49 verses
Śrī Śukadeva said: O King Parīkṣit! I have heard that Viśvarūpa had three heads, one for drinking soma-rasa, another for drinking wine and a third for eating food.
O King! Having the devatās as his father, he visibly offered the devatās their share in sacrifice with respect.
Now partiality to the demons is described in two verses. Visibly, with humility he offered a portion to the devatās saying This is for Indra. This is for Agni. The reason is that his fathers were devatās.2
Offering a share to the demons without the knowledge of the devatās, he had the demons obtain a share, out of affection for his mother.
Parokṣam means that he offered in a low voice some oblations to the demons so that the devatās did not notice. Offering that share, he had them attain it (avahat). His grandmother was a demon.
Indra, understanding that Viśvarūpa was cheating the devatās by offering oblations to the demons, angrily cut off Viśvarūpa's three heads out of fear.
Indra was afraid that the demons would gain power by the oblations.
Thereafter, the head meant for drinking soma-rasa was transformed into a francolin partridge. Similarly, the head meant for drinking wine was transformed into a sparrow, and the head meant for eating food became a tittiri (common partridge).
Since Indra was appointed by the Lord, he accepted the burden of these reactions with folded hands. He suffered for one year, and then to purify the elements of his body he distributed the reactions for this sinful killing among the earth, water, trees and women.
Indra began to repent thinking An abominable person, I have committed a great sin, having killed him suddenly in anger and fear. I do not know where I will fall in hell. I should take the result now. He accepted the killing, thinking Let him burn me by his powers. This was because (yat) he was a devotee appointed by the Lord to his post. Such a person should repent for his misdeeds. The intensity of the reaction lessened after a year of repentance while he remained with bad reputation. After that, to purify the earth, water, air and fire elements in his body which had become impure by his sinful action, he divided the sin into four parts. Since ether cannot become impure, he purified only four elements and thus divided his sin into only four parts. But because of this, sin in his antaḥkaraṇa remained in subtle form. That seed fructified in the form of killing a brāhmaṇa again, with the killing of Vṛtrāsura.
In return for King Indra's benediction that ditches in the earth would be filled automatically, the land accepted one fourth of the sinful reactions for killing a brāhmaṇa. Because of those sinful reactions, there is barren land on the earth.
If the ditches will become filled with water on their own, I will accept one fourth of the sin. The earth accepted with this promise. Thus some of the earth is barren. It is forbidden to study the Vedas in such places, since sin resides there.
In return for Indra's benediction that their branches and twigs would grow back when trimmed, the trees accepted one fourth of the reactions for killing a brāhmaṇa. These reactions are visible in the flowing of sap from trees.
The trees got the benediction that when the branches are cut, they would grow again. Because the sin is in the sap, it is forbidden to drink a trees sap.
In return for Lord Indra's benediction that they would be able to enjoy lusty desires continuously, women accepted one fourth of the sinful reactions. As a result of those reactions, women manifest the signs of menstruation every month.
Continuous desire means that even after much sexual enjoyment, the woman does not think she has had enough. She can enjoy even while pregnant, as long as the embryo is not harmed. In exchange, woman accepted a menstrual period. During this time she is contaminated and cannot be touched.
In return for King Indra's benediction that water would increase the volume of other substances with which it was mixed, water accepted one fourth of the sinful reactions. This is visible in bubbles and foam in water. When one collects water, these should be avoided.
For the benediction of substances becoming more in volume by mixing with water, water accepted one fourth of the sin. Drava-bhūyaḥ is another version: substances become naturally liquid by mixing with water. Because of that sin, bubbles and foam are seen in water as contamination. When drinking water one throws out the bubbles: one takes water without bubbles. If one drinks water with bubbles, one then consumes sin.
After Viśvarūpa was killed, his father, Tvaṣṭā, performed sacrifice to kill Indra, saying, "O enemy of Indra, flourish to kill your enemy without delay."
