SB 10.62.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच बाण: पुत्रशतज्येष्ठो बलेरासीन्महात्मन: । येन वामनरूपाय हरयेऽदायि मेदिनी ॥ तस्यौरस: सुतो बाण: शिवभक्तिरत: सदा । मान्यो वदान्यो धीमांश्च सत्यसन्धो द‍ृढव्रत: । शोणिताख्ये पुरे रम्ये स राज्यमकरोत् पुरा ॥ तस्य शम्भो: प्रासादेन किङ्करा इव तेऽमरा: । सहस्रबाहुर्वाद्येन ताण्डवेऽतोषयन्मृडम् ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca bāṇaḥ putra-śata-jyeṣṭho baler āsīn mahātmanaḥ yena vāmana-rūpāya haraye ’dāyi medinī tasyaurasaḥ suto bānaḥ śiva-bhakti-rataḥ sadā mānyo vadānyo dhīmāṁś ca satya-sandho dṛḍha-vrataḥ śoṇitākhye pure ramye sa rājyam akarot purā tasya śambhoḥ prasādena kiṅkarā iva te ’marāḥ sahasra-bāhur vādyena tāṇdave ’toṣayan mṛḍam

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; bāṇaḥ — Bāṇa ; putra — of sons ; śata — one hundred ; jyeṣṭhaḥ — the oldest ; baleḥ — of Mahārāja Bali ; āsīt — was ; mahā — ātmanaḥ — of the great soul ; yena — by whom (Bali) ; vāmana — rūpāya — in the form of the dwarf, Vāmanadeva ; haraye — to the Supreme Lord Hari ; adāyi — was given ; medinī — the earth ; tasya — his ; aurasaḥ — from the semen ; sutaḥ — the son ; bāṇaḥ — Bāṇa ; śiva — bhakti — in devotion for Lord Śiva ; rataḥ — fixed ; sada — always ; mānyaḥ — respectable ; vadānyaḥ — magnanimous ; dhī — man — intelligent ; ca — and ; satya — sandhaḥ — truthful ; dṛḍha — vrataḥ — firm in his vows ; śoṇita — ākhye — known as Śoṇita ; pure — in the city ; ramye — charming ; saḥ — he ; rājyam akarot — made his kingdom ; purā — in the past ; tasya — upon him ; śambhoḥ — of Lord Śambhu (Śiva) ; prasādena — by the pleasure ; kinkarāḥ — servants ; iva — as if ; te — they ; amarāḥ — the demigods ; sahasra — one thousand ; bāhuḥ — having arms ; vādyena — with the playing of musical instruments ; tāṇḍave — while he (Lord Śiva) was dancing his tāṇḍava-nṛtya ; atoṣayat — he satisfied ; mṛḍam — Lord Śiva .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Bāṇa was the oldest of the hundred sons fathered by the great saint Bali Mahārāja, who gave the whole earth in charity to Lord Hari when He appeared as Vāmanadeva. Bāṇāsura, born from Bali’s semen, became a great devotee of Lord Śiva. His behavior was always respectable, and he was generous, intelligent, truthful and firm in his vows. The beautiful city of Śoṇitapura was under his dominion. Because Lord Śiva had favored him, the very demigods waited on Bāṇāsura like menial servants. Once, when Śiva was dancing his tāṇḍava-nṛtya, Bāṇa especially satisfied the lord by playing a musical accompaniment with his one thousand arms.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Bāṇa was the oldest of the hundred sons fathered by the great saint Bali Mahārāja, who gave the whole earth in charity to Lord Hari when He appeared as Vāmanadeva. Bāṇāsura, born from Bali's semen, became a great devotee of Lord Śiva. His behavior was always respectable, and he was generous, intelligent, truthful and firm in his vows. The beautiful city of Śoṇitapura was under his dominion. Because Lord Śiva had favored him, the very demigods waited on Bāṇāsura like menial servants. Once, when Śiva was dancing his tāṇḍava-nṛtya, Bāṇa especially satisfied the lord by playing a musical accompaniment with his one thousand arms. KB 10.62.2-3 “My dear King, you must have heard the name of King Bali. He was a great devotee who gave away in charity all that he had—namely, the whole world—to Lord Vāmana, the incarnation of Viṣṇu as a dwarf brāhmaṇa. King Bali had one hundred sons, and the eldest of all of them was Bāṇāsura.” This great hero Bāṇāsura, born of Mahārāja Bali, was a great devotee of Lord Śiva and was always ready to render service unto him. Because of his devotion, Bāṇāsura achieved a great position in society, and he was honored in every respect. Actually, he was very intelligent and liberal also, and his activities are all praiseworthy because he never deviated from his promise and word of honor; he was very truthful and fixed in his vow. In those days, he was ruling over the city of Śoṇitapura. By the grace of Lord Śiva, Bāṇāsura had one thousand arms, and he became so powerful that even demigods like King Indra were serving him most obediently. Long ago, when Lord Śiva was dancing in his celebrated fashion, called tāṇḍava-nṛtya, for which he is known as Naṭarāja, Bāṇāsura helped Lord Śiva in his dancing by rhythmically beating drums with his one thousand hands. Lord Śiva is well known as Āśutoṣa (“very easily pleased”), and he is also very affectionate to his devotees. He is a great protector for persons who take shelter of him and is the master of all living entities in this material world. Being pleased with Bāṇāsura, he said, “Whatever you desire you can have from me, for I am very much pleased with you.” Bāṇāsura replied, “My dear lord, if you please, you can remain in my city just to protect me from the hands of my enemies.”

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Bāṇa was the oldest of a hundred sons of the great devotee Bali. This implies that Bāṇa was not a devotee, the unavoidable result of bad association with a sinful person who hated the Lord and committed offenses. The offense could not be destroyed even by worshiping Śiva, the great devotee of the Lord, endowed with the wealth of the earth. Rather, through Śiva’s association he tried to compete with the Lord. With his thousand arms he was able to play the instruments very skillfully. The name mṛḍa means compassionate and happy. Because Śiva was compassionate he danced. His dancing was filled with devotion for the Supreme Lord.