Parva 1 Chapter 55: viṣṇuṁ prati brahma vākyam - brahma's reply to viṣṇu

On hearing the words of nārada god madliusudana, the master of gods, smilingly said these auspicious words… trai-lokyasya hitārthāya yat māṁ vadasi nārada | tasya saṁyak-pravṛttasya śrūyatām uttaraṁ vacaḥ||1-55-2 viditā dehino jātā mayā ete bhuvi dānavāḥ | yāṁ ca yaḥ tanum ādāya daityaḥ puṣyati vigraham ||1-55-3 jānāmi kaṁsaṁ saṁbhūtam ugrasena sutaṁ bhuvi | keśinaṁ cāpi jānāmi daityaṁ turaga-vigraham ||1-55-4 nāgaṁ kuvalayāpīḍaṁ mallau cāṇūra muṣṭikau | ariṣṭaṁ cāpi jānāmi daityaṁ vṛṣabha rūpiṇam ||1-55-5 “O nārada, listen to a proper reply to all these words which you have addressed to me for the well-being of the three worlds… I am cognisant of the fact that all these dānavā-s have assumed human forms on earth; it is also known to me as to which demon took which form… I am aware that kaṁsa is born as the son of ugra-sena on earth; demon keshi mutated into the form of a horse; about elephant kuvalaya-pīḍa, wrestlers cāṇūra and muṣṭika, and about the demon ariṣṭa who took the shape of a bull… vidito me kharaḥ caiva pralambaḥ ca mahāsuraḥ | sā ca me viditā vipra pūtanā duhitā baleḥ ||1-55-6 kāliyaṁ cāpi jānāmi yamunā hrada gocharam | vainateya bhayāt yastu yamunā hradam āviśat ||1-55-7 vidito me jarā-sandhaḥ sthito mūrdhni mahīkṣitām | prāgjyotiṣa-pure vāpi narakaṁ sādhu tarkaye ||1-55-8 mānuṣe pārthive loke mānuṣatvam upāgatam | bāṇam ca śoṇita-pure guha pratima tejasam ||1-55-9 dṛptaṁ bāhu-sahasreṇa devaiḥ api su-durjayam | mayi āsaktāṁ ca jānāmi bhāratīṁ mahatīṁ dhuram ||1-55-10 Oh, brāhmaṇa nārada, I know the whereabouts of demons khara and pralamba… further, I am aware about the secret of emperor bali’s daughter becoming the demoness called pūtana, the child-minder… I know that great serpent kālīya entered the lake of yamuna and he is living in there just out of fear from lady vinata’s son, garuḍa… I am aware the jarā-sandha has become the head of all kings; and about the demon naraka living in the city of prāgjyotiṣa-puram; and about demon bāṇa, an energetic, haughty and ambidextrous demon invincible even unto the gods because his valour equals that of guha, aka kārtikeya, and about that demon’s living in śoṇita-pura on earth, at present… I know that bhāratī, the mother earth, is overstuffed with this junk and she is counting on me to ease her burden… sarvaṁ tat ca vi-jānāmi yathā yāsyanti te nṛpāḥ | kṣayo bhuvi mayā dṛṣṭaḥ śakra-loke ca sat-kriyā | eṣāṁ puruṣa dehānām a-parāvṛtta dehinām ||1-55-11 I also know as to how these demons-turned-kings, when neutralised on earth, will pass across the barrier called life – janma-rāhityam – or, otherwise like ditching to netherworlds, atho-loka-jīvanam; at the same time keeping the heavens of indra unsullied; still and all, without any boomerang of their existence in any form or physique within any holy precincts… saṁpravekṣyāmi ahaṁ yogam ātmanaḥ ca parasya ca | saṁprāpya pārthivaṁ lokaṁ mānuṣatvam upāgataḥ ||1-55-12 kaṁsa ādīn cāpi tat sarvān vadhiṣyāmi mahāsurān | tena tena vidhānena yena yaḥ śāntim eṣyati ||1-55-13 anupravishya yogena tāḥ tā hi gatayo mayā | I will now enter into a cathartic yoga, for myself and for others too, and reach the human world transmuting myself as a human… in the process of depurating the earth I myself will eradicate kaṁsa and other demon-tuned-humans employing those and those methods seemly for me; or I will employ chosen-few for that on deciding who is to be felled at whose hand; then, whether the demons are afore or afar; or skulking and sidling into disguises or disappearances by the dint of their yoga, it is incumbent on me to trail them for their neutralisation; and with such and such operations of mine the demons will come to order, individually or severally… amīṣāṁ hi surendrāṇāṁ hantavyā ripavo