Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (13 page)

‘“Agastya gave the rajarshis permission to leave. Then the sage did all that Lopamudra had desired. Lopamudra said, ‘O illustrious one! You have done everything that I had desired. Now beget on me a son who is supreme in valour.’ Agastya replied, ‘O fortunate one! O beautiful one! I am pleased with your conduct. Listen as I tell you what I am thinking about the offspring. You can have a thousand sons, or a hundred equal to ten each, or ten equal to a hundred each, or one equal to a thousand.’ Lopamudra said, ‘O one rich in austerities! Let me have one son who is equal to one thousand. One learned and virtuous son is superior to many who are not righteous.’ The sage promised that it would be that way. At the right time, he faithfully united with his wife, who was his equal in conduct and devotion. When the embryo had been conceived, he went away to the forest. When he had left for the forest, the embryo developed for seven autumns. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When the seventh year had passed, an immensely wise son was born. He blazed in his powers and his name was Dridhasyu. That great and energetic rishi became that rishi’s
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son. The immensely famous one issued forth, as if reciting the Vedas and the Upanishads and their branches. Even as a child, that energetic one used to carry loads of kindling in his father’s house and thus came to have the name of Idhmavaha.
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On seeing him thus endowed, the sage was delighted. O king! Thus did the ancestors obtain the worlds they desired. This is Agastya’s famous hermitage, adorned everywhere with flowers. This is where Vatapi of Prahrada’s lineage was destroyed by Agastya. O king! His hermitage is beautiful and possesses all the qualities. You should bathe as you wish in this sacred Bhagirathi.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “O supreme among brahmanas! I wish to hear about that wise maharshi. Tell me in detail about Agastya’s deeds.”

‘Lomasha replied, “O king! O great king! Then listen to his divine, extraordinary and superhuman account, Agastya’s powers and his infinite soul. In Krita yuga,
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there were some terrible danavas, invincible in battle. There were masses of them, famous as the Kaleyas, and they were extremely terrible. Arming themselves with many upraised weapons, they placed themselves under Vritra. They pursued the gods, led by the great Indra, everywhere. In ancient times, the thirty gods decided to act so that Vritra might be killed. Placing Purandara
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at the forefront, they approached Brahma. On seeing all of them, their hands joined in salutation, Parameshthi
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said, ‘O gods! I know the task that all of you wish to undertake. I will tell you the means whereby you can ensure Vritra’s killing. There is a famous, great and wise rishi by the name of Dadhicha. Together, go to him and ask him for a boon. The one with dharma in his soul and virtue in his mind will happily grant it to you. If you wish for victory, all of you must tell him these words. “For the welfare of the three worlds, give us your bones.” He will give up his body and give his bones to you. With those bones, fashion the firm and greatly terrible vajra. It will be large, capable of killing enemies. It will be sharp and will have six sides. It will make a terrible sound. With that vajra, Shatakratu will kill Vritra. I have told you everything. Do this without delay.’ Having been thus addressed, the gods took their leave of the grandfather.

‘“With Narayana at the forefront, they went to Dadhicha’s hermitage. It was on the other bank of the Sarasvati and covered with many trees and creepers. It resounded with the sound of bees, as if they were chanting sama hymns. This mixed with the sound of
male cuckoos and was alive with the noise of
chakora
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birds. Buffaloes, boars, swamp deer and yaks roamed everywhere, without the fear of tigers. Male elephants, with juices flowing down their burst temples, sported with female ones in the ponds and thundered in every direction. The place echoed with the giant roars of lions and tigers. There were others that were hidden in caves and caverns. The place was extremely beautifully adorned with these and was like heaven. It was to this hermitage of Dadhicha’s that the thirty gods went.

‘“They saw Dadhicha there, as radiant as the sun. His beauty was resplendent, like the grandfather with Lakshmi. O king! The gods bowed in obeisance at his feet and saluted him. Then all of them asked for the boon, as Parameshthi had asked them to. At this, Dadhicha was extremely delighted. He addressed the supreme gods and said, ‘O gods! I will act today for your welfare. For your sake, I will myself give up my body.’ Having spoken thus, that best of men, in control of his breath of life, gave up his life. As they had been instructed, the gods collected the bones of the dead one. Delighted at the prospect of victory, the gods went to Tvashtar
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and spoke to him. On hearing their words, Tvashtar was happy and began to work, carefully and diligently. He created the vajra, extremely terrible in appearance. Having constructed it, he happily told Shakra, ‘O god! This vajra, the best of weapons, will today reduce to ashes the terrible enemies of the gods. Therefore, kill the enemy and having done that, happily live in heaven with your companions.’ Having been thus addressed by Tvashtar, Purandara cheerfully and respectfully accepted the vajra.”’

‘Lomasha said, “Then the wielder of the vajra, protected by the strength of the gods, attacked Vritra, who had then covered
heaven and earth.
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He was protected on all sides by the gigantic Kalakeyas. With their upraised weapons, they looked like mountains with peaks. O best of the Bharata lineage! In an instant, a great battle, terrorising the worlds, began between the gods and the danavas. Upraised swords clashed, wielded by the arms of warriors and directed at each other’s bodies, creating a great sound. O lord of the earth! Heads descended from the sky onto the ground and looked like palm fruit loosened from their stalks. Clad in golden armour and armed with maces, the Kaleyas
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rushed at the thirty gods, like mountains on fire. Unable to withstand the force of this onslaught, the thirty gods broke their ranks and fled in fear. On seeing them fly in fear and Vritra increasing in power, the thousand-eyed Purandara was greatly overcome by fear. On seeing Shakra afflicted with fear, the eternal Vishnu increased his strength by giving him a share of his own energy. Having seen Shakra thus protected by Vishnu, all the masses of gods and the unblemished brahmarshis gave him their own energy. Thus empowered by Vishnu, the gods and the immensely fortunate rishis, Shakra increased in strength. On knowing that the lord of the thirty gods had been strengthened, Vritra let out giant roars. The earth, the directions, the sky, heaven and all the mountains began to tremble at this roar.

‘“On hearing that terrible and great roar, the great Indra was struck with extreme grief. O king! Immersed in fear, he swiftly unleashed the great vajra, so as to kill him. Struck by Shakra’s vajra, the giant asura, wearing a golden garland, fell down, like the giant mountain Mandara in ancient times, when released from Vishnu’s hand.
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The supreme daitya was killed. But out of fear, Shakra fled and sought refuge in a lake.
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In his fear, he refused to believe that
his hand had released the vajra. In his fear, he refused to believe that Vritra was dead. All the gods were happy and delighted. The maharshis chanted Indra’s praises. The gods assembled together and swiftly began to kill all the daityas, who were tormented at Vritra’s death. They were killed by the thirty gods. In their fear, they entered the waves of the ocean and the infinite depths of the ocean, frequented by large fishes and full of gems. There they plotted and conspired about the destruction of the three worlds. Some smiled. Others were wise in suggesting courses of action, each according to his inclination. In due course of time, they arrived at the terrible decision that the first act should be to destroy all virtuous and learned ones and those who were ascetics. ‘All the worlds are supported by austerities. Therefore, austerities must swiftly be destroyed. Whatever virtuous ones exist on earth, ascetics, knowledgeable in dharma and wise, their slaughter must swiftly be ensured. When they are destroyed, the world will be destroyed.’ Having thus arrived at this decision of destroying the world, all of them were extremely happy. Varuna’s abode was full of jewels. They made it their citadel, among the giant waves.”’

‘Lomasha said, “When they had sought refuge in the ocean that was Varuna’s abode, the Kaleyas began to act for the destruction of the three worlds. In their wrath, in the night, they always devoured sages and virtuous ones in hermitages and sacred places. In Vasishtha’s hermitage, the evil-souled ones devoured one hundred and eighty-eight brahmanas and nine other ascetics. On going to Chyavana’s sacred hermitage, frequented by brahmanas, they devoured one hundred sages who lived on fruit and roots. They thus acted during the night. During the day, they entered the ocean. In Bharadvaja’s hermitage, they destroyed twenty brahmacharis who lived on air and water. In this way, one after another, the danavas
destroyed all the hermitages. Intoxicated by the strength of their arms and overcome by destiny, the Kaleyas chased and killed many masses of brahmanas in the night. O supreme among men! Nevertheless, though the daityas acted in this way towards hermits and ascetics, men did not know this. In the morning, the bodies of sages, emaciated from restrained diets, would be seen, lifeless on the ground. The earth was full of bodies without flesh, without blood, without marrow and without entrails, with masses of bones strewn like conch shells. The earth was covered with broken sacrificial pots and ladles and the remains of agnihotra sacrifices. Oppressed by the fear of the Kaleyas, the world lost all enterprise. Studying of the Vedas and the uttering of exclamations at the time of making oblations ceased. Sacrifices and rituals were destroyed.

‘“O lord of men! When men began to decay in this fashion, they were scared and in an attempt to save themselves, fled in all the directions. Some entered caves and others hid behind waterfalls. Still others were so anxious about death that they lost their lives out of fear. There were those who were brave and great archers. In great pride and with great care, they tried to hunt down the danavas. But they could not find them, because they had sought shelter in the ocean. Failing to find them, they were destroyed because of the exhaustion. O lord of men! The world neared destruction and all sacrifices and rituals were destroyed. The thirty gods were extremely distressed. With the great Indra, they assembled and consulted each other out of fear. They worshipped the unvanquished Vaikuntha
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Narayana and sought refuge with him. Then the assembled gods spoke to Madhusudana, ‘O lord! You are the creator, the sustainer and the protector. You are the world. You are the creator of everything, with limbs and without limbs.
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O lotus-eyed one! In earlier times, when the earth was destroyed, for the welfare of the world, you raised it up, in the form of a boar.
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O supreme among beings! In ancient
times, you destroyed the extremely valorous and ancient daitya Hiranyakashipu in the form of
narasimha
.
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The great asura Bali was incapable of being killed by all beings. In the form of a dwarf, you expelled him from the three worlds.
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The asura who was a great archer was famous by the name of Jambha.
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He was cruel and the obstructor of sacrifices and you ensured his destruction. Such are your deeds and they are too many to count. O Madhusudana! We are scared and frightened and you are our refuge. O god! O lord of the gods! It is for this reason and for the welfare of the world that we are bringing this to your notice. Protect the worlds, the gods and Shakra from this great fear.’”’

‘“The gods said, ‘All the four types of beings
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prosper because of these favours. Having prospered, they prosper the denizens of heaven through oblations.
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Thus the different worlds prosper, each depending on the other. Through your favours, they are free from anxiety and are protected. Now this supreme fear has overtaken the worlds. We do not know who kills the brahmanas in the night. If the brahmanas decay, the earth will also decay. If the earth decays, heaven will also decay. O mighty-armed one! O lord of the universe! Through your favours, protect all the worlds, so that they do not advance towards their destruction.’

‘“Vishnu replied, ‘O gods! I know everything about the reasons behind the decay of beings. I shall tell you everything. Listen and be free of your fever. There is a famous class of extremely terrible Kaleyas. Having sought refuge with Vritra, they oppressed the entire universe. On seeing Vritra killed by the wise one with the thousand eyes,
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they have entered Varuna’s abode, so as to save their lives. Having entered the terrible ocean, infested with crocodiles and sharks, they kill the sages by night, with the intention of destroying the worlds. But they cannot be destroyed, since they have sought refuge in the ocean. You should therefore set your minds on destroying the ocean. But except Agastya, who is capable of drying up the ocean?’”

‘Lomasha said, “On hearing Vishnu’s words about drying up the ocean, the gods took Parameshthi’s
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leave and went to Agastya’s hermitage. There they saw Varuna’s great-souled son blazing in his energy. He was being worshipped by the rishis, just as the grandfather is by the gods. Going to the great-souled and undecaying son of Mitra and Varuna, seated in his hermitage among the mass of his austere deeds, the gods recited his praises. The gods said, ‘In ancient times, you were the refuge of the worlds when they were oppressed by Nahusha. For the welfare of the worlds, this thorn of the worlds was removed as the lord of the gods.
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Vindhya, supreme among mountains, was angry with the sun and suddenly began to increase its height. But because it could not ignore your instructions, the mountain ceased to grow. When world was covered with darkness, all the subjects were oppressed because of their fear of death. But having obtained you as a protector, they attained the supreme objective. O illustrious one! Whenever we have been scared and frightened, you have always been our refuge. Therefore, we distressed ones are asking you for a boon. You are the granter of boons.’”’