Indra became free of the sin after one year, at the beginning of Aśvina month. Leaving the forest where he performed austerities, he began to observe the ceremonies of that month. Tvaṣṭā, hearing of the death of his son, out of anger and grief produced a means of killing Indra. His intention was to kill the enemy Indra. Thus he prayed for increase of strength of the enemy of Indra. However, the same words can be taken to mean increase the strength of Indra, the enemy. Thus the meaning is the opposite. The word Indra comes from the root id which means great power. According to its group, it should have a high intonation. However, according to the rule samāsasya ca,3 when the word occurs in a compound, the accent should come on the last word. As a tat-puruṣa compound Indra-śatruḥ the word Indra should have a low intonation. It then means enemy of Indra. If the word Indra has an accent in this compound it is bahuvrīhi compound, and means Indra, the enemy. This is according to bahuvrīhau prakṛtyā pūrvapadam: the first member of a compound preserves is original accent in a bahuvrīhi compound.4 Tvāṣṭā pronounced the phrase with the accent on the word Indra, and thus the meaning of the sentence became May the strength of Indra, the enemy, increase! Indra became the killer of his enemies. The śruti says svāhendra-śatraḥ vivardhasva with this meaning. It is said in the teachings:
mantro hīnaḥ svarato varṇato vā mithyā-prayukto na tam artham āha
yathendraśakraḥ svarato parādhāt sa vāgvajro yajamānaṁ hinasti
A mantra devoid of proper intonation and pronunciation with improper use does not fulfill its purpose. Thus by saying enemy of Indra improperly, the thunderbolt of the words kills the priest because of his offense.
Thereafter, a fearful personality who looked like the destroyer of the entire creation at the end of the millennium arose from his desire to destroy Indra.
Though understanding his mistake, making a bahuvrīhi compound by accepting the first word (the normal usage), rather than putting the accent on the last word to make a tat-puruṣa compound in order to kill Indra (āhārya), the demon rose from the fire. Taking the normal meaning, Indra would become the killer. Taking the exceptional, intended meaning to kill Indra (anvāhārya), Indra would be killed along with his carrier. Anvāhārya means the monthly śrāddha offerings, but that meaning does not make sense in this context.
tapta-tāmra-śikhā-śmaśruṁ madhyāhnārkogra-locanam dedīpyamāne tri-śikhe śūla āropya rodasī
nṛtyantam unnadantaṁ ca
cālayantaṁ padā mahīm
darī-gambhīra-vaktreṇa
pibatā ca nabhastalam
lihatā jihvayarkṣāṇi
grasatā bhuvana-trayam
mahatā raudra-daṁṣṭreṇa
jṛmbhamāṇaṁ muhur muhuḥ
vitrastā dudruvur lokā
vīkṣya sarve diśo daśa
Like arrows released in the four directions, the demon's body grew, day after day. He appeared like a burnt hill, lustrous as a bright array of clouds in the evening. The hair on the demon's body and his beard and moustache were the color of melted copper, and his eyes were piercing like the midday sun. As if holding the three worlds on the points of his blazing trident, dancing and shouting with a loud voice, he made the entire surface of the earth tremble. He seemed to be trying to swallow the whole sky with his mouth, which was as deep as a cave. Yawning repeatedly, he seemed to be licking up all the stars in the sky with his tongue and eating the entire universe with his terrible teeth. Seeing this gigantic demon, everyone, in great fear, ran in the ten directions.
The verses are all connected with the last phrase seeing that form the people fled in the ten directions. He increased in size daily to the extent of arrows shot in all directions. He seemed to hold the earth and heavens on his trident. His mouth seemed to drink the sky.
This sinful, extremely cruel son of Tvaṣṭā was called Vṛtra one who covers, because he covered the whole world with suffering.
The worlds were covered by Vṛtrā whose form was related to Tvaṣṭā.
The best of the devatās, charging the demon with their soldiers, struck him with their heavenly bows and arrows and other weapons, but Vṛtrāsura swallowed all their weapons.
Struck with wonder and disappointment, bereft of strength, the devatās gathered together and worshipped the original person, antaryāmī.
Pratyañcam means he who is within.
The devatās said: Let us take protection of the Lord whom death fears and to whom we , the elements--ether, air, fire, water and earth, the planets composed of elements and the devatās including Brahmā, who are now in fear of death, offer presentations!
They take shelter of the Lord, thinking that no one except the Lord can protect them from the danger of Vṛtrāsura. The elements mentioned represent all twenty-three elements. Those elements, the planets made of the elements, and the devatās in charge of the planets, starting with Brahmā, and all of us present now, who are afraid of death, offer gifts to the Lord. Let there be shelter coming from the Lord (tataḥ) whom death fears.
The great fool who is trying to cross the ocean of saṁsāra by holding onto a dogs tail approaches anyone except the Lord, for whom nothing is astonishing to accomplish, who is full in his desires with a perfect form, and who is gentle with his devotees.
The intelligent person should not surrender to anyone else. A really foolish person approaches someone else for shelterdevatās, karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga. The wise person does not do so. It is just like a person desiring to cross the ocean by holding a dogs tail. The dog cannot cross the ocean, what to speak of the man holding his tail. The dog, seeing the man holding his tail, will throw him off in the water, and the dog also will drown. However, it is not astonishing that the person who takes shelter of the Lord crosses the ocean of saṁsāra. Thus the Lord is described as avismitam, without surprises. Though it is astonishing that, without the Lord, some try to cross the ocean of saṁsāra, it is not astonishing to cross by taking shelter of the Lord, since that ocean immediately becomes like the water in a calfs footprint. The Lord is always complete in his desires along with (samam) the attainment of svarūpa of seven types of sweetness.5 He has enjoyment bestowed through his hlādinī-śakti. The Lord is gentle (praśāntam), tolerant of his devotees though they commit sevāparadha, since he is affectionate to them.
Matsya, who bound the boat of the earth on his horn and crossed the ocean of devastation, will deliver us. We take shelter of him out of endless fear of the son of Tvaṣṭā
Though we are very low, having material desires, and approach the Lord out of fear of the demon, he should protect us, just as he gave protection previously. This is expressed in two verses. Just as Matsya saved the earth, he will save us from the demon. Though he moves about in the water and is situated there, he can protect us who are on the land because he is the Lord.
May the Lord who saved Brahmā from danger when he was alone and almost fell from his lotus seat out of fear of the sound of strong winds and waves in the waters of devastation be our deliverance!
Brahmā almost fell from the lotus growing from the Lords navel out of fear of the waters of devastation. He was saved by the Lord.
That one Lord created us by his own energy, and by him alone we create the universe. We, thinking we are also creators, do not see the form of the Lord who performed pastimes long before we existed.
Though the Lord is present everywhere and also here, he is not visible to our material senses. But by his mercy may he become visible and protect us! This is expressed in three verses. We do not see the form of the Lord who performed pastimes (samīhataḥ puraḥ) in the forms of Rāma or Kṛṣṇa before we existed. The reason is that we think we are the lords.
tam eva devaṁ vayam ātma-daivataṁ paraṁ pradhānaṁ puruṣaṁ viśvam anyam vrajāma sarve śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ svānāṁ sa no dhāsyati śaṁ mahātmā
Considering us his own self, he protects us when we are greatly suffering from the demons, by becoming avatāras in various forms among men, animals, sages and devatās by his mercy in every yuga. We approach the Lord, worthy of worship by all beings, who is the supreme cause, prakṛti, the universal form, the spiritual world, the shelter of his devotees, and the most worthy shelter. He will give good fortune to us.
Becoming avatāras with forms (tanubhiḥ) like Upendra and Paraśurāma, by his mercy or his cit-śakti (māyayā), taking us as his own self, he protects us. Thus we are not hesitant to request him to protect us now. The Lord is the universal form through his māyā-śakti. By his svarūpa-śakti, he is different (anyam) from the universe.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King! When all the devatās offered him their prayers, Lord, carrying his weapons, the conch, disc and club, appeared before them on the bank of the western ocean.
The devatās, attacked by the demons, could not remain in a good place. Thus, they sat and offered prayers an isolated place, on the bank of the western ocean (pratīcyām diśi).
dṛṣṭvā tam avanau sarva īkṣaṇāhlāda-viklavāḥ daṇòavat patitā rājañ chanair utthāya tuṣṭuvuḥ
Seeing the Lord with lotus eyes like lotuses blooming in the autumn, who was served by attendants equal to himself but without the mark of Śrīvatsa and the Kaustubha jewel, all the devatās, overwhelmed with happiness on seeing him, immediately fell down like rods, and then slowly rose and offered prayers.
The Lord was worshipped all around by associates like Sunanda who were like the Lord with various markings such as four arms, but without the Śrivatsa and Kaustubha.
The devatās said: We offer respects to you, who bestow the results of sacrifice, who destroy those results as well, who, holding the cakra, kills the demons and protects us, and who is invoked by many names.
The devatās, expressing that the Lord should be considered their only object of worship, say that he alone is the cause of giving or obstructing results for persons like themselves worshipping through sacrifices. The Lord gives the results of sacrifice (yajña-vīryāya) such as Svarga. We offer respects to he who has the ability (vīrya) to give the results. Again (uta) we offer respects to the Lord who destroys those results in the form of time (vayase). We offer respects to you who throw your cakra, killing the demons and protecting us. We offer respects to the Lord who is nicely invoked with names such as the above.
O Lord! Persons who have appeared later in the creation cannot understand the supreme abode of you, the person who dispenses the destinations of devatās, men and animals.
You are praising me to obtain insignificant, temporary Svarga. Why do you not ask for Vaikuṇṭha which is full of eternal bliss? Persons like us, recently created in the secondary creation, cannot understand the supreme abode Vaikuṇṭha belonging to you, who award bodies of devatās, men and animals. A cow will not accept or desire any food other than grass and hay. It will refuse milk.
O Lord with six complete qualities! O Nārāyaṇa, form of the puruṣāvatāras! O Vāsudeva, source of the puruṣāvatāras! O Lord of Vaikuṇṭha! O revealer of splendors to the devotees! O Lord who manifests most auspicious spiritual forms! O Lord with devotees beyond time! O most merciful Lord who give bliss to the devotees! Sole support of the universe! Sole Lord of the planets! Lord of all beings! Lord of Lakṣmī! We offer respects to you, who appear along with your uncovered abode in the heart whose door of ignorance has been opened by clearly manifested and established bhakti-yoga through intense concentration using rules and regulations practiced by devotees detached from material life.
The devatās have already said that the Lord is invoked by many names in verses 31. Now they praise him by addressing him with these many names. O Lord, complete in six great qualities (bhagavān)! They then describe his completeness. O Nārāyaṇa, by your expansions, acting as the antaryāmī of the totality of prakṛti, of each universe and the jīvas, you are Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī, Garbhodaśāyī and Kṣirodaśāyī! But you are more complete than that as Vāsudeva, the source of the expansions. But you are more complete than that as the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, O original person (ādi-puruṣa). How is that form understood? You have many great splendors suitable for your devotees (mahā-puruṣa-mahānubhāva). But what happens to my devotees, abode and my form at the time of devastation? Material things may be auspicious, but spiritual things are most auspicious. You have the most auspicious, spiritual, eternal devotees and abode. You have devotees who are the most proper since they are not controlled by time (parama-kalyāṇa). Having external perception and being devoured by time, let us take shelter of mercy of you, who are an ocean of powers and sweetness. O most merciful Lord! You are realized as bliss itself by those who see internally rather than externally. When will this happen? You exist as an experience of bliss in Vaikuṇṭha (ātma-loke), without covering (apāvṛte), in the temple of the heart, whose door of deceptive ignorance has been unlocked by bhakti-yoga, (pāramahaṁsya-dharmeṇa) clearly manifested and completely established (paribhāvita) by intense concentration through yama and niyama (ātma-yoga). You appear along with Vaikuṇṭha when the heart has such qualities.
It is difficult to understand that you, though engaged in pastimes in the spiritual world, without a material shelter, without actions in a material body, without the assistance of the devatās, without material guṇas, create, maintain and destroy the universe made of guṇas, without transformation of your svarūpa, though you are also the material elements.
Though you are beyond the guṇas, ātmārāma, enjoying eternally in Vaikuṇṭha, you also play in the material realm by carrying out creation and destruction, by methods difficult for us to understand. That you engage in playing seems to be (iva) difficult to understand. It is easy to understand for intelligent devotees, but difficult to understand for others. Why? You have no shelter, and have not bodily actions. But śruti says that the creator has a form with a thousand heads. You give no regard to assistance from us, the presiding deities of the hand and other sense organs. Though you are the material cause of the universe (ātmanā) you are without transformation. If one accepts vivarta-vāda then it is not astonishing that you are without transformation (since the transformations are illusory). But it is astonishing if one does not accept vivarta-vāda. Gajendra says:
namo namas te 'khila-kāraṇāya niṣkāraṇāyādbhuta-kāraṇāya
My Lord, you are the cause of all causes, but you have no cause. Therefore you are the astonishing cause of everything. I offer my respectful obeisances unto you. SB 8.3.15
This means that you are astonishing as the cause because you are without transformation though you are the material cause. Though you are without guṇas, you create the universe with guṇas. A potter with guṇas, taking support of a place, using his body, and taking assistance, creates a pot with guṇas by transformation of clay and other materials. But it is difficult to understand how you, without guṇas, without support, without assistance and without a material body, create the universe.
We do not know whether you accept results of pious or sinful actions like an ordinary Devadatta fallen in the material ocean, or whether you, ātmārāma, tranquil, full in your spiritual powers, remain a neutral witness, not accepting happiness and distress at all.
Since you seem to be obliged to protect the righteous and destroy the wicked, it is hard to understand your protection and destruction. Just as the jīva in this world building a house, and entering household life filled with friends, enemies and neutrals, enjoys happiness and distress as a result of his pious or sinful reactions, do you (bhavān, out of respect), falling into various incidents (visarga) of mutual destruction between devatās and asuras produced by the guṇas, accept happiness and distress resulting from your pious and sinful acts dependent on karma, since you obtain happiness of wealth and power from destroying the wicked and protecting the righteous in various avatāras like Upendra and Kṛṣṇa, and obtain sorrow through fatigue of fighting? Or do you, possessing your undeviating cit-śakti (samañjasa-darśanaḥ), remain as the neutral witness, not accepting happiness and distress? We do not know the truth.
Those two conditions seen in you are not a contradiction. What is impossible for you, who are Bhagavān, full of six qualities, full of unlimited qualities, the supreme controller, whose glories cannot be understood by the non-devotee, who are beyond the arguments of stubborn philosophers whose hearts are disturbed by deliberating on scriptures without touching the truth, through speculation, conjecture, judgment and false proofs? You are beyond all material qualities, you are pure spirit, but screen yourself from view by your yoga-māyā. Though you possess only one form, nothing is impossible for you.
This verse reconciles the contrary nature in the Lord, according to the devotees perspective. Virodha means contradiction. There is no contradiction of your being ātmārāma and experiencing happiness and distress. It is not proper to speculate about you by comparison with others, since you possess inconceivable powers. First, two phrases explain the happiness and distress in the Lord.
jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejāṁsy aśeṣataḥ |
bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ ||
The word bhagavān means to be endowed with unlimited knowledge, sense power, bodily strength, power of control, influence and beauty without inferior guṇas.
Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.79
It should be understood that you have no material happiness and distress at all, which arises from ignorance, since you are fully endowed with those six qualities.
Do I have another type of happiness and distress in me? You have a host of unlimited qualities such as being controlled by prema and being affectionate to your devotees. (aparimita-guṇa-gaṇe). When your devotees such as Prahlāda or Vibhīṣaṇa, your eternal associates such as the Pāṇòavas or Yādavas, the numerous sādhakas and half-devotees like us devatās are put into difficulty by the demons, you become unhappy, indicated by your various attempts to destroy those demons. When those devotees, delivered from danger, see you, they become happy, like grains suffering from drought being sprinkled with a shower of nectar. Then you become astonishingly happy. You have spiritual happiness and distress since you are the essence of affection for devotees and are controlled by prema. However, that happiness and distress are actually spiritual happiness since they are the topmost transformations of the cit-śakti belonging to prema. The joy and grief of the gopīs or Sītā arising from meeting and separation are the highest expression of happiness since they have the highest level of prema. Having a spiritual form, you have spiritual happiness and distress. This is not a contradiction with your nature as ātmārāma since being ātmārāma and experiencing spiritual happiness and distress are one in you.
But I am not defined in this way by some philosophers. You are the Supreme Lord (īśvare), and thus those who are under your control are not qualified to define you, since your glories be understood by persons devoid of bhakti. You yourself say bhaktyāham ekayā grāhya: I am only realized by bhakti. (SB 11.14.21)
They raise many objections to your claim that my six great qualities and prema are spiritual. You are invisible to the arguments of those who stubbornly hold various philosophies (duravagraha-vādīnām), which always remain in their hearts, which are confused by scriptures, and without touching the real truth (arvācīna). Vikalpa takes the form It may be like this, or like this. Vitarka means uncertain conjecture: Is that correct perhaps? Vicāra means certainty It is like this. Pramāṇābhāsa means malicious arguments. If there is no conclusion, how can argumentation be absent? The Lord is devoid of all material objects. Since arguments are a product of māyā-śakti and you are beyond all objects made of māyā, how is it possible to use such arguments?
How can you say that my grief is spiritual happiness, since everyone has seen with their eyes my actions of helping you churn the ocean, helping Arjuna as his charioteer and messenger, and fleeing in fear from Jarāsandha violence to protect the Yādavas? Though you are pure spirit (kevale), without material contamination, you place in the middle your inconceivable yoga-māyā. Thus nothing is impossible for you. Who then can enter into your experience of happiness? One cannot use sense perception to understand the Lords happiness. It is said acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet: one cannot apply material arguments to what is inconceivable.
Let us dispose of the argument that I have inconceivable powers. One can say that I have two forms with two sets of qualities. In the form of Bhagavān I have happiness and distress arising from affection to my devotees, and in the form of Brahman am situated everywhere as ātmārāma.
You do not have two forms. You have only one form which is Bhagavān. That form is realized as Brahman with no qualities and as Bhagavān with astonishing qualities. The jñānis who are at a distance and cannot perceive your astounding qualities call you Brahman. The devotees who are situated near you and can perceive your astonishing qualities call you Bhagavān. If one is far away one perceives a small degree of the Lord and if one is close one perceives all his qualities.
You accept the opinions of those who are peaceful because of contact with things related Brahman and are disturbed by contact with things opposed to Brahman. However, this opinion is like thinking a rope is a snake.
But you do not defeat the opinions of the non-devotees, so that they can accomplish their tradition in saṁsāra. You accept the opinions of those who are peaceful in accepting Brahman and disturbed by anything opposing Brahman. Or you accept the opinion of those who say that Bhagavān is the Brahman with material variety (viṣama) though they are actually two aspects of one form (sama). Just as person thinks a rope is a snake, one sees in Brahman, which is actually ātmārāma, false qualities like happiness and distress by the influence of māyā. The Lord does not oppose this.
The Lord is the true form among all forms, the Lord of all beings, the cause of all causes of all universes, is inferred by the revealing power of the senses and intelligence, and alone remains after negating matter and its qualities.
Therefore, we will take shelter of the philosophy approved by your devotees, giving up the ideas of these learned persons. The Lord is the real form mentioned previously in verse 33. Because of dwelling within all beings, beyond the material senses, you are not visible, but you are definitely known or inferred by the revealing power (ābhāsa) of intelligence and the senses (sarva-guṇa). Guṇa-prakāśair anumīyate bhavān: you are inferred by the revelation of the senses. (SB 10.2.35) You are completely devoid of all material elements (paryavaśeṣitaḥ). Thus the śrutis say neti neti: the Lord is not matter. The Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta explains this starting with the following verse.
vinā śarīra-ceṣṭatvaṁ vinā bhūmyādi-saṁśrayam |
vinā sahāyāṁs te karmāvikriyasya sudurgamam ||102||
Without activities of a material body, without the support of material earth, without assistance of others, without undergoing transformation, your actions are hard to understand. Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta
The highest devotees, having forgotten even a trace of material happiness by the continuous bliss of prema flowing in their minds after having tasted one drop of the ocean of sweet nectar of your glories, have faith in the Lord alone, who is the best friend of all beings and who is situated within all beings. How can these devotees, whose minds are continuously blissfully, who know their own benefit and are friends with you, give up service to your lotus feet, which offer no return to this material world?
Having criticized those opposed to the Lord, they praise the devotees. They have forgotten material enjoyment by the bliss of prema arising by tasting just one the nectar of your glories. Because the devotees are completely devoted to the Lords service they do not worship anyone else such as devatās (ekāntinaḥ). However the devatās and sages are even more pleased with them, for if the Lord is served, all beings are served, since he is the friend of all beings and the soul in all beings. Those who reject service to the Lord, the false yogīs and others, act against their own welfare, whereas the devotees act for their welfare (svārtha-kuśalāḥ).
O Lord who has the three worlds as his house! O Trivikrama! O subduer of the three worlds! O Lord who is perceived as most attractive in the three worlds! Though the demons are also your vibhūtis, you should consider that now is not the time for their activities. Just as you dispensed punishment for offenses by taking the forms of devatās, men, animals, mixed forms, and aquatics by your spiritual energy, kill the son of Tvaṣṭā now, if you think it fit.
Among your devotees we are very low since we have material desires. Indicating this, they make their request. You have the three worlds as your house. Your devotees, the devatās and humans, living there, serve you. But this house has been attacked by the demons now. You subdue the three worlds (tri-nayana) by three strides (trivikrama). As Vāmana, you accepted the three worlds by three steps and bringing Bali near, you gave the worlds to us. Kill the demons and let the people of the three worlds see your attractive form (tri-loka-manoharānubhāva). You worship me to inflict violence on others. Though they are your vibhūtis, you should consider that now is not the time for their activities. Thus we make our request. O punisher! Just as previously you dispensed punishment, now also the time has come.
O father of our father! O Supreme Lord! You should relieve the pain in our hearts by a drop of sweet, juicy nectar flowing from your mouth, by your compassionate, smiling glance which is soothing, pure and pleasing, and by manifesting your form to those who identify with you, whose hearts are bound by chains of meditation to your lotus feet, who belong to you, and who are surrendered to you.
Having praised the Lord, they pray for soothing sweet words and a glance of mercy. O grandfather! We have chains in your hearts bound by meditation to your lotus feet. We cannot withdraw the bees of our minds from your lotus feet. Relieve our pain by manifesting your form (sva-liḍga-vivaraṇena) and by a drop of nectar in the form of your pleasing words, flowing like sweet juice from your mouth.
O Lord! What can we, who are like sparks emanating from a fire, inform particularly to you, who play with your māyā to create, maintain and destroy the universe, who are realized in the heart as the antaryāmī and Brahman, and are realized externally as matter, according to place, time and bodily condition, who are realized as the cause of all beings and the cause of their awareness, who are the witness of all intelligence, with a body uncontaminated by matter, like ether, and who are the source of Brahman and the Paramātmā?
What particular object must be made known to you? You are known in the heart as the antaryāmī (pratyag-ātma), and externally as matter in the form of the senses and other things, according to particular place, time, and bodily conditions, and as the cause of all the beings such as devatās and the cause of their perceptions (upalambhakatayā). We are like sparks coming from the fire. Your body is like ether, is uncontaminated by material elements.
Since you are omniscient, please fulfill the purpose for which we have approached the shade of lotus feet of you, the supreme guru. Those feet relieve the fatigue of various afflictions of saṁsāra for your devotees.
Since you are omniscient, you naturally know why we have approached your lotus feet. Please fulfill that desire. Those feet give relief from fatigue to the devotees who have surrendered to you.
Therefore, O Lord, O Kṛṣṇa! Please annihilate this dangerous demon Vṛtrāsura, who has swallowed the three worlds! He has destroyed all our weapons and our strength.
Sometimes the Lord awards bhakti because to the excellent portrayal of pure bhakti in the verses of praise. If that happens to us, trembling with tears of prema, we will wander about the earth indifferent to the happiness of Svarga. Our enemies will then enter into Amarāvatī. Fearing this, the devatās clearly express their desire without hiding anything.
We offer respects to the swan-like Lord who extracts the essence, whose abode is the lake in the heart, who sees all our desires there, who has fame for delivering us, who does so without effort, who accepts devotees only, who enables those treading the path of saṁsāra to attain eternal bliss, and who, at end of saṁsāra, awards all desired goals.
We fall at your feet. Quickly kill him! They pray to the form of Kṛṣṇa, out of confusion, expressing all their desires. The swan considers what is valuable and what is not, and extracts what is valuable. You reside in the lake within our hearts, and can see (nirīkṣakāya) the desire present in our hearts. The worlds sing of your spotless fame of delivering us from great danger (mrṣta-yaśāse). You can accomplish what we request without effort (nirupakramāya). You accept devotees (sat-saṁgrahāya), even if it takes effort, but you accept nothing else. namo 'kiñcana-vittāya: obeisances are unto you, who are the property of the materially impoverished. (SB 1.98.27) You cause the attainment of the shelter for the jīvas, you are the bliss for the jīvas on the path of saṁsāra after they cross ignorance, even though those jīvas are devoid of pure bhakti, like us. You award desired goals in all ways (pari iṣṭa-gataye), such as ṣayujya, sālokya, or dāsya-prema.
Śukadeva said: O King Parīkṣit! Being worshipped by the devatās, the Lord, joyful after listening to their prayers, replied to the devatās.
The Lord said: O best of the devatās! I am pleased with the knowledge contained in your prayers, by which men can remember my glories and develop bhakti to me.
I am pleased with the knowledge in your prayers to me. Those who praise me by those prayers will remember my glories. The prayers glorified the Lord by say that he, without guṇas, creates, maintains and destroys the universe endowed guṇas while not transforming himself.
O best of devatās! Although nothing is difficult for one to obtain when I am pleased with him, a pure devotee, whose mind is exclusively fixed upon me, does not ask me for anything except the opportunity to engage in bhakti.
How unfortunate! You praised me with that knowledge but out of foolishness you did not pray for bhakti.
