Devi Bhagavatam

THE FIRST BOOK

Chapter XI

On the birth of Budha

1-86. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! Who is that King Pururavâ? and who is the Deva girl Urvas'î? And how did that high-souled King Pururavâ come into trouble? O son of Lomaharsana! Kindly describe now all these to me. We are now desirous to hear sweet words from the lotus of your mouth. O Sûta! Your words are sweeter and more full of juice than nectar even; so we are not satiated by hearing them as gods are not satiated with the drink of nectar.”

Hearing this Sûta said :-- O Munis! I am now telling you, as far as my intelligence goes, what I heard from the mouth of S'rî Vyâsa. Now hear that beautiful divine incident.

Once on a time the exceedingly beautiful dear wife of Brihaspati, named Târâ, full of youth and beauty, of the most beautiful limbs and intoxicated with pride went to the house of Chandra Deva (the Moon), the yajamân (Employer of priest Brihaspati at any sacrifice) of Brihaspati. Seeing Târâ of beautiful face like Moon, the Moon became very passionate; Târâ also fell amorous at the sight of Moon. Thus both of them became very much passionately attached to each other. Then they, the Moon and Târâ, being smitten by the arrows of Cupid and intoxicated with amorous passions began their sexual intercourse with reciprocal feelings of passionate love. Some days passed in this state. Brihaspati, then, being distressed with the pang of separation from his wife, sent his pupil to bring back Târâ; but Târâ was then submissive of Chandra and therefore refused to come. Brihaspati sent over and over again his pupil and when Chandra Deva returned the messenger, Brihaspati became very angry and went personally to Chandra's house and spoke angrily to the Moon who was puffed up with arrogance and somewhat smiling -- “O Moon! Why are you committing this vicious act, contrary to Dharma? Why are you keeping my beautiful wife in your house? I am your Guru; you are my client; O stupid! why are you enjoying your Guru's wife and keeping her in custody in your house? Do you not know that he who kills a Brâhman, who steals gold, who drinks, who goes to wife of one's Guru are Mahâpâtakis (great sinners) and those who keep company of these are the fifth Mahâpâtakis? Therefore if you had enjoyed my wife, you are exceedingly vicious, blameable and a Mahâpâtaki (great sinner); you are not fit to live amongst the Devas. O wicked one! Now I say that even now you better forsake Târâ, who is of a blue colour and whose look is askance; I won't go from here without having Târâ. And if you do not give back Târâ, then you are certainly with her and undoubtedly I will curse you. When Brihaspati said so, Chandra, the husband of Rohinî, spoke to his Guru Deva, who was very angry, sorry and afflicted at the separation from his beloved wife, thus :-- In this world, the Brâhmins that know the Dharma S'âstras, that are devoid of anger, are fit to be worshipped; and those that are not so, they are objects of disrespect and not to be worshipped by all for their anger. O sinless one! The beautiful one will surely go to your house; what harm is there to you, if she waits here for a few days?
She is staying here of her own accord to enjoy pleasures and will go back of her own will. One word more -- You gave out before this opinion of the Dharma S'âstras that as a Brâhman though guilty of committing vicious deeds, becomes pure again by the practice of Karmas as enjoined in the Vedas, so a woman, too, though guilty of adultery, becomes pure again when she is again in the period of her menstruation. At these words of Chandra Deva, Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas, became exceedingly sorry and anxious and went back immediately to his own house, with a grievous heart, full of amorous feelings. After staying in his own house for some days Brihaspati, worn out with anxiety, came again quickly to the house of Chandra; but, no sooner he was to enter the gate, he was stopped by the door-keepers; he became very angry and stopped at the gate way. And when he saw that Chandra did not make his appearance, he became exceedingly angry and thought :-- “Oh! What a wonder is this? this irreligious Chandra, being my disciple, has done this vicious act and took by violence the wife of his Guru, who is reckoned as the mother; and I will now teach him a good lesson.”

Standing on the entrance gate way Brihaspati began to speak aloud :-- “O stupid, vicious, vilest of the Devas! Why do you now sleep in your inner room? Do return quickly my wife; else I will curse you at once. In case you do not bring me back my wife at once, I will now reduce you to ashes.” Hearing these foul words of Brihaspati, Chandra Deva the king of the Dvijas, quickly came out of the house and said smiling :-- “O Brâhmin! Why are you spending your stock of words for nothing? That all-auspicious lady, of a blue colour and looking askance, is not fit for you; therefore take another comparatively uglier woman for your use. Exceedingly youthful and lovely woman like her is not fit for a beggar's house. O stupid one! I see, you don't know anything about the Kâma S'âstra (the book that dwells on amorous passion); those wise men who are skilled in this S'âstra assign for the women, their lovers equivalent to their beauty in matters of amorous dealings. So, O stupid man! go away wherever you like. I won't give you back your wife. Do whatever lies in your power. I won't return your wife. When you have become passionate, your curse won't affect me in any way. This I say finally unto you :-- “O Guru! I will not give you back your wife; do what you wish.” Thus spoken by Chandra, Brihaspati became vary anxious and angry; he then went away quickly to the Indra's house.

Seeing Guru Deva morose and sorry, the very liberal minded Indra Deva worshipped him duly with pâdya, arghya, and Âchamanîya and asked :-- “O highly fortunate one! Why do you look so anxious? O great Muni! Why are you grievous and sorry? You are my Guru; is it that you are insulted by any one in my kingdom; say freely. All the Regents of the several quarters (the Lokapâlas) and all the Deva armies are under your command. Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'var and other Devas are ready to lend you every assistance, no doubt. So say what is the cause of your anxiety?” Hearing these words of Indra, Brihaspati said :-- “Chandra has stolen my beautiful-eyed wife. I asked for her, again and again, but that wicked soul is not returning me my wife at all. O Lord of the Devas! What am I to do now? You are my help and guide. O S'atakratu! You are the lord of the Devas; therefore I pray to you with a very grievous heart, help me in this matter.” Hearing this, Indra said :-- “O knower of Dharma! Do not be sorry. O Suvrata! I am your servant. O highly intelligent one! Surely I will bring you back your wife. I will send a messenger and even then if Chandra, mad with pride, do not return your wife, I will wage war with him and fight against him, with all our Deva armies.” Thus consoling Brihaspati, Indra sent a very clever man, who was a good speaker and wonderful in his capabilities, to Chandra. The clever and wise messenger went to the Chandra Loka (the region of the Moon) and spoke to Chandra, the husband of Rohinî, thus :-- “O Mahâbhâga! Indra has sent me to you to communicate his message to you. So O intelligent one! I will tell you what he has ordered me; hear.” He said :-- “O highly fortunate one! You know well Dharma and Nîti S'âstra (the science of morals); the more so, because the virtuous Maharsi Atri is your father. Therefore, O Suvrata! You ought not to commit such blameable act. See, all beings should protect their own wives always without remaining idle to the best of their powers; therefore, no doubt, quarrels would ensue necessarily on that point. O Sudhânidhi! as far as this point of protecting one's wife is concerned, your Guru Deva ought also to do his best. You ought to consider all persons like your own self.

