1.bhagavata puranam - full

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THE BHAGAVATA PURANA

Suta and the Other Sages

Many years ago, some sages (rishis) desired to go to heaven (svarga). They thereforebegan to perform a yajna (sacrifice) in a forest known as naimisharanya. The sacrificewas a difficult one, and all the assembled sages were resting, when Suta arrived on the

scene. Suta was himself a sage and was the sage Romaharshana’s alternatively,Lomaharshana) son. Suta was also extremely learned in the Puranas and the shastras(sacred texts).

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The assembled sages welcomed Suta with offerings and said, Suta, not only are youlearned in the shastras and the Puranas, you have also interpreted them. This iskaliyuga, the last of the four eras when evil reigns supreme everywhere. People are nolonger interested in righteousness. Moreover, men do not live for as long as they usedto earlier. They therefore have less time to devote to the hearing of the shastras. Tell usbriefly, the essence of the shastras. Vishnu was born as Krishna, the son of Vasudevaand Devaki, to rid the world of evil. Who knows about Krishna more than you ? Tell

us about Krishna and his exploits,

Suta was very happy that sages had asked him about Krishna. He began to tell thestory of the Bhagavata Purana.

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Vishnu’s twenty-four Incarnations



Usually, ten incarnations (avataras) of Vishnu are mentioned in the Puranas. TheBhagavata Purana however mentions twenty-four incarnations.

Vishnu has an original form which cannot be normally seen. It has many legs, thighs,hands, mouths, eyes, ears and noses. It is from this original form that the incarnationsare created. And it was also from this form that Brahma was created.

Vishnu’s first incarnation was as a celibate brahmana, the brahmanas being the first of the four classes. The duties of brahmanas were to pray and devote themselves to thestudy of the shastras.

Vishnu’s second incarnation was a wild boar (varaha). In this form, he rescued theworld from the depths of the underworld.

In his third incarnation, Vishnu adopted the form of the great sage Narada. As Narada,he instructed men about the virtues of being devoted to Vishnu.

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In the fourth incarnation, Vishnu adopted the forms of two different sages. Theirnames were Nara and Narayana. These two sages performed very difficult tapasya(meditation).

Vishnu’s fifth incarnation was also as a sage. This sage’s name was Kapila. There wasanother sage named Asuri. Kapila instructed Asuri about the school of philosophy thatis known as samkhya darshana.

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In his sixth incarnation, Vishnu was born as the son of the sage of the sage Atri and hiswife Anusuya. The name that Vishnu adopted in this incarnation was Dattatreya. AsDattatreya, Vishnu instructed Alarka, Prahlada and others on the path to trueknowledge.

The seventh incarnation took place during the rule of Svayambhuva Manu, the firstManu to rule over an era (manvantara). Vishnu was now born as the son of Ruchi and

Akuti and his name was Yajna. Yajna held the title of Indra during the first manvantara.

Vishnu’s eighth incarnation was as Rishabha, the son of King Nabhi and Queen Maru.In this incarnation, he instructed even the most learned of scholars about the best formof meditation.

The ninth incarnation was as a king. In fact, the sages had asked that Vishnu might beborn as a king. From the word for asking (prarthana), the king came to be called Prithu



and the earth is known as prithivi after king Prithu. Prithu milked the earth andobtained all the herbs and plants which were then handed over to humans.

Vishnu’s tenth incarnation was as a fish (matsya). This took place during themanvantara that was known as chakshusha manvantara. At this time, the whole worldwas flooded with water. The Manu who ruled over this manvantara was known asVaivasvata Manu. As a fish, Vishnu told Vaivasvata Manu to build a boat and save

himself and the rest of humanity from the waters of the flood.

The eleventh incarnation was at the time of the churning of the ocean (samudramanthana). Vishnu now adopted the form of a turtle (Kurma). The gods (devas) anddemons (asuras) churned the ocean with Mount Mandara as a churning rod. But thiswould not have been possible had there not been a base on which Mount Mandara couldrest. This base was provided by the back of the turtle. As the churning of the oceancontinued. Dhanvantari came out with a pot of amrita ( a life-giving drink) in hishands. Dhanvantari was Vishnu’s twelfth incarnation. Dhanvantari was also theoriginator of all medical knowledge. Together with the gods, the demons also wanted a

share of the amrita.

But Vishnu adopted the form of a beautiful woman and so charmed the demons thatthey gladly parted with the amrita. This was Vishnu’s thirteenth incarnation.

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Hiranyakashipu later became the king of the demons and began to oppress the gods.So Hiranyakashipu had to be destroyed. Vishnu did this in his fourteenth incarnation,known as narasimha because the being was half-man and half-lion. This man-beast toreapart Hiranyakasipu’s breast with its claws.

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After Hiranyakashipu, Vali became the king of the demons and drove the gods out of heaven. Vishnu’s fifteenth incarnation was that of a dwarf (vamana). The dwarf cameto Vali and desired that it might be granted as much of land as could be encompased inthree of its steps. The generous Vali did not refuse. But the dwarf adopted a giganticform and in three of its steps, it covered all the three worlds. Thus Vali had to surrenderheaven to the gods.

There was once a time when the kings on earth became evil and began to ignore thebrahmanas. The kings were kshatriyas. The kshatriyas constituted the second of thefour classes and their primary duty was to bear arms and protect the world from evil.When it was found that the kings had themselves became evil. Vishnu was born asParashurama. This was his sixteenth incarnation. Parashurama destroyed all thekshatriyas in the world twenty-one times, so that good might once again prevail.

Thereafter, the seventeenth incarnation was born. This was Vedavyasa, the son of Parashara and Satyavati. Vedavyasa recompiled the sacred texts of the Vedas so thatthey might become more easily understandable to men. It was thus that there came to

be four Vedas. Vedavyasa’s real name was Krishna Dvaipayana. He came to be knownas Vedavyasa because he had divided the Vedas.

The eighteenth incarnation was Rama, about whom you must have read in theRamayana. The nineteenth and twentieth incarnations were born as Yadavas. Theirnames are also familar to you, this time from the Mahabharata. The nineteenthincarnation was Baladeva or Balarama and the twentieth was Krishna.

The twenty-first incarnation was Buddha, the originator of Buddhism. The twenty-seond incarnation is yet to come. It will be Kalki, the son of a brahmana namedVishnuyasha. Kalki will arrive at the end of kaliyuga and destroy the evil of the world.And a new righteous order will be established.

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Although the Bhagavata Purana had promised to talk about twenty-four avataras of Vishnu, it actually lists only twenty-two. It however points out that such incarnationsoccur whenever there is evil on earth and there is a need to destroy evil and establish

righteousness. Accordingly, there have been several incarnations.



Vedavyasa and Narada

Vedavyasa had a son named Shukadeva. Shukadeva was a great sage. He was learnedand free from all wordly illusions. But he never displayed his knowledge, so that most

people thought him to be ignorant and stupid.

Vedavyasa divided the Vedas into four. These sacred texts came to be known as RigVeda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Vedavyasa taught the four Vedas tofour of his disciples. Paila was taught the Rig Veda. Vaishamapayana the Yajur Veda,Jaimini the Sama Veda and Sumanta the Atharva Veda. The Puranas are known as thefifth Veda. Vedavyasa later taught the Puranas to his disciple Romaharshana. And thisRomaharshana was the father of Suta, the narrator of the Bhagavata Purana.



But despite having done all this work one the Vedas in addition to having composed theMahabharata, Vedavyasa was intensely dissatisfied. His hermitage (ashrama) was onthe banks of the river Sarasvati. After having bathed in the river, Vedavyasa sat in hishermitage and began to ponder about what he might do next. It was then that the sagenarada arrived on the scene.

Vedavyasa, asked Narada. Why are you looking so miserable? You have accomplishedmuch that one ought to feel proud about.

I don’t really know why I feel dissatisfied, replied Vedavyasa. You are all-knowing.Why don’t you tell me why I keep feeling discontented?

That may be because you have spent too much time in describing dharma, that which isrighteous, said Narada. There descriptions are too impersonal. Most people need thatwhich is more personalised. Dry words of dharma do not mean very much. The causeof dharma might have been better served had you described the exploits of Krishna.That would have made it much more personal. Why don’t you do it? You alone arecapable of accomplishing a task like that.

Thus encouraged by Narada. Vedavyasa composed the Bhagavata Purana and initiallytaught it to his son Shukadeva.

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Ashvatthama’s Punishment

Many Kaurava and Pandava warriors died in the course of the Kurukshetra War.Towards the end of the war, Bhima and Duryodhana fought a duel and Bhima brokeDuryodhana’s thighs with a mace. Duryodhana lay there on the ground, defeated butnot yet dead. Ashvatthama had fought the war on Duryodhana’s side and was lookingfor a way to please the disconsolate Duryodhana. Droupadi had five sons, the sons of

the five Pandavas. In the dead of the night, Ashvatthama entered the Pandava camp andsliced off the heads of these five sons. He then brought them as gifts to Duryodhana.

It was now Droupadi’s turn to be disconsolate and she demanded revenge. Arjunapromised her that he would bring her Ashvatthama’s head as atonement. He thereforehunted out Ashvatthama and challenged him to a duel.

Ashvatthama let loose a terrible divine weapon known as brahmashira on Arjuna. Tocounteract it, Arjuna had to release a brahmashira weapon of his own. But these twodivine weapons threatened to burn up the entire world. And the sages asked the two

warriors to writhdraw their weapons. Arjuna did this easily, but Ashvatthama did notknow how to wirthdraw a brahmashira weapon, so the weapon was directed at Uttara’swomb Uttara was Arjuna’s widowed daughter-in-law, his son Abhimanyu having diedearlier in the course of the battle. Ashvatthama was captured and brought to Droupadiby Arjuna. There it was decided that Ashvatthama should not be killed. He was, afterall, the son of Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas. Ashvatthama used to wear a

jewel (mani) on his head. This jewel was cut off and given to Droupadi andAshvatthama was allowed to leave.

But what was to happen to the brahmashira weapon that had been directed at Uttara’s

womb? Uttara came running to Krishna for protection. And Krishna himself enteredthe womb and so protected the baby. This baby was Parikshit. Since the baby had beenprotected by Vishnu in his form of Krishna, the brahmanas proposed that he should benamed Vishnurata, that is, protected by Vishnu. But the baby had met Krishna insideUttara’s womb and had become devoted to Krishna. Whenever the child met someone,he tested to see if the person he had just met was indeed the person whom he had metinside the womb. The word for a test is pariksha. Thus it was that Vishnurata came tobe popularly known as Parikshit.

Krishna’s Return to Dvaraka



Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, became king after the end of theKurushetra War. For some time, Krishna stayed in the capital city of Hastinapura. Butthereafter, he had to return to Dvaraka, the capital of the Yadavas. Great was therejoicing in Dvaraka when Krishna returned. Musical instruments were played.Woman climbed up to the roofs to catch a glimpse of Krishna. The brahmanas blessedhim as he walked down the streets. Before entering the city, Krishna blew loudly on hisconch-shell.

Dvaraka was a very pretty city. The trees bore all sorts of fruits and flowers. Thehouses had creepers on them. The ponds were gay with lotuses. Beautiful gardens wrescattered throughout the city. There were many gates, all of which were decorated withpennants and flags. The shops and street were clean.

Krishna had sixteen thousand wives. They were very glad that their husband had comeback after such a long itme.

Krishna’s Death and the Destruction of the Yadavas

After some time had passed, Arjuna went on a visit to Dvaraka. Months passed, butArjuna did not return. Meanwhile, Yudhishthira could see all sorts of ill omens inHastinapura. People became evil, the seasons did not arrive at their appointed times.Relatives fought with each other and friends became enemies. Yudhishthira becameseriosly worried and decided to send Bhima to Dvaraka to find out what was happeningthere. Why had Arjuna not come back despite the fact that seven months had elaspedsince his departure from Hastinapura?

But before Bhima could be sent, Arjuna returned. He was no longer his old self. He

sat quietly, without utteringa word. Silent drops of tears rolled down this cheek.

Yudhishthira was beside himself with worry. What has happened, Arjuna?, he asked.Are our friends in Dvaraka well? Why aren’t you uttering a word? Or is it that youyourself are not well?

For a long while Arjuna could not bear to say anything. But eventually he told themthat Krishna had died.

The Yadavas had been destroyed as a clan.

The Bhagavata Purana will describe these incidents in the eleventh skandha.

But hearing that Krishna had died, Yudhisthira decided to rule no more. The fivePandavas and Droupadi left for the Himalayas. Parikshit was made king inHastinapura.

Parikshit



Parikshit was a good king. He always consulted the brahmanas before taking anymajor decisions. He married Iravati, the daughter of Prince Uttara. Parikshit andIravati had four sons, the most important of whom was Janmejaya. Parikshit alsoperformed three ashvamedha yajnas (horse sacrifices) on the banks of the river Ganga.Prikshit’s guru (teacher) was Kripacharya.

One day, Parikshit heard that the demon Kali had entered his kingdom. The kaliyuga

era had started as soon as Krishna had died. But in this particular incident. Kaliinvaded Parikshit’s kingdom a person.

As soon as Parikshit learned that his kingdom had been invaded, he dressed himself inhis armour and took up his weapons. He then ascended his chariot and, with his army,set out to conquer the world and fight Kali. The earth is divded into seven regions ordvipas. One by one, Parkshit conquered each of these dvipas. He forced the conqueredkings to pay him taxes.

In the course of his travels, Parikshit came upon the world (prithivi) wandering around

in the form of a cow. The cow was talking to a bull and the bull was none other than thegod Dharma in disguise. The cow and the bull were conversing about the evil that hadbefallen the earth. A shudra belongs to the lowest of the four classes, the duty of ashudra being to serve the other three classes. When Parikshit came upon the bull andthe cow, a shudra was in the process of beating the two animals up. The animals shook with fear as they were beaten by the shudra’s mace.

Parikshit shouted at the shudra, What do you think you are doing? Have you no shameor fear? You deserve to be killed. He consoled the two animals and took out his wordto kill the shudra. But the shudra was none other than Kali and Kali fell at Parikshit’s

feet and begged for mercy.

The king could not kill someone who was begging for mercy. So he spared Kali, buttold him that Kali was not to live inside Parikshit’s kingdom. Otherwise, lies, jealousy,theft and quarrels would become commonplace in the kingdom. This put Kali in adilemma. Where was Kali going to live? Parikshit’s kingdom extended throughout theworld. So Kali begged the king to tell him where he might live. Parikshit earmarkedcertain places as Kali’s habitat. These were places where gambling, drinking andviolence took place. As long as Parikshit was king, Kali was thus permitted to do noharm.

Once Parikshit had gone on a hunt. After chasing deer for a very long time, the kingfelt hungry and thirsty. He look for a place where he might get some water to drink.And this search brought him to the hermitage of a sage. The sage was meditating,oblivious of what was going on in the world around him. His hair was matted and hisbody was clothes in deerskin.

Parikshit asked the sage for some water, but the sage did not bother to reply. At this,Parikshit felt slighted. There was a dead snake lying there in front of the hermitage.Parikshit picked up the dead snake with his bow and wound it around the shoulders of the sage. The king then returned to his capital.



The sage’s son was very powerful. He had been busy playing with his friends when allthis had happened. But when he returned and discovered what had happened, he wasextremely angry. How dare a kshatriya king insult a brahmana? He therefore cursedParikshit that the king would die of snakebite within the span of seven days. And thesnake which would do this deed would be a snake named takshaka.

The sage got to know of the curse that his son had imposed on Parikshit and was not at

all happy. The sage’s name was Shamika. Shamika told his son, What have you done?The king is our protector. What will happen to us if the king dies? Moreover, Parikshitis a good king. You have levied a heavy punishment for a minor transgression.

Meanwhile, back in the capital, Parikshit was also struck with remorse. He realize thathe should not have thus insulted the sage. He resolved that not only would he never actlike that in the future, he would also undergo penance (prayashchitta) for the sin.

While the king was thus pondering, news was brought to him about the curse that hadbeen imposed on him. Parikshit bore this news with fortitude. He was prepared to

atone for his sin. And if it was desined that he should die at the hands of takshaka, thenso would it be. But prior to dying, he decided that his death should take place on thebanks of the holy river Ganga. And he would devote the seven days that were left tohim to the contemplation of Krishna.

Parikshit therefore began a fast on the banks of the Ganga. He meditated and thoughtof Krishna. Many sages assembled to witness this wonderful spectacle The king wasdelighted that all the sages had come, because that meant that his last moments on earthwere blessed. Parishit’s son Janmejaya had also come and Parishit handed over thekingdom to his son. The gods and sages were delighted to see the calm with which

Parikshit was facing up to his fate. Flowers were showered on the king’s head fromheaven.

At the time, Vedavyas’s son Shukadeva also arrived there. He was only sixteen yearsof age, but so holy that all the sages stood up to honour Shukadeva. Parikshit alsoworshipped Shukadeva and said , I am honoured that you have come here.

Tell me what a man about to die should hear.

And so began Shukadeva’s narrative.

The Great Form of Vishnu

Shukadeva said, Most people are ignorant. They are obsessed with material pursuits.They do not realize that all these are merely illusions (maya). True bliss comes fromknowing Vishnu. The Bhagavata Purana tells of Vishnu and I learnt the text from my



father Vyasadeva. You are devoted to Vishnu. So I will relate to you the BhagavataPurana.

When death knocks at one’s door, one should forget about material pursuits. Oneshould go to a holy place and prepare to meditate. The best incantation (mantra) formeditation is that which goes by the name of omkara, the chanting of om repeatedly.This chanting calms the mind. The senses are controlled and one can contemplate God.

Yoga is the technique of uniting the human soul (atman) with the divine essence(brahman). And yogis are people who try to achieve this union. A yogi has to sit in aproper posture (asana) and has to control his breath in the process of meditation(pranayama). It helps to fix one’s mind on the great form of Vishnu.

Vishnu’s great form is everywhere. It is the beginning of the past, the present and thefuture. The form is shrouded in the five elements and the ego. But within the form isthe being who is the object of all yoga. The underworld rests at this being’s feet, theearth is near the thighs and the sky is at the navel. This great form of Vishnu is knownas vishvarupa. Near the breast of the being is heaven (svarloka or svarga), surrounded

by all the stars. Higher up on the body are the higher regions. The entire universe isdivided into fourteen regions (lokas). Seven of these form the underworld and theirnames are atala, vitala, sutala, talatala, mahatala, rasatala and patala. Seven other lokasform the upper regions and their names are bhuloka, bhuvarloka, svarloka, maharloka,

janaloka, tapoloka and satyaloka. Thus the being’s throat is maharloka, the mouth janaloka, the forehead tapoloka and the head satyaloka.

Indra and the other gods are the arms of the being. The four directions are his ears.The two Ashvinis are his nose and his mouth is flaming fire itself. The sun is Vishnu’seyes, day and night are his eyelashes and his smile is maya. The oceans form his

armpits, the mountains his bones, the rivers his veins and the trees are the hair on hisbody. The wind is Vishnu’s breath and the clouds are nothing but his hair. Thebrahmanas have a place near Vishnu’s mouth, the kshatriyas near his arms, the vaishyas(the third of the four classes) near his thighs and the shudras near his feet. Thisvishvarupa of Vishnu is everywhere. And it is this vishvarupa that one must concentrateon in the process of yoga.

Having heard all this, Parikshit gave himself up to the contemplation of Vishnu. Heforgot his wife, sons, wealth, and kingdom. But he nevertheless wanted to know moreabout Krishna, Vishnu’s incarnation on earth. He asked Shukadeva to tell him aboutKrishna. And this is what Shudadeva proceeded to do, beginning with the story of thecreation.

Creation

Although Brahma is regarded as the creator, Brahma himself owes his creation toVishnu. Vishnu created the three gunas (qualities) for the purposes of creation. Thesethree qualities are sattva guna, raja guna, and tama guna. Sattva guna relates toknowledge and is associated with the gods. Raja guna relates to activity and isassociated with the senses. Tama guna relates to matter and is associated with the fiveelements.



In the beginning, there was only the great egg (brahmanda). For thousands andthousands of years the egg floated on the waters that were everywhere. Then a beingcame out of the egg. This was nothing but Vishnu’s great form. It had thousands of thighs, legs, hands, breasts, faces and heads. The learned know that all the fourteenworlds were created from this great being. The seven lokas that constitute theunderworld were made out of the lower part of the body. And the seven lokas thatconstitute the upper regions were made out of the upper half of the body.

This vishvarupa extends throughout the universe. It even extends beyond the universe.Nothing that was created is independent of this great being. Brahma himself emergedfrom a lotus that sprouted from this great being’s navel. If Brahma became the creatorof all living beings, it was only because of the blessings of Vishnu. And Shiva happensto be the destroyers also by Vishnu’s grace. In every cycle (kalpa), Vishnu first createshimself. Then he creates other beings, preserves them and eventually destroys them.

Uddhava and Vidura

Many years ago, Vidura was once forced to leave his house.

If you have read the Mahabharata, you will remember that Vidura was the youngerbrother of Dhritarashtra. And Dhritarashtra’s son Duryodhana was always trying tobring some harm to the Pandavas. He tried to burn them in the house of lac (jatugriha),he unfairly defeated Yudhishthra in a game of dice and he deprived the Pandavas of thekingdom that was rightfully theirs. Dhritarashtra was so smitten by love for his son that

he never interfered, even though he realized that what Duryodhana was doing was not



quite right. Eventually, Vidura could bear it no longer. He begged Dhritarashtra toforsake his son and return the kingdom to Yudhishthira.

Hearing this, Duryodhana lost his temper. Who has permitted this son of a slave-girl toenter the court premises?, he demanded to know. How dare Vidura insult the hand thatfeeds him? He behaves like an enemy. Banish him from the kingdom.

It was indeed true that Vidura was the son of a slave-girl. But this did not mean thatDuryodhana had the right to insult someone who was his uncle. Vidura felt so hurt thathe resolved to leave Hastinapura. Having left he capital, Vidura visited many places of pilgrimage. He travelled throughout the length and breadth of Bharatavarsha andfinally came to the river Yamuna. On the banks of the Yamuna he met Uddhava.

Uddhava was Krishna’s close companion and friend and Vidura was delighted to havemet him. He enquired from Uddhava about the welfare of Krishna and the otherYadavas. At this, Uddhava remembered various childhood exploits of Krishna’s.

Krishna’s Childhood



Uddhava had first met Krishna when he was only five years old. But even at that earlyage, he had become a close friend of Krishna’s and could not bear to parted from him.And together, the two friends had aged over the years. Now when Vidura asked himabout Krishna. Uddhava’s eyes glistened with tears.

He said, I am sorry to tell you that the days of Krishna’s glory are now over. Cursedare the Yadavas for not recognizing while there was time that Krishna was Vishnu’savatara. They treated him like a mere human. There are only a few like you and mewho recognized Krishna for what he was. Alas, Krishna is no more. He is dead. The

world no longer seems to be the same. Do you remeber his childhood deeds?

The world was full of evil. And Brahma went and prayed to Vishnu that somethingmight be done about all this evil. Vishnu agreed to be born as the son of Vasudeva andDevaki. But Kamsa, the king of the Yadavas, had got to know that Vasudeva’s sonwould kill him. So he imprisoned Vasudeva’s son would kill him. So he imprisonedVasudeva and Devaki. It was in Kamsa’s prison that Krishna was born. To save thenewly born baby from Kamsa’s wrath, Vasudeva went and left baby Krishna withNanda and his wife Yashoda. There Krishna was brought up as the son of Nanda andYashoda. Krishna’s elder brother was Baladeva, also born as an incarnation of

Vishnu’s.

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For eleven years, the two brothers withheld from common knowledge their divinenature. They played with the cowherds along the banks of the river Yamuna and tendedto the cattle. Krishna was particularly fond of playing the flute.

Kamsa had got to know about Krishna and he sent many demons to try and killKrishna. But Krishna disposed of all these demons effortlessly. There was a hugesnake named Kaliya which was poisoning the water of the Yamuna. Cowherds andcattle died as a result of drinking this poisoned water. Krishna tamed Kaliya and madethe water of the Yamuna pure again. He also brought back to life the cowherds and thecattle who had died.



The cowherds had been in the habit of praying to Indra through a sacrificial ceremony.Krishna put a stop to this sacrifice. This so angered Indra that he poured down torrentsand torrents of rain and threatened to destroy all the cowherds and their cattle. ButKrishna lifted up a huge mountain known as govardhana with his finger. He held thisaloft and all the cowherds and their cattle took shelter under this mountain. They werethus saved.



Kamsa’s Death

Later on, Krishna came to Mathura. This city was Kamsa’s capital. He killed Kamsaand made Kamsa’s father Ugrasena the king of the Yadavas. He also freed his parents,Vasudeva and Devaki, from Kamsa’s prison.

Those who were devoted to Krishna attained true knowledge. And Uddhava askedVidhura to worship the sage Maitreya if he desired to attain this knowledge.

Maitreya

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The sage Maitreya lived in Haridvara and it was there that Vidura met him.

Vidura asked Maitreya, Our worldly life is such that no matter what one does, there isunhappiness all around. Tell me how Krishna can be worshipped so that one canconquer all this unhappiness.

Maitreya told Vidura about the beginning of creation. Brahma emerged from Vishnu’s

navel and began the task of creation. From the powers of his mind he created foursages whose names were Sanakaa, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanatkumara. But thesesages did not seem to be at all interested in the process of creation and this madeBrahma very angry. From his furrowed brows there was born a son known asNilalohita, so named because he was partly blue (nila) and partly red (lohita) in colour.Nilalohita was the ancestor of all the gods.

As soon as he was born, Nilalohita began to cry.

Why are you crying?, asked Brahma.

Because I have no name, replied the boy, Give me a name and tell me where I shouldstay.

Brahma told the boy not to cry. From the word for crying (rud), he named the boyRudra. In additon, Brahma gave the boy eleven more names. These were Manyu,Manu, Mahinas, Mahan, Shiva, Ritadhvaja, Ugrareta, Bhava, Kala, Vamadeva andDhritavrata. Eleven wives named Dhi, Dhriti, Rasala, Uma, Nishut, Sarpi, Ila,Ambhika, Iravati, Svadha, and Diksha were earmarked for Rudra. Brahma also decidedthat Rudra’s habitat would be the heart, the life, the sky, the air, the fire, the water, theearth, the sun, the moon, and all meditation.

Brahma next asked Rudra to create more beings. The first Rudra created several otherRudras. But all these creations were terrible and they proceeded to destroy whateverBrahma had so far created.

Brahma told Rudra, Please desist. Enough is enough. There is no need for you tocreate anything any more. Why don’t you go away and meditate?

Thus instructed by Brahma, rudra went away to meditate. And with Rudra safely outof the way, Brahma could concentrate on the act of creation once more. Ten sons were

born to Brahma. Their names were Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu,Bhrigu, Vashishtha, Daksha and Narada. Narada was born from Brahma’s lap, Dakshafrom his thumb, Vashishta from his breath of life, Bhrigu from his skin, Kratu from hishands, Pulaha from his navel, Pulastya from his ears, Agnira from his mouth, Atri fromhis eyes and Marichi from his mind.

Several sacred texts came out of Brahma’s mouth. These included the four Vedas (rig,sama, yajur, and atharva), and ayurveda (the art of medicine), dhanurveda (the art of fighting) and gandharvaveda (the art of singing). The Puranas also came out of Brahma’s mouth and they came to be known as the fifth Veda.



Finally Brahma split his own body into two. One part became male and the otherfemale. The man was called Svayambhuva Manu and the woman Shatarupa. Manu andShatarupa had five children, two sons and three daughter. The sons were Priyavrata andUttanapda and the daughters were Akuti, Devahuti, and Prasuti.

The Boar Incarnation

Maitreya continued with the story.



Manu and Shatarupa touched Brahma’s feet. Lord, we have no place to live in, Theysaid. The whole world is full of water. The earth is submerged in water.

Brahma found that this was indeed true and he wondered what might be done. Perhapshe should pray to Vishnu for deliverance. But while Brahma was thinking, a minutelittle boar came out from his nose. Within seconds, the boar grew and grew until itbecame as huge as an elephant. Brahma, the sages, and Manu marvelled to see this

wonderful sight. Who could this boar be?

As they wondered, the boar began to roar. The wold shook with the sound of thisroaring. And everyone realized that the boar could be none other than Vishnu. Theystarted to pray to Vishnu. They chanted mantras (incantations) so that the boar might bepacified.

The boar kept up into the sky. It hardened its body and the hair on its neck stood up. Itstruck the clouds with its hooves. The light from its eyes lit up the four directions andits tusks glistened white. Glancing at the people who had assembled, the boar entered

the waters of the ocean. Like a mountain the boar’s body fell and the bed of the oceanwas ripped apart. The waves rose up as if in protest. The boar went all the way downinto the underworld and there it discovered the earth. It raised the earth with its tusksand brought the earth up to where it should be. In the water there was also a daitya(demon) named Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha tried to fight the boar with a mace, but wasno match for Vishnu. Vishnu killed the demon with his sudarshana chakra (a weaponlike a bladed discus).

The sages prayed at this wonderous deed.

But Vidura was not satisfied. Sage Maitreya, he said, you have been too brief. Whowas this Hiranyaksha who met Vishnu in the underworld?

Maitreya then began to relate the story of Hiranyaksha.

Daksha’ s daughter Diti was married to the sage Kashyapa., Kashyapa himself beingthe son of the sage Marichi. Kashyapa and Diti had two sons. Unfortunately, Diti hadhad the idea of having children when it was evening. The evening is not auspicious forsuch a task, since it is then that ghosts and demons wander around. The upshot was thatthe two sons who were born were destined to be evil. They would oppress the world.And it was also destined that they would be killed by Vishnu in two of his incarnations.

These two sons were Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu.

But Kashyapa was a powerful sage. So he granted his wife the boon that one of theirgrandsons would be so righteous that he would be a model for everyone to follow. Thisgrandson was Prahlada, who was always devoted to Vishnu.

For a hundred years the two evil sons stayed in Diti’s womb without being born. Soevil were they that, even before they were born, the four directions became dark and thesun and the moon faded. The gods were greatly alarmed at these developments andwent to Brahma for a solution.



Brahma said, Do not worry. All this has been ordained. Let me tell you about Jaya ndVijaya.

Once upon a time, several sages went to vaikunthaloka. This was the place whereVishnu lived. Vaikunthaloka was a beautiful place to behold. It was full of wonderfulgardens. The gardens had miraculous trees which yielded whatever fruits or flowersone desired. The ponds were full of flowers. The gandharvas (singers of heaven) and

apsaras (dancers of heaven) were everywhere. All those who are devoted to Vishnu stayin vaikunthaloka. The evil can never go there. Vaikunthaloka is a better place thaneven brahmaloka, Brahma’s residence.

The sages were very happy to have come to vaikunthaloka. They now desired to seeVishnu himself. They crossed six gates without difficulty and so arrived at the seventh,the gate they would have to cross before meeting Vishnu. But there were two sentrieswho stood guard at the seventh gate and they would not let the sages pass. They hadmaces in their hands and they threatened the sages with these weapons.

The sages felt insulted. They therefore cursed the two sentries that they would leavevaikunthaloka and be born on earth. The two sentries were named Jaya and Vijaya.And it was Jaya and Vijaya who were born as the two asuras (demons) Hiranyaksha andHiranyakashipu.

After the babies had spent a hundred years in Diti’s womb, they were born as a pair of twins. When they were born, there were ill omens all around. The earth shook and firesbroke out everywhere. There were showers of meterors and thunder and comets.Terrible duststorms darkened the earth. Trees were uprooted in the storms and lightningsplit the sky. The clouds were so thick that the sun’s rays could not be seen. There

were tidal waves in the sea. Donkeys brayed and owls hooted.

The elder of the twins was named Hiranyaksha and the younger Hiranyakashipu. Theybecame very powerful and strong. Hiranyaksha once arrived in heaven. He hadbecome invincible, thanks to a boon received from Brahma. He defeated Indra and theother gods and expelled them from heaven. Having conquered heaven, Hiranyakshadecided to conquer the sea. The god of the ocean was Varuna, but Varuna’s army wasno match for Hiranyaksha. Varuna’s palace was named Vibhavari. Hiranyaksha wonover Vibhavari and began to live there.

After some time, Hiranyaksha encountered Vishnu in the form of a boar in the water.

He challenged the boar to a duel and hurled a mace at it. But Vishnu easily repelled themace. And he struck Hiranyaksha with his own mace. Thus they continued to fight forsome time, striking each other with maces. Vishnu struck the asura on his throat withthe mace. But this did not affect Hiranyaksha. He counterattacked so hard thatVishnu’s mace fell off from his hand. At this, Vishnu called for his sudarshana chakra.He repelled the various maces and spears that the asura hurled at him.

Hiranyaksha now restored to maya, the art of creating illusions and hallucinations. Hecompletely disappeared and made the whole world dark. And from the darkness, hebegan to fling down boulders and weapons. There seemed to be demons everywhere.



But when Vishnu flung his chakra, all this maya disappeared. And the chakra sliced off Hiranyaksha’s head.

Having achieved his purpose, Vishnu gave up the form of a boar.

Kardama and Devahuti

One of Svayambhuva Manu’s daughters was Devahuti. She was married to the sageKardama. For ten thousand years Kardama performed very difficult tapasya(meditation) on the banks of the river Sarasvati. This meditation so pleased Vishnu thathe granted Kardama the boon that he himself would be born as the son of Kardama and

Devahuti.



But a special place needed to be designed for Vishnu to be born. With the powers of his tapasya, Kardama created a vimana ( a space-vehicle). This vimana was bejewelledand richly decorated. It had many rooms inside it. For a hundred years Kardama andDevahuti lived in this vimana and Devahuti gave birth to nine daughters. Their nameswere Kala, Anasuya, Shraddha, Havirbhu, Gati, Kriya, Khyati, Arundhati, and Shanti.These nine daughters were married to the nine great sages Marichi, Atri, Angira,Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vashishtha and Atharva.

Thereafter, Vishnu himself was born to Kardama and Devahuti as Kapila. His purposewas to teach men the intricacies of samkhya tattva, the theory of true knowledge thatshowed the path to an union with the brahman.

After Kapila was born, Kardama went off on a pilgrimage and Kapila was brought upby Devahuti. They lived in an ashrama (hermitage) named Vindusarovara.

Once Devahuti went to her son and said, I am tired of this world. I am tired of itsillusions. Teach me true knowledge.

Kapila taught his mother. And these teachings have come to be known as samkhyayoga. Yoga means union and is used in the sense of the human soul (atman) unitingwith the divine assence (brahman). This is what Kapila taught.

Yoga conquers both happiness and unhappiness. The mind gets attached to materialpursuits and this is the main obstacle in the path. of yoga One has to free oneself fromthese attachments. This also requires the overcoming of one’s own ego. The main pathto achieving this union with God is bhakti (devotion and faith). The brahman has notraits, it cannot be described. It is not moved by any emotions. Those who do not

realize the identity of the atman with the brahman are destined to be born again andagain.

The supreme knowledge that Kapila taught her, freed Devahuti from all here illusions.She realized tha the body was nothing. True bliss was in yoga. She went to an ashramaon the banks of the river Sarasvati and there began to practice yoga. She meditated onthe various forms of Lord Vishnu that Kapila had told her of. The place where Devahutiperformed tapasya has now become a famous place of pilgrimage. It is known assiddhipada.

The Daughters of Manu

You will recollect that Svayambhuva Manu had three daughters, Akuti, Devahuti andPrasuti. You have already heard Devahuti’s story.

Akuti was married to the sage Ruchi and they had a son and a daughter. The son wasVishnu’s incarnation and was brought up by Svayambhuva Manu. The daughter wasnamed Dakshina. Dakshina married Vishnu himself and their twelve sons were thegods known as tushitas.



Brahma’s son was Daksha and Daksha married Prasuti. They had sixteen daughters.Thirteen of these daughters were married to the god Dharma, one to the god Agni, oneto the ancestors and the last one to Shiva. One of Dharma’s wives was Murti and shegave birth to the two great sages, Nara and Narayana. Nara and Narayana wereincarnations of Vishnu. They were worshipped by everyone and went off to performtapasya on Mount Gandhamadana.

You have been told that Shiva married one of Daksha’s daughters. Her name was Sati.She gave up her life because her husband was insulted. Thereby hangs a tale.

Shiva and Daksha

Many years ago, there was a yajna (sacrifice) at which all the gods and sages hadassembled. All the guests were seated, when Daksha suddenly arrived. Everyone stoodup to honour Daksha, except Brahma and Shiva. Brahma had no reason to showDaksha respect; Daksha was after all his own son. But Daksha was greatly insulted atShiva’s ignoring him. Apart from anything else, Shiva also happened to be his son-in-law.

Assembled guests, said Daksha, Please listen to what I have to say. This Shiva has nosense of shame, he does not know how to honour his seniors. He is married to my



daughter Sati. Wouldn’t it have been proper of him to stand up and show me respect?It was stupid of me to marry my daughter to this useless fellow. His companions areghosts and demons. He frequents cremation grounds (shmashana) like a lunatic. Hisbody is smeared with ashes from dead bodies, he wears a garland of skulls and hedrinks all the time.

Shiva continued to ignore Daksha and did not react at these angry words. But Daksha’s

ire had been roused and he cursed Shiva that, henceforth. Shiva would not be entitiledto receive any offerings that were made to gods at yajnas. He then left the place in ahuff.

Shiva’s main companion was Nandi. Nandi was incensed that Shiva should have beencursed and that the sages and the brahmanas should have kept quiet and not protested.Nandi therefore cursed the sages and brahmanas that they would be born again andagain on earth. They would have to work for a living and they would lose sight of trueknowledge and become addicted to material pursuits.

Now it was the turn of the sage Bhrigu to get angry. He cursed all followers of Shivathat they would become addicted to drinking and would roam around with bodiessmeared with ashes and decorated with skulls. Their hair would always be matted.

Shiva had been silent through all this pandemonium. But at all this general cursing, hecollected his followers and companions and left the yajna.

The yajna was performed in Shiva’s absence. This went on for a thousand years.

Days passed. Daksha organized another yajna named vajapeya and did not invite Shivaor his followers. The yajna was successfully completed and this made Daksha soarrogant that he decided to hold yet another yajna named brihaspatistava. He invited allthe other gods and sages to this yajna, but did not invite Shiva and his followers. Thesacrifice was a tremendous success and people talked about it everywhere. Some suchpeople who had been to the yajna were conversing about it while travelling through thesky. Sati overhead their conversation. She also saw many gandarva women going toattend the yajna in their vimanas. This excited Sati’s curiosity and she too wanted to goto her father’s sacrifice.

She went to Shiva and said, Your father-in-law Daksha is organizeing a wonderfulsacrifice. Let us go there; all the other gods are going. I will get to meet my sisters, I

have not met them for such a long time. Nor have I met my mother for ages. This is achance to talk to all one’s relatives. Let us go. Or at least, let me go. I know that wehave not received an invitation. But does one need an invitation to go to one’s husband,father or friends?

Shiva reminded Sati of what Daksha had said earlier and asked her to desist. Shewould not be welcome there. For although she was Daksha’s own daughter, shehappened to be Shiva’s wife as well. But despite Shiva’s warning, Sati was adamant.She would go. So he sent several of his companions to accompany her.



Sati arrived at Daksha’s sacrifice and found that the yajna had started. The gods andthe sages had arrived. The Vedas were being recited. But except for Sati’s mother andsisters, no one dared to welcome her. Her father ignored her completely. She alsonoticed that, at the yajna, no provison had been made for Shiva’s share. Shiva was to bedeprived.

Sati told her father, I had not expected that you would stoop to such low levels. Who

but you would have insulted a person like Shiva? It is the duty of a pativrata (a womanwho is devoted to her husband) to protest if her husband is being insulted. You haveinsulted my husband. I owe this body of mine to you, since you happen to be myfather. But I no longer wish to possess a body that is thus contaminated.

Saying this, Sati sat down on the floor. She controlled her breath and brought thebreath of her life to the centre of her forehead. She thought of Shiva and exhaled thebreath of life. And her body was immediately consumed by fire. The assembled guestsmarvelled at this wonderful incident.

Shiva had sent several companions with Sati. These companions now attacked Dakshaand the guests. But amongst the guests was the powerful sage Bhrigu. With his

powers, Bhrigu created thousands and thousands of gods (named ribhus) from the fireof the yajna. The ribhus soon put all Shiva’s companions to fight. These companionsrushed back to Shiva and told him what had transpired.

Shiva’s anger knew no bounds. He tore off a flaming hair from his head flung it downon the ground with a thunderous laugh. From the hair was created a gigantic beingnamed Virabhadra. Virabhdra’s head touched the sky. He was as dark as the clouds.And he had a thousand arms and three eyes. A garland of skulls hung around his neck and his hands held diverse weapons.

Virabhadra stood before Shiva in all humility and asked, What are my orders?

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Shiva replied, I have given birth to you and you are invincible. Go and destroy Dakshaand his yajna.

Virabhadra took up a terrible trishula (trident) and rushed towards the place where thesacrifice was being held. He was accompanied by several other demons and ghosts.Some of them broke down the pillars of Daksha’s house, others demolished thesacrificial pyre. The fire of the yajna was put out. Some demons chased the sages and

the gods were attacked by others. One of Shiva’s companions was named Manimana.He caught hold of the sage Bhrigu and tied him up. The gods who did not flee werealso tied up. Virabhadra himself imprisoned Daksha.

He tore off Bhrigu’s beard. And then he tried to slice off Daksha’s head with hissword. But he found that this was very difficult to do. So Virabhadra dragged Daksha’sbody to a scaffold that had been erected for sacrificing animals.

He placed Daksha’s head on the scaffold and cut it off with his sword. This severedhead was flung into the fire. Having accomplished his purpose, Virabhadra returned toShiva’s residence in Mount Kailasa.

The gods fled in despair to Brahma and told him what had happened. Brahma’sreaction was that the gods had got what they deserved. They had no business to insultShiva or to be a party to such insults. Shiva was entitled to shares in all yajnas just asthe other gods were. Brahma therefore advised the gods to pray to Shiva. No one elsecould pacify Shiva’s anger.

The gods went to Kailasa and began to pray to Shiva. They desired that Daksha mightbe brought back to life, Bhrigu’s beard might sprout again, and the gods who hadinjured might quickly be restored to good health. Shiva had cooled down by then, sothat he was not averse to grantng these boons. But what was to be done about Daksha?

His old head had been consumed by the fire. Shiva proposed the solution that the head

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of a goat might be stuck onto Daksha’s body. The gods and sages returned with Shivato the place where the sacrifice was being held. Shiva stuck the goat’s head ontoDaksha’s body and Daksha was brought back to life. He begged Shiva for mercy andforgiveness.

The yajna started afresh and this time Vishnu himself acted as the chief priest. As forSati, she was born again as the daughter of Himalaya and Menaka, and united onceagain with Shiva. But that is a different story.

Dhruva

Svayambhuva Manu had two sons named- Priyavarata and Uttanapada. Both of thembecame kings. King Uttanapada had two wives, Suniti and Suruchi. He was extremelyfond of Suruchi, but did not like Suniti all that much. Suruchi’s son was Uttama andSuniti’s son was Dhruva.

One day, Uttama was sitting on his father’s lap and being fondled by him. Dhruvacame there and also wanted to sit on his father’s lap. But Suruchi said, What do youthink you are doing? The king’s lap and his throne are reseved for my son. You are notmy son. Go away. Go to your mother Suniti.

Dhruva burst into tears at these harsh words. And so enamoured was the king of Suruchi that he did not protest. The weeping Dhruva went to his own mother and wasconsoled by her.

Suniti said, son, do not be unhappy. If Suruchi has sinned, she will have to pay for her

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sins in the future. Unfortunate are you that you are my son. We must be paying for sinsthat we have committed earlier. Do not be sad. Pray to God, there lies true salvation.

Dhruva resolved to do this and left his father’s house. He was accosted by the sageNarada who told him that he was too small to be performing difficult tapasya. Thatwas meant for the sages. But Dhruva was insistent. Throught his tapasya he wished toattain a position that had not been attained by any of his ancestors. This resolve pleased

Narada no end. Narada advised Dhruva to go to the banks of the Yamuna to a grovenamed Madhuvana. He should there pray to Vishnu. Narada also taught Dhruva anincantation that he could use for this purpose. At this time, Dhruva was only five yearsof age.

Dhurva began his tapasya. For the first month, he ate only fruit once every three days.The remaining days he fasted. In the second month he ate once every five days, onceevery nine days in the third month, and he lived only on air in the fourth month. Thus,five months passed. Dhruva stood there on one leg, praying. He saw nothing butVishnu everywhere. Eventually Vishnu was pleased and appeared before Dhruva.

When Vishnu offered to grant a boon. Dhruva desired that he might attain a positionthat no one had reached even before.

Vishnu carved out a place for Dhurva in the sky. No one had live there before. Thiswould be known as Dhruvaloka. Dhruva would become the pole star and all the otherstars would revolve around him. Dhruvaloka would not be destroyed at the end of akalpa (cycle) when everything else was destroyed. But all this would happen only afterDhruva died. For the moment, Vishnu informed him that he should return to his father.For Dhruva was destined to rule as a king for thirty-six thousand years. His brotherUttama would get lost while on a hunting expedition.

Thanking Vishnu, Dhruva returned to his father’s kingdom. King Uttanapda was veryhappy to have him back, and Uttama and Dhruva embraced each other. The two princesgrew up together. And When Uttanapada desired to retire to the forest, he handed overthe kingdom to Dhruva.

Dhruva had two wives, Bhrami and Ila. Uttama never married. He went on a hunt andwas killed by a powerful yaksha in the forest. These yakshas were beings who were thecompanions of Kubera, the god of wealth. Uttama’s mother, Suruchi, went to look forher son in the forest and died there.

When Dhruva learned that his brother had been killed by a yaksha, he was furious. Heclimbed onto his chariot and left for the abode of the yakshas to avenge his brother. Theyakshas lived towards the north in a valley in the Himalayas. Dhruva found their cityand started to blow on his conch-shell, challenging the yakshas to a fight. The yakshasoldiers attacked, but Dhruva pierced them with his arrows. The yakshas broughtmillions of soldiers to bear on Dhruva and the king was completely surrounded by hisenemies. But he triumphed over them and killed many of them with his weapons. Theyakshas retaliated with the use of maya (the art of creating illusions). Dhruva repelledthe maya with a divine weapon known as narayanastra.



Before the fight could progress further, several sages came to Dhruva. Why are youdoing this? they asked. Why are you killing innocent yakshas? That is a sin. Controlyour anger. Only one yaksha had killed your brother. Punish him, but why kill theothers? Besides, everyone’s destiny is ordained by Vishnu. He alone decides on whatis to happen. Your brother was destined to die. Why blame the poor yaksha? He wasonly the instrument.

Dhruva realized the wisdom in these words and ceased to fight. Kubera himself cameto Dhruva and offered to grant him a boon. Dhruva wanted the boon that he mightalways remain devoted to Vishnu. The boon was granted and Dhruva returned to hiskingdom. He ruled well and performed many sacrifices. He ruled for thirty-sixthousand years.

When he was tired of the material life, Dhruva handed over the kingdom to his sons.He retired to a hermitage named vadrikashrama to perform yoga. After some time hadpassed, a vimana descended from the sky for Dhruva. Vishnu’s companions Nanda andSunanada were in the vimana. They took Dhruva to the place that had been reserved for

him in the sky.

If you look up at the sky at night, you will be able to see Dhruva.

Vena and Prithu

Dhruva had a son named Utkala who was asked to become king after Dhruva left forthe forest. But Utkala was not interested in becoming a king, he was more concernedabout getting to know about the brahman. So the kingdom was handed over to hisyounger brother Vatsara.

Vatsara’s descendant was king Vena. Vena was terrible, even as a prince. It was reallyVena’s acts that drove Vena’s father Anga to the forest.

In fact, King Anga had arranged for an ashvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). Anga sentseveral priests with invitations for the gods. But these invitations notwithstanding, thegods did not come to attend the sacrifice. Anga was puzzled. Had he committed a sinthat the gods had refused to come? He was then told that the gods had not comebecause Anga did not yet have a son. It was imperative that Anga perform a yajna so asto obtain a son. Anga did as he was told. He performed a sacrifice and was given somerice pudding that his wife should have if they desired a son. Anga’s wife Sunitha hadthe rice pudding and gave birth to a son. This son was Vena.



Sunitha’ s father was Mrityu and Mrityu was an evil person. But ever since an earlyage, Vena got attached to his maternal grandfather and picked up evil pursuits fromhim. He would go to the forest and unnecessarily kill deer. He killed those who cameto play with him. Things came to such a pass tha tpeople used to run away when theysaw Vena coming.

Anga tried to discipline his son, but to no avail. Vena was beyond all control. In sheer

desperation, Anga left the kingdom one night and left for the forest. No further tracecould be found of him.

A kingdom cannot function without a king. Vena was crowned the king. Although thesubjects were not at all keen that Vena should become the king, they had no choice inthe matter. When he became king. Vena’s oppression knew no bounds. He stopped allyajnas in his kingdom. The sages realized that they had made a mistake. They hadcrowned Vena king to prevent the anarchy that would have resulted had there been noking. But what was happening was worse than anarchy.

The sages went to Vena to try and persuade him to mend his ways. But Vena wouldhave none of it. He would not permit yajnas. Yajnas were meant for the gods. Butwhat need was there of gods when the people could pray to King Vena himself?

Having realized that Vena was beyond redemption, the sages resolved to kill him. Thisthey did with the power of their anger. But Vena had left no son. Who was to becomeking in his place? In the absence of a king, the kingdom degenerates. In the brief periodwhen there was no king, there were ill omens all around. All thieves took over thekingdom since there was no protector of the people.

Vena’s dead body had been preserved by his mother. The sages went to the dead bodyand began to knead it. As a result of the kneading, a dwarf emerged from the deadking’s thighs. The dwarf was dark and his eyes were red. The dwarf asked, What shallI do?

Sit, replied the sages.

The word nishida means sit and so the dwarf came to be known as nishada. The eviltraits of Vena had entered the dwarf’s body. So the dwarf and his descendents were notpermitted to live inside the kingdom. They lived in the forest and became hunters.

The sages continued to knead the dead body’s arms, and a son and a daughteremerged. The sages were now content, for they realized that the son, Prithu, was anincarnation of Vishnu. And the daughter, Archi, was an incarnation of the goddessLakshmi. Prithu married Archi and was crowned king.

Prithu was a good king.

But at that time, there were no foodgrains available on the earth and people werestarving. They went to Prithu and said, Save us. The earth has swallowed the seeds of all foodgrains and herbs and crops do not grow. Please do something to prevent the

famine.



Prithu fixed an arrow to his bow and decided to let it loose at the earth. But the earthstarted to run away and Prithu followed after her with the arrow in his bow. The earthcould not outdistance Prithu. Finally she said, Please do not destroy me. If I amdestroyed, where will you and your subjects live? I will grant whatever it is that youwish for.

Prithu asked her to restore the foodgrains and the herbs. The earth adopted the form of

a cow and Prithu milked from her the goodrains and the herbs. It is after Prithu that theearth is known as prithivi.

Prithu resolved to conduct a hundred ashvamedha yajnas. This disturbed Indra, the kingof the gods. Indra had himself performed a hundred ashvamedha yajnas and thusobtained for himself the title of Shatakratu. Now Prithu was about to equal his glory.Indra become jealous. A horse is an essential component of the sacrifice and when noone was noticing, Indra stole the sacrificial horse.

This was noticed by the sage Atri and he pointed it out to Prithu’s son. Prithu’s son

chased Indra and brought the horse back. But Indra stole the horse yet again, and yetagain Prithu’s son bought it back. Prithu was greatly angered at the disturbance thatIndra was causing and decided to kill Indra. Brahma however convinced Prithu that thekilling of Indra was not advisable. Indra was after all the king of gods. Prithu hadalready successfully completed ninety-nine ashvamedha yajnas and how did it matterwhether the hundredth one was completed or not? Posterity would remember Prithu asa far greater person than Indra. Prithu listened to Brahma and became friends withIndra.

Prithu was given advice by four brahnmarshis (sages). He ruled according to this

advice. And after many years, he handed over the kingdom to his sons and went to theforest to do tapasya. When he died, he was taken to vishuloka or vaikunthaloka, theabode of Vishnu. Prithu’s wife Archi immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyreand was also taken to vishnuloka.



The Prachetas and Puranjana

Amongst Prithu’s descendants there was a king named Prachinavarhi. This king hadten sons who were known as the Prachetas.

Once, the Prachetas were journeying westwards to perform tapasya inside the ocean.

On their way, they came to a huge lake. Fishes were playing in the water and manylotuses had bloomed on the lake. Musical instruments were being played on the shoresof the lake. The Prachetas were amazed to find that Shiva and his companions werebathing in the lake. Shiva gave the Prachetas a lot of good advice. And the Prachetasspent ten thousand years under the water, performing tapasya.

Meanwhile, Narada came to visit king Prachinavarhi. The king worshipped Naradaand said, I am to attached to wordly pursuits. Give me some advice so that I may befreed of these illusions.

I will tell you the story of Puranjana, replied Narada.

There used to be a king named Puranjana. He had only one friend, but no one knewwhat the friend’s name was.

Puranjana was looking for a place where he might live on earth. But no place that hesaw appealed to him. His search for a proper residence eventually brought him to thefoot of the Himalayas and there he discovered a beautiful city. The city was full of groves and houses. It had moats and walls around it.



The houses were bright with jewels. And the doors and windows were made of goldand silver. Wild beasts roamed inside the city, but they had forgotten their cruel natures.

In the city Puranjana discovered a beautiful woman guarded by ten bodyguards. Asnake with five hoods also protected her.

Who are you?, asked Puranjana. And who are these ten guards and the snake who

follow you around?

Puranjana wanted to marry the woman and the woman readily agreed. She said thatPuranjana could live in the city for a hundred years and be her husband. Puranjana married the woman and forgot about everything else. He did not go on huntslest his wife be offended . He forgot all sense of night and day. He had eleven hundredsons and a hundred and ten daughters. But slowly Puranjana grew old. The pleasuresthat he had earlier enjoyed no longer appealed to him. And his own kingdom Panchalahad also been conquered by his enemies.

When the king died, he was taken to hell and spent a hundred years there. While hewas in hell, he thought of his wife all the time. And since he kept thinking about awoman all the time, he was born as woman in his next life. Born as the daughter of theking of Vidarbha, he was married to King Malayadhvaja. They had seven sons and onedaughter.

King Malayadhvaja ruled for a long time and then handed over the kingdom to hissons. He went to meditate in the forest and his wife accompanied him. For a hundredyears Malayadhvaja meditated. But then he died and his wife was struck with grief.She decided that she would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. But just as

she was about to do so, a brahmana arrived on the scene.

What are you doing?, asked the brahmana. Who are you sorrowing for ? What is thisman to you? For that matter, who are you ? Don’t you recognize me? I am your friendfrom you earlier life, when you were Puranajana. You had gone off to a city in theHimalayas and had forgotten all about me. Forget material pursuits and realize trueknowledge. You are neither Puranajana nor are you Malayadhvaja’s wife. You are youratman. Understand this and be free of all illusions.

Prachinvarni understood the message that was latent in Narada’s story . He went to thesage Kapila’s hermitage to meditate. Meanwhile, his sons the Prachetas had succeeded

in their tapasya. Vishnu had appeared before them. They married a woman namedMarisha and had many children.



Priyavrata and His Descendants

Priyavrata had no real desire to be king, he was not interested in worldy matters. Buthis father Svayambhuva Manu, his teacher Brahma, and the sage Narada convinced himthat there was nothing wrong in becoming a king. This did not necessarily mean thatthe one would get tied down by the illusions of the world. So Priyavrata did becomeking. He married Vahirshmati.

The sun goes around the world in his chariot. When the sun is on the other side of theworld, it is night. But Priyavrata was quite upset that night should occur. Why could itnot always be day? One night, he decided that he would drive his flaming chariotaround the world so that night might disappear. And when the king was doing this, helooked like a second sun. Seven times he drove his chariot around Mount Sumeru. Thewheels of his chariot gouged the earth and created the seven oceans. These sevenoceans surround the seven regions (dvipas) of the earth. The names of these dvipas areJambhu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Krouncha, Shaka and Pushkara. These seven dvipasPriyavarata left to his seven sons Agnidhra, Idhnajihva, Yajnavahu, Hiranyareta, Ghrita-prishtha, Medhatithi and Vitihotra.

Agnidhra ruled over Jambu dvipa. Agnidhra had no sons. He went to Mount Mandaraand started to pray to Brahma that he might have a son. Brahma knew what Agnidhrawanted and so he sent an apsara named Purvachitti to Agnidhra. She was so beautifulthat Agnidhra’s meditation was disturbed.

Who are you?, he asked. Are you an illusion? If you are not, please marry me.

Purvachitti married Agnidhra and they had nine sons whose names were Nabhi,Kimpurusha, Harivarsha, Ilavrita, Ramyaka, Kuru, Hiranmaya, Bhadrashva andKetumala. After Agnidhra died, the nine sons split up Jambu dvipa into nine different



regions (varshas). Each ruled over one region and the region took on the name of itsruler.

Nabhi’s son was Rishabha and Rishabha was devoted to Vishnu. He married Indra’sdaughter Jayanti and they had a hundred sons. The eldest was called Bharata and it isafter him that this land came to be known as Bharatavarsha. Rishabha gave his sons alot of learned advice so that they might not get bogged down by the illusions of the

world. When Rishabha died, Bharata became king.

Bharata

Bharata’s queen was named Panchajani, Bharata ruled well. He performed manyyajnas. When he had ruled for many years, he handed over the kingdom to his sons andbecame a hermit. He lived alone in an ashrama on the banks of the river Gandaki andprayed to Vishnu for enlightenment.

One day a deer came to drink water from the river. Just as the deer was drinking water,a lion roared nearby and the deer was frightened. She jumped into the water of the river

and delivered a baby there. The baby deer was carried away by the current of the river.And the mother deer managed to clamber up on to the bank, but died of fright andexhaustion.

Bharata saw what had happened. He jumped into the water and rescued the baby deer.He brought it home to his hermitage and began to rear it. Slowly he got attached to thedeer, so much so that he forgot all about his meditation. He would start to worry if hedid not see the deer for a while. Had it been attacked by a jackal or some other wildbeast? Even when he died, he kept thinking of the deer. Since he had been thinking of a deer at the time of his death, Bharata was born as a

deer in his next life. But he was born a jatismara, that is, he could remember theincidents of his earlier life. He realized that he had dislodged from the path of yogathrough his own mistakes. He therefore came back to his earlier ashrama and livedthere. When the deer died, Bharata was reborn as the son of a brahmana.

As a brahama, Bharata continued to be a jatismara. He realized that human relationsipswere transient and did not wish to get attached to them. He pretended to be mad,stupid, deaf and dumb so that no one might mix with him. When Bharata’s parentsdied, his brothers began to treat him rather shabbily.



They gave him the worst of food to eat. But Bharata could not care less. He ate onlyto survive, not to satify his senses. He was strong of health and slept on the ground. Apiece of cloth sufficed as clothing for him, and he never bathed. Other people started totreat him as an outcast.

There was a leader of the shudras who wished to make a human sacrifice to thegoddess Kali. He had captured a man for this purpose, but, in the dead of the night, the

prisoner escaped. The shudras had to find another person for the sacrifice, and theyfound Bharata sitting in a field. They captured him and brought him to their leader.Bharata was fed, bathed and dressed in new clothes. The shudra priest then raised hissword to sacrifice Bharata to the goddess. But Kali could not bear this to take place.She came out of her image and she and her companions killed all the shudras. Bharatawas nonchalant. He returned to his field.

One day, king Rahugana was passing. He ruled over the kingdoms of Sindhu andSoubira. The king was riding a palanquin and the palanquin needed one more bearer.The king’s servants found Bharata and brought him to the king. Bharata seemed to

strong and healthy enough. He was therefore made to bear the planaquin with the otherbeares.

But Bharata could not keep pace with the other bearers. He stepped very carefully sothat he might not step on living beings such as insects and kill them. The result was thatthe palanquin did not move smoothly. This irritated the king and, when he scolded thebearers,they pointed out that it was Bharata who was responsible. Rahugana shouted atBharata.

Are you tired?, he asked. Have you travelled a long distance? Or is it that you are

weak? You look strong enough to me.

Bharata merely smiled. I am not tired, he replied. Nor have I travelled a longdistance. I am neither weak nor strong. I am my atman. How can the atman be tired,weak or strong? How can it travel a long distance?

The king was amazed at these words of wisdom. He fell down at Bharata’s feet andbegged that he might be forgiven. He wished to learn more words of wisdom fromBharata. Bharata taught Rahugana about the brahman and about the indentity of theatman and the brahman. He told the king that the physical body was only transitory. Itwas the atman that was permanent. Life was like a forest with the dangers of illusions

and material attachments everywhere. The learned knew how to step carefully so as toavoid these pitfalls.

Thus it was that King Rahugana learnt true knowledge from Bharata.

Geography

You have already been told that the earth is divided? into seven regions (dvipas).Jambu dvipa is snaped like the leaf of lotus and there are nine regions (varshas) withinJambu dvipa. Ilavrita varsha is in the centre and Mount Sumeru is right in the middle of



Ilavrita varsha. On the peak of Mount Sumeru is Brahma’s famous city. Bharatavarshais the most sacred of the varshas.

Hells

There are several different hells (naraka). Each naraka is earmarked for a specific sortof sin. All the hells are located below the underworld. Some people say that there aretwenty-eight different hells. It is Yama, the god of Death, who decides which hell asinner should go to.

A thief goes to tamisra naraka and is made to suffer hunger and thirst there. A personwho is violent is sent to rourava. Rourava narka is populated by snake-like beingsknown as ruru, that is the reason why this naraka is called rourava. The rurus practiseviolence on the sinner, in proportion to the sins that he had committed on earth. A

sinner who does harm to a brahmana is sent to kalasurtra and burnt there. Those whooppose the Vedas are taken to asipatravana and whipped. Asi is a sword and partrameans a leaf. Asipatra is the blade of a sword. Vana means forest. Asipatravana narakais full of palm trees that have leaves as sharp as the blade of a sword. If one tries to runaway from the whipping, one’s flesh is torn to bits by the sharp leaves of the palm trees.

Those who punish the innocent are sent to shukaramukha and bitten by bed-bugs.Sinners who eat without offering food to gods, brahmanas or guests, go to krimibhojaand are eaten by worms. An arsonist or a poisoner is torn to bits by seven hundred andtwenty dogs. A bearer of false wintess is flung down repeatedly from mountain tops. A

brahmana who drinks is forced to drink molten iron. A miser goes to suchimukha.There Yama’s servants drive a needle-and-thread through his body.

Those who perform good deeds go to svarga. Each individual has an account of thestore of merit (punya) and sins (papa) committed by him. Punya is rewarded in heavenand pap has to be paid for in hell. When the account of punya or papa is partly cleared,individuals are born again in order to clear any portion of punya or papa that mayremain.



Ajamila

But without waiting for naraka, a sinner can make atonement for his sins(prayashchitta). The best form of prayashchitta is to call upon Vishnu. There is, forexample, the story of Ajamila.

In the land of Kanyakubja there lived a brahmana named Ajamila. His wife was awoman of lowly caste and she persuaded Ajamila to perform all sorts of evil deeds. He

gambled and cheated and stole. Ajamala lived for eighty years and he had ten sons.The youngest was named Narayana and he was his father’s darling.

The time came for Ajamila to die. Three terrible messengers of Yama came to takeAjamila to naraka. Their faces were fierce and they held nooses in their hands. Ajamiladid not realize what was happening. He was still thinking of his youngest son and hecalled out, Narayana, Narayana. But Narayana is also Vishnu’s name and at thesewords, Vishnu servants appeared.

The tussle began between Yama’s messengers and Vishnu’s servants. Yama’s

messengers wanted to take Ajamila to naraka but Vishnu’s servants would not let them

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do this. They maintained that since Ajamila had called upon Narayana (Vishnu) beforehis death, all his sins had been pardoned. Finally both parties left and Ajamila wasallowed to live for some more time. He had now become penitent for his deeds and hespent the remaining part of his life in performing tapasya. When he died, Vishnu’sservants took him to vishnuloka.

Indra and Vritra

Once upon a time, Indra was seated on his throne and the other gods were all seatedaround him. The gandharvas were singing and the apsaras were dancing.

The guru (teacher) of the devas (gods) was Brihaspati. Brihaspati came to theassembly. But so engrossed was Indra in the singing and the dancing that he neglectedto stand up and honour Brihaspati.

At this, Brihaspati felt insulted and left the assembly. Indra immediately realized whathad happened and decided to hunt out Brihaspati and beg forgiveness. But the guru wasnot going to let Indra get away so easily. Using his powers of maya, he simplyvanished. Indra searched and searched, but could not find Brihaspati.

The asuras had got to know that the devas were now without a guru. They thought thatthis was the opportune moment to attack. With their guru Shukracharya’s permission,they attacked the gods and drove them away. The gods went running to Brahma.

Brahma said, All this has happened because you insulted your guru. You have becomeweak because you have no guru. You need a guru. Go and pray to the sage Vishvarupa,the son of Tvashta. He will find a way out.

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Now Tvashta had married Rachana, who was a daitya woman. So Vishvarupa was anephew of the daityas (demons) and it was inconceivable that he would help the devasin their fight with the asuras or daityas. But when the devas prayed to him Vishvarupacould not refuse. He became the priest of the gods and thanks to his advice, the godssucceeded in defeating the demons.

Vishvarupa had three heads. He used one for eating, the second for drinking wine and

the third for drinking the juice of the soma herb. Indra was never very sure of Vishvarupa. He was after all related to the daityas; he might be helping them secretly.When he got the chance, Indra cut off all three of Vishvarupa’s heads. The severedheads became three types of birds.

Tvashta was furious that Indra had killed Vishvarupa. He performed a yajna andwished that an enemy of Indra’s might be born out of the flames. A terrible asura cameout of the fire and rapidly began to grow. He was as dark as a mountain and his eyesburnt like the midday sun. The asura held a trident in his hand. The earth shook whenhe roared and danced. His mouth was as huge as a cave, and when he opened hismouth, it seemed as if he would swallow up all the three worlds and everything that wasin them. People began to flee. This giant asura was known as Vritra. The gods came

and attacked Vritra with many weapons, but he simply swallowed up the weapons.

The gods didn’t know what to do. They began to pray to Vishnu. Vishnu appearedbefore them and said, Go to the sage Dadhichi. His body is strong and hard from manyyears of tapasya. Ask him for his body and he will not refuse. A weapon named vajrawill be made from Dadhichi’s bones. And Indra will kill Vritra with the vajra.

Dadhichi did not refuse when the gods asked him for his body. For the mere physicalbody was nothing. It was the atman that was everything. Vishvakarma, the architect of the gods, fashioned the vajra out of the sage’s bones. And armed with vajra, Indra

climbed onto his elephant Airavta and attacked Vritra and the other demons. The other

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gods also came along to help Indra and a terrible war raged between the gods and thedemons. The sky was littered with weapons which were being hurled around. Therewere so many arrows flying around that the sky could not be seen.

The demons began to flee. Vritra tried to restrain them. Cowards, he said. Why areyou running away ? Everyone who is born has to die. It is better to die a glorious deathon the battlefield than do die as a coward. Come back.

But the asura soldiers did not listen. Vritra continued to fight alone. He crushed thegods under his feet. Indra hurled a mace at Vritra, but Vritra caught the mace in hishand and struck Indra’s elephant. Airavata on the head with the mace. The elephantretreated and started to vomit blood. Vritra could have attacked Indra, then, but hepermitted him to rest. When Indra had rested, they began to fight again.

Vritra said, I will try to kill you with my trident and avenge Vishvarupa’s death. Butsince you have been blessed by Vishnu, you will in all probability kill me with yourvajra. Who can win without Vishnu’s support?

The demon hurled the trident at Indra, but Indra cut it up with his vajra. And with thevajra he next sliced off Vritra’s right hand. But Vritra took up a club in his left hand andhit Indra so hard that the vajra was dislodged from Indra’s hand. It lay there on theground and Indra was too ashamed to pick it up.

Come on, Indra, said Vritra. Pick up the vajra and kill me. Don’t waste time. I ameager to die and meet Vishnu.

Saying this, Vritra picked up another club in his left hand. But this time Indra slicedoff Vritra’s left hand with his vajra. Vritra opened his mouth wide and tried to swallowup Indra and Airavata. And before he could do anything, Indra realized that he wasinside Vritra’s stomach. But he cut open Vritra’s stomach with the vajra and then slicedoff Vritra’s head as well. Vritra’s body was so thick that it took three hundred and sixtydays for the entire head to be severed.

The gods were delighted. But Indra was still not at peace with himself. Vritra hadbeen a brahmana and Indra had committed the sin of killing a brahmana. The sinfollowed him around wherever he went. Finally Indra went and hid in manasa sarovaralake. He hid inside the stem of a lotus flower in the lake and stayed there for thousandsand thousands of years. While Indra was away, King Nahusha ruled as Indra. But

eventually, the severity of the sin was diminished, Indra returned and performed anashvamedha yajna as complete atonement for the sin.



Chitraketu

King Parikshit heard the story of Indra and Vritra from the sage Shukadeva. AndParishit was puzzled. How can an asura like Vritra have become devoted to Vishnu?Shukadeva told him the story of Chitraketu.

Many years ago, in the kingdom of Shurasena and in the city of Mathura, a king namedChitraketu used to rule. The king had many wives. But he was sad because he did nothave a son. The sage Angira came to visit him once and the king told the sage about his

misery. Angira decided that a yajna had to be performed so that Chitraketu might havea son. The eldest of Chitraketu’s wives was named Kritadyuti and the rice pudding thatcame out of the sacrifice was fed to her. In due course, a son was indeed born andeveryone rejoiced.

Chitraketu was delighted. He loved his son. And he seemed to love Kritadyuti evenmore now that she had given birth to a boy. The other queens felt slighted and becamed

jealous. They fed the boy poison and the boy died.

Chitraketu and Kritadyuti went mad with grief. To hide their crime, the other queensalso pretended to weep. The sages Angira and Narada came to comfort Chitraketu.

They said, There is no need to sorrow. Who are you sorrowing for? What is this boyto you? He was nothing to you in your earlier life. People are born again and again.Again and again they adopt physcial bodies. But these are temporary, nothing butillusions. Your son’s atman has not been killed. To think otherwise is to be ignorant.

To convince Chitraketu, Narada used his powers to bring back the atman of the deadprince. He told the atman, of the dead prince. He told the atman, Come and enter thebody of the dead prince. You still have some life left as the prince. Live for some moretime. Enjoy your father’s property and be king after him.

The atman replied, Which life, which father and what property? I have lived manytimes. I have had many lives and many fathers. Which body are you talking about?

These words convinced the relatives. They gave up their sorrowing and performed thelast rites for the dead prince. The queens who had posioned him became penitent. Aspenance for their sin, they did prayashchitta on the banks of the river Yamuna.Chitraketu himself performed tapasya. And through the powers that he acquired, he gotto meet Vishnu. He spread the knowledge of Vishnu everywhere and this inflated hisego no end.



On one occasion he even insulted Shiva and Parvati. Shiva ignored the insult, butParvati cursed Chitraketu that he would be born as an asura. It was he who had beenborn as Vritra. Ths explains his devotion to Vishnu.

Diti’s Children

The sage Kashyapa married Diti and Aditi. Diti’s children were known as the daityasand Aditi’s children were the adityas or devas.

Diti was very upset that Indra and the other gods kept killing her children. Sheresolved to have a son who would kill Indra. Accordingly, she started to serve herhusband really well. The sage Kashyapa was pleased and asked her, what boon do youdesire?

Diti replied, Give me a son who will kill Indra. Kashyapa was in a fix. He said, Allright. You will have to perform certain rites for a year. If you do them for an entireyear, you will have a son who will kill Indra. But if you stop before a year, the sonwho will be born will become a friend of the gods.

Diti agreed to this condition. The rites included the avoidance of thrity-one acts thatwere prohibited, such as lying or cursing. It was also forbidden to go to sleep withoutwashing one’s feet. Indra had got to know about his aunt’s desire and he was alwayshanging around, waiting for a chance to bring his aunt’s wishes to nought. But hepretended to serve Diti faithfully.

Once Diti was very tired and went to sleep without washing her feet. Indra saw hischance. He entered Didi’s womb and sliced up the baby who was there into seven partswith his vajra. These parts began to cry and Indra said, ma ruda. That is, don’t cry. Hethen cut up each of the seven parts into seven parts again. There were thus forty-nineparts and they asked, You are my cousin. Why are you killing us?

I shall not kill, replied Indra. You will be called the maruts and you will be my friendsand companions.

These maruts became gods. And Diti was so happy to see them that she forgave Indraall his crimes.



Hiranyakashipu and Prahlada

You probably remember that Vishnu adopted the form of a boar to kill the asuraHiranyaksha. And that Hiranyaksha had a brother named Hiranyakshipu.

Hiranyakashipu was furious to learn of his brother’s death. He resolved to kill Vishnu.He called all the asuras together and asked them to stop all yanas and Veda recitals onearth. The asuras did as they had been told and religious ceremonies on earth came toan end. The gods were oppressed and fled from heaven. Hiranyakashipu consoled his

mother and nephews and asked them not to sorrow. He would avenge his brother.

Hiranyakashipu wished to become invincible. He therefore started to perform verydifficult tapasya. He stood on the tips of his toes and raised his arms up. In that positonhe began to meditate. His hair grew matted and the termites built a hill all around hisbody. For a hundred years Hiranyakashipu meditated thus, without food and water.

Finally Brahma appeared before him and agreed to grant him a boon.

Grant me the boon that I may not be killed by any being of your creation, saidHiranyakashipu. That I may not killed during night or day and that I may not be killed

by man or beast, in the sky or on earth. Make me invincible from all weapons. Andgrant me the boon that devas or asuras may do me no harm.

Brahma granted Hiranyakashipu this rarest of rare boons. Rendered invincible,Hiranyakashipu conquered the three worlds. He drove Indra out of heaven and ruledthere instead. The gods sought refuge with Vishnu. Vishnu asked them to be patient.He told them that he himself would kill Hiranyakashipu, when that asura started tooppress his own son Prahlada.

Apart from Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu had three other sons. But Prahlada, was an

exception. He was devoted to Vishnu and thought of Vishnu all the time.

Shukracharya was the teacher of the asuras. And Shukracharya had two sons namedShanda and Amarka. These two began to teach Prahlada and his brothers. But nomatter what they taught, Prahlada continued to talk about Vishnu. At firstHiranyakashipu thought that this was childish foolishness and would pass away. But itdid not. Prahlada continued to be devoted to Vishnu.

Hiranyakashipu did not wish to have such a son. He instructed his servants to killPrahlada. The asuras struck Prahlada with spears. But since Prahlada was protected by

Vishnu, the spears did him no harm. Elephants were let loose on the prince. Snakes



were made to bite him. He was thrown down from mountain tops. He was fed poison.He was thrown into the water. But nothing happened to Prahlada.

Prahlada was then kept imprisoned for a while and he spent the time in instructing theother asura children on the virtues of being devoted to Vishnu. He told them how hehad become devoted to Vishnu.

When Hiranyakshipu was away on his tapasya, the gods attacked the demons anddefeatd them. Indra abducted Prahlada’s mother. But Narada convinced Indra that this

abduction was a sin. Prahlada’s mother was released and taken to Narada’s hermitage.Prahlada was still in the womb then and he listened to the words of wisdom that Naradataught his mother. It was this knowledge that he still remembered. The asura childrenstarted to get converted as a result of Prahlada’s teachings and Hiranyakashipu was notprepared to tolerate this. He had Prahlada brought before him again.

Who protects you every time I try to kill you?, he asked Prahlada.

Vishnu, was the answer.

Vishnu, exclaimed Hiranyakashipu. Where is Vishnu?

He is everywhere, replied his son.

Everywhere?, asked Hiranyakashipu. He pointed to a crystal pillar and said, Is Vishnuinside this pillar? See, I am striking this pillar. Where is Vishnu?

Hiranyakashipu struck the pillar with a blow his fists. A terrible sound was then heardfrom inside the pillar. A being came out from inside the pillar. It was neither man orbeast, it was half-man and half-lion. This was the narasimha avatara of Vishnu.

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Narasimha’s eyes were like molten gold. A golden mane hung around his face. Histeeth were as sharp as swords. His claws were exceedingly sharp.

Hiranyakashipu attacked narasimha with a mace. But narasimha caught the asura up inhis arms. He effortlessly flung aside the sword and the shield that Hiranyakashipu hadgrasped. He placed the demon across his thighs and tore apart his breast with theclaws. He then killed many of the other asuras.

Prahlada came up to narasimha and worshipped him. Narasimha offered to grant him aboon and Prahlada wanted the boon that his father’s sins might be forgiven. This boonVishnu granted.

Prahlada became the king of the asuras and he ruled well according tot he dictates of dharma (righteousness).



Dharma

There are four classes (varna) and each class has to act according to what is prescribedfor it. The brahmanas should study and perform religious rites. The kshatriyas have toprotect the world. Agriculture and trade is for the vaishyas. And the shudras should

serve the other three classes.

There are also four ashramas (stages of life) prescribed by dharma. The first is that of brahmacharya or celibate studenthood. The second is garhasthya or the householderstage. The third is vanaprastha or the forest-dwelling stage. And the last is sannyasa orthe hermit stage.

Manvantaras

Each manvantara is an era. Fourteen such manvantaras constitute a kalpa (cycle). The

universe is destroyed at the end of each kalpa. A Manu rules over each manvantara andthe title of Indra, or king of the gods, is held by different individuals in differentmanvantaras.

In the present cycle, six manvantaras have passed. The first Manu was SvayambhuvaManu. The second Manu was Svarochisha, the third Uttama, the fourth Tamasa, thefifth Raivata, the sixth Chakshusha and the seventh Shraddhadeva. It is the seventhmanvantara that is now going on. There will be seven more manvantaras before theuniverse is destroyed. The eighth Manu will be Savarni, the ninth Dakshasavarni, thetenth Brahmasavarni, the eleventh Dharmasavarni, the twelfth Rudrasavarni, thethirteenth Devasavarni and the fourteenth Indrasavarni.

In each manvantara it is the duty of the ruling Manu to uphold the dharma of the fourclasses and the four stages of life.



The Elephant’s Story

There was a beautiful mountain named Trikuta. The waves of the ocean lapped at thefoot of Trikuta. There were thick forests on the mountain. And in the forests there liveda king of elephants. He ruled over all the other elephants in the herd.

Once that elephant came to bathe in a lake where a crocodile lived. The crocodile

caught hold of the elephant’s leg. Try as he might, the elephant could not free himself.Nor were the other elephants in a position to help. The elephant and the crocodilestruggled for a thousand years. When a thousand years over, the elephant began to tire,although the crocodile’s strength was still undiminished.

The elephant started to pray to Vishnu. Vishnu appeared and cut off the crocodile’smouth with his sudarshana chakra. Strange as it may seem, the crocodile then adoptedthe form of a gandharva. His name was Huhu. He had been cursed by a sage that hewould become a crocodile. And the sage had told him that he would be freed from thecurse by Vishnu. That had now happened. In fact, the elephant had earlier also been a

king named Indradyumna. And he had been cursed by a sage that he would be born asan elephant. Indradyumna too was freed from his curse and became Vishnu’scompanion.

Thus Vishnu saves whoever prays to him.

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1bhagavata-puranam-full 56/94The Churning of the Ocean

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Many years ago, the churning of the ocean (samudra manthana) took place.

The devas and the asuras were always fighting with each other. But Vishnu advised thedevas to have a temporary truce with the asuras. The two sides should get together andchurn the ocean. Amrita ( a life-giving drink) would emerge from the ocean and makethe gods strong. Vishnu would ensure that the demons would not get a share of theamrita.

The king of the demons then was Vali. Indra met Vali to try and persuade him that atruce should be called and that they should churn the ocean together. The demonsagreed, they too wanted the amrita. Mount Mandara was to be the churning rod, so thegods and the demons grasped the mountain and dragged it to the ocean. Vasuki, theking of the snakes, was promised some amrita and he agreed to be the rope for thechurning. The demons grasped Vasuk’s mouth. The gods grasped his tail. And so thechurning began. Vishnu adopted the form of a turtle and the back of the turtleconstituted the base on which Mount Mandara could rest.

