The Bhagavata Purana 2 Page 17

  ‘O revered one! Vritra, the destroyer of enemies, whirled a terrible iron club and using his left hand, hurled it towards Indra. Simultaneously, the god used his vajra, possessing one hundred joints, to sever the club and Vritra’s arm, which was like the trunk of an elephant. Both of the asura’s arms were severed at the bases and blood started to flow. He was like a mountain with its wings severed by the vajra, which therefore fell down from the sky. 554 He was gigantic in size and immensely valiant. He was like a gigantic serpent, or an elephant. The daitya’s lower jaw touched the ground and his upper jaw reached up into the sky. His mouth was as deep as the sky. His terrible tongue flickered like that of a snake. His teeth were like Death and seemed to devour the three worlds. His extremely large and gigantic body trembled violently, like a mountain. It was as if the king of mountains 555 was moving around on its feet and crushing the earth with the tread of its steps. He approached and swallowed the wielder of the vajra and his mount. The Prajapatis, the gods and the maharshis saw that he had been swallowed by Vritra. Despondent, they exclaimed, “Alas! This is a catastrophe.” Indra of the gods was swallowed, but did not die inside the stomach. He was protected by the great being’s armour and the strength of yoga maya. The lord powerfully tore apart the stomach with the vajra and emerged. Using his energy, he then severed the enemy’s head, which was like the summit of a mountain. The vajra whirled around his neck with great speed, revolving and severing it from all sides. Vritra’s head was severed and brought down in as many days as stellar bodies take for two ayanas. 556 After this, drums were sounded in the sky. The gandharvas, the Siddhas and large numbers of maharshis praised the qualities of the one who had killed Vritra. Delighted, to the accompaniment of mantras, they showered down flowers. O destroyer of enemies! While all the gods looked on, a resplendent light emerged from Vritra’s body. He reached the radiant world.’

  Chapter 6(13)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘O generous one! When Vritra was slain, with the exception of Shakra, all the worlds and their guardians were freed of their anxiety and their senses were delighted. The devarshis, the ancestors, the bhutas, the daityas and the followers of the gods returned to their own respective abodes. So did Brahma, Isha, Indra and the others.’

  The king asked, ‘O sage! I wish to hear the reason why Indra was sad. When all the gods were happy, what was the reason for Hari to be miserable?’

  Shri-Shuka replied, ‘When they were anxious about Vritra’s valour, all the gods and rishis approached Indra, so that he might kill him. However, he did not desire to indulge in this great killing. 557

  ‘Indra said, “When I killed Vishvarupa, women, the earth, trees and water showed me their favours and distributed the sin among themselves. How will I be able to cleanse the sin of killing Vritra?”’

  Shri-Shuka continued, ‘Hearing this, the rishis told the great Indra, “Do not fear. O fortunate one! With our help, you will perform a horse sacrifice. The lord and great being, the god Narayana, the paramatman is pleased through a horse sacrifice and will free you, even if you happen to kill everyone in the universe. By chanting his name, the slayer of a brahmana, the slayer of a father, the slayer of a cow, the slayer of a mother, the slayer of a preceptor, a sinner, a person who eats dogs, and even a pulkasa, 558 are all purified. With devotion, we must perform a great horse sacrifice. Even if you kill all mobile and immobile objects, along with Brahma, you will not be tainted. Killing one wicked person is nothing.” Thus urged by the brahmanas, the lord of the Maruts killed his enemy. As soon as he had been killed, the sin of killing a brahmana attacked Vrishakapi. 559 Indra started to suffer from that torment and once it had entered, he could find no peace. His other qualities, like those of modesty and speech, were unable to make him happy. In the form of a chandala woman, he saw the sin chasing after him. Her limbs trembled because of her old age. She has suffering from pulmonary consumption and her garments were covered with blood. Her grey hair was dishevelled and she asked him to wait. A bad smell of rotten fish emanated from her and made the road stink. O lord of the earth! The one with one thousand eyes went up into the sky and all the directions. O king! Finally, he quickly went to the north-eastern direction and entered Manasa. Invisible to everyone, he dwelt inside the fibre of a lotus for one thousand years, with no subsistence other than what the fire god brought him. He kept thinking about how he would free himself from the sin of killing a brahmana. Nahusha possessed learning, austerities, yoga, strength and the right sentiments and ruled the third world 560 during this period. However, the evil-minded one became insolent because of his prosperity and opulence and was conveyed to the status of a subhuman species by Indra’s wife. 561 Thereafter, he 562 was invited by the brahmanas to return. He meditated on the lord, who counters all sins. The divinity of the direction robbed the sin of its powers. 563 Since he was also protected by Vishnu’s wife, it could not harm him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The brahmana rishis approached him and consecrated him for a horse sacrifice, following the appropriate rites. This indeed means worship of the great being. He worshipped the being whose atman is in all the gods. Those who know about the brahman invited the great Indra to come and perform the horse sacrifice. O king! There was a mass of sin that had accumulated because he had killed Tvashta’s son. Like dew is dispelled by the sun, this was reduced to nothing. As ordained, the horse sacrifice was performed by Marichi and the other officiating priests. The great and ancient being, the lord of sacrifices was worshipped and Indra was cleansed of his sin. This great account is a recital of the deeds of the one whose feet are a tirtha and cleanses all sins. It describes the faith of devotees and enhances devotion. It describes the victory and liberation of the great Indra, lord of the Maruts. Learned people must always read this account. Controlling their senses, they must listen to it on auspicious days. Through this, one obtains wealth, fame, liberation from all sins, victory over enemies, benedictions and long lifespans.’

