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2024-03-29, 5:42 PM |
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Chapter
4: The Atrocities
of King Kamsa
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'With all the outer and
inner doors of the building closed as before, the guards of
the prison woke up when they heard the newborn child cry. (2) They hurried to report it to the king
of Bhoja who fearfully awaited the time that Devakî
would deliver. (3) He
quickly got out of bed and said: 'The Time has arrived' and went
perturbed, with his hair on his head disheveled, immediately to the
place of birth.
(4) The
chaste Devakî miserably and full of pity said to Kamsa, her
brother:
'All good fortune to you, this girl will be your daughter-in-law. You
should not kill a woman. (5) Following
the
voice
from
above
you
have
killed
many children brilliant as fire my brother.
Please allow me this one daughter.
(6) I am still your poor younger and childless
sister, is it not? Oh master, dear brother, hold back, you owe me this
last child.'
(7) S'rî
S'uka said: 'In tears clasping her baby she pleaded most piteously, but
he most cruelly with a growl tore it away from her hands. (8) Having
abandoned all his familial affection he took
the newborn child
of his sister by the legs and wanted to smash the daughter
against the stone floor. (9) But
it slipped midair out of his hands and
appeared that very instant in the sky as Devî [Durgâ] the
younger sister of Vishnu with her
eight
mighty
arms
complete
with
weapons [see also 8.12: 40]. (10-11) Adorned
with sandalwood pulp, flower garlands, valuable jewels and being nicely
dressed she held a bow, a lance, arrows, a shield, a
sword, a conch, a lotus and a disc. With different presentations being
worshipped by the Siddhas [the perfected ones], the Câranas [the
venerable ones], the
Gandharvas [the singers of heaven], the
Apsaras [the dancing girls],
the
Kinnaras [the ones specially
talented] and the Uragas [the
'divine
snakes'] she said the following: (12) 'What's
the use of killing me oh fool! He, your former enemy [see 1.68]
who
will kill you, has already been born [and is now]
somewhere else. Stop the unnecessary killing of poor little babies.'
(13) After the
Goddess
of the immense power of mâyâ thus had spoken to
him, she [disappeared and] became known in
different places on earth under
diverse names
[such as Annapûrnâ, Durgâ, Kâlî and
Bhadrâ, see
10.2:
10 & 11]. (14)
When Kamsa heard
the words she spoke he was struck with wonder and forthwith released
Devakî and Vasudeva saying humbly: (15) 'My dear
sister and brother-in-law, I, because
of
my
sins
behaving like a cannibal eating his
own kids, have
alas killed your many sons. (16) I am
really such a one who
mercilessly cruel denies his relatives and friends their life. What
kind of world
is someone who engages like a brahmin-killer, heading for here or in
the hereafter? (17) Not
just
human
beings, but also heaven can speak
a lie. Just because I believed the prophecy I most sinfully killed all my sister's children! (18) Oh
blessed souls, do not lament over your
sons, for all who are born are bowed down by their own deeds [in a
previous life, see
footnote 3 ch. 1].
Living
beings have to abide by their fate and cannot always live in the same
place. (19) Everything
on
earth
and
is
produced
from
earth
[like pots] appears and disappears
again. This physical body similarly undergoes change,
but the soul, just like the
earth element itself, does not [compare 10.3: 15-17]. (20) When one without
knowledge of this difference [between body and soul] does not properly
identify with the self and one thus falsely being united with the body
is of separation [in one's heart
and society], one cannot break through the repetition of one's
conditioned life [viz. one can
only unite in
consciousness].
(21) Because everyone
unwillingly has to face the consequences of his own actions, you, my
dear sister, should not lament over your sons who found their death because of me. (22) As
long
as one does not know oneself [as a soul] and one with a mistaken notion
thinks of oneself as someone who kills or gets killed [thus as being a
body], one is an ignoramus running into the pains of material distress
[see also B.G. 3:
9 & 18: 17
and nitya-mukta]. (23) Please
forgive
me
my
atrocities,
you
are
both
saintly, humble and loving souls!' Saying
this he clasped the feet of his sister
and brother-in-law with
tears rolling down his cheeks.
(24) Trusting in the words of Durgâ he
released Vasudeva and
Devakî from their shackles
and thus proved his heart for
the family. (25) Because
he
showed
remorse
Devakî was
relieved of her anger with her brother and Vasudeva also gave up his anger. He said to him
with a smile: (26) 'What you said about embodied souls in the
grip of ignorance is correct oh man of great fortune, one thus makes a
difference between one's own interest and that of others. (27) When people consider everything as existing
separately, they go at each other's cost and are filled with
lamentation, lust, fear, hate, greed, illusion and madness.
Discriminating like that one does not see one's continuity [the
'thread', the soul, one's connectedness].'
(28) S'ri S'uka said:
'Kamsa thus free from impurities being answered by the appeased
Devakî and
Vasudeva, took leave and entered his palace. (29) After
the night had passed Kamsa called for
his ministers and informed them about everything that the 'Slumber of
Yoga', Durgâ [or Yoga-mâyâ], had said. (30) Upon hearing what
their master had to say the Daitya opponents of the demigods,
who resented them and were not that skilled, replied [see also
B.G. 9: 12]: (31) 'Well in that case oh King of Bhoja,
let us right now kill all the children about ten days old or younger in
every town, village and pasturing ground. (32) What can the demigods do in their fear to
fight? They are always so nervous to
hear the sound of your bowstring!
(33) Facing your many devoted arrows hitting them
from all sides
they fled away from the fighting to save their lives. (34) Some
of those inhabitants of heaven, with their hair and clothing in
disarray and bereft of their weapons, folded miserably their hands before you and said:
'You have made us so afraid!' (35) And
you killed none of them when they
were scared to death, had lost their chariots, did not know how to use
their weapons anymore, wanted other things than fighting or when their
bows were broken and they couldn't respond any longer. (36) What
to say about the position taken by the so very powerful gods? Away from
the
fighting they can boast! And what of Lord Hari? He is hiding in the
heart!
Should we fear Lord S'iva then? He is living in the forest! And Indra
then? He is not much of a hero either! And Brahmâ? He always
meditates! (37) Still
we think that the demigods because of their enmity should not be
overlooked. Engage us, your
faithful followers, therefore to
uproot them! (38) Just
like a disease of the body
that once neglected in its acute stage by men cannot be
treated anymore and senses that being disregarded [later on cannot be
controlled], similarly a great enemy that became too strong
cannot be removed. (39) Lord
Vishnu is the foundation of the
demigods. He lies at the bottom of the traditional religious duties and
the
brahminical order with its cows, its scholars, its penances and the
sacrifices that need to be paid
[see also 7.5: 31]. (40) We
therefore by all means oh King, will
endeavor to put an end to the brahmins and their brahminical talk,
those repenters so busy with their sacrifices and cows that deliver the
ghee! (41)
The scholars, the cows and the Vedas; the austerity, the truthfulness
and the sense control; the equanimity, the faith, the mercy, the
tolerance as also the ceremonies, are all part of Hari. (42)
He
is
the
leader of all the Suras and the enemy of the
Asuras. He is in all hearts. At His feet all the demigods,
including their controller [S'iva] and the four-faced one
[Brahmâ], are found. Really, the only way to prevent Him is to
persecute all His sages, devotees and saints.'
(43) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus rather ignorantly
deliberating with his evil counselors, Kamsa, who as a
demon was ruled by the Lord of Death, thought that the best
thing he could do was to persecute the brahmins [and their followers]. (44) After
he
gave the Dânavas, those adherents of violence and destruction
who
could
assume any form, permission to fight all the repenters in the world,
the demons spread
in all directions. Kamsa then returned to his quarters. (45) Filled with a passion of the deepest
darkness they bewildered, with the shadow of death hanging over them,
engaged in the persecution of the virtuous souls. (46) The benedictions
of a long life, beauty, fame, religion, talents and a place in heaven of
a
person
trespassing
against great personalities, are all
destroyed.'
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