VISHNU PURAN BOOK V. CHAP. II, III, IV,V

 

VISHNU PURAN BOOK V. CHAP. II, III, IV,V

 

The conception of Devaki: her appearance: she is praised by the gods.

 

THE nurse of the universe, Jagaddhatri, thus enjoined by the god of gods, conveyed the six several embryos into the womb of Devaki [*1], and transferred the seventh after a season to that of Rohini; after which, Hari, for the benefit of the three regions, became incarnate as the conception of the former princess, and Yoganidra as that of Yas'oda, exactly as the supreme Vishnu had commanded. When the portion of Vishnu had become incorporate upon earth, the planetary bodies moved in brilliant order in the heavens, and the seasons were regular and genial. No person could bear to gaze upon Devaki, from the light that invested her; and those who contemplated her radiance felt their minds disturbed. The gods, invisible to mortals, celebrated her praises continually from the time that Vishnu was contained in her person. "Thou," said the divinities, "art that Prakriti, infinite and subtile, which formerly bore Brahma in its womb: then wast thou the goddess of speech, the energy of the creator of the universe, and the parent of the Vedas. Thou, eternal being, comprising in thy substance the essence of all created things, wast identical with creation: thou wast the parent of the triform sacrifice, becoming the germ of all things: thou art sacrifice, whence all fruit proceeds: thou art the wood, whose attrition engenders fire. As Aditi, thou art the parent of the gods; as Diti, thou art the mother of the Daityas, their foes. Thou art light, whence day is begotten: thou art humility, the mother of true wisdom: thou art kingly policy, the parent of order: thou art modesty, the progenitrix of affection: thou art desire, of whom love is born: thou art contentment, whence resignation is derived: thou art intelligence, the mother of knowledge: thou art patience, the parent of fortitude: thou art the heavens, and thy children are the stars: and from thee does all that exists proceed. Such, goddess, and thousands more, are thy mighty faculties; and now innumerable are the contents of thy womb, O mother of the universe. The whole earth, decorated with oceans, rivers, continents, cities, villages, hamlets, and towns; all the fires, waters, and winds; the stars, asterisms, and planets; the sky, crowded with the variegated chariots of the gods, and ether, that provides space for all substance; the several spheres of earth, sky, and heaven; of saints, sages, ascetics, and of Brahma; the whole egg of Brahma, with all its population of gods, demons, spirits, snake-gods, fiends, demons, ghosts, and imps, men and animals, and whatever creatures have life, comprised in him who is their eternal lord, and the object of all apprehension; whose real form, nature, name, and dimensions are not within human apprehension--are now with that Vishnu in thee. Thou art Swaha; thou art Swadha; thou art wisdom, ambrosia, light, and heaven. Thou hast descended upon earth for the preservation of the world. Have compassion upon us, O goddess, and do good unto the world. Be proud to bear that deity by whom the universe is upheld."

 

Footnotes

 

^500:1 It is mentioned in the preceding chapter that they were all put to death, in which the Hari Vans'a concurs. The Bhagavata makes Kansa spare them, and restore them to their parents, as he had nothing to apprehend from their existence.

 

    

CHAP. III.

 

Birth of Krishna: conveyed by Vasudeva to Mathura, and exchanged with the new-born daughter of Yas'oda. Kansa attempts to destroy the latter, who becomes Yoganidra.

 

THUS eulogized by the gods, Devaki bore in her womb the lotus-eyed deity, the protector of the world. The sun of Achyuta rose in the dawn of Devaki to cause the lotus petal of the universe to expand. On the day of his birth the quarters of the horizon were irradiate with joy, as if moonlight was diffused over the whole earth. The virtuous experienced new delight, the strong winds were hushed, and the rivers glided tranquilly, when Janarddana was about to be born. The seas with their own melodious murmurings made the music, whilst the spirits and the nymphs of heaven danced and sang: the gods, walking the sky, showered down flowers upon the earth, and the holy fires glowed with a mild and gentle flame. At midnight, when the supporter of all was about to be born, the clouds emitted low pleasing sounds, and poured down rain of flowers.

 

As soon as Anakadundubhi beheld the child, of the complexion of the lotus leaves, having four arms, and the mystic mark S'rivatsa on his breast, he addressed him in terms of love and reverence, and represented the fears he entertained of Kansa. "Thou art born," said Vasudeva, "O sovereign god of gods, bearer of the shell, the discus, and the mace; but now in mercy withhold this thy celestial form, for Kansa will assuredly put me to death when he knows that thou hast descended in my dwelling." Devaki also exclaimed, "God of gods, who art all things, who comprisest all the regions of the world in thy person, and who by thine illusion hast assumed the condition of an infant, have compassion upon us, and forego this thy four-armed shape, nor let Kansa, the impious son of Diti, know of thy descent."

 

To these applications Bhagavat answered and said, "Princess, in former times I was prayed to by thee and adored in the hope of progeny: thy prayers have been granted, for I am born thy son." So saying, he was silent: and Vasudeva, taking the babe, went out that same night; for the guards were all charmed by Yoganidra, as were the warders at the gates of Mathura, and they obstructed not the passage of Anakadundubhi. To protect the infant from the heavy rain that fell from the clouds of night, S'esha, the many-headed serpent, followed Vasudeva, and spread his hoods above their heads; and when the prince, with the child in his arms, crossed the Yamuna river, deep as it was, and dangerous with numerous whirlpools, the waters were stilled, and rose not above his knee.. On the bank he saw Nanda and the rest, who had come thither to bring tribute due to Kansa; but they beheld him not [*1]. At the same time Yas'oda was also under the influence of Yoganidra, whom she had brought forth as her daughter, and whom the prudent Vasudeva took up, placing his son in her place by the side of the mother: he then quickly returned home. When Yas'oda awoke, she found that she had been delivered of a boy, as black as the dark leaves of the lotus, and she was greatly rejoiced.

 

Vasudeva, bearing off the female infant of Yas'oda, reached his mansion unobserved, and entered and placed the child in the bed of Devaki: he then remained as usual. The guards were awakened by the cry of the new-born babe, and, starting up, they sent word to Kansa that Devaki had borne a child. Kansa immediately repaired to the residence of Vasudeva, where he seized upon the infant. In vain Devaki convulsively entreated him to relinquish the child: he threw it ruthlessly against a stone; but it rose into the sky, and expanded into a gigantic figure, having eight arms, each wielding some formidable weapon. This terrific being laughed aloud, and said to Kansa, "What avails it thee, Kansa, to have hurled me to the ground? he is born who shall kill thee, the mighty one amongst the gods, who was formerly thy destroyer. Now quickly secure him, and provide for thine own welfare." Thus having spoken, the goddess, decorated with heavenly perfumes and garlands, and hymned by the spirits of the air, vanished from before the eyes of Bhoja raja [*2].

 

Footnotes

 

^503:1 The Bhagavata more consistently makes Vasudeva find Nanda and the rest fast asleep in their houses, and subsequently describes their bringing tribute or tax (kara) to Kansa.

 

^503:2 Chief of the tribe of Bhoja, a branch of the Yadavas: see <page 424>.

 

    

The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840], at sacred-texts.com

 

[p. 504]

 

 

 

CHAP. IV.

 

Kansa addresses his friends, announces their danger, and orders male children to be put to death.

 

KANSA, much troubled in mind, summoned all his principal Asuras, Pralamba, Kes'in, and the rest, and said to them, "O valiant chiefs, Pralamba, Kes'in, Dhenuka, Putana, Arishta, and all the rest of you, hear my words. The vile and contemptible denizens of heaven are assiduously plotting against my life, for they dread my prowess: but, heroes, I hold them of no account. What can the impotent Indra, or the ascetic Hara, perform? or what can Hari accomplish, except the murder of his foes by fraud? What have we to fear from the Adityas, the Vasus, the Agnis, or any others of the immortals, who have all been vanquished by my resistless arms? Have I not seen the king of the gods, when he had ventured into the conflict, quickly retreat from the field, receiving my shafts upon his back, not bravely upon his breast? When in resentment he withheld the fertilizing showers from my kingdom, did not my arrows compel the clouds to part with their waters, as much as were required? Are not all the monarchs of the earth in terror of my prowess, and subject to my orders, save only Jarasandha my sire [*1]? Now, chiefs of the Daitya race, it is my determination to inflict still deeper degradation upon these evil-minded and unprincipled gods. Let therefore every man who is notorious for liberality (in gifts to gods and Brahmans), every man who is remarkable for his celebration of sacrifices, be put to death, that thus the gods shall be deprived of the means by which they subsist. The goddess who has been born as the infant child of Devaki has announced to me that he is again alive who in a former being was my death. Let therefore active search be made for whatever young children there may be upon earth, and let every boy in whom there are signs of unusual vigour be slain without remorse."

 

Having issued these commands, Kansa retired into his palace, and liberated Vasudeva and Devaki from their captivity. "It is in vain," said he to them, "that I have slain all your children, since after all he who is destined to kill me has escaped. It is of no use to regret the past. The children you may hereafter have may enjoy life unto its natural close; no one shall cut it short." Having thus conciliated them, Kansa, alarmed for himself, withdrew into the interior apartments of his palace.

 

Footnotes

 

^504:1 Jarasandha, prince of Magadha, was the father-in-law of Kansa.

 

CHAP. V.

 

Nanda returns with the infants Krishna and Balarama to Gokula. Putana killed by the former. Prayers of Nanda and Yas'oda.

 

WHEN Vasudeva was set at liberty, he went to the waggon of Nanda, and found Nanda there rejoicing that a son was born to him [*1]. Vasudeva spake to him kindly, and congratulated him on having a son in his old age. "The yearly tribute," he added, "has been paid to the king, and men of property should not tarry near the court, when the business that brought them there has been transacted. Why do you delay, now that your affairs are settled? Up, Nanda, quickly, and set off to your own pastures; and let this boy, the son whom Rohini has borne me, accompany you, and be brought up by you as this your own son." Accordingly Nanda and the other cowherds, their goods being placed in their waggons, and their taxes having been paid to the king, returned to their village.

 

Some time after they were settled at Gokula, the female fiend Putana, the child-killer, came thither by night, and finding the little Krishna asleep, took him up, and gave him her breast to suck [*2]. Now whatever child is suckled in the night by Putana instantly dies; but Krishna, laying hold of the breast with both hands, sucked it with such violence, that he drained it of the life; and the hideous Putana, roaring aloud, and giving way in every joint, fell on the ground expiring. The inhabitants of Vraja awoke in alarm at the cries of the fiend, ran to the spot, and beheld Putana lying on the earth, and Krishna in her arms. Yas'oda snatching up Krishna, waved over him a cow-tail brush to guard him from harm, whilst Nanda placed dried cow-dung powdered upon his head; he gave him also an amulet [*3], saying at the same time, "May Hari, the lord of all beings without reserve, protect you; he from the lotus of whose navel the world was developed, and on the tip of whose tusks the globe was upraised from the waters. May that Kes'ava, who assumed the form of a boar, protect thee. May that Kes'ava, who, as the man-lion, rent with his sharp nails the bosom of his foe, ever protect thee. May that Kes'ava, who, appearing first as the dwarf, suddenly traversed in all his might, with three paces, the three regions of the universe, constantly defend thee. May Govinda guard thy head; Kes'ava thy neck; Vishnu thy belly; Janarddana thy legs and feet; the eternal and irresistible Narayana thy face, thine arms, thy mind, and faculties of sense. May all ghosts, goblins, and spirits malignant and unfriendly, ever fly thee, appalled by the bow, the discus, mace, and sword of Vishnu, and the echo of his shell. May Vaikuntha guard thee in the cardinal points; and in the intermediate ones, Madhusudana. May Rishikes'a defend thee in the sky, and Mahidhara upon earth." Having pronounced this prayer to avert all evil, Nanda put the child to sleep in his bed underneath the waggon. Beholding the vast carcass of Putana, the cowherds were filled with astonishment and terror.

 

Footnotes

 

^506:1 It is literally 'went to the cart' or 'waggon;' as if Nanda and his family dwelt in such a vehicle, as the Scythians are said to have done. The commentator explains S'akata 'the place of loosing or unharnessing the waggon.' In the Bhagavata, Vasudeva does not quit Mathura, but goes to the halting ground of Nanda, who has come to that city to pay his taxes: explained by the comment.

 

^506:2 In the Hari Vans'a this female fiend is described as coming in the shape of a bird.

 

^507:3 The Raksha, the preserver, or preservative against charms, is a piece of thread or silk, or some more costly material, bound round the wrist or arm, with an appropriate prayer such as that in the text. Besides its application to children, to avert the effects of evil eyes, or to protect them against Dains or witches, there is one day in the year, the Rakhi Purnima, or full moon in the month of S'ravan (July--August), when it is bound upon the wrists of adults by friendly or kindred Brahmans, with a short prayer or benediction. The Rakhi is also sent sometimes by persons of distinction, and especially by females, to members of a different family, or even race and nation, to intimate a sort of brotherly or sisterly adoption. Tod's Rajasthan, I. 312.

 

    

The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson.