VISHNU PURAN BOOK V. CHAP. I.
The death of Kansa
announced. Earth, oppressed by the Daityas, applies to the gods. They accompany
her to Vishnu, who promises to give her relief. Kansa imprisons Vasudeva and
Devaki. Vishnu's instructions to Yoganidra.
MAITREYA. [*1]--You
have related to me a full account of all the different dynasties of kings, and
of their successive transactions. I wish now to hear a more particular
description, holy Rishi, of the portion of Vishnu [*2] that came down upon earth,
and was born in the family of Yadu. Tell me also what actions he performed in
his descent, as a part of a part of the supreme, upon the earth [*3].
PARAS'ARA.--I will
relate to you, Maitreya, the account which you have requested; the birth of a
part of a part of Vishnu, and the benefits which his actions conferred upon the
world.
Vasudeva formerly
married the daughter of Devaka, the illustrious Devaki, a maiden of celestial
beauty. After their nuptials, Kansa, the increaser of the race of Bhoja, drove
their car as their charioteer. As they were going along, a voice in the sky,
sounding aloud and deep as thunder, addressed Kansa, and said, "Fool that
you are, the eighth child of the damsel whom you are driving in the car shall
take away your life [*4]!" On hearing this, Kansa drew his sword, and was
about to put Devaki to death; but Vasudeva interposed, saying, "Kill not
Devaki, great warrior; spare her life, and I will deliver to you every child
that she may bring forth." Appeased by which promise, and relying on the
character of Vasudeva, Kansa desisted from the attempt.
At that time, Earth,
overburdened by her load, repaired to mount Meru to an assembly of the gods,
and addressing the divinities, with Brahma at their head, related in piteous
accents all her distress. "Agni," said Earth, "is the progenitor
of gold; Surya, of rays of light [*5]: the parent and guide of me and of all
spheres is the supreme Narayana, who is Brahma, the lord of the lord of
patriarchs; the eldest of the eldest born; one with minutes and hours; one with
time; having form, though indiscrete. This assemblage of yourselves, O gods, is
but a part of him. The sun, the winds, the saints, the Rudras, the Vasus, the
Aswins, fire, the patriarch creators of the universe, of whom Atri is the
first, all are but forms of the mighty and inscrutable Vishnu. The Yakshas,
Rakshasas, Daityas, spirits of evil, serpents, and children of Danu, the
singers and nymphs of heaven, are forms of the great spirit, Vishnu. The
heavens painted with planets, constellations, and stars; fire, water, wind, and
myself, and every perceptible thing; the whole universe itself--consists of
Vishnu. The multifarious forms of that manifold being encounter and succeed one
another, night and day, like the waves of the sea. At this present season many
demons, of whom Kalanemi is the chief, have overrun, and continually harrass,
the region of mortals. The great Asura Kalanemi [*6], that was killed by the
powerful Vishnu, has revived in Kansa, the son of Ugrasena, and many other
mighty demons, more than I can enumerate, as Arishta, Dhenuka, Kes'in,
Pralamba, Naraka, Sunda, and the fierce Bana, the son of Bali [*7], are born in
the palaces of kings. Countless hosts of proud and powerful spirits, chiefs of
the demon race, assuming celestial forms, now walk the earth; and, unable to
support myself beneath the incumbent load, I come to you for succour.
Illustrious deities, do you so act that I may be relieved from my burden, lest
helpless I sink into the nethermost abyss."
When the gods had
heard these complaints of Earth, Brahma at their request explained to them how
her burden might be lightened. "Celestials," said Brahma, "all
that Earth has said is undoubtedly true. I, Mahadeva, and you all, are but
Narayana; but the impersonations of his power are for ever mutually
fluctuating, and excess or diminution is indicated by the predominance of the
strong, and the depression of the weak. Come therefore, let us repair to the
northern coast of the milky sea, and having glorified Hari, report to him what
we have heard. He, who is the spirit of all, and of whom the universe consists,
constantly, for the sake of Earth, descends in a small portion of his essence
to establish righteousness below." Accordingly Brahma, attended by the
gods, went to the milky sea, and there, with minds intent upon him, praised him
whose emblem is Garuda.
"O thou,"
said Brahma, "who art distinct from holy writ [*8]; whose double nature is
twofold wisdom [*9], superior and inferior, and who art the essential end of
both; who, alike devoid and possessed of form, art the twofold Brahma [*10];
smallest of the least, and largest of the large; all, and knowing all things;
that spirit which is language; that spirit which is supreme; that which is
Brahma, and of which Brahma is composed! Thou art the Rich, the Yajush, the
Saman, and the Atharvan Vedas. Thou art accentuation, ritual, signification,
metre, and astronomy; history, tradition, grammar, theology, logic, and law:
thou who art inscrutable. Thou art the doctrine that investigates the
distinctions between soul, and life, and body, and matter endowed with
qualities [*11]; and that doctrine is nothing else but thy nature inherent in
and presiding over it [*12]. Thou art imperceptible, indescribable,
inconceivable; without name, or colour, or hands, or feet; pure, eternal, and
infinite. Thou hearest without ears, and seest without eyes. Thou art one and
multiform. Thou movest without feet; thou seizest without hands. Thou knowest
all, but art not by all to be known [*13]. He who beholds thee as the most
subtile of atoms, not substantially existent, puts an end to ignorance; and
final emancipation is the reward of that wise man whose understanding cherishes
nothing other than thee in the form of supreme delight [*14]. Thou art the
common centre of all [*15], the protector of the world; and all beings exist in
thee: all that has been, or will be, thou art. Thou art the atom of atoms; thou
art spirit; thou only art distinct from primeval nature [*16]. Thou, as the
lord of fire in four manifestations [*17], givest light and fertility to Earth.
Thou art the eye of all, and wearer of many shapes, and unobstructedly
traversest the three regions of the universe. As fire, though one, is variously
kindled, and, though unchangeable in its essence, is modified in many ways, so
thou, lord, who art one omnipresent form, takest upon thee all modifications
that exist. Thou art one supreme; thou art that supreme and eternal state which
the wise behold with the eye of knowledge. There is nothing else but thou, O
lord; nothing else has been or will be. Thou art both discrete and indiscrete,
universal and individual, omniscient, all-seeing, omnipotent, possessed of all
wisdom and strength and power. Thou art liable neither to diminution nor increase;
thou art independent and without beginning; thou art the subjugator of all.
Thou art unaffected by weariness, sloth, fear, anger, or desire. Thou art free
from soil, supreme, merciful [*18], uniform, undecaying, lord over all, the
stay of all, the fountain of light, imperishable. To thee, uninvested by
material envelopes [*19], unexposed to sensible imaginings, aggregate of
elemental substance [*20], spirit supreme, be adoration. Thou assumest a shape,
O pervader of the universe, not as the consequence of virtue or vice, nor from
any mixture of the two, but for the sole object of maintaining piety in the
world [*21]."
The unborn, universal
Hari, having heard with his mental ear these eulogiums, was pleased, and thus
spake to Brahma: "Tell me, Brahma, what you and the gods desire: speak
boldly, certain of success." Brahma, beholding the divine, universal form
of Hari, quickly prostrated himself, and again renewed his praises. "Glory
to thee, the thousand-formed, the thousand-armed, the many-visaged, many-footed;
to thee, the illimitable author of creation, preservation, and destruction;
most subtile of the subtile, most vast of the great: to thee, who art nature,
intellect, and consciousness; and who art other spirit even than the spiritual
root of those principles [*22]. Do thou shew favour upon us. Behold, lord, this
earth, oppressed by mighty Asuras, and shaken to her mountain basements, comes
to thee, who art her invincible defender, to be relieved from her burden.
Behold me, Indra, the Aswins, Varuna, and Yama, the Rudras, the Vasus, the
suns, the winds, fire, and all other celestials, prepared to execute whatever
thou shalt will that we shall do. Do thou, in whom there is no imperfection, O
sovereign of the deities, give thy orders to thy servants: lo, we are
ready."
When Brahma had ended,
the supreme lord plucked off two hairs, one white and one black, and said to
the gods, "These my hairs shall descend upon earth, and shall relieve her
of the burden of her distress [*23].
Let all the gods also, in their own portions,
go down to earth, and wage war with the haughty Asuras, who are there
incorporate, and who shall every one of them be destroyed. Doubt not of this:
they shall perish before the withering glance of mine eyes. This my (black)
hair shall be impersonated in the eighth conception of the wife of Vasudeva,
Devaki, who is like a goddess; and shall slay Kansa, who is the demon
Kalanemi." Thus having spoken, Hari disappeared; and the gods bowing to
him, though invisible, returned to the summit of mount Meru, from whence they
descended upon earth.
The Muni Narada
informed Kansa that the supporter of the earth, Vishnu, would be the eighth
child of Devaki; and his wrath being excited by this report, he placed both Vasudeva
and Devaki in confinement. Agreeably to his promise, the former delivered to
Kansa each infant as soon as it was born. It is said that these, to the number
of six, were the children of the demon Hiranyakas'ipu, who were introduced into
the womb of Devaki, at the command of Vishnu, during the hours of Devaki's
repose, by the goddess Yoganidra [*24], the great illusory energy of Vishnu, by
whom, as utter ignorance, the whole world is beguiled. To her Vishnu said,
"Go, Nidra, to the nether regions, and by my command conduct successively
six of their princes to be conceived of Devaki. When these shall have been put
to death by Kansa, the seventh conception shall be formed of a portion of
S'esha, who is a part of me; and this you shall transfer, before the time of
birth, to Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva, who resides at Gokula. The report
shall run, that Devaki miscarries, through the anxiety of imprisonment, and
dread of the Raja of the Bhojas. From being extracted from his mother's womb,
the child shall be known by the name of Sankarshana, and he shall be valiant
and strong, and like the peak of the white mountain in bulk and complexion. I
will myself become incarnate in the eighth conception of Devaki; and you shall
immediately take a similar character as the embryo offspring of Yas'oda. In the
night of the eighth lunation of the dark half of the month Nabhas, in the season
of the rains, I shall be born. You shall receive birth on the ninth. Impelled
and aided by my power, Vasudeva shall bear me to the bed of Yas'oda, and you to
that of Devaki. Kansa shall take you, and hold you up to dash you against a
stone; but you shall escape from his grasp into the sky, where the hundred-eyed
Indra shall meet and do homage to you, through reverence for me, and shall bow
before you, and acknowledge you as his sister. Having slain Sumbha, Nisumbha,
and numerous other demons [*25], you shall sanctify the earth in many places
[*26]. Thou art wealth, progeny, fame, patience, heaven and earth, fortitude,
modesty, nutrition, dawn, and every other female (form or property). They who
address thee morning and afternoon with reverence and praise, and call thee
Arya, Durga, Vedagarbha, Ambika, Bhadra, Bhadrakali, Kshemi, or Kshemankari,
shall receive from my bounty whatever they desire. Propitiated with offerings
of wine and flesh and various viands, thou shalt bestow upon mankind all their
prayers. Through my favour all men shall ever have faith in thee. Assured of
this, go, goddess, and execute my commands."
Footnotes
^491:1 The whole of
this book is dedicated to the biography of Krishna. Many of the Puranas omit
this subject altogether, or only allude to it occasionally. In others it is
equally prominent. The Brahma P. gives the story exactly in the same words as
our text: which has the best right to them may be questioned; but, as it is
usually met with, the Brahma P. is a very heterogeneous compilation. The Hari
Vans'a has a narrative more detailed than that of the text, with additions and
embellishments of its own. The Brahma Vaivartta throughout celebrates the acts
of Krishna; and one portion of it, the Krishna Janma Khanda, especially describes
his boyhood and youth. The incidents are the same in general as those in the
text, but they are lost amidst interminable descriptions of Krishna's sports
with the Gopis and with his mistress Radha, a person not noticed elsewhere; the
whole is in a style indicative of a modern origin. The Agni P. and Padma P.
(Uttara Khanda) have accounts of Krishna, but they are mere summaries, compiled
evidently from other works. The principal authority for the adventures of
Krishna is the Bhagavata, the tenth book of which is exclusively devoted to
him. It is this work which has, no doubt, mainly extended the worship of
Krishna, as its popularity is evinced by its having been translated into all
the spoken languages of India professing to have a literature. The Prem-sagar,
its Hindi version, is well known; but there are also translations in Mahratta,
Telugu, Tamil, &c. It does not seem likely, however, that the Vishnu P. has
copied the Bhagavata; for although. its greater conciseness may sometimes look
like abridgment, yet the descriptions are generally of a more simple and
antiquated character. Here, as usual, the [p. 492] Mahabharata is no doubt the
earliest extant authority; but it is not the earliest, for whilst it omits to
narrate most of his personal adventures unconnected with his alliance with the
Pandavas, it often alludes to them, and names repeatedly his capital, his
wives, and his progeny. It also devotes a section, the Maus'ala P., to the
destruction of the Yadavas. The story of Krishna the prince and hero must have
been complete when the Mahabharata was compiled. It is doubtful, however, if
Krishna the boy, and his adventures at Vrindavan, were not subsequent
inventions. There are no allusions to them in the poem, of an unsuspicious
nature. The only ones that I have met with are contained in a speech by
S'is'upala, Sabha P., vol. I. p. 360, in which he reviles Krishna; but they may
easily have been interpolated. There may be others scattered through the poem,
but I have not observed them.
^492:2 The notices of
Krishna's origin and character in various passages of the Mahabharata are by no
means consistent, and indicate different dates at least. In an address to him
by Arjuna, Vana P., vol. I. p. 436, he is said to have passed thousands of
years in various holy places, engaged in arduous penances. He is frequently
identified with the Rishi Narayana, or he and Arjuna are said to be Nara and
Narayana. In the Dana-dharma he is represented as a worshipper of S'iva, and
propitiating him and his wife Uma, and receiving as boons from them wives and
children. As a warrior and prince he is always on the scene; but he is
repeatedly called an Ans'a, or portion of Vishnu; whilst in a great number of
places he is identified with Vishnu or Narayana, and is consequently 'all
things.' This latter is his character, of course, amongst the Vaishnavas,
agreeably to the text of the Bhagavata: 'Krishna is the lord (Vishnu) himself.'
^492:3 This is a still
farther diminution of Krishna's dignity; he is not even a part, but 'a part of
a part,' Ans'ans'avatara: but this, the commentator maintains, is to be
understood only of his form or condition as man, not of his power, as it
suffered no diminution, either in its primary or secondary state, as light by
suffusion suffers no decrease; and a verse of the Veda is cited to this effect:
'Though that which is full be taken from what is full, yet the remainder is
undiminished;' 'Krishna is nevertheless the very supreme Brahma, though it be a
mystery how the supreme should assume the form of a man.' So the Bhagavata in
one passage predicts that the Para-purusha, Purushottama or Vishnu, will be
born visibly in the dwelling of Vasudeva.
^493:4 The Bhagavata
tells the circumstance as in the text. The Hari Vans'a makes Narada apprise
Kansa of his danger. Narada's interposition is not mentioned until afterwards
by our authority. Devaki is the cousin of Kansa: see <page 436>.
^493:5 Agni, or fire,
refines gold, burns away the dross, according to the commentator. The sun is
the lord of the rays of light; or, as the cause of rain and vegetation, the
lord of cattle. The phrase is, ###.
^494:6 According to
the Vayu, Kalanemi or Kayabadha was a son of Virochana, the grandson of
Hiranyakas'ipu: his death is described in the Hari Vans'a.
^494:7 These appear
subsequently in the narration, and are destroyed by Krishna.
^494:8 Anamnaya; not
the immediate object of the Vedas, which is devotion, not abstraction; ritual
or worship, not knowledge.
^494:9 The two kinds
of knowledge are termed Para, 'supreme,' and Apara, 'other' or 'subordinate;'
the first is knowledge of Para Brahma, of spirit abstractedly considered,
perfect knowledge derived from abstraction; the [p. 495] second is knowledge of
S'abda Brahma, of spirit as described and taught in the Vedas, or their
supplementary branches. The identity of the supreme with both descriptions of
holy knowledge pervades the whole of the address.
^495:10 Para Brahma
and S'abda Brahma: see the preceding note.
^495:11 The doctrine
alluded to may be either intended generally, or in the several instances, the
discussion of the spiritual soul and living soul, of body subtile and sensible,
and of matter endowed with qualities, reference may be purposed to the Vedanta,
Yoga, and Sankhya systems.
^495:12 That is, as
the S'abda Brahma, the supreme is identical with philosophical doctrines, being
the object, the instigator, and the result.
^495:13 This is taken
from the Vedas, the original of which is quoted and translated by Sir Win.
Jones: see his Works, XIII. 368. The passage is thus cited by the commentator
on our text: 'Without hand or foot he runs, he grasps; without eyes he sees;
and without ears he hears: he knoweth all that may be known, and no one knoweth
him. Him they call the first great spirit.'