  Chapter 6(14)

  Parikshit asked, ‘O brahmana! The evil Vritra was naturally full of rajas and tamas. How did his mind become firmly fixed on devotion towards Narayana? Even among gods who are full of pure sattva and rishis with unblemished souls, devotion towards Mukunda’s lotus feet is generally not generated. On earth, there are living beings as numerous as the number of particles of dust. Among them, it is only a few, human beings and others, who act for their well-being. O supreme among brahmanas! Among these, it is generally only a few who seek liberation. Among a thousand who seek liberation, perhaps it is only one who gets liberated. O great sage! Among crores who have obtained liberation and are Siddhas, it is extremely difficult to find one who is devoted to Narayana and is tranquil in his atman. Vritra was wicked and tormented all the worlds. In the fierce field of battle, how was his mind so firmly fixed on Krishna? O lord! I have yet another doubt and wish to satisfy my curiosity. In the battle, he satisfied the one with one thousand eyes with his manliness.’ 564

  Suta said, ‘Badarayana’s illustrious son was thus asked by the devoted Parikshit. He heard, welcomed the question, and spoke the following words.’

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘O king! Hear the history attentively. I heard it from the mouths of Dvaipayana, Narada and Devala. O king! In the land of Shurasena, there was a king who was a sovereign emperor. He was known as Chitraketu and he could milk the earth for whatever he desired. He had ten million wives. However, though the king was capable of producing sons, he did not have any sons through them. He possessed beauty, generosity, youth, noble birth, learning, prosperity, opulence and other qualities. However, he always thought about the barreness and that he did not have offspring. All his riches and queens, with beautiful eyes, and sovereignty over the earth did not give him reason for delight. Once, the illustrious rishi, Angiras, came to his mansion. As he wished, he was travelling around the worlds and arrived. He 565 immediately stood up and following the prescribed rites, offered him what he deserved. After receiving the hospitality, when he was happily seated, he 566 controlled himse
lf and sat down near him. Angiras asked, “Are you well? Is there well-being for you and the ordinary people? Just as a man is protected by seven constituents, a king is protected by seven objects. 567 By binding himself to the seven constituents, a person can obtain what is beneficial. O lord of men! Like that, the seven objects take away everything inauspicious from a king. Are your wives, subjects, advisers, servants, shrenis, 568 ministers, citizens, inhabitants of the countryside, landholders and your sons obedient to you? If a person has controlled himself, all these remain under his control. Without any deviation, the worlds and their guardians offer him tribute. I can see that you are not happy, with yourself or with others. It can be discerned that you have not attained your objective. Because of your thoughts, your face is pale.” O king! He was thus asked various questions by the learned sage. Desiring offspring, he replied to the sage. Chitraketu said, “O illustrious one! Because of your austerities, knowledge and meditation, what is unknown to you? Inside and outside their bodies, yogis destroy all sins. O brahmana! Though you know everything, you have nevertheless asked about the reason for my mental anxiety. Urged by you, and with your permission, I am telling you. My empire, prosperity and opulence is sought after by the guardians of the worlds. But I am like a person who is hungry and thirsty. These cause me no delight, since I wish for something else—children. O immensely fortunate one! Therefore, protect me and my ancestors, who will descend into darkness. Act so that I have offspring, so that we are able to cross over to the distant shore.” The illustrious one, Brahma’s son, was compassionate and was entreated in this way. The lord cooked some charu 569 for Tvashta and performed a sacrifice for Tvashta. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Among the king’s queens, the eldest and the best had the name of Kritadyuti. The brahmana gave her the leftover of the sacrificial offering. 570 O king! Brahma’s son told the king, “You will have a son who will be the cause of both joy and grief.” After this, he departed.