yudhi ||1-55-14 jagati-arthe kṛto yaḥ ayam aṁśa utsargo divaukasaiḥ | sura-deva-rṣi-gandharvaiḥ itaḥ ca anumate mama ||1-55-15 vi-nishchayo hi prāk eva nārada ayaṁ kṛto mayā | Indeed, the god-haters are to be liquidated in a given battle… remember, oh, nārada, that the incarnations of gods, celestials, sages, gandharvā-s et al for the sake of mother earth, and their departure from here to earth, everything is just with my consent… hence, oh, nārada, all this is my foregone conclusion…” replying nārada, now viṣṇu turned to brahma and spoke: nivāsaṁ nanu me brahman vidadhātu pitāmahaḥ ||1-55-16 yatra deshe yathā jāto yena veṣeṇa vā vasan | tān ahaṁ samare hanyāṁ tat me brūhi pitāmaha ||1-55-17 “h*, brahma, were should be my tenement, in which province, to which parentage, and in which ensemble I have to demean and pit myself against those demons while on earth… please tell me something about it… brahma uvāca: brahma said to viṣṇu nārāyaṇa imaṁ siddha-artham upāyaṁ śṛṇu me vibho | bhuvi yaḥ te janayitā jananī ca bhaviṣyati ||1-55-18 yatra tvaṁ ca mahābāho jātaḥ kula-karo bhuvi | yādavānāṁ mahat vaṁśam akhilaṁ dhārayiṣyasi ||1-55-19 tān ca asurān sam-utpāṭya vaṁśaṁ kṛtvā ātmano mahat | sthāpayiṣyasi maryādāṁ nṛṇāṁ tat me niśāmaya ||1-55-20 “O lord nārāyaṇa, hear from me about the key to your success, which earthly mother will deliver you, in which dynasty you are going to take birth as an enricher of that dynasty, as to how you are going to uphold the great lineage of yādavā-s, as to how you will make your lineage flourish on eliminating demons, as to how you will re-establish decorum in human world… all these aspects you may know from me… purā hi kashyapo viṣṇo varuṇasya mahātmanaḥ | jahāra yajṣiyā gā vai payodāḥ tu mahāmakhe ||1-55-21 aditiḥ surabhiḥ ca ete dve bhārye kashyapasya tu | pradīyamānā gāḥ tāḥ tu na icchatāṁ varuṇasya vai ||1-55-22 In the days of yore, oh nārāyaṇa, when the high-souled raingod varuṇa is conducting a vedic-ritual, kaśyapa-prajāpati impounded all the milch-cows belonging to varuṇa witch gave milk for that ritual… two wives f kaśyapa-prajāpati, namely lady aditi and lady surabhi, refused to return those cows to varuṇa, though he repeatedly implored them for their return… tataḥ māṁ varuṇo abhyetya praṇamya śirasā tataḥ | uvāca bhagavan gāvo guruṇā me hṛtā iti ||1-55-23 Thereupon varuṇa approached me in a bow and scrape manner and said to me: "O revered one, the sage kāśyapa appropriated all my kine… kṛta-kāryo hi gāḥ tāḥ tu na anujānāti me guruḥ | anvavartata bhārye dve aditiṁ surabhiṁ tathā||1-55-24 Though his object of confiscating cows is accomplished sage kashyapa has not ordered the return of those kine to me, just by falling in the clutches of his two wives aditi and surabhi…. mama tā hi akshaya gavo divyāḥ kāmaduhaḥ prabho | caranti sagarān sarvān rakṣitāḥ svena tejasā ||1-55-25 All those kine of mine give heavenly and eternal milk whenever wished… protected by their own capability they range up to the fringes of all seas uncaught by any… kaḥ tā dharṣayituṁ shakto mama gāḥ kaśyapāt ṛte | akṣayaṁ yā kṣaranti agryam payo deva amṛta upamam ||1-55-26 Who is capable of laying his hand on my cows, which yield best milk similar to ambrosia, barring sage kashyapa… prabhuḥ vā vyutthito brahman guruḥ vā yadi vā itaraḥ | tvayā niyamyāḥ sarve vai tvaṁ hi naḥ paramā gatiḥ ||1-55-27 As a supreme refuge of ours, oh, brahma, it up to you to control anyone who has gone astray, whether he is master, guru or whoever he may be… yadi prabhavatāṁ daṇḍo loke kāryam ajānatām | na vidyate loka-guroḥ na syuḥ vai loka-setavaḥ ||1-55-28 If punishment is not meted out on the powerful personalities, who knowingly or unknowingly drag things to their side, then the praiseworthiness of the wielder of the sceptre on world is at stake… yathā vāstu tathā vāstu kartavye bhagavan prabhuḥ | mama gāvaḥ pradīyantāṁ tato gantāsmi sāgaram ||1-55-29 You are capable of ordering anyone to give measure for measure… let my cows be returned to me so that I will return to my abode, namely the ocean… yā ātma devatā gāvo yā gāvaḥ sattvamavyayam | lokānāṁ tvat pravṛttānām ekaṁ go brāhmaṇaṁ smṛtam ||1-55-30 trātavyāḥ prathamaṁ gāvaḥ trātāḥ trāyanti tā dvijān | go-brāhmaṇa paritrāṇe paritrātaṁ jagat bhavet ||1-55-31 Those cows that are the goddesses of my soul needs must be protected, for they protect brāhmaṇā-s for the conduct of vedic rituals, who in turn protect the world through conducting vedic-rituals… protecting cows and brāhmaṇā-s is said to be the protection of world, isn’t it… iti ambu-patinā prokto varuṇena aham achyuta | gavāṁ karaṇa-tattvajṣaḥ kashyape śāpam utsṛjam ||1-55-32 yena Mshena hṛtā gāvaḥ kashyapena maharṣiṇā | sa tena aṁśena jagati gatvā gopatvam eṣyati ||1-55-33 yā ca sā surabhiḥ nāma aditiḥ ca sura-araṇiḥ | te apo ubhe tasya bhārye vai tena eva saha yāsyataḥ ||1-55-34 tābhyāṁ ca saha gopatve kashyapo bhuvi raṁsyate | When the king of water varuṇa spoke to me thus, oh, achyuta, about sage kashyapa’s pilferage of varuṇa’s cows, then I had to curse sage kashyapa like this: “With which lineaments he has abducted varuṇa’s cows, as if he is a cow-minder, that sage kashyapa with those quirks alone will have to mutate as a cowherd on going to earth… his two wives, lady aditi and lady surabhi, who served the purpose of engendering some gods, like two sticks enkindling fire when rubbed, will also go to earth to become his wives there… joining with them sage kashyapa will live there happily in his cowmanship… sa tasya kashyapasya aṁśaḥ tejasā kashyapa upamaḥ ||1-55-35 vasu-deva iti khyāto goṣu tiṣṭhati bhūtale | giriḥ go-vardhano nāma mathurāyāḥ tu a-dūrataḥ ||1-55-36 tatra asau goṣu nirataḥ kaṁsasya kara-dāyakaḥ | tasya bhāryā dvayaṁ jātam aditiḥ surabhiḥ ca te ||1-55-37 devakī rohiṇī ca ime vasudevasya dhīmataḥ | surabhī rohiṇī devī ca aditir devakī tau abhūt ||1-55-38 That cowman renowned as vasu-deva, selfsame to sage kashyapa in his resplendence, will have his mainstay in livestock while he is on earth, staying in the vicinage of Mt. go-vardhana, not very far from mathura city… he will be a rearer of cattle and payer of annual tribute to king kaṁsa… he will have two wives namely lady devaki and lady rohiṇi who are none else that lady aditi and lady surabhi, the wives of sage kashyapa… tatra tvaṁ śiśuḥ eva ādau gopāla-kṛta-lakṣaṇaḥ | vardhyasva mahābāho purā trai-vikrame yathā ||1-55-39 In the first instance – ādau - you will become a youngling of those ladies, because you will have two phases in your span on earth, one in your childhood another in middle-age; and flourish with all the attributes of a cowboy in the first phase, for you have to be something like - je ne sais quoi, as you have flourished as a dwarf-son of the same kashyapa-aditi pair in your triple- treader incarnation with a similar je ne sais quoi insofar as emperor bali is concerned… cādayitvā ātmanā ātmānaṁ māyayā yoga-rūpayā | tatra avatara lokānāṁ bhavāya madhusūdana ||1-55-40 Mantle yourself with your own illusive power which is nothing but your yogic dimension, and alight on earth for the well-being of the world… jaya āśīr-vacanaiḥ tvaite vardhayanti divaukasaḥ || 1-55-41 With hail-hos and blessings all the gods are pepping you up… come on, make it happen… ātmānam ātmanā hi tvam avatārya mahītale | devakīṁ rohiṇīṁ caiva garbhābhyāṁ paritoṣaya | gopa-kanyā sahasrāṇi ramayan chara medinīm ||1-55-42 Let your inner self alight on earth causing delight to the doting motherly affections of lady devaki and lady rohiṇi… besides, you will be milling around on earth with thousands of milkmaids as a swain making the voluptuous damsels huddling around