Skandapurana 2.9.6
English (machine translation) 2.9.6
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Sāvarṇi said:
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"Indeed, the great king Vasu was a devotee of the Lord.
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What untruth did he speak, on account of which he fell from heaven into a hole in the earth?
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By whom was he raised up from the earth again? Why was he cursed by the ancestors?
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How was the king freed from that? Tell me this, O Skanda!"
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Skanda said:
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"Hear, O brahmin, this story of Vasu, who possessed the splendor of Indra,
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from the hearing of which instantaneous destruction of all sins occurs.
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Formerly, in the Svāyambhuva manvantara, the Indra named Viśvajit
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began a great sacrifice called the horse sacrifice, O sage.
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Sacrificial beasts, goats and others, were bound there in large numbers, bleating aloud;
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and all the hosts of gods, greedy for the offerings, were seated there.
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Wandering at will for the welfare of all worlds,
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great seers possessing the brilliance of the sun arrived there.
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Honored by the host of gods with water for feet, water for hospitality, welcome, and the like,
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those great sages saw the animals suitable for sacrifice crying out.
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Beholding that elaborate sacrifice, filled with violence,
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even of the gods who are of a sattvic nature, they felt great astonishment indeed.
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Seeing that violation of dharma, out of compassion those best of brahmins,
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endowed with righteous minds, spoke then to the gods headed by Mahendra:"
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The great seers said:
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Together with the gods and seers, O Mahendra, listen to our words!
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Indeed, we proclaim the eternal essence of dharma as it truly is. // 2.9.6.10
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At the time of world creation, by Brahmā the supreme lord,
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you were created from sattva, upholders of four-footed dharma. // 11
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From rajas and tamas, he [created] Manus and rulers of men;
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and he created lords of the asuras as upholders of dharma. // 12
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Then, for all of you, teaching the rites of sacrifice and the like,
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he created the Veda for your welfare, granting the fruits of all desires. // 13
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Indeed, non-violence alone is praised in that Veda as the supreme dharma;
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the direct slaughter of animals in sacrifice is not approved by the Veda. // 14
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For the intent of the Veda is entirely in establishing
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the four-footed dharma, and not in its destruction through violence. // 15
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Even so, kings who are rulers of asuras, under the influence of the flaws of rajas and tamas,
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due to dullness of mind regarding statements such as ‘one should sacrifice with a fit goat (aja),’
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understood the meaning to be a he-goat and the like; but they did not know [it means] rice grains and the like. // 16
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However, for you who are sāttvika, the meaning of the Veda as it truly stands
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must be grasped, and not otherwise; and action of that kind is proper. // 17
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Whatever quality one has, such is one's nature;
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and engaging in action should be according to one's own nature. // 18
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For your deity, being sāttvika, is Viṣṇu himself, the lord of Ramā;
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therefore, qualification belongs to the non-violent sacrifice for his pleasure. // 19
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Performing a sacrifice by actually slaughtering a visible animal,
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that, O best of gods, is truly an inverted dharma for you. // 2.9.6.20
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Under the influence of the qualities of rajas and tamas, having resorted to demonic wealth,
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these sacrificers of yours are like those who do not know the Veda. // 21
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From association with them alone has this perversion of mind now arisen
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in you; thus has such an action been commenced: this is certain. // 22
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For rājasika, tāmasika, and demonic men,
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deities such as Bhairava are to be worshipped according to their qualities. // 23
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For the pleasure of their own deity, corresponding to their own quality,
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the rule of violent sacrifice on earth is indeed proper only for them. // 24
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Even among them, those Daityas, Rākṣasas, men, and others who are devoted to Viṣṇu—
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even for them a violent sacrifice is not proper; how much less then for you? // 25
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For the remnant of the sacrifice for all who perform sacrificial action
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is permitted by the scripture itself for eating. // 26
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The consumption of liquor and meat by sāttvika deities anywhere
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has never been seen by us, nor heard from the mouth of the virtuous. // 27
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Therefore, this sacrifice must be performed with rice grains, milk, clarified butter,
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and other fit food essences, and not by violence to animals. // 28
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Even there, one should sacrifice with seeds known by the name aja,
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which have remained for a period of three years and do not sprout again. // 29
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Absence of malice, non-greed, self-restraint, compassion toward living beings, austerity,
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celibacy, truthfulness, absence of deceit, forbearance, and fortitude— // 2.9.6.30
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this has been proclaimed as the form of the eternal dharma;
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he who acts transgressing that, a destroyer of dharma, falls down. // 31
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Skanda said:
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Though thus instructed respectfully by the great sages who knew the secret of the Veda
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with correct reasoning, because it would disrupt their own pledge,
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they did not accept their word at all, even though they knew its authoritative nature. // 32
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Then, because of transgressing the great, pride, anger, arrogance, and the rest,
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the descendants of adharma who seek out weaknesses, entered into them. // 33
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While they argued, ‘An aja is a goat, not seeds,’ and the like,
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and the best of seers, dejected in mind, were instructing them again, // 34
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the glorious king Uparicara arrived there by chance,
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illuminating the quarters with his brilliance, the foremost friend of Indra. // 35
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Seeing that Vasu suddenly arriving, traveling through the atmosphere,
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the brahmins said to the gods: ‘He will dispel your doubt. // 36
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Formerly, this lord of the earth performed great sacrifices by the thousands
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according to the rule stated in the Sātvata Tantra and by the Āraṇyaka.’ // 37
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In which no actual slaughter of animals ever took place in any [rite],
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nor was there any substitute for sacrificial gifts, nor worship of gods who were not directly present. (38)
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Famous everywhere through non-violence and the protection of righteousness was that king,
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the foremost among the devotees of Viṣṇu, observing the great vow of having only one wife. (39)
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Such a best of the righteous, true to his word and knower of the Veda—
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this great Vasu would by no means speak a contrary word.” (2.9.6.40)
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Having thus made an agreement, the gods and the seers,
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eagerly coming at once, questioned King Vasu. (41)
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The gods and great seers said:
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“O King! With what should one sacrifice? With an animal, or indeed with herbs?
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Sever this doubt of ours; you are considered our authority.” (42)
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Skanda said:
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Joining his palms, that Vasu inquired of them:
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“Whose view is what among you? Speak the truth attentively.” (43)
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The great seers said:
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“‘One must sacrifice with grains’—this alone is our view, O ruler of men.
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The view of the gods, however, is an animal. Speak your own opinion, O King.” (44)
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Skanda said:
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Knowing the opinion of the gods, Vasu, by resorting to their side,
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then spoke these words: “One should sacrifice with an animal such as a goat.” (45)
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Having thus resorted to the untrue side of the proud [gods],
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the king, though a knower of righteousness, falsely pronounced the Veda to be intent on violence. (46)
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At that very moment, due to the fault of his speech, the king [fell] from the sky;
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he suddenly fell downwards and entered into the earth.
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Gone into the midst of the earth, the king met with a great calamity,
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yet memory did not abandon him then, because of his taking refuge in Nārāyaṇa. (48)
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Having released all the animals, those dwellers of heaven then,
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fearing violence, went to heaven, and the great seers to their own hermitages. (49)
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Thus ends the sixth chapter, entitled “The Description of the Downward Fall of Uparicara Vasu Due to Stating that the Veda is Intent on Violence,” in the Śrī Vāsudeva-māhātmya in the second Vaiṣṇava Section of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, an eighty-one-thousand-verse compendium. (6)
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit