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Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter VI
On the slaying of Vritrāsura
1-3. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus getting the boons from the Devī, the Devas
and the Risis blazing with their asceticism, all united and consulted with
each other; then they went to the excellent Ās'rama of Vritra. There they
saw Vritra in a sitting posture and with his own Tejas (fiery spirit in him)
as if ready to burn the three worlds and to devour all the Devas. The Risis,
then, spoke to Vritra the sweet words full of sentiments for the serving of
the Devas' ends, according to the principle of conciliation.
4-23. O highly fortunate Vritra! Terrific to all the Lokas! Yo have now
established your dominion in all the places over this whole Universe; but
your enmity with Indra is the only cause to interrupt you in your happiness;
there is no doubt in this. This enmity has increased much the anxiety of you
both and therefore has grown very painful. Neither you nor Indra can go to
sleep peacefully, there is always that fear hanging on you both, on account
of that enmity. And, see! A long long while has passed away since the last
battle was fought between you two; yet all the Devas, Asuras, men and other
subjects, are feeling a sense of oppression and pain. In this world
happiness is the only thing to be sought for and pain is to be avoided; this
is the eternal state of things. Never does that man who practises enmity
with another, get happiness; this has been ascertained by the wise. It is
only those brave warriors, that found taste in warfare, that approve of
battles; but the wise that are expert in amorous enjoyments do not like
battle as destroying the sensual enjoyments; they do not like fighting with
flowers even; what to say with sharpened arrows! In a battle, the victory is
doubtful but the shooting of arrows is certain, This world is dependent on
Fate (Daiva, i.e., dependent on the cosmic rulers or deities or Devas of the
Universe), so is victory or defeat. So knowing this, one ought never to
fight. Bathing in proper time, taking food and sleeping in fixed times and
having a chaste serving wife, these are the means towards happiness in this
world. While in warfares, shooting terrible arrows and striking with fierce
axes take place; what happiness can there possibly exist? Rather the enemy
finds pleasure there. There is a saying that death in battles leads one to
Heaven, but this is merely an enticing statement, inciting one to war!
Really it is fruitless. Supposing that happiness comes ultimately to those
who pain their bodies by being shot with arrows and who allow their
carcasses being devoured by the crows and jackals, then no man, even of dull
understanding, will like this, what to speak of intelligent persons!
Therefore, O Vritra! Let everlasting peace and friendship be established
between you and Indra; both of you in that case will derive everlasting
peace and happiness. Moreover if the enmity between you terminates from this
instant, then we, the ascetics and Gandharbas will, no doubt, be able to
remain in our own respective Ās'rams with great comfort. O Powerful Hero!
Owing to incessant wars between you and Indra, the Munis, Gandharbas,
Kinnaras and beings are day and night, suffering very much. For the
happiness of all peace-loving persons, we, the Munis, the residents of the
forest, earnestly desire that there be formed friendship between you two. We
desire that you, Indra and all the Jīvas get happiness. O Vritra! We stand
as mediators in this treaty between you and Indra; we will make each party
swear on oath and thus make it conducive to the happiness of both. Indra
will now swear on oath before you on the terms that you will dictate and
thus will make your heart cheerful. Know this verily that this earth stands
on Truth, the sun rises for the sake of Truth, the winds blow all along for
Truth and the boundless ocean never oversteps its limit for Truth. Therefore
let your friendship, be established on Truth. Thus tied together by bonds of
friendship let you two sleep, play, make sports in water and sit together
happily.
24-28. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Maharsi's words, the highly
intelligent Vritra began to say :-- Risis! You are possessed with knowledge
and many other qualifications and you are ascetics; you are therefore to be
respected by me. You are the Munis and therefore you never speak anywhere
falsehood; your conduct is good and you practise rite and ceremonies; you
are calm; therefore you do not know the causes of pretexts. The intelligent
should never cultivate friendship with a knave, licentious person who is
void of understanding, an infamous, and a shameless person, specially if he
be an enemy. This vicious Indra is shameless, deceitful, licentious, and the
killer of a Brāhmana; therefore no faith can ever be placed on such persons.
You are saints and added with all good qualifications; therefore your minds
never play in the mischievous thoughts of others; it is because your heart
is calm and quiet that you cannot understand the minds of the deceitful and
treacherous; therefore you ought never to stand as mediators between any two
persons.
29-32. The Munis said :-- O King! All the creatures certainly enjoy the
fruits of their Karmas, whether good or bad; how then, can persons, of
perverted intellect, obtain peace when they do mischief to others. The
treacherous persons certainly go to hell and suffer miseries always. The
slayers of Brāhmanas and the drunkards may get liberation; but never the
faithless and those who go against their friends get off free; these will
have to suffer undoubtedly in the hells. Therefore, O Knower of all things!
Give out clearly what is going on exactly in your mind and the exact terms
that you want; and the treaty will be made between you and Indra exactly
according to those terms.
33-34. Vritra said :-- O highly fortunate Munis! I can enter into a treaty
of peace with Indra only on the condition that Indra with all the other
Devas will not kill me in day or in night with any dry or liquid substance
or with wood, stone, or thunderbolt and on no other terms.
35-68. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Risis then gladly accepted his word and
brought Indra there and recited to him the terms of the treaty of peace.
Indra, then, swore, an oath, before the Munis with Fire as the Witness that
he would comply with the terms of the treaty, and was thus freed from his
heavy thoughts and felt that he had been rid of a fever. Vritra, then,
relied on lndra's words; became his friend, and began live, play and enjoy
with him. They felt pleasure by their union and began to roam sometimes in
the Nandana Garden, sometimes in the Gandha Mādana, sometimes on the shores
of oceans, Vritra was very much delighted when they were thus united in
friendship; but Indra watched him to find his faults; thus sometime passed.
A few years passed away after the treaty had been concluded. And the
straight-forward Vritra began to place very much confidence on Indra; but
Indra meditated on the means how to kill him. One day Visvakarmā, knowing
that his son Vritrāsura placed implicit confidence on Indra, called his son
and said :-- O my son Vritra! Hear my good words. See, it is never
advisable to trust anybody with whom there has arisen once the enmity. Indra
is your greatest enemy; he always intends evil to you; therefore do not
trust him any more. Indra is never to be trusted, who is always covetous,
inimical, rejoicing at others sufferings, licentious and addicted to others'
wives; vicious, deceitful, finding faults with others, always jealous, a
juggler, and puffed up with vanity. O Child! What more shall I say than this
fact that that villain, without fearing sin, easily entered into the womb of
his mother and cut the crying child in the womb into seven pieces and then
each seventh part again into seven parts, thus altogether into forty-nine
parts. Therefore O my son! He is never to be trusted on any account. He who
is always addicted to vicious deeds never feels shame in perpetrating again
another crime. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Vritra's death time drew nigh; hence
he could not take his father's words as auspicious, though he was warned by
his father in words full of meaning. One day, in the evening time, at a very
inauspicious dreadful moment, Indra saw Vritra on the shore of an ocean and
began to think of the boon granted by Brahmā to the Asura thus :-- Now this
is the terrible evening time; this cannot be called day nor can it be called
night, and this demon is also here alone in this solitary place; it is
advisable therefore to effect his death by force, there is no doubt in
this. Thus arguing in his mind, Indra remembered the Undecaying Soul Hari.
Bhagavān, the Best of Purusas came there, unseen by anybody, and entered
into the thunderbolt; Indra quickly collected himself to kill Vritrāsura;
but he thought how he could slay this Demon, unconquerable in the battle;
and if he did not slay his enemy then by deceit, then his enemy would
continue to live, and it would be impossible for him to get his own welfare.
While he was thus thinking, he saw the foam of the waters of the ocean as
big as a mountain; thinking that foam not to be dry nor wet and considering
that foam not to be any weapon, he easily took that foam and instantly
remembered with a heartful devotion the Highest Force Bhuvanes'varī. On Her
remembrance, the Bhagavatī infused Her part into that foam and the
thunderbolt, instilled with the force of Nārāyana, was covered, too, by that
foam. Indra, then, hurled the thunderbolt covered with foam on Vritra; and
the Demon, thus struck, instantly fell down like a mountain. When Vritrāsura
was thus killed, Indra became very glad; the Risis began to praise him with
various hymns. Indra, then, with all the other Devas worshipped the Devī,
through Whose Grace the enemy had been killed and they praised Her with
various hymns. The image of the Bhagavatī the Supreme S'akti was built of
ruby and installed in the Nandana Garden. O King! Since then all the Devas
used to worship the Devī thrice a day, morning, midday and evening and since
then the S'rī Devī became the tutelary deity of the Gods. Indra worshipped
then Visnu also, the Highest of the Gods. When the terrible powerful
Vritrāsura was killed, the auspicious wind began to blow gently; the Devas,
Gandharbas, Rākhsasas, and Kinnaras began to roam about with great joy.
Vritrāsura was deluded by the Māyā of Bhagavatī, and Her force entered into
the foam; hence Indra was capable to kill him suddenly and it is, for this
reason, that the Devī, the Goddess of the world, is known in the three
worlds as Vritranihantrī, the slayer of Vritra. But at the first sight
Indra killed him by means of the foam; hence the people say that Vritra was
killed by Indra.
Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the slaying of Vritrāsura
in the Mahapurānam S'rī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda
Vyāsa.
Chapter VII
On Indras living under disguise in the Mānas Lake
1-16. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Now seeing Vritra slain, Visnu, the Deva of the
Devas, went to Vaikuntha; but, with this fear reigning supreme in his mind
that it was He that virtually slew him. Indra, too, then became afraid of
the sin committed by him and returned to his Heavens. The Munis, too, became
very anxious and thought what great sin they have committed in cheating
Vritrāsura. It is the company of Indra that now made their name Munis as
meaningless. The Munis thought thus :-- Oh! Vritra on our words trusted
Indra and we have thus turned out today traitors in company with that
traitor Indra. Attachment and affection is the cause of all mischief. Fie on
that attachment! It is, as it were, tied by the cord of affection that we
had sworn falsely on oath and thus deceived Vritra. Those that deliberately
guide others to vicious acts or those that advise or incite others to do
sinful acts or those that side with the sinners certainly partake of the
fruits of the sin committed. Visnu, too, committed the sin, though he had
Sattva Guna preponderance, when he entered into the thunderbolt and thus
helped Indra in killing Vritra. It seems that henceforth the people, when
selfish, won't hesitate to commit afterwards any sinful act when they will
see that Bhagavān Visnu could have done, in concert with Indra, such a
vicious thing. Of the four virtues Dharma, Artha, Kāma, and Moksa, Dharma
and Moksa are very rare in the three worlds. Artha (wealth) and Kāma
(desires) are everywhere recommended as excellent and therefore held very
dear; Dharma is now merely in name and is the cause of the vanity of the
Pundits (no one now really practises Dharma with devotion). Thus arguing,
the Munis became very much afflicted in their minds and went back to their
own hermitages respectively, broken-hearted and absent-minded. O Bharata!
Hearing of the death of his son by Indra, Visvakarmā wept very much and he
become disgusted very much with the affairs of the world. He went to the
place where lay his son Vritra and became pained very much to see him in
that state; and he performed his cremation and other funeral obsequies
according to the prescribed rules. He then bathed, performed his Tarpanam
(peace-offering) and funeral ceremonies due to a person in the first year of
his death. Then his heart became afflicted with sorrow and he cursed the
vicious Indra saying that as Indra had killed his son, enticing him by
falsely swearing on oath, so Indra, in his turn would suffer a heavier
suffering, to be inflicted by Vidhi (the Great Creator of Universe). O King!
Thus cursing Indra, Visvakarmā, very much afflicted due to the loss of his
son, went to the top of the Mountain Meru and began to practise a hard
tapasyā.
17. Janamejaya said :-- O Grandsire! First tell me what happiness or pain
did Indra derive by killing Vritra, the son of Tvastā.
18-40. Vyāsa said :-- O fortunate One! What are you asking? and what is the
nature of your doubt? The fruit of one's Karma is certainly to be enjoyed,
whether it be auspicious or inauspicious. Be he weak or strong. Be he a Deva,
an Asura or a human being, everyone in fact, will have to suffer for one's
Karma, good or bad, to its full extent, whether it be done a little or too
much. See! It was Visnu that gave advice to Indra and entered into his
thunderbolt and helped him when Indra was ready to kill Vritra; but when
there had been Indra's difficult time, Visnu did not help Indra in any way.
Therefore, O King! It is clear that when one's time is favourable, everybody
turns out friends; but when Fate turns adverse, nobody is seen to come
forward to help. When Fate is against anybody, one's father, mother, wife,
or brother, servant, friend or one's own son becomes quite incapable to help
anybody. The man, who does good or bad acts, suffers for his deeds. When
Vritra was killed, everyone went back to their respective homes; but Indra,
the Lord of Sachī, became very much deprived of his energy and brilliancy
due to the sin of his killing a Brāhmin; all the Devas, then, blamed him as
a Brāhmaghataka (the killer of a Brāhmin). They talked further that no other
body would have been able to even indulge the idea of killing a Muni who was
an intimate friend and who placed full confidence on him when Indra had
sworn on oath that he would be a friend to Vritra. O King! Everywhere then
there was this gossip in the assemblages of the gods, in their gardens, at
the meetings of the Gandharbas that Indra had deceived Vritra who had relied
on him, on the words of the Munis and then killed him by pretext, and so had
done, indeed, a horrible crime. Indra had now forsaken the eternal proofs of
the Vedas; and he had become a Bauddha; therefore he could have easily
killed Vritra. No other body, save Visnu and Indra, could have acted
contrary to their words, as clearly evidenced by the manner in which Vritra
had been killed. These remarks, similar to those mentioned above, became
everywhere current and Indra heard all of them, tending to his own disgrace.
O King! Fie on that man's life that is blamed everywhere! Fie on that man
whose fame has been marred amongst the people. Such a person becomes laughed
at by his enemies, when seen by them on the way. The royal saint Indradyumna
(Rājarsī) was made to get down, though sinless, from Heavens when his good
deeds expired. Why, then, would not vicious persons be made to descend? The
king Yayāti had to get down from Heavens for his very little fault and had
to pass eighteen Yugas in the form of a crab. What more can be said than the
fact that even the Bhagavān Achyut Hari had to take several incarnations in
the wombs of boar, crocodile, etc., out of the curse from a Brāhmin, due to
his cutting off the bead of the wife of Bhrigu. Though omnipresent, yet he
had to take the appearance of a dwarf and had to beg from the King Vali's
palace. What more troubles and miseries than this can be inflicted on those
that had sinned viciously. O Ornament of Bharata! Rāmchandra, too, had to
experience, due to the curse of Bhrigu, terrible miseries on the bereavement
of Sītā Devī. Similarly Indra, too, for his sin of killing a Brāhmin, was so
much terrified that he could not get his healthy condition though he
remained in his own house, endowed with all sorts of prosperity and wealth.
Seeing, then, Indra lustreless, knowledge-less, almost void of
consciousness, and overwhelmed with fear, his wife Sachī, the daughter of
Pulomā, spoke to him thus :-- O Lord! Your dreadful enemy has been killed;
why are you, then, sighing so much, being afflicted with so much terror? O
Lord! You have destroyed your enemy; then why are you so much anxious? why
are you then so much remorseful and drawing such deep heavy sighs like an
ordinary man? I am not seeing any other powerful enemy of yours; then, why
do you look so anxious and bowed down with cares, as if you look quite
unconscious.
41-44. Indra said :-- O Devī! True that I have no other powerful enemy, yet
I do not find peace nor any happiness. I fear for the sin Brāhmahattyā in my
house. O Devī! This Nandana Garden, the city of Kuvera, the lord of riches,
this nectar forest, the sweet music of the Gandbarbas, the beautiful dance
of the Apsarās, all these now do not give the least pleasure to me. What
more can I say than this that the beautiful Lady like you, most beautiful
amidst the three worlds, and other beautiful ladies, the Heavenly cow, the
Mandāra tree (one of the five trees of the celestial region), the Pārijāta
tree (the flower tree), the Santāna tree, the Kalpa tree (yielding all
desires) and the Harichandan (saffron tree) and others cannot give pleasure
to me. What to do, where to go, so that I get happiness, O Beloved! This
thought makes me uneasy. And so I am not able to get happiness in my own
thought.
45-60. Vyāsa said :-- Thus speaking to his most distressed wife, Indra got
out of his house and went to the exceedingly beautiful lake, named
Manasarovara. Indra there entered into the tubular stalk of the lotus, his
body becoming very lean and thin out of the fear and sorrow. Nobody could
recognise him as he was overpowered by his terrible sin. He then began to
behave himself, as regards feeding and enjoying, like a snake; and he became
ovewhelmed with thought, helpless, and his organs were out of order, He
remained hidden in the water. When Indra, the king of the Devas, thus fled
away out of the fear of his Brāhmahattyā sin, the other Devas became very
anxious; everywhere various evil signs manifested themselves. The Risis,
Siddhas and Gandharbas were very much panic-stricken, as various
disturbances and violent symptoms covered all over the world without any
king. Grains began to grow very scanty, due to want of rains; the streams
were almost dry and very little water was there in the tanks. In such a
state of anarchism, all the inhabitants of the celestial regions, the Devas
and Risis consulted and installed the king Nahusa in the place of Indra. O
King! Nahusa, though virtuous, became, under the sway of Rajoguna,
influenced by lust and thus he got very much addicted to worldly enjoyments.
He began to amuse himself in the Garden of Paradise, surrounded by the
Apsarās or celestial nymphs. One day he heard of the excellent
qualifications of S'achī Devī, the wife of Indra, and desired to acquire
her. Then he spoke to the Risis :-- The Devas and you, united, have
installed me in the office of Indra; but why does not the Indranī (the wife
of Indra), come to me so long? If you want to do what I like, then quickly
bring S'achī here before me for my gratification. I am now Indra and
therefore the god of the Devas and all the worlds; therefore bring today
quickly Indranī to my house. Hearing thus the words of the king Nahusa, the
Devas and Devarsīs became anxious and went to S'achī, and, with their heads
bowed down, spoke thus :-- O Wife of Indra! The wicked Nahusa is now
desiring you; he became angry and told as to send you to him quickly; O Devī!
We have made him Indra and are therefore under him; what shall we do now
under these circumstances? S'achī, the wife of Indra, hearing their words,
became absent-minded and spoke to Brihaspati, thus :-- O Brāhmana! I now
take refuge unto you.
61-62. Brihaspati said :-- O Devī! Do not be afraid of Nahusa; he has been
deluded by Moha. O Child! I won't forsake the eternal religion and thus I
won't give you over to the hands of Nahusa. No doubt that wretch suffers the
severest torments in Hell to the end of Pralaya (the Great Dissolution) who
quits and hands over the distressed person under one's refuge to another. O
Good One! Be comfortable; I will never forsake you.
Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Sixth Book on Indra's living under
disguise in the Mānas Lake in the Mahāpurānam S'rī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter VIII
On Sachīs praising the Devī
1-11. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing that the wife of Indra had taken refuge
under Brihaspati, the King Nahusa became very angry towards Brihaspati and
spoke to the Devas :-- O Devas! I hear that the stupid son of Angirasa has
given protection to Indra and has kept her in his house; I will therefore
kill him quickly. Seeing the terrible Nahusa thus angry, the Devas and
Risis consoled him and said :-- O King of kings! Do not be angry; quit this
vicious motive yours. See, the Risis in all the Dharma S'āstras, have
declared the holding of illicit connection with other's wives as a very
heinous crime and have blamed it very much. You can consider that the
daughter of Pulomā is always chaste, devoted to her husband and very
good-natured. How can she, when her husband is alive, take another husband?
O Lord! You are now the Lord of the three worlds and hence the Defender of
Faith and Religion; and if a person like you act irreligiously, all the
subjects will then go to annihilation. One who is a Lord should always
observe the rules of good conduct. Besides there are many other celestial
women in this Heaven as beautiful as S'achī; you can satisfy your thirst
with them. Mutual love is recognised by the wise as the true originator of
amorous dealings; ravishing a woman by force destroys all amorous
sentiments. O King! And if the mutual love be similar and equal in all
respects, then comes the true happiness; you have now got the post of Indra;
therefore quit this idea of holding illicit connection with other's wives
and indulge in other good thoughts. Demerits destroy prosperity and merits
increase it. Therefore, O King! Leave all these bad thoughts and make your
heart take a good turn and be happy.
12-15. Nahusa said :-- O Devas! Where were you all when Indra stole away
the wife of Gautama and when the Moon stole away the wife of Brihaspati? It
is easy to give advice to others but to act according to that is very rare
in this world. O Devas! Let the qualified Devī come to me you will derive
much benefit from it and the Devī, too, will get Her highest happiness;
there is no doubt in this. I tell you truly that in no other way I will be
satisfied; bring Indrānī here quickly, whether by good words or by force.
16-17. The Devas and Munis heard the words of the king Nahusa, smitten by
the Cupid's arrows, got terrified and said :-- We will bring Indrānī to you
by gentle words. Saying thus, they went to the house of Brihaspati.
18-21. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Devas, going to the house of Brihaspati,
spoke thus with folded hands :-- O Guru! We know that Indrānī has taken
shelter in your house; we will have to hand her over today to the king
Nahusa for we all united have made over the post of Indra to Nahusa. Let
this beautiful Lady now choose and worship him. Hearing these awful words of
the Devas, Brihaspati said to them :-- O Devas! This chaste woman, devoted
to her husband, has now taken my shelter; therefore I can never part with
her. The Devas said :-- O Guru! Kindly advise then - if you do not part
with S'achī Devī - how the king Nahusa be pleased; if he becomes angry, it
will then be very difficult to please him.
22-31. Brihaspati said :-- O Devas! Let S'achī now go to Nahusa, and tempt
him with enticing words and make this condition that when her husband's
death will be known to her, she will then accept Nahusa as her husband. How
could she accept another husband when her husband was alive. Therefore let
her now go in quest of her high-souled husband. Let S'achī thus make
condition with him and, thus deceiving him, let her try her best to bring
back her husband. O King! Then, after coming to this conclusion, Brihaspati
and other Devas went with Indrānī to the king Nahusa. Seeing them come,
especially looking at Indrānī the artificial king Nahusa became very glad
and said to Indrānī :-- O Beloved! Today I am become the real Indra. O
beautiful-eyed One! Worship me as your husband; see the Devas now have made
me to be worshipped by all the gods. When Nahusa spoke thus, the Devī
S'achī became filled with great shame; she began to tremble and said to the
king :-- O Lord of the Devas! I desire to ask a boon from you. Better wait
till I ascertain whether Indra is dead or alive, there is this doubt in my
heart whether he lives or whether he is dead. O King of kings! Let me, first
of all, clear my doubts. Kindly excuse me and wait till then. I tell this
truly that after I ascertain the fact, I will worship you. I do not know
anything whether Indra is dead or whether he has gone any where else. When
S'achī Devī spoke thus, Nahusa became very glad and saying let it be so
dismissed her.
32-47. Thus having received permission from the King to depart, S'achī
hurriedly went to the Devas and spoke to them to try their best to bring
Indra back as soon as possible. O King! Hearing these sweet and holy words
of Indrānī the Devas intently consulted with each other how they could get
back Indra. They then went to Vaikuntha and began to praise with hymns the
original Deva, the God Visnu, the Lord of the Universe, kind to those that
seek His refuge. The Devas, skilled in speaking, spoke to Visnu with a very
troubled heart :-- O Lord! Indra, the Lord of the Devas, is very much
troubled with his sin Brahmahattyā. Where is he staying now, invisible to
all the beings? O Lord! He is now overcome with the sin Brahmahattyā by
killing Vritra, the best of the Brāhmins. We ask your skilful and
intelligent advice. O Lord! You are the sole refuge of him as well as of us.
We are now involved in a great difficulty. Kindly show us the way how we, as
well as Indra, can get out of this difficult crisis. Hearing the pitiful
words of the Devas, Visnu said :-- Let Indra perform the As'vamedha
sacrifice (Horse sacrifice) for the purification of his sins. By this Yajńa,
that can destroy all sins, Indra will be purified and he will regain his
Indraship; there is no doubt in this. The more so because the Devī, the
Universal Mother, will be pleased with his Horse sacrifice and will destroy
all his sins, Brahmahattyā and others. Lo! Merely remembering Her destroys
heaps of sins; and, if by this Horse sacrifice, She be pleased, what wonder
is there that sins of a more grave nature would be destroyed! And let
Indrānī worship Bhagavatī daily; happiness will undoubtedly be gained by
worshipping that most Auspicious One! By this the King Nahusa will be
particularly deluded by the World Mother and will then be quickly destroyed
by the sin committed by himself. And Indra, purified by As'vamedha, will
soon regain his position and all his wealth. O king! Thus hearing the sweet
beneficial words of Visnu of indomitable prowess, the Devas went to the
spot, where resided Indra. Brihaspati and the other Devas consoled the
distressed Indra and made him celebrate duly in right order, the Horse
sacrifice the greatest of all sacrifices. Indra then distributed his sin
Brahmahattyā amongst the trees, rivers, mountains, women, and the earth.
48-51. Thus casting aside his sin on all the above things, Indra became
again free from his sin, and, getting rid of his fever and uneasiness,
abided by the time and remained there invisible in the tubular stem of the
lotus. Doing that wonderful act, the Devas started from there and reached
their own abodes. The daughter of Pulomā, suffering from her bereavements
from Indra, spoke then to Brihaspati with great sorrow :-- O Lord! Why is
my husband still invisible to me, when he has performed the As'vamedha
sacrifice? Kindly show me the way how I can get a sight of him.
52-62. Brihaspati said :-- O Devī! Worship the most Auspicious Bhagavatī;
surely She will make your husband sinless and you will see him. The Devī
Ambikā, the Upholdress of the Universe, will desist the King Nahusa from
doing the wrongful act and it is She that will delude him by Her Māyā and
get his downfall from the Heavens. O King! When Brihaspati spoke thus,
S'achī Devī got initiated by him in the Devī Mantram, capable to secure
success in any undertaking. Thus getting the Mantram from her Guru, She
began to worship the Devī Bhuvane'svarī duly with flowers, sacrificial
victims and other necessary articles for worship. Thus Indrānī, with a view
to see her husband, performed the worship of the Devī; she quitted all the
articles of enjoyment and luxury and assumed the garb of an ascetic; thus
some time passed away, when the Devī was pleased and appeared before her on
the back of a Swan, in Her peaceful form, ready to grant boons to Indrānī.
She looked, then, fiery like thousands of Moons; Her lovely beauty appeared
in rays like thousands and thousands of fixed lightnings. The four Vedas
personified began to praise Her in hymns from the four sides. Her two hands
were adorned with a noose and a goad, and Her two other hands made signs to
grant boons and to discard all fear. The Vaijayantī garland of clear
crystal-like gems suspended from Her neck up to Her feet. Her face was
adorned with smiles and signs as if she would grant favours. She had three
eyes and was the ocean of mercy and the Mother of all the Jīvas from a worm
up to Brahmā. Her two heavy breasts were filled with unbounded ocean of
nectar-like juice of Peace and Mukti. She was the Goddess of innumerable
worlds, the Goddess of all and the Highest, endowed with all the knowledges
and the Incarnate of the Undecaying and Immoveable Brahmā. The Devī, then,
began to address S'achī, the wife of Indra, in pleasant words and in voice
deep like a rolling thunder.
63-69. The Devī said :-- O Darling to Indra! Better now ask your desired
boon. I am much pleased with your worship. O Beautiful One! I have come here
to grant you boon. To see Me is not an easy task; by the collected merits,
acquired in thousands and thousands of births one is able to See Me. Hearing
the words of the Devī, S'achī Devī, the wife of Indra, fell prostrate before
Her feet and began to speak to the Highest Goddess, the Bhagavatī, Who
seemed graciously pleased :-- O Mother! I now desire from Thee, that I may
see my husband whom I attained after great difficulty, that I be freed from
the fear arising out of King Nahusa and I want that Indra be reinstated as
Indra as he was before. The Devī said :-- O Lady of the Devas! Better go
with this My messenger (Dūtī) to Mānasarovara; there is installed My fixed
form, named Vis'vakāmā. You will see your Indra staying there very sorrowful
and overwhelmed with terror. I will delude the King Nahusa within a very
short period. O large-eyed One! Be calm and quiet; I will fulfil your
desires; soon I will delude that king and deprive him of the seat of Indra.
70-71. Vyāsa said :-- The wife of Indra accompanied the messenger of the
Devī and quickly reached the presence of her husband Indra. She was very
pleased to see her long-wished for husband, in the state disguise.
Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the praising of the
Bhagavatī by the wife of Indra and on getting the sight of Indra in the
Mahāpurānam, S'rī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter IX
On Indras getting the fruits of Brahmahattyā and on the downfall of king
Nahusa
1-2. Vyāsa said :-- Indra was quite surprised to see in this state of
solitude his dear wife S'achī, large-eyed and overwhelmed with much sorrow
and spoke thus :-- O Beloved! I am remaining here alone this desolate place
unnoticed by all the Jīvas; O Auspicious faced One! How have you come to
know this! And how is it that you have come here!
3-5. S'achī said :-- O Lord of the Devas! I have been able to know this
place where you are staying by the grace of Bhagavatī's Feet and I will get
you back by Her grace. The Devas and Munis all united have installed the
King Nahusa in your throne. That fellow says O fair One! I am now made the
King Indra; therefore you worship me as your husband. And thus oppresses me
always. O Destroyer of other's strength! That vicious one speaks to me thus;
I am weak; What can I do to him?
6. Indra said :-- O Beautiful One! I am now here waiting for the proper
opportunity; O auspicious One! You should also make your mind calm and
remain there, and wait for the proper time.
7-12. Vyāsa said : -- O King! After Indra had spoken thus, S'achī Devī
became sorrowful, drew a deep sigh and, trembling, said :-- O Fortunate
One! How can I stay there? That vicious man, puffed up with vanity and proud
of his position will forcibly bring me under his control. The Devas and
Munis say this to me out of his fear :-- O Beautiful One! The Lord of the
Devas is now very much distressed with the arrows of the Cupid; therefore go
and worship him. O Tormentor of foes! How can the Brāhmin Brihaspatī protect
me, being himself powerless and under the control of the Devas. O Lord! This
is now my grave anxiety; I am a weak woman, having none to protect me and
therefore always under the guidance of a man. Fate is now against me; how
can I keep myself religious? I am a chaste woman, devoted to my husband; I
have got no shelter there; who will protect me when I fall into misery!
13-21. Indra said :-- O Beautiful One! I will now tell you one means which,
if you adopt, will no doubt preserve your character in times of crisis.
Women cannot preserve their chastity when they are protected by others by
thousand and one means; for lust penetrates into their restless minds and
carries them to impure ways. It is the good and pure character that
preserves a woman from a vicious course; therefore O Smiling One! You adopt
this good conduct and character and remain steady in your place. In case
that deceitful wicked King Nahusa shows his violence upon you, then take
time and secretly cheat him, O Madālase! Go to him when there will be no
other body present and say :--O Lord of the world! Please come to me on a
conveyance carried by the Risis (great ascetics), I will then be very
delighted and gladly yield myself to you; this is certainly my vow. O
Beautiful One! When you will say thus, that King, blinded by passion, will
engage the Munis for the carriers of his conveyance. The ascetics, then,
will be angry and curse him; the Munis will certainly burn him by the fire
of their wrath; and the Divine Mother will no doubt help you. He who
remembers the lotus-feet of the Ambikā Devī never meets with any
difficulties; and if there arises any difficulty, know certainly that it is
for his immeasurable benefit. Therefore worship, with your whole heart, the
Mother of the Universe, Who resides in the jewelled island (Mani Dvīpa)
according to the words of the Guru Brihaspatī.
22-25. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Indra's words, S'achī Devī
said Let it be so and went to Nahusa, filled with confidence and
inspiration to carry on the future work. Nahusa was very glad to see S'achī
Devī and spoke thus :-- O Sweet-speaking One! Are you all right? I am now
completely yours; you have fulfilled my word; therefore I say truly that I
am your servant. O Gentle-speaking One! When you have come to me, know that
I am very glad. O Smiling One! Do not feel any shame before me. I am now
your devotee; worship me. O large eyed One! Speak out what is that dear
thing that I can do for you? I will carry that out at once.
26-27. S'achī said :-- O Lord Vāsava! You have done all the works; now I
have got one desire to ask from you, kindly fulfil this and then I will be
yours. O One full of auspiciousness! Now fulfil my desire; I am speaking
this to you.
28. Nahusa said :-- O Thou, having a face sweet like the Moon! Speak out
your desire; I will carry it out. O Beautiful One with nice eye-brows! Even
if that be unattainable, I will give that to you.
29-31. S'achī said :-- O King of Kings! I cannot trust you; Swear on oath
that you will fulfill my desire. O King! A truthful King very rare on this
earth; I will speak out my desire when I will be convinced that you are
bound by truth. O King! When you will fulfil my desire, I will always remain
under your control; this I speak truly to you.
32. Nahusa said :-- O Beautiful One! On all the sacrifices and gifts that I
have ever made, I swear, on all my merits, that I will certainly carry out
your word.
33-37. S'achī said :-- Indra has got for his vehicles the horse
Uchchais'ravā, the Airāvata elephant and the chariot; Vāsudeva has got
vehicle Garuda; Yama has got his buffalo; S'ankara his Bull; Brahmā his
Swan; Kartika has got his peacock and Ganes'a has got his mouse. But now, O
Lord of the Devas! I want to see your vehicle, never witnessed before: I
want to see the Munis and the great ascetics, observing vows, to be your
vehicle; this is not Visnu's, Rudra's nor of the Devas, and Rāks'asas. O
King! Let the Munis carry your conveyance, this is my ever burning desire. O
King of this earth! I know you the highest of all Devas; let your glory and
splendour increase ever and ever; this is the intense desire reigning in my
heart.
38-56. Vyasa said :-- O King! Hearing S'achī's words, Nahusa, weak in
intellect, laughed and beguiled by the Māyā of Bhagavatī began to praise her
and said at once :-- O Beautiful One! Truly you have made a nice suggestion
of my vehicle. O One having luxuriant hairs! I will soon carry out your
words. O Sweet-smiling One! Whoever is effeminate and of weak virility, he
is never able to engage the Munis as his carriers; no doubt, my unbounded
strength will be rendered manifest when I come to you on a vehicle carried
by the Munis. What wonder is there that the seven Risis (the seven stars of
the constellation Great Bear) and all the Devarsis would carry me, knowing
me as the most capable and superior in all the three worlds by virtue of my
sheer asceticism? Vyāsa said :-- O King! The King Nahusa became very
pleased and dismissed S'achī Devī. He, then, with a heart flamed with
passion, called the Munis and said: --O Munis! I am now become Indra and
endowed with all powers thereof; therefore you all do my work without being
at all surprised. I have got the seat of Indra but Indrānī is not coming to
me. I called her to my presence and when I informed her of my desire, She
had spoken to me with affection the following words:-- O Indra of the Devas!
O Giver of one's honour! Better come to me on a vehicle carried by the Munis
and do thus the one thing for me that I like. O Maharsis! To carry out this
task is, indeed, difficult for me; therefore do you all unite and, out of
mercy, do this for me in all its completeness. My heart is being always
burnt, as I am very much attached to the wife of Indra; so I take refuge
unto you to do this wonderful work for me. Though this request was very
indecent and greatly humiliating yet the Munis agreed to it, out of pity,
and also impelled, as it were, by the great Fate. When the Great Seers, the
Munis consented to this proposal, the King, whose heart was very much
attached to the daughter of Pulomā, became very glad and getting on the
beautiful vehicle carried by the Munis, told them, move on quickly (Sarpa,
Sarpa). Then the King Nahusa, getting very much impassioned, touched with
his feet the heads of the Munis, and, being as it were smitten by the arrows
of cupid, began to whip frequently the Risi Agastya, the best of the
ascetics, who devoured the Rāksasa Vātāpi, who was the husband of Lopāmudrā
and who drank out the ocean, saying move on, move on (Sarpa, Sarpa another
meaning of which is Snake). The Muni, then, became very angry, on being thus
whipped, and cursed him saying :-- 'O Wicked One! As you are whipping me,
saying Sarpa, Sarpa, so go and remain in the dense forest as a huge snake.
When many years will elapse and when you will crawl on your own limb and
suffer intense troubles, after that you will again come to heaven. You will
be free from the curse when you will see the King Yudhisthira and hear from
him the answers to several questions.
57-67. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus cursed, the King Nahusa began to chant
hymns to that best of the Munis, and, while praising, fell from the Heavens
and instantly turned into a snake. Brihaspatī, then, quickly went to the
Mānasarovara Lake and informed Indra everything in detail. Indra became very
glad on hearing in detail of the downfall of the King Nahusa from Heaven and
remained there gladly. When the Devas and Munis saw this downfall into the
earth of Nahusa, they all went to the Lake Mānasarovara where Indra was
staying. They then all encouraged Indra and honoured him by bringing him
back to the Heavens. All the Devas and Risis installed Indra on the throne
and then performed the Inauguration ceremony of the all auspicious Devī. On
getting back his own throne. Indra, too, began to sport in the beautiful
Nandana Garden with his dear consort S'achī, in the home of the Devas. Vyāsa
said :-- O King! Indra had to suffer such severe hardships on account of his
slaying the Maharsi Vis'varūpa, the Lord of the Asuras. Subsequently through
the grace of the Devī, he got back his own seat. O King! Thus I have
narrated before you to my best, this excellent story of the killing of
Vritrāsura and thus have answered your question. O Ornament of the Kuru
family! The fruits will be exactly according to the Karma done. The effects
of the Karma done must be borne whether they be auspicious or inauspicious.
(So Indra had to suffer for his Karma, the killing of a Brāhmana.)
Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Sixth Book on Indra's getting the fruits
of his killing a Brāhmana and on the downfall of the King Nahusa from the
Heavens in the Mahāpurānam S'rī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter X
On the phase of Karma
1-5. Janamejaya said :-- O Brāhmana! You have described in detail the
wonderful character of Indra, his displacement from his Heavens, and his
suffering many hardships and at the same time, you have described very
widely the greatness of the Highest Goddess of the world. But one doubt has
arisen in my mind that Indra was very powerful and when he got the lordship
over the Devas, which means in other words that no trouble would pain him,
how was it that he had to feel pain and agony? He got the Lordship of the
Devas and his highest position by performing one hundred Horse Sacrifices;
how was it, then that he was again displaced from that position? O Ocean of
mercy! Kindly explain to me the causes of all these. You know everything;
you are the best of the Munis and the maker of the Purānas; I am your
devoted disciple; therefore nothing there can be that cannot be mentioned to
me. So, O highly fortunate One! Kindly remove my doubts. Sūta said :-- Thus
asked by Janamejaya, Vyāsa the son of Satyavatī gladly spoke, in due order,
the following words :--
6-29. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hear, then the causes that are certainly very
wonderful. The seers say that Karma is of three kinds :-- Sańchita
(accumulated), Vartamāna (present) and Prārabdha (commenced). Each of these
is again subdivided into three, Sāttvik, Rājasik, and Tāmasik. The
accumulated effects of Karmas done in many past lives is called Sańchita, O
King! The effects of this Sānchita Karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious,
be it for a long or for a short time, must have to be enjoyed by the beings
whether they be good or bad. This Sańchita Karma done by the embodied beings
in several previous births, can never be totally exhausted even in hundred
Koti Kalpas without their being enjoyed. The Karma that is being done by a
Jīva and that has not as yet been completed, that is called Vartamāna Karma.
