El Devi Bhagavatam

46. Therefore dost Thou describe in detail all the Divine Leelas (playful sports) done by Hari of superhuman powers in this world.

47. O Best of Munis! When one’s longevity expires, one dies; then I cannot understand what glory was manifested by Hari in killing the Daityas? For Fate Killed them; not Hari.

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48. Was not the doing of Hari like a thief when he stole away the Lady Rukminî and fled quickly to his own place.

49. What did it mean when he fled to Dvârkâ city, and quitted his own highly prosperous town Mathurâ simply out of the fear of Jarâsandha?

50. Did not anybody at that time recognise that he was S’rî Bhagavân Hari? O Respected One! Were he Bhagavân, why did He hide himself in Vraja? Please explain the cause to me.

51. O Muni! These and many other doubts always exist in my mind; you are the best of the Dvijas and blessed; I pray, dost thou remove these doubts.

52-53. O best of Munis! Another doubt exists and is not dispelled and that is secret. Was not the taking of the five husbands by Pânchâlî for herself shameful and despised by the society? The good manners and doings are always considered by the learned as the proofs of virtue. Why did those Pândavas, then, capable in every respect, do this thing like brutes?

54. And what did Bhîsma do living like a Deva in this world? May I ask, was his act of producing two sons by a widow and thus preserving his line of ancestors worthy of his name?

55. The religious sanction advocated by the Munis “Procreate sons in any way whatsoever” is simply shameful. Fie to this religious sanction.

Here ends the 17th Chapter in the 4th Book of S’rî mad Devî Bhagavatam of 18000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the questions asked by Janamejaya.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fourth Book: Chapter 18

THE FOURTH BOOK

Chapter XVIII

On the Devî Earth’s going to the Heavens

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1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hear in detail the complete life and the deeds in the incarnation of S’rî Krisna and also the various wonderful achievements by the Goddess of this universe.

2. Once on a time, the Earth was very much overburdened by the load of wicked kings and She was therefore very much afraid.

3. She then assumed the appearance of a cow and went to the Devaloka crying and very much dejected.

Indra, the lord of the Devas, asked her, O Vasundhare! What is the cause of your fear now? Who has troubled you? What afflictions are you merged in? Please tell me all these.

4. On hearing Indra’s words, the Earth exclaimed :-- O Respect giver! When You have asked me, I am explaining to you the cause of all my afflictions and sorrows; at present I am overburdened with too much load.

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5-8. Now is reigning in the earth Jârâsandha, the king of Magadha, a very very vicious person. Thus the other S’is’upâl, the lord of the Chedis, the uncontrollable Kâs’irâj, Rukmî, the powerful Kamsa, the strong Naraka, the Sauvapati S’âlva, the wicked Kes’î, Dhenuka, and Batsaka all these are now in royal positions. O Lord of the Devas! These kings are all devoid of the least trace of virtue, quarrelsome against each other, infatuated with vanity, and addicted to vicious deeds. These have become kings as if they were personified Yamas, the Lords of Death, and are constantly troubling me. I am now unable to carry their loads; where shall I go now? This great thought is constantly ailing me.

9-11. O Vasava! What to tell! The Bhagavân in His Boar Incarnation is the cause of all these my afflictions; O Indra! These present troubles I am fallen into only through Him; for when the cruel Daitya Hirânyâksa; the son of Ka’syapa stole me away and drowned me in the great ocean, then it was Visnu in his Boar incarnation that killed him and rescued me from the ocean and then kept me in this my stable position.

12. Had he not then lifted me up, I would have rested safe in the depths of Rasâtala; O Lord of the Devas! Now I am quite unable to bear the load of these vicious persons.

13. O Surendra! The vicious twenty eight Kali is coming quickly in front. Thinking of His influence, it seems to me that I will be very troubled then and will have to go down to Rasâtala.

14. Therefore, O Lord of the Devas! I am bowing down before Your feet, kindly relieve me of my burden and save me from these endless troubles.

15. Indra said :-- O Earth! I cannot do anything for you. You better go and take refuge of Brahmâ. I am also going to Him. He will remove all your troubles.

16. Hearing Indra’s words the Earth hurriedly went to the realm of Brahmâ and Indra and all the other Devas followed Her; and all reached the Brahmaloka.

17-18. O King! The Grand Father Brahmâ saw the Earth coming to him and through the power of meditation, found out the cause of Her coming and said :-- O Auspicious One! why are You crying? What troubles You have now? What wicked person has given You troubles.

19. The Earth said :-- O Lord of the Earth! The vicious Kali is coming before; under Its influence the subjects will be horribly vicious; therefore I am very much afraid of this Kali.

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20. In the beginning of this Kali Yuga, the ancient enemies, the Asuras have now incarnated on this earth as kings. They will be extremely wicked, quarreling against each other, and will be clever in stealing others’ things. There is no doubt in these.

21. O Grand Father! Now kill these vicious kings and relieve my burden. O Lord! I am very much troubled by the armies of these kings.

22. Brahmâ said :-- O Goddess! I, too, am unable like Indra to remove your load. Let us go to that Visnu, the Holder of the disc.

23. That Janârdana will remove your burden. I thought of this well before and settled what to do.

24-25. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, the four faced Brahmâ, the Author of the Vedas, rode on His Hamsa Vehicle taking in front the Goddess Earth; and the Devas went to Visnu and began to praise Visnu Janârdana, the Deva of the Devas, with the words of the Vedas with full devotion.

26. Brahmâ said :-- Thou hast thousand heads, thousand faces, thousand feet. Thou art the Purusa of the Vedas, Thou art the Deva of the Devas, and Thou art Eternal.

27. O Omnipresent! Thou art the Past, Present, and Future! O Lord of Laksmî! Thou hast awarded immortality unto us.

28. Thou art the Creator of universe, the Preserver and the Destroyer; Thou art the One and the Only goal and thou art the God. Everybody knows that all these glories belong to Thee.

29. Vyâsa said :-- O king! When Brahmâ praised thus, Visnu whose sign was Garuda, was highly pleased and appeared before Brahmâ and the other Devas.

30. The Bhagavân asked them about their welfare and enquired in detail into the cause of their arrival there.

31. Brahmâ them bowed down to Him and, remembering the cause of the sorrows of the Goddess Earth, said :-- O Lord! Thou art now to relieve the burden of the Earth.

32. O Thou, Ocean of mercy! When the end of the Dvâpara yuga will come Thou art to incarnate in the world and kill the wicked kings and thus to relieve the burden of the Earth.

33-34. Visnu said :-- I am not independent in these matters; why I? Brahmâ Mahes’a, Indra, Agni, Yama, Visvakarmâ, the Sun and Varuna and other Devas, nobody is independent. This whole universe, moving and

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unmoving is existing under the control of the Yoga Mâyâ; and from Brahmâ up to the clot of grass, all are strung into the thread of Her Three qualities.

35. O One of good vows! Whatever that Yoga Mâyâ, the Supreme Goddess, Who is All will, Whose mouth is inward, Who does good at all times, what She wills She does that at any time. You should all know that we are entirely under Her control.

36-41. You better think that were I independent, what for would I have stayed in the great ocean, incarnating in the Fish and Tortoise Bodies! O Brâhmin! What name or pleasure is there in enjoyment in the body of lower animals! What holy merit or any other reward may I expect from being born in the wombs of lower animals? What is the reason that I assume the body of a Boar? or of a Man-Lion? or of a Dwarf? Why was I born as the son of Jamadagni. Especially why did I, being born of that highsouled Brâhman Jamadagni, and being the best of the Brâhmins, do the most atrocious act like that of a heartless brute and fill up the lakes with their blood. Alas! I killed the Ksatriyas mercilessly; to say nothing more than that I killed the sons that were then in the wombs. Were I independent, what for I would have done these horrible and cruel deeds! O Lord of the Devas! See again. In my Râma incarnation I roamed on foot, helpless and without any provision, in the fearful Dandaka forest unfrequented by anybody, wearing clotted hair, bark, rags, like a man who feels no shame, and behaved like a hunter and killed many animals.

42-44. Being under the delusion of Mâyâ, I could not make out the real nature of the golden deer; consequently leaving Janakî in the thatched cottage, I went out pursuing the deer. Though repeatedly warned by me not to leave the place, Laksmana was moved by the qualities of Prakriti, forsook her and went out on my search.

45. Then the hypocrite Râvana, the king of the Râksasas, under the garb of a beggar; stole away by force the daughter of Janaka, who had become very lean on account of sorrows.

46. I was very much distressed owing to the separation from my dear wife and roamed about weeping sorely in forest and formed friendship with Sugrîva, under the influence of the circumstances.

47. It was an act of gross injustice on my part to kill Bâlî, the king of the monkeys. I freed him from his curse; afterwards, aided by the monkeys, I had to go to Lankâ.

48. When my younger Laksmana and myself were both enchained under the chain of the serpents, Nâgapâs’a, and were senseless, the monkeys all were astonished.

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49. Then Garuda came and freed us the two brothers, from those Nâgapâs’as! I considered then what adverse inauspicious circumstances Fate sometimes ordains on our lot.

50. I lost my kingdom, lived in the forest, my father died, Janakî was stolen and I had to suffer extreme troubles in very deadly battles; I could not know what worse fate still awaited for us?

51. O Suras! What more calamity can you expect to befall any person than that I was from the very first deprived of my kingdoms and wealth, and had to go to the forest with the princess Sîtâ dwelling in and taking shelter in a dense forest!

52. At the time of my going to the forest my father did not give a single penny; penniless and helpless I had to get out of Ayodhyâ on foot.

53. I was compelled to leave my Ksattriya Dharma and take up the avocation of a hunter and thus to spend fourteen years in forest.

54. After that, under the benign influence of Fate, I was able to kill that Asura Râvana and got the victory in the battle and was able to bring back dear Sîtâ to Ayodhyâ.

55. There I succeeded in becoming the ruler of the kingdom Kos’ala with its subjects and got the full kingdom and enjoyed for a few years the pleasures of the world.

56-57. The stealing away of Sîtâ took place at the first outset; next I got my kingdom; then the subjects began to circulate the bad name regarding Janakî; and I being afraid of that, deported her into exile in the forest. At that time I had to suffer again extreme pain and agony due to the separation from my wife. Then the daughter of the Goddess Earth penetrated into the Earth and got down to the Pâtâla.

58. O Devas! When I had to depend on Fate and to suffer so many troubles incessantly, where else can you dare to say that an independent man exists.

59. Afterwards under the influence of Time, I had to go to Heaven with my brothers. Let all this point to what it may, the intelligent learned people can say what an amount of mishaps takes place to one who is dependent!

60. O One born from the Lotus! You hear my word; I am in every way dependent; why I? Rudra, You and all those Suras are fully dependent.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Fourth Book of the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the Devî Earth’s going to the Heavens.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fourth Book: Chapter 19

THE FOURTH BOOK

Chapter XIX

On chanting the hymns to the Devî

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1. Vyâsa said :-- The Bhagavân Visnu spoke again unto Prajâpati :-- Brâhman! All these beings fascinated by Mâyâ, cannot know the Real Essence, the Highest Truth.

2. We, too, are fascinated by that Mâyâ; and hence we also, being blinded by that, do not at all remember That Highest Eternal Purusa, calm and quiet, the World Teacher, the Highest Self, of the nature of Pure Existence, Intelligence and Bliss.

3. O Brahmâ! I am Visnu, I am Brahmâ, I am Rudra, thus our I-ness ahamkâra has blinded our eyesight; and we are made unable to recognise That Eternal Highest Self.

4. As the wooden dolls dance according to the will of the player, the magician, I also am similarly fascinated by the Mâyâ and am thus incessantly rolling about like a dependent man.

5-6. O Brahmâ :-- In the beginning of the Kalpa, Mahes’vara, You and I saw the wonderful unspeakable form and glory of that Highest Self at the time of Râsamandala in the Mâni Dvîpa where there was the Mandâra Tree and the Devas assembled. Then I also saw that wonderful thing a second time in the Sudhârnava ocean of nectar, and the most wonderful of it is this, that until we were able to See that Form, we did not hear anything of Her before!

7. Therefore, O Devas! Today do you all remember that Prime Force, the Highest Self, that all beneficent Force that yields all good and auspicious things; That Very Force will fulfill now all your desires.

8. Vyâsa said :-- O king! No sooner the Bhagavân Hari addressed thus, Brahmâ and the other Devas at once mentally began to meditate on that Eternal Yoga Mâyâ, the Goddess of the Universe.

9. Being thus meditated, at once appeared before their eyesight the Devî, the Goddess of the Universe, whose colours were like the blood red Javâ flower, holding in two of Her hands noose, hook, or goad, while the third hand indicated favour and the fourth hand bade all discard every sort of fear.

10. As the web comes out of a spider and sparks come out of fire, so this whole Universe comes out of that Goddess. We all bow down before Her with our humble hearts, full of devotion.

11. We all salute to that Goddess of the Universe, Bhuvanes’varî, under Whose Mâyic force this whole Universe, moving and unmoving, is created; Who is All-Intelligence and the Ocean of Mercy.

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12. This world appears real to him who is unable to realise Her Real Essence; and the world drops off as unreal no sooner he realises Her Presence. We all meditate on that All Intelligent Goddess and we all pray to Her that She may grant unto us more strength to meditate Her and Her alone so.

13. We all want to know Mahâ Laksmî, we all meditate on the Omnipotent; May the Goddess grant unto us strength to meditate on Her so.

14. O Thou, the Remover of the world’s afflictions! Best Thou pleased unto us; O Thou, kind hearted! Do this work for us and promote our good. O Thou, Lord of the Earth! Dost Thou relieve the burden of the earth by killing these Asuras and bring on our welfare.

15. O Thou, Lotus-Eyed! If Thou dost not show Thy mercy towards the gods, they will never be able to strike their enemies with their weapons in the battlefield. O Goddess! Thou didst verify the truth of this before, when Thou didst assume the appearance of a Yaksa and utter the following sentences “O Fire! You burn this blade of grass,” etc. (in the Kena Talavakâra Upanîsada.)

16. O Mother! Kamsa, Bhauma, Kâlayavana, Kes’î, Jarâsandha, the son of Brihadratha, Vaka, Pûtanâ, Khara, S’âlva and other vicious kings respectively are dwelling on the earth. Dost Thou better kill them and relieve the burden of the Earth.

17. O Lotus-Eyed! Thou hadst killed those Asuras without any effort that were not slain by Visnu or Mahes’vara and they ended their lives, while they were beholding Thy pleasing countenance.

18. O Goddess! Holding Moon on Her forehead! These Hari, Hara, Brahmâ and the other gods are unable to move a step without the help of Force; nothing to speak any further, the thousand headed King of Serpents is unable to hold this earth even for a moment, were he not provided with the S’akti of upholding this world.

19. Indra said :-- O Bhagavatî! Would Brahmâ be ever able to create this world without the aid of Sarasvatî! Would Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, be ever able to preserve it without the aid of Laksmî or would Mahes’vara be ever able, to destroy this world without the help of His Umâ; no, never! These Devas, the Trinity, are able to take their respective parts in the keeping up of the world simply because they are united with the forces, incarnate in Sarasvatî, etc., who are again parts of Thee.

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20. Visnu said :-- O Vimale! Were we deprived of Thy Force, the Creator would never have been able to create the world, I would never have been able to preserve it and Mahes’vara would never have been able to destroy. Therefore O Devî! Thou alone art reigning as the Supreme Goddess amidst all the glories in the creation, preservation, and destruction of this Universe.

21-22. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Thus praised by the Gods, the Goddess then addressed them :-- O Devas! Let all anxieties leave you all; I will do what the Devas have desired, even if it be very difficult to do in this world; now explain what is troubling the Goddess Earth.

23. The Devas replied :-- The wicked kings are troubling very much this Earth. She cannot any longer bear their burden; therefore She came crying unto us.

24. O Bhuvanes’varî! Now it is Your duty to remove this load of earth. O Auspicious One! Know this, the desire of the gods.

25-28. O Mother! In days of yore, You have killed the most powerful Dânava named Mahisa, attended by lakhs and lakhs of Dânavas and Daityas; What to speak! You have slain S’umbha, Nis’umbha, Raktavîja, the very powerful Chanda Munda, Dhumralochana, Durmukha, Duhsana, the strong Karâla and many other cruel Dânavas.

Now, similarly kill the wicked kings, the enemies of the Gods and save the Earth from their heavy loads.

29. Vyâsa said :-- Thus addressed by the Devas, the Most Auspicious One, the Devî, whose colour was black and who looked askance, said smiling in a tone, grave and deep, like that of the rumbling of a raincloud.

30. O Suras! I have already thought over how the burden of those wicked kings, the parts incarnate of Asuras, can be removed.

31. I will, by My own power, rob them of their powers, of that highly prosperous and affluent Jârasandha, the king of Magadha, and others, the parts incarnate of the wicked Asuras, that are now shining on the Earth.

32. O Devas! You would all better go down and incarnate yourselves as part incarnations, impregnated with My power, and help thus in the removal of the load of this earth.

33. The Deva Prajâpati Maharsi Kas’yapa would first of all go with his his wife and incarnate as Ânaka Dundubhi Vasudeva, in the race of Yadu.

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34. The Imperishable Bhagavân Visnu will also incarnate as part, owing to the curse of Bhrigu, as the son of Vasudeva.

35. O Devas! I will be born, then, in the womb of Yas’odâ, in Gokula and will accomplish all the ends of the Gods.

36. I will send Visnu from the prison to the Gokula; also I will transfer Anântâ Deva from the womb of Devakî to the womb of Rohinî.

37. They two will grow, day by day, by My Force and at the end of the Dvâpara Yuga, will no doubt kill the wicked kings.

38-39. Arjuna too, the part incarnate of Indra, will destroy the armies of those kings. Yudhisthira, the part incarnate of Dharma, Bhîmsena, that of of Vâyu, Nakula and Sahadeva the incarnate of the two A’svins, and Bhîsma, the incarnate of Vasu as the son of the Gangâ, will take their respective births and exhaust their armies.

40. O Devas! Now be calm and quiet and go. Let the Earth be also calm and quiet; be confident that I will certainly remove the load of this earth.

41. I will make the above mentioned Gods as my instruments merely and I will destroy, by My own force, the Ksatriyas in the battlefield of Kuruksettra.

42. Malice, jealousy, foul intention, desire, attachment, vanity, covetousness, desire for victory, lust, and fascination are the vices that will destroy the Yâdavas.

43. The race of Yadu will end owing to the curse of a Brâhmana. The Bhagavân also will leave His mortal coil due to a curse.

44. Now go and incarnate in your respective parts, with your wives, in Gokula and Mathurâ, and be helpers in the work of the Lord.

45-46. Vyâsa said :-- Saying thus, the Devî the Goddess of the Universe, the Mâyâ Incarnate of the Highest Self disappeared. The Devas and the Earth went to their respective places. O king Janamejaya! the Goddess Earth was pleased with the Devî’s words, and being quiet, remained surrounded with various medicinal plants and creepers.

47. Then the subjects felt peace and pleasure, the Brâhmans also grew stronger in happiness and prosperity, and the Munis became glad and began to perform their religious acts with fresh zeal and alacrity.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, the Mahâ Purânam, on chanting the hymns to the Devî by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fourth Book: Chapter 20

THE FOURTH BOOK

Chapter XX

On Devakî’s marriage

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1-2. Vyâsa said :-- O Bharata! I now narrate to you about the relief of the burden of the Earth, the destruction by the Yoga Mâyâ of the armies Kuruksettra and Prabhâsa, the two sacred places, and about the birth, due to the curse of Bhrigu, of the Bhagavân Hari, of unparalleled prowess, under the influence of Mahâmâyâ, in the race of Yadu. Now hear.

3. Visnu’s taking birth in the world was effected under the circumstances caused by Yoga Mâyâ, to relieve the burden of the Earth; this is my opinion.

N. B. :-- Prabhâsa is a well-known place of pilgrimage near Dvârkâ, in Gujerat.

4. O king! When the Goddess Mahâmâyâ, the Incarnate of the three qualities can make Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas dance incessantly as their Internal Controller, then what wonder, that She would appear charming to the other Jîvas and make them dance incessantly, as wooden dolls.

5. All the troubles incurred in remaining in the womb, amidst the urine, excreta and tissues, She had brought to bear finally on Visnu by Her ever famous Leelâ (Divine Sport).

6. In days of yore, in Râma incarnation, She, That Supreme Goddess made the Gods become monkeys and you know very well already, what amount of trouble Bhagavân Visnu had to undergo by the hard iron chain of bondage, “This is mine, this is I,” etc., imposed by Mâyâ.

7. The Yogis who want final liberation and who have abandoned all their attachments and who want devotion, they worship the Supreme Goddess of the Universe, the Incarnate of Auspiciousness.

8. O king! Who will not serve Her? A trace of devotion towards Whom effects at once the salvation of the Jîvas.

9. If any human being utters simply the name “Bhuvanes’varî” (the Goddess of Universe) She gives him the three worlds; and if any one cries and utters for help “Save me,” then the Goddess of the Universe, being unable to find anything that She can repay him as a fit recompense for his utterance, becomes Herself indebted to that man.

10. O King! Know Vidyâ (knowledge) and Avidyâ (non-knowledge, spiritual ignorance, lower knowledge) Her two forms; Vidyâ gives liberation; Avidyâ causes bondage.

11. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, all these and their Avatâras are Her instruments and are under Her subjection, as if they are all fastened by a cord.

12-14. The Bhagavân Hari sometimes resides in Vaikuntha, sometimes resides in the sea of milk and enjoys pleasures, sometimes fights the powerful Dânavas, sometimes performs extensive sacrificial ceremonies

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sometimes performs severe asceticism and sometimes takes to deep sleep under the guidance of Yoga Mâyâ. Thus He never becomes free and independent.

15-16. O King! And like Visnu, Brahmâ, Rudra, the other Gods Indra, Varuna, Yama, Kuvera, Agni, the Sun, Moon and other celestial gods, the Sanaka and other Munis, Vas’istha and other Risis, all are incessantly controlled by the Supreme Goddess, as if they are the dolls in the hands of a playing magician.

17. All the Devas are controlled by the noose of Time, just as oxen are brought under control by men, by strings passed within their noses.

18. O King! Pleasure, pain, sleep, lassitude, idleness, and other passions and feelings are always found inherent in every embodied being.

19-23. The Devas are written down by authors in their books as not subject to death or decay; this statement is merely nominal and not real; for whoever is always subject to birth, growth, decay and death how can we call him immortal or beyond old age and death? Why do the Devas get into sorrows, and troubles? How can they be called gods? How can one enjoy when one is involved in a trouble? In this world, it is seen mosquitoes and other insects born from water die after a very short time; so, like these, the Devas at the expiry of their ordained life-period, die too. Then why not the Devas be treated like those insects? Why not shall we term them, “Mortal”?

24-25. Some human beings live one year; some others live upto one hundred years, the Devas live longer than men; the life of the Prâjâpatî Brahmâ exceeds those of the Devas; Rudra lives longer than Brahmâ; and Visnu lives longer than Rudra. All these are thus subject by turns to birth, growth, and decay.

26. Those who are born, they die; those that die are again born. Thus O King! In this world all the Jîvas, no doubt, move round and round like a wheel.

27. The Jîvas are deluded by the network of Moha (charms) and thus deluded. They can never gain final release. So long as Mâyâ exists in them, their delusion is not destroyed.

28. O King! At the time of creation Brahmâ and all other things came into existence, in due order, and these will duly dissolve at the time of the Great Dissolution (the Pralaya)?

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29. Whatever is the cause of destruction to anybody here, that destroys the body in question. According to the Will Power of the Supreme Goddess, whatever is created by Brahmâ, no none can undo that. Know this as perfectly certain.

30. Know this the predestined law that the birth, death, old age, diseases, pain or pleasure overtake all the Jîvas according to the prescribed order of Nature; never these laws fail to operate in their actions.

31. See! The Devas that we see with our physical eyes, the Sun and Moon yield pleasure to all; still they suffer always troubles at the hands of their enemies (i.e., Râhu and Ketu, i.e., there always take place regularly solar and lunar eclipses, when they are in the ascending and descending modes.) This suffering is never removed.

32. The son of the Sun (Saturn) is always injurious to people; hence it is termed “Manda” (bad); the Moon was attacked with consumption and bears stain on his body (spots in the Moon disc). What to speak of ordinary men? The great men even are subject to the prescribed laws of Fate and Nature.

33. The Creator of the world, the four faced Brahmâ is the author of the Vedas and awarder of Intelligence. He, too, on seeing Sarasvatî, his own daughter, was afflicted with passion.

34. When Sati, the wife of S’iva, left off Her mortal coil, Mahâdeva, though He could remove the sorrows of all, was very much moved with passion and greatly afflicted.

35. Then, being burnt very much as it were by the fire of passion, he threw himself down into the water of the river Kâlindî; and the water of that river became black-coloured, as if burnt by the burning fire of the sorrows of S’iva.

36-37. O King! When Mahâdeva, being infatuated with Kâma, went into the forest of Bhrigu and becoming naked, began to copulate, the ascetic Bhrigu, seeing him in that state, exclaimed “O You are very shameless” and cursed Him thus :-- Let your penis drop off just now. Mahâdeva, then to satisfy his thirst for passion, began to drink the water of the lake Amrita Vapî, dug by the Dânavas.

38-39. Indra, too, the Lord of the Devas, turned into a bull and carried Visnu on his back on the face of the earth. What to speak where the omniscience and omnipotence disappeared of Bhagavân Visnu, Who is the First of all created beings and possessed of reason, and discrimination? Oh! What a great wonder, that He could not know about the golden deer?

40-41. Judge, O King! for yourself, the great power of Mâyâ, that even Râma Chandra was deluded by passion, and very much grieved for the

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separation from his dear wife Sîtâ, and wept much for Her. Greatly deluded, he began to cry aloud and ask the trees “Where has gone My Sîtâ, the daughter of Janaka? Is she devoured by the rapacious animals? or whether is she stolen by some mischievous person?

42-44. O Brother Laksmana! I am being consumed by the fire of separation from my beloved; I will commit suicide now; and you too will die due to the separation from me; our mother, too, would die when they will hear of our deaths; Satrughna, too, will be very much afflicted at our death and will not hold his life. The mother Sumitrâ, too, will destroy her life, being afflicted with her son’s demise; and then Bharata’s and his mother’s desires will certainly be fulfilled.

45. O Sîtâ! I am very much moved by your separation; where have you gone, leaving me here! O deer-eyed, O one of thin waist! come; give life unto me!

46. What shall I do? Where shall I go? My life is entirely dependent on you, O daughter of Janaka! I am your darling! Now I am very much depressed owing to your separation. Please come and speak to me words of hope and courage.

47. Though Râma, of unequalled prowess, roamed about weeping from forest to forest, yet he could not find out Sîtâ.

48-49. He, who is the Refuge of all the worlds, the lotus-eyed Râma, got entangled into the delusion of Mâyâ and had to take refuge Himself under the monkeys, and with their help, constructed the bridge across the ocean, crossed the ocean and was thus able to kill the valiant warriors Kumbhakarna and Râvana.