you… These milkmaids are sags and saints in their original form. When they sought much time from rāma to be in his presence discussing philosophy etc, when rāma is exiled, rāma deferred the meeting to this incarnation of Krishna, as he had more important functions at that time. So, those saints and sages waited till the arrival of Krishna and now changing their get up as girls and came to braindavanam as damsels, to be in the proximity of god. gāḥ ca te rakṣato viṣṇo vanāni paridhāvataḥ | vana-mālā parikṣiptaṁ dhanyā drakṣyanti te vapuḥ ||1-55-43 While you perambulate in woods tending kine, oh viṣṇu, those cattle marking the garland of holy basil leaves secured on your chest will feast their eyes on your deiform... viṣṇau padma-palāśa-akṣe gopāla vasatiṁ gate | bāle tvayi mahābāho loko bālatvam eṣyati ||1-55-44 While you bide your time as a child with charmy eyes in that village of cowmen, all the elderly will tend to become elvish lads or lasses just for divine dalliance… tvat bhaktāḥ puṇḍarīka-akṣa tava chitta-vaśa-anugāḥ | goṣu gopā bhaviṣyanti sahāyāḥ satataṁ tava | vane cārayato gāḥ ca goṣṭheṣu pari-dhāvataḥ ||1-55-45 majjato yamunāyāṁ ca ratiṁ prāpsyanti te tvayi | jīvitam vasudevasya bhaviṣyati su-jīvitam ||1-55-46 When you are in the village of cowherds, all the cowmen, or cowboys will become your votaries; whether they go to woods with you for tending cows, or messing around the cowsheds in the village itself, or when ducking in the water of river yamuna, they conduct themselves according to your wish, wishing to become your fawners all the time, they luxuriate thus in your company… in this way, blest is the entity of kaśyapa-prajāpti in the incarnation of your human-father, vasu-deva… yaḥ tvayā tāta iti uktaḥ sa putra iti vakṣyati | atha vā kasya putratvaṁ gacchethāḥ kaśyapāt ṛte ||1-55-47 Or what father is there of you, an unbegotten entity, to address “yes, father…” when he addresses you “oh, my son…” excepting kaśyapa-prajāpati… or else, whose paternity you consider fair… kā ca dhārayituṁ śaktā tvaṁ viṣṇo aditiṁ vinā | yogena ātma-samutthena gaccha tvaṁ vijayāya vai | vayam apyālayān svān svān gachcāmo madhusūdana ||1-55-48 So far as mothering you is concerned, who else can conceive you, because whole universe is conceived in you, excepting lady aditi? Therefore by your self-begotten yoga please proceed for victory, O madhusudana… we the gods too repair to our respective habitations…” so said brahma to viṣṇu… vaiśaṁpāyana uvāca: vaiśampāyana said sa devān abhi-anujṣāya vivikte tridiva Alaye | jagāma viṣṇuḥ svaṁ deśaṁ kṣīrodasya uttarāṁ disham ||1-55-49 tatra vai pārvatī nāma guhā meroḥ su-durgamā | tribhiḥ tasya eva vikrāntaiḥ nityaṁ parvasu pūjitā ||1-55-50 purāṇaṁ tatra vinyasya dehaṁ hariḥ udāra-dhīḥ | ātmānaṁ yojayāmāsa vasudeva gṛhe prabhuḥ ||1-55-51 On permitting gods to return to their celestial regions viṣṇu went to the northern side of his own abode Milk Ocean where Mt. meru is butting… there is an abyssal and impenetrable cave of that mountain at this northern side, named impassable cave - pārvtī-guha, whereat the footprints of viṣṇu, aka vāmana, the dwarf-boy turned as triple-treader are there, and which footprints are worshipped during auspicious days… Then he gave a thought as to how his essential form can be housed in that cave and as to how he can be yoked to the house of vasu-deva, the prospective human father of viṣṇu… -o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi pitāmaha vākye paṣchapaṣcāśattamo'dhyāyaḥ iti harivamshe harivaṁśa-parva samāptam Thus, this is the fifty-fifth chapter of first canto called harivamsha - parva, in harivamsha -purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating brahma’s reply to viṣṇu. Here concludes the first book harivamsha-parva of harivamśa-purāṇa. --o)0(o-- II - viṣṇuparva