The first object that emerged from the ocean was a terrible poison known as halahala.What was to be done about his poison? It would destroy the world. The gods and thedemons went to Shiva and begged him to rescue them. And Shiva drank up the poison.

Nothing happened to Shiva, except that his throat became blue. He is therefore knownas Nilakantha, blue of throat. A little bit of poison was however spilled on the ground.The scorpions, the snakes and poisonous herbs obtained their poison from this.

The churning continued and a cow named Surabhi came out. This was a kamadhenu,that is, it yielded whatever one desired. The sages took this cow to brahmaloka. Thena handsome white horse named Ucchaihshrava emerged and was given to Vali. Nextcame Airavata, the king of the elephants, and sixteen other elephants. And what shouldemerge next but a beautiful jewel named koustubha? Vishnu accepted this as anadornment for his breast. The parijata tree followed; it was placed in Indra’s garden. It

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was a kapavriksha, that is, it produced whatever one desired. The apsaras emergednext. They wore golden jewellery and beautiful clothes.

The goddess Lakshmi came out after this. Her appearance lit up the world. She was soattractive that the gods, the demons and the humans all wanted to possess her. The

sages anointed her with sacred water. The ocean gave her clothes, Varuna gave her agarland, Vishvakarma jewellery and Brahma a lotus. Lakshmi looked for a perfectbeing to whom she could belong. The only perfect being was Vishnu and Lakshmitherefore married Vishnu.

The goddess of wine is Varuni. She followed Lakshmi out of the ocean. She was givento the demons.

Then Dhanvantari emerged. He held the pot of amrita in his hands. Dhanvantrari wasthe originator of all medicine. The demons immediately snatched the pot of amrita and

ran away with it. The gods became despondent, but Vishnu created illusions so that theasuras fell to fighting amongst themselves over the amrita. Meanwhile, Vishnu adoptedthe form of a beautiful woman and the asuras also began to fight over who should marrythis woman. They asked the woman to divide the amrita for them.

Of course, Vishnu did no such thing. He gave the amrita to the devas, but not to theasuras. The demons were cheated. The only demon who managed to get a little amritawas Rahu. He was however caught while he was in the act of swallowing the amrita.Vishnu cut of Rahu’s head with his chakra. The amrita never entered Rahus’ body. Butsince Rahu’s head had tasted the amrita, it had become immortal. Brahama thereforeconverted the head into a planet.

The demons had by now realized the fraud. They attacked the gods with all sorts of weapons. But the gods had drunk the amrita and become strengthened. After aprolonged battle, they defeated the demons.

Vali

Shukracharya was the teacher for the asuras. Shukracharya performed a yajna named

vishvajita for Vali and the asura king became invincible. He attacked Indra and the

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other gods and drove them out of heaven. He became the ruler of the three worlds andperformed a hundred ashvamedha sacrifices in celebration.

Aditi was unhappy to see her children suffer thus. She performed tapasya so thatVishnu might be born as her son and defeat Vali. The tapasya was successful andVishnu was born as the son of Kashyapa and Aditi. The son was a dwarf (vamana) andthis was therefore known as the dwarf incarnation of Vishnu.

Vali was performing an ashvamedha sacrifice. The sacrifice was being held on the

banks of the Narmada river and Vali had announced that, on the occasion, he would notrefuse a boon to anyone. The dwarf went to the sacrifice.

What is your desire?, Vali asked of the dwarf.

Nothing very much, replied the dwarf. Only as much of land as can be covered bythree of my steps.

Agreed, said Vali.

Shukracharya had seen through Vishnu’s game and he tried to restrain Vali. But Valiwould not listen to his teacher. He would not go back on his word.

The dwarf started to grow in size. It became gigantic. With one step it covered theearth, with the second it covered heaven, and with the third and final step it covered allthe other lokas. Vali had nowhere left to go but to the underworld.

The Fish Avatara

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Many years ago there was a flood when the world was immersed in water. Brahma hadbeen sleeping then, and seizing the opportuntiy, a demon named Hayagriva stole thesacred Vedas. That was the time when Vishnu adopted the fish (matsya) incarnation.

There used to be a king named Satyavrata. He was performing tapasya in the waters of the river Kritamala. Suddenly he noticed a very small fish swimming in the water inthe palm of his hands. Satyavrata was about to throw the fish into the water, but the fish

spoke out.

Don’t throw me back into the river, it said. I am scared of being eaten up by theanimals that live in the water.

Satyavrata placed the fish in a pot and brought it home to his hermitage. Within a nightthe fish grew so big that it could no longer be kept inside the pot. Satyavrata placed thefish inside a vat, but in matter of seconds, the fish became too big for the vat.Satyavrata put it inside a pond, but the fish became too big for the pond as well.Satyavrata took the fish to a lake, but even the lake proved to be too small.

Finally Satyavrata took it to the ocean and prepared to release it there.

Don’t release me in the ocean, said the fish. I am scared of the animals that live in theocean.

By now, Satyavrata had realized that this was no ordinary fish. Who are you?, heasked. Why are you deluding me? You must be the Lord Vishnu.

The fish told him that it was indeed Lord Vishnu. It also told him that seven days later,there would be a flood that would swallow up the three lokas of bhuloka, bhuvarloka,and svarloka. A huge boat would then arrive before Satyavrata. And the king shouldclimb onto the boat with all beings, the seven great sages (saptarshis) and foodgrains.The fish would also arrive and Satyavrat should tie the boat to the fish’s horn with thegreat snake Vasuki as a rope. In that manner, Satyavrata would be saved from the havocof the flood.

Having said all this, the fish disappeared. But everything happened just as the fish hadsaid it would. While they floated on the water, the fish recited the Matsya Purana toSatyavrata. King Satyavrata later became Vaivasvata Manu.

In this form of a fish, Vishnu also killed the demon Hayagriva and retrieved the Vedas.

The Sons of Vaivasvata Manu

Vaivasvata Manu had no sons. His wife was named Shraddha. Because they had noson, husband and wife decided to perform a sacrifice. Shraddha wanted a daughter and



she instructed the priest accordingly. A daughter named Ila was born from thesacrifice. But Manu was unhappy because he had wanted a son.

Manu’s guru was the sage Vashishtha and Vashishtha was exceedingly powerful. WhenManu complained to his teacher, Vashishtha used his powers to transform Ila into a sonnamed Sudyumna. In fact, Sudyumna or Ila alternated between being a man and awoman for stretches of one month at a time. When Ila was a woman, the sage Budha

married her and they had a son named Pururava. And when Sudyumna was a man, hehad three sons named Utkala, Gaya and Vimala.

Manu was not satisfied. He wished that he might have a proper son and he prayed for ahundred years that this might happen. Ten sons were born to him and their names wreIkshvaku, Nriga, Sharyati, Dishta, Dhrishta, Karusha, Narishyanta, Prishadhra, Nabhagaand Kavi.

Prishadhra’s guru asked him to look after the cows. Prishadhra stayed awake at nightto do this. One night it was raining. A tiger came and entered the cowshed. The cow

ran thither and thither in fright and the tiger caught a cow. Prishadhra came running tosee what was happening. In the darkness Parishadhra mistook a cow for the tiger andkilled it. His teacher was furious at this mistake and cursed Prishadhra that, henceforth,he would live like a shudra. Prishadhra did not have any children.

The youngest son Kavi did not marry either. He went off to the forest to performmeditation. But all the others had several children.

Sukanaya and Chyavana

Sharyati’s daughter was Sukanaya. She was very pretty and her eyes were like thepetals of lotus flowers.



Once Sharyati and Sukanya went to the forest to visit the hermitage of the sageChyavana. The princess and her friends went around picking flowers. Sukanayasuddenly came across a termite hill. There were two holes in the hill which shone witha peculiar light. She inserted a thorn into the two holes and was amazed to see bloodooze out. She had not realized that it was the sage Chyavana who was inside the hilland whom she had succeeded in blinding.

To appease the sage, Sharyati married Sukanaya to him.

After some time the two Ashvinis came to visit the hermitage. They were twins andwere also the physicians of the goods. Chyavana promised them a share in the coveted

juice of the soma herb and persuaded them to treat him so that he might becomehandsome. The ashvinis asked Chyavana to bathe in a lake and the sage becameexceedingly handsome.

Ambarisha

King Ambarisha was descended from Nabhaga. He rules over the entire world andpossessed all the riches that one might desire. But Ambarisha was not really interestedin all this. His mind was devoted to Vishnu. He and his wife decided to perform aspecial religous rite. At the end of the ceremony, they were to fast for three nights. And



if the ceremony was to be properly conducted, they should eat as soon as the threenights were over.

While all this was going on, the sage Durvasa arrived. Ambarisha worshipped him andasked him to partake of some food. Durvasa agreed, but wanted to have a bath first.Time passed and the sage did not return. Ambarisha was in a dilemma. He could noteat before his guest. And he had to eat since the three nights were over. If the

auspicious moment passed, the entire ceremony would be wasted. Not knowning whatto do, Ambarisha drank soem water as a compromise.

Durvasa returned and immediately realized that Ambarisha had drunk some water. Thesage was hot-tempered and his anger was easily aroused. He tore off a hair and flung itdown on the ground. This created a demon which advanced with a sword to killAmbarisha. Bu Ambarisha was devoted to Vishnu. So Vishnu’s sudarshana chakraarrived and estroyed the demon. The chakra then started to pursue Durvasa. WhereverDurvasa fled, the chakra followed. Finally Durvasa went to vishnuloka and fell atVishnu’s feet. But Vishnu told him to go to Ambarisha instead.

Still pursued by the chakra, Durvasa went to Ambarisha and begged for mercy.Ambarisha pacified the chakra.

Ikshvaku’s Son

Ikshvaku had a hundred sons, the chief among them being Vikukshi, Nimi andDandaka.

Once Ikshvaku was performing a funeral ceremony. He called Vikukshi to him andsaid, Go and get some meat from the forest.

Vikukshi went to the forest and killed many animals. But he was exhausted as a resultof all this exertion and ate the meat of a rabbit. The rest of the meat he brought hometo his father. And Ikshvaku gave the meat to the sage Vashishtha so that the funderalceremony might be performed But Vashishtha said that the meat was tainted and couldnot be used for the ceremony. It had already been eaten. When Ikshvaku found outfrom his son what had happened, he banished Vikukshi from the kingdom.

After Ikshvaku died, Vikukshi returned and became king. His son Puranjaya was alsoknown as Indravaha or Kakutstha. The reason for this was as follows.

Once there was fight between the gods and the demons and the gods cravedPuranjaya’s help. Puranjaya agreed on condition that he could ride into battle perchedon Indra’s shoulders. Puranjaya fought so bravely that the demons were defeated.

Sagara and the Descent of Ganga

Amongst Ikshvaku’s descendants was King Sagara. Sagara had once performed anashvamedha yajna. But Indra came and stole the sacrificial horse.



Sagara had two wives, Sumati and Keshini. Sumati had sixty thousand sons andKeshini one. When the horse could not be found, Sagara sent Sumati’s sixty thousandsons to look for it. The sons looked for the horse everywhere and finally found it in thehermitage of the sage Kapila. The mischievous Indra had hidden it there. But Sagara’ssons did not know that Indra was responsible. They concluded that Kapila was thethief and attacked him. But such was the power of Kapila’s rage that all sixty thousandsons were burnt into ashes.

Keshini’s son was Asamanjasa and Asamanjasa’s son was Amshumana. When the sixtythousand sons did not return, Sagara sent Amshumana to look for his uncles and the losthorse. Amshumana discovered the horse in the sage Kapila’s ashrama. But beingdifferent from his uncles, he began to pray to the sage.

Kapila said, Amshumana, take the horse. Your uncles are here, burnt into ashes. Theeis no way to rescue them except through the waters of the river Ganga.

Amshumana returned with the horse and the sacrifice was completed. Amshumana

performed a lot of tapasya so that the river Ganga might be brought down to earth. Buthe was unsuccessful. Nor did his son Dilipa succeed.

Dilipa’s son was Bhagiratha and Bhagiratha performed such difficult tapasya that theriver Ganga agreed to grant him a boon. Bhagiratha told her what he desired.

But, asked Ganga, When I descend to earth, who will break my fall? If no one does, Iwill go straight through the earth and land up in the underworld.

Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva and persuaded him to break Ganga’s fall. Shiva held her onhis head before releasing her to the earth. Bhagiratha led Ganga to where his ancestors’ashes were. And at the touch of the sacred water, they were purifed and taken up toheaven.

Rama of Ramayana fame was also descended from Ikshvaku’s line.

Chandra Vamsha

Brihaspati was the guru of the devas and his wife was Tara. Soma was the sage Atri’sson. Soma abducted Tara and although Brihaspati asked him to return his wife, Somarefused. A war then started between the gods and the demons. The gods fought onBrihaspati’s side and the demons on Soma’s. Soma finally returned Tara. But Somaand Tara had by then got a son. This son was named Budha and he was very wise. Youalready know that Pururava was Budha and Ila’s son.



Once Pururava met the beautiful apsara Urvashi. They married and lived togetherhappily for many years. Their sons were Ayu, Shrutany, Satyayu, Aya, Vijaya and Jaya.

Gadhi was descended from Vijaya, Gadhi had a daughter named Satyavati. Abrahmana named Richika wished to marry Satyavati. But Gadhi did not think thatRichika was the right sort of husband for Satyavati. So he said, I need a bride price.Bring me a thousand horses. Each horse should be as white as the moon and have one

black ear.

This seemed to be an impossible task, but Richika managed to get such horses fromVaruna. He thus married Satyavati.

Both Satyavati and Satyavati’s mother (Richika’s mother-in-law) wished to have sonsand Richika arranged a sacrifice. He obtained two bowls of rice pudding from thesacrifice and gave one to his wife and the other to his mother-in-law to eat. They wouldthen bear sons. Since he himself was a brahmana, Richika had ensured that Satyavati’srice pudding was such that their son would be brahmana-like. And since his father-in-

law was a kshatriya, he had ensured that this mother-in-law’s rice pudding was such thather son would be kshatriya-like.

But Satyavati’s mother thought that her son-in-law might have given the better ricepudding to her daughter. So she persuaded Satyavati to exchange bowls.

When Richika found out what had happened, he told Satyavati, You shouldn’t havedone that. Now your son will behave like a kshatriya.

I don’t want a son like a kshatriya, replied Satyavati. Can’t you do something so thatmy grandson is like that? Let my son be like a brahmana.

Richika agreed. Richika and Satyavati’s son was Jamadagni and Jamadagni marriedRenuka. Jamadagni and Renuka had several sons, the youngest of whom wasParashurama.

Parashurama

Arjuna was the king of the Haihaya kingdom. He was so blessed by the sage Dattatreyaso that he had a thousand arms and was formidable in battle.

Arjuna had gone on a hunt and arrived at Jamadagni’s hermitage. The sage Jamadagnihad a kamadhenu, that is, a cow that gave whatever one wanted. The cow producedwhatever was needed for feeding Arjuna and his many followers. Arjuna took a likingto the cow and tried to forcibly take it away. Jamadagni did not protest.

Parashurama was away at that time. He returned and learnt of Arjuna’s deed. He took up his weapons and went to the king’s capital. There he killed all of Arjuna’s soldiers.



Arjuna himself came out to fight. Since he possessed a thousand arms, he wielded fivehundred bows at a time. But Parashurama destroyed all these bows. He then killedArjuna and Arjuna’s ten thousand sons fled from the field of battle.

Parashurama returned with the cow. However, Jamadagni was not happy. Son, youhave committed a crime, he said. You should not have killed a king, that is a sin. Youneed to perform penanace. Go away for a year and visit all the places of pilgrimage.

Parashurama did as his father bid him.

Jamadagni’s wife Renuka had misbehaved with him once. Thereupon, Jamadagni hadrequested his sons to kill their mother. The only son who had agreed to do so wasParashurama. He had killed his mother and also his brothers for having disobeyed theirfather. Jamadagni had been so pleased at his son’s obedience that he had wanted togrant Parashurama a boon. Parashurma had wanted the boon that his dead mother andbrothers might come to life again and this had been granted.