50. Then Râma got back His Sîtâ before him but suspecting, since she had been stolen by the vicious Râvana, made her take an oath, though it is to, be remembered that Râma was all-knowing.

51. O King! The power of Yoga Mâyâ is very great; what shall I speak of Her great power? This whole cosmos is always urged into activity by Her and thus goes rolling on and on incessantly.

52. Thus, in various incarnations, Bhagavân Visnu was always under the influence of previous curse and also under the control of Destiny and had to do various functions incessantly.

53. O King! Now I will speak to you about the birth of S’rî Krisna in the world for serving the purposes of gods, and will narrate His Leelâ.

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54. In days of yore, on the delightful banks of the river Kâlindî, there was a place, called Madhuban, where lived a powerful Daitya named Lavana, the son of Madhu.

55-56. That wicked Demon was exceedingly arrogant, on getting a boon, and he used to give an enormous amount of trouble to the Dvijas. Satrughna the younger of Laksman, killed that uncontrollable Daitya and built a very beautiful city there and named it Mathurâ.

57. The intelligent Satrughna, the destroyer of enemies, installed his two lotus-eyed sons in that kingdom and, when his end came, went to Heaven.

58. Afterwards on the decline of the Solar race, the Yâdavas, born of the race of Yayâti, occupied that Mathurâ city, giving salvation to all.

59. O King! There reigned in Mathurâ city one Yâdava king, valiant warrior, named S’ûrasena; and he enjoyed all the pleasures Mathurâ.

60. Under the curse of Varuna, Vâsudeva took his birth as the son of the renowned S’ûrasena, as the part incarnate of Kas’yapa.

61. He took up the profession of a Vais’ya and engaged himself in agriculture. And on the death of his father, the prosperous and wealthy Ugrasena became the King of Mathurâ. The powerful Kamsa was the son Ugrasena.

62. On the other hand, the King Devaka had a daughter born to him named Devakî, the part incarnate of Aditi. She under the curse of Varuna, followed Kas’yapa.

63. The high souled King Devaka performed the marriage ceremony of his daughter Devakî with Vâsudeva.

64. When this marriage ceremony was over, a voice was heard from Heaven, saying :-- O fortunate Kamsa! The eighth son of this Devakî will take away your life.

65. The powerful Kamsa, hearing that voice from Heaven, was surprised and took it to be true and became very anxious.

66-67. Kamsa began to argue in his mind. Once he thought “I would today destroy her; then my death won’t take place; for I can’t see any other way of escape from this difficulty,” again he thought, “She is my sister, daughter of my paternal uncle and therefore fit to be worshipped; how can I kill her!”

68. Lastly, he came to the final conclusion, thus “She is the cause of my death, though she is my sister, fit to be worshipped; to kill her will not

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lead me to sin; for it is enjoined by the wise :-- Do even a sin to avert one’s own death.”

69. The sins can be remedied always by penances. Therefore to save one’s life, by committing even a sinful act, ought to be done by the wise.

70-71. The vicious Kamsa thus arguing, holding the scabbard in his hand, drew from it the sword and dragged and caught hold of the newly married handsome woman by her hair to kill her before the presence of the public.

72. A cry of universal consternation and distress arose on all sides, seeing Kamsa thus ready to kill Devakî; then the warriors, under Vâsudeva, at once raised their bows and arrows, ready to fight.

73. These wonderfully valorous warriors loudly exclaimed to Kamsa, “Leave Devakî at once” “Leave Devakî at once” and then they were finally able out of their mercy to release the Devamâtâ Devakî, from the hold of the vicious Kamsa.

74. Deadly battles ensued then between the powerful Kamsa and those valorous warriors on Vâsudeva’s side.

75-76. Seeing the exceedingly terrible battle, the old Yâdavas asked Kamsa to desist from such a battle and advised him thus. This Devakî is your sister; you ought to pay her respects. Did you not consider even for a moment that she is as yet a girl. O Hero! You ought not to kill her at the time of this joyous marriage ceremony.

77. O Valiant Warrior! The murder of a woman is intolerable! Destroyer of fame, and most heinous crime! You should also consider that learned persons ought not to commit such dastardly acts as the murdering of females, depending simply on a voice from heaven, a very ordinary thing!

78. It may be that some of your Vâsudeva’s enemy has uttered that harmful word, hiding himself from your sight. No reason can be shewn contrary to this.

79. We are of opinion that to ruin your name and to destroy the house of Vâsudeva, some magician, expert in black magic, your enemy has framed this voice from Heaven.

