El Devi Bhagavatam

O Fortunate One! Your ministers will all come and prostrate themselves before your feet and will be obedient to you; you can now go back to your city and govern your subjects happily. O King! Thus reign for Ajuta years (10,000 years) over your widely extended dominion; then, when you quit your body, you will again be born from Sûrya, and be known widely as Sâvarni Manu.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! The pure-natured Vais’ya said with folded hands :-- “O Devî! I have nothing to do with house, sons, nor wealth. O Mother! The house, wealth and sons, all these are so many sources of bondage to this world and are very transitory like dreams. Therefore give me knowledge so that my ties to this world be cut asunder. Persons who are devoid of knowledge, those fools are merged in this ocean of world. The wise never prefer this Samsâra; therefore they can cross this world.  Vyâsa

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said :-- O King! Hearing this, the Mahâmâyâ said to the Vais’ya, that stood in front of Her thus :-- “O Vais’ya! No doubt you will acquire knowledge.” Thus granting boons to them, the Devî then and there disappeared. After the Devî had disappeared, the King bowed down to the Muni, mounted on his horse and expressed a desire to go back to his kingdom. Just at that time all his ministers and subjects came humbly before him, bowed down to him and standing before him with folded hands, said :-- “O King! Your enemies all had acted very sinfully; hence they were all slain in battle; you be pleased now to remain in your city, free from any enemy and govern your subjects.” The King, hearing thus, bowed down to the Muni and with his permission, started towards his kingdom, surrounded by his ministers. On regaining his own kingdom, wife, relatives and kinsmen he began to enjoy the sea-girt earth. On the other hand, the Vais’ya became illumined with the Spiritual Knowledge and all his connections and attachments being completely severed, became free from all bondages. He became liberated in his lifetime and travelled always from one place of pilgrimage to another and passed away his time in singing the glorious deeds of the Devî. O King! Thus I have described to you the most wonderful character of the Devî, what fruits were obtained by the King and the Vais’ya on their worshipping Her, how the Daityas were killed by Her and about Her auspicious appearances on this earth. Oh! Such is the glory of the Devî, leading to fearlessness amongst Her devotees. The mortal who hears constantly this excellent pure narrative of the Devî Bhagavatî, gets truly all the best and wonderful pleasures of this world. No doubt anybody who hears this wonderful incident, will obtain knowledge, liberation, fame, happiness and purity. The essence of all religions lies in this narration; therefore it leads, above all, to Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksa (religion, wealth, desire and liberation). It grants all desires to human beings.

53-54. Sûta said :-- O Risis! The Maharsi Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, versed in all the departments of knowledge, asked by the King Janamejaya, narrated to him this divine Samhitâ. The character of Chandikâ, the killing of the Daitya S’umbha, were thus narrated by the merciful Muni Veda Vyâsa. O Munis! I, too, have described to you the main points of this Purâna. Here ends the Fifth Book.

Here ends the Thirty-fifth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the receiving of the boons by the King Suratha and the Vais’ya Samâdhi in the Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Fifth Book Completed.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Sixth Book: Chapter 1

THE SIXTH BOOK

Chapter I

On Tris’irâ’s austerities

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1-12. The Risis (of the Naimisa forest) addressed Sûta (fondly) :-- O highly Fortunate One! Your nectar-like words are very sweet. We are not satiated with what you have described to us as the auspicious sayings of Dvaipâyana Vyâsa. O Sûta! We desire to ask you again to narrate to us the auspicious sayings of this Purâna, beautiful, famous, and sin-destroying and authorised by the holy Vedas. Vis'vakarmâ had a son, named Vritrâsura, who was very well known, and very powerful. How was it that he had been slain by the high-souled Indra? Vis'vakarmâ was a powerful Brâhmin and belonged to the gods' party; his son was stronger. How was it that he had been killed by Indra! The Devas are born of the Sattva qualities; men are born from the Râjasic qualities; and all the birds, etc., are born of the Tâmasic qualities. This is the opinion of the Pundits, versed in the Purânas and Âgamas. But in this act of slaying Vritrâsura, a great contradiction arises; for the powerful Vritra was killed merely under a pretext by Indra, the performer of the hundred sacrifices, and endowed with Sattva qualities. And Indra was prompted to do so by Visnu, the head of those who possess Sattva qualities; while Visnu himself entered in disguise into the thunderbolt so that he could kill Vritra. The powerful Vritra entered into a treaty and kept himself peaceful when Indra and Visnu violated truth and treacherously killed him by Jalaphena (the watery foams). O Sûta! The great wonder is this :-- That Indra and Visnu turned out so bold as to forsake the truth. This, then, is therefore very clear that the high souled persons become deluded and act sinfully. The Heads of the Devas act very wrongly; they are reckoned as polite simply because they observe the mere outward forms of good conduct as approved by the S'âstras. How can the mere observance of outward forms constitute politeness? Had Indra, who killed in disguise Vritra relying on his words, to suffer any punishment for the sin that he incurred in killing a Brâhmana? It was told by you before that Vritra had been slain by the Devî Bhagavatî; but the general belief is that Indra killed him. Our minds are puzzled on this point. (So clear our doubts on this point.)

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13-14. Sûta said :-- O Munis! Hear the incident of the killing of Vritrâsura and the punishment that Indra had to suffer due to his sin of Brahmahatyâ (killing a Brâhmin). This question was asked by the King Pâriksit and replied by Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî. I will tell you what Vyâsa had told before.

15-18. Janamejaya asked :-- O Best of Munis! How was it that in former days Indra, endowed with the Sattva qualities, killed Vritrâsura, with the aid of Visnu? And how and why was it that he was killed again by the Goddess Bhagavatî? O Lord of Munis! How could one body be killed by the two; our curiosity has been excited to hear the truth. What man is there that does not like to hear any more of the glorious deeds of the high-souled persons! Kindly narrate to us the slaying of Vritra by the Devî Bhagavatî.

19-26. Vyâsa said :-- O King! You are blessed, since your taste to hear the events of Purâna has grown so much; the Devas even get their thirst for drinking nectar; but when quenched, they do not like to drink any more. O King! Your name and fame are widely spread. Your Bhakti (devotion) to the Purânas is growing more and more daily. A speaker gets very much delighted when his audience hears him with undivided attention. O Lord of the earth! The fight between Vritra and Vâsava that occurred in days of yore is famous in the passages of the Vedas and the Purânas; as well as the suffering that Indra had to encounter as his punishment when he had killed the innocent son of Visvakarma. O King! The Munis, who fear sin very much, commit yet blameable acts under Mâyâ; then what wonder is there that Visnu, and Indra would kill Tris'irâ and Vritra merely under a plea. When Visnu, the incarnate of Sattva qualities, gets deluded by Mâyâ and kills deceitfully the Daityas always, then how can you expect any other man to conquer mentally even the Maha Mâyâ Bhavâni, Who deludes all the beings! O King! It is under the compulsion of this Mâyâ that the Bhagavân, the Infinite, the friend of Nara, Nârâyana, takes incarnations in thousands and thousands of Yugas in this Samsâra as Fish, etc., and does deeds sometimes lawful and sometimes unlawful. The Devas and men, being confounded by his Mâyâ, become upset and disordered and say “that this body, wealth, house, sons, wife and relatives are all mine” and being thus deluded sometimes do virtuous and sometimes sinful deeds. O King! There is not even one, on the surface of this earth, though he may be well versed in finding out cause and effect, the knowledge of the high and low, that can be free from this Great Delusion; he is from the very beginning tied up by the three Gunas of this Mâyâ and that remains under Her control.

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27-35. This explains that Visnu and Indra both were deluded by Mâyâ and engaged in fulfilling their own selfish ends. They killed Vritrâs'ûra under a pretext. O King! Hear! I am now describing to you the cause of enmity between lndra and Vritra. Vis'vakarmâ, the Prajâpati, was great architect of the Gods, he was skilled, he was superior amongst the gods, a great ascetic and endeared by the Brahmins. He had enmity with Indra; and out of this enmity he created a son, very beautiful named him Tris'iraska Visvarûpa. That son had three faces very beautiful and lovely. Visvarûpa performed three different functions with his three different faces; with one, he used to study the Vedas, with the second he used to drink nectar (wine), and with the third he used to see simultaneously all the directions. Tris'irâ renounced the pleasures of the world and began to practise a hard tapasyâ; he became a great ascetic, gentle, restrained in his passions and entirely devoted to his religion. He practised Panchâgni-Sâdhan in the summer season, tying his feet upwards on the branch of a tree with his head downwards; he remained in dew in the cold season, under water in the winter season. Thus he abstained from food and conquered his self and, forsaking all the worldly connections, practised a very hard tapasyâ; very difficult, indeed, for those who are of dull intellects.

36-49. Indra became very sad and dispirited to see him practise such a Tapasyâ and thought of the means so that he might not acquire his Indraship. The Pâkasâs'ana Indra remained always very anxious see the energetic penance practised by that ascetic of unbounded glory and his steady attachment towards it. He thought thus :-- “This Tris'irâ is becoming stronger day by day by his penance, so he will kill me. The wise never look an enemy with indifference whose strength daily becomes greater and greater.” It is now my urgent duty to invent means how to baffle his Tapasyâ and he at last settled that lust is the great enemy of asceticism; the practice of devout austerities is destroyed complete by lust; so I must try this very day how the Muni becomes attached to worldly lust and enjoyments. The intelligent Indra, thinking thus, called the Apsarâs Urvas'î, Menakâ, Rambhâ, Ghritâchî, and Tilottamâ and others proud of their beauties so that they might seduce Tri'sirâ, the son of Vi'svakarmâ. O Apsarâs! I have now got a very grave task to fulfil; all of you help me in this respect. A great enemy of mine, difficult to conquer, is practising penance with his self-controlled. Start at once and with your dress suited to various amorous gestures and try hard to seduce him. Be all well with you; seduce him and remove the fever of my heart. O Apsarâs! What more shall I say, I am restless since I have heard of his strength performing such hard austerities. O Weak Ones ! That powerful

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ascetic may acquire my place and thus dispossess me; this fear has possessed me. Therefore destroy my fear as quickly as possible. This is the task now given to you; get united and do this good to me. The Apsarâs, hearing him, bowed down and said :-- “O Lord of the Devas! Do not be afraid! We will try our best to seduce him. O highly Lustrous One! For the enticing away of the Muni, we will do all the things, dancing, music and other amorous gestures and practices, that will discard your fear. O King of the Gods! We will unsettle the mind of the Muni by our side glances and passionate gestures and postures, delude and tie him and then bring him under our control.”

50-60. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, the Apsarâs went to Tris'irâ and began to exhibit various amorous gestures and postures as stated in the Kâma Sâstra. They began to sing sometimes, sometimes to dance in tune with musical measures before the Muni. In short, they practised various amorous gestures to entice him away. But that ascetic, blazing with the fire of Tapas, did not notice even the Apsaras' various attempts; rather he kept all his senses under the control and remained like a deaf, dumb, and blind man. In that lovely hermitage of the Muni, the Apsarâs sang and danced ravishingly and remained a few days there. But when they saw that the Muni Tris'irâ did not swerve a bit from his meditative posture they returned tired, distressed to Indra and all, very fearful, began to address Indra with folded hands :-- “O King! We tried our best and we could not in any way make the Muni unsteady, very hard to surmount. O Pâkas'asana! Please invent other means; we could not make the self-controlled Muni move away an inch from his position; it is our good luck that that high-souled Muni, an incarnate of blazing fire have not cursed us!” Then dismissing the Apsarâs, the evil-minded and dull Indra began to devîse means, though totally unlawful, how to kill that good Muni. O King! That Indra abandoned all shame, and fear of sin and ultimately came to a highly blameable and sinful conclusion how to kill him.

Here ends the First Chapter of the Sixth Book on Tris'irâ's austerities in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Sixth Book: Chapter 2

THE SIXTH BOOK

Chapter II

On the birth of Vritrâsura

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1-11. Vyâsa said :-- The extremely covetous Indra, then, mounted on his Airâvata elephant and determined to kill the Muni. He went to him and saw him immersed in deep Samâdhi, firmly seated in his posture and with his speech controlled. At that time, a halo of light emanated from

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his body and he looked like a second Sun and a blazing fire. Indra became very sad and dejected when he saw that. Indra then thought within himself thus :-- “Oh! Can I slay this Muni, free from any vicious inclinations, and endowed with the power of Tapas, blazing like a fire! This is quite against the Dharma. But, Alas! He wants to usurp my position; how can I, then, neglect such an enemy?” Thus cogitating, Indra hurled at the Muni his swift going, infallible thunderbolt, the Muni remaining engaged in his penance and shining like the Sun and Moon. The ascetic, struck thus, fell on the ground and died, like a mountain peak struck by thunder falling on the ground and presenting a wondrous sight. Indra became very glad when he killed the Muni; but the other Munis then cried aloud :-- “Oh! We are killed! Alas! What a crime has Indra committed today! Oh! The vicious Indra has killed today this jewel amongst the Munis without any offence! Let, then, this sinner reap the fruits of his sinful act without any delay.” Indra, then, went back soon to his own abode; on the other hand, the high-souled Muni, though killed, looked as it were, living by the lustre of his own body. Indra, then, seeing him lying like a living man thought that the Muni might get alive and so became very sad. While he was thus arguing in his mind, he saw before him a wood cutter named Taksa and began to speak to him for his own selfish ends thus “O Artisan! Cut all the heads of this Muni and keep my word; this highly lustrous Muni is looking as it were alive; therefore, if you sever his heads, he cannot be alive.” Taksa then cursed him and spoke thus.

12-14. “O King of the Devas! The neck of this Muni is very big and therefore cannot be severed; my axe is not at all fit for this work . Specially I cannot do such a blameable act. You have done a very heinous crime, quite against the law of the good persons; I fear sin; I will not be able to cut the heads of a dead man. This Muni is lying dead; what use is there in severing his head again? O Pâkas'âsana! The killer of the demon Pâka! Why do you fear in this?”

15. Indra said :-- “O Artisan! This Muni is my dire enemy. Life seems to be still lingering in his body; his body is still lustrous, I fear if the Muni be alive again!”

16. Taksa told :-- “Do you not feel shame in doing this heinous crime, when you know everything? Do you not fear God for the crime of killing a Brâhmin?”

17. Indra said :-- I will make Prâyas'chitta (penance) afterwards for the washing away of my sins; but my duty at present is to kill my enemy.

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O Fortunate One! The wise men, clever in polity, say that enemies must be killed by any excuse whatsoever.

18. Taksâ then replied :-- “O Maghavan! You are doing this sinful deed out of your avarice; but, O Lord! I have no cause whatsoever; how then without any cause, can I engage myself in such a vicious act?”

19-20. Indra said :-- “O Taksan! I will allot a share to you wherever there will be a sacrifice. The human beings will invariably offer to you the head of the animal killed at any sacrifice. Now cut his head according to this rule.”

21-42. Vyâsa said :-- O King! That Taksâ became very glad when he heard thus from Indra and struck off the heads of the Muni with his very strong axe. O powerful King! When the three heads, thus severed, fell to the ground, thousands and thousands of birds came out of those heads in quick succession. The three groups of birds Kalavinkas, Tittiris and Kapinjalas came out very rapidly from the three heads in due succession. The Kapinjala birds came out of that mouth that used to chant the Vedas and used to drink Soma; the Tittiri birds came out of that mouth that used to see all the quarters as if it drank them; and the Kalavinka birds came out of that face that used to drink wine. Indra became very glad to see the birds thus coming out of his mouths and went back at once to his Heavens. O King! No sooner Indra went back, than Taksâ came back to his own house and felt himself very pleased to receive his share of sacrificial things. On returning to his home, Indra thought that he had done his duty in slaying his powerful enemy. It did not pass in his mind that he had committed the Brahmahattyâ sin (i. e., that he had killed a Brâhmin). When Vis'vakarmâ heard that his virtuous son had been killed, he became very angry (in his mind) and said that as Indra had killed his qualified son engaged in asceticism without any offence, he would create another son to kill Indra. Let the Devas see his strength and power of Tapasyâ and let Indra, too, reap the far-reaching effects of his own Karma. Thus saying, Vis'vakarmâ distressed with anger, offered oblations in the sacrificial Fire, reciting Mantram from the Atharvan Vedas, with the object of producing a son. When Homa was performed for eight nights consecutively, a man quickly came out of that burning fire, as if he was the Incarnate of Fire itself. Seeing the lustrous son before him, come out of the fire and endowed with power and energy, Vis'vakarmâ said “O Indra's enemy! Grow by my power of asceticism.” When Vis'vakarmâ spoke these words, burning with anger, that brilliant fiery son began to grow, towering high above the Heavens. Within a moment that man looked a second God of Death and appeared like a

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mountain and shone like the God Himself. Then he spoke to his own father Vis'vakarmâ, who was very distressed “O Father! Put my name. Pray, what use can I be to you? Why do you look so aggrieved and anxious; please explain to me all the causes. I make a firm vow today that will remove the cause of your sorrow. Father ! Of what avail is that to his father when he is not able to remove his sorrows!” O Father! Shall I drink the ocean or crumble the mountains to dust or shall I obstruct the passage of the rising Sun or shall I kill Indra, Yama, or the other host of Devas or shall I root out the earth and throw it with all beings into the ocean?”

43-53. O King! Hearing thus the sweet words of his son, Vis'vakarmâ gladly told his mountain-like son “O my Son! You are capable to save me from troubles (Vrijina) hence you are named Vritra. O highly Fortunate One! Your brother, named Tris'irâ, was a great ascetic; his three faces were all very strong. He was thoroughly conversant with the Vedas and the Vedangâs and well versed in all the other knowledges. He remained always engaged in practising asceticism, surprising to the three worlds. Indra killed my qualified son with his thunderbolt; that wicked soul severed the three heads without any offence. Therefore, O Best of beings! Kill that vicious, shameless, deceitful, wicked Indra guilty of the sin of Brahmahattyâ.” O King! Thus saying, Vis'vakarmâ very much confounded with the breavement of his son, created various divine weapons. He prepared weapons specially suited to kill Indra, the best axes, tridents, clubs, S'aktis, Tomaras and bows made of horns and arrows, Parighas, Pattis'as, divine discus like the Sudars'an Chakra, divine inexhaustible arrow cases with arrows, nice Kavacha, very substantial air-like swift-going chariot looking like a cloud and capable to carry great loads; all these he created and gave over to his son. O King! Vis'vakarmâ, the best of architects, excited by anger, made ready all the equipments necessary for war and gave them to his son Vritrâsura and sent him to kill Indra.

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Sixth Book on the birth of Vritrâsura in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî  Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Sixth Book: Chapter 3

THE SIXTH BOOK

Chapter III

On the Deva defeat and on Vritra’s tapasyâ

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1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Having the Svastyayana ceremony (a performance of rite to secure welfare or avert calamity) performed by the Brâhmanas versed in the Vedas, the powerful Vritra mounted on his

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chariot and started to kill Indra, the King of the Gods. The Dânavas that were previously defeated by the Devas now knowing Vritrâsura to be powerful, came up to him to serve his cause. The messengers of Indra, when they saw him ready for battle, hurriedly came to Indra and informed him all about his doings and other matters connected with it.

4-7. The messengers said :-- O Lord! Vis'vakarmâ, having been very much grieved his son being slain, got very angry and by Abhichâra process (an incantation with a design to injure or magic spells or charms used for a malevolent purpose) has created a son in order to kill you. That indomitable Vritrâsura is now your powerful enemy; mounting on his chariot he is coming here to fight with you, surrounded by other Asuras. O highly Fortunate One! This enemy of yours is as high as the mountain Meru; he is now coming hurriedly to you, making a terrible noise; guard yourself carefully. O King! While Indra was hearing the messengers, the Devas came there panic-stricken and terrified and said :--

8-16. The Ganas said :-- O Lord of the Suras! Ominous signs are being seen in the houses of the Gods; the birds are making sounds, very inauspicious and foreboding a great calamity. Crows, vultures, herons, falcons, and other ugly inauspicious birds are crying and making hoarse sounds on the tops of houses. Other birds are making incessantly harsh sounds like chichi koochy. The carriers of the several Devas are weeping and shedding tears always. O highly Fortunate One! On the tops of houses are heard very loud and very dreadful sounds of the crying Râksasîs at dead of night. O Giver of honour! The flags on the chariots are falling to the ground without any trace of wind. Thus ominous signs are being visible on earth and in the air. O King of the Devas! The ugly faced women, wearing black clothes, are roaming from house to house and always repeating “Leave the house, and go away at once.” The Deva women while sleeping in their own temples are seeing in their dreams that terrible Râksasîs, coming to them are cutting away their hairs on their heads and are frightening them. O Indra of the Devas! The inauspicious signs like these and earthquakes and the falling of the meteors are taking place. The jackals come in the courtyard of houses at night and yell horrible heartrending sounds. Lizards are moving always in the rooms and the several limbs of our bodies are shaking and thus making very inauspicious signs.

17. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing their words, Indra became very anxious and called Brihaspati, the Deva Guru, and asked him :--

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18-20. Indra spoke :--  O Brâhmana! Very inauspicious signs are being visible; dreadful winds are blowing and stars are falling from the skies what are all these? O Intelligent One! You are very wise and versed in the S'astras and the Guru of the Devas; you are omniscient and know very well how to remedy the evils. Therefore perform the rites by which enemies can be killed; do such as our miseries be all averted.

21-31. Brihaspati said :-- “O Thousand-eyed! What shall I do? You have committed shortly a heinous crime; you killed that innocent Muni and so you have earned a very bad Karmic effect. Very violent sins and good deeds produce their effects very quickly. It is, therefore, highly incumbent on those that desire for their own welfare, to take up any work with great discretion. It is never advisible to do any action that leads to the tormenting of others. Never do they find happiness who give pains to others. O Indra! You have committed Brahmahattyâ under the influence of greed and delusion; now suddenly has appeared the fruit of that act. O King of the Suras! This Vritra Asura is born invulnerable to all the Devas. That powerful indomitable Asura chief is now coming, mounted on a chariot, to kill you, surrounded by the other Dânavas and taking with him the Vis'vakarmâ-made divine arms and weapons equal to thunderbolt. He is coming like a second Kâla, as it were, to destroy the whole Universe. There is none in this Triloka, capable kill him; and his death will not also take place. While Brihaspati was thus speaking, a great tumultuous uproar rose at once. The Gandharbas, Kinnaras, Yaksas, Munis and other Immortals began to fly away from their quarters. Indra seeing the Devas flying away became very anxious and gave orders at once that all subservient to him must be ready at once for battle; they must go and call the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin As'vins, the Âdityas, Pûsâ, Bhaga, Vâyu, Kuvera, Varuna, Yama and the other Devas to come there at once. The enemy is well nigh; so let all the Devas come on their Vimânas quickly there.”

32-44. Thus ordering, Indra mounted on the Airâvata elephant and taking the Sura Guru in front started from his own temple. The other Devas mounted on their respective carriers and, firmly resolved to fight, started with all their arms and weapons. On the other hand, Vritrâsura surrounded by the Demons, came up to the beautiful mountain, adorned with trees, on the north side of the Mânasarovara Lake. Indra, too, came there with Brihaspati in front and attended by all the other Devas to that mountain, north of the Mânasa Lake and began to fight. A dreadful fight, then, ensued between Vritra and Indra with clubs, swords, Parighas, Pâs'as, arrows, S'aktis, Parsus and other weapons. The terrible

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fight lasted for full one hundred human years, terrifying to the self-controlled Risis and all the human beings. Varuna first turned his back; then Vâyu, then Yama, the Sun and Moon and then Indra fled from the battle-field. Seeing Indra and the other Devas flying away, Vritrâsura came to the hermitage and there bowed down to his father who looked very glad; and he said :-- O Father! I have carried out your orders; Indra and all the other Devas are defeated in the battle; as elephants and deer fly away seeing a lion, so the Devas all fled away to their respective abodes. I have taken the Airâvata, the best of elephants, away from Indra who fled away on foot. O Bhagavan! I have brought the elephant here. Kindly accept it. O Father! It is not advisable to kill a man who is terrified, therefore I did not kill them. Now kindly order anything else that I may fulfil your desires. All the Devas fled away from the battle-field, very much tired and terrified; and what more to say than this that Indra, too, fled, leaving his elephant on the field.

45-54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Vis'vakarmâ became very glad to hear his son's words and said :-- “Today I can rightly say that I have got my son and that my life is successful. O son! To-day you have sanctified me; my cares and worries are abated; my mind is also calm to see your wonderful prowess. O Child! Now hear attentively what I say. O highly intelligent One! Now carefully sit in your steady posture (Sthirâsan) and practise Tapasyâ. Never trust anybody; Indra is now your enemy, ever ready to find your faults, and clever in sowing dissensions between you and your well-wishers. O Son! Tapasyâ is not an ordinary thing; Laksmî (prosperity) is obtained thereby; excellent kingdoms, increase of vigour, and victories in battles are obtained. Therefore worship Hiranyagarbha and get excellent boons from him; then kill this vicious Indra, guilty of the sin Brahmahattyâ. Worship the auspicious Creator calmly and carefully. The four-faced Brahmâ then will be pleased and grant you your desired boon. First please the Creator of indomitable prowess, from Whose womb has sprung all this Universe, and get, then, immortality from Him. Then kill that guilty Indra, my enemy. O Son! My feeling of enmity due to the killing of my son reigns always in my mind; I cannot go to sleep peacefully nor do I get peace in any way. The vicious Indra killed my son; O Vritra! What more shall I say to you; I am merged in the ocean of sorrows; save me.”

55-60. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus hearing his father's words, Vritrâsura became inflamed with anger and, getting his permission, set out gladly to practise Tapasyâ. He then went to the Gandhamâdan mountain and performed his bath in the holy and auspicious river

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Mandâ Kinî, and, preparing a Sthirâsan, took his seat in the Kus'â grass, to practise the tapasyâ. He left off gradually taking his food, then subsisted on water only and remained engaged in Yoga; and, seated in Sthirâsan meditated incessantly on Prajâpati, the Creator of this Universe. Indra, on the other hand, knowing Vritrâsura engaged in tapasyâ became very anxious and sent to him Gandharvas, Yaksas, Pannagas, Kinnaras, Vidyâdharas, Apsarâs and other Deva messengers, all of unbounded vigour to create obstacles in his austerities. These Gandharvas and other Deva Yonies, expert in exercising magical spells, tried many ways and means and various gestures and postures to create disturbances in his penance; but that great ascetic Vritra, the son of Vis'vakarmâ did not swerve a bit from his meditative state.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Sixth Book on the defeat of the Deva army and on Vritra's tapasyâ in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Sixth Book: Chapter 4

THE SIXTH BOOK

Chapter IV

On the defeat of the Devas by Vritra

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1-17. Vyâsa said :--- O King! The Suras that wanted to create hindrance in Vritra's tapasyâ, seeing him firmly resolved, became disappointed in the fulfilment of their objects and returned to their own abodes. Thus full one hundred years passed away. The four-faced Brahmâ, the Grandsire of the Lokas, came there mounted on his carrier the Swan, and said :-- “O Vritra! Be happy; now quit your meditation and ask boon; I will grant you the boon that you choose. O Child! Your body has become very lean and thin through your penance. I am now very pleased to see your this very hard tapasyâ. Welfare be to you. Now ask the boon that you desire.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the clearly distinct nectar-like sweet words of the Creator Brahmâ, Vritra shed tears of joy and suddenly stood up. And going to him, bowed down gladly before His feet, and, with folded hands, spoke to Him, Who is desirous to grant him boons, in a tremulous voice. O Lord! Today I have been fortunate to see Thee who art generally seen with great difficulty; and I have acquired thus the posts of all the Devas; O Lotus-seated One! I have got an insatiable desire burning within me. Thou art omniscient, Thou knowest everything; still I am speaking out my mind. O Lord! Grant that my death does not occur with iron, wood, dry or wet substances or with bamboos or any other weapons and let my strength and valour be increased very much in the battle; for, then, I will be unconquerable by all the Devas with all

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their armies. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus prayed for, Brahmâ said to him smiling :-- “O Child! get up; I grant that your desired boon will always be fulfilled; now go to your own place. Your death won't occur with dry or wet substances or with stones or wood. I say this truly unto you.” Thus granting the boon, Brahmâ went to His Brahmâloka. Vritra, too, became very glad on receiving his desired object, and returned to his own abode. The highly intelligent Vritra informed the father about the boon granted to him; Vis'vakarmâ became very glad to hear it. O highly fortunate One! Let all bliss and good fortune come unto you; kill Indra, my greatest enemy. Go and kill the murderer of my son Tris'irâ, the vicious Indra and return to me. Be victorious in the battle and become the Lord of all the Devas and remove my mental agony due to the killing of my son. A son becomes then really a son when he obeys the commands of his father and when he feeds plentifully good many people on the Srâddha day (after his father's death) and when he offers Pinda at Gayâ. Therefore, O Son! Keep my words and try to remove my sorrows. Know this as certain that Tris'irâ never vanishes from my mind. Tris'irâ was very truthful, amiable and good-natured; he was an ascetic and foremost amongst the Vedic scholars. The wicked Indra killed my dear son without any offence.

18-33. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the father's words, that extremely indomitable Vritrâsura mounted on his chariot and quickly got out of his father's house. The proud Asura, then, marched to the battle, accompanied with his vast army, to the sounding of the conch-shells and war drums. Vritra, versed in politics and morals, exhorted his soldiers before marching and said :-- “To-day we will kill Indra and possess the kingdom of the Immortals, freed of all enemies.” O King! Thus, accompanied by his soldiers, and raising a tremendous war-cry terrifying to the Devas, the Asura set out for battle. O Bhârata! The King of the Devas, knowing that the Asura is quite at hand, became overwhelmed with terror and ordered at once the soldiers to be ready for the battle and called quickly all the Lokapâlas and sent them all for the battle. The highly lustrous Indra, the tormentor of the foes, arrayed his troops in order according to Gridhra Vyûha (the method in which the vultures arrange themselves while flying) and stayed there. On the other hand Vritra, the slayer of enemies, dashed unto that place with all swiftness. A dreadful fight then ensued between the Devas and Dânavas; the two parties, desirous to get victory over the other, fought awfully hard. When the blaze of the battle fire shone to a very high pitch, the Devas dropped with sorrow while the Asuras became