O Sudhâkara! You have got twenty-eight exceedingly beautiful wives, who are the daughters of Daksa; why then do you desire to enjoy the wife of your Guru? The beautiful Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) Menakâ and others are always residing in the Heavens; you can enjoy them to your heart's content; leave off the wife of your Guru. In case any powerful man commits an unworthy act out of egoism, the illiterate ones would follow them; so the Dharma will decline. Therefore, O highly lucky one! Do such as does not lead, for nothing, quarrels amongst the gods and leave your Guru's wife, even beautiful.” Hearing these words from the messenger, the Moon (Chandra Deva) became somewhat angry and, making gestures, replied to the messenger, as if to Indra, thus :--

O mighty armed one! As you yourself are the lord of the Devas and the knower of Dharma, so your priest, too, has become like you; the head of both of you are the same. You will find many that can show their learning and give advice to others, but you will find always very rare such persons as will act themselves to their own advices when occasion arises and wants them to fulfil their own words. O Lord of the Devas! All the persons take the opinion of the S'âstras framed by Brihaspati then why the quarrel would ensue with me and the Devas when I an enjoying, according to his dictates, a woman who is herself willing? See also, that the rule in this world is might is right; all things go to the powerful man who can take by force; nothing falls to the lot of the weak; moreover this woman is mine and that woman is of another, this false notion comes to those whose brains are weak. When Târâ, is so much attached to me and is not at all attached to Brihaspati, the above rule applicable to me all the more; how then can I quit the lady so much attached to me, according to the laws of Dharma and the morals? You can see also, that happiness reigns in that family where the wife is according to the will of the husband; how, then, can the household happiness exist when the lady of the house is always dissatisfied? Therefore the household happiness of the Guru is impossible as Târâ is dissatified with Brihaspati since he enjoyed the wife of his younger brother Samvarta. Then the result comes to this, O thousand eyed one! How have you come to be thousand eyed! However that may be, you are the lord of the Devas; you can do whatever you like. O messenger! go and tell your lord of the Devas all that I have spoken; I will not return by any means that beautiful Târâ.

When Chandra spoke thus, the messenger went back to Indra and communicated to him all that Chandra Deva had spoken. Hearing this, Indra became angry and ordered all the Deva forces to be ready at once. Hearing this news of war, S'ukrâchârya, out of enmity to Brihaspati, went to Chandra and spoke thus :-- “O highly intelligent one! never return Târâ; in case if war ensues between you and Indra, I will help you by my Mantra-S'akti.” On the other hand, Bhagavân S'ankara, hearing of the vicious act of Chandra's, taking his Guru's wife, and knowing that S'ukrachârya was the enemy of Brihaspati, came to the assistance of the Devas. The great war, then, ensued between the Devas like the terrific war of Târakâsura; it continued for many years. Then the grandfather Brahma, seeing the great havoc in the lives of the Devas and Asuras, came there on his vâhan Hamsa, to secure peace and talked to Chandra :-- “Quit the Guru's wife; if not, I will call Visnu and destroy all of you party.” He also desisted the son of Bhrigu, S'ukrâcharya, saying :-- “O highly intelligent one! why has this wicked idea possessed your mind? Is it due to the bad association?” Then S'ukrâchârya also told Chandra, the lord of the medicinal plants, not to wage war and said :-- “Better quit you now the Guru's wife. Your father Maharsi Atri has sent me to you for this purpose.” Chandra, then, hearing the strange words of S'ukrâchârya, returned to Brihaspati his wife Târâ, though she was not satisfied with him and became herself pregnant.

Brihaspati returned with joy to his house, accompanied by his wife; the Devas and Dânavas went away to their respective places. Brahmâ went to Brahmaloka and S'ankara went to Kailâs'a.

Brihaspati began to pass his time happily with his beautiful wife; Some days went away when the wife of Brihaspati, Târâ, gave birth to an all-auspicious son, having all the qualities of Chandra, on an auspicious day and under the influence of an auspicious star; seeing this new-born child, Brihaspati gladly performed the natal ceremonies of the child. Hearing that a son is born to him, Chandra sent a messenger to Brihaspati saying that “That the child is not his; but it is born out of the semen of mine; why, then, have you performed the natal ceremonies out of your own will?” Hearing these words of Chandra's messenger, Brihaspati said :-- “No, this child is mine, no doubt, as he resembles quite like me.” When Brihaspati said this, war again ensued. The Devas and Dânavas met each other again in battle field; and councils of war were held. Then, for the preservation of peace, Prajâpati Brahmâ went there; and before all desisted the Devas; and Dânavas, mad for war, and ready to fight against each other. Brahmâ, then, asked Târâ :-- “O auspicious one! say truly whose child is this? O beautiful one! if you say truly, then this war resulting in the loss of so many lives, will cease.” The handsome Târâ, looking askance, lowered her head with shame and gently spoke to Brahmâ :-- “This is the Chandra's child” and went inside. Chandra Deva, then, became very glad and took the child, put down its name as Budha and carried it, to his own house. Bhagavân Brahmâ, Indra and the other Devas went back to their respective places. All the spectators went also to their own places whence they came. O Munis! I have now described the birth of Budha, as the son of Chandra and in the womb of Brihaspati's wife, as I heard it from the mouth of Vyâsa Deva, the son of Satyavatî.

