48 verses
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thereafter, by the supreme grace of the Supreme Lord, all the devatās, headed by Indra and Vāyu, were brought back to life and began destroying the demons who had defeated them before in battle.
When the most powerful Indra became angry at Bali and took his thunderbolt in hand, the demons began shouting, "Alas, alas!"
King Indra, carrier of the thunderbolt, rebuked clever Bali, who stood before him well equipped for fighting as he moved over the great battlefield.
Indra said: O fool! You, like an actor, want to defeat us, who are masters of mystic powers by displaying your power. An actor sometimes binds the eyes of a child and takes away his possessions.
Indra describes what he said concerning an actor. The actor, conquering a child by binding his eyes, takes away his money. Similarly you desire to conquer us.
I send ignorant thieves who want to ascend to Svarga or beyond and want to control Maharloka by creating illusions to planets lower than their previous residence.
Those who desire to surpass even Svarga and desire to control Mahaloka or higher planets I send lower than their previous planet Rasātala (Balis residence.)
O fool! Today, with my thunderbolt, which has hundreds of sharp edges, I, shall sever your head from your body, in spite of your faulty tricks. Endeavor further with your relatives.
Bali said: Victory, fame, defeat and death follow one after another for all those present on the battlefield under the influence of karma instigated by time.
From victory comes fame and from defeat comes death.
The sages understand that the universe is bound up by time and do not rejoice or lament. You devatās are ignorant of such things.
Kāla-raśanam means bound by time. They see the universe bound by time and thus do not rejoice or lament.
We do not accept the words which afflict the heart, since they are spoken persons who are condemned by the virtuous, who think that they are the cause of their attaining fame and victory.
You think that you are the cause of victory and defeat (tatra), because of pride and ignorance. Just as you, though living, are condemned by the virtuous, we, though dead, will not be criticized.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After thus rebuking Indra, Bali, subduer of heroes, attacked Indra with the iron arrows drawn back to his ear on his bow. Then he again chastised Indra.
Defeated by the truthful words of the enemy, Indra, like an elephant struck with a rod, did not mind the chastisement.
When Indra, the defeater of enemies, released his infallible thunderbolt at Bali Mahārāja, Bali Mahārāja fell to the ground with his vehicle, like a mountain with its wings cut off.
When Jambhāsura, the friend of Bali, saw that he had fallen, he appeared before Indra, acting in friendship for an injured friend.
The greatly powerful Jambhāsura, carried by a lion, approaching Indra and, taking up his club, forcefully struck him on the collar bone and struck his elephant as well.
In pain from being struck by the club, Indra's elephant became perturbed. It fell on its knees to the ground and became completely unconscious.
Thereafter, Mātali, Indra's driver, brought a chariot, which was drawn by one thousand horses. Indra then left his elephant and got onto the chariot.
Haribhiḥ means by horses.
Though appreciating the action of the driver, the best of the demons Jambhāsura with a smile struck Mātali in the battle with a trident of blazing fire.
Although the pain was extremely severe, Mātali tolerated it with great patience. Indra, however, angry at Jambhāsura, severed his head from his body with his thunderbolt.
When Nārada informed Jambhāsura's relatives that Jambhāsura had been killed, the demons named Namuci, Bala and Pāka arrived on the battlefield in great haste.
Rebuking Indra with harsh words that were piercing to the heart, these demons showered him with arrows, just as clouds shower torrents of rain upon a mountain.
Dexterous Bala afflicted Indra's one thousand horses by simultaneously piercing them all with an equal number of arrows on the battlefield.
Haryaśvasya means of Indra. It means he who possesses yellowish horses. Amara-koṣa says that hari can mean yellowish. Tāvadbhiḥ means by a thousand arrows.
Pāka afflicted the chariot with all its paraphernalia and the chariot driver, Mātali, by releasing a hundred arrows fixed to his bow against the chariot and its driver simultaneously. This was an amazing feat on the battlefield.
He attacked the chariot with a hundred arrows and the driver with a hundred arrows simultaneously (śatābhyma).
Then Namuci, another demon, attacking Indra with fifteen very powerful golden-feathered arrows just as a cloud pours water and released a scream on the battlefield.
Other demons covered Indra, along with his chariot and chariot driver, with a mass of arrows, just as clouds cover the sun in the rainy season.
The devatās and their followers, not seeing Indra, became disturbed. Without their leader they were defeated by the strength of the enemy like merchants in broken ship at sea.
Vanik-pathā means merchants. Bhinna-navaḥ means a broken ship.
Thereafter, Indra, along with his horses, chariot, and driver emerged from the cage of arrows and lit up the direction, the sky and the earth with his brilliance, just as the sun lights up the sky at the end of night.
Turāsāṭ means Indra. Agraṇiḥ is a charioteer.
When Indra, carrier of the thunderbolt, saw his soldiers oppressed by the enemies on the battlefield, he took up his thunderbolt to kill the enemy.
O King! Indra, using his thunderbolt, cut off the heads of Bala and Pāka while their relatives watched, and created fear.
O King! When Namuci, another demon, saw the killing of both Bala and Pāka, filled with lamentation and intolerable anger, he made a great attempt to kill Indra.
Angry and roaring like a lion, the demon Namuci, taking up a steel spear which was bound with bells and decorated with ornaments of gold, rushed forward. Roaring loudly like a lion, "Now you are killed! he threw the spear.
Ghaṇṭāvat means endowed with bells.
O King! When Indra, King of heaven, saw this fast approaching spear falling from the vault of the sky, he immediately cut it into a thousand pieces with his arrows. Then, being angry, he struck Namuci's shoulder with his thunderbolt in order to cut off his head.
Haran should be hartum (in order to cut off).
That powerful thunderbolt released with force by Indra did not pierce the skin of Namuci. That was most astonishing. What could kill most powerful Vṛtrāsura could not pierce Namucis skin.
That thunderbolt which pierced even most powerful Vṛtrāsura could not pierce Namucis skin.
When Indra saw the thunderbolt was repelled, he became afraid. Had this happened by some supernatural force to bewilder people?
He became afraid. Lokam vimohayati is an alternate version.
Formerly, with this same thunderbolt I cut off the wings of mountains when mountains had wings and the mountains would fall on the ground with their weight to kill people.
This verse is connected to the words that thunderbolt in verse 36. By that thunderbolt I cut off the wings of mountains which were embellished with wings and the mountains would fell on the earth with their weight to kill people.
By this thunderbolt I killed Vṛtrāsura, powerful with the austerity of Tvaṣṭā and I killed others as well who were powerful and whose skin could not be injured by any weapon.
That same thunderbolt which I released at this insignificant demon has been nullified. Being strong as a brahmāstra, I will not hold this useless stick any longer.
He thinks of the thunderbolt as an ordinary stick.
An unembodied voice then spoke to lamenting Indra. "This demon Namuci is not to be annihilated by anything dry or moist."
"O Indra, because I have given this demon the benediction that he will never be killed by any weapon that is dry or moist, you have to think of another way to kill him."
After hearing the ominous voice, Indra, with great attention, began to meditate on how to kill the demon. He then saw that foam would be the means, for it is neither moist nor dry.
Thus Indra, King of heaven, severed Namuci's head with a weapon of foam, which was neither dry nor moist. Then all the sages satisfied Indra, the exalted personality, by covering him with garlands.
This explains the word ubhayātmakam of the previous verse. Śruti also says apām phenena namuceḥ śira indro dārayat: Indra cut off the head of Namuci using foam from water.
Viśvāvasu and Parāvasu, the two chiefs of the Gandharvas, sang. The kettledrums of the devatās sounded, and the Apsarās danced in jubilation.
Vāyu, Agni, Varuṇa and other devatās also began killing the demons who opposed them, just as lions kill deer.
O King! Sent by Brahmā, Nārada, on seeing the destruction of the demons, stopped the devatās from doing so.
Nārada said: Protected by the arms of Nārāyaṇa, you have obtained the nectar and are prospering the wealth. Therefore, please stop fighting.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Accepting the words of Nārada, the devatās gave up their anger and stopped fighting. Being praised by their followers, they returned to Svarga.
The sandhi in upagīyamānāḥ and anucaraiḥ is poetic license.
Following the order of Nārada, the demons who remained on the battlefield took defeated Bali to Astagiri, Sunset Mountain.
There, Śukrācārya brought to life all the demons who had not lost their heads and limbs by his knowledge of rejuvenation.
Bali, treated by Śukrācarya, regained his senses and memory, but did not lament his defeat, since he understood the nature of the world.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eleventh Chapter of the Eighth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Eleventh Chapter, Indra, using insulting words against the demons, kills Jambha and other demons. By the instruction of Nārada, when they stop killing the demons, Śukrācārya revives the demons.