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excited with joy. The Devas and Dânavas struck each other with Tomaras, Bhindipâlas, axes, Paras'us, Pattis'as, and various other weapons. When the dreadful battle rose to a high pitch causing horripilation, Vritra became very angry and suddenly caught hold of Indra and denuding him of all clothes and armours swallowed him; he, then, remembering his former enmity, became very glad and stayed there. When Indra was thus devoured by Vritra, the Devas were overwhelmed with terror and cried out frequently, with great distress :-- “O Indra! O Indra!” All the Devas became very dejected and grieved in their hearts to see Indra denuded of his armour and clothes in the belly of Vritra and bowed down to Brihaspati and said :-- “O Indra of the Brâhmans! You are our best Guru what are we to do now? Though the gods tried their best to save Indra still Vritra has devoured him. We are all powerless, what can we do without Indra? O Lord! Perform quickly magic spells (Abhichâra process) which will lead to our Indra's liberation.”

34. Brihaspati said :-- “O Suras! The king of the gods is swallowed by Vritra, he has been quite disabled; but Indra is living in his bowels; attempt therefore must be made that he comes out while living.”

35-54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas became very anxious to see Indra in that plight and took all the ways and means carefully how he might be freed. Then they created a state tending to cause yawning, very powerful and irresistible and calculated to destroy one's enemy. Vritrâsura then yawned and his mouth got widely opened and extended. In the meanwhile Indra, the destroyer of one's enemies' strength, contracted all his limbs and came out of the expanded mouth of the Asura and fell down. Since that time, this state of yawning has become prevalent amongst the beings. The Devas were all glad to see Indra thus come out. When Indra thus got out, he fought again with Vritra for 10,000 years (Ajuta years). The fight was very dreadful, causing horripilation. On one side all the Devas joined in the battle; on the other side, the pre-eminently powerful Vritra, the son of Vis'vakarmâ fought. When Vritrâsura got more and more energy in the battle, Indra became gradually dwindled and was at last defeated. Indra became very much grieved when he found himself defeated; the Devas also were very dejected to see this. Indra and the other Devas quitted the battle-field and fled away. Vritrâsura too, quickly arrived and occupied the Heavens. Vritra began to enjoy by force the Heavenly gardens and took the Airâvata elephant. O King! The Asura, the son of Tvastâ, took away all Vimânas (the self-moving chariots of gods), Uchchais'rava, the best of horses, the heavenly cow, the giver of desires, the Pârijâta tree, the Apsarâs, and all other jewels of the Heavens. The Devas, on the other hand, deprived of their shares in sacrifices

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and driven away from their Heavens, suffered very much. Vritrâsura became puffed up with vanity, when he got possession of the Heavens. Vis'vakarmâ, too, became very happy at that time and began to enjoy pleasures along with his son. O Bharata! The Devas, then, united with the Munis and they began to consult about their own welfare. When the Devas took Indra with them and went to Mahâ Deva in the Mount Kailâs'a and bowed down to His feet very humbly and, with folded hands, spoke thus :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Mahâ Deva! Thou art the Mahes'vara and the unbounded Ocean of Mercy! We are defeated by Vritrâsura and we are very much terrified. Save us, O S'ambhu! Thou dost good to all the beings; dost thou tell us, therefore, truly what are we to do now, when that powerful Dânava has dispossessed us of our Heavens. O Mahes'a! Now dislodged, where are we to go? We are not finding any remedy by which our miseries can be destroyed. O Bhûta Bhâvana! We are very much pained; help us; O merciful One! That Vritrâsura has become intoxicated with vanity due to his being granted the boon. Therefore destroy him.

55-57. S'ankara said :-- “O Devas! We will keep Brahmâ in the front and let all of us go to the residence of Hari and there consult with Him how to destroy this unruly Vritra. The Janârdana Vâsudeva is fully capable to do all actions. He is powerful, knower of pretexts, highly intelligent, ocean of mercy, and fit to be asked by all for protection. Without Him, the Deva of the Devas, no success is possible in any action. Therefore all of us ought to go there for the success in our undertaking.”