Philosophy and Religion / Harivamsa

Harivaṃśa

47. The encouragement of Dānavas

VAISHAMPAYANA said:—In order to welcome the Dānavas the highly powerful great Asura Kālanemi assumed proportions like clouds in the end of summer (1).

As by acquiring most excellent ambrosia, people are relieved of their exhaustion so the leading Dānavas, on beholding Kālanemi living in the intervening space of the three worlds, rose up as if they had never been tired (2).

Then the terrified Dānavas, headed by Maya and Tāra, irrepressible in battle, who always wished victory in Tāraka's battle, shone there in the battle-field (3).

Beholding Kālanemi all those Dānavas, throwing weapons and entering into Vyuhas, were greatly delighted (4).

Of them, the principal soldiers of Maya, who were well-skilled in fighing, cast off fear and delightedly appeared there for battle (5).

Maya, Tāra, Varāha, the powerful Hayagriva, Viprachitti's sons Sweta, Khera and Lamva, Bali's son Arishtha, Kishora, Ushtra, the immortal like Sharbhānu and the great Asura Vakrayodhi, who were all experts in the use of weapons, were devoted to the practice of Tapas, and skilled in fighting, appeared before Kālanemi the foremost of them all.

Taking up huge clubs, axes, death-like maces, Kshepanyas, huge rocks, stones, Pattishas, Vindipālas, Parighas made of best steel, dreadful Ghātanis, Sataghnis, Yugas, Yantras, Argalas, Prāsas, nooses,

serpents, swords, thunder-bolts, blazing Tomaras, unsheathed daggers and sharpened weapons and having their minds worked up with zeal, they, taking Kālanemi before them, stood in front of the battle-field (6–14).

That Daitya army, adorned with many excellent shinning weapons, shone there like the cloudy sky bespangled with stars (15).

Emblazoned with the cool and hot rays of the moon and the sun, the celestial army, reared by the king of gods, also shone there (16).

There appeared that beautiful and great army of gods consisting of dreadful Yakshas and Rākshasas, fleet as the wind, having the stars for the steamers, the clouds for their raiments, abounding in smiling stars and planets, protected by Indra,

Varuna and the intelligent Kuvera, the king of riches, accompanied by the fire and air, devoted to Nārāyana, gifted with the velocity of the ocean, and adorned with celestial weapons (17–19).

As at the revolution of cycles heaven and earth are united so the celestial and demon armies met with each other (20).

That encounter, between the gods and demons displaying humility and pride, forgiveness and prowess, grew exceedingly dreadful (21).

As the swollen rivers generally issue out of the oceans so the dreadful gods and Asuras came out of both the armies (22).

As the elephants come out of two mountainous forests covered with flowers so issuing out of both the armies the hosts of the gods and de mons began delightedly to range there (23).

They confronted each other and repeatedly blew their conches and bugles. That sound filled the heaven, earth and all the quarters (24).

The sound, of the bow-strings against the palms, the twang of the bows and the sound of the bugles rose above the noise of the Daityas (25).

The gods and demons felled and confronted one another. Some grew desirous of fighting duels. Some broke the arms of others with their own (26).

The gods began to throw, in battle, dreadful thunder-bolts and excellent Ayasas and Parighas and the Dānavas began to discharge Gurvis, clubs and Nistringshas (27).

Some fell down with their limbs mulilated by the strokes of clubs and with their bodies bent down (28).

Thereupon worked up with anger, some on cars, some on horse back and some on quick-coursing chariots, ran towards one another in the battle (29).

Some stood in the battle-field and some fled away. The car-warriors were obstructed by cars and the infantry were obstructed by the foot-soldiers (30).

The sound, of the wheels of those cars, grew terrible like the muttering of clouds in the sky (31).

Some broke down the cars, some hurled chariots against chariots and some could not proceed unitedly in the midst of that collection of cars (32).

Striking one another with their arms and sending up shouts, warriors, armed with swords and leathern coats of mail and elated with pride, began to proceed in battle (33).

Some, mutilated and wounded by weapons in battle, began to vomit blood like clouds discharging water in the rains (34).

Filled with those weapons and clubs thrown up and down that encounter of the gods and demons looked exceedingly terrible there (35).

That unfair day of the encounter set in there with celestial, weapons for the lightnings, the downpour of arrows for showers and the Dānavas for the massive clouds (36).

In the mean time the great Asura Kālanemi, being worked up with anger, began to increase his body like clouds filled with water by the waves of the ocean (37).

The Valāhakas, consisting of flickering flames like the lightnings, discharging thunder-bolts and huge like the mountains, were crushed down. as soon as they fell on his body (38).

When he breathed in anger and sweated on account of the frowing of his eyebrows there came out of his mouth scintillations of fire, accompanied by lightning and air (39).

His arms began to grow up straight and awry to the sky. It appeared as if the five-hooded black serpents were repeatedly licking their bodies (40).

That Dānava enshrouded the sky with various weapons, bows and Parighas high as the mountains (41).

Wearing a raiment shaken by the wind Kālanemi stood in front of the battle-field like the second Sumeru filled with flames and covered by the rays of the setting sun (42).

As the king of gods fells down the huge mountains with his thunder-bolt so did he knock down the gods with the mountain peaks and huge trees uprooted by the strokes of his thighs (43).

Having been wounded by Kālanemi in battle and having their heads and breasts mutilated by diverse weapons and swords the gods could not move about (44).

Some, killed by the stroke of his foot and others grinded by him, fell down with the leading Yakshas, Gandharvas and the great Uragas arranged in Vyuhas (45).

Thus terrorized by Kālanemi in battle the gods, bereft of consciousness, could not set forth their exertions although they were capable of doing it (46).

Being fetterd by him with arrows, the thousand-eyed Sakra, seated on his elephant Airāvata, could not move about in the battle-field (47).

In that battle the demon Kālanemi constrained Varuna, resembling a watering cloud and effulgent like the waterless ocean, desist from displaying any feats and deprived him of his noose (48).

Bewailing in the battle-field the Patriarch Vaishravana, the king of riches, was renderd, by him through illusory weapons, inactive in the battle-field (49).

Yama, who spreads death and destroys everything, was deprived of his consciousness by Kālanemi and fled to his own quarter (50).

Having thus assailed the Patriarchs and protecting their respective quarters Kālanemi divided, then his body, into fourparts (51).

Thereupon repairing to the celestial road of stars pointed out by Sharbhānu that demon took, by force, the grace of the moon and his great object (52).

Proceeding to the celestial region he began to direct the sun of burning rays and then occupied for himself his object Sāyana¹ and his daily duties (53).

Beholding fire in the mouth of the gods Kālanemi placed it in his own and having vanquished the air by his own strength kept it under his subjection (54).

Having brought the rivers from the ocean by his own strength and power that demon kept them under his own control and all the seas remained there like his body (55).

Having brought under his subjection all the rivers born in heaven and earth Kālanemi established the world well protected by the mountains (56).

That Daitya, identical with all the worlds and a terror unto all creatures, shone there like the self-born Deity the master of all the elemental deities (57).

That Dānava, the one body of all the Lokpākas², indentical with the sun, moon and the planets and resembling the fire and air, began to move about in the battle-field (58).

When that Daitya occupied the position of Paramesthi, the source of the origin and destruction of all the worlds the demons began to chant his glories as the gods hymn the glories of the grand-father (Brahmā).

Footnotes

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