  ‘After eating the leftovers, through Chitraketu, Queen Kritadyuti conceived, just as the Krittikas had a son through Agni. O king! Born through the energy of the lord of Shurasena, the embryo developed from one day to another day, like the moon during shukla paksha. In due course of time, a son was born. Hearing about the birth, all the residents of Shurasena were greatly delighted. The happy king bathed and purified himself and wore ornaments. He had brahmanas pronounce words of benediction and made them perform the birth rites for the son. He gave them gold, silver, garments, ornaments, villages, horses, elephants and sixty crore cows. Like Parjanya showering down desired objects on living beings, the great-souled one donated these for the wealth, fame and long life of his son. When a person without riches obtains wealth after a great deal of difficulty, his attachment towards the riches increases. Like that, the father, a royal sage, had his attachment towards his son increase day by day. The mother’s love for the son also increased excessively. Because of their confusion, Kritadyuti’s co-wives became feverish and hankered after offspring. Chitraketu became greatly attached to the wife who had borne him a son. He fondled the child every day and was no longer attached to the others. Because of their jealousy, they lamented and condemned themselves. There was the misery of not having children, compounded by the king’s neglect. “Shame on a wicked woman who does not have offspring. She has no respect in her husband’s house. Co-wives who have offspring censure them like maid servants. Even maid servants don’t have to lament. If they constantly serve their master, they are shown respect. We unfortunate ones are the maid servants of maidservants.” Since the king’s conduct did not show them any respect, the co-wives were tormented and their hatred for the one who possessed the treasure of a son became very strong. Their intelligence was destroyed by their enmity. The women became very hard of heart. Extremely intolerant towards the king, they administered poison to the prince. Kritadyuti wasn’t aware of the great sin committed by her co-wives. She looked at him and thought that he was asleep. Therefore, she roamed around the house. After some time, the spirited one noticed that her son had been asleep for a very long time. She urged the nursemaid, “O fortunate one! Bring my son to me.” When she approached the one who was lying down, she saw that his eyes were turned upwards. His breath of life and senses had abandoned him. She exclaimed, “Alas! I have been killed!” and fell down on the ground. The queen heard her extremely piteous tone and the sounds of her loudly beating her breasts with her hands. She entered and swiftly approached her son and saw that her infant son had suddenly died. With her misery increasing, she fell down on the ground. Because she lost consciousness, her hair and garments were dishevelled. The people, the men and the women who resided in the inner quarters, heard the sounds of the lamentation. Arriving, they were also equally miserable and extremely unhappy. Those who had committed the crime also started to weep deceitfully. Hearing that his son had died because of an undetermined reason, the king lost his eyesight and repeatedly stumbled along the way. Tied by bonds of affection, his great grief increased. Surrounded by ordinary people and brahmanas, he fell down unconscious. The dead one’s hair and garments were dishevelled and he fell down at the child’s feet. He sighed deeply and his voice was choked with tears. He was unable to say anything. The child, the single heir and son, was dead. On seeing that her husband was grieving a lot, the queen also started to lament in many kinds of ways, increasing the grief of the ordinary people who were assembled there. Her breasts were smeared with kunkuma paste, but they were now sprinkled with drops of tears mixed with collyrium. Her hair was dishevelled and her garland was cast aside. Like a female osprey, she lamented in a sweet and extraordinary tone for her son. “Alas! O Vidhatri! You are exceedingly foolish. You have acted contrary to your own creation. An elder person is alive, while a younger person has died. This is perverse and you must certainly be an enemy. In this world, if there is no progression in the matter of birth and death, that may be because of the own karma of living beings. But this increase in the bond of affection is also your own creation. You have yourself created it and are now cutting it asunder. O son! 571 I am miserable and without a protector. You should not have abandoned me. Look at your father. He is tormented by grief. We could have crossed the darkness with your help. Without a son, it is extremely difficult to cross. With the merciless Yama, do not go far away. O son! Arise. These children are your friends. O son of a king! They are summoning you, so that you can play with them. You have slept for a long time and you must be suffering from hunger. Drink at my breasts and take away the grief of your relatives. O dear son! Since I am unfortunate, I have not seen your beautiful and smiling face, which is like a lotus. Your eyes are closed. Have you gone to another world, from which, one does not return? Have you been taken away by the merciless one? 572 I cannot hear your sweet words.” In many kinds of lamentations, she wailed about her dead son. Chitraketu was also severely tormented and wept in a loud voice. The couple and all their followers lamented. The men and women wept and everyone seemed to be unconscious. Everyone was thus overwhelmed by misery, unconscious and without a leader. Knowing this, the rishi named Angiras arrived there, along with Narada.’