July 2017 archive

Padmanābhāya namah

Maharishi Śounaka continued,

“Tā naḥ kīrtaya bhadraṁ te kīrtanyodāra-karmaṇaḥ

Rasajñaḥ ko nu tṛpyeta hari-līlāmṛtaṁ piban

Srihari is the Supreme Lord whose stories are worth glorifying. Please narrate His stories to us. May you be blessed with auspiciousness! Can it be possible for any person, who has once tasted the nectar called glories of Srikrishna, to ever be content with them?”

In this way in the Naimishāranya forests, Maharishi Śounaka and others questioned Maharishi Suta.

Maharishi Suta then fixed his mind upon the Lord and began, “Through His power of illusion, Srihari incarnated as a boar and restored the earth to its original position.  Playfully He killed Hiranyāksha. Vidura was thrilled to hear these stories. He then addressed Maharishi Maitreya and enquired,

“O Maharishi Maitreya! How did Lord Brahma, the father of all the Prajapati’s, expand this creation? What did He create after creating these Prajāpatis (leaders of living entities)? You are all knowing. Please explain this to me in minute detail. Secondly, Lord Brahma had ordered Marichi and other saints as well as Swayambhuva Manu to expand the creation. How did they execute the Lord’s order? Did they, together with their wives, create this universe? Or, did they create it independently? Or did they create collectively? Please explain.”

Maitreya Maharishi now began to explain the process of creation. He said, “Vidura! Due to three factors viz., Self (Puruśa), time and the collective destiny of living beings, a disturbance arose in the three attributes of Nature (trigunas). From this, Mahat tattva (cosmic intelligence) emerged.

Rajaḥ-pradhānān mahatmas tri-liṅgo daiva-coditāt

Jātaḥ sasarja bhūtādir viyad-ādīni pañcaśaḥ

Due to the Lord’s influence, from this cosmic intelligence (Mahat) which predominantly consists of attributes of action/ passion (rajo guna), ahamkara (egoism) arose. This egoism is of three kinds, viz., sattvika, rajasika and tamasika emerged. Egoism (ahamkara) was the cause behind the origin of the five elements.

From it the 5 subtle elements, 5 gross elements, 5 organs of perception, 5 organs of action and the 5 presiding deities connected to them emerged.

However none of them could individually create the universal egg (Brahmānda). Through the help of God’s energy they combined with each other and collectively created a radiant cosmic egg. For about a thousand years, this cosmic egg, floated in the waters of dissolution. It was devoid of Consciousness and movement. Thereafter the Lord entered into it.

Tasya nābher abhūt padmaṁ sahasrārkoru-dīdhiti

Sarva-jīvanikāyauko yatra svayam abhūt svarāṭ

Now from the Lord’s navel a lotus emerged which had the radiance of a 1000 Suns. This lotus is the residence for all living beings in entirety. From this lotus Lord Brahma emerged. Lord Narayana, who sleeps in the oceans of dissolution, entered into Brahma and inspired him to begin the task of creation.

Lord Brahma then created all the worlds that were composed of name and form, exactly as it was in earlier creations. Thereafter from his shadow i.e. from his spiritual ignorance (ajnana) he created 5 types of spiritual ignorance viz., tāmiśra, andha-tāmiśra, tamas, moha, mahā-tamas.

Brahma looked at his body after the creation of these 5 types of spiritual ignorance. He did not like this body which was predominantly made up of tamas (inertia) and ajnana (ignorance). Immediately he shed this body. This body transformed into night. From this night, hunger and thirst were born. Ghosts, spirits (yakshas) and demons (rakshasas) accepted this body of Brahma that was overflowing with spiritual ignorance.

Hunger and thirst that had emerged from this body began to torment these demons and ghosts. Unable to withstand these pangs of hunger they collectively decided to swallow Lord Brahma! Screaming in frenzy, “Eat him up, he doesn’t need protection”, all of them began to run towards Brahma.

Those who screamed that he should be eaten were called Yakshas. Those who declared that he doesn’t need protection (raksha) were known as Rākshasas. Seeing them, who were rushing to gobble him up, Brahma said, “O Yakshas and Rākshasās! You are all my children. Please protect me. Do not eat me up”.

Devatāḥ prabhayā yā yā dīvyan pramukhato ’sṛjat

Te ahārṣur devayanto visṛṣṭāṁ tāṁ prabhām ahaḥ

Thereafter, Brahma took on another body which was replete with traits of goodness and purity. He then created Devatas who shine with purity and goodness. Subsequently he discarded even this radiant body which then transformed into daytime. It became a shelter for all the Devatas. In great happiness, the Devatas accepted the illumination of daytime.

From his buttocks, Brahma now created asuras (a type of demons) who were very lustful in nature. Soon upon birth these asuras who were extremely lustful, demanded Lord Brahma to satisfy their sexual needs. At first Brahma laughed at them. However these shameless asuras, unable to control their sexual desire, began to chase Brahma in order to fulfill this need. In fear and in anger Brahma ran away from them.

Damodaraya namah

Padmanābhaya namah

Seeing the fallen demon Hiranyāksha, Brahma and other Devatas who had assembled there thought,

“Hiranyāksha and Hiranyakashipu were none other than Jaya and Vijaya, the personal attendants of Lord Mahavishnu. The curse of Maharishi Sanaka and others was the reason for this demonic birth. After few more such births they will return to their original positions.”

Brahma and other Devatas then pleased the Lord with their hymns,

“Namo namas te ’khila-yajña-tantave sthitau gṛhītāmala-sattva-mūrtaye

Diṣṭyā hato ’yaṁ jagatām aruntudas tvat-pāda-bhaktyā vayam īśa nirvṛtāḥ.

O Lord! You are the cause for all Yagnas (sacrificial rituals). For the well-being of the worlds, You incarnate in Your pure (satvik) form which is untainted by the three attributes of Nature (trigunas). To You, we offer many prostrations.

O Lord, You have killed this demon who was an impediment to this world. We, who serve Your lotus feet with devotion, have thus obtained happiness”.

In this and in many other ways Brahma and other Devatas profusely praised Lord Varāha for having killed Hiranyāksha. With His glance which was replete with compassion and love, Srihari looked at them. He then returned to His ever auspicious and splendorous residence of Vaikunṭha.

O Vidura! You are my dear friend. As playfully as one breaks a toy, Lord Varāha playfully destroyed the demon Hiranyāksha. I have narrated this story to you, exactly as I have heard from my teachers”.

Having narrated this story, which was in the form of a conversation between Maitreya Maharishi and Vidura, Maharishi Suta addressed Maharishi Śounaka and said,

“O great saint! Vidura, the ardent devotee of Lord Srihari, was supremely thrilled to hear these glories of the Lord.

Anyeṣāṁ puṇya-ślokānām uddāma-yaśasāṁ satām

Upaśrutya bhaven modaḥ śrīvatsāṅkasya kiṁ punaḥ

When the pure, all-pervading and well-known glories of saints are heard, they give immense happiness to the mind. This being the case, what more can be said about the joy that is attained by listening to the glory of Lord Srihari, who wears the Srivatsa mark on His chest?

When Elephant-king Gajendra was caught by a crocodile, female elephants grieved a lot. At that time, Gajendra meditated upon the lotus feet of Lord Srihari. Instantly Srihari rescued him from the clutches of the crocodile.

Worshipping Srihari is a very simple task for those devotees who, without any trace of deceit and with pure unflinching devotion, seek shelter in Him! However it is impossible for the wicked to ever worship and please Him.

Any person who realizes that his entire good-fortune is simply due to the Lord’s grace upon him will undoubtedly worship Him! He will serve Him with devotion.

Yo vai hiraṇyākṣa-vadhaṁ mahādbhutaṁ Vikrīḍitaṁ kāraṇa-sūkarātmanaḥ

Śṛṇoti gāyaty anumodate ’ñjasā Vimucyate brahma-vadhād api dvijāḥ

O great saints! For protecting the world the Supreme Lord incarnated as Varāha boar and killed the demon. He, who listens to this astonishing glory of the Lord, who glorifies and enjoys it and who ensures that these stories are narrated everywhere, will be freed from even the terrible sin of killing a Brahmin! This is undoubtedly true!

Etan mahā-puṇyam alaṁ pavitraṁ  Dhanyaṁ yaśasyaṁ padam āyur-āśiṣām

Prāṇendriyāṇāṁ yudhi śaurya-vardhanaṁ Nārāyaṇo ’nte gatir aṅga śṛṇvatām

O Vidura! This story purifies those who listen attentively to it. It blesses them with great merit. It helps them obtain wealth, fame and longevity. It fulfills all their desires. At times of war it increases the strength of the life-force (prana) and senses. Those who listen to it will reach Lord Narayana after their death”.

With this the nineteenth chapter of the third canto comes to an end.

Third Canto Chapter Twenty

In this chapter the process of creation adopted by Lord Brahma is explained.

Śounaka Maharishi enquired, “O Maharishi Suta! What were the activities of Swayambhuva Manu after the earth was restored to its original position? What were the methods adopted by him towards creation of living species? Please explain this to us.

Vidura was an ardent devotee of the Lord. He was a friend of Lord Srikrishna and had enjoyed His love. He gave up association with Duryodhana for behaving wrongly towards Srikrishna. He also gave up association with his brother Dhritarashtra for having supported the Kauravas in this matter. In greatness, Vidura was equal to his father Maharishi Vyasa. He would serve the devotees of Lord Srikrishna and would associate with them. He visited all pilgrim centres and had washed away all his impurities.

What more did he enquire from Maharishi Maitreya, when he met him at the sacred Haridwar kshetra? O Maharishi Suta! It is undoubtedly true that these two supreme beings would have discussed only stories pertaining to Lord Srikrishna. Like River Ganga, these stories of the Lord wash away the sins of the devotees to listen to them.

Tā naḥ kīrtaya bhadraṁ te kīrtanyodāra-karmaṇaḥ

Rasajñaḥ ko nu tṛpyeta hari-līlāmṛtaṁ piban

Padmanābhāya namah

Third Canto Chapter Nineteen

In this chapter, the killing of Hiranyāksha by Lord Varāha based on the prayers of Lord Brahma is covered.

Maitreya Maharishi continued, “O Vidura! Hearing the pure nectarous words uttered by Brahma, Lord Varāha with a charming smile and with a gaze that was filled with compassion, looked at Brahma and accepted his prayer.

Hiranyāksha was undefeatable. Rotating his mace violently in the air, He was approaching Lord Varāha, the Supreme Lord who had emerged from the nostrils of Lord Brahma. Finding the right opportunity, Lord Varāha jumped into the air and forcefully hit the demon on his jaw using His mace.

Using his own mace Hiranyāksha stopped the Lord’s mace and now he hit the Lord. With this Lord’s mace flew high up in the air, swirled many times before falling down.

Devatas who were witnessing this battle was deeply astounded to see the mace slipping from the Lord’s hands. They began to shout in alarm. In fact this was the right opportunity for the demon to attack the Lord who was unarmed. But yet, strictly abiding by the rules of warfare, he remained silent without attacking the Lord.

Lord Varāha was pleased with the sense of righteousness displayed by the demon. Infuriated that His mace had fallen down, the Lord instantly invoked His discus, Sudarshana chakra.

Sudarshana was eager to kill the demon. But yet, the Lord continued to combat with the demon king, who was the leader of all demons. He continued his playful activities. In great anxiety the Devatas were watching this battle from Heaven. Unable to understand His transcendental activities, they were agitated and worried. Addressing the Lord they said,

“O Lord! May You be victorious! Please destroy this demon immediately.” In varied ways they offered prayers to the Lord.

Then Varāha swamy, who has beautiful charming lotus eyes, took up His discus and stood in front of the demon. Seeing this, the mind and the limbs of the demon shook with uncontrollable agitation. Screaming violently he bit his lower lip. With eyes that indicated that he would swallow up the Lord, this demon who had ferocious tusks, looked at the Lord.

“With this you are finished”, screaming in frenzy the demon pounced upon the Lord in order to hit him with his mace. In the presence of the demon, the Lord playfully kicked the mace with his left leg. He then addressed the demon and said, “You desired to conquer Me in battle. Hence pick your weapon and try once again”.

Roaring violently Hiranyāksha picked his mace and hurled it upon the Lord. Lord Varāha continued to stand firmly in His place even as the mace was approaching Him vehemently at rapid speeds. He waited until it was near and then as playfully as an eagle catches a snake, He caught the mace.

When his valour was thus challenged, Hiranyāksha’s ego took a beating. His face turned lusterless. The Lord then returned the mace to the demon. However the demon was reluctant to take it back. Just as a wicked person would resort to malicious deeds in order to destroy a noble Brahmin, the demon took up a trident to kill Lord Varāha, the personification of Yagna.

The 3 spokes of the trident were emitting fiery flames that appeared as to swallow everything. When the demon vehemently hurled this trident, it flew towards the Lord vomiting huge sparks. Lord Varaha directed his discus towards the trident. As playfully as Indra cut off a feather from Garuda’s wing, Varaha swamy through His discus, shred the trident into innumerable pieces.

With this Hiranyaksha’s wrath further intensified. Roaring loudly in mad frenzy he ran towards the Lord and hit Him on His chest, the residence of Goddess Lakshmi, with his fists and then magically vanished.

Lord Varāha did not budge even slightly with this violent harsh attack. Hitting Varāha Swamy with fists was like hitting an elephant with a flower garland. Now this demon resorted to varied fearful conjuring tricks to defeat the Lord. Those who witnessed these fearsome events feared for the safety of the world.

With his illusory powers, he caused violent gale winds that created huge dust storms as they blew forcefully. Everything was enveloped in darkness. From every corner it rained stones. Skies were covered with thick black clouds that were accompanied by thunder and lightning. Star constellations disappeared from view. These clouds rained pus, hair, blood, bones, urine and fecal matter.

Mountains discharged powerful weapons of every kind. Naked demonesses with their hair left loose and holding tridents were seen at different places. Foot soldiers, warriors mounted on horses, elephants and chariots, many cruel yakshas and demons were screaming horrendously in many places.

Prāduṣkṛtānāṁ māyānām āsurīṇāṁ vināśayat

Sudarśanāstraṁ bhagavān prāyuṅkta dayitaṁ tri-pāt

Lord Varāha, who has Yagna composed of three pādas as His form, having decided to bring to an end the illusion created by Hiranyāksha, now discharged His favorite weapon, the discus.

Exactly at that moment, Diti remembered the prediction her husband Maharishi Kashyapa had previously made. She shivered. Blood flowed from her breasts. The Lord’s discus shred the illusion created by the demon. With his illusion shattered, the demon was now uncontrollably enraged and in fury he madly rushed towards the Lord tried to hold Him within his arms and crush Him. However the Lord dodged him.

Now he tried to hit the Lord with his fists that were like hard diamonds. The Lord in turn hit Hiranyāksha mildly on his jaw just as Indra hit demon Vrittasura.

Lord Varaha, the conqueror of worlds, did not hit Hiranyāksha with all His might. It was a mild blow, but yet this mild blow caused the demon to spin round and round. His eyeballs popped out. His hands and legs were broken. His hair was scattered and like a huge tree uprooted due to volcanic winds, he dropped dead to the ground. This was the end of the undefeatable Hiranyāksha.

The tusks of this mighty demon instilled fear even when he dead. His lower lip had been bitten due to his fury. Seeing him, Brahma and other Devatas who had assembled there thought,

“Aha! How astonishing! Who can be so fortunate to meet death in this fashion? Great Yogis, who seek liberation from their causal bodies, eternally fix their mind with unflinching devotion upon this Supreme Lord and meditate. This demon was fortunate to have been kicked by such Lord. He gave up his life while gazing at the Lord’s face. What more can be said of his fortune?

Hiranyāksha and Hiranyakashipu were none other than Jaya and Vijaya, the personal attendants of Lord Mahavishnu. The curse of Maharishi Sanaka and others was the reason for this demonic birth. After few more such births they will return to their original positions”.

Brahma and other Maharishis now glorified the Lord.

Sridharāya Namah