Vishnu Purana 4 (Part I)

 

The Vishnu Purana

-       Part 4 : Chapter 1

ïIprazr %vac

saxu mEÇey xmR} SmirtaeiSm puratnm!,

iptu> ipta me Égvan! visóae yÊvac h.12

çréparäçara uväca

sädhu maitreya dharmajïa smaritosmi purätanam|

pituù pitä me bhagavän vasiñöho yaduväca ha||12

ivñaimÇàyu´en r]sa Éi]t> pura,

ïutStatStt> ³aexae mEÇeyaÉuNmmatul>. 13

viçvämitraprayuktena rakñasä bhakñitaù purä|

çrutastätastataù krodho maitreyäbhunmamätulaù|| 13

“Sage Parasara spoke thus:

“ Maitreya ! I will answer your questions without any reservations. Do listen carefully to my words.

 

Sage Vasistha, the Guru of the three worlds, is my grandfather. Arundhathi is his dutiful wife, and they were blessed with 100 sons. My father Shakti was the eldest of the lot and Adhrishyanthi was my mother. Dear boy, In those days, Sage Vishwamitra, envious of the “Brahmarshi” status that was bestowed upon my grandfather, engaged in endless rivalry with Sage Vasistha, and never let past an opportunity to harm the venerable sattwik sage.

One day Kalmashapada, a king of Ishwaku lineage, came hunting in the vicinity of our hermitage. My Father, who was walking along the path .. absorbed in deep contemplation, did not notice him and so could not immediately give way. Kalmashapada’s fragile, overblown ego was unable to bear this imagined slight. Thus the King deemed it a deliberate affront to his  authority and shaking with anger, he lambasted my fathered for his oversight.

As Fate willed it, my Father, usually slow to anger, also bristled with ire this time and cursed Kalmashapada, saying that since the king shouted at an innocent man and thus violated Dharma, he would turn into a demon and feast on human flesh. Now, Sage Vishwamitra had his great chance and he seized it with both hands. He incited the king-turned-demon into devouring all the sons of Sage Vasistha, including my father.

ttae=h< r]sa< sÇ< ivnazay smarÉm!,

ÉSmI ÉUtí ztzStiSmNsÇe inzacra>. 14

tato'haà rakñasäà satraà vinäçäya samärabham|

bhasmé bhütaçca çataçastasminsatre niçäcaräù||14

tt> sN]Iyma[e;u te;u r]Svzae;t>,

mamuvac mhaÉagae visóae miTptamh>. 15

AlmTyNtkaepen tat mNyuimm< jih,

ra]sa napraXyiNt iptuSte iviht< ih tt!. 16

tataù sankñéyamäëeñu teñu rakñasvaçoñataù|

mämuväca mahäbhägo vasiñöho matpitämahaù|| 15

alamatyantakopena täta manyumimaà jahi|

räkñasä näparädhyanti pituste vihitaà hi tat|| 16

At the time of this unfortunate incident, I was still in the womb of my mother. I learnt all the Vedas and became conversant with the extant puranas and dharmasutras  as an unborn. And, from the day I was born, all my time was spent in uninterrupted meditation / penance.

One day, while I was meditating, my mother came to me and related the sad turn of events and

how my Father became an unwitting victim. Her hitherto suppressed agony stirred in my breast a tempest of terrible anger. Ruthlessly brushing aside my Brahminical tranquility, I initiated a Satrayaga, and unleashed an array of Adharvana mantras to annihilate the demons and millions of them were reduced to ashes by the rite.

 
A few of those “Rakshasas” who still survived approached Sage Vasistha and pleaded for his mercy and survival of their race. The Brahmarshi, being the epitome of compassion, overcame his own tremendous grief and chastised me with pointed words:
m&Fanamev Évit ³aexae }anvta< k…t>,

hNyte tat k> ken yt> Svk«tÉuKpuman!.,17

siÂtSyaip mhta vTs ¬ezen manvE>,

yzsStpsíEv ³aexae nazkr> pr>.18

måòhänämeva bhavati krodho jïänavatäà kutaù|

hanyate täta kaù kena yataù svakåtabhukpumän|||17

saïcitasyäpi mahatä vatsa kleçena mänavaiù|

yaçasastapasaçcaiva krodho näçakaraù paraù||18

 Halt my son, what made you so angry? This carnage that you have started is against the basic saattwik nature / tenets of a Brahmin, and is very unbecoming of an enlightened soul like you. Don’t you know that those who resort to killing, however great they might be, would never gain "sadgathi" or moksha? Where there’s anger, there is sin. Anger is the passion of fools; it does not become a wise man.

SvgaRpvgRVyasexkar[< prm;Ry>,

vjRyiNt sda ³aex< tat ma tÖzae Év>. 19

Al< inzacrEdGxEdIRnErnpkairiÉ>,

sÇ< te ivrmTyetT]masara ih saxv>.20

svargäpavargavyäsedhakäraëaà paramarñayaù|

varjayanti sadä krodhaà täta mä tadvaço bhavaù|| 19

alaà niçäcaraidagdhairdénairanapakäribhiù|

satraà te viramatyetatkñamäsärä hi sädhavaù|| 20

Wrath is the destruction of fame and all that man obtains by arduous work and devout austerities. It prevents the attainment of heaven and of emancipation. Only those who have NOT attained “sama-drishti” (equi-vision) would fall prey to anger, because mercy is the might of the righteous. What’s the use of that constant meditation, that uninterrupted penance if one’s not able to control anger and its infamous aftermath? You only thought of avenging your father’s death. Why didn’t you think that he was destined to work out his karma in this way? Stop this mindless carnage at once and grant peace to the world. 

@v< taten tenahmnunItae mhaTmna,

%ps<ùtvaNsÇ< s*StÖaKygaErvat!. 21

tt> àIt> s ÉgvaNvisóae muinsÄm>,

s<àaÝí tda tÇ pulSTyae äü[> sut>. 22

evaà tätena tenähamanunéto mahätmanä|

upasaàhåtavänsatraà sadyastadväkyagauravät||21

tataù prétaù sa bhagavänvasiñöho munisattamaù|

sampräptaçca tadä tatra pulastyo brahmaëaù sutaù|| 22

These wise but sharp words of Vasistha extinguished all my anger and shamed me into peace. I quietly withdrew the killer arsenal (Adharva mantras) I had so far deployed. At that moment, Pulasthya Brahma, the Originator of “daithyas”, materialized before me with a host of demigods and sages,

iptamhen dÄa¸yR> k«tasnpir¢h>,

mamuvac mhaÉagae mEÇey pulha¢j>. 23

pitämaheena dattärghyaù kåtäsanaparigrahaù|

mämuväca mahäbhägo maitreya pulahägrajaù|| 23

pulSTy %vac

vEre mhit yÖaKyaÌ‚raer*aizta ]ma,

Tvya tSmaTsmStain ÉvaÁzaôai[ veTSyit. 24

sNttenR mmaeCDed> ³…Ïenaip yt> k«t>.

Tvya tSmaNmhaÉag ddaMyNy< mhavrm!. 25

pulastya uväca

vaire mahati yadväkyädguroradyäçitä kñamä|

tvayä tasmätsamastäni bhaväïçästräëi vetsyati|| 24

santaterna mamocchedaù kruddhenäpi yataù kåtaù||

tvayä tasmänmahäbhäga dadämyanyaà mahävaram|| 25

 He said that by renouncing anger and by upholding principles of peaceful co-existence, I rose above myself and earned his appreciation. He wished to grant me a boon, and asked me to choose one.
pura[siMhtaktaR ÉvaNvTs ÉivZyit,

devtaparmaWy¡ c ywavÖeTSyte Évan!. 26

àv&Äec inv&Äec kmR{yStmla mit>,

mTàsadads

puräëasamhitäkartä bhavänvatsa bhaviçyati|

devatäpäramärthyaà ca yathävadvetsyate bhavän|| 26

pravåtteca nivåtteca karmaëyastamalä matiù|

matprasädädasandigdhä tava vatsa bhaviçyati||27

Whereupon, I requested him ”Hey Bhagawan, ever since I read the earlier puranas that greatly sustained my soul, there is a growing desire within me to author similar compositions of immortal beauty and truth. Please bestow on me ethereal wisdom, honeyed eloquence and a lofty intellect that would do full justice to the exalted subject. ” Thus by his grace, I gained comprehensive knowledge in all matters.

