Philosophy and Religion / Harivamsa

Harivaṃśa

46. The battle of the gods

VAISHAMPAYANA said:-Saying so be it the king of gods, the multiplier of the deities, delightedly, first of all, sent for Soma in battle, who had the dews for his weapons (1).

SAKRA said;—O Sudhākara,¹ proceed for the destruction of the demons and for accomplishing the victory of the gods and help the holder of noose² (2).

You are gifted with incomparable energy, the lord of all the luminous bodies, the lord of even the sun. The persons, who have a knowledge of the juices, consider you as identical with all the juices (3).

Increase and decrease are manifest in the ocean and your orbit. Attaching time to the universe you are creating days and nights (4).

The shadow of the earth, resembling a hair, exists in your body. The Somadevas even, who are born of the stars, do not know this (5).

You exist above the road of the sun and other luminous bodies. Dispelling darkness with your own body and rays you light up the world (6).

You are of white rays and cool body, the master of the luminous bodies, have a hare on your lap, the invisible soul of the time, are worshipped in sacrifices, the juice of the sacrifices, eternal, the king of plants, the source of action, water-born, of cool rays, the mine of ambrosia, fickle and have white horses.

You are the grace of the beautiful beings, the Soma of the Somadevas and the most beautiful in all the worlds. You dispell darkness and are the king of rays.

Do you accompany Varuna and his army and destroy the demonaic illusion by which we have been burnt down in battle (7-10).

SOMA said:—O lord of the universe, O king of gods, I shall do what you have asked me for the battle. I pour the dews which can dispell the demonaic illusion (11).

Behold in this great encounter the Dānavas consumed with my cold, covered with dues, divested of their illusive powers and haughtiness (12).

VAISHAMPAYANA said:—Like unto masses of clouds the smoky showers of dues, discharged by the moon, enveloped all the dreadful Dānavas (13).

With the pouring of dews and strokes of nooses, Varuna, the holder of noose and the moon of white rays began to slay the demons in that great battle (14).

Pouring water in the battle-field and fighting with the noose and cold those two lords of water began to range like two swelling oceans (15).

As the world is enveloped with Pravartaka cloud discharging copious showers of rain at the time of the universal dissolution so that Danava army was covered with water by Varuna and Soma (16).

Taking up the rays and the noose the moon and Varuna destroyed the illusion of the Daitya (17).

Being exhausted with cold water and fettered by the noose the Daityas, like montains bereft of their peaks, became (extremely) inactive (18).

Being slain by the moon, crushed down by cold and having their bodies covered with dews those Daityas began to fall down like extinguished fire (19).

The various cars of the demons, shorn of lustre, began to fall down and go up in the sky (20).

The Dānava Maya again displayed another huge illusion before the Dānavas who had been covered with dews and bound down with the noose (21).

He then spread in the sky an extensive mountanous illusion coursing every where at will created by his son Krouncha. It was covered with stones, and rocks. Its peaks were covered with huge trees, its caves were filled with trees and it was infested with lions, tigers and elephants. It abounded in deer emitting cries and trees shaken by the wind (22–24).

With a downpour of rocks and trees that mountainons illusinon slew the gods and revived the Dānavas (25).

Thereupon the illusion, created by the moon and Varuna, was dispelled and Maya's illusion covered the gods in the battle-field with iron clouds and rocks (26).

The earth, already uneven with the collection of mountains and filled with trees, was so thickly covered with mountains that any one could hardly traverse it (27).

Some gods were wounded with rocks, some were assailed with stones and some were hemmed in with trees in that battle (28).

Excepting the holder of club (Vishnu) all the celestial soldiers lost their bows and had their weapons broken. And they all became inactive (29).

But that beautiful lord of the universe, Gadhādhara, although staioned in the battle, was not the least agitated or worked up with anger on account of his patience (30).

Inorder to witness the assailing of the gods and demons, Jānārddana, conversant with the knowledge of proper time, resembling the cloud that appears at the time of the universal dissolution, waited for the proper hour in the battle-field (31).

Thereupon in the battle-field he ordered the fire and air to destroy the illusion created by Maya (32).

Being united with each other and increased the increasing fire of flames and air, at the command of Vishnu, destroyed that illusion (33).

By that increasing fire of wild course and the air that mountainous illusion was consumed and destroyed in that great battle (34).

The air, assisted by fire, increased like that at the time of the universal dissolution. And the fire assisted by air consumed the army of demons (35).

As soon as the wind blew the fire followed it; it appeared as if the fire and air were sporting in the midst of the army of demons (36).

When all the Dānavas were consumed and their cars began to fall down, when the fire was successful in accomplishing its work, when the cars desisted from slaying the demons falling down an all sides quickly like the air, when the Daityas grew inactive and the three worlds were freed from bonds, the gods delightedly sent up from all sides shouts of victory (37–39).

When the thousand-eyed god achieved victory and the demon Maya met with discomfiture all the quarters became clear and the religious performances began to extend (40).

The path of the moon was cleared up, the sun was placed in its course, all the elements were restored to their natural orders and men, fond of good conduct, were at ease (41).

The Regent of the dead began to carry on his work without any distinction, oblations were offered to fire, the gods were entitled to partake of their portions in the sacrificial offerings and find out the utility of the celestial region (42).

The regents, of the quarters, began to range in their respective provinces, pure persons, intent on carrying on Tapas, began to flourish and there was absence of impious men (43).

The partizans of the gods were delighted and those of the Daityas were depressed. Virtue assumed the form of three legs and vice that of one leg (44).

The great gate was kept open and ways to morality came into being and all the Ashramas and Varnas of the world began to observe their own duties (45).

The wandering kings began to protect their own subjects, and hymns, in praise of the gods, were sung (46).

All the sins were removed, dreadful pride was pacified and that battle of the fire and air was brought to a close. People accorded superiority to them because they accomplished the victory (47).

Hearing of the fear of the air and fire entertained by the Asuras, the well-known Dānava, by name Kālanemi, appeared in the battle-field (48).

His crown was adorned with crests effulgent like the sun; he was adorned with Angada and his hundred arms were bed-cked with hundred silvery weapons huge as the mount Mandāra.

He had a hundred faces and a hundred heads. That beautiful demon appeared there like a mountain with a hundred peaks (49–56).

He shone there like an increasing fire on a heap of grass in the summer season. His hairs were smoky, his beards were green; he had huge teeth and his face was adorned with lips.

He was living in the intervening space of the three worlds with a huge body of very great dimension. With his hands he was raising up the sky, with his feet he was throwing away the mountains, and with his breath he was dissipating the clouds surcharged with watery contents (51–53).

That Dānava, of expansive and red eyes looking awry, and powerful like Indra, was as if consuming and roaring at the gods and covering the ten quarters. They saw that Dānava approach like the proud and hungry Death at the time of the universal dissolution (54-55).

Raising up the fingers of his right hand having a beautiful palm, elevated, adorned with well-polished finger-protectors, covered with garlands and high like moving mountains that Dānava was, as if, saying “raise up the slain demons" (56-57).

The celestials, stricken with fear, saw in the battle Kālanemi, like Death himself unto his enemies (58).

Creatures saw that Kālanemi proceed like the second Nārāyana of three foot-steps (59).

Raising up his front foot and having his raiment shaken by the wind that demon, striking terror to the gods, came to the battle-field (60).

United with the Asura king Maya Kālanemi began to proceed in battle. They appeared like Indra and Vishnu (61).

Thereupon beholding the dreadful Kālanemi approach like death himself all the gods were filled with anxiety (62).

Footnotes

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