While Parashurama was away, the ten thousand sons of Arjuna came and attacked thehermitage. They killed Jamadagni. So angry was Parashurama at this dastardly act of the kshatriyas that he killed all the kshatriyas in the world with his axe (parashu).Twenty-one time he rid the world of all the kshatriyas. Near the battlefield of Kurukshetra there are nine lakes. These lakes had been formed with the blood of all thedead kshatriyas.

Parashurama has now given up violence and lives on Mount Mahendra. He is believedto be immortal.

Yayati

Pururava also had a son named Ayu. From Ayu was descended Yayati. Yayati had twowives, Devayani and Sharmishtha. Devayani was Shukracharya’s daughter; youprobably remember that Shukracharya was the teacher of the asuras. The king of theasuras was Vrishaparva and Sharmishtha was Vrishaparva’s daughter.

Sharmishtha and Devayani used to be friends. They had gone to a lake to bathe andhad taken off their clothes. When they were hurriedly putting on the clothes afterbathing. Sharmishtha put on Devayani’s clothes by mistake. Devayani did not like thisat all.

How dare Sharmishtha do this? she asked. My father is her father’s teacher. How darean inferior wear a superior’s clothes?



Who is inferior and who is superior?, replied Sharmishtha. My father is the king. Youpeople get to eat because of my father’s generosity.

Saying this, Sharmishtha threw Devayani into a well that was nearby and returnedhome. King Yayati happened to be passing. When he came to drink water at the well,he discovered Devayani. Yayati took out Devayani from the well and she fell in lovewith her benefactor. Yayati agreed to marry her.

Devayani returned home and told her father how she had been treated by Sharmishtha.Shukracharya was greatly saddened to hear this and decided to leave the asuras. ButVrishaparva fell at his guru’s feet and begged for mercy. Shukracharya agreed to stayon the condition that Sharmishtha became Devayani’s maid.

Yayati married both Devayani and Sharmishtha. Devayani’s sons were Yadu andTurvasu, and Sharmishtha’s sons were Druhyu, Anu and Puru.

After several years had passed, Yayati became old. But his taste for worldly pleasures

had still not passed. So he called his sons to him and asked them to take his old agefrom him. He wanted their youth instead. All the sons except Puru took on his father’sold age. After a thousand years had passed. Yayati got tired of worldly pleasures. Hereturned the youth to Puru and took back his old age.

Parikshit was descended from Puru. And the Yadavas were descended from Yadu.

Dushmanta and Shakuntala

One of Parikshit’s ancestors was King Dushmanta. Dushmanta had once gone on ahunt. Wandering around in the forest, he came to the hermitage of the sage Kanva.There he met a beautiful woman and fell in love with her.

Beautiful lady, he asked, Who are you? I am smitten with love for you.

I am Shakuntala, the woman replied. I am the daughter of Vishvamitra and the apsaraMenaka. The sage Kanva has brought me up.

Dushmanta married Shakuntala. He promised to come back for her and left for thecapital. But once he was in the capital, he completely forgot about Shakuntala.Meanwhile, Shakuntala gave birth to a boy and his name was Bharata.



But eventually Dushmanta accepted Shakuntala and Bharata as his wife and son.Bharata ruled after Dushmanta and became a powerful king. He performed fifty-fiveashvamedha yajnas. He rules for twenty-seven thousand years.

The Building of Dvaraka

Kamsa was so much of an oppressor that Krishna was forced to kill him. Kamsa hadtwo wives named Asti and Prapti and they were the daughters of Jarasandha, the king of

Magadha. Jarasandha was very angry to learn that his son-in-law had been killed andhe resolved to kill all the Yadavas. He raised an army that was twenty-one battalions(akshouhimi) strong and laid siege to the city of Mathura. Mathura was surroundedfrom all sides by Jarasandha’s army.

The Yadavas came out to fight and, led by Balarama and Krishna, defeated Jarasandha.But Jarasandha came back again with an army. Again he was defeated. This went on.Seventeen times Jarasandha lost and seventeen times he retired to Magadha. He thenbegan to raise an army for the eighteenth time.



Meanwhile, the Yadavas were faced with another enemy. This was in the form of aking named Kalayavana who was about to attack Mathura.

Krishna realized that the Yadavas needed a stronger and more fortified captial if theywere to face up to enemies from two directions. A beautiful city was accordingly builton the shores of the ocean. It had wide roads and magnificent houses. Moreimportantly, it was much better protected than the city of Mathura. This new city was

Dvaraka or Dvaravati.

Kalayavana

Krishna now decided to do something about Kalayavana. He came alone to where

Kalayavana was. And seeing Krishna , Kalayavana wanted to attack him. But Krishnabegan to run and Kalayavana followed him. Krishna began to run and Kalayavanafollowed him. Krishna had a plan. He led Kalayavana to a cave in the mountainside.

It was dark inside the cave and Kalayavana could not see very well. In the dim light hesaw a man sleeping inside the cave. Kalyavana thought that it had to be Krishna andkicked the body. But the sleeper was not Krishna. It was a person namedMuchukunda. He had been sleeping for many years and had been woken up byKalayavana. He realized that his person had woken him up from his sleep and helooked angrily at Kalayavana. Kalayavana was burnt to ashes from the blaze of this

anger. How did this come about?



Muchukunda was a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty. The gods were busy fighting withthe demons and needed some aid. Muchukunda fought on the side of the gods for manyyears. But eventually the gods obtained a general in the form of the god kartikeya andno longer needed Muchukunda.

So they told Muchukunda, King, you have fought with the demons for many years andhave successfully protected us. You have given up all wordly pleasures. But we no

longer need your services. What do you propose to do? So many years have passedthat all your friends, relatives and subjects on earth are now dead. Ask for whateverboon you desire.

Muchukunda replied, I am tired after fighting for so many years. I feel like having along sleep. Please grant me the boon that whoever wakes me up will burn to ashes bymy wrath.

Rukmini and Rukmi

There was a king named Bhishmaka who rules over the kingdom of Vidarbha. The kinghad five sons and a daughter. The eldest son was Rukmi and the daugter was Rukmini.



Rukmini had heard of Krishna’s prowess and other qualitites, and wished to marryhim. Her father was not averse to such an alliance. But Rukmi hated Krishna and

refused to accept such a marriage. He wished to get his sister married off to Shishupala,the king of the kingdom of Chedi.

Rukmini sent a brahmana as emissary to Krishna. Through the brahmana Rukminisaid, My marriage has been fixed for the day after tomorrow and I am to be married toShishupala. I want to marry you instead. Please come and abduct me. Tomorrow Ishall go to visit the temple of the goddess Parvati. This is outside the city. Please comeand abduct me then.

Krishna came to Kundina, the capital of the kingdom of Vidarbha. Shishupala alsocame there with a large number of companions and many gifts for Bhishmaka.Bhishmaka made separate lodging arrangements for Shishupala and Krishna. Balaramaand several other Yadavas had also followed Krishna to Kundina.

When Rukmini went to visit the temple, Krishna abducted her. The many other kingswho had asembled could not look on in wonder. When they recovered from the shock,they attacked Krishna. But the Yadavas easily repelled these eneemies.

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Witnessing the defeat of his allies, Rukmi entered the fray with his own army. I willnot return to Kundina without killing Krishna and rescuing Rukmini, he resolved.

But Krishna destroyed all Rukmi’s arrows and other weapons. He was about to killRukmi with a sword. Rukmini intervened. He is my brother, she said, Please sparehim.

Krishna agreed. But Rukmi had resolved that he would not return to Kundina withoutkilling Krishna and rescuing Rukmini. What was going to happen to that oath? Insteadof returning to Kundina. Rukmi began to live in a city named Bhojakata.

Krishna brought Rukmini back to Dvaraka and married her there. Their son wasPradyumna. When Pradyumna was only ten days old, an asura named Shambarakidnapped the baby and threw it into the ocean. There, the baby was swallowed by abig fish. The fish was caught by a fisherman and he brought the fish as a gift toShambara. Shambara sent the fish to his kitchen and when his cooks cut open the fish’sstomach, they discovered the baby inside. In Shambara’s household there lived a

woman named Mayavati. Shambara handed over the baby to Mayavati to rear.

When Pradyumna grew up, Mayavati told him the story of his being kidnapped.Pradyumna challenged Shambara to a duel and killed the asura. He then marriedMayavati and returned to Dvaraka.



The Symantaka Jewel

There was a Yadava named Satrajit. He was devoted to the sun god, Surya. Surya waspleased with Satrajit and gave him a wonderful jewel named symantaka. The jewelshone like the sun itself. Satrajit used to wear the jewel around his neck. And suchwere the wonderful properities of the jewel that all disease and famine vanished fromthe Yadava kingdom.

It was Krishna’s opinion that the jewel should rightfully be in the possession of Ugrasena, the king of the Yadavas. But Satrajit refused to part withthe jewel.

Satrajit’s brother was Prasenjit and Prasenjit borrowed the jewel from his brother. Hethen went tothe forest on a hunt and was killed by a lion. The lion was in turn killed bythe bear Jambavana. Jambavana brought the jewel home to his cave and gave it to hisson to play with. Meanwhile Prasenjit’s dead body was discovered and Satrajitconcluded that it was Krishna who had killed his brother and stolen the jewel. Thisrumour quickly spread amongst the Yadavas.

To vindicate his reputation, Krishna went to the forest to try and find out what hadhappened. He followed the trail to Jambavan’s cave and a terrible fight waged foreighteen days and nights between Jambavana and Krishna. Jambavana finally accepteddefeat. He not only returned Symantaka to Krishna, but also married his daughterJambavati to him. When Krishna returned the jewel to Satrajit, Satrajit was ashamedthat he had suspected Krishna in the first place. As atonement, he gave his daughterSatyabhama in marriage to Krishna.

There were three other Yadavas who had wanted to marry Satyabhama. Their names

were Akrura, Kritavarma and Shatadhanva. They were not at all happy thatSatyabhama had been married off to Krishna. Akrura and Kritavarma advisedShatadhanva to kill Satrajit. Shatadhanva did this and stole the symantaka jewel. Butknowing that Balarama and Krishna would exact revenge for this deed, he fled fromDvaraka. He however left the jewel with Akrura.

Balarma and Krishna pursued Shatadhanva and Krishna killed the murderer. But theycould find no trace of the jewel. Akrura of course kept his possession of the jewel acomplete secret.



But Akrura and Kritavarma were not at all sure that their complicity in the crime wouldnot be detected. They therefore left Dvarka. And immediately disease and droughtbecame rampant in the city. From this, Krishna deduced that the jewel must have beenin Akrura’s possession. He brought Akrura back to Dvaraka and persuaded him toconfess that the jewel was indeed in his possession.

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Narakasura

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A demon named Narakasura ruled in the city of Pragjyotishapura. He was the son of the earth (prithivi). The demon wa so strong that he drove Indra out of heaven andstole Indra’s umbrella and earrings. Indra went and complained to Krishna.

The city of Pragjyotishapura was very difficult to enter. It was surrounded by

mountains on all sides and there were forts on the mountains. A demon named Muraguarded the city. But Krishna destroyed the mountains and the forts with his mace. Hethen killed Mura with his sudarshana chakra. Mura’s seven sons were also killed byKrishna.

Narakasura now ascended an elephant and came to fight with Krishna. But he met thesame fate as Mura. Krishna retrieved and returned Indra’s umbrella and earrings.

Narakasura had imprisoned sixteen thousand princesses. Krishna freed them, had thembrought back to Dvaraka, and married them all.

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Rukmi’s Death

Rukmi, as you probably remember, had begun to live in the city of Bhojakata.

Rukmi’s daughter was Rukmavati and she was married to Krishna’s son Pradyumna.Pradyumna and Rukmavati had a son named Aniruddha. Aniruddha got married toRukmi’s grand-daughter Rochana.

On the occasion of Aniruddha and Rochana’s marriage, Balarama, Krishna and theother Yadavas came to Bhojakata. Balarama was very fond of playing dice and so wasRukmi. They began to have a game. Balarama first placed a hundred golden coins as abet and lost. He then staked a thousand golden coins and lost again. Not content,

Balarama now placed ten thousand golden coins as a bet. Rukmi won yet again.Finally, Balarama staked a lakh of golden coins. This time Balarama won. But the evilRukmi denied that Balarama had won and insisted that it was he who had won. This soangered Balarama that he killed Rukmi with a club.



Vana

Vali used to be the king of the asuras. Vali had a hundred sons. The eldest was namedVana. Vana was devoted to Shiva and he ruled in the city of Shonitapura. Vana hadpleased Shiva so much that Shiva had agreed to be the guardian of Shonitapura.

Vana had a daughter named Usha. Usha dreamt of Aniruddha and fell in love withhim. But she did not know who Aniruddha was, she did not know his name. However,Usha had a friend named Chitralekha who was very good at drawing portraits.Chitralekha drew the portraits of gods, gandharvas, asuras, yakshas and men and Ushaidentified Aniruddha as the person she had fallen in love with. But how wereAniruddha and Usha to meet?

It was again Chitralekha who found the solution. She brought Aniruddha fromDvaraka and he and Usha were secretly married. But Vana’s guards discovered whatwas happening and went and reported this to the asura king.



Vana came to Usha’s palace and discovered Aniruddha there. Although Aniruddhafought as best as he could, he was defeated and imprisoned by Vana. News of Aniruddha’s imprisonment reached Dvaraka and the Yadavas attacked Shonitapura.

Vana came out to fight. And because of his pledge to be a guardian of the city, Shivaalso fought on Vana’s side. Kartikeya had also come to fight on the side of his father,Shiva. A miraculous battle ensured. Kartikeya was defeated by Pradyumna and Shiva

by Krishna. Vana was also defeated by Krishna. But thanks to Shiva’s pleading onbehalf of the asura, Krishna spared Vana’s life.

The Yadavas returned to Dvaraka with Aniruddha and Usha.

Poundraka and the King of Kashi

A king named Poundraka used to rule in the kingdom of Karusha. This king was soinsolent that he sent a messenger and challenged Krishna to a fight. But havingchallenged Krishna, he went and began to live with his friend, the king of Kashi.

This, Krishna was not going to ignore. He came to Kashi to accept the challenge.Poundraka had with him an army that was two battalions (akshouhini) strong. ButKrishna decimated this army and killed Poundraka with his chakra. The king of Kashibegan to fight in order to avenge his friend. But Krishna used the chakra to kill him aswell. In the process , the king’s head was carried into the city by a strong wind. Havingdisposed of the challenge, Krishna returned to Dvaraka.

The prince of Kashi was Sudakshina. Sudakshina saw his father’s severed head andthirsted for revenge. He performed a yajna and started to pray to Shiva. Shiva wassatisfied with the prayers. What boon do you desire?, he asked Sudakshina.

Please grant me the boon that I may kill my father’s murder, replied the prince.

Shiva assented. The fire of this yajna will go together with my companions, the ghosts,and do the needful, said Shiva. But take care that the fire is not directed at a brahmana.If it is, the consequences will be dreadful.

The fire adopted the form of a demon with a trident in its hand. It then headed towardsDvaraka. But Krishna’s sudarshana chakra repelled the fire. It drove the fire back toKashi, where the fire consumed Sudkshina and all his priests.



Samba

Samba was the son of Krishna and Jambavati

Lakshmana was Duryodhana’s daughter.

Lakshmana’s svayamvara (ceremony at which a bride chooses her husband) had beenarranged, but Samba came to the assembly and abducted Lakshmana. At this the

Kauravas were angered. They attacked Samba and imprisoned him.

The Yadavas prepared to fight with the Kauravas. But since the Yadavas and theKauravas had close ties, Balarama thought that he would try peaceful means first. Hecame to Hastinapura and requested that Samba be released. The Kauravas were in nomood to listen. They regarded the Yadavas as belonging to an inferior race and theywere certainly not going to listen to Balarama.

Balarama felt insulted. He always carried a plough with him. He grasped the city of Hastinapura with his plough and prepared to hurl it into the river Ganga. The citywhirled round and round and the Kauravas relaized their mistake. They fell at



Balarama’s feet and begged for mercy. Samba was released and Duryodhana gavetwelve hundred elephants, one lakh twelve hundred horses, sixty thousand chariots andone thousand maids as gifts.

Balarama, Samba and Lakshmana returned to Dvaraka.