Thus ends the eleventh chapter of the 1st Skandha on the birth of Budha in the Mahâpurâna S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter XII

On the birth of Pururavâ

1-53. Sûta said :-- O Mahârsis! The son of the above mentioned Budha is the greatly religious Pururavâ, of a very charitable disposition, and always ready to perform sacrificial acts; he was born of a kshattriya woman named Ilâ; and I will now describe how this Pururavâ was born of Ilâ and Budha, kindly listen.

In days of yore there was a king named Sudyumna, very truthful and highly capable in keeping his senses under control. Once on a time, wearing beautiful ear-rings, with extraordinary bow named Âjagab and holding the arrow-case full of arrows on his back, he went out on hunt to a forest, riding on a horse, born of the country Sindhu, surrounded by a few of his ministers. Going about in the regions of forest, the king got for his shikâr, buck, hare, boar, rhinoceros, bison, buffalo, young elephant, Srimar deer, wild fowl and various other animals fit for sacrificial purposes; thus he went on deep into the interior of the forest. This divine forest was adorned with rows of Mandâra trees and situated at the bottom of the mount Sumeru. Various trees and flowers were spreading the beauty of the forest all around; at places were Asoka creepers, Vakula, Sâl, Tâl, Tamâl, Champak, Panasa, mangoe, Nîp, Madhûka, pomegranate, cocoanut, Yûthikâ, plantain, kunda creeper, and various other trees and flowers; at some other places the bowers formed of Mâdhavi creepers enhanced the beauty and shed the lustre all around. There were tanks and reservoirs of water in the forest filled with swans, kârandavas, and other aquatic birds. The bamboo trees on their banks becoming filled with air were emitting sweet musical sounds; and at many places of that all blissgiving forest, there were bees humming sweetly and delighting the minds of people there. Now the Râjarsî Pradyumna became highly gladdened in his heart to see this interior of the forest, resonated with the cooing of the cuckoos and beautified by various lovely flowers; and no sooner he entered there than he was turned into a female and his horse, also, turned into a mare; the king, then, became seriously anxious. He began to think over and over again “What is this? How has this come to pass?” and became very ashamed and sorry and pondered over thus :--“What am I to do now? How can I in this woman condition go back to my house and how shall I govern my kingdom? Alas! Who has deceived me thus!” Hearing these astounding words of Sûta, the Risis said :-- “O Sûta! You have mentioned that the king Sudyumna equal to god has been turned into a woman; this is very strange indeed! Therefore, O Suvrata! What is the reason of his being turned into a mare? Kindly describe fully what that beautiful king did in the forest?”

Sûta, said :-- Once on a time, Sanaka and other Risis went to this forest to pay a visit to S'ankara, illuminating the ten quarters by their holy aura. But then Bhagavân S'ankara was in amorous dealings with S'ankarî. The beautiful Devî Ambikâ was then naked and sitting on the lap of S'ankara and therefore became very much ashamed at their sight; She got up hurriedly, and putting on her cloth, remained there shuddering, with great shame and sensitiveness. The Risis, also, seeing them engaged in amorous dealings, went away quickly to the hermitage of Nara Nârâyana.

Then Bhagavân S'ankara, seeing S'ankari too much sensitive, said :-- “Why are you so much bashful and shy? I am doing just now what will give you pleasure. O Beautiful one! Whoever male will enter from to-day and hereafter, within the precincts of this forest, will be instantly converted into a woman.” O Munis! Though the forest gave all delights to all, yet, having this defect, all the persons that know of this curse, carefully avoid the forest. No sooner did the King Sudyumna enter into the forest, out of ignorance, than he, as well as his attendants, were instantly turned into women; there could be no doubt in this. The king became overpowered with great care and anxiety and did not go back, out of shame, to his palace; but he began to wander to and fro on the outer skirts of that forest. He became known afterwards as the woman Ilâ. Now, once on an occasion, Budh, while he was wandering at his will, came up there and seeing the beautiful Ilâ with gestures and pastures and surrounded by women, became passionately attached towards her; and Ilâ, too, seeing the beautiful Budh, the son of Chandra deva, became desirous to have him as her husband. They became so very much tied in love towards each other, that intercourse took place there. Thus Bhagavân Budh generated, in the womb of Ilâ, Pururavâ; and Ilâ gave birth, in due time, the son Pururavâ in that forest. She then, with an anxious heart, recollected, while in the forest, her (rather his), family priest Vasistha Deva. Now then Vasistha Deva, seeing the distressed condition of the king Sudyumna became affected with pity and pleased Mahâdeva, S’ankara, the most auspicious Deva of all, by hymns and praises. When Bhagavân S’ankara wanted to grant him the boon that he desired, Vasistha Deva wanted that the king would be turned again into man as before. At this Bhagavân S’ankara said, in recognition of His promise, that the king Sudyumna would be alternately one month a man and the second month a woman and so on. Thus, by the favour of Vasistha Deva, the king Sudyumna got this boon and returned to his kingdom and began to govern it. When he used to be turned into a woman, he used to remain in the interior, and when he used to become a man, he governed his kingdom. At this the subjects became very anxious and did not welcome the king as they used to do before. Some days passed away in this way when the prince Pururavâ grew up into manhood. Then the king Sudyumna gave over to him the kingdom and made him the king of the new capital named Pratisthân; and started out to an hermitage to perform tapasyâ. He went to a beautiful forest, variegated with all sorts of trees, and got from the Devarsi Nârada the excellent mantra of the Bhagavatî Devî, consisting of nine letters. He began to repeat it incessantly, with an heart filled with love. Thus some days passed away when the all-auspicious Devî Bhagavatî, the Saviour of the whole Universe, became pleased with the king and appeared before the king, assuming the divine beautiful form, composed of attributes, intoxicated with the drink, and with eyes rolling with pride, and riding on vâhana, the lion. Seeing this divine form of the Mother of the Universe, the king Ilâ (in this form) bowed down before Her with eyes filled with love and gladly praised Her with hymns thus :-- “O Bhagavatî! What a fortunate being I am! That I have seen today the extraordinary world renowned benignant form of Thine granting grace and benefit to all the Lokas, I, therefore, bow down to Thy lotus-feet, granting desires and liberation, and served by the whole host of the Devas. O Mother! What mortal is there on this earth, who can fully comprehend Thy glories when all the Devas and Munis get bewildered in trying to know of them.

