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2024-04-23, 11:08 PM |
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Chapter
6: The Suras
and Asuras Declare a Truce
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'Oh King, the Supreme Lord Hari,
the Controller, thus being glorified by the godly ones then appeared
before them with an effulgence of a thousand rising suns. (2) For
that reason the vision
of the demigods was blocked that very moment. They could not see each
other any longer, nor see anything in any direction, neither in the sky
nor on
the land, not to mention the Almighty One Himself. (3-7) The
moment the Supreme Lord Viriñca [Brahmâ] and Lord S'iva
discerned His immaculate
appearance that was as beautiful
as a dark gem, when they saw [the white of] His eyes as pink as a lotus
heart, His yellow silken dress that shone like molten gold,
the great
beauty and grace of all His limbs, the cheeks of His enchanting face, His smile, His beautiful eyebrows and the attractive arrangement of His jeweled
helmet, the decoration of all His ornaments, the light from
His earrings, His belt and bangles,
His necklace and ankle bells, the Kaustubha gem on
His chest that moved with S'rî
Lakshmî, His flower
garlands
and His cakra discus and other weapons pleasing Him in their
personal forms, all the
immortals
together with the Supreme Personality of Destruction [S'iva] prostrated before Him. The master of all the gods [Brahmâ], then worshiped Him
[as follows].
(8) S'rî
Brahmâ said: 'The One
who never took His birth but always makes His appearance, the One free
from the modes of nature, that
ocean of bliss beyond all existence, He smaller than an atom whose form
can never be conceived, You the Supreme Authority, we time and again
offer our obeisances [see also B.G. 4:
6]. (9) This
form of You, oh Best of all Persons, is worshipable and auspicious to
all who in their yoga practice are striving in accordance with the
Vedic
directions of the Tantras
[specific Vedic treatises]. Oh Supreme Director, we can see us together
with the three worlds in You, in Your form of the universe. (10)
This framework of the soul
has its
beginning in You, its middle in You and its end in You. You as the
beginning, the middle and the end of the universe are like the earth
that is the ruling element of an earthen pot. (11) This universe
entirely depending on You, that You by means of Your deluding material
energy have created, this universe that generated from You and of which
You are the shelter, You have entered. Developed minds connected to You and who are versed in the scriptures see from a spiritual perspective
that while
[physically speaking] a
transformation of the three modes takes place You nevertheless are not
determined
by those modes. (12) People
who by their practice of yoga are intelligent with the modes of nature,
will, so confirm the scholars, attain You the way one obtains
fire from wood, the nectar of milk from cows, food grains and water
from the earth and a livelihood from endeavoring. (13)
Now that we
today see
You apppear before us in the full of Your glory as the Master with the
Lotus Navel for whom we longed such a long time, we have attained our
goal to see the supreme of happiness, like being elephants who, in
distress because of a forest fire, reach the water of the Ganges. (14)
About what
could we
inform You who are the witness of all and everything? Please, oh
great Soul present within and without, can You for us, the rulers of
the entire universe, do that for which we have sought Your lotus feet? (15)
I, he
from the mountain [S'iva], the
enlightened souls and those led by founding fathers like Daksha, are
like sparks in relation to the
fire that You are. How can we independently from You arrive at
understanding oh my Lord? Kindly bestow upon us the good fortune of the
mantras for the demigods and the brahmins.'
(16) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus being worshiped by
the godly ones lead by Viriñca [Brahmâ], He understanding
their hearts,
replied with a voice rumbling
like the clouds the ones
who with folded hands were holding their breath. (17)
Even
though the
Lord independently could perform the duties of all the God-conscious
ones together, He as their Lord and Master wanted to enjoy the
pastime
of churning the ocean and [therefore] spoke [as follows] to them. (18) The
Supreme
Lord
said: 'Listen oh Brahmâ and S'iva, oh gods, to what I am going to
tell
you. All of you listen attentively, for that will assure you Suras of the ultimate happiness. (19) Just
settle temporarily for the blessings You will receive from making a
truce with the Daityas and
Danavas who presently have the time on their side. (20)
Oh gods, if it is
important to one's duties one should even make terms with one's
enemies,
like a snake would do with a mouse, depending the position he
is in [*]. (21)
Forthwith endeavor for producing the nectar drinking which any
living entity in mortal danger can become immortal. (22-33) Cast all kinds of creepers, grasses,
vegetables and herbs into the ocean of milk and attentively engage with My help oh gods,
in churning using Vâsuki [the snake] for the rope and the
mountain
Mandara for the churning rod. It will engage your Daitya opponents, but
you will reap the fruit of that activity [the nectar]. (24)
Do not get angry about it, because to engage in peace is the best way
to attain all one's goals. Accept therefore
everything that the Asuras
demand oh Suras. (25) Do not fear
the kâlakûtha ['false time'] poison that
will appear from the ocean of milk, and take care not to be led by
greed, lust or anger with the result of the churning.'
(26) S'rî S'uka said: 'After the Almighty Lord
thus had advised the demigods, the Supreme Personality, the Controller
moving at His pleasure, disappeared
from sight oh King. (27) Upon
having offered Him, the Supreme
Lord their obeisances, the Great Father and Lord Bhava [S'iva] returned to their abodes. The Suras then
approached King Bali. (28) The honorable ruler of the Daityas [King
Bali] saw that, even though his
captains stood prepared, their [divine] enemies had no plans to fight
against them and thus
he held them back. He knew when it was time to fight and when it
was time for negotiations.
(29)
They together approached the son of Virocana [Bali] who sat before
them, he who,
well protected by the Asura commanders, as the conqueror of all
the worlds was blessed with great opulence. (30)
The great Indra pleased him
with
friendly words to the best of his ability and submitted with great
intelligence to him all that they had learned from
the Supreme Personality. (31) That
was [politically spoken] all very acceptable to both the Daitya ruler
and the other Asura chiefs S'ambara, Arishthanemi and the rest
of
the inhabitants of Tripura. (32) Next having decided to be friendly with each
other, they, Deva
and Asura, embarked on the supreme enterprise of churning for the
nectar, oh
chastiser of the enemies. (33)
For that purpose they
with great force and loud cries uprooted Mandara
Mountain, embraced it firmly and brought it to the ocean. (34)
Carrying the load over a great
distance Indra and the son of
Virocana being
fatigued could not support the load any longer and dropped it on the
road. (35) The gigantic golden mountain falling down
right there crushed with its great weight many of the enlightened and
unenlightened souls. (36) Then the
Supreme Lord seated on the back of
Garuda appeared before them who had broken
their arms and legs as also their hearts. (37)
Simply glancing over the immortals and mortals who were crushed by the
falling mountain brought them back to life unscathed and free from
grief. (38) With
the greatest
ease He placed with one hand the mountain on Garuda, also mounted and
went to the ocean, surrounded by the Suras and Asuras. (39)
Unloading the
mountain from his shoulder Garuda, the greatest of all birds, went to
the waterside with it and put it down. Thereupon he was sent away by
the
Lord [so that he would not eat Vâsuki].'
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