Jarasandha’s Death

Krishna went on a visit to Indraprastha, Yudhishthira’s captial, and the Pandavas weredelighted to see him.

Yudhishthira told Krishna, I am thinking of performing a rajasuya yajna (royalsacrifice). What is your opinion?

I think that’s a very good idea, replied Krishna. Defeat all the kings on earth. Butremember that you will not be able to complete your sacrifice until Jarasandha is killed.

The Pandava brothers started out on their conquest. Sahadeva headed south, Nakulawest, Arjuna north and Bhima east. After all the other kings were defeated, Bhima,Arjun and Krishna disguised themselves as brahmanas and went to Jarasandha’skingdom. They met Jarasandha and said, We have come a long distance. Grant us ourdesire.



Jarasandha recognized them to be kshatriyas disguised as brahmanas. Nevertheless hereplied, You have come to me as brahmanas. I will grant you what you want. What isyour desire?

A duel, said Bhima, Arjuna and Krishna. Choose any one of us and fight with him.

All right, replied Jarasandha. But I will not fight with Krishna. He is a coward.

Threatened with my invasion, he fled from Mathura to Dvaraka. Nor will I fight withArjuna. He is younger than me and not quite strong enough. I shall fight with Bhima.

The duel was arranged and Bhima and Jarasandha began to fight with maces. Themaces clashed against each other and broke into many pieces. The warriors then startedto wrestle. The noise was like that of two mad elephants fighting . For twenty-sevendays they fought. They fought during the day and behaved as friends during the night.

Bhima could not kill Jarasandha. But Krishna knew Jarasandha’s history. KingVrihadratha’s wife had given birth to two lumps of meat and thrown them away in

disgust. These were discovered by a rakshasa (demon) woman named Jara. She joinedthe lumps together and produced a baby. Since sandhi means uniting or puttingtogether, the baby came to be known as Jarasandha, or one who has been put togetherby Jara.

On the twenty-eighth day of the duel, Krishna advised Bhima to grasp Jarasandha’slegs in his two hands and then tear him apart. And is precisley how Bhima killedJarasandha.

Jarasandha’s son Sahadeva was crowned the king of Magadha. Jarasandha hadimprisoned twenty thousand and eight hundred kings. These kings were released.

Shishupala’s Death

Many kings and sages assembled on the occasion of Yudhishthira’s royal sacrifice.But ignoring everyone else, the first offering of the sacrifice was given to Krishna.

This angered Shishupala. What utter nonsense, he said. Why should Krishna be giventhe first offering? This is like giving a cake to a crow. Everyone knows that theYadavas are an inferior race. There are individuals assembled here who are moredeserving than Krishna.

The Pandavas took up their weapons to fight with Shishupala and Shishupala too took up his weapons. But Krishna restrained the Pandavas and cut off Shishupala’s headwith his sudarshana chakra.



Shalva’s Death

Shalva was Shishupala’s friend. He resolved to kill the Yadavas and started to performtapasya. He prayed to Shiva and each day, he ate only a fistful of dust. For an entireyear Shalva prayed to Shiva. Finally Shiva was pleased and appeared before Shalva.

What boon do you want?, he asked Shalva.

Please give me a vimana (space vehicle) that I can fight the Yadava’s with. AnsweredShalva.

Shiva instructed the danava (demon) Maya to construct such a viman for Shalva. Thevimana was named Soubha and it was made completely of iron. Armed with thisvimana, Shalva attacked Dvaraka and showered down weapons from the sky on thecity. Dvaraka’s ramparts and gardens were destroyed.

Pradyumna and Shalva fought a wonderful duel with all sorts of divine weapons.Krishna was away at that time. When he returned, he found the battle raging. The fightwas now on between Krishna and Shalva. Arrows clashed against arrows, macesagainst maces. At long last, Krishna smashed the vimana with his mace. He then killed



Shalva with his chakra.

Balarama’s Penance

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At the time of these Kurukshetra War, Balarama did not want to take sides . Hepreferred to remain neutral. He therefore went on a pilgrimage and came to a placenamed Prabhasa. He then arrived at the river Sarasvati. After doing a circuit of severalplaces of pilgrimage along the river, he reached the forest known as naimisharanya.

The sages had arranged for a sacrificein the forest and the sacrifice was to go on fortwelve years. All the sages got up to honour Balarama. The only one who remained

seated was Romaharshana, Vyasadeva’s disciple. Balarama lost his temper at this. Hekilled Romaharshana.

The sages exclaimed, Balarama, you have done a terrible thing. He did not get upbecause that was part of the sacrificed ceremony. You must perform penance.

Balarama agreed. The sages first asked him to kill a demon named Valvala who was inthe habit of disturbing their sacrifice. They then asked Balarama to go on a pilgrimagefor the period of one year. Next day Valvala arrived as was his wont. And Balaramakilled the demon with a club. He then traversed the length and breath of the country on

his pilgrimage.

Shridama

There used to be a brahmana named Shridama. When young, he and Krishna hadstudied under the same guru and the two had been friends . Now Krishna was inDvaraka and Shridama was exceedingly poor. He and his wife had no clothes to wear,nor food to eat.

One day Shridama’s wife said, Krishna is your friend. He is very rich. Why don’t yougo to him and ask him for some help? I am sure that he will not refuse you.

Why not?, thought Shridama. At least, I shall get a chance to meet Krishna after ages.But what will I take as a present for him?’

The brahmana and his wife were so poor that they had no money to buy gifts. All theycould manage were two handful of fried rice. This gift the brahmana wrapped up in apiece of cloth and left Dvaraka.

Shridama met Krishna in Dvaraka and Krishna embraced him warmly. They got totalking about old times.

Krishna asked, Shridama, what have you brought me as a present?



The brahmana was so ashamed of the two handfuls of fried rice that he kept quiet. ButKrishna hunted out the piece of cloth and ate the fried rice to his heart’s content.

Shridama spent the night in Krishna’s house and felt as if he had gone to heaven. Hewas given wonderful food to eat and wonderful clothes to wear. But he could not bringhimself to ask anything of Krishna. Next morning, he left for his own dwelling.

Krishna, however had got to know what Shridama had wanted without Shridama’sasking for it. When the brahmana arrived home, he discovered a beautiful temple andlarge gardens and ponds there. There were maids and servants. What is all this?,wondered Shridama, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. His wife emerged, wearinghandsome clothes.

The brahmana and his wife realized that all this was due to Krishna’s grace. They livedhappily ever after.

Shiva’s Problem

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva had powers of granting boons and levying curses. Brahmaand Shiva were in the habit of granting boons and levying curses, but Vishnu was neverso indiscriminate. Once Shiva landed himself in a pretty mess.

There was an asura named Vrika. He met the sage Narada and wanted to know who,out of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, was pleased most easily.

Shiva, replied the sage.

Vrika went to a place of pilgrimage named Kedara and started his tapasya. First hetried to burn parts of his body. He continued to do this for seven days, but Shiva did notappear. He then decided to slice his head into two with an axe. Immediately Shivaappered and restrained the asura.

What do you want?, asked Shiva.

Please grant me the boon that if I put my hand on anyone’s head, the person willimmediately die. Answered the asura.



Shiva granted the boon. But Vrika wanted to try out the boon on Shiva himself. OnceShiva was dead, he thought that he could marry Parvati. Shiva started to run in fear andthe demon followed. No one knew what to do until Vishnu came to the rescue.

Vishnu disgused himself and appeared before Vrika. What is the matter?, he asked.

The asura told him the story.

Shiva, exclaimed Vishnu. Who believes in Shiva and his boons? They are all lies, theynever come true. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you put your hand on your ownhead and see? Nothing will happen.

The stupid asura did as Vishnu had him to do and, of course, died. Shiva wasprofundly relieved.

The Test

The sages once wanted to find out who was supreme in the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnuand Shiva. They sent Brhrigu to conduct an experiment.

Bhrigu was also Brahma’s son. He first went to visit Brahma, but did not bow downbefore him. Brahma’s anger was aroused, but since Bhrigu happened to be his son, hecontrolled his temper.



Bhrigu next went to Kailasa to visit Shiva. Shiva got up to embrace him but Bhrigustarted to shout at Shiva. This so angered Shiva that he took up his trident to killBhrigu. Parvati, however, managed to calm Shiva down.

Bhrigu now went to Vaikuntha and discovered that Vishnu was sleeping. He kicked thesleeping Vishnu on his chest. Vishnu woke up and said, Brahmana, I am gratified thatyou have come to visit me. Are you well? Stay here for a while and be my guest. Yourkick has freed me from all my sins. From now on I shall bear the mark of your feet onmy chest.

When Brhrigu reported the result of his experiment, the sages concluded that Vishnuwas the supreme god of the Trinity.

The Curse on the Yadavas

There was a place of pilgrimage known as Pindaraka. One day, several Yadava youthswere playing there when a group of sages arrived. The youths dressed up Samba as awoman and brought him to the sages. Sages, they said, You know everything. Pleasetell us whether this woman will indeed give birth to a son.

The sages saw through the game and were very annoyed. Stupid young men, theyreplied, Samba will give birth to a club and that club will lead to the destruction fo allthe Yadavas.

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When the sages went away, the Yadavas discovered a club (mushala) inside Samba’sclothing. Fearing the consequences of what they had done, they took the club home toDvaraka and related the incident to king Ugrasena. The king ordered that the iron clubshould be pulverised into dust and the dust scattered in the waters of the ocean. A smallpiece of the club did not get pulverised.

This was swallowed by a fish and the fish was later caught by a fishermen. Through

him, the small piece of iron went into the possession of a hunter named Jara who used itto fashion a head for his arrow.

The remaining iron dust was brought to the beach by the waves of the ocean. There,the dust developed into reeds.

Meanwhile, all sorts of ill omens were witnessed. There were earthquakes and the sunlooked blurred. Krishna called the Yadavas to him and said, I do not like all theseomens. Perhaps it is no longer safe to live in Dvaraka. Send the old men, women andchildren to the tirtha (place of pilgrimage) Shankhoddhara. And let all of us go to the

tirtha Prabhasa. We will purify ourselves there and worship the gods.

The Yadavas crossed the ocean in boats and arrived at Prabhasa. They arranged for therequire sacrifices. But destiny cannot be avoided. They got to drinking a lot of wineand lost all control of their senses. They began to fight amongst themselves and killeach other with weapons. When the weapons were exhausted, the Yadavas plucked thereeds from the beach and began to fight with those. In their hands, the reeds hardenedinto rods of iron. Thus it was that the Yadavas were destroyed.

Balarama went to the shores of the great ocean. He gave up his life there through yoga.

The sorrowful Krishna sat under a banyan tree and meditated. Jara, the hunter, wassearching for a deer that he might kill. Through the thick foliage he saw Krishna’s feetand thought that they were the ears of a deer. He therefore let loose an arrow. Andwhen he came to see if his arrow had found its mark, he discovered that he had shotKrishna by mistake.

Jara fell down at Krishna’s feet and begged for mercy. Krishna readily pardoned him.It was after all no fault of the hunter. It had all been decreed by fate.

Krishna gave up his mortal body and ascended to heaven. As soon as Krishna died, all

of Dvaraka, with the exception of Krishna’s own dwelling, was flooded by the ocean.



Gurus

Several years ago, Yadu, the ancestor of these Yadavas, met a learned young man.Where did you learn all this?, he asked the young man. Who is your guru?

You don’t need any special guru, was the answer. Look at the earth (prithivi). She is

continually hurt by the footsteps of all living beings, yet she forgives them all. Fromthe earth one can learn the art of forgiving. Look at the air (vayu). It fills all livingbeings with life, but does not get attached to any of them. From the air one can learndetachment. Look at the sky (akasha). It is not stirred by the clouds that moved acrossit. From the sky the atman can learn how no to get stirred by the senses. Look at thewater (jala). It cleans everything. From the water one can learn the virtue of purification. Look at the fire (agni), it adopts so many different forms. One learns that,like the fire, the paramatman (divine soul) can adopt many different forms. Look at themoon (chandra). It seems to wax and wane, but nothing actually happens to it. Fromthe moon you can learn that nothing actually happens to the atman. The appearancesthat mislead one are all illusions. Look at the sun (surya). It evaporates the water in the



summer, but returns it in the monsoon. Like the sun, the learned return thegratifications of the senses and do not retain them.

There are many gurus like these. One can learn from several places. There does notnecessarily have to be a formal teacher.

The Story of the Brahmana

In the land of Malava there used to be a very wealthy brahmana. He had made a lot of money from agriculture and trade. He had become addicted to material pursuits andwas also a miser. He never helped any of his relatives.

Eventually the brahmana exhausted most of his wealth, and thieves stole theremainder. The brahmana began to think about what he had done with his life andrealized that he had made a mistake. Material possessions wre nothing. The brahmanatherefore became a hermit.

He begged food for a living. He controlled his senses. And he started on a pilgrimageof the world. Thieves stole whatever meagre belongings the brahmanas still had, othersstole whatever little food he had begged. But the brahmana did not protest. He hadeven given up all conversation.



The bramana’s attempt was successful and he obtained true knowledge. One has to belike that brahmanas if one wishes to realize the nature of the brahman.

Future Dynasties and Kaliyuga

When Krishna died, the kali era started

Parikshit had heard the story of the Bhagavata Purana from the sage Shukadeva. He

now asked the sage the names of the kings who would rule in kaliyuga.

The first dynasty to rule would be the Pradyota dynasty. There would be five kings inthis dynasty and they would rule for a hundred and thirty-eight years. Then theShishunaga dynasty would take over. The ten kings of this dynasty would rule for threehundred and sixty years. A shudra named Mahapadma or Nanda would become kingnext. The Nanda dynasty would rule for a hundred years. Thereafter, Nanda and hiseight sons would be destroyed by a brahmana named Chanakya and Chanakya wouldmake Chandragupta the king. This would be the Mourya dynasty and the ten kings fothis dynasty would rule for a hundred and thirty-seven years.



The last king of the Mourya dynasty, Vrihadratha, would be killed by his generalPushyamitra. This would establish the Shunga dynasty and the ten kings of this dynastywould rule for more than a hundred years. Then the Kanva dynasty would rule for threehundred and forty-five years. Next would follow thirty kings of the Andhra dynastywho would reign for four hundred and fifty-six years. Many other dynasties and manyother kings would rule. But the country would be splintered. The kings would all beevil.

Evil is a characteristic of kaliyuga. Wealth is everything to people and righteous livinghas no value. Might becomes right. Trade means cheating. In the courts the poor obtainno justice. People sport long hair. Nepotism and corruption prevail. The kings arethieves and robbers. Cows are as small as goats and trees are as small as bushes.Famine and starvation prevail everywhere.

But Kalki will arrive to put an end to kaliyuga and establish a new satyayauga. He willbe born in a village named Shambhala, as the son of the brahmana Vishnuyasha.

Shukadeva also informed Parikshit that one thousand, one hundred, and fifteen yearswould elapse from the date of Parikshits’s birth tothe date of Mahapadma Nanda’scoronation.

The Snake

You must have forgotten by now that Parikshit had been cursed that he would be bittento death by a snake named takshaka.

Having heard the Bhagavata Purana. Parikshit worshipped Shukadeva. He told the

sage that he was no longer frightened of being bitten to death by a snake. He had learntthe nature of the atman and the brahman. When Shukadeva left, Parikshit sat down andbegan to meditate. Takshaka disguised himself as a brahman in order to get near theking. He then bit the king and Parikshit died.

Parikshit’s son Janmejaya was furious. He resolved to perform a snake sacrifice (sarpayajna) at which all the snakes would be killed. They would be consumed in the fire of the yajna. Takshaka fled to Indra for protection.

Janmejaya finally stopped the sacrifice when Brihaspati interceded on behalf of the

snakes.



Virtues of the Bhagavata Purana

The Bhagavata Purana is the most sacred of the Puranas. It is to other Puranas what theGanga is to rivers, Vishnu to gods and the city of Kashi to tirthas. Those who aredevoted to Vishnu love this Purana. It is a text that should be studied, heard andcontemplated with great care. In the month of Bhadra it should be placed on a goldenthrone and donated. The person who does this acquires everlasting punya. The otherPuranas are appreciated only by those who do not know about the Bhagavata Purana.

After having read the Purana, we bow down in obeisance before the great Lord Vishnu.

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