ttSí àah ÉgvaNvisóae me iptamh>,

pulSTyen yÊ´m! te svRmetTÉivZyit. 28

#it pUv¡ visóen pulSTyenc xImta,

yÊ´< tTSm&it< yait TvTàîadiol< mm. 29

tatasçca präha bhagavänvasiñöho me pitämahaù|

pulastyena yaduktam te sarvametatbhaviçyati|| 28

iti pürvaà vasiñöhena pulastyenaca dhématä|

yaduktaà tatsmåtià yäti tvatpraçnädakhilaà mama|| 29

Thus Pulasthya Brahma, who is revered in the three worlds, blessed me, saying that I would be a narrator of purana, which would bring the Brahma Vidya to mankind in the form of easily digestible stories. From that day onwards, an unprecedented ability for weaving enthralling and extempore narrative,  that effortlessly conforms to all the five principles of Purana rendition, miraculously manifested in me. What I propose to say now would remove all your doubts, so, do pay close attention to my answers ..….

sae=h< vdaMyze;< te mEÇey pirp&CDte,

pura[siMhta sMykœ ta< inbaex ywatwm!. 30

iv:[ae> skazaÊуt< jtÄÇEv c iSwtm!,

iSwitsMymktaR=saE jgtaeSy jg½ s>.31

so'haà vadämyaçeñaà te maitreya paripåcchate|

puräëasamhitä samyak täà nibodha yathätatham|| 30

viñëoù sakäçädudbhütaà jatattatraiva ca sthitam|

sthitisamyamakartä'sau jagatosya jagacca saù||31

So Maitreya! I would answer all your queries in the form of a Purana. This secret knowledge had first been revealed by Brahma to Daksha Prajapathi, who passed it on to Purukuthsa, cascaded from him to Saaraswatha and from him to me. Maitreya, my heartfelt thanks to you , on this auspicious day, for you have rekindled Vishnu bhakthi in me. It’s my good fortune that I am destined to narrate the story of Sri Mahavishnu, the ParamAatma, the Saviour, and by your pariprashna, you’ve indeed ensured moksha for me.”

Saying thus, Parasara commenced Vishnu Purana proper.

#it ïIiv:[upura[e àwme

iti çréviñëupuräëe prathameàçe prathamodhyäyaù

Anger

Anger is one of the 6 major shadripus and can afflict even the most evolved souls, as we have seen in the above paragraphs. Sri Krishna emphatically cautions us in Bhagavadgita that anger is capable of rendering an intelligent and sane person thoroughly insane by eclipsing his discretion…  

dhyayato visayan pumsah 
sangas tesupajayate 
sangat sanjayate kamah 
kamat krodho 'bhijayate (B.G 2.62)

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

krodhad bhavati sammohah 
sammohat smrti-vibhramah 
smrti-bhramsad buddhi-naso 
buddhi-nasat pranasyati (B.G. 2.63)

From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.

Sarpa Yaga by King Janamejaya

The above narration by Sage Parasara immediately brings to mind a similar incident from the Maha Bharata, where a yajna was undertaken to exterminate an entire race of sarpas.

King Janamejaya of Kuru dynasty was the son of Parikshit. One day, a Brahmana named Utanka came to his court; reminded the king of his father’s unfortunate death and chastised him for not taking revenge on Takshaka, who caused Parikshit’s death. Parikshit was a just king, who ruled the kingdom for a long time after the Pandavas. He was killed by Takshaka, the king of the serpents, pursuant to a curse by the son of a Rishi. 

Janamejaya was unaware of the circumstances of his father’s death, that occurred during his childhood. Thus when he came to know about it from Utanka, he immediately swore vengeance on not only on Takshaka but on the entire Sarpa clan. 

Utanka, who also had an axe to grind with Takshaka, then told the King about the Sarpa Yaga, the snake-sacrifice. When this sacrifice is conducted, the snakes that are named by the Mantras (incantations) would be rendered powerless and get dragged into the sacrificial fire.

King Janamejaya then made a resolve (sankalpa) to conduct this Yaaga and duly made all the arrangements. He himself underwent various purificatory rites prior to performance of yajna. While these preparations were on, a Shudra named Lohitaksha, an expert in the art of  construction of YajnashAla, examined the measurements of the hall, the type of soil on which its foundation had been laid, and predicted that the purpose of yajna would not be accomplished as the sacrifice shall be stopped due to the intervention of a Brahmana. This prediction was in perfect harmony with the curse King Janamejaya previously received from Sarama, a bereaved female dog, that his greatest undertaking would remain incomplete.