80. O king! You are a hero; why do you fear the words of a devil. We firmly believe, there is no doubt, that this is done by your malicious enemy to ruin your name.

81. O king! What is destined to take place, will take place; no one can stand against it otherwise. Therefore, at this marriage festivity, you ought never to kill this your respected sister.

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82-83. O King Janamejaya! Though made to understand thus by the old wise Yâdavas, the king Kamsa did not desist from his purpose; S’rî Vâsudeva, versed in morals, told him “Kamsa! These three worlds are established on Truth. I say on Truth that I will hand over to you all my sons, born of the womb of Devakî, no sooner they are born.

84. And if I do not deliver to you all those sons, no sooner they are born then all my forefathers will fall down into the hell called Kumbîhpâka.”

85-86. The descendants of Puru, that were present there, hearing his truthful words, praised him repeatedly and told Kamsa “Vâsudeva is a high minded personage; he is surely not to tell a lie. Therefore, O Thou, blessed one! Now leave Devakî and be free from committing the murder of woman.”

87. O king! Thus made to understand by the aged high minded Yâdavas the king Kamsa accepted the truthful words of Vâsudeva and abandoned his anger.

88. Then the Dunduvis and other sounding instruments were sounded; and their sounds filled the place; and all repeatedly uttered jai, jai.

89. Then the famous Vâsudeva, the son of S’ûrasena, thus pleased the king Kamsa and freed Devakî; and, surrounded by his relatives, he went quickly without any fear to his own house, accompanied by Devakî.

Here ends the 20th chapter in the 4th Adhyâya of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, on Devakî’s marriage.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fourth Book: Chapter 21

THE FOURTH BOOK

Chapter XXI

On the killing of the sons of Devakî

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1. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus, in due course, Devakî, the goddess incarnate, being united according to rules with Vâsudeva, became pregnant.

2-4. When full ten months were over, a good-looking and beautiful child (male) was first born to Devakî. Then the good-natured Vâsudeva remembered his promise, and also what is ordained by Heaven; and he spoke to Devakî, the part incarnate of Aditi “O fair-looking! You know that I saved your life at your marriage by swearing on oath to deliver all your fresh-born children to Kamsa. Now has come the time to hand over your child to Kamsa.”

5. O good-haired woman! Now I will hand your this son to Kamsa. Know Kamsa is very cruel and wicked. I cannot say what step he will take, urged on by Fate, to kill your child. O Sweet One! We have no hands in the matter. The effects of Karma are exceedingly puzzling. Ordinary persons cannot know them.

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6. All persons are subject to Time, the Destroyer, and enjoy the merits or demerits of their past deeds. The effects of past Karma are fashioned by the Creator; knowing this, allow me to take away your child.

7. Devakî said :-- O Lord! Certainly men have to suffer fully the effects of their past Karmas. But can that not be upset by residing in holy places, practising penances and asceticism or by making generous gifts?

8-9. The high minded Maharsis have fixed rules and penances for destroying the sins of past deeds; twelve years’ vow to observe penances can purify one from sins, e.g., Brâhminicide, stealing gold, drinking or stealing the wife of one’s preceptor and many others.

10-11. O Sinless one! Will not any one be freed from their sinful effects, if they observe practices and penances as are ordained by Manu or other Munis? If you don’t accept penances to be sufficiently purificatory, do you mean to say, then, that what the Maharsis, seers, Yâjñavalkya and other promulgators of religious doctrines have uttered, they did so, as an act of dire falsehood and villainy?

12. O My husband! “What is in the womb of Fate will surely come to pass,” if this be taken as granted, then the whole Ayurveda (medicinal books) and Mantra vâdas, the science and recitation of mantras or sacred formulae turn out utterly fruitless and false!

13-16. If all the actions are under the control of Fate, then no effect can come out of any effort; so all efforts are reduced to no effect. If what is ordained by Heaven is to come to pass then what is the use of taking recourse to any action and Agnistoma sacrifices, etc., that are declared to lead to Heavens. Judge! If Heaven or Fate you consider all-in-all, then the whole Vedas, the revelations from God’s mouth turn out false; if the Vedas be false, then there is no reason why the whole Dharma will not be destroyed.

N.B. :-- Fate is here denounced.

17. Now when it is seen that effects do come out whenever any exertion is made, then you ought to think out carefully and find out some means to avert danger. Therefore do you judge and find out a good way of preserving the life of this new born baby.

The learned people say that to tell a lie is not a sin, if you can thereby save a life, and have an honest motive for the welfare of all.

Note :-- Here is a diplomatic statement!

18. Vâsudeva said :-- O blessed one! I now tell you what is truth and the matters connected with truth.