Site menu |
|
Login form |
|
Search |
|
Our poll |
|
Statistics |
Total online: 1 Guests: 1 Users: 0 |
|
Welcome, Guest · RSS |
2024-04-19, 2:00 AM |
|
Chapter 11: The
Dânavas Annihilated and Revived
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'When thereafter by the grace of the Supreme
Personality the Suras had regained their spirits, Indra, Vâyu and the others without hesitation resumed the fight against
the troops who formerly had driven them back in the battle. (2)
When the so very mighty Indra
angry with the son of Virocana [Bali] took up his thunderbolt, all his
people cried: 'Alas, alas!' (3) He who sober and well equipped moved about
on the battlefield was by him who carries the thunderbolt opposed and
rebuked as follows: (4) 'You cheater, you fool, with your magic you
try to be of control and win with illusions, you try to conquer us who
have mastered the illusion, as if we were children whose possessions
you
can take by diverting their attention! (5) Those who desire to advance
and
be
free
by
deceptive
means,
such
enemies
of
the
gods, I bring down,
such fools I deny the positions they have taken. (6) I am the one who today will put an end to
you and your jugglery by severing your head with my hundred-jagged
thunderbolt. You wicked soul with your buddies... just step forward!'
(7) Bali retorted: 'All present
here on this battlefield are subjected to the rule of time and successively acquire with what they do a
reputation, achieve a victory, suffer defeat and
find their death. (8) Because the entire
world is moved by time, an enlightened soul who sees this will not
rejoice or complain. In that sense you all have pretty much lost your
way [compare B.G. 2: 11]! (9)
We who manage to control ourselves in that respect, reject these
embarrassing words of yours that the saintly feel sorry for.'
(10) S'rî S'uka said: 'After
as a valiant hero thus having chided the mighty Indra, Bali the subduer
of the greatest, attacked him again
with iron arrows on his bow that he drew up to his ear in the process. (11)
The god who thus was derided by his
silver-tongued enemy, did, just like an elephant that is beaten with a
rod, not care about the lesson
he taught him. (12)
When the master
of destruction [Indra] used the infallible bolt against him [Bali] he, being
struck, crashed with
his
heavenly
vehicle to the ground
like a
mountain with its wings being
clipped. (13) Seeing that his mate had fallen his
most intimate friend and
well-wisher Jambha stepped forward in solidarity with his hurt companion. (14)
He, a man of superpower riding the lion, took position with his club
and hit Indra and his elephant with great force on the shoulder. (15) Struck by the great blow the elephant sank stunned down to its knees and
hit the
earth unconscious. (16)
When Indra's driver Mâtali
thereupon brought his chariot that was drawn by a thousand horses, he mounted the vehicle and left his
elephant behind. (17) In
appreciation
of the chariot
driver's service
[Jambhâsura,] the best of
the Dânavas smiled
and struck him [the driver] in the fight with his fire
blazing trident. (18) Mâtali
bracing
himself, managed to tolerate the excruciating pain, but
Indra most infuriated decapitated Jambha with his thunderbolt. (19)
When Jambhâsura's kin heard from
Nârada rishi that he had been slain, Namuci,
Bala and Pâka hurried over there as fast as they could. (20) With gross insults cursing Indra to hurt him
in the heart, they besieged him with arrows that rained down like a
torrent of
rain over a mountain. (21) The
thousand
horses of the king of heaven were assailed by as many arrows that
were all quickly launched at once.
(22) With
the two hundred arrows that next to that by Pâka all at once were
aimed and released against
Mâtali and the chariot
with all its upkeep, thus a most remarkable feat could be
witnessed
in
the
battle. (23)
Namuci
contributed
with fifteen gold-feathered all-powerful arrows that
cutting through the air made a noise over the field like a thundercloud
full of rain. (24) The
Asuras covered Indra and his chariot driver from all sides with a dense
shower of arrows that covered the sun just like clouds during the rainy
season do [see also 4.10: 13]. (25) Like traders
shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean, the entire assembly of demigods
and their
retinue who could not discern him any longer, bereft of their
leader began to
wail under the pressure and intimidation of the superiority of the enemy. (26) Thereupon did Indra, he who overpowers the mighty ones, to their
delight manage to free himself from
the
hull
of
arrows together with
his horses,
chariot, flag and driver,
radiating in all the directions of the sky and the earth with
an effulgence resembling the sun at the end of the night.