So the great sacrifice began under strict security. Many great Brahmanas were involved in the conduct of this sacrifice, including Sage Jaimini and Veda Vyasa. The priests were clad in black, for this was a Yajna directed towards destruction (Tamasic). As the yajna progressed, millions of snakes, propelled by the sheer power of the incantations, from all over the world, started falling into the sacrificial fire and perished. The yajna continued for several days, yet Takshaka, who was a great friend of Indra and was protected by him, continued to evade annihilation. The priests finally chanted a mantra that would drag both Takshaka and Indra together into the fire. When Indra saw his friend's inevitable fate, he let go of Takshaka, who started falling alone into the fire.

At this juncture, Astika, another young Brahmana, arrested the snake’s fall and requested the King that the life of Takshaka and the remaining snake-race be spared from entire extermination. Sage Vyasa also echoed this plea of Astika and Janamejaya ordered the sacrifice to end. It is said that whoever listens to this story will have nothing to fear from snakes.

Yajna

Yajna is the most ancient sacred Vedic ritual, which fortunately Indians have preserved till the present day. In fact worship of Agni was universal at one point of time and one can find innumerable references to support it from scriptures belonging to various religions, like the Old Testament. It was certainly mandatory in every Hindu household. 

Yajna is the ritualistic worship through using the power of mantras and specific offerings in the fire, wherein deities are invoked to grant boons or shower their benevolence on mankind. Its importance can be gauged by the statement ‘yajnovai visnuH,  which equates Yagya Purusha to Narayana, and in Purusha sooktham, the face of the Purusha was said to be Agni through which oblations of the devout are accepted. In the following shloka from the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains how these oblations subsequently pour down as His blessings and proliferate as grains through which the creation is sustained. 

annad bhavanti bhutani 
parjanyad anna-sambhavah 
yajnad bhavati parjanyo 
yajnah karma-samudbhavah (BG 3.14)

 All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.

The third chapter of Bhagavad Gita, titled Karma Yoga, talks especially about the ritual of Yajna, because the phrase Yajna is derived from the Sanskrit root “yaj”, which translates as “to do”. This term, as one can observe, is linked to performance of karma or action. Action causes the transformation of energy. 

karma brahmodbhavam viddhi 
brahmaksara-samudbhavam 
tasmat sarva-gatam brahma 
nityam yajne pratisthitam ( BG 3.15)

Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.

There are various kinds of yajnas like vedic yajna, tantric yajna, pauranic yajna and even darshanic (philosophical) yajnas. Vedic yajnas such as Somayana, Jyotistoma, Ashwamedha, Rajasuya, VAjapeya, are well known. Yajnas such as Gayatri Yajna, Vishnu Yajna and Chandi Yajna were also conducted during the Puranic era. Srimad Bhagawad Gita refers to Darshanic yajnas which are more philosophical in nature, where even an act of charity, austerity, japa or swadhyaya can be qualify as a yajna. 

The puranas bear eloquent testimony to the efficacy of yajna as a medium for appeasement of Gods. We have all heard the story of how in Treta yuga, king Dasaratha obtained the boon of progeny through performance of Putrakaameshti yajna. 

 In recent times, one has witnessed Varuna yagam, Adbhuta shanti yagam etc, where the continuing relevance of Yajna was amply demonstrated. Varuna yajnas are conducted to invoke the blessings of rain god Varuna. Yajnas are known to ward off malefic events and Shanti yajnas are conducted for World peace. Because of the powerful vibrations that are created by mantra chanting etc, yajna is considered as a very potent means for positively influencing the atmosphere which surrounds us. The salutary effects of a yajna are felt on not just the physical plane but also on mental, psychic and spiritual planes as well. When one is in a particular area charged with highly spiritual undercurrents, then it is natural for one’s mind to imbibe that peace and purity.

Hindu tradition has the Pancha Mahayajnas as delineated in the Taittiriya Aranyaka 2.10. These sacrifices are to be performed daily by all "grihasthas” (householders):

1. Deva yajna- worship of the gods (devas)
2. Pitri yajna- offering libations to ancestors or pitrs
3. Bhuta yajna- offering food to animals
4. Manushya yajna- charitable offerings of food to fellow humans
5. Brahma yajna- recitation of a section of one's Veda ("bráhman")

The Bhagavadgita further mentions 1) Dravya yagna 2) Tapoyagnya 3) Yoga yagnya 4) Swaadhyaaya yagnya and 5) Gyaana yagnya. Japa yagnya is a part of  swaadhyaaya yagya and is further sub-divided into vaachaka, upaansu and maanasa…depending upon the mode pursued.

All the above named can be categorized into two basic branches “antar yagna” and “bahir yagna”  performance of which would result in purification of mind and deeds.