The Jīvas do this Vartamāna Karma, auspicious or inauspicious, in their
present embodiments. At the time of birth, a part of the Sańchita Karma, the
soul takes up for fructification. This part of Sańchita Karma is called
Prārabdha Karma. This exhausts only when its effects have been fully borne
out by the embodied soul. The beings cannot but bear the effects of this
Prārabdha Karma. O King! Know this for certain that the effects of merits or
demerits done previously must be borne by anybody, be he a Deva, or a man,
or an Asura, or a Yaksa or a Gandharba. The acts done previously go to form
the new births of all beings. When the Karma gets exhausted, then no more
birth takes place. There is no doubt in this. Brahmā, Visnu, Rudra, Indra
and the other Devas, the Dānavas, Yaksas, Gandharbas, all are under the
control of this Karma. O King! Were it not so, how could they get bodies
that are the causes of the enjoyments of pains and pleasures of all the
beings. Therefore, O King! Out of the Sańchita Karmas done in many previous
births, some Karmas get ripe in due time and they manifest themselves; those
manifested Sańchita Karmas are called Prārabdha Karmas (those that are being
enjoyed by an individual in the present birth). Impelled by this Prārabdha
Karma, the Devas and the human beings, all do meritorious acts as well as
sinful acts. Thus Indra out of his past meritorious acts attained his
Indraship, and, out of his past sinful acts, committed the sin Brahmahattyā
and so he was dislodged from his Indraship. What doubt can exist here? O
King! So Nara and Nārāyana, the sons of Dharma, had to take births out of
their previous Karmas; again Arjuna and Krisna were born out of their Karmic
effects as part incarnations of this Nara and Nārāyana. The Munis describe
this Karma as the basis of the Purānas. Know that he is born of a Deva who
is very wealthy and prosperous; he who is not born of the part of a Muni,
never writes any spiritual treatise on Jńana or Knowledge; he who is not
born of Rudra, never worships Rudra; who is not born of a Deva never
distributes rice in charity; he who is not born of S'rī Visnu, never becomes
the king and lord of the earth. O King! The embodied souls derive their
bodies certainly from Indra, Agni, Yama, Visnu, and Kuvera. Indra presides
over lordship, Agni presides over energy, Yama presides over anger, and
Visnu presides over strength. He who is powerful, fortunate, enjoying many
enjoyments, learned, charitable, is said to be born of a Devāms'a. O Lord of
the earth! Similarly the Pāndavas and Vāsudeva who was as glorious as
Nārāyana were born of Devāms'as. O King! Know this as quite certain that the
bodies of the Jīvas are the receptacles of pains and pleasures; and the
embodied souls (Jīvas) experience alternately pleasure and pain. No Jīva is
independent; he is always under the Great Fate. He experiences birth, death,
pleasure and pain, not out of his self will, but compelled and guided, as it
were, by the unseen Fate.
30-41. O King! How very strong is that Fate can easily be judged by the
following. The Pāndavas were born in forest; then they went their own homes.
They performed the Great Rājasūya Sacrifice by virtue of their own strength.
After this they had to suffer their exiles in forest a much greater and more
terrible hardship indeed! Next Arjuna performed a very hard asceticism when
the Devas, not self-controlled, became pleased and granted him an auspicious
boon. Still he could not extricate himself from the hands of the terrible
hardship; nowhere could be found the fruits of the merits acquired in the
past when he was afterwards remaining in exile in his human body in the
forest! The severe tapasyā that he did in the Vadarikāsrama in his past
incarnation as Nara, the son of Dharma, did not bear any fruit in his Arjuna
birth. Mysterious and inexplicable are the ways and means of Karma with
which the bodies of the several beings are concerned. How could men get an
idea of it when the Devas themselves are at a loss to solve it. Bhagavān
Vāsudeva had to take birth in the prison, a very critical and dangerous
place; he was then carried by Vasudeva to the milkman Nanda's abode at
Gokula; he remained there eleven years and thence came back to Mathurā where
he killed by force Kamsa, the son of Ūgrasena. Then he released his
sorrowful father and mother from the bonds of prison and made Ūgrasena, the
King of Mathurā. Afterwards he went to Dvārkā city, out of the fear of Kāla
Yavana, the King of the Mlechchas; thus Janārdana Krisna performed many
great and heroic deeds, being impelled by Fate. Then he left his mortal coil
at Prabhāsa, a place of pilgrimage, along with his relatives and
acquaintances and then ascended to his Vaikuntha abode. All the Yādavas,
sons, grandsons, friends, brothers, sisters and ladies of the houses all
died under the curse of a Brāhmin. O King! I have thus described to you the
inexplicable ways of Karma.
What more shall I say than the fact that Vāsudeva was killed by the arrows
of a hunter!
Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the phase of Karma in the
Mahapurānam S'rī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
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