26 verses
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King! When Vṛtrāsura, the commander of the demons, advised his followers in the principles of religion, the frightened and disturbed demons, intent upon fleeing the battlefield, could not accept his words.
dṛṣṭvātapyata saḍkruddha indra-śatrur amarṣitaḥ tān nivāryaujasā rājan nirbhartsyedam uvāca ha
O King! Seeing his shelterless soldiers shattered and pursued by the devatās who were favored by time, Vṛtrāsura, enemy of Indra, the best of the demons, angry and intolerant, blocked the devatās and spoke to them as follows.
The demon soldiers acted as if without a master (anāthām). Tān refers to the devatās.
O devatās like mothers stool! What fame or dharma is there in killing fleeing demons from the back? Killing a person who is afraid is not glorious and does not bring Svarga to those who think themselves valorous.
Uccaritāḥ mātur means O devatās like mothers stool! There is no glory or dharma in killing demons from the back. Some versions have the instrumental case uccaritaiḥ. It then describes the demons. Killing people who are afraid is not glorious. There is no dharma or fame for the killer or the killed. He criticizes both parties.
O insignificant devatās! If you truly have faith in your heroism, if you have patience in the cores of your hearts and if you do not desire any more sense gratification (since I will kill you), please stand before me for a moment.
Pradhane means in battle. Sāram means determination. O insignificant ones (kṣullakāḥ)!
Powerful Vṛtrāsura, angry and terrifying the devatās with his body, roared with a resounding voice which made all living entities faint.
And when the devatās heard the sound of Vṛtrāsura striking his thigh with his hand, they fainted and fell to the ground as if struck by thunderbolts.
Vai means and. Visphoṭanena means by the sound of slapping the hand on the upper thigh.
The devatās closed their eyes in fear. Nālam means forest of reeds. Yūtha-patiḥ is an elephant.
Seeing Vṛtrāsura's disposition, Indra became indignant and threw a great club, difficult to counteract, which flews towards Vṛtrāsura as he approached. However, Vṛtrāsura easily caught it with his left hand.
Abhidravate means that Vṛtrāsura was approaching him.
O King! Powerful Vṛtrāsura, the enemy of King Indra, roaring loudly on the battlefield, angrily struck the head of Indra's elephant with that club. For this heroic deed, the soldiers on both sides glorified him.
Struck with the club by Vṛtrāsura, the elephant Airāvata, like a mountain struck by a thunderbolt, felt great pain and spat blood from his broken mouth. He was pushed back fourteen yards along with Indra.
Bhinna-mukhaḥ means torn mouth. Seven bows is twenty-eight hastas.1
Seeing that, the great soul Vṛtrāsura refrained from again aiming the club at despondent Indra with his despondent carrier. Taking this opportunity, Indra stood there, and touched the elephant with his nectar-producing hand to relieve the animal of its pain and its injuries.
He did not aim his club at Indra with his despondent carrier. Indras hand flowed with nectar. By its touch the elephant was relieved of his pains.
O King! When the great hero Vṛtrāsura saw Indra, his enemy, the killer of his brother, standing before him with a thunderbolt in his hand, Vṛtrāsura, desiring to fight and remembering Indras sin, laughed, and then spoke in lamentation and bewilderment.
Nṛśaṁṣam means cruel.
Vṛtrāsura said: My enemy, who has killed a brāhmaṇa, his guru, and my brother, is now, by good fortune, standing before me. O most abominable one! Today, by good fortune, when I pierce your stone-like heart with my trident, I shall soon be freed from my debt to my brother.
I will be free of debt today by you whose stone-like heart will be pierced by my trident.
The sacrificer and you both desire Svarga.
Vultures alone will eat your body, which is devoid of beauty, reserve, mercy and fame, which will be pierced by my trident, and will be untouched by fire, being detested even by flesh-eating Rākṣasas.
The verb eat is in the present tense, since the action will take place soon.
If other ignorant people who follow a cruel person like you attack me with raised weapons, I will offer them to Bhairava and his followers, with their necks severed by my sharp trident.
If others who follow you attack, I will worship Bhairava with their bodies. I will please the demons and Bhairava, their leader.
O great hero Indra! If you destroy my army and cut off my head in this battle, I will be relieved of my debt and, making an offering of my body to the jackals, I will attain the dust of the lotus feet of the great devotees.
Giving up my material body as an offering to the jackals, I will be free of my debt and will attain the dust of the lotus feet of devotees like Nārada.
O King of the devatās! Since I, your enemy, am standing before you, why don't you hurl your infallible thunderbolt at me? Have no doubt. The thunderbolt will not be like the club, which is as useless as requesting money from a miser.
Just as you desire to live and enjoy the happiness of Svarga, I desire to die and serve the lotus feet of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha. Both your desire and my desire should be fulfilled. Why do you delay in killing me? That is expressed in this verse. When will you become the target of the thunderbolt? I am right in front of you now, with no opposition. But throwing the thunderbolt at your big body may also be fruitless. The thunderbolt is never without result (amogham). What will I do if the thunderbolt ends up in your hands like my club, and is used to attack me? Do not have doubt. The thunderbolt will not be without effect. It will not be like requesting something from a miser.
O Indra! The thunderbolt you carry for killing me has been empowered by the prowess of Lord Viṣṇu and the strength of Dadhīci's austerities. Inspired by Viṣṇu, kill your enemy with that weapon. When Viṣṇu favors a person, he will have victory, wealth, and good qualities.
Vṛtrāsura encourages Indra by speaking about the cause of the weapons infallibility. The weapon has been sharpened by the power of the Lord and the austerity of Dadhīci. Inspired by Viṣṇu (viṣṇu-yantritaḥ), kill me. When Viṣṇu sides with a person, there will be victory, wealth and good qualities.
Vṛtrāsura is cheating me. He will make the thunderbolt useless by displaying his powers and again attack me. Do not think that I will do this. Hear about my determination of mind. Just as my Lord Saḍkarṣaṇa has said, fixing my mind on his lotus feet, I will attain the destination of the yogīs. My body, which is a material noose, should be cut by the force of your thunderbolt. I have renounced the wealth of the three worlds (apaviddha-lokaḥ).
My Lord does not give the wealth of heaven, earth or lower planets to his devotees who are dedicated only to him, because that wealth becomes the cause of hatred, agitation, anxiety, pride, quarrel, calamity and endeavor.
Do not say Satisfied with your devotion Saḍkarṣaṇa will give you the wealth and enjoyment of Svarga. Listen, Indra! You and I are both devotees of the same Lord. He will give you enjoyment and wealth, but will not give me enjoyment and wealth. Here is the reason. Hear about the nature of my Lord. He does not give that wealth to persons who are dedicated completely to him. Why? From wealth come hatred and other bad qualities which weakened the joy of bhakti.
O Indra! Our Lord obstructs endeavors for artha, dharma and kāma. One should infer that this is the mercy of the Lord, which is rarely attained by others but attained by those with attachment to only the Lord.
Having told you the method of killing me to take me to the side of the Lord, you should consider that you do not have the mercy of the Lord since he will give you wealth and enjoyment. He obstructs his sincere devotee (puruṣasya) from endeavoring for artha, dharma and kāma. If the Lord stops those endeavors, one can infer that to be the Lords mercy. But we have not had such an experience. It is rare for anyone except those who are solely dedicated to the Lord. Therefore it is unavailable to you. Completely devoid of his mercy, you will obtain wealth. Believing you will attain wealth, quickly throw the thunderbolt at me.
O Lord! I shall become the servant of servants whose only shelter is your lotus feet. May my mind remember the Lord of my life, may my words chant your glories and may my body serve you.
Seeing that Indra did not throw the thunderbolt, Vṛtrāsura then thought Oh! What will I say to this rascal Indra who sees everything materially? I will make a request at the lotus feet of my Lord. Then, seeing the Lord appear through his meditation, he spoke this verse. I will again become the servant of the servants who take shelter only of your lotus feet. Please say why there is such delay. I am tormented out of longing. The Lord says, Very soon I will bring you to my side. Please ask for a boon. May my mind remember you, Lord of my life! May my words sing your qualities! May my body massage your feet, fan you and give you betel nut! This is the prayer of my mind, voice and body.
O my Lord, source of all opportunities! I do not desire to enjoy in Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets or the planet where Lord Brahmā resides, nor do I want to be the supreme ruler of all the earthly planets or the lower planetary systems. I do not desire to be master of the powers of mystic yoga, nor do I want liberation. Burning in separation from you, these things will not satisfy me.
I give you all results including Svarga and liberation. Please take everything. Shaking his head, he emphatically refuses, saying No! No! No! Nāka-prṣṭham means Svarga. In separation from you, my life airs are burning. How will Svarga make me happy? Meeting you, I will attain the three blessing mentioned in the previous verse. What is the use of accepting the happiness of Svarga?
O lotus-eyed Lord! As baby birds without developed wings always look for their mother to feed them, as small calves, distressed with hunger, desire to see the cow with milk in her udder, or as a morose wife, desires her husband who is away from home, I long to see you.
Though I long for you, attaining you depends on you. I can do nothing in this regard. He gives examples. Fearing owls and afflicted by hunger, baby birds, without having grown their wings, long to see their mother at every moment. Flapping their useless wings, thinking that the mother has come, they chirp and open their beaks. Just as the mother bird comes and protects the babies from owls, and satisfies their hunger by placing small bugs she has brought one by one in their beaks, I will protect you from the three miseries and from enemies like Indra, and satisfy your desire by giving enjoyment of Svarga or Brahmaloka.
But I do not desire anything except your sweetness. Thus, anything unfavorable for that attainment, such as bondage to the gross and subtle bodies of Vṛtra, only leads to the three miseries. He gives another example. Young calves (vatsatarāḥ), tied by a rope in a householders house, suffer because of hunger, with determination only to drink their mothers milk. They desire their own happiness, the mothers milk, without desiring to serve the mother cow. Not satisfied with this example, he gives another example.
The wife, morose because of affection and disturbed by separation, longs to see her husband who has gone to a distant land. Just as the wife, using all her senses, desires to make her husband happy, and also desires to make all her senses happy by her husbands beauty, sweet voice, qualities actions and joking, so I also will serve you (and you will satisfy me). This was expressed in verse 24 with May my mind remember the lord of my life, may my words chant your glories and may my body serve you. The difference however is that the wife satisfies the husband by dāsya, sakhya and śṛḍgāra rasas (material), whereas I will satisfy you by dāsya-rasa (spiritual) only.
Let me, wandering in the wheel of saṁsāra by my karmas, be attached to the devotees of the Lord. Let my mind not be attached to persons attached to body, children, wife, and house because of the influence of your external energy.
At that moment, Vṛtrāsura became humble. Oh! How can such a low rascal as me attain such good fortune? Let me remain in this world! He prays in this way in this verse. Let me have friendship with the devotees of the Lord, and let me not have friendship with persons attached to body, children, house and wife. I have not had association with your devotees, and thus I have experienced insurmountable sorrow.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eleventh Chapter of the Sixth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Eleventh Chapter, the words of Vṛtrāsura during the battle reveal his bravery and to some extent, his prema.