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2024-03-29, 3:42 AM |
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Chapter
9: The Lord
Appears as a Beautiful Woman to Distribute the Nectar
(1)
S'rî S'uka said: 'When the Asuras
were snatching the nectar away from each other, they, tossing it to and
fro, thus behaving like thieves grew very inimical. Then they saw [the Lord in the form of] a
woman [called Mohinî-mûrti] coming their way. (2) 'What a figure, what a grace and youthfulness!' so they
said
hasting to get Her attention while their hearts were aching to sleep
with Her. (3) 'Who are You with Your lotus petal eyes?
Where do You come from and why did You come here? To whom do You belong, oh You who with Your beautiful thighs upset our minds,
please tell us! (4)
Neither we, nor any immortal one, demon, perfected soul, creature of
heaven, venerable one or any ruler
of
the
universe
has ever laid
hands on You and known You, not to mention any normal human being. (5) Oh may providence be praised for sending You with Your beautiful eyebrows!
Is Your mercy not there to bring
that what
pleases the senses and mind of all who are of flesh and blood? (6)
Oh smashing lady, are You
maybe there
as our fortune to settle the mounting differences between us family
members who are increasingly inimical with each other over this one
issue [of the nectar] oh You slim beauty? (7) Can
You please see to it that [the
nectar] justly, without any
partiality, is divided among us, the able and competent brothers who are the
descendants of Kas'yapa?'
(8) Looking at them with a smile and enchanting glances, the illusion of feminine beauty that was an
incarnation of the Lord, thus
being requested spoke the following words to the Daityas. (9)
The Supreme Lord said: 'How
can it be
that all of you descendants of Kas'yapa, put faith in associating with
a woman who runs after men as I do, for to be enamored with women is
something one never finds with men of wisdom! (10)
Oh enemies of the Suras, the wise agree that jackals and unchaste women
who are fickle
in their relationships, [always] look for a new, fresh mate.'
(11) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus joking with them all
the Asuras laughing felt comforted by Her and with a serious
expression on their face handed over the jar of
nectar. (12) When
the Lord took hold of the amrit
container He with an alluring, teasi ng smile spoke the words: 'If you
promise to accept Me whether I act honestly or not, I will divide
this nectar.' (13) Having
heard
what
She
said
the
chiefs
of
the
Asuras
without
giving it further
thought, assented to it and said: 'So be it!' (14-15) They
observed a fast, bathed, offered
oblations of ghee into the fire, were of charity for the cows, the
brahmins and many others, performed ceremonies according to the
brahminical precepts, dressed up to their taste in new clothes, put on
jewelry and next together sat down on seats of kus'a grass laid down in
the eastern direction. (16-17) When the Suras and
Daityas,
all with their faces [also] turned eastward, dressed up with
garlands sat down with lamps in an arena full of incense smoke, She entered
there holding the container oh ruler of man. With Her
youthful, restless eyes, the sounds of Her tinkling ankle bells and Her
jug-like breasts striding slowly, She wore a beautiful sari around Her
wide
hips and elephant trunk-like thighs. (18) Looking at Her, the Lord
Supreme who with golden earrings, charming ears, nose, cheeks and face
posed as a girlfriend of the Goddess, they were all enchanted by the
way
she with a smile glanced at them while Her sari was slightly waving
over Her breasts. (19) Considering it a
miscalculation to give the nectar
to the demons who are as cruel
as snakes, the
Infallible One did not divide it.
(20) Arranging
a
different line for every group separately, the Master of
the Universe let
each of them orderly occupy a position at his own side. (21) Carrying
the
container
the Lord deceived
the Daityas with sweet words and made the ones sitting at a distance [opposite
of them - the Suras] drink from the nectar that would free them from
old age, death
and disability. (22) The
Asuras considering it an
abomination to fight with a woman,
out of their
feelings for Her according to
their
promise kept themselves in check oh King and remained silent.
(23) Out
of fear to break the bond of friendship with Her they, moved by the
greatest respect, all felt obliged and said not the slightest
thing that would displease Her. (24) He who darkens
the luminaries [Râhu] dressed himself up like one of the demigods
and
sat among them to drink from the nectar but he was, by sun and
moon [the divinity of the ego and feeling he eclipses], quickly
detected. (25) The
moment Râhu drank from the nectar his head was cut off
by the razor sharp cakra of
the Lord. The decapitated
body that was not
touched by the nectar, fell
dead to the ground. (26) But the head thus attained
immortality and was by Lord Brahmâ recognized as a
planet. It is that very Râhu that at times [e.g. during the
changes of
the moon] inimically represses the [light of the] sun and the moon [see
also 5.24:
1-3, 6.6:
37 and 6.18: 12-14].
(27) When the godly ones were almost done drinking
from the nectar, the Supreme Lord Hari, the well-wisher of all
the worlds, revealed His
original form [once more] in the
presence of all the Asuras and their leaders. (28) Although
the
Suras
and
Asuras
were
thus
unified
in
respect
of
the same place,
time, objective, cause, activities and ambition, they did not achieve
the same result. The God-minded ones easily achieved the nectar
with it because the benediction of the saffron dust of the
lotus feet was theirs, but that was not the case with the Daityas
[compare B.G. 4:
11]. (29) Whatever
that
is
done
for
the
sake
of
one's
own
life
and welfare, are human activities, ideas and words in
relation to one's body and family that are all transient [asat,
'untrue']. They together constitute one's separateness. But the same
truly becomes something factual and
permanent when it is not done in separation [when it is not without
devotion unto Him], for then they result in what one calls the
'watering of the root', those actions that are beneficial to everyone
[see 8.5: 49 and B.G. 3: 10].'
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