In the saareeraka yagnya, As described in the Purushasooktam,  the Purusha is the yagnyakarta, Budhi (wisdom) is the spouse, Deeksha (discipline) and Ananda (happiness) are the vessels, gyaaneendriyas / karmendriyas are the accessories, the senses and their ruling deities shall be the ritviks. The body shall be the arena of yagnya, the head is the yagnyakunda or the sacrificial pit, the hair is the sacred darbha grass and the heart shall be the altar. The anAhatha naada issuing from the heart is the Veda. The beast of the sacrifice is Brahma or Purusha, and again yagnya bhoktha is Vishnu, verily the Purusha himself. Such a yagnya is called "Sarvahut" – the supreme sacrifice…the offering of all. Thus it follows that the entire process of creation / sustenance / destruction is a Yagnya…it is an act of Love and of sacrifice in which the Purusha would consume himself eternally in the fire of creation, to bring forth new worlds and new species. 

This same theme is echoed in Lalithopakhyanam, where the impotent Devas sacrifice themselves in the Yagnya to be reborn with greater strength and vigour. In Bhagavad gita, the Lord again reiterates that 

brahmarpanam brahma havir
brahmagnau brahmana hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyam
brahma-karma-samadhina (B.G. 4.24)

God is the offering-
God, the oblation.
By GOD is the oblation
poured into the Fire that is GOD-
God truly shall be reached
by the one who ever sees God in (all) action

In case of Antar-yagna, forever ablaze in the inner recesses of the human being, the sacrificial fire glows as the “Vaiswanara” composed of pancha-agni (Gnaana-agni, Darsanaagni, Koshtaagni, Jatharaagni, Daharaagni) that are associated with the pancha tattvas and pancha kosas of the human body.

In Bhagavadgita Srikrishna says …

ahaḿ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā

prāṇināḿ deham āśritaḥ

prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ

pacāmy annaḿ catur-vidham (BG 15.14)

I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of foodstuff.

The above two shlokas are often chanted before meal, wherein the Vedic sacrifice is being compared to eating a meal…an offering to the Eternal Inner Fire.

God: The Inner Fire

How closely the scriptures identified God with that Inner fire or Chaitanya is apparent from the following lines from Narayana sooktam …

tasyaa madhye mahaanagnir vishwachir visvato mukha
sograabhugvibhajan tishthannahaaraa maajaraah kaavih

In that space within the heart resides the Great Flaming Fire, undecaying, all-knowing, with tongues spread out in all directions, with faces turned everywhere, consuming food presented before it, and assimilating it unto itself. 

tasyaa sikhayaa madhye paramaatmaa vyavasthithaah
saa brahmaa saa sivaah saa hariih sendraah soksharaah paramah swarat

In the Middle of That Flame, the Supreme Self dwells. This (Self) is Brahma (the Creator), Siva (the Destroyer), Hari (the Protector), Indra (the Ruler), the Imperishable, the Absolute, the Autonomous Being. Prostrations again and again to the Omni-Formed Being, the Truth, the Law, the Supreme Absolute, the Purusha of blue-decked yellow hue, the Centralised-Force, Power, the All-Seeing One. 

Similarly there are certain lines from Hamsa Gita / Uddhava gita wherein Sri Narayana, in the form of Hamsa (Hamsavataara)  speaks to Narada about how Narayana should be worshipped in the heart… that the form of Narayana should be invoked in the Agni mandala which exists atop the Surya and Chandra mandalas in the heart.

 

hrit-pundarikam antah-stham

urdhva-nalam adho-mukham

dhyatvordhva-mukham unnidram

ashta-patram sa-karnikam

karnikayam nyaset surya-

somagnin uttarottaram

vahni-madhye smared rupam

mamaitad dhyana-mangalam

(Srimad Bhagavatham 11.14.36-42)

Keeping the eyes half closed and fixed on the tip of one's nose, being enlivened and alert, one should meditate on the lotus flower situated within the heart. This inverted lotus has eight petals and is situated on an erect lotus stalk. One should meditate on the Sun, Moon and the Fire, placing them one after the other within the whorl of that lotus flower. Placing My transcendental form within the fire, one should meditate upon it as the auspicious goal of all meditation.

I think it is now becoming increasingly clearer why Sun worship or fire sacrifice were enjoined for every spiritual aspirant by the scriptures, and praying to which ensures felicity in the three worlds…bhur (Mars) bhuvah (Sun) and swah (svarga or the 10^th house).