Misers, seeing only material objects, do not know the ultimate necessity of the soul. Moreover, if one awards what the fool desires, the giver must also be considered foolish.
Though you are fools, desiring material benefits, and do not know what is good and bad for you, how can I, in knowledge, give those things to you? The mother does not knowingly give her son poison. One who sees material objects as the goal of life does not know his own good. If one who knows the goal of life gives him those things, he is also a fool.
One who knows the highest good will never instruct a foolish person to engage in material enjoyment, just as an experienced physician does not give his patient food injurious to his health, even if the patient desires it.
He does not teach the path of enjoyment, just as the real doctor does not give (rāti) unhealthy food to the patient.
O Indra! All good fortune unto you! I advise you to approach the exalted sage Dadhīci. Without delay, go and ask him for his body, which is strong because of knowledge, vows and austerities.
If you will die because of not having material objects for bodily pleasure, then listen to the method I will teach. Ask for his body which is firm because of knowledge, vows and austerities.
Dadhīci personally assimilated the spiritual science called Aśvaśira and then delivered it to the Aśvinī-kumāras. The Aśvinī-kumāras then became jīvan-muktas, liberated even in this life.
Two verses explain the great knowledge he had. This story is well known. Hearing that Dadhīci was proficient in knowledge of pravargya and brahma-vidya, the Āśvinis approached him and spoke. O lord! Give us that knowledge! Hearing that, he said, Today I am engaged. Later I will tell you. Now go. When they left, Indra came and said to the sage, Do not teach this knowledge to them, since they are doctors. If you disobey me and teach them, I will cut off your head. There is no doubt about this. He then departed. When he had gone, the Aśvinis came there and spoke to the sage. Hearing what Indra had said, they spoke again. We will cut off your head and replace it with a horses head. Speak that knowledge from the horses mouth. When Indra cuts off that head, we will replace it with your original head. After giving you a donation we will then leave. Hearing this, the sage, without fear of doing wrong, spoke to them pravargya and brahma-vidyā. That is the meaning.
Dadhyaḍ had understood pure (niṣkalam) Brahman. Another version has niṣkṛtam which means devoid of temporary objects. Then he gave that knowledge to the Aśvinis. The verb is in the next verse. That knowledge is called aśva-śiras since it was spoken by the head of a horse. The Aśvinis then achieved the stage of jīvan-muktas. Śruti also says aśvasya śīrṣṇā prayatīm uvāca: he spoke this gift of knowledge through the head of a horse. (Ṛg Veda 116.12)
Dadhyañca's invincible protective covering known as the Nārāyaṇa-kavaca was given to Tvaṣṭā, who delivered it to his son Viśvarūpa, from whom you have received it.
The armor is made of me. It is the Nārāyaṇa-kavaca. He gave it to Tvaṣṭa. Tvaṣṭā gave it to Viśvarūpa, and Viśvarūpa gave it to you, from which you have become strong (adhāḥ). By this knowledge, request his strong body.
When the Aśvinī-kumāras beg for Dadhyañca's body on your behalf, knowing dharma, he will surely give it. When Dadhyañca awards you his body, Viśvakarmā will prepare a thunderbolt from his bones. This thunderbolt will certainly kill Vṛtrāsura because it will be invested with my power.
Who would give his own body? This verse explains. He will give to the Aśvinis, out of affection since they are his disciples. Or Because of giving to the Aśvinis he will also give to you. By his bones (taiḥ) the best weapon will be made.
When Vṛtrāsura is killed, you will regain your strength, weapons and wealth. Thus there will be all good fortune for all of you. He and his followers will not harm you, my devotees.
But we cannot fight with Vṛtrāsura who has devoured everything. You should kill him personally. Vṛtra and the demons under his control cannot harm you, who are my devotees. Vṛtra desires to give up his body for me, since he is a most exalted devotee. Thus he has no hatred of you, though you have hatred of him.
Thus ends the commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the Sixth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the ninth chapter Indra kills Viśvarūpa, Tvaṣṭā produces Vṛtrāsura and the Lord, after being praised by the devatās, instructs the devatās how to obtain the thunderbolt.
Soma-pītham means drinking soma. Annadam means eating food. The śruti also describes Viśvarūpas position. 1 Viśvarūpo vai tvāṣtṛaḥ purohito devānām āsīt: Viśvarūpa, son of Tvastā was the priest of the devatās.