Vishnupurana 1.9.25-33
Viṣṇupurāṇa 1.9.25-33
- Language
- Sanskrit
1.9.25
parāśara uvāca:
ity uktvā prayayau vipro devarājo 'pi taṃ punaḥ
āruhyairāvataṃ brahman prayayāv amarāvatīm //
Having thus spoken, the Brahman went his way; and the king of the gods, remounting his elephant, returned to his capital Amarávati. Thenceforward, Maitreya, the three worlds and Śakra lost their vigour, and all vegetable products, plants, and herbs were withered and died; sacrifices were no longer offered; devout exercises no longer practised; men were no more addicted to charity, or any moral or religious obligation;
1.9.26
tataḥprabhṛti niḥśrīkaṃ saśakraṃ bhuvanatrayam
maitreyāsīd apadhvastaṃ saṃkṣīṇauṣadhivīrudham //
Having thus spoken, the Brahman went his way; and the king of the gods, remounting his elephant, returned to his capital Amarávati. Thenceforward, Maitreya, the three worlds and Śakra lost their vigour, and all vegetable products, plants, and herbs were withered and died; sacrifices were no longer offered; devout exercises no longer practised; men were no more addicted to charity, or any moral or religious obligation;
1.9.27
na yajñāḥ saṃpravartante na tapasyanti tāpasāḥ
na ca dānādidharmeṣu manaś cakre tadā janaḥ //
Having thus spoken, the Brahman went his way; and the king of the gods, remounting his elephant, returned to his capital Amarávati. Thenceforward, Maitreya, the three worlds and Śakra lost their vigour, and all vegetable products, plants, and herbs were withered and died; sacrifices were no longer offered; devout exercises no longer practised; men were no more addicted to charity, or any moral or religious obligation;
1.9.28
niḥsattvāḥ sakalā lokā lobhādyupahatendriyāḥ
svalpe 'pi hi babhūvus te sābhilāṣā dvijottama //
all beings became devoid of steadiness; all the faculties of sense were obstructed by cupidity; and men's desires were excited by frivolous objects. Where there is energy, there is prosperity; and upon prosperity energy depends. How can those abandoned by prosperity be possessed of energy; and without energy, where is excellence? Without excellence there can be no vigour nor heroism amongst men: he who has neither courage nor strength, will be spurned by all: and he who is universally treated with disgrace, must suffer abasement of his intellectual faculties.
1.9.29
yataḥ sattvaṃ tato lakṣmīḥ sattvaṃ bhūtyanusāri ca
niḥśrīkāṇāṃ kutaḥ sattvaṃ vinā tena guṇāḥ kutaḥ //
all beings became devoid of steadiness; all the faculties of sense were obstructed by cupidity; and men's desires were excited by frivolous objects. Where there is energy, there is prosperity; and upon prosperity energy depends. How can those abandoned by prosperity be possessed of energy; and without energy, where is excellence? Without excellence there can be no vigour nor heroism amongst men: he who has neither courage nor strength, will be spurned by all: and he who is universally treated with disgrace, must suffer abasement of his intellectual faculties.
1.9.30
balaśauryādyabhāvaś ca puruṣāṇāṃ guṇair vinā
laṅghanīyaḥ samastasya balaśauryavivarjitaḥ
bhavaty apadhvastamatir laṅghitaḥ prathitaḥ pumān //
all beings became devoid of steadiness; all the faculties of sense were obstructed by cupidity; and men's desires were excited by frivolous objects. Where there is energy, there is prosperity; and upon prosperity energy depends. How can those abandoned by prosperity be possessed of energy; and without energy, where is excellence? Without excellence there can be no vigour nor heroism amongst men: he who has neither courage nor strength, will be spurned by all: and he who is universally treated with disgrace, must suffer abasement of his intellectual faculties.
1.9.31
evam atyantaniḥśrīke trailokye sattvavarjite
devān prati balodyogaṃ cakrur daiteyadānavāḥ //
The three regions being thus wholly divested of prosperity, and deprived of energy, the Dánavas and sons of Diti, the enemies of the gods, who were incapable of steadiness, and agitated by ambition, put forth their strength against the gods. They engaged in war with the feeble and unfortunate divinities; and Indra and the rest, being overcome in fight, fled for refuge to Brahmá, preceded by the god of flame (Hutáśana). When the great father of the universe had heard all that had come to pass, he said to the deities, "Repair for protection to the god of high and low; the tamer of the demons; the causeless cause of creation, preservation, and destruction; the progenitor of the progenitors; the immortal, unconquerable Vishńu; the cause of matter and spirit, of his unengendered products; the remover of the grief of all who humble themselves before him: he will give you aid." Having thus spoken to the deities, Brahmá proceeded along with them to the northern shore of the sea of milk; and with reverential words thus prayed to the supreme Hari:--
1.9.32
lobhābhibhūtā niḥśrīkā daityāḥ sattvavivarjitāḥ
śriyā vihīnair niḥsattvair devaiś cakrus tato raṇam //
The three regions being thus wholly divested of prosperity, and deprived of energy, the Dánavas and sons of Diti, the enemies of the gods, who were incapable of steadiness, and agitated by ambition, put forth their strength against the gods. They engaged in war with the feeble and unfortunate divinities; and Indra and the rest, being overcome in fight, fled for refuge to Brahmá, preceded by the god of flame (Hutáśana). When the great father of the universe had heard all that had come to pass, he said to the deities, "Repair for protection to the god of high and low; the tamer of the demons; the causeless cause of creation, preservation, and destruction; the progenitor of the progenitors; the immortal, unconquerable Vishńu; the cause of matter and spirit, of his unengendered products; the remover of the grief of all who humble themselves before him: he will give you aid." Having thus spoken to the deities, Brahmá proceeded along with them to the northern shore of the sea of milk; and with reverential words thus prayed to the supreme Hari:--
1.9.33
vijitās tridaśā daityair indrādyāḥ śaraṇaṃ yayuḥ
pitāmahaṃ mahābhāgaṃ hutāśanapurogamāḥ //
The three regions being thus wholly divested of prosperity, and deprived of energy, the Dánavas and sons of Diti, the enemies of the gods, who were incapable of steadiness, and agitated by ambition, put forth their strength against the gods. They engaged in war with the feeble and unfortunate divinities; and Indra and the rest, being overcome in fight, fled for refuge to Brahmá, preceded by the god of flame (Hutáśana). When the great father of the universe had heard all that had come to pass, he said to the deities, "Repair for protection to the god of high and low; the tamer of the demons; the causeless cause of creation, preservation, and destruction; the progenitor of the progenitors; the immortal, unconquerable Vishńu; the cause of matter and spirit, of his unengendered products; the remover of the grief of all who humble themselves before him: he will give you aid." Having thus spoken to the deities, Brahmá proceeded along with them to the northern shore of the sea of milk; and with reverential words thus prayed to the supreme Hari:--
Translations (2)
- The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English
- A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English
Commentaries (3)
- Ātmaprakāśa — Śrīdhara Svāmin, Sanskrit
- Viṣṇucittīya — Sanskrit
- Vaiṣṇavakūṭacandrikā Viṣṇupurāṇaṭīkā — Ratnagarbhamiśra, Sanskrit
Other recensions (1)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (2)
- Nandipurāṇa — Sanskrit
- Padmapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit