Skandapurana 4.43
English (machine translation) 4.43
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4.43.1
Agastya said:
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How did the three-eyed Lord cause King Divodāsa
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to abandon Kāśī, and how did he return from Mount Mandara?
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Relate this narrative, O lord, for the delight of the listeners! .. 1 ..
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Skanda said:
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The god went to Mount Mandara out of respect for the words of Brahmā,
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being pleased with the tapas of that king of mountains, Mandara itself. .. 2 ..
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When the god Viśveśvara departed to Mount Mandara, beautiful among mountains,
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all the gods dwelling in heaven went along with Giriśa. .. 3 ..
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Even Viṣṇu, abandoning the sacred fields of Viṣṇu here on earth,
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went to Mount Mandara, where Umā's husband, the god of gods, was. .. 4 ..
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Gaṇeśa too then departed, [leaving] his abodes;
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and I too, O best of brahmins, left and went toward Mount Mandara. .. 5 ..
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The Sun, abandoning his solar shrines, departed out of respect for [Śiva's] residence;
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the other gods as well, leaving their respective places on earth, went away. .. 6 ..
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When the hosts of gods had left the earth, the king of the earth,
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the glorious Divodāsa, exercised undisputed sovereignty. .. 7 ..
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Establishing an unshakeable royal capital in Vārāṇasī,
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the highly intelligent [king] prospered, protecting his subjects righteously. .. 8 ..
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Like the sun, he burned in the hearts and the eyes of his enemies;
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like the moon, he was [gentle] in the minds of his friends and his own people. .. 9 ..
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Holding an unbroken bow in battle like Indra,
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he was beheld by the cloud-like enemy armies fleeing away. .. 4.1.43.10 ..
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He became a discerner of righteousness and unrighteousness like Dharmarāja,
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the king honouring those not deserving punishment and punishing those who deserved punishment. .. 11 ..
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Like Arjuna (fire), he repeatedly burned down the forests of his enemies. ..
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Reaching far, he bound the circle of his enemies like the bearer of the noose [Varuṇa].
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He was the lord of virtuous people, bringing prosperity even to his enemy rākṣasas;
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he was equal to the breath of life of the world, wholly devoted to enlivening the world.
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He alone was a king of kings, a giver of wealth to all the good;
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and in battle, he alone was beheld by his enemies as the very form of Rudra.
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For through his austerity he embodied the form of all the gods;
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therefore the Viśvedevas praised him and worshipped him.
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Unconquerable to the Sādhyas, he surpassed the Vasus in wealth;
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he assumed an embodied form surpassing the planets, and constantly possessed beauty exceeding the Aśvins.
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Not even reckoning the host of the Maruts, pleasing the Tuṣitas with his virtues,
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he was a master of all lores even among all the Vidyādharas.
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By his songs he stripped the Gandharvas of their pride;
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the Yakṣas and Rakṣases protected his fortress that was like a twin to heaven.
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The serpents committed no offenses against him, who was stronger than elephants;
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and assuming human forms, the Danujas served him.
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Guarakṣas were born to him who moved secret among men:
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“O king, we asuras shall serve you with our own splendors,
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since in your realm even the dwelling of gods is hard to attain.”
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The swift-coursing wind, stationed in the sky,
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taught swiftness of gait to the horses of this lord of the earth.
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Seeing his elephants, born of mountain stock, with bodies as splendid as mountains,
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unceasingly shedding rut, others also became liberal donors.
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In the assembly hall the learned, and in the courtyard the warriors,
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were never conquered anywhere by anyone, neither by scriptures nor by weapons.
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In the realm of this king, haters were never seen;
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adversaries were forever ruined, while his subjects were never deprived of their place.
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Even in heaven, there is only one possessor of the digits [the Moon] among the celestials;
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in the realm of this king on earth, all the people were repositories of arts.
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Indeed, in heaven there is only one Kāma, and he is bodiless;
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whereas in his realm, all the desires of all were fully fulfilled with all their parts.
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Even in his territory, not a single breaker of families was ever heard of;
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whereas in heaven the lord of the gods is celebrated as the shatterer of mountains.
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In his realm no one suffering from consumption was ever heard of by anyone;
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whereas in heaven the lord of the night wanes fortnight after fortnight.
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In heaven there are nine planets, but his lands were without affliction.
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Even in the heavenly world only one Hiraṇyagarbha shines;
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here, the dwellings of all the citizens of his city were filled with gold.
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In heaven, only one sun shines brightly, borne by seven horses;
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the dwellers of his city were clothed in fine garments every day and had many horses.
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Just as the celestial world has virtuous apsarases, so his city had excellent water-lakes;
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in Vaikuṇṭha there is only one Lakṣmī, while he had hundreds of lotus ponds.
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Nowhere were royal officers unjust to his villages;
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in every house there were givers of wealth, while in heaven there is only one lord of Alakā.
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While Divodāsa was thus governing the kingdom in Kāśī,
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eighty thousand years passed like a single day.
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Then the gods, desiring to thwart him,
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consulted with their Guru, though he followed the path of righteousness.
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O sage, as in the case of those like you who walk the path of virtue,
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the gods almost always bring about a succession of great calamities.
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Although that lord of the earth sustained those enjoyers of sacrifices
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exceedingly with difficult sacrifices, even so they were not his friends.
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Intolerance of the excellence of others is the very nature of the gods;
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what offense was committed in this world by Bali, Bāṇa, Dadhīci, and the rest?
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Obstacles certainly arise at every step even for righteousness;
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nonetheless, their own duty is never abandoned by those whose minds are set on dharma.
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The unrighteous prosper with wealth, grain, and abundance;
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yet solely because of unrighteousness they go to ruin along with their roots.
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As he protected the subjects like his own begotten sons,
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not the slightest accumulation of unrighteousness accrued to Ripuñjaya.
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For him, who understood the six measures of policy, whose mind was strengthened by the three powers,
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The gods could find no flaw in him, who knew the four means.
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Though intelligent, the deities, intent on retaliating,
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were not able to harm that ruler in the slightest.
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In his realm, all men were devoted to a single wife;
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among women, none failed to observe devotion to her husband.
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There was no brahmin who had not studied; no kṣatriya who was not valiant;
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no vaiśya was unskilled in the activities of earning wealth;
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the śūdras were single-mindedly devoted to serving the twice-born.
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Such were they in the kingdom of King Divodāsa.
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The students in his kingdom were unbroken in their celibacy,
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constantly dependent upon their guru's household, intent upon grasping the Veda.
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Everywhere his householders were devoted to the duty of hospitality, expert in the treatises on dharma,
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and constantly observed the conduct of the virtuous.
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In his [realm], those in the third stage of life respected the forest livelihood,
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free from desire for village gossip, following the path of the Veda.
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Completely free from all attachments, unbound, possessing no property,
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holding the controls of speech, mind, and action, the ascetics there were devoid of longing.
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Others born of mixed castes, whether anuloma or pratiloma,
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did not abandon even slightly the path established by their own tradition.
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In his kingdom no one was childless, nor was anyone devoid of wealth;
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no one failed to serve the elders, and no one met an untimely death.
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There were no flatterers, no loudmouths, no cheats, no violent men;
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no heretics, no scoundrels, no widows, and no tavern-keepers.
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Indeed, everywhere was the sound of the Veda, and scholarly debates at every step;
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everywhere were charming conversations and auspicious songs of joy.
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Lutes and flutes were played, and mṛdaṅga drums sounded sweetly;
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except for the drinking of soma, no drinking party was ever heard of.
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Meat was eaten only in the sacrificial cake, never elsewhere;
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there were no gamblers, no debtors, and no thieves.
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For a son, worship of his parents' feet was the worship of the gods;
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fasting, vows, and sacred fords were the highest worship of the deities.
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For women, worshipping their husband's feet was the hearing of sacred revelation; / younger brothers constantly revered their elder brother.
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Younger brothers constantly revered their elder brother;
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servants gladly worshipped the lotus-feet of their master.
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The higher class was praised by the lower classes for its greatness of virtues.
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They served the deities of Kāśī again and again at the three junctions of the day;
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everywhere all the learned were honoured with their wishes fulfilled.
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The learned revered those dedicated to austerity, and those dedicated to austerity revered the self-controlled;
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the self-controlled revered those dedicated to knowledge, and the knowers revered the yogins of Śiva.
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Purified by mantras, precious, proper, and well prepared,
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oblation was offered day and night into the fire that is the mouth of the brahmins.
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Stepped wells, wells, ponds, and pleasure-groves at every step
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had many makers who used pure materials and wealth.
