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2024-03-29, 8:18 PM |
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Chapter
23: The
Demigods Regain the Heavenly
Places
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'After [Bali] the
great
and
exalted
soul who carried the approval of all the saints, thus
was addressed by the Original, Oldest Person, he spoke full of
devotion with folded hands, with tears in his eyes and a faltering
voice. (2) S'rî
Bali
said:
'Oh
just
the
attempt
to
offer
my obeisances suffices for a result like
that of surrendered devotees. What You out of Your causeless mercy have granted a fallen
Asura like me, nobody among the demigods and the leaders of the world
has achieved before.'
(3) S'rî S'uka said: 'After having said this
to the
Lord, Bali offered
Him
and
also
Lord
Brahmâ
and
Lord
S'iva
his
obeisances.
Thereupon
he released and satisfied entered Sutala together with his associates. (4) By
fulfilling Aditi's desire and by giving back to king Indra his
supremacy over the heavenly worlds, the Lord thus exercised His authority over the entire
universe [see 8.16:
11-17]. (5) Prahlâda
who
had
heard
how
his
descendant,
his
grandson
Bali,
had
achieved
His mercy and was released
from his fetters, then full of devotion addressed [the Supreme
Personality] as follows. (6) S'rî
Prahlâda said: 'With this benediction, which could not be
achieved by Lord Brahmâ, by the Goddess of Fortune or by Lord
S'iva - not even mentioning others -, You for us Asuras have become the
Protector Against All Misery, the One whose feet are worshiped by the
most respected personalities of the universe! (7) Oh
Shelter of All, Lord
Brahmâ and others enjoy
Your grace by tasting
the honey of serving Your lotus feet. How could we, people of a bad
conduct and a bad
birth,
achieve the position that is granted when one follows the path of Your
merciful glance? (8) Oh
how wonderful all the
activities of
Your unlimited spiritual potency are! In Your pastimes, oh Lord who
created
all
the
worlds,
oh
Soul
of
all
souls
expert in every field, You
are equal towards everyone. Not to discriminate characterizes Your
love, a love in which You for Your
devotees are like a desire tree
[since You are unto the people what they are unto You, see B.G. 9:
29].'
(9) The Supreme Lord said: 'My son
Prahlâda, I wish you all the best, please go to the place Sutala
and bring with a spirit of joy happiness to your grandson, relatives
and
friends! (10) Situated
there you will always have the vision of Me
holding the club [the conch, the lotus and the discus]. The great delight of seeing Me in that form will cut the bonds of karma.'
(11-12) S'rî S'uka said: 'Prahlâda
accepted, with his clear mind consenting, with folded hands the order
of the
Supreme Lord oh King. After he, the Master of all the leading
Asuras, next had circumambulated the Original Person and offered his
obeisances, he together with Bali with His permission entered the lower
world Sutala. (13) Lord
Nârâyana then said to
S'ukrâcârya who in
the assembly
of transcendentalists sat close to Him in a group
of priests [brahma, hotâ, udgâtâ and adhvaryu]: (14) 'Oh brahmin, please describe the karmic
imperfections of your disciple Bali who performs the sacrifices, for
these karmic faults [see 8.20: 15] will be neutralized under the supervision
of the brahmins.'
(15) S'rî
S'ukra said: 'What would be wrong with him who in all respects was of
worship for You who are the Master of all fruitive action, You the
Controller and Enjoyer of all sacrifices [see also 4.31: 14, 1.2:
13 and B.G. 5:
25]? (16) As
for the time and place,
the
person, the paraphernalia, [the practice of] the mantras and following
the principles, faults can be made, but these are all nullified by
regularly chanting Your glories in congregation [*]. (17) Still I have to do what You have told me oh
Supreme One, for it is
the most auspicious and supreme thing for each person to fold his hands
in obedience to Your command.'
(18) S'rî S'uka said: 'Us'anâ
[S'ukrâcârya, see 4.1:
45] the mightiest
[sage] thus offering
his obeisances to the authority
of the Lord, set himself
together with the best brahmins the task of compensating for
the imperfect sacrifice that Bali made for the Lord. (19) Oh King, the Lord who as Vâmana this way from Bali had begged the
land, delivered the places of
the gods that had been seized by the others to His godbrother the great
Indra. (20-21) For
the pleasure of
Kas'yapa and
Aditi [the parents of Vâmana] and for the well-being of all
living
beings and worlds, the master
of the founding fathers Lord Brahmâ, together with the gods, the
saints, the forefathers, the Manus, Daksha,
Bhrigu, Angirâ, all the great leaders, Lord S'iva and his son [Kârttikeya],
made Lord Vâmana the
supreme leader of all the authorities in the world. (22-23) When
they made Upendra the master for
all
purposes, [the protector] of
the Veda, the master of all gods, of
all religion, of all fame, of all opulence, of all auspiciousness
and of
all vows, regarding Him the greatest expert in elevating to a higher
life, that oh ruler of
man, made all living beings
extremely happy. (24) Indra
together with the leaders of the world
thereafter, with the permission of Lord Brahmâ,
then kept Lord Vâmana in front on the divine path of accomplishing the
kingdom of heaven. (25) Under the protection of Vâmanadeva
Indra regained his rule over the three worlds and the pleasure of being
blessed by its supreme wealth and had nothing more to fear [from the
Asuras]. (26-27) Oh
King, Lord Brahmâ, Lord S'iva and his son, the sages headed by
Bhrigu, the munis, the forefathers and all the living beings,
the
perfected ones and the space travelers [the vimâna
people] and
such, glorified all the supremely wonderful, praiseworthy deeds of Lord
Vishnu, also praised Aditi and then left for each their own world.
(28) Oh pleasure of the dynasty, to hear about all
these activities of Lord Urukrama [the Lord 'of the great steps'] I
have described to you, wipes away all consequences of sin. (29) The
great saint [Vasishthha Muni]
stated in his mantras that no mortal human being subject to death or
destined to be reborn can measure the glories of Lord Urukrama, even as
no one is capable of counting the number of atoms of the earth [see also B.G. 10: 42 and **]. (30) Anyone who hears about and keeps listening
to the stories about this God of gods, Lord Hari, all of whose works
performed in His incarnations are equally wonderful, will
attain the supreme destination. (31) When one engages in this [telling
and listening] during the performance of whatever ritual, whether one
is engaged for the gods, the ancestors or one's fellow man [at a
marriage ceremony for instance], that ceremony will with these [descriptions] be well-performed.'
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