(27) When the godhead saw how his army in the battle was
oppressed by the
enemy, he fuming of anger took up
his
thunderbolt to kill his
opponents. (28) Before the eyes of their family
members, he then, in order to create fear in them oh King, with the
bolt severed the heads of
the trunks of Bala and Pâka.
(29) Namuci
witnessing
the
two
being
slaughtered,
grieved
over
them
and enraged
made a great attempt to
kill Indra oh lord of men. (30)
With an iron spear hung with bells and
decorated with gold in his hand he strode in fury against Indra roaring
like a lion: 'And now you're dead' and struck. (31) The
lord [of the gods, Indra] who saw it descending from the sky with great
speed, smashed it to pieces [in its flight] oh King, while the demon
himself from a
fuming Indra received the thunderbolt on his shoulder in order to cut off
his
head. (32) But the powerful bolt, the same weapon that
in the past by the king of the gods so successfully was used to
pierce Vritrâsura [6.12: 25], could
not even scratch his skin. That defiance of Namuci's neck was an
extraordinarily wondrous thing. (33)
With the
bolt thus rendered ineffective Indra became very afraid of the
enemy and wondered: 'What is this? By what superior force could this to
the eyes of everyone so miraculous thing happen? (34)
With this same
bolt I formerly cut off the wings of mountains that by those wings
killed people when they with
their great weight descended on earth. (35)
Vritrâsura who was so powerful with the
austerities of Tvashthâ [see 6.9:
11] was killed by it, just as
many other powerful characters impervious to all other weapons. (36) And
now that bolt, strong as a
brahmâstra, is
repelled after being released
against a less important demon. Rendered as useless as a rod, I can
wield it no longer.'
(37)
Indra who this way was lamenting,
out of the blue was addressed by a
voice that said: 'With this Dânava it is thus arranged
that he cannot be annihilated by anything dry or wet. (38)
He would not die by something moist or dry because of a benediction I
granted him and therefore oh Indra, you must think of some other means
to deal with your enemy.'
(39) After
having
heard
that ominous voice Lord Indra meditated most attentively
and arrived thereupon at the insight that foam had to
be the means that was neither dry nor wet. (40) Thus he forced through Namuci's throat the
weapon that was wet nor dry, upon which all the sages most pleased
covered the
almighty one with flower garlands. (41)
The two leading singers of heaven Vis'vâvasu and Parâvasu
sang hymns, the godly ones sounded kettledrums and the heavenly
dancers danced in bliss. (42)
Vâyu, Agni, Varuna and others nevertheless vigorously started to eliminate the
other
belligerent
Asuras, as if they were lions
killing deer. (43) Devarishi
Nârada Muni was by
Lord Brahmâ sent to the demigods oh King, to forbid the
ones in
power the total annihilation of the Dânavas he saw taking place. (44) S'rî
Nârada
said:
'Under the protection of the arms and the fortune
[the goddess] of Nârâyana you all procured the nectar.
Since you all thus flourished you now must stop with this fighting!'
(45) S'uka said: 'Controlling their aggravation and
anger they accepted the words of the sage and returned,
being hailed by their followers, all to their heavenly abodes. (46) They who had
survived the battle picked up
the lifeless body of Bali [as also the rest of the ones who had fallen]
and all went, with Nârada's permission, to the
mountain called Asta. (47) At
that place the ones who had still their limbs and their head
were by S'ukrâcârya [4.1:
45, 6.7:
18, 7.5:
1, 7.10: 33]
resuscitated by means of his knowledge of the Samjîvanî
prayer, his science of reanimation. (48)
Also Bali was brought back by the touch of
Us'anâ, but despite of the fact that he was defeated, he with his
experience in worldly affairs did not lament [it to regain] his memory
and senses.'
|
|