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In his kingdom all classes were seen to be cheerful and well-nourished,
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endowed with blameless occupations, except for hunters and butchers.
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Thus, concerning that king who walked purely everywhere,
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the gods, though wide-eyed, could not find the slightest opening.
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Then the preceptor of the immortals spoke to the gods who wished to harm
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that king, the most righteous and foremost among masters of counsel.
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The Guru said:
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"Peace, war, marching, neutrality, seeking shelter, and duplicity—
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no one even here understands them as that king knows them.
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O gods, of the four means, only one remains here,
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namely sowing dissension, if indeed it can succeed against that man strong in austerity.
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Even though the gods have been banished from the earth by that king,
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still there are many there who take our side.
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Without whom not even a moment of time passes pleasantly,
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they are respected both by us and by him, there.
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Always moving within and without, the foundations of all trust,
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when they arrive here, our every desired aim will be accomplished."
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And hearing what the Lord of Speech had said, all those gods,
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ascertained its meaning regarding those [agents] who move within and without.
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Then, applauding him, they all said: "So let it be!"
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Then Śakra summoned Vītihotra (Fire), who stood before him,
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and spoke in sweet words, accompanied with great respect:
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"O bearer of oblations, that form of yours which is established there—
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withdraw it swiftly from the realm of that king.
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When that form of yours is withdrawn, all the subjects, whose first [duty] is the sacrificial fires,
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deprived of the rites of offering to gods and ancestors, will become disaffected with the king.
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And when the subjects, who are the wish-yielding cow of the kingdom, become disaffected,
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the title of 'king,' though acquired with great effort, will become meaningless.
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Since this conventional title 'king' (rājan) was acquired from pleasing (rañjana) the subjects,
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when that conventional meaning is destroyed, the kingship itself will perish.
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A king forsaken by his subjects, even if prosperous with treasury, fortresses, forces, and the like,
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would quickly perish like a tree standing on a riverbank.
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For a king, the subjects are the foremost cause for achieving the three goals of life;
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when the livelihood of the subjects wanes, the three goals of life indeed perish by themselves.
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When the three goals are lost, one's course in both worlds is completely ruined."
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At Indra's word, Fire, endowed with the power of illusory yoga,
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instantly withdrew his own form from the earthly orb.
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The lord Fire withdrew not only the triad of ritual fires, but also the digestive fire;
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at the thunderbolt-wielder's command, he [withdrew it] along with his own energy.
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When Fire had departed to heaven and midday arrived, the king,
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having performed his midday rites, quickly entered the dining hall.
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Then the officers in charge of the kitchen, trembling again and again,
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softly made this submission to the king, even though he was afflicted with hunger:
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The cooks said:
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"O you whose brilliance surpasses the sun! O you whose majesty has conquered fire!
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O one skilled in unexpected battle! We wish to make a small submission.
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If Your Majesty would grant the boon of safety,
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then, with folded hands, we will make our report."
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Given permission by a sign of the eyebrow from the king whose face was gracious,
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the kitchen overseers gently made their submission:
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"O lord, we do not know: terrified by the fear of your majesty,
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or by what clever escape, the wise Fire has vanished from the city.
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When Fire has vanished, how can cooking take place?
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Nevertheless, some food cooked by the heat of the sun is ready.
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Obtaining our master's command, we shall bring it right here;
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and we consider, O protector of the earth, that today's preparation is wholesome."
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Hearing the cook's words, that magnanimous and highly intelligent
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king reflected: "Surely this has been done by the gods."
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Reflecting there for a moment, he saw through the power of his austerity
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that the fire had left not only the houses and the cavities of stomachs,
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but had also departed from this world and gone to the abode of the gods.
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"Let it be! What loss is there to us because fire has departed?
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Indeed, this loss falls upon those gods themselves because of their lack of deliberation!
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Was this kingdom accepted by me through their strength?
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It was bestowed by the Grandfather (Brahmā) out of great esteem!"
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While that Indra of the middle world was thus pondering,
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the citizens arrived at the door along with people from the countryside.
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Then, by the king's order, they were led inside by the doorkeeper.
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Having presented suitable gifts, they bowed before the Indra of the earth.
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Some were addressed by the king with words full of affection,
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some with a joyful glance, and others with a gesture of the hand.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit