Revākhaṇḍa ascribed to the Vāyupurāṇa (RKV) 181
English (machine translation) 181
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Contents
- 181.65 — 2 parts
181.1
The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hereafter I shall declare in detail the pilgrimage place of Bhṛgu, / hearing which even the slayer of a brāhmaṇa or the killer of a cow is freed from all sins.
181.2
At that pilgrimage place, indeed, is the well-known [spot] known as Vṛṣakhāta; / it is reported that in ancient times Bhṛgu performed ascetic penance there, O best of kings.
181.3
Yudhiṣṭhira said: / For what reason did that best of brāhmaṇas, dwelling in Bhṛgukaccha, / perform vast ascetic penance and attain the highest perfection?
181.4
And who is said to be the bull (Vṛṣa) by whom that ditch was dug? / Tell me all this according to the truth, O sinless one.
181.5
The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / This question which has been asked by you, O great king, / I shall tell it all; listen with focused mind, O king.
181.6
The sixth mind-born son of Brahmā, the best of the Bhṛgus, / practiced vast ascetic penance in an excellent sacred field enveloped with prosperity.
181.7
For a divine thousand years that best of sages became dried up, / without food, without joy, standing like wood or stone.
181.8
Then, on a certain occasion, the lord of the gods, mounted on an excellent celestial chariot, / glorious and accompanied by Umā, came along that path.
181.9
Seeing the fortunate Bhṛgu there, standing like an anthill, / the goddess said to the lord of the gods: "What is this that is seen, O Lord?"
181.10
Īśvara said: / [He is] named Bhṛgu, O great goddess, who, having performed very fierce ascetic penance / for a divine thousand years, is devoted to meditation upon me.
181.11
Month by month he would drink a drop of water with the tip of a kuśa grass, / and he has stood thus for over a hundred years, O fair-faced lady.
181.12
Hearing that speech, Gaurī, her eyes rolling with anger, / the goddess said to the lord of the gods, to Maheśvara who holds the trident in his hand:
181.13
"Truly you are proclaimed fierce in the world, O bull-bannered one, / merciless, difficult to propitiate, causing fear to all beings.
181.14
To the brāhmaṇa who has meditated on Śaṅkara for a divine thousand years, / why do you not grant a boon? Explain that to me."
181.15
Being addressed thus, the lord of the gods laughed, and to the daughter of the mountain / he spoke with a voice deep as a thundercloud, O tiger among men:
181.16
"A woman is ruined by pride; ascetic penance is destroyed by anger; / cows by grazing far away; and the best of the twice-born by the food of a śūdra.
181.17
This twice-born man is filled with anger, O Gaurī, and therefore perfection does not exist [for him]; / through tens of thousands of years, or hundreds of thousands, it avails nothing, O dear one.
181.18
Even of one like this, the working of anger is great." / Having spoken thus, Śambhu then meditated on the bull that very instant.
181.19
The bull is indeed the venerable Brahmā, and Maheśvara in the form of a bull; / attained by meditation in an instant, bellowing again and again, [he arrived]:
181.20
"What shall I do, O best of gods? For what reason have I been meditated upon? / Whose destruction shall I bring about at an untimely hour, O Supreme Lord?"
181.21
Īśvara said: / "Go and anger that best of the twice-born, the most excellent Bhṛgu, / so that this Gaurī, the sole beauty of the world, may trust my [words]."
181.22
Hearing this, the bull went to overpower that best of the twice-born, / to Bhṛgu near his hermitage on the charming bank of the Narmadā.
181.23
Then, seizing him with his horns, he threw him into the water of the Narmadā. / Then Bhṛgu became enraged, the great sage holding a staff in hand:
181.24
"I will slay you like a beast with a blow of my staff upon your head!" / His topknot and sacred thread, as well as the garment upon his seat,
181.25
were thoroughly secured by him; running behind, he indeed said:
181.26
Bhṛgu said: / "O evil-doer of wicked conduct, how will you escape me, O bull, / having caused me dishonor and having dug a ditch with your hooves?"
181.27
Having bellowed a great roar, [the bull] then threw the brāhmaṇa down. / Knowing himself to have been cast down by the bull of the Supreme Lord,
181.28
Bhṛgu blazed with anger like a fire fed with oblations, / grasping in his hand a great staff like a second staff of Brahmā.
181.29
Desiring to kill the bull, the brahmin rushed forward, O Yudhiṣṭhira. / Then, seeing him running, the bull [fled] to the eastern ocean.
181.30
Reaching Jambūdvīpa, Kuśadvīpa, Krauñca, Śālmali and Śāka, / Gomeda, and Puṣkara, from the east to the southern region,
181.31
to the north and to the west, from continent to continent, O lord of men, / then to Pātāla, Sutala, Vitala, and Talātala,
181.32
to Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, he went to the seventh Pātāla. / Then that best of bulls, seeking his life, went to the terrestrial world,
181.33
to Bhuvas, Svas, Mahas, Tapas, Satya, and likewise Janas. / Pursued by the brahmin, he found no comfort anywhere,
181.34
like a man tormented by the power of desire and wrath after committing a sin. / Then he went for refuge to Brahmā and to Viṣṇu,
181.35
to Indra, Candra, and the Ādityas, to Yama, Varuṇa, and the Maruts. / When he was abandoned by all the lords of the gods, the guardians of the worlds,
181.36
then, bowing to the God, he said: 'Protect, protect me!' / [Seeing him] being beaten by Bhṛgu, the supreme lord,
181.37
abandoned by all worlds as though without a protector, O lord, / seeing the exhausted bull fallen before his feet,
181.38
the Blessed Lord then spoke these words with a smile:
181.39
Īśvara said: / 'Behold, O highly fortunate goddess, the composure of the brahmin, O beautiful one!'
181.40
Pārvatī said: / 'Before the brahmin gets angry at us, O Parameśvara, / grant [the bull] a boon quickly, if you desire my pleasure.'
181.41
Then the Blessed Lord, smeared with ashes, matted-haired, holding a trident, adorned with the crescent moon on his head, / his body half-formed of Umā, spoke to the brahmin:
181.42
“O best among the foremost of twice-born, since your anger has not subsided, / therefore, dear child, this will become the Place of Anger [Krodhasthāna].
181.43
Then, seeing that Śambhu, the supreme three-eyed lord, / Bhṛgu touched the earth with his knees and uttered this hymn of praise:
181.44
Bhṛgu said: / Having bowed to the lord of beings, the origin of existence, the giver of prosperity, who is beyond fear, / I, terrified of mundane existence, O Lord of the universe, wish to make a small petition.
181.45
What power does this human have to speak the multitude of your qualities? / Even Vāsuki, though having a thousand mouths, would not be able to speak them.
181.46
Nevertheless, through devotion, O Śaṅkara, O bearer of the moon, whose rays whiten everything, / be pleased with one who is intent upon your feet, vocally singing praise, O Maheśvara!
181.47
You are sattva, rajas, and tamas; you are the maintenance, origination, and destruction [of the world], O God! / [Be gracious] to one terrified of mundane existence, O Lord of the universe, O sovereign of the world, who is devoted to your refuge!
181.48
Restraints, observances, sacrifices, gifts, the study of the Vedas, and the yoga of concentration— / all these together do not equal even a thousandth part of devotion to you.
181.49
The supreme elixir, mercury, the magic sword, the collyrium, subterranean caves, and magical sandals— / this attainment is visibly seen in this birth as the mark of those who bow to you.
181.50
Even if one bows deceitfully, you bestow prosperity upon him out of your will, O God; / devotion, which severs mundane existence, has been ordained for liberation, O Lord.
181.51
Devoted to another’s wife and another’s wealth, burning with sorrow and distress caused by humiliation from others, / intent on watching the faces of others—save me, O Parameśvara!
181.52
Elated by excessive conceit, revelling in momentary, fleeting wealth, / cruel, headed down the wrong path—save me who have come for refuge, O Śaṅkara!
181.53
I am a wretched twice-born seeking boons; indeed, my desire has not been fulfilled by kin; / sever my thirst, O Maheśvara! Why do you mock me, a fool?
181.54
Take away my thirst quickly; grant fortune that dwells perpetually in my heart; / sever the snare of pride and delusion, and deliver me from mundane existence, O Lord of the gods!”
181.55
This divine hymn of praise, named “The Dawning of Compassion,” bestows all spiritual attainments. / Whoever recites it and remembers Bhṛgu goes to the world of Śiva at the end of the body.
181.56
Having heard this hymn of praise spoken by Bhṛgu, / Mahādeva along with the goddess, granting the supreme boon, said: “I am a giver of boons.”
181.57
Bhṛgu said: / “If you are pleased, O Lord of the gods, if a boon is to be given to me, / then all of this field of accomplishment shall be known after my name.
181.58
Indeed, you must dwell here together with Umā by your presence, / by which all of this will become a sacred divine field.
181.59
In this spot I shall establish a great holy place, O Lord of the world! / By your grace, O Lord of the gods, let my desires be fulfilled!”
181.60
Īśvara said: / “This was previously prepared by Śrī; did you not know it, O twice-born? / Having obtained the consent of the goddess Śrī, if you consider it to be hers,
181.61
do what is desired; what is done by you is not otherwise for us.” / Having spoken thus, when the god had departed, Bhṛgu bathed and went to Śrī.
181.62
And having broken his fast there, residing with her, / together with Śrī, the twice-born spoke these words at that time:
181.63
Bhṛgu said: / “If it pleases you, auspicious one, and if you are not sitting in discomfort, / I shall establish my own place in the great field chosen by you.”
181.64
Śrī said: / “O sage among the twice-born, make an auspicious settlement according to your desire, / both after my name and after your name; my mind is not opposed.”
181.65
Bhṛgu said: / “Indeed, this [place] is presided over by a tortoise and rests upon its back, O Ramā; / having consulted together with it, you, noble lady, make it auspicious.”
181.65.p1
|| Thus ends the one hundred eighty-first chapter, entitled “The Description of the Origin of Bhṛgukaccha,” in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Avantyakhaṇḍa, in the great Purāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses, the glorious Skandapurāṇa.
181.65.p2
RKV Chapter 182
Linked texts (1)
- Revākhaṇḍa (Vāyupurāṇa) — Sanskrit