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2024-04-27, 6:59 AM |
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Chapter
12: Vritrâsura's
Glorious
Death
(1) The honorable rishi said: 'He [Vritrâsura] who thus eager
to give up his body oh ruler of man, considered dying in battle better
than a victory in thought, took up his trident
and attacked Indra, the king of the demigods, the way Kaithabha attacked the Supreme
Personality when the world was inundated. (2)
Like the fire at the end of the yuga the King of the Demons
with great force hurled the sharp pointed trident
twirling at the great Indra while he in great
anger loudly roared: 'Dead you
are thou sinner!'
(3) Even though the sight of the
rotating trident flying towards him like a star falling from the sky was difficult
to bear, it didn't
scare
Indra.
He
with
his
thunderbolt
cut
it,
together with the arm of Vritra that resembled
the
body of the serpent king, in a hundred pieces. (4)
With one arm missing he
angrily took up his
mace of iron against the
thunderbolt and approaching Indra and his elephant with it struck him on the jaw so
that the thunderbolt slipped from
the hand of the generous one. (5)
That grand
and
wonderful accomplishment of Vritra was praised by the gods and the
demons, the heavenly singers and the association of the perfected ones,
but seeing that Indra was in danger, they sincerely lamented 'Alas,
oh alas!' (6)
With Indra his
enemy in front of him not taking up his thunderbolt being embarrassed that it had
slipped from his hands,
Vritrâsura said: 'Oh lord
take up your
thunderbolt and kill your enemy, this is no time for regrets. (7)
Except
for the One of creation, annihilation and maintenance, the Lord
who knows everything, the Original and Eternal Person, those who desiring to fight
sometimes gather with their arms are not always assured of a victory.
(8) Like birds
caught in a net, all worlds and their rulers sigh powerlessly under the
time factor that is the cause out here. (9)
People not aware of that
[time factor, Him, the Lord of Time, the] strength of our
senses, mind, body, life force, death ànd
immortality, consider their indifferent body the cause. (1o) Oh
sir
[dear Indra], please understand that all things thus oh generous one,
just like
a wooden doll [a 'woman made of wood'] or a cuddly animal [of 'straw
and
leaves'], depend on Îs'a [the Power, the Lord and master of Time
constituting their life and coherence]. (11) Without
His
mercy
the person [the purusha],
the
material
energy
[prakriti], the manifest reality [mahat-tattva], the self [or false ego, âtmâ or ahankara], the elements [bhûtas],
the senses [of action and
perception the indryas] and what belongs to them [the mind - manas,
intelligence - buddhi and
consciousness - cit] are not
capable
of
bringing
about
anything
or do
whatever [like maintenance and destruction]. (12) Not
knowing [the Lord, the
time factor] one considers oneself - despite of being fully dependent -
to be the one in
control, but it is He who creates beings by other living beings and it
is He who devours them through others. (13) The
blessings of longevity, opulence, fame and power arise when the time is
ripe [His time], just as the opposite is found without
having chosen for it. (14) Therefore
one
should
be equal about fame and infamy,
victory and defeat, misery and happiness and
dying and living [see also B.G. 6: 7 & 12: 17]. (15)
[The modes of] goodness,
passion and
ignorance are found in material nature,
they are not the qualities of the spiritual soul. He who knows the
soul as the one in the position of the witness will be free
from bondage [compare B.G.
18:
54]. (16)
Look at me, defeated in battle with my weapon and arm cut off oh enemy,
I'm still trying the best I can to take your life. (17) In the game of this battle our lives are the stakes, the arrows are the dice,
our
carriers are the
game board and it is not known who will win and who will lose.'
(18) S'rî S'uka said: 'King Indra hearing the
straightforward, reverent words of Vritra, took up the thunderbolt and
addressed him with a smile without further wondering [about what he had
said]. (19) Indra
said: 'Oh
Dânava, with this kind of consciousness you've attained
perfection. You're a devotee perfectly focussed on the Supersoul who
is the greatest friend and the Ruler of the Universe [see B.G. 6: 20-23]. (20)
You managed to surmount the mâyâ of Lord Vishnu
which deludes the common
man. In your
giving up the asura mentality, you've obtained the position
of an exalted devotee [see 2.4:
18]. (21) It is truly a great miracle to see
how you as someone driven by passion, now being in Vâsudeva, the
Supreme Lord of pure goodness, have a
strong consciousness! [see also Vritra's prayer 6.11:
25]. (22)
Being
devoted to the Supreme Lord Hari, the
bestower
of
beatitude,
you're swimming in
an ocean of nectar. What's the use of small ditches of water [for someone like you]?'
(23) S'rî
S'uka said: 'Thus having discussed the ins and outs of dharma oh
King, the great commanders Indra and Vritra who were well matched,
fought [again]. (24) Whirling
dangerously
with his iron club Vritra, [who saw a chance] to subdue his
enemy, with his left hand hurled it at Indra, oh best of
kings. (25) But the demigod cut with the S'ataparvanâ [the 'hundred
hooked'] thunderbolt simultaneously the club and
the hand to pieces that was as strong as an elephant's trunk. (26)
Being struck by [Indra] the
carrier of the
bolt he, profusely bleeding with the wings of his arms
cut off by the
root [from his trunk], fell from the sky like a mountain. (27-29) Because of his great life force and uncommon prowess the
demon [was able to] put his lower jaw on
the ground and his upper jaw in the sky so that his mouth became a huge
opening.
With his tongue and teeth he, resembling a fearful snake, seemed to
devour, as if he
were time itself, the three worlds with his preposterous body. Pounding
and
shaking
the earth he then moved his feet
as if they were the
Himalayas, whereupon he having reached Indra like a python swallowed him
together with his thunderbolt and elephant.
(30)
Seeing him swallowed by Vritra all the demigods together with the
founding fathers and the great sages in great grief lamented:
'Alas,
what
a
misery!'
(31) Even though he was
swallowed by the king of the demons he didn't die in his belly,
because he arriving there was protected by the Supreme Personality as
also by his own power of yoga to master the illusion [see S.B. 6.8]. (32)
The slayer of
Bala, the mighty one, got out by
piercing the abdomen with his thunderbolt and then with great
force cut off the head of the enemy that was as big as a mountain peak.
(33) But when the
thunderbolt, in order to sever the head, in its entirety quickly
revolved around the neck to cut it through, it took as many days as it
takes the luminaries to move over both
sides of the equator to reach the time that it fell. (34)
At that very moment in the
sky
the sound could be heard of the kettledrums of the
denizens of heaven and the perfected ones. Together with the
saintly ones who had gathered they celebrated the prowess of the victor
[Indra] by joyously
praising him with various mantras and a shower of flowers. (35)
From Vritrâsura's body the
light of his soul rose up oh subduer of the enemies, that before the
eyes of
all
the gods achieved the supreme abode.'
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