O Devî! I am thoroughly astonished to see Thy glories and Thy compassion towards the distressed and poor and helpless people. How can a human being, who is devoid of attributes comprehend Thy attributes when Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara, Indra, Chandra (moon), Pavana (wind), Sûrya, Kuvera, and the eight Vasus know not Thy powers. O Mother! Bhagavân Visnu, of unrivalled brilliancy, knows Thee as a part of Thine only, as Kamalâ of Sattva Gunas and giving one all one's desires; Bhagavân Brahmâ knows Thy part only as the form made of Rajo guna and Bhagavân S’ankara knows Thee as Umâ only made of Tamo Guna; but, O Mother! none of them knows Thy turîya form, transcending all the Gunas.

O Mother! where is my humble self, that is of very dull intellect and powerless, and where is Thy extremely propitious serenity and graciousness! Indeed such a gracious favour on me is certainly beyond expectation. Therefore, O Bhavâni! I have come to realise, in particular, that Thy heart is full of unbounded mercy; for Thou dost certainly feel compassion for these Bhaktas that are full of Bhakti towards Thee. O Mother! what more shall I say than this, that Bhagavân Madhusûdan Visnu, though married to Kamalâ, born from only a part of Thine, considers Himself unfit of Her and is therefore not happy; then the fact that He, the Âdi Purusa gets his feet shampooed by Kamalâ merely corroborates the fact that He wants His feet to become pure and all auspicious to the world by the holy touch of Kamalâ's hands. O Mother! It seems to me that the ancient Purusa Bhagavân Visnu wants gladly to be kicked by Thee like As'oka tree, for his own improvement and pleasure; and therefore it is that Thou dost want, as if Thou hast become angry to kick (beat with one's legs) Thy husband, stricken by Smara (cupid, love) and worshipped by all the Devas, who lies prostrate below Thy feet.

O Devî; when Thou always residest on the calm broad chest, as if on a great cot, adorned beautifully of Bhagavân Visnu, as lightning in deep dense blue clouds, then it is without doubt that He, becoming the Lord of the Universe, has surely become Thy vâhan (vehicle) (on account of carrying Thee on His breast), O Mother! If Thou forsakest Madhusûdana, out of wrath, He becomes at once powerless and is not worshipped by any body; for it is seen everywhere that persons, though calm and serene, if devoid of S’rî (wealth and power) are forsaken by their relatives as reduced to a state having no qualities. O Mother! I am not to be ignored by Thee, on account of my being a woman, for was it not the fact, that Brahmâ and the other Devas who always take shelter of Thy lotus feet, had not all to assume once youthful feminine forms, while in Manidvîpa, and I know this surely that Thou again didst make them of male forms. Therefore, O Thou of unbounded power! What shall I describe about Thy power? Indeed, there is great doubt in my mind whether Thou art masculine or feminine? O Devî! Whoever Thou mayst be, whether with attributes on transcending the attributes, whether male or female, I always bow down to Thee, with heart full of devotion towards Thee. O Mother! I want that I may have one unflinching devotion, towards Thee in my final state.”

Sûta said :-- Thus praising the Devî, the king Sudyumna, in the form of the feminine Ilâ, took refuge of the World Mother; and the Devî, becoming greatly pleased, gave to the king, then and there, union with Her own Self. Thus the king got the highest steady place, so very rare even to the Munis, by the grace of the Prime Force, the Devî Brahmâmayî.

Thus ends the Twelfth Chapter of the first Skandha on the birth of Pururavâ, in the Mahâpurânam S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter XIII

On Urvas’î and Pururavâ

1-34. Sûta said :-- O Maharsis! When the king Sudyumna had gone up to heavens, the religious king Pururavâ, endowed with great beauty and many qualities, and able to please the minds of his subjects began to govern his kingdom well, according to Dharma, with his heart intent on governing his people. No body knew what his counsel was, but he was very clever in knowing others' counsels. He was always highly energetic and his lordly power was great. The four methods of warfare, (1) con-ciliation, (2) giving gifts, (3) sowing dissensions and (4) war, were fully under his control. He saw that his subjects practised religion according to Varnâs'ram (Colours and stages of life), and thus he began to govern his kingdom. Pururavâ, the lord of men, performed various sacrifices with abundance of Daksinâs (sacrificial fees) and also gave away much in various charities, causing great wonder and astonishment. His extra-ordinary beauty and qualities, liberality and good nature, his unbounded wealth and prowess made the Apsarâ Urvas’î (celestial nymph) think of him often and she wanted him to satisfy her. Some time passed when that procud Urvas'î had to descend on this earth, due to a curse pronounced on her by a Brâhmin; and she chose the king Pururavâ as her husband, thinking him to be endowed with all the qualities. She then addressed the king and made the following contract :-- “O king, giving honour due to every body! I keep these two young sheep in trust and deposit with you; kindly look after these and, then, my honour will be preserved by you. O king! I will take ghee daily and nothing else for my food; and there is one word more; O king! Let me not see you naked, except when you hold sexual intercourse. O king I say this truly, that, in case there be any breach in this contract I will instantly leave you and go away.” The king accepted this contract of Urvas’î. Urvas’î, too, remained there according to the above contract and also with a view to pass away the period of her curse. During this time the king was fascinated with the love of Urvas’î and became so very much attached to her, that he left all his duties and dharma and remained long for many, many years in enjoying Urvas’î. The king's mind was so deeply absorbed in her, that he could not remain alone without her,

even for a moment. Thus many years passed away, when, once on a time, Indra, the lord of the Devas, not seeing Urvas'î, asked the Gandarbhas and said :-- “O Gandarbhas! Better go and steal away the two young sheep in a proper time from the palace of Pururavâ, and then bring Urvas'î here. My Nandana garden is now void of all beauty without Urvas’î; so bring the lady here any how or other.” Thus spoken by Indra, Vis'vâvasu and other Devas went to Pururavâ's palace; and when it was dark in the night, and when Pururavâ was holding sexual intercourse with Urvas’î, stole away the two young sheep. They, when being carried away in the sky, cried out so piteously that Urvas’î came to hear that as if of her two sons, and angrily spoke to the king :-- “O king! Now the contract that I made with you is verily fulfilled! It is that I placed my implicit confidence on you that this my misfortune has befallen on me; See! the thieves are stealing away the two sheep, my sons as they were! How then are you sleeping here like a woman? Alas! I am ruined in having an impotent husband who vainly boasts of his prowess!

Where are my two young sheep to-day that are dearer to me than my life?” Thus seeing Urvas’î wailing, the king Pururavâ, the lord of the Universe, ran after the Gandharvas instantly without any sense as it were, left in him, naked. The Gandharvas, then, cast rays of lightning in that room, and Urvas’î, willing to leave, saw the king naked when the Gandharvas left the two young sheep there and went away. The tired king brought the two sheep back to his house in that naked state. Then Urvas’î, too, seeing the husband naked, went away immediately to the Devî loka. Seeing Urvas’î going away, the king wailed very much with a very grievous heart. Then, being very much bewildered by the bereavement of Urvas’î, with his senses beyond control, and deluded by passion, wandered about in various countries, crying and giving vent to sorrow. Thus, wandering all over the globe, he came once to Kuruksettra and saw Urvas’î; then with a gladdened face said :-- “O beloved! Wait, wait for a moment; my mind is all absorbed in you; it is quite innocent and submissive to you. So you ought not to forsake me in such a dire difficult time. O Devî! For the sake of you, I have travelled very far. O Beautiful one! The body that you embraced before, will now, forsaken by you, fall here and will be devoured by crows and wolves, and other carnivorous animals.” Seeing the king, tired and passion stricken, greatly distressed and with a very sorrowful heart and wailing, Urvas’î spoke out :-- “O king! You are certainly a quite senseless man; whither has gone your extraordinary knowledge now? O king! Do you not know that the pure unalloyed love of women cannot take place with any other as the love of a wolf cannot fall on any man. Therefore the earthly men ought never to trust a bit to women and thieves. So go back to your palace and enjoy the pleasures of the kingdom; do not drown your mind further in sorrows.” The king Pururavâ, though thus brought to senses by Urvas’î, was so much fascinated by her love that his heart did not feel any consolation; rather he felt indescribable pain, being held up in bondage by the love of Urvas’î. O Munis! Thus I have described to you the character of Urvas’î; it is described, in detail, in the Vedas; I have stated this in brief.

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter of the 1st Skandha of the characters Urvas’î and Pururavâ; in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter XIV

On the birth of S’ûka Deva and on the duties of householders

1-70. Sûta said :-- O Maharsis! (Now hear the main topic). Seeing the dark-blue lady looking askance at him, Vyâsa Deva thought :-- “Indeed! What is to be done now? This Devakanyâ Apsarâ Ghritâchî is not fit for my household.” Then, seeing Vyâsa Deva thus thoughtful, the Apsarâ thought that the Muni might curse her and got terrified. Confounded by terror, she assumed the form of a S’ûka bird and fled away; Vyâsa, too, became greatly surprised to see her in the form of a bird. The moment Vyâsa saw the extraordinary beautiful form of Ghritâchî, the Cupid entered then, into his body, and his mind was filled with the thought of sweet feminine form and was gladdened and all his body was thrilled with pleasure so that the hairs of the body stood on their ends. The Muni Vyâsa Deva tried his best and exerted his power of patience to its utmost, but failed to control his restless mind to enjoy the woman. Though he was very energetic, and he tried repeatedly to control his heart, enchanted with the beautiful form of Ghritâchî, yet he could not, as due to a state of things pre-ordained by God, control his mind. At this state, when he was rubbing the fire sticks to get the sacred fire, the two pieces of wood used in kindling the fire, his seed (semen) fell upon the Aranî (the two pieces of wood used in kindling the sacred fire). But he did not take any notice of that, and he went on rubbing the firesticks when arose from that Aranî the wonderfully beautiful form of S’ûka deva, looking like a second Vyâsa. This boy, born of Aranî fuel, looked there brilliant like the blazing fire of the sacrificial place, whereon oblations of ghee are poured. Seeing that son,Vyâsa Deva was struck with great wonder and thought thus :-- “What is this? How is it that my son is born without any woman.” Thinking for a while, he came to the conclusion, that this had certainly come to pass as the result of boon granted to him by S'iva. No sooner the fiery S’ûka Deva, was born of Aranî, he looked brilliant, like fire, by his own tejas (spirit). At that time Vyâsa Deva began to look with one steady gaze the blissful form of his son as a second Gârhapatya Fire, brilliant with the Divine fire. O hermits! The river Ganges came there from the Himalayas and washed all the inner nerves of the child S’ûka Deva, by her holy waters and showers of flowers were poured on his head.

Vyâsa Deva next performed all the natal ceremonies of the high-souled child; the celestial drums were sounded and the celestial nymphs began to dance and the lords of the Gandharvas Visvâvasu, Nârada, Tumburu and others began to sing with great joy for the sight of the son. All the Devas and Vidyâ Dharas began to chant hymns with gladdened hearts at the sight of the Divine form, the son of Vyâsa, born of aranî. O twice born ones! Then were dropped down from the sky the divine rod (Danda), Kamandalu, and the antelope skin. No sooner the extraordinarily brilliant S’ûka Deva was born than he grew up, and Vyâsadeva, who is master of endless learning and how to impart them to others, performed the son's Upanayana ceremony. No sooner the child was born than all the Vedas with all their secrets and epitomes began to flash in the mind of S’ûka Deva, as it reigned in Vyâsa Deva. O Munis! Bhagavân Vyâsa Deva gave the name of the child as S’ûka as during the moment of his birth he saw the form of Ghritâchî in the form of the S’ûka bird. S’ûka then accepted Brihaspati as his guru and began devotedly, with his whole head and heart to perform duly the Brahmacharya vow (the life of studentship and celebacy). The Muni S’ûka remained in the house of his Guru and studied the four Vedas with their secrets and epitomes and all the other Dharma S'âstras and gave Daksinâ to the Guru duly according to proper rules, and returned home to his father Krisna Dvaipâyan. Seeing his son S’ûka, Vyâsadeva got up and received him with great love and honour and embraced him and took the smell of his head. The holy Vyâsa asked about his welfare and about his studies and requested him to stay in that auspicious Âs'rama. Vyâsa then thought of S’ûka's marriage and he became anxious and began to enquire where a beautiful girl of a Muni can be found. And he spoke to his son :-- “O highly intelligent one! You have now studied all the Vedas and Dharma S'âstras. Therefore, O sinless one! better marry now. O son! Take a beautiful wife, and leading a householder's life, worship the Devas and Pitris, and free me from debt. There is no other way of issueless persons; he can never go to heaven; so O highly fortunate son of mine! Now enter into the life of a householder and make me happy. O highly intelligent one! I have big expectations from you; now try to fulfill them. O greatly wise S’ûka! After a very severe asceticism, I have got you who are verily a Deva born without any womb. I am, therefore, your father; save me.” When Vyâsa spoke thus to S’ûka, making him sit close by, the highly dispassionate Sûka at once made out that his father was terribly attached to the world and replied :-- “O knower of Dharma! you have, by the power of your great intelligence, divided Veda into four parts; why are you therefore advising me so now? I am your disciple; so give me true advice. Certainly I will obey your order.” At this Vyâsa deva said :-- “O son! I have got you after I had performed very severe tapasyâ, for one hundred years, and worshipped Bhagavân S'ankara in the sole object of having you. O highly wise one! I will ask some king and will give you sufficient wealth for your family expenses. So that you, having attained this much desired youth, enjoy the householder's life.” Hearing these words of the father, S’ûka Deva said :-- “O father! Kindly say this to me what pleasure is there in this earth that is not mixed with pain. The happiness, that is mixed with pain, is not called happiness by the wise. O highly fortunate one! when I will marry, I will become certainly submissive to that woman; see then how happiness can be possible to one who is dependent; especially to one, dependent on one's wife. Rather freedom can be obtained one day when one is tied to an iron or wooden pillar; but never freedom will come to that man who is tied by his wife and children. As the body of man is full of urine and faeces, so is the body of the woman. The more so, when I am born of no womb, how can I find happiness there; not only in this birth, but in my previous birth, too, I had no desire to be born of any womb. How can I desire now to enjoy the pleasure of urine and faeces in the face of the bliss of self that has got no other bliss equal to it? The high-souled persons, that find pleasure in their selves, never go after the sensual pleasures of the objects of enjoyments? When I studied first, the Veda in detail, it struck me that the Vedas dealt with the S'âstra of Karma mârga (the way of action); and it is all full of Himsâ (injury to others). Then I took Brihaspati as my Guru to shew me the way to true wisdom; but soon I found that he, too, was attacked with the dreadful disease Avidyâ (ignorance) and plunged in the terrible ocean of world, full of Mâyâ. So it became quite clear to my mind, how could he save me? If the physician be diseased himself, how can he effect cures to other diseases? When I am desirous of liberation, how can I get it from a Guru who is himself deeply attached to the world; how can such a one treat my case to free me, from the disease of attachment to this world? It would be merely a farce. I bowed down to the Guru and now I am come to you to save me, frightened by this terrible serpent of Samsâra. Day and night the Jîvas travel in this awful wheel of Samsâra, this constellation of Zodiac; they are moving like the Sun and never get any rest. O father! If we discuss about the truth of Âtman, we will at once find that there is no trace of happiness in this Samsâra. As the worms enjoy pleasures in the midst of faeces, so the ignorant persons find pleasures in this Samsâra. Those who have studied the Vedas and other S’âstras and yet are attached to the world, are certainly deluded and blind like horses, pigs and dogs; no one is more stupid and ignorant than those persons. Getting this extremely rare human birth and studying the Vedanta and other S’âstras, if they be attached to this world, then who are the men that will attain freedom? What more wonder can you find in this world than the fact that persons, attached to wives, sons and houses; are denominated as Pundits? That man who is not bound by this Samsâra, composed of the three Gunas of Mâyâ, is Pundit; that man is intelligent and he has understood the real import of the S’âstras. What use can there be in studying the S’âstras, in vain, that teach how to bind men more firmly in this Samsâra, full of Mâyâ.

That S’âstra ought to be studied, which tells how a man would be liberated. The house is called "Griha" because it catches hold of a man firmly. So what happiness can you expect from the house which is like a prison? O father! I am therefore afraid. Those Pundits are certainly stupid and they are certainly deceived by the Creator, who having the birth even of men, become again imprisoned.” Hearing these words of S’ûka, Vyâsa spoke as follows :-- “O Son! The house is never a prison, nor is it the cause of any bondage; the householder whose mind is unattached, can get Moksa, in spite of his being such. Truthful, holy, earning wealth by just means and performing, according to rules the rites and ceremonies, as stated in the Vedas and doing S'râddhas duly, a householder can certainly get Moksa. See a man who is a Brahmachâri, who is an ascetic, who is a Vânaprasthî or follows any other method or vow, all have got to worship the householder after mid-day. The religious householder, too; welcomes them all, with sweet words, and gives them food, with great love and respect, and thus does them an amount of good. For this reason the householder's stage is the most excellent of all; and I have not seen or heard of any other Âs'rama superior to it. For this reason Vas'istha and other Âchâryas resorted to householder's life, in spite of their being endowed with great wisdom O highly fortunate one! If one performs duly the rites and ceremonies of the Vedas, there is nothing that is impracticable to him. Be it the birth in a good family, or the enjoyment of heavens say, or be it Moksa, whatever desires, it is fructifled to success. Also there is no such rule that one will have to remain in one and in the same Âs'rama throughout his life. The Pundits who know Dharma say that pupils can go from one Âsrama to another, Therefore, O child! accept Agni (the householder's fire) and try your best to do unremittingly your duties. O Son! Enter into a householder's life and appease the Devas, Pitris and men; procreate sons and enjoy the pleasures of household life. When old age will come, quit the house and take up the Vânaprasthâshram (the third stage) and go to a forest and perform the excellent vows and then take up the dharma of the Sannyâsa (renunciation of everything).

O Fortunate one! He who does not take a wife, is certainly maddened by these indomitable five organs of action, five organs of senses and mind. Therefore, the makers of the S’âstras say, that to save one self from the pernicious influences of these vicious senses, one is to take wife during his youth time and then be engaged in performing tapasyâ during his old age. O fortunate one! In days of yore, the fiery Râjarsi Vis'vâmitra practised very severe tapasyâ without any food for three thousand years, and thought he was very strong and shining like fire, he was fascinated by the charm of the celestial nymph Menakâ. And an auspicious daughter was born from the womb of Menakâ by Vis'vâmitra. My father Parâs'ara, though a great ascetic, was struck with Cupid's arrows at the sight of the daughter of a fisherman, named Kâli and accepted her in the boat. What more than this, that Brahmâ seeing his own daughter Sandhyâ was struck by passion and ran after her, when Bhagavân Rudra Deva made him unconscious by his Humkâr sound and made Brahmâ desist from the attempt.

So, O fortunate one! Take my word pregnant of good issues and marry a lady, born of a good family, and follow the path presented in the Vedas.”

Thus ends the fourteenth Chapter of the 1st Skandha, on the birth of S’ûka Deva and the duties of householders in the Mahâ Purâna S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Vedavyâs.

Chapter XV

On the dispassion of S’ûka and the instructions of Bhagavatî to Hari

1-67. Hearing these words of Vyâsa Deva S’ûka Deva said :-- O Father! I do not like at all to take to a householder's life; as I see clearly that it fastens men, as a cord fastens animals, and is a source of incessant pain. O Father! Where can you expect happiness from a householder who is always loaded with anxiety how and whence to get wealth? Those, who have greed for wealth, oppress their poor relatives, even; and extort money. Even one who is the lord of the three worlds, who is their Indra, he also is not so happyas a beggar, that has no desires. See, then, who else can be happy in this world? Whenever an ascetic is seen to practise severe asceticism, Indra, the lord of the Devas becomes anxious and sorry, and raises various obstacles in his way. See also that Brahmâ is not happy with his big samsâra (his creation which is his house). Bhagavân Visnu, though He has got His beautiful Kamalâ, the presiding Deity of all wealth and prosperity, is always suffering, since He is incessantly engaged in fighting with the Asuras; and though He is the husband of Laksmî and full of prosperity, He practises, almost, every now and then, terrible asceticism with great care and earnestness. So who else is there, who is possessed of constant happiness? I know also Bhagavân S'ankara, too, suffers incessant troubles and has to fight against the Daityâs. So, then, O Father: how can a poor householder be happy when the rich householder cannot sleep happily, with his constant care for wealth. O highly fortunate one! Knowing full well this truth of the world, why are you plunging me, your son, in this terrible Samsâra, full of pains and agonies.

O Father! What shall I say to you about the miseries of the world! There is pain in birth, pain in old age, pain in death, and pain in the life in the womb full of urines and faeces; but the pain, arising from desire and greed, is more terrible than all the pains mentioned above; and then, the pains experienced while asking for them are greater than the pangs of death. Alas! There is no other way for the Brahmâns to earn their livelihood than to accept gifts from others. Therefore the Brahmâns have to suffer daily death-like pangs in having to wait in expectation from others; can there be anything more regrettable than this? The Brahmânas, studying all the Vedas and Dharma S'âstras and acquiring wisdom, have got at last to go to the rich and praise them (in expectation of some money) carefully. O Father! if one does not become a householder, then what care is there to feed one's own belly? If there be contentment in the mind, any how the belly can be filled with leaves, roots and fruits; but if there be wife, sons and grandsons and many dependent relatives, then to feed them all, much trouble and anxiety are experienced. So how can you expect, O Father! perfect happiness in the world? So teach me, O Father! the S’âstras on Yoga and eternal truth that will give perfect happiness; no advice in karma kânda (the series of actions) will bring me pleasure. Now advise me how the karmas can be exhausted; how the root of the three sorts of karmas, Sanchita, Prârabdha, and Vartamâna, giving torments of birth, death, etc., the Avidyâ, the great ignorance, can be destroyed? The fools do not understand how the women suck the blood out of persons like leeches, for they get themselves deluded by their gestures and postures! The lady of the house, whom the people call kântâ, the beautiful one, steal away the semen virile, the strength and energy in the way of giving them happiness as sexual intercourse, and their minds and wealth and everything by their crooked love conversations; so see what greater thief can there be than a woman? In my opinion, those that are ignorant are certainly deluded by the Creator; they accept wife to destroy their own pleasure of happiness. They can never understand that the women can never be the source of pleasure; they are the source of all miseries. Hearing these words of S’ûka, Vyâsa became merged in the deep sea of cares and anxieties, thinking what to do then. The incessant tears of pain flowed from his eyes; his whole body began to shiver and his mind became too much worried.

Seeing this distressed and sorrowful state of his father, S'ûkdeva, with eyes full of wonder, said :-- Oh! What a power has Mâyâ got?

Oh! He, whose words are accepted by all, with great love and care as equivalent to the Vedas, who is the author of the Vedânta Dars'ana, and before whom nothing is veiled in ignorance, Oh! that greatest Pundit, the knower of all the Tattvas, is now deluded by Mâyâ? Oh! what is that Mâyâ who has been able to delude Vyâsa Deva, the son of Satyavati, so skilled in the knowledge of Brahmâ Vidyâ; I also do not know how, with what great care, one is to practise Sâdhanâ towards Her.

Alas! He who has composed eighteen Mahâ Purânas and the great Mahâ Bhârata, who has divided the Vedas in four parts, the same Veda Vyâs has today been deluded by the power of Mâyâ! What to speak of other persons! Oh! Mâyâ has deluded Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara and others and the whole universe; then who is there in the three worlds that is not fascinated by Her influence! I therefore, take refuge unto the Internal Governess, the Devî Mahâ Mâyâ. Oh! what wonderful power She wields? By her own Mâyic power, She has kept God even under Her control, who is omniscient and the Controller of all. The Pundits, who know the Purânas say, that Vyâsa Deva is born of the part of Visnu; but, see the wonder, that he is today plunged in the sea of delusion like a merchant whose ship has been wrecked. Alas! How great is the wonderful power of Mâyâ! The all-knowing Vyâsa is today under the control of Mâyâ and is weeping like an ordinary man! So I have come to the firm conclusion that the wise Pundits are incapable to surpass the strength of Mâyâ. What a great error arises through the power of Mâyâ! See! indeed!! who is he and who am I? What for we have come here? There is no certainty, nothing whatsoever, about that. And, see, also, how he has got the nice idea of “father” on his body and the idea of “his son” in my body, that are composed of five elements.

This is now quite evident to me that, when the Brâhmin Maharsi Krisna Dvaipâyan is weeping under the influence of Mâyâ, She is the strongest of all; even those who are skilled in the great Mâyâ fall under Her prey.

Then S’ûka Deva bowed down mentally to the Devî, Mahâ Mâyâ, who is the Creatrix of Brahmâ and the other Devas and who is the Controller of them all; and then began to speak the following auspicious words pregnant with reason, to his father Vyâsa Deva, greatly distressed and plunged in the sea of sorrows :-- “O Father! you are exceedingly fortunate, for you are the son of the high souled Parâs'ara and you yourself are the instructor of real truth, the tattva jnâna, to all persons; so, O Lord! why are you giving vent to sorrows, like an ordinary bewildered man? O Mahâbhâga! why are you plunging yourself in this great error, though you are a high souled personage! See, it is quite true that now I am born as your son; but this I don't know what relation existed between you and me in my previous birth? So, O highly intelligent one! Open your eyes of wisdom, and be patient; do not throw yourself, in vain, in the sea of sorrows. All this universe is like a net of delusion; knowing this, abandon all your grief; why are you feeling yourself so much weak and distressed, for your attachment towards your son? Hunger is satisfied by eating something, and thirst is satisfied by the drinking of water; hunger is not satisfied by seeing the son. So the organ of scent is satisfied by smelling sweet scents; and the organ of hearing is satisfied by hearing sweet music; and when thirst arises to enjoy women, that is satisfied only by sexual intercourse; but what satisfaction can a son give? So what shall I do to you by remaining as your son? The son, in fact, is not the cause of any satisfaction to one's self. For this reason, in ancient days, the poor Brahmin Ajigarta gave his son to the king Harischandra, for necessary equivalent price in money, who wanted a man for his sacrifice where human beings are to be sacrificed as victims. In fact, those things that are urgently required as necessities give happiness; and all these articles can be obtained by wealth; so if you want to enjoy happiness, then earn money; of what use shall I be to you as your son? O Muni! you can see subtle things and you are greatly intelligent; so I pray to you, to look upon me as your son and open my eyes of wisdom, that I can be free for ever from this womb of birth. O Sinless one! To get a human birth in this land of Karma (in India) is very difficult; again to get a Brâhmin birth is extremely rare; so when I have got this so very rare birth, why shall I spend my time in vain? O Father! Though I have served many spiritual teachers, fraught with wisdom, for many years, yet the firm idea “I am, as it were, bound up in this net of Samsâra” the notion covered with dark darkness of ignorance, caused by desires, this net of Samsâra does not leave me.

When the son S’ûka Deva of extraordinary power and intelligence spoke thus, Vyâsa saw that his son was strongly inclined to take to the four Âs'ram, that of Sannyâsa and spoke thus :-- O Son! If your mind has become so, then read Bhâgavat Purâna, composed by me, highly auspicious, voluminous, and the second Vedas.

In this you have the chapters on Creation (Sarga) and secondary creation (upa sarga), etc., the five characteristics as in other Purânas and it is sub-divided into twelve Skandhas. Hearing of this Bhâgavata brings up to the mind that Brahmâ alone is real and all the universe is unreal and knowledge both intuitive and indirect springs up. For this very reason, the Bhâgavata treatise is considered as the ornament of the Purânas. Therefore, O highly intelligent one! you better study the Purâna. O Child! In days of yore, at the end of a Kalpa, Bhagavân Hari was lying, as a small child on a floating leaf of a banyan tree, and was thinking thus :-- “Who is the Intelligent One that has created me a small child? What is His object? Of what stuff am I made of? and how am I created? whence can I know all this?” At this moment the Devî Bhagavatî Who is all chaitanya, seeing the high-souled Bhagavân Hari musing thus, spoke out in the form of a celestial voice in the following half-stanza:-- “All this that is seen is I Myself; there is existent nothing other that is eternal.” Bhagavân Visnu, then, began to think deeply the above celestial voice :-- “Who has uttered this word, pregnant of truth, to me? How shall I come to know the speaker, whether that is female, male or a hermaphrodite?” Pondering over this for a long time, when he could not come to a definite conclusion, he began to repeat (make japam) frequently that word of Bhagavatî with a whole heart. When Hari, lying on a banyan tree leaf, became very anxious to know what the above words implied, then the all-auspicious Devî Bhagavatî with a beautiful face, calm and quiet appearance, appeared before Bhagavân Visnu, of unrivalled splendour, in the form of Mahâ Laksmî, who is all of Sattva Guna, surrounded by Her Vibhûtis, Her manifestations of attendents, Her smiling companions of the same age, decked with ornaments, and wearing divine clothings, and holding each in their four divine hands, conch shell, disc, club, and lotus.

The lotus eyed Visnu was very much surprised to see that beautiful Devî, standing without anything to rest on that water; He saw that on four sides of the Devî, were staying Rati, Bhûti, Buddhi, Mati, Kîrti, Smriti, Dhriti, S'raddhâ, Medhâ, Svadhâ, Svâhâ, Kshudhâ, Nidrâ, Dayâ, Gati, Tusti, Pusti, Ksamâ, Lajjâ, Jrimbhâ Tandrâ and other personified forces, each possessing a clear distinct form, and endowed with a clear distinct feeling. In the hands of them all were divine weapons; on their necks, necklaces and garlands of Mandâra flowers; and all the limbs of their bodies were decorated with divine ornaments. Seeing in that one mass of ocean the Devî Laksmî and Her S'aktis, Bhagavân Janârdan, the soul of all, became greatly astonished and thought within Himself thus :-- “What is this? Is this Mâyâ that I am witnessing? Whence have appeared these women? and whence have I come here, lying on this banyan leaf? How has the banyan tree come to existence in this one mass of ocean? And who is it, that has placed me here in the form of a child? Is this my Mother? Or is this some Mâyâ that can create impossible things?

Why has She made Herself manifest before me now? Or is there some hidden motive that She has appeared thus? What ought I to do now? Or shall I go to some other place? or shall I continue remaining here in this form of the child, silent and with vigilance.

Thus ends the fifteenth chapter of the 1st Skandha on the dispassion of S'ûka and the instructions of Bhagavatî to Hari in the Mahâpurâna S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

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