Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (11 page)

‘Then the gods came to where Brahma, the granter of boons, was seated and said, “O Brahma! We are tired out, but the ambrosia has not yet emerged. Unless Narayana helps,
deva
s, daityas and nagas have no strength to churn the ocean any more, which has been going on for a long time.” Then Brahma spoke to the god Narayana thus: “O Vishnu! You are the last recourse. Give them divine strength.” Vishnu said, “I grant strength to all those who have devoted themselves to the task. All of you insert Mandara into the pot and turn it around.” Their strength increased on hearing Narayana’s words and together they once more mightily churned the ocean’s milk.

‘Then from the ocean arose the calm, cool and radiant moon, whose light rivalled 100,000 of the sun’s rays. Then from the ghee arose Lakshmi, dressed in pale white; then arose the goddess of wine and the white horse.
¹⁸
Then from the ghee arose the celestial jewel
koustubha
, which adorns Narayana’s breast. Directed by Aditya,
¹⁹
swift as the mind, Lakshmi, wine, the moon and the horse followed a path to where the gods were. Then arose the beautiful god Dhanvantari
²⁰
with a white pot in his hand, in which the ambrosia was. Seeing this wonderful sight, the danavas raised a great uproar for the ambrosia, saying, “It is ours.” At that, Narayana used illusion to assume the form of a beautiful woman and mixed with the danavas. Then, having lost their senses, their hearts bewitched by the woman, the danavas and the daityas gave the ambrosia to her.’

Souti said, ‘Then the daityas and the danavas assembled, grasped their best shields and many weapons and rushed at the gods. But
the powerful god Lord Vishnu, accompanied by Nara, seized the ambrosia from the chief danavas. Thereupon, in the tumultuous confusion, all the gods received the ambrosia from Vishnu and drank it. When the gods were drinking the much desired ambrosia, a danava named Rahu assumed the form of the god Budha
²¹
and began to drink it also. For the welfare of the gods, the sun and the moon informed the gods of what had happened when the ambrosia had only reached the danava’s throat. Then the great god
²²
sliced off his
²³
well-adorned head with his weapon,
chakra
,
²⁴
as he was drinking the ambrosia. Then, sliced off by the chakra, the gigantic head of the danava fell down on the ground with thunderous roars. Ever since that day, a great enmity was created between Rahu’s head and the sun and the moon and even today, he swallows them both.
²⁵

‘Then the great lord Hari
²⁶
abandoned his unparalleled feminine form and made them tremble by hurling many weapons at them. On the shores of the salty ocean thus began the greatest of terrible battles between the gods and the demons. Thousands of large and sharp spears, sharp-tipped javelins and many other weapons were hurled. Then, wounded by fearful swords, lances and clubs, sliced by discuses, the demons vomited a lot of blood and fell down on the ground. Cut off by sharp-tipped spears, in that terrible battle the heads fell down continuously, like nets of molten gold.
²⁷
Covered with blood on their bodies, the great demons lay dead everywhere, like mountain peaks red with metals. When the sun was tinged with red, thousands of wails rose from everywhere, from those killed by weapons. The roars of those killed in battle, with iron-tipped clubs when at a distance and with blows of fists when close, rose up as if to touch the sky. “Slice down”, “pierce them”, “chase them”, “throw them down”, “advance”: these terrible words were heard in all directions.

‘When this fearful battle was raging, the gods Nara and Narayana entered the battlefield. On seeing the divine bow in the hands of Nara, the great Lord Vishnu thought of his danava-destroying chakra.
²⁸
As soon as it was thought of,
sudarshana chakra
,
²⁹
the scorcher of enemies, as radiant as the sun, terrible to look at and unwavering in its path, descended from the sky. When it arrived, Achyuta,
³⁰
as bright as the blazing fire and with fearful arms like an elephant’s trunk, unleashed with great force that weapon of blazing energy, capable of destroying enemy towns. Then, when the supreme man
³¹
unleashed with his hand that weapon in battle, like the blazing fire at the time of the destruction of the universe, it swiftly and repeatedly descended everywhere, destroying Diti and Danu’s progeny in their thousands. Sometimes it burnt, blazing like fire. Sometimes it struck down demons like the god of death. Sometimes it was in the sky and sometimes it was on the ground, drinking blood in that battle like a malevolent spirit. Then, undeterred in spirit, the mighty demons rose into the sky like dishevelled clouds and troubled the gods by showering mountains on them. Those terror-inspiring mountains, with many trees and flat peaks on them, descended from the sky like masses of clouds, crashing against each other and producing tremendous roars. When warriors shouted and the battle raged everywhere and mountains, with forests on them, began to fall, the earth and all her forests began to tremble.

‘Then the great Nara appeared in the terrible battle of the asura masses and using his gold-tipped arrows with feathered shafts darkened the sky and reduced to dust the mountain peaks. Then the mighty demons, harried by the gods and witnessing the fearful sudarshana raging like a flaming fire, entered the earth, while others plunged into the salty waters of the ocean. Having become victorious, the gods respectfully returned Mandara to its place. The clouds,
making heaven resound everywhere, returned whence they had come. The gods rejoiced a great deal and returned, keeping the ambrosia in safe custody. For safe-keeping, the killer of Bala
³²
and the other gods handed over the vessel containing the ambrosia to Kiriti.’
³³

Souti said, ‘I have told you the story of how the ambrosia was churned out from the ocean. From that, the handsome horse
³⁴
emerged, unparalleled in strength. When Kadru saw this horse, she asked Vinata, “My dear, what is the colour of Ucchaihshrava? Tell me right away.” Vinata replied, “Blessed one, the king of horses is white. What colour do you think it is? Tell me what you think and we will have a wager.” Kadru said, “O lady of the sweet smiles! I think the horse has a black tail. O beautiful one! Let us have a wager that she whose words are false will become the other one’s slave.” Thus, having laid a wager that one would be the slave of the other, they returned to their home, resolving to examine the horse the next day.

‘Wishing to deceive, Kadru asked her 1000 sons to become like hair as black as collyrium and speedily cover the horse’s tail, so that she did not become a slave. When they refused to do what they had been asked, she cursed the snakes and said, “In the snake-sacrifice of the royal and wise sage Janamejaya, of the Pandava lineage,
³⁵
the
fire will consume all of you.” The grandfather
³⁶
himself heard this extremely cruel curse uttered by Kadru, and driven by destiny, bearing in mind the welfare of all creatures, since the snakes had greatly multiplied, he
³⁷
and the other gods approved the curse. The snakes had virulent poison, excessive strength and were mighty in prowess. They had a tendency to bite. For the welfare of all creatures, to counter their virulent poison, he bestowed on the great-souled Kashyapa the knowledge of neutralizing poison.’

Souti said, ‘O you who are rich in austerities! When the night was gone, it was morning and the sun arose. The sisters Kadru and Vinata, having laid a wager on slavery, were impatient and driven by jealousy. They started out to see the horse Ucchaihshrava, who was nearby. On their way, they saw the deep and great ocean, the treasury of the waters, full of fish that swallow whales,
³⁸
crowded with sharks
³⁹
and populated by thousands of other creatures of many forms. No other creatures could approach it, because of the perennial and terrible presence of crocodiles and turtles. It was the source of all jewels. It was the abode of Varuna. It was the beautiful and supreme home of the nagas. It was the lord of all the rivers. It was the home of the subterranean fire, friend to the demons and a terror to all creatures. It was the great reservoir of the waters and never decayed. It was blessed and brought welfare to the gods. It was the source of the ambrosia. It was beyond measure, beyond imagination,
sacred and supreme. It was also fearful, with the terrible roars of aquatic creatures making a thunderous noise and full of deep whirlpools. It was a source of fear to all creatures. Buffeted by the winds, with the shoreline changing, heaving up with the agitation and the turbulence, it seemed to dance everywhere, its waves like raised hands. Its waves heaved with changes in the moon. It was the source of the panchajanya.
⁴⁰
It was the source of the best of jewels.

‘In days gone by, it was agitated by Lord Govinda
⁴¹
of infinite energy, when he assumed the form of a boar and found the earth at the bottom of the waters. Though he tried for 100 years, the brahmarshi Atri could not find its bottom, lower than the nether regions. At the beginning of every yuga, when Vishnu of infinite energy falls asleep in spiritual meditation, it is the bed of the lotus-navelled.
⁴²
Its waters were the sacrificial offerings in the subterranean fire’s blazing flames. It was holy, without limits, vast, beyond measure and the lord of the rivers. They saw the great ocean, with thousands of great rivers rushing towards it with pride, like rivals towards lovers’ rendezvous. They saw that it was deep, populated by whales and sharks, thundering with the sounds of other aquatic creatures. They saw it was vast, as extended as the sky, unfathomable and the infinite and great treasury of the waters. When they thus saw the deep ocean, populated with whales, sharks and waves, serene and extended like the sky, shining with the flames of the subterranean fire, they swiftly passed over it.’

Souti said, ‘Having crossed the ocean, Kadru of swift speed, accompanied by Vinata, quickly arrived before the horse. Seeing
many black hairs stuck to the tail, Kadru made the dejected Vinata her slave. Then, having lost the wager, Vinata became a slave who was stricken by grief.

‘Meanwhile, when the time came, Garuda of great energy broke open the egg without his mother’s help and emerged. He looked like a mass of blazing fire and was fearful in appearance. As soon as he was born, the bird increased to a gigantic size and rose into the sky. On seeing him, all the beings
⁴³
sought the refuge of Vibhavasu.
⁴⁴
They bowed down before the god who has a universal form and who was seated on his seat, and addressed him thus. “O Agni! Do not extend your body. Have you decided to burn us? Look, the huge mass of flames is spreading.” Agni replied, “O persecutors of the demons! It is not what you think. It is the mighty Garuda, equal to me in energy.” Thus addressed, the gods and all the sages approached Garuda and from a distance praised him in these words. “O lord of the birds! You are a rishi. You obtain the greatest share in a sacrifice. You are a god. You are our supreme protector. You are the ocean of strength, you are purity. You are beyond qualities and darkness. You are the possessor of all anger. You cannot be conquered. We have heard that you are the performer of all great acts. You are all that has not been and all that has been. You are the supreme knowledge. Surpassing the rays of the sun, you produce all that is permanent and all that is transient. Darkening the splendour of the sun, you are the destroyer of everything. You are all that perishes and all that does not perish. O god! With the splendour of fire, you consume everything, just as the sun burns all beings in his anger. You are like the terrible fire which destroys everything at the end of a yuga, when all is consumed in the cycle of destruction. O king of the birds! Having come to you, we seek refuge in you. You move in the sky, you have unbounded energy, you are as powerful as the fire. You are the mighty bird Garuda, you reach the clouds. We have approached you. You are the granter of boons and unparalleled in strength.” Having been
thus praised by the gods and all the sages, Suparna
⁴⁵
then decreased his energy and his splendour.’

Souti said, ‘Then that bird, capable of travelling everywhere at will and capable of summoning energy at will, went to his mother’s house, on the other side of the ocean. Vinata lived there, tormented by grief, having lost the wager and having become a slave. Some days later, when her son was present, Vinata was summoned by Kadru and when Vinata bowed before her, Kadru said, “Dear Vinata, take me to the beautiful and lovely abode of the nagas situated in the heart of the ocean.” Then Suparna’s mother took up the mother of the snakes. On his mother’s request, Garuda took the snakes on his back. Vinata’s son, the bird, began to rise up towards the sun and scorched by the rays of the sun, the snakes became unconscious.

‘Seeing the state of her sons, Kadru began to praise Shakra
⁴⁶
in these words. “O lord of the gods! I bow before you. O slayer of Bala! I bow before you. O slayer of Namuchi! I bow before you. O thousand-eyed husband of Shachi!
⁴⁷
The snakes are being burnt by the rays of the sun. Save them with your showers. You are our supreme protector. O best of the gods! O Purandara!
⁴⁸
You can pour forth water in torrents. You are Vayu,
⁴⁹
you are the clouds. You are Agni. You are the lightning in the sky. You drive the masses of clouds and therefore you are known as the dense cloud. You are the unparalleled thunder, you are the roaring clouds. You are the creator
and the destroyer of all the worlds. You are invincible. You are the light of all beings. You are the sun and the fire. You are supreme knowledge, you are wonderful. You are the king. You are the best of the gods. You are Vishnu, you have one thousand eyes. You are the God and the last refuge. You are the
soma
⁵⁰
that is the most worshipped. You are the instants.
⁵¹
You are the
tithi
s.
⁵²
You are
lava
and you are again
kshana
.
⁵³
You are
shuklapaksha
,
⁵⁴
you are
krishnapaksha
,
⁵⁵
you are
kala
,
⁵⁶
you are
kashtha
⁵⁷
and you are also
truti
.
⁵⁸
You are the year, the seasons, the months, the nights and the days. You are the beautiful earth with its mountains and forests. You are the bright sky with the sun. You are the great ocean and its waves, with whales,
⁵⁹
creatures that swallow whales,
⁶⁰
crocodiles
⁶¹
and diverse other fish. You are immensely famous. You are always worshipped by the wise, whose intelligence has been awakened, and the maharshis. You are the drinker of the soma juice that is offered at sacrifices with sacred incantations and other offerings. You are always worshipped in sacrifices by Brahmanas who desire the fruits. Your incomparable strength is praised in the Vedas. It is for this reason that the best of the Brahmanas, who are engaged in sacrifices, study the Vedangas with great diligence.”’