^495:14 Varenya rupa,
explained by Paramananda murtti; he whose form or impersonation is supreme
felicity.
^495:15 Literally
'navel of all.' [p. 496] The passage is also read 'Thou art all and the first;'
the cause or creator.
^496:16 Or the passage
is understood, 'Thou art one subsequently to Prakriti;' that is, thou art
Brahma, the active will of the supreme, creating forms from rudimental matter.
^496:17 As the three
fires enjoined by the Vedas, and the fire metaphorically of devotion; or
lightnings, solar heat, fire generated artificially, and the fire of digestion
or animal fire; or Vishnu in that character bestows beauty, vigour, power, and
wealth.
^496:18 Prita: one
copy has S'anta, 'calm,' 'undisturbed.'
^496:19 Beyond the
separate layers or envelopes of elementary substances (see <page 19>);
or, according to the Vedanta notions, uninvested by those grosser sheaths or
coverings, derived from food and the like, by which subtile body is enclosed.
^496:20 Mahavibhuti
sansthana. Vibhuti is explained by Prapancha, sensible, material, or elementary
substance, constituting body.
^496:21 The passage is
somewhat obscurely expressed, and is differently interpreted; [p. 497] it is,
'Not from no cause, nor from cause, nor from cause and no cause.' The term 'no
cause' may, the commentator says, designate fixed prescribed duties, the
Nityakarma; 'cause' may signify occasional sacrifices, the Kamya-karma: neither
of these can form any necessity for Vishnu's descent, as they might of a mere
mortal's being born on the earth: or Karana is explained to mean 'obtaining
pleasure,' from Ka and Arana, 'obtaining;' obtaining happiness, or the cause of
it, piety, virtue; and with the negative, Akarana, the reverse, pain, the
consequence of wickedness. The purport is clear enough; it is merely meant to
state that Vishnu is not subject to the necessity which is the cause of human
birth.
^497:22 The term
Pradhana, which is repeated in this passage, is explained in the second place
to mean Puman, 'soul' or 'spirit.'
^497:23 The same account
of the origin of Krishna is given in the Mahabharata, Adi P., vol. I. p. 266.
The white hair is impersonated as Balarama; the black, as Krishna. The
commentator on our text maintains that this is not to be literally understood:
'Vishnu did not intend that the two hairs should become incarnate, but he meant
to signify, that, should he send them, they would be more than sufficient to
destroy Kansa and his demons: or the birth of Rama and Krishna was a double
illusion, [p. 498] typified by the two hairs.' This seems to be a refinement
upon an older and somewhat undignified account of the origin of Krishna and his
brother. The commentator on the Mahabharata argues that they are to be
understood merely as the media by which Devaki and Rohini conceived.
^498:24 Yoganidra is
the sleep of devotion or abstraction, the active principle of illusion,
personified, and also termed Maya and Mahamaya, also Avidya or ignorance. In
the Durga Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana a she appears as Devi or Durga, the
S'akti or bride of S'iva; but in our text as Vaishnavi, or the S'akti of
Vishnu.
^499:25 Allusion is
here made to the exploits of Durga, as celebrated especially in the Durga
Mahatmya; and it must be posterior to the date of that or some similar
composition. The passage may be an interpolation, as the Markandeya P. in
general has the appearance of being a more recent compilation than the Vishnu.
^499:26 This refers to
the Pitha sthanas, 'fifty-one places,' where, according to the Tantras, the
limbs of S'ati fell, when scattered by her husband S'iva, as he bore her dead
body about, and tore it to pieces, after she had put an end to her existence at
Daksha's sacrifice. This part of the legend seems to be an addition to the
original fable made by the Tantras, as it is not in the Puranas (see the story
of Daksha's sacrifice). It bears some analogy to the Egyptian fable of Isis and
Osiris. At the Pitha sthanas, however, of Jwalamukhi, Vindhyavasini, Kalighat,
and others, temples are erected to the different forms of Devi or S'ati, not to
the phallic emblem of Mahadeva, which, if present, is there as an accessory and
embellishment, not as a principal, and the chief object of worship is a figure
of the goddess; a circumstance in which there is an essential difference between
the temples of Durga and shrines of Osiris.
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