Philosophy and Religion / Harivamsa

Harivaṃśa

44. Arrangement of the celestial army

VAISHAMPAYANA said:—O my child, you have thus heard of the arrangement of the Daitya army in the war between the gods and demons. Hear, now of an account of the arrangement of the army of the gods as well as that of Vishnu's army (1).

The Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras and the two highly powerful Aswinis took charge of their respective soldiers and attendants. The commander of the whole celestial army, the thousand-eyed Patriarch Pākashāna sat on his elephant Airavata in front (of the army). On his left was kept in readiness a car, quick coursing like Garuda, with beautiful wheels and adorned with gold and diamonds (2-4).

Thousands of gods and Gandharvas and Yakshas followed him. And the effulgent Brahmana saints, members of his court, began to chant his glories (5).

Protected by Valāhakas, carrying weapons, accompanied by lightnings produced by the hurling of Indra's thunder-bolt and resembling mountains moving about at will, the Divine Maghavān began to proceed on his elephant. The Vipras, who live at a place where Havi is kept in Soma's sacrifice, sing his glories (6-7).

When the king of gods repaired to the celestial region bugles were sounded. Thousands of Apsaras began to dance before him (8).

As the sun shines, protected by Ketu, born in his own family so that chariot, protected by Mātali,¹ appeared beautiful. That car, drawn by a thousand horses, was fleet like the mind or the air. It appeared as if the mount Meru was enveloped with the rays of the sun (9-10).

Raising up his rod and mace and terrifying the Daityas Yama stood in the midst of the celestial army (11).

Varuna, with the mace in his hand, also stood there in the midst of the army of gods. He was surrounded by four oceans and Pannagas. His person was full of water and he was adorned with conch, jems and Angadas.² He always used to roam with the noose of Kāla in his hand.

He made thousands of sports with the horses resembling the rays of the moon and waves agitated by the wind. His raiment was black and he put on beautiful Angadas made of corals. His person had the hue of sapphire and a neck lace hung round his neck. He stood there in expectation of the battle as the ocean becomes agitated when it is separated from its bank (12–15).

Kuvera, having a body dark-blue like sappire, and men to carry him, was seen there along with the Yakshas, Rākshasas and Guhyakas (16).

That lord of riches, that king of kings, was armed with conch, Padma³ and a club (17).

That graceful king of riches⁴ was stationed in his car Pushpaka. That king of kings, that friend of Siva, that lord having men to carry him, appeared there for battle like the very Siva himself (18).

The thousand-eyed Indra protected the eastern wing of the celestial army, Yama, the king of the ancestral manes, protected the southern wing, Varuna, the western wing and Kuvera, the northern wing (19).

The four Regents of the quarters, dreadful in battle, protected the four sides of the celestial. army and kept a vigilant watch over their respective quarters (20).

The sun shone there burning in his own effulgent rays, on his car, drawn by seven horses that course in the welkin (21).

Shinning in his own effulgence of thousand rays, and ascending the car in which he, conferring heat on all the eternal regions, goes to the rising and setting mountains, the Dwadashātma⁵ lord of rays began to move about in the midst of the celestials (23–24).

Delighting the universe with his cool and watery rays the moon, of cool rays, shone on his car drawn by white horses (24).

The Danavas saw, in the battle-field, Soma, of cool rays who is the presiding deity of the Brahmanas, is encircled by the stars, whose body is marked by the shadow of the earth, who dispells the nocturnal darkness,

who is the lord of all luminious bodies in the sky, who is the source of all the juices, who is the lord and protector of all the plants, who is the source of nectar, who is the first source of food to the world, who is identical with gentle and cool juice and who distributes dews (25–27).

Being excited by his own energy and joined by the cloud Vayu, the life of all creatures, began to blow there in contrary directions and assail the Daityas.

He is the life of all creatures and lives in man as five vital airs; and being divided into seven it is sustaining the three worlds consisting of mobile and immobile creations.

People call him the charioteer of fire and he is the cause and, lord of all. The source of his origin is the seven musical notes which are used in singing. He is called the most excellent element and is bodiless. He courses in the sky, goes very quickly and has sound for his origin (28–39).

The Maruts, accompanied by the Devas, Gandharvas and Vidyadharas, began to sport there with unsheathed swords white as the serpents (32).

Pouring, in anger, deadly venom the leading serpents became as it were the arrows of the gods, and began, with their mouths open, to range in the sky (33).

All the mountains appeared before the gods to grind the Dānavas with their rocky summits and with trees consisting of hundreds of branches (34).

The highly illustrious and intelligent lord Hari, the holder of discus and mace, who is the lotus-navelled Hrishikesha of three foot-steps, who is highly effulgent like the fire of dissolution, who is the master of the universe, who is Madhusudana, born from the ocean, who feeds on Havya and is honored by sacrifies,

who is identical with earth, water and ether, who is at one with the elements, who gives peace and equanimity of mind, who destroys his enemies, who is the source and seed of the universe, who is the preceptor of the world and who has the emblem of Garuda on his flag, took up, in the midst of the celestial army,

his enemy-killing discus, effulgent like the rising fire in the rising solar disc, the maces Vrihati and Mahati, that kill all the Asuras, in his left hand, the bow Sranga and other burning weapons in his remaining hands.

The Lord Hari rode that huge-bodied younger brother of Aruna, the foremost of birds, Suparna, who was the best of the twice born living on serpents, who was the son of Kashyapa, who was superior even to the wind in fleetness, who used to agitate the sky, who had big serpents hanging from his mouth,

who was huge like the mount Mandara that was set free after the churning of the ocean for ambrosia, who displayed his prowess hundreds of times in the encounter between the gods and demons, whose body was marked with thunder-bolt by the king of gods for ambrosia,

who had tufts of down, who was adorned with shinning ear-rings, who had a raiment of variegated feathers, who was huge like a mountain consisting of metals and who had on his spacious breast serpents of moon-like lustre shinning with brilliant jems.

He remained easily in the sky with his two beautifully painted wings like two clouds with rain-bow at the time of the universal dissolution. He was dreadful in the enemy's camp adorned with red, dark and yellow flags. The gods followed him in battle. The great ascetics sang the glories of Gadādhara with excellent hymns (35–48).

Assisted by Kuvera, headed by Vivaswan's son Yama, encircled by Varuna the king of water, presided over by the king of gods, beautified by the rays of the moon, strengthened by the war-like gods, accompanied by the sounds of the wind, rendered brilliant by fire,

and enveloped with Jishnu, Prahishnu, Bhrājishnu, and Vishnu energies the celestial army stood wonderfully for the battle. Angiras prayed for the well-being of the gods and Sukra, the preceptor of the Daityas, prayed for their well-being (49–52).

Footnotes

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