brahmā, / those heroes tormented the three worlds, relying on the strength of their water fortress.

61.8

Then, long after, the lord of the immortals commanded Fire and Wind: / 'Let this ocean of water be dried up!

61.9

Since this abode of Varuṇa is the refuge of our enemies, / therefore let it be brought to destruction by both of you this very day!'

61.10

Then both of them said to Śakra, the slayer of Śambara: / 'O lord of the gods, this destruction of the ocean is unrighteous.

61.11

Because a vast multitude of living beings would be destroyed, / therefore we two will not commit this sin today, O Puraṃdara.

61.12

Even within a single yojana of it, hundreds of millions of living creatures / reside, O best of the gods; how does it deserve destruction?'

61.13

Addressed thus, the lord of the gods, his eyes bloodshot with rage, / spoke these words in fury, as if burning Fire itself:

61.14

'Immortals never incur the conjunction of righteousness and unrighteousness, / especially you two, who possess such great majesty.

61.15

Since you, together with the Wind, have transgressed my command, / adopting the ascetics' vow of non-violence and the like, / devoid of the science of duty and profit toward an enemy, O Vibhāvasu,

61.16

therefore, in a single body in the form of a sage, in the world / of mortals, your birth shall take place together with the Wind.

61.17

And when, even in human form, the ocean has been dried up / by you as Agastya, O Fire, only then will you attain divine status again.'

61.18

Thus, by Indra's curse, they fell instantly to the earth's surface / and attained birth from a water jar in a single body, O ascetic.

61.19

From the seed of Mitra and Varuṇa, he became the younger brother of Vasiṣṭha; / the sage of fierce austerity was reborn as Agastya.

61.20

Nārada said: / How was he born, and how did the sage become the brother of Vasiṣṭha? / And how are Mitra and Varuṇa remembered as his parents? / How could the birth of Agastya from a jar come about, O destroyer of [the three] cities?

61.21

Īśvara said: / Formerly, on Mount Gandhamādana, the ancient Person, / Viṣṇu, becoming the son of Dharma, practiced severe austerity.

61.22

Terrified by his austerity, Śakra sent both / Mādhava and the Bodiless One, accompanied by hosts of Apsarases, to create an obstacle.

61.23

When Hari was not agitated toward sensory objects / by song, instrumental music, body ointments and the like, nor by Kāma and Mādhava,

61.24

then the company of Kāma, Madhu, and the women fell into despair. / Then, to confound them, the elder brother of Nara / produced from his thigh region a woman who enchanted the people of the three worlds.

61.25

All the gods were agitated by her, and so were both of those best of gods. / Then Hari spoke in the presence of the Apsarases and the gods:

61.26

'Since she is common to the gods, she is an Apsaras,' Hari declared; / 'and by the name Urvaśī she shall become famous in the world.'

61.27

Then, being filled with desire, Mitra called that Urvaśī / and said, 'Take your pleasure with me!' And she said, 'Very well.'

61.28

As she went through the sky in the same way, the blue-lotus-eyed one / was soon held back by Varuṇa, but she did not welcome Varuṇa.

61.29

'I have already been chosen by Mitra; I cannot be your wife today, O lord!' / Varuṇa said, 'Deposit your affection in me, and then go!'

61.30

When she departed after saying 'Very well,' Mitra then laid a curse / upon her: 'Go to the world of mortals, and there / resort to the son of Soma's son!

61.31

Because you have acted according to the custom of a courtesan!' / Then the semen [of both] Mitra and Varuṇa / was deposited into a water jar, and from it two best of sages were born.

61.32

Formerly, a king named Nimi was playing dice with women; / at that moment, Vasiṣṭha, who was born from Brahmā, arrived.

61.33

Since the king did not offer him worship, that sage cursed the king: / 'Become bodiless!' Thereupon the sage was also [cursed] by him.

61.34

And on account of their mutual curse, with their consciousnesses having departed, as it were, / the two went to Brahmā, the lord of the universe, to remove the curse.

61.35

Then, by the command of Brahmā, Nimi came to reside in the eyes; / and there are blinks of the eyes, O Nārada, for the resting of living beings.

61.36

Vasiṣṭha, too, was born as before in that water jar; / and then, white-complexioned, four-armed, holding a rosary and water pot, / the tranquil-minded best of ṛṣis called Agastya was born.

61.37

In a region of Mount Malaya, according to the rule of the Vaikhānasa, / together with his wife and surrounded by Brahmins, he practiced very arduous austerity.

61.38

Then, after a great length of time, seeing the world exceedingly oppressed / by Tāraka, he drank up the ocean in anger.

61.39

Then Śaṃkara and all the others became givers of boons to him; / Lord Brahmā and Lord Viṣṇu came to grant boons: / 'Choose a boon, O sage! May all be well with you! Whatever is desired by you!'

61.40

Agastya said: / 'For as long as twenty-five crores of thousands of Brahmās endure, / I shall dwell in an aerial chariot on the path of the southern mountain.

61.41

Whoever performs worship of me at the rising of my chariot / shall become the ruler of the seven worlds in succession.'

61.42

Īśvara said: / Saying 'So be it,' the gods departed as they had come. / Therefore, an offering of water should always be given to Agastya by the wise.

61.43

Nārada said: / How, O Lord, should the offering of water be made to him? / Tell me the procedure for worshiping Agastya.

61.44

Īśvara said: / At dawn, or at his rising in the night, a wise householder / should bathe with white sesame seeds, wearing white garlands and garments.

61.45

He should set up an unblemished jar adorned with garlands and cloth, / filled with the five gems, accompanied by a vessel of ghee, / supplied with various eatables and fruits, and accompanied by a copper vessel.

61.46

Placing a golden figure of a man measuring a thumb's length, with very long staff-like arms, / facing in four directions, upon the mouth of the jar, along with the seven grains wrapped in cloth,

61.47

accompanied by a bell-metal vessel, unbroken rice, and mother-of-pearl, he should offer it to an eminent twice-born with a mantra, / lifting up the pot-bellied, long-armed [figure], with undivided mind, facing toward the direction of Yama.

61.48

And if he has the means, a man, having bowed down, should give to the twice-born / a white, milk-giving cow along with her calf, with silver hooves and a golden face, her calf adorned with bells.

61.49

All this should be given by a man for up to seven nights from his rising, / or for seven or ten years; some say even longer here.

61.50

Resembling the kāśa blossom, born of fire and wind, / son of Mitra and Varuṇa, jar-born one, homage to you!

61.51

O destroyer of the Vindhya's growth, remover of poison from the cloud's waters, / lover of jewels, lord of the gods, dweller in Laṅkā, homage to you!

61.52

By whom Vātāpi was devoured, by whom the ocean was dried up of old, / the glorious husband of Lopāmudrā—homage, homage to him!

61.53

O princess, fortunate one, wife of a seer, fair-faced one, / O Lopāmudrā, homage to you! May my water offering be accepted! / Giving up the fruit each year in this way, he does not come to grief.

61.54

Having performed a fire offering, the man should afterward abstain from fruit. / And whatever man presents the water offering according to this rule,

61.55

he attains this world, endowed with beauty and freedom from illness; / with the second, the world of Bhuvar; after that, the world of heaven;

61.56

he who gives seven water offerings attains all seven worlds; / and he who performs it throughout his life reaches the supreme Brahman.

61.57

He who recites or hears here this presentation of the water offering arising from the pair of sages, / and even he who sets his mind upon it, goes to the abode of Viṣṇu and is honored by the hosts of immortals.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit