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Post by Anne Terri on Aug 12, 2016 13:51:42 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
p. 361 PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES. p. 362 THE TULSI
p. 363 THE INFERIOR DEITIES CHAPTER I
THE DIVINE RISHIS.
1. BHRIGU. "WHEN Brahmā wished to populate the world, he created mind-born sons, like himself; viz. Bhrigu, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angiras, Marichi, Daksha, Atri, and Vasishtha: these are the nine Brahmās or Brahmārishis celebrated in the Purānas." * Originally seven only were mentioned in the Mahābhārata; but the lists found in different parts of that Epic do not agree with each other. These seven are supposed to be visible in the Great Bear, as their wives shine in the Pleiades. These Brahmārishis are also called Prajāpatis (lords of offspring), Brahmāputras (sons of Brahmā), and Brāhmanas. The "Vishnu Purāna" teaches that Bhrigu married his niece Khyāti, a daughter of Daksha, who bore to him Sri or Lakshmi; but as it was the common belief that she was one of the products of the churning of the ocean, the reciter of the Purāna is asked to explain this discrepancy. The substance of his answer was, that p. 364 [paragraph continues] "of gods, animals, and man, Hari is all that is called male, Lakshmi is all that is termed female." In his account of the creation, Manu mentions ten Maharishis as having been created by himself, one of whom is Bhrigu, who in his turn created seven other Manus, from whom all that is has sprung. * The Mahābhārata says: "Six great Rishis are known as the mind-born sons of Brahmā;" but Bhrigu is not named amongst them. In another passage it describes him as a son of Varuna, but Brahmā is there identified with Varuna. At a sacrifice at which Brahmā officiated, a portion of Varuna was thrown into the sacrificial fire, whence there arose three men endowed with bodies. Bhrigu sprang first from bhrik (the blazing of the fire), Angiras from the cinders, and Kavi from a heap of ashes. The god called Mahādeva, Varuna, and Pavana, claimed these three as his own. Agni and Brahmā also claimed them. † It was agreed that Bhrigu was Varuna's son. Agni received Angiras, and Brahmā took Kavi. In another part of that poem it is said, "We have heard that the great and venerable Rishi Bhrigu was produced by Brahmā from fire at the sacrifice of Varuna." ‡ The "Bhāgavata Purāna" says that "he sprang from the skin of the Creator;" and the Mahābhārata, in another verse, declares that "the venerable Bhrigu, having split Brahmā's heart, issued forth." At the great sacrifice of Daksha, to which Siva was not invited, Bhrigu officiated as priest; and because he reviled that god and his followers, and justified Daksha in slighting him, he suffered the loss of his beard. The Mahābhārata gives a legend of Bhrigu cursing Indra. The Indra of that age, named Nahusha, being p. 365 filled with pride, lost the benefit of his previous good works, and in his presumption caused the Rishis to carry him about. When it came to Agastya's turn to carry him, Bhrigu said to him, "Why do we submit to the insults of this wicked king of the gods?" Agastya replied that none of the Rishis had cursed Nahusha, because he had received as a boon the power to subject to his service any on whom he fixed his eye; but that at the same time he was quite ready to act upon any suggestion Bhrigu might make. Bhrigu then told him that he had been sent by Brahmā to take vengeance on Nahusha, who would that very day attach Agastya to his car and kick him; but incensed at this insult, he (Bhrigu) would by a curse condemn the oppressor to become a serpent. The mighty Nahusha summoned Agastya from the banks of the Sarasvati to carry him. The glorious Bhrigu then said to Maitrāvarum (Agastya), "Close thy eyes, whilst I enter into the knot of thy hair!" With the view of overthrowing the king, Bhrigu hid himself in the hair of Agastya, who then stood motionless as a stock. Nahusha came to Agastya, when the sage desired to be attached to the vehicle, and agreed to carry the king of the gods wherever he pleased. Nahusha attached him, but Bhrigu did not venture to look at him, knowing his power of subduing by a glance. Agastya kept his temper; even when urged by a goad, he remained unmoved. The king at last kicked him; then Bhrigu, invisible in the hair of Agastya, became enraged, and violently cursed him: "Since, fool, thou hast in thine anger smitten the great Muni on the head with thy foot, therefore become a serpent, and fall swiftly to the earth." * Thus cursed, Nahusha fell to p. 366 the earth; had the sage been seen by Indra, he would have been unable to punish the oppressor. Bhrigu on another occasion cursed Agni. The Mahābhārata says:—A woman named Pulomā was betrothed to a demon; Bhrigu, seeing her beauty, married her according to Vedic rites, and carried her off secretly. The demon, by the aid of Agni, discovered the bride's hiding-place, and took her away to his home. For rendering the demon this assistance, Bhrigu, cursing Agni, said, "From this day, you shall eat everything." Agni asked Bhrigu why he had cursed him, seeing that by speaking the truth he had simply done his duty; and reminded him that "when a person is asked a question, and intentionally speaks what is false, he, with seven preceding and seven succeeding generations, is cast into hell; and that he who withholds information is equally guilty." He goes on to say, "I, too, can curse, but respecting Brāhmans restrain my anger. I am really the mouth of the gods and ancestors. When ghī is offered to them, they partake of it through me as their mouth; how then can I be said to eat everything?" Bhrigu hearing this consented to modify his curse, by saying that, "as the Sun by his light and heat purifies all nature, so Agni should purify all that passed through him." Bhrigu is said to have performed a most wonderful deed; the transforming of a Kshattriya king into a Brāhman. The Mahābhārata * gives the following account of this unique work:—"Divodāsa, King of Kāsi (Benares), was attacked by the sons of Vitāhavya, and all his family slain in battle. The afflicted monarch therefore resorted to the sage Bharadvāja, who performed for him a sacrifice, in consequence of which a son named p. 367 [paragraph continues] Pratardana was born to him. Pratardana, becoming an accomplished warrior, was sent by his father to take vengeance on the Vitāhavyas. Vitāhavya had now to fly to another sage, Bhrigu, who promised his protection. The avenger Pratardana, however, followed, and demanded that the refugee should be given up. Bhrigu, the most eminent of religious men, filled with compassion, said, 'There is no Kshattriya here; all these are Brāhmans.' Hearing this true assertion of Bhrigu, Pratardana was glad, and, gently touching the sage's feet, rejoined, 'Even thus, O glorious saint, I have gained my object, for I have compelled this king to relinquish his caste.' This Vitāhavya, by the mere word of Bhrigu, became a Brāhman Rishi, and an utterer of the Vedas." The names of nineteen Bhrigus are given in the "Matsya Purāna," who are said to be composers of hymns; Bhrigu himself being one of the narrators of the Mahābhārata. Professor Roth * speaks of the Bhrigus as a class of mythological beings, who belonged to the aërial or middle class of gods. They were the discoverers of fire, and then brought it to men. He adds that the race has a connection with history, as one of the chief Brāhmanical families bears the name, and allusions are made to the fact in the hymns of the Rig-Veda. In the Rāmāyana there are not many references to Bhrigu; he is there called a Maharishi; and Rāma is induced to slay a female demon by the remembrance that Vishnu slew Brigu's wife when she aspired to Indra's throne. He is the saint whom the childless wives of Sāgar worshipped in order to obtain a son; and he gave to one lady one, to the other sixty thousand. Parasurāma was one of his most illustrious descendants. p. 368 2. PULASTYA.
Pulastya, another of Brahmā's mind-born sons, is reverenced because it was through him that the Purānas were made known to men. The reason of his being regarded as the Revealer of Scripture is taught in the "Vishnu Purāna," * where the narrator Parāsara, in answer to a question of his disciple Maitreya, says: "You recall to my mind what was of old narrated by my father's father, Vasishtha. I had heard that my father had been devoured by a Rākshas, employed by Visvamitra: violent anger seized me, and I commenced a sacrifice for the destruction of the Rākshasas; hundreds of them were reduced to ashes by the rite, when, as they were about to be entirely extirpated, my grandfather Vasishtha thus spake to me: 'Enough, my child; let thy wrath be appeased; the Rākshasas are not culpable: thy father's death was the work of destiny.'" Parāsara ceased from his sacrifice, and his grandfather was pleased; then Pulastya coming said to him: "Since, in the violence of animosity, you have listened to the words of your progenitor, and exercised clemency, you shall become learned in every science. Since you have forborne, even though incensed, to destroy my posterity, I will bestow on you another boon; you shall become the author of a summary of the Purānas, shall know the true nature of the deities, and your understanding through my favour shall be perfect and free from doubts." Parāsara relates the Purāna as told him formerly "by Vasishtha and the wise Pulastya." Pulastya married Prithi, a daughter of Daksha, by whom he had a son, the sage Agastya; the Bhāgavata p. 369 calls his wife Havisbhu, whose sons were Agastya and Visravas, the father of Kuvera, Rāvana, and other Rākshasas. The reason of Parāsara's attack upon the Rākshasas is given in a legend in the Mahābhārata. King Kalmāshapada, meeting with Sakti (Parāsara's father) in a narrow path in a forest, wished him to get out of his way. This the sage refused to do; whereupon the king thrashed him with his whip; in return Sakti cursed him, and he became a cannibal Rākshas. When in this form, the king killed and ate Sakti and all the other sons of Vasishtha. Sakti's wife being pregnant at the time of his death, Parāsara was born soon after and brought up with his grandfather. When he grew up, he commenced the slaughter of the Rākshasas, but was restrained by Vasishtha, Pulastya, and others. 3. PULAHA.
This Rishi does not figure largely in Hindu mythology. He married a daughter of Daksha named Kshamā (Patience), by whom he had three sons. 4. KRATU.
Kratu is no more widely known than Pulaha. He married Sannati (Humility), another daughter of Daksha, by whom he had "sixty thousand Bālakhilyas, pigmy sages no bigger than the joint of the thumb; chaste, pious, and resplendent as the rays of the sun." * 5. ANGIRAS.
Angiras is famed as the author of several hymns of Rig-Veda. He first married Smriti (Memory), by p. 370 whom he had four daughters, and afterwards he married Swaddha (Oblation) and Sati, also Daksha's daughters. His so-called daughters, the Pratyangirasa Bichas, are thirty-five verses addressed to presiding divinities. There is some ambiguity in the use of his name; it comes from the same root as Agni, of which deity it is used as an epithet; it is also used of Agni's father, and is the name of a son of Agneya, Agni's daughter. Angiras is supposed to have been associated with Bhrigu in introducing fire-worship into India. 6. MARICHI.
Marichi is better known through his descendants than from any work of his own, his most illustrious child being Kasyapa, as a son of whom Vishnu came, in his incarnation as a dwarf. Amongst Kasyapa's thirteen wives were Diti and Aditi, who by him became the mothers of gods. "There were twelve celebrated deities in a former age called Tushitas, who, on the approach of the present period, or during the reign of the last Manu Chakshusa, said amongst themselves, 'Come, let us quickly enter into the womb of Aditi, that we may be born in the next Manvantara, for thereby we shall again enjoy the rank of gods. Accordingly they were born the sons of Kasyapa, the son of Marichi by Aditi; thence named the twelve Ādityas, whose names were Vishnu, Sakra, Aryaman, Dhuti, Tvastri, Pushan, Vivasvat, Savitri, Mitra, Varuna, Ansa, and Bhaga." * An explanation of the fact that gods undergo successive births is found in the "Vāyu Purāna." In the beginning of the Kalpa, twelve gods, named Jayas, were created by Brahmā as his deputies and assistants in p. 371 creation. They, lost in meditation, neglected his commands, on which he declared that they should be reborn in each Manvantara until the seventh. * The writer of the "Vishnu Purāna" tries to explain this fact: "These classes of divinities are born again at the end of a thousand ages according to their own pleasure, and their appearance and disappearance are spoken of as a birth and death; but they exist age after age in the same manner as the sun sets and rises again." By his wife Diti, Kasyapa had two sons, Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyāksha, whom Vishnu, here said to be the son of her sister Aditi; became incarnate to destroy; these mortal enemies were therefore cousins. 7. ATRI.
Atri was the author of many Vedic hymns, especially those "praising Agni, Indra, the Asvins, and the Viswadevas." He married Anasūyā, who bore him Durvāsas, the sage who was slighted by Indra. Soma, the moon, is said to proceed from the eyes of his father Atri. When this sage and his wife were old, they received a visit at their hermitage from Rāma, Sita, and Lakshman, who were then wandering from place to place— "He came to Atri's pure retreat, Paid reverence to his holy feet, And from the saint such welcome won As a fond father gives his son." † Atri, in introducing his wife to his illustrious guests, thus describes her— "Ten thousand years this votaress, bent On sternest rites of penance, spent; p. 372 [paragraph continues] She, when the clouds withheld their rain, And drought ten years consumed the plain, Caused grateful roots and fruits to grow And ordered Gangā here to flow; So from their cares the saints she freed, Nor let these checks their rites impede. She wrought in heaven's behalf, and made Ten nights of one, the gods to aid." * Anasūyā then joins with her husband in welcoming the exiles to their hermitage, and, delighted with the princess, tells her to ask a boon. As, however, Sitā appeared to want nothing particular, the aged saint said— "My gift to-day Thy sweet contentment shall repay: Accept this precious robe to wear, Of heavenly fabric, rich and rare; These gems thy limbs to ornament, This precious balsam sweet of scent. O Maithil dame! this gift of mine Shall make thy limbs with beauty shine, And, breathing o’er thy frame, dispense Its pure and lasting influence. This balsam, on thy fair limbs spread, New radiance on thy lord shall shed, As Lakshmi's beauty lends a grace To Vishnu's own celestial face." † 8. DAKSHA.
Daksha, the father of Umā, the consort of Siva, has attained pre-eminence amongst his brethren largely through the greatness of his son-in-law. He, too, is a mind-born son of Brahmā; or, according to other accounts, sprang from the thumb of his father. He is p. 373 one of the chief Prajāpatis. Before speaking of Daksha, as the term Prajāpati is of frequent occurrence, it will not be out of place here to describe the position of these beings. The term Prajāpati means a lord of creatures; the Prajāpatis, therefore, are regarded as the progenitors of mankind. The word is used in much the same manner DAKSHA.
as Patriarch in the Christian Scriptures. Sometimes Brahmā alone is intended by the term Prajāpati; he is the "lord of creatures;" sometimes it is employed for the first-formed men from whom the human race sprang. The word was originally employed as an epithet of Savitri and Soma, as well as of Hiranyāgarbha, or Brahmā. It afterwards, however, came to denote a separate deity, who appears in three places in the p. 374 [paragraph continues] Rig-Veda. Prajāpati is sometimes identified with the universe, and described (in the same way as Brahma, or entity, or non-entity in other places) as having alone existed in the beginning, as the source out of which creation was evolved: "e.g. Prajāpati was this universe; Vach was a second to him. She became pregnant, she departed from him, she produced these creatures. She again entered into Prajāpati." * At the same time he is "sometimes described as a secondary or subordinate deity, and treated as one of thirty-three deities." By the time Manu wrote, creation had come to be regarded as the special work of Brahmā, hence the term Prajāpati is applied to him in the Dharmasastra, and in the later writings it is given to those who sprang from him, and carried on his work of populating the world. The Mahābhārata † gives two distinct accounts of the origin of Daksha:—"Daksha, the glorious Rishi, tranquil in spirit, and great in austere fervour, sprang from the right thumb of Brahmā. From the left thumb sprang the great Muni's wife, by whom he begot fifty daughters." "Born with all splendour, like that of the great Rishis, the ten sons of Prachetas (another Prajāpati) are reputed to have been virtuous and holy, and by them the glorious beings (trees, plants, etc.), were formerly burnt up by fire springing from their mouth. From them was born Daksha Prāchetasa; and from Daksha, the parent of the world, (were produced) these creatures. Cohabiting with Virini, the Muni Daksha begat a thousand sons like himself, famous for their religious observances." In the Harivansa, Vishnu is identified with Daksha. At the end of a thousand Yugas the Brāhmans of a previous age, "perfect in knowledge and contemplation, became involved in the p. 375 dissolution of the world. Then. Vishnu, sprung from Brahma, removed beyond the sphere of sense, absorbed in contemplation, became the Prajāpati Daksha, and formed numerous creatures." * Fuller particulars of Daksha's origin we find in the "Vishnu Purāna." † "From Brahmā, continuing to meditate, were born mind-engendered progeny, with forms and faculties derived from his corporeal nature, embodied spirits produced from the person of that all-wise deity. But as they did not multiply themselves, Brahmā created other mind-born sons like himself, viz. Bhrigu, etc. Considerable variety prevails in this list of Prajāpatis, but the variations are of the nature of additions made to an apparently original enumeration of but seven, whose names generally occur. The names mentioned in all the Purānas make up altogether seventeen. The simple statement that the first Prajāpatis sprang from the mind or will of Brahmā has not contented the depraved taste of the mystics, and in some of the Purānas, as the Bhāgavata, Vāyu and Linga, they are said to be derived from the body of their progenitor; Bhrigu from his skin, Marichi from his mind, Atri from his eyes, Angiras from his mouth, Pulastya from his ear, Pulaha from his navel, Kratu from his hand, Vasishtha from his breath, Daksha from his thumb, and Nārada from his lips. They do not exactly agree, however, in the [description of the places] whence these beings proceed." ‡ The "Vishnu Purāna" § also speaks of Daksha as a son of the Prāchetasas, and gets over the difficulty by the statement that he was born first as a son of Brahmā, and afterwards as the son of the Prāchetasas. These p. 376 progenitors of Daksha were the sons of a mighty patriarch named Prachinaverhis, so called "from his placing upon the earth the sacred grass pointing to the East." At the termination of a season of rigid penance, he married Savarnā, the daughter of the ocean, who had by him ten sons, styled Prāchetasas, who were skilled in military science; "they all observed the same duties, practised religious austerities, and remained immersed in the bed of the sea for ten thousand years." The reason for this prolonged penance was the fact that their father had been enjoined by Brahmā to increase the human family. In harmony with his promise of obedience, he told his sons that the performance of severe penance was the best way of fulfilling Brahmā's order; "for whoever worships Vishnu, the bestower of good, attains undoubtedly the object of his desires: there is no other mode." As the sons were immersed in the ocean, intent on the worship of Vishnu, that deity appeared to them, and, hearing their request, said, "Receive the boon you have desired; for I, the giver of good, am content with you." Whilst the Prāchetasas were absorbed in their devotions, "the trees grew and overshadowed the unprotected earth, the people perished, the winds could not blow, the sky was shut out from view by the boughs, and mankind unable to labour for ten thousand years. When the sages saw this, wind (which tore up the trees) and flames (which then consumed them) issued from their mouths, and the forests were soon cleared away. Soma, the sovereign of the vegetable world, seeing nearly all the trees destroyed, went to the patriarchs and said, Restrain your indignation, and listen to me. I will make an alliance between you and the trees. Prescient of futurity, I have nourished this maiden, the daughter p. 377 of the woods. She is called Mārishā, and, as your bride, she shall be the multiplier of the race of Druva. From a portion of your and my lustre the patriarch Daksha shall be born, who, endowed with a part of me and composed of your vigour, shall be resplendent as fire, and shall multiply the human race.'" Soma then informs the brothers respecting Mārishā's origin. "There was formerly a sage named Kandu, eminent in wisdom and austerity, on the banks of the Gomati. Indra sent the nymph Pramlochā to divert the sage from his devotions: they lived together for 150 years, during which time the Muni was given up to pleasure. The nymph at the close of this period asked leave to depart, but the Muni entreated her to continue with him. And though at the end of several centuries she preferred the same request, again and again she was asked to remain. "On one occasion, as the sage was going forth from their cottage in a great hurry, the nymph asked where he was going. 'The day,' he replied, 'is drawing fast to a close. I must perform the Sandhya worship, or a duty will be neglected.' The nymph smiled mirthfully as she rejoined, 'Why do you talk, grave sir, of this day drawing to a close; your day is a day of many years, a day that must be a marvel to all: explain what this means.' The Muni said, 'Fair maiden, you came to the river-side at dawn. I beheld you then, and you entered the hermitage. It is now the revolution of evening, and the day is gone. What is the meaning of this laughter? Tell me the truth.' Pramlochā answered, 'You say rightly, venerable Brāhman, that I carne hither at morning dawn, but several hundred years have passed since the time of my arrival. This is the truth.'" She informed him that they had lived p. 378 together nine hundred and seven years, six months, and three days. The Muni sees now that the nymph must have been sent by Indra purposely to interrupt his devotions, and deprive him of the divine knowledge he had desired. And though very angry with her at first, he bids her depart in peace, as he says, "The sin is wholly mine." "Thus addressed by the Muni, Pramlochā stood trembling, whilst big drops of perspiration started from every pore, till he angrily cried to her, 'Begone, begone!' She then, reproached by him, went forth from his dwelling, and, passing through the air, wiped the perspiration from her person with the leaves of the trees. The nymph went from tree to tree, and as with dusky shoots that crowned their summits she dried her limbs, which were covered with moisture, the child she had conceived by the Rishi came forth from the pores of her skin in drops of perspiration. The trees received the living dews, and the winds collected them into one mass. 'This,' said Soma, 'I matured by my rays, and gradually it increased in size, till the exhalation that had rested on the tree-tops became the lovely girl named Mārishā. The trees will give her to you, Prāchetasas; let your indignation be appeased. She is the progeny of Kandu, the child of Pramlochā, the nursling of the trees, the daughter of the wind and moon.'" Soma then informs the Prāchetasas that Mārishā, in her previous birth, was the widow of a prince, but left childless. She therefore earnestly worshipped Vishnu, who told her to desire some boon. She replied, "I pray thee that in succeeding births I may have honourable husbands, and a son equal to a patriarch among men, . . . . and may I be born out of the ordinary course." Vishnu promised her: "In another life you p. 379 shall have ten husbands of mighty prowess, and renowned for glorious acts; and you shall have a son magnanimous and valiant, distinguished by the rank of a patriarch, from whom the various races of men shall multiply, and by whose posterity the universe shall be filled. You, virtuous lady, shall be of marvellous birth, and delighting the hearts of men." Thus having spoken, the deity disappeared, and Soma informs his hearers that it was this princess who was born as Mārishā. "Soma having concluded, the Prāchetasas took Mārishā, as he had enjoined them, righteously to wife, relinquishing their indignation against the trees, and upon her they begot the eminent patriarch Daksha, who had (in a former life) been born as the son of Brahmā. This great sage, for the furtherance of creation and the increase of mankind, created progeny. Obeying the command of Brahmā, he made movable and immovable things, the bipeds and quadrupeds, and subsequently by his will gave birth to females, ten of whom he bestowed on Dharma, thirteen on Kasyapa, and twenty-seven, who regulate the course of time, on Soma (the moon). Of these the gods, the Titans, the snake gods, cattle and birds, the singers and dancers of the courts of heaven, the spirits of evil and other beings, were born. From that period forward living creatures were engendered in an ordinary manner; before the time of Daksha, they were variously propagated by the will, by sight, by touch, and by the influence of religious austerities by devout sages and holy saints." Daksha's first attempts at populating the world were unsuccessful. A thousand sons were born to him by Asikni, but these were induced by Nārada not to propagate offspring. A thousand other sons by the same wife were p. 380 born, who also were advised by Nārada not to be troubled with children. The Prajāpati, incensed, cursed Nārada, and proceeded to create sixty daughters by Asikni, whom he gave to various husbands, by whom they had children. At length, when a time of peace and prosperity prevailed on the earth, and the gods had their proper places assigned to them, to Daksha was given the position as chief of the Prajāpatis—progenitors of mankind. In the account of Siva it was noticed that as a punishment for the insults Daksha had offered to his illustrious son-in-law, the great god changed his head for that of a goat; a perpetual sign of his ignorance and stupidity. 9. VASISHTHA.
Vasishtha, together with Pulastya, is said to have narrated the "Vishnu Purāna," and he, too, is believed to have been the writer of many of the Vedic hymns. It was he who allayed the anger of Parāsara when that sage was about to extirpate the Rākshas race, because one of their kings had slain his father. He is said to have been the Vyāsa, or arranger of the Vedas, in the Dvāpara Age; this work of arranging having a different agent in each age. Vasishtha served as the family priest of several kings. One of these, named Saudāsa, when out hunting, seeing a couple of tigers, shot one of them with an arrow. It happened that these tigers were really Rākshasas, for, as the one shot by Saudāsa was dying, it assumed a fiendish shape; the other, threatening vengeance, disappeared. Not long after this, as the king was engaged in a sacrifice, Vasishtha being out of the room, the Rākshas who escaped, assuming the form of Vasishtha, p. 381 came to the king and said, "Now that the sacrifice is ended, give me something to eat.; let it be cooked, and I will presently return." The Rākshas next transformed himself into the cook, and, having prepared a dish of human flesh, brought it to the king. When the real Muni entered, the king offered him the dish; but he discovered, by the force of meditation, that it was human flesh that was presented to him. Indignant at the insult, cursing the king, he said, "Your appetite shall be excited by similar food to that now offered me." The king was astonished at this outburst of anger, and Vasishtha, seeing this, by further meditation, discovered the whole trick; but as he could not entirely recall the effects of his curse, he modified it so that it was to work for twelve years only. * It was this same king who was cursed by Vasishtha's son Sakti to become a Rākshas, and who, in that state, devoured the sage that cursed him. Vasishtha also cursed a king named Nimi. As the king was about to commence a sacrifice that was to continue for a thousand years, he asked Vasishtha to officiate as priest; but the Muni being engaged in a similar work for Indra, he could not do so for the next five hundred years. The king proceeded with his sacrifice, engaging Gautama as priest. As soon as his engagement was over with Indra, the sage, coming to conduct Nimi's sacrifice, found another priest had been appointed. He was so angry that, cursing the king, he declared that he should cease to exist in a bodily form. On learning what was done, the king in return pronounced a similar curse upon the sage. Both took effect; but as Vasishtha's spirit became united to the spirits of Mitra and Varuna, when these deities were smitten with the beauty of the nymph Urvasi, the p. 382 spirit of the sage fell from them, and he became again incorporated through her. * A verse in the Rig-Veda ascribes Vasishtha's birth to Mitra and Varuna, in harmony with the legend just quoted: "Thou, O Vasishtha, art a son of Mitra and Varuna, born a Brāhman from the soul of Urvasi. All the gods placed in the vessel thee—the drop which had fallen through divine contemplation." There are several stories of quarrels between this sage and Visvamitra, who was anxious to obtain the position of priest to Saudāsa, which was held by Vasishtha. At another time, when he was priest to Harischandra, he was so greatly incensed at the treatment the king had received at Visvamitra's hands that he cursed him, and he became a crane. His rival returned the compliment, and he too became a bird. In this form the sages fought so violently that it was necessary for Brahmā to pacify them. The real cause of all this unpleasantness was the fact that Visvamitra was a Kshattriya by birth, who, by penance and various rites, had obtained admission into the Brāhmanical caste. Previous to his exaltation he was a king. Being desirous of obtaining a wonderful cow that belonged to Vasishtha, which had the power to grant whatever her owner desired, as he could not overcome the Brāhmans, owing to their superhuman power, he first sought to raise himself to equality with them, and at length his efforts were crowned with success. 10. NĀRADA.
Nārada's name is not found in the list of Brahmā's sons in the "Vishnu Purāna," yet he is generally regarded p. 383 as one, though, according to some authorities, he had a different origin. He is the messenger of the gods, and is often described as imparting information that was only known to them. It was he who persuaded the sons of Daksha not to beget offspring, and who was cursed for his interference; it was he who informed Kansa of the approaching birth of Krishna, which led that king to slay the children of Vasudeva: hence his common name is Kalikāraka, the strife-maker, and in modern plays he is introduced as a spy and marplot. The name Nārada is frequently employed as a term of abuse. It is used to describe a quarrelsome, meddling person. "A distinguished son of Brahmā, named Nārada, whose actions are the subject of a Purāna, bears a strong resemblance to Hermes or Mercury. He was a wise legislator, great in arts and arms, an eloquent messenger of the gods, either to one another or to favoured mortals, and a musician of exquisite skill. His inventing the vina, or Indian lute, is thus described in the poem entitled 'Māgha:' 'Nārada sat watching from time to time his large vina, which, by the impulse of the breeze, yielded notes that pierced successively the regions of his ear, and proceeded by musical intervals.' The Law Tract, supposed to have been revealed by Nārada, is at this hour cited by Pundits, and we cannot therefore believe him to have been the patron of thieves, though an innocent theft of Krishna's cattle, by way of putting his divinity to the test, he strangely imputed, in the Bhāgavata Purāna,' to his father Brahmā." * The accounts of Nārada's origin vary considerably. According to the Bhāgavata, he was the third incarnation of Vishnu. Manu declares that he was one of the Maharishis whom he created at the beginning of the p. 384 age. Moor * quotes as . follows: "Brahmā said, 'Rise up, Rudra, and form man to govern the world.' Rudra obeyed; but the men he made were fiercer than tigers, having nothing but the destructive quality in their composition. Anger was their only passion. Brahmā, Vishnu, and Rudra then joined their different powers, and created ten men whose names were Nārada," etc. The "Siva Purāna" teaches that Nārada sprang from the thigh of his father: "Brahmā, in view of peopling the world, produced four beings, who, being refractory, caused their parent to weep. To comfort him, Siva, in the character of Rudra, issued from a fold in his forehead, with five heads and ten arms, and, endowing Brahmā with additional might, he (Brahmā) produced Bhrigu and the seven Rishis, and after that Nārada from his thigh." † In another birth Nārada was the son of Kasyapa ‡ and a daughter of Daksha. Daksha was greatly incensed when he dissuaded the Prajāpati's sons from peopling the world, and declared that he should not have a resting-place; hence his wandering nature. On one occasion Nārada was cursed by his own father, and he in return cursed Brahmā. "Brahmā exhorted his son Nārada to take a wife, and assist in peopling the world. Nārada, who was a votary of Krishna, becomes angry, affirms that devotion to that god is the sole way to attain felicity, and denounces his father as an erring instructor. Brahmā, in reply, curses Nārada, and dooms him to a life of sensuality, and subjection to women. Nārada pays back the imprecation as follows: 'Wretch! become no object of adoration: how shall any p. 385 one be devoted to the forms of thy worship? Thou shalt without doubt lust after her who is no fit object of thy desires!' Through this curse of Nārada, the creator of the world ceased to be an object of worship. Beholding the beauty of his daughter, he ran after her. Nārada, having made obeisance to his lotus-born father, forsook his Brāhmanical body, and became a Gandharva, * a chorister of Indra's heaven." In the Mahābhārata, Nārada figures as a religious teacher; and in the "Uttara Kānda" of the Rāmāyana is a specimen of his teaching. † A Brāhman, carrying the dead body of his son, came to the door of Rāma's palace at Ayodha; and bewailing his loss, as he himself was unconscious of any fault, he believed it to be owing to some misconduct on the part of the king. Rāma summoned his councillors, when the divine sage Nārada spoke as follows: "Hear, O king, how the boy's untimely death occurred; and, having heard the truth regarding what ought to be done, do it." The story, briefly told, is as follows: "A presumptuous Sudra, paying no regard to the fact that during the age in which he lived the prerogative of practising self-mortification had not descended to the humble class to which he belonged, had been guilty of seeking to secure a store of religious merit by its exercise. Rāma, after considerable search, comes upon a person who was engaged in the manner described by Nārada. The Sudra avows his caste, and his desire to conquer for himself the rank of a god, by the self-mortification he was undergoing. Rāma instantly cuts off the offender's head; the gods applaud the deed, and, having been encouraged by them to ask a boon, Rāma requests that the Brāhman's boy may be p. 386 resuscitated. He is informed that he was restored to life the very moment that the Sudra was slain." Nārada was the friend and companion of Krishna, and was famed for his musical talents, but, becoming presumptuous on account of them, he emulated the divine strains of Krishna, who severely punished him for his presumption by placing his vina in the paws of a bear, when it emitted sounds far sweeter than those of the minstrelsy of the mortified musician. Krishna played many practical jokes on his friend; on one occasion he went so far as to metamorphose him into a woman. * Great honour is given to Nārada because he is said to have revealed to Valmiki the "Rāmāyana," which opens as follows:— "To sainted Nārad, prince of those Whose lore in words of wisdom flows, Whose constant care and chief delights Were scripture and ascetic rites, The good Valmiki, first and best Of hermit saints, these words addressed: 'In all the world, I pray thee, who Is virtuous, heroic, true? Firm in his vows, of grateful mind, To every creature good and kind? Bounteous and holy, just and wise, Alone most fair to all men's eyes? Grant, saint divine, the boon I ask, For thee, I ween, an easy task, To whom the power is given to know If such a man breathes here below.' Then Nārad, clear before whose eye The present, past, and future lie, Made ready answer!" † p. 387 Nārada proceeds to narrate the life of Rāma to Valmiki, who feels that the task of writing down what was told him is too great a" work for his powers, until Brahmā himself appears, and encourages him to proceed— "Then come, O best of seers, relate The life of Rāma, good and great; The tale that saintly Nārad told In all its glorious length unfold." * Footnotes363:* "Vishnu Purāna," p. 49. 364:* Muir, O. S. T., i. 36. 364:† Ibid., i. 445. 364:‡ Ibid. 365:* Muir, O. S. T., i. 314. 366:* Muir, O. S. T., i. 229. 367:* Muir, O. S. T., i. 442. 368:* Page 4. 369:* "Vishnu Purāna," p. 83. 370:* "Vishnu Purāna," p. 122. 371:* Page 123. 371:† Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," ii. 468. 372:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," ii. 473. 372:† Ibid., ii. 474. 374:* Muir, O. S. T., v. 390. 374:† Ibid. i. 224. 375:* Muir, O. S. T., i. 153. 375:† Page 49. 375:‡ Wilson in note, p. 49, "Vishnu Purāna." 375:§ Page 116. 381:* "Vishnu Purāna," p. 381. 382:* "Vishnu Purāna," p. 388. 383:* Sir W. Jones, "Asiatic Researches," i. 264. 384:* "Hindu Pantheon," p. 91. 384:† Ibid., p. 78. 384:‡ "Vishnu Purāna," p. 118. 385:* "Nārada Pancharatna," Muir, O. S. T., preface, iv. p. 6. 385:† Ibid. i. 117. 386:* Moor, "Hindu Pantheon," p. 205. 386:†Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 3. 387:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 22. NEXT CHAPTER II. KUVERA.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 11:52:30 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES.
p. 388
CHAPTER II. KUVERA.
Kuvera, the god of riches, does not occupy a very conspicuous position in the mythology of the Hindus. No images or pictures of him are to be had, though he is frequently referred to in the Rāmāyana as the lord of gold and wealth. "Brahmā had a mental son named Pulastya, who again had a mental son named Gaviputra Vaisravana (Kuvera). The latter deserted his father, and went to Brahmā, who as a reward made him immortal, and appointed him to be the god of riches, with Lanka for his capital, and the car Pushpaka for his vehicle. * This car was of immense size, and moved at its owner's will at a marvellous speed; Rāvana took it by force from Kuvera, at whose death it was restored by Rāma to its original possessor. "Pulastya being incensed at this desertion (of his son Kuvera) reproduced the half of himself in the form of Vaisravas, who looked upon Vaisravana with indignation. The latter strove to pacify his father, and with this view gave him three elegant Rākshasīs to attend on him: Pushpotkatā, who had two sons, Rāvana and Kumbhakarna; Mālinī, who bore Vibhīshana; and Rākā, who bore Khara and Sūparnakha. These sons were all p. 389 valiant, skilled in the Vedas and observers of religious rites, but, perceiving the prosperity of Vaisravana, were filled with jealousy. Excepting Khara and Sūparnakha, they began to practise austerities to propitiate Brahmā, and at the end of a thousand years Rāvana cut off his own head and threw it as an oblation into the fire. Brahmā appeared to put a stop to their austerities, and to offer them boons (except that of immortality). He ordained that Rāvana should have heads and shapes at will and be invincible, except by men; that Kumbhakarna should enjoy a long sleep. Having obtained these powers, Rāvana expelled Vaisravana from Lanka. Kuvera retired to Gandamārdana. Rāvana having been installed as king, and begun to exercise his power tyrannically, the Rishis resort to Brahmā, who promises that, as Rāvana could not be killed by gods or asuras, the four-armed Vishnu, the chief of warriors, should by his (Brahmā's) appointment descend to earth for his destruction." * The Rāmāyana (Uttara Kānda) † makes Kuvera the grandson, not the son, of Pulastya. In the Krita Yuga the pious Pulastya, being teased with the singing and dancing of different damsels, proclaimed that any one of them whom he saw near his hermitage should become a mother. This threat had not been heard by the daughter of Trinavindu, who came near the hermitage, and incurred Pulastya's threatened punishment. Her father, on learning her condition, gave her as wife to Pulastya, and she bore him a son named Visravas; who, becoming a sage, married a daughter of the Muni Bharadvaja, whose son Brahmā, named Vaisravana (Kuvera). He performed austerities for thousands of years, and received as a boon from Brahmā that he should be the p. 390 god of riches, and one of the guardians of the world. At the suggestion of his father Visravas, he took possession of Lanka for his abode, which was formerly built by Visvakarma for the Rākshasas, who through fear of Vishnu had recently forsaken it. A Rākshas prince named Sumali, who had been driven to Pātāla, happening to visit the earth, saw Kuvera travelling in his chariot to visit his father. This leads him to devise a plan by which he might regain his former position. He sends his daughter Kaikasi to woo Visravas; she is kindly received and becomes the mother of Rāvana, Kumbhakarna, Sūparnakha and Vibhishana. When Kaikasi saw the splendour of Kuvera, she urges Rāvana to resemble him in glory; who, in order to effect this, undergoes most severe austerities for a thousand years, when Brahmā grants him as a boon invincibility against all beings more powerful than men, and other gifts. Kuvera on Rāvana's demand yields the city of Lanka. It was noticed above that Kuvera was one of the guardians of the world; these are commonly said to be four in number. Rāma mentions their names: "May he whose hands the thunder wield [Indra], Be in the East thy guard and shield: May Yama's care the South befriend, And Varuna's arm the West defend; And let Kuvera, Lord of Gold, The North with firm protection hold." * [paragraph continues] When eight guardians are spoken of, the additional four are these: Agni has charge of the South-East, Surya of the South-West, Soma of the North-East, and Vāyu of the North-West. p. 391 Kuvera is called the King of the Yākshasas—savage beings who, because the moment they were born said, "Let us eat," were called Yākshasas. These beings were ever on the watch for prey, and ate those they slew in battle. Throughout the Rāmāyana there are brief references to Kuvera as the giver of riches, and also to the beauty of his palace and gardens. Thus Bharadvāja the sage, desirous of giving Rāma and Lakshman a fitting reception, said— "Here let Kuvera's garden rise, Which far in Northern Kuru lies; For leaves let cloth and gems entwine, And let its fruit be nymphs divine." * His garden is a place "where the inhabitants enjoy a natural perfection, attended with complete happiness, obtained without exertion. There is there no vicissitude, nor decrepitude, nor death, nor fear; no distinction of virtue and vice, none of the inequalities denoted by the words 'best,' 'worst,' and 'intermediate,' nor any change resulting from the succession of the four Yugas. There is neither grief, weariness, anxiety, hunger, nor fear. The people live in perfect health, free from every suffering, for ten or twelve thousand years." † As Sugriva was sending forth his armies to search for Sita, he thus speaks of this garden to Satabal, the leader of the army of the North— "Pursue your onward way, and haste Through the dire horrors of the waste, Until triumphant with delight You reach Kailāsa's glittering height. p. 392 [paragraph continues] There stands a palace decked with gold, For King Kuvera wrought of old, A home the heavenly artist planned, And fashioned with his cunning hand. There lotuses adorn the flood With full-blown flower and opening bud, Where swans and mallards float, and gay Apsarasas * come down to play. There King Vaisravan's self, the lord By all the universe adored, Who golden gifts to mortals sends, Lives with the Guhyakas, † his friends." ‡ As Rāma and Lakshman were wandering in the forest, they were attacked by a giant named Virādha; but as they could not slay him with their weapons, they buried him alive, and as a result he regained his proper form. Formerly Kuvera had cursed him, for "loving Rambhā's charms too well," to assume the hideous form in which Rāma met with him, and the only relief Kuvera would give him was— "When Rāma, Dasaratha's son, Destroys thee, and the fight is won, Thy proper shape once more assume, And heaven again shall give thee room." § When Rāvana had risen to the summit of his power, he made the gods perform various offices in his house: thus Indra prepared garlands, Agni was his cook, Surya gave light by day and Chandra by night, and Kuvera became his cash-keeper. Kuvera married Yakshi or Charvi; and two of his sons, through a curse of the sage Nārada, became trees, in which condition they remained until Krishna, when p. 393 an infant, uprooted them. Nārada met with them in a forest, bathing with their wives, in a state of intoxication. The wives, ashamed of themselves, fell at Nārada's feet and sought for pardon; but as their husbands disregarded the presence of the sage, they suffered the full effects of his curse.
Footnotes388:* "Mahābhārata: "Muir, O. S. T., iv. 481. 389:* Muir, O. S. T., v. 483. 389:† Ibid., iv. 488. 390:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," ii. 20. 391:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," ii. 358. 391:† "Bhāgavata Purāna:" Muir, O. S. T., i. 492. 392:* Nymphs of Paradise. 392:† Guardians of treasures. 392:‡ Griffiths's " Rāmāyana," iv. 24. 392:§ Ibid., iii. 14.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 12:15:57 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 394 CHAPTER III. THE DEMIGODS OF THE RĀMĀYANA. 1. SUGRIVA.Over the mighty leaders of the Monkey army associated with Rāma in the destruction of Rāvana was King SUGRIVA.[paragraph continues] Sugriva. When Vishnu, before leaving heaven to become incarnate as Rāma, asked the gods to— p. 395 "Make helps, in war to lend him aid, In forms that change at will arrayed, Of wizard skill and hero might, Outstrippers of the wind in flight," * they consented, and "begot in countless swarms brave sons disguised in sylvan forms." Of Sugriva it is said— "That noblest fire, The Sun, was great Sugriva's sire." † When Rāma finds this King of the Monkeys, he was an exile, having been driven from his throne by his brother Bāli. Kabandha, a giant slain by Rāma, gives the following description of the king to the wandering hero:— "O Rāma, hear my words and seek Sugriva, for of him I speak. His brother Bāli, Indra's son, Expelled him, when the fight he won. With four great chieftains, faithful still, He dwells on Rishyanuka's hill. * * * * Lord of the Vānars, just and true, Strong, very glorious, bright to view, Unmatched in counsel, firm and meek, Bound by each word his lips may speak, Good, splendid, mighty, bold and brave, Wise in each plan to guide and save. His brother, fired by lust of sway, Drove forth the king in woods to stray; In all thy search for Sitā, he Thy ready friend and help will be." ‡ Rāma discovers his retreat, hears the story of his wrongs, promises to slay Bāli, the usurper, and assist Sugriva to regain his throne; Sugriva on his part p. 396 solemnly promises to aid Rāma in his search and to enable him to release Sitā from Rāvana's bonds. Rāma very soon fulfils his part of the compact. He marches with Sugriva and the others to Bāli's city; Sugriva challenges Bāli to fight, and just as he is getting the worst of it, Rāma lets fly his arrow, which gives Bāli his mortal wound. Ere this chief dies, he strongly reproves Rāma for slaying one who had never harmed him and for slaying him too in a secret and cowardly manner. He asks— "What fame, from one thon hast not slain In front of battle, canst thou gain, Whose secret hand has laid me low, When madly fighting with my foe? * * * * I held that thou wouldst surely scorn To strike me as I fought my foe, And thought not of a stranger's blow. But now thine evil heart is shown, A yawning well, with grass o’ergrown. Thou wearest virtue's badge, * but guile And meanest sin thy soul defile." † Rāma reminds Bāli that Fate had ordained his death, against which it was useless to contend, with which statement Bāli agrees, and, withdrawing his unkind words, asks for Rāma's forgiveness. On the death of Bāli, Sugriva is again installed as King of the Vānars, and Rāma gives him four months for the enjoyment of his long-lost wife and kingdom. At its expiration, as Sugriva appeared to be so absorbed with pleasure as to forget his engagement to assist Rāma, Lakshman reminds him of his duty in no measured terms. At length the order is given to collect the forces. An army of monkeys, bears, etc., goes forth in search of Sita, p. 397 MONKEYS CONSTRUCTING THE BRIDGE AT LANKA.MONKEYS CONSTRUCTING THE BRIDGE AT LANKA.p. 398 who, it is discovered, is somewhere in the southern district over which Hanumān is supposed to rule, who after diligent inquiry learns her whereabouts. The army marches to the seashore; a bridge connecting the island of Lanka (Ceylon) with the mainland is erected by Nala, and the attacking army surrounds the city. No sooner were they in sight of the city of the foe than "Up sprang Sugriva from the ground, And reached the turret at a bound. Unterrified the Vānar stood, And wroth, with wondrous hardihood, The king in bitter words addressed, And thus his scorn and hate expressed: 'King of the giant race, in me The friend and slave of Rāma see. Lord of the world, he gives me power To smite thee in thy fenced tower.' While through the air his challenge rang, At Rāvan's face the Vānar sprang, Snatched from his head the kingly crown, And dashed it in his fury down. Straight at his foe the giant flew, His mighty arms around him threw, With strength resistless swung him round, And dashed him panting to the ground. Unharmed amid the storm of blows, Swift to his feet Sugriva rose. Again in furious fight they met; With streams of blood their limbs were wet, Each grasping his opponent's waist." * [paragraph continues] They continue to fight with uncertain result until Rāvana calls to his aid his magical arts— "But brave Sugriva, swift to know The guileful purpose of his foe, p. 399 [paragraph continues] Gained with light leap the upper air, And breath, and strength, and spirit there; Then, joyous as for victory won, Returned to Raghu's royal son." * In the course of the great fight, a giant named Kumbhakarna, a brother of Rāvana, came forth from the city and did great execution amongst the Vānar host, devouring his victims as fast as they were slain, though they were numbered by thousands. Some idea of the size of this monster may be gained from the fact that "There was no respite then, no pause: Fast gaped and closed his hell-like jaws: Yet prisoned in that gloomy cave, Some Vānars still their lives could save; Some through his nostrils found a way, Some through his ears resought the day." † [paragraph continues] Bāli's son Angad tried to rally the Vānar host, but he was soon dashed senseless on the ground." Hanumān had already been severely wounded by the monster. And now he attacks Sugriva, who hurled a hill at him, but "The giant's chest the stroke repelled." ‡ [paragraph continues] This compliment the monster returns by throwing his spear, which Hanumān caught as it flew, and broke it across his knee. Then "At Sugriva's head he sent A peak from Lanka's mountain rent. The rushing mass no might could stay: Sugriva fell, and senseless lay. The giant stooped his foe to seize, And bore him thence, as bears the breeze A cloud in autumn through the sky." § p. 400 [paragraph continues] The giant enters Lanka with his captive, and is greatly lauded by the people; but his triumph was of short duration, for "By slow degrees the Vānars' lord Felt life, and sense, and strength restored. He heard the giant's joyful boast: He thought upon his Vānar host. His teeth and feet he fiercely plied, And bit and rent the giant's side, Who, mad with pain and smeared with gore, Hurled to the ground the load he bore. Regardless of a storm of blows, Swift to the sky the Vānar rose, Then lightly, like a flying ball, High overleapt the city wall." * Lakshman tried to slay this monster; but it was left for Rāma to finish the work, whose arrows cut off limb after limb, and at last severed head from body. After his death, two brothers, Nikumbha and Kumbha, came forth to do battle for their chief. Sugriva seized Kumbha and hurled him into the sea; on his reaching the shore he struck Sugriva such a blow on his chest that he broke his own wrist with the shock. Sugriva returned the blow by another beneath the neck, which proved fatal. His brother now attacked Sugriva; "And red with fury flashed his eye. He dashed with mighty sway and swing His axe against the Vānar king; But shattered on that living rock, It split in fragments at the shock. Sugriva, rising to the blow, Raised his huge hand and smote his foe, And in the dust the giant lay, Gasping in blood his soul away." † p. 401 Sugriva and his heroic army continued faithful to their king's promise until Rāma's victory was won, though death had considerably thinned their ranks; but this loss was made good as, in answer to Rāma's prayer, Yama gave up the whole of the Vānars who had died in the struggle. When Rāma was about to return home in the magic car, Sugriva asked that he and the Vānar chiefs might accompany him to his capital. Their request being granted, they took part in the installation of Rāma as king, and received from that grateful monarch rich presents as a reward for their faithful service. 2. HANUMĀN.
Hanumān, on the whole the most useful of the Monkey leaders of the expedition to Ceylon, was the son of Vāyu, by a Vānar or monkey mother. "His birth is thus described— "An Apsaras, the fairest found Of nymphs, for heavenly charms renowned, Sweet Punjikasthalā, became A noble Vānar's wedded dame. Her heavenly title heard no more, Anjanā was the name she bore, When, cursed by gods, from heaven she fell, In Vānar form on earth to dwell. * * * * * In youthful beauty wondrous fair, A crown of flowers about her hair. In silken robes of richest dye, She roamed the hills that kiss the sky. Once in her tinted garments dressed, She stood upon the mountain crest. The god of wind beside her came, And breathed upon the lovely dame; And as he fanned her robe aside, The wondrous beauty that he eyed, p. 402 In rounded lines of breast and limb, And neck and shoulders, ravished him, And captured by her peerless charms, He strained her in his amorous arms. Then to the eager god she cried, In trembling accents, terrified, 'Whose impious love has wronged a spouse So constant to her nuptial vows?' HANUMAN.HANUMAN. He heard, and thus his answer made: 'Oh, be not troubled, nor afraid, But trust, and thou shalt know ere long My love has done thee, sweet, no wrong. So strong, and brave, and wise shall be The glorious son I give to thee; Might shall be his, that nought can tire, And limbs to spring as springs his sire.' p. 403 [paragraph continues] Thus spoke the god: the conquered dame Rejoiced in heart, nor feared the shame." * At length the son was born. When a child, seeing the sun rising, and thinking it to be the fruit of a tree, he sprang up three hundred leagues to clutch it. On another occasion Indra let a bolt fly at him which caused him to fall violently on a rock. The fall shattered his cheek, and hence the name Hanumān, the long-jawed one, was given to him. His father seeing this became angry, and the breezes ceased to blow, until the gods in terror came to appease Vāyu: Brahmā promised that this boy should not be slain in battle, and Indra declared that his bolts should never injure him in the future. The Monkey leader rendered most valuable service to Rāma. It was he who discovered Sita's abode, and carried a message to her from Rāma. It was he who set fire to Lanka and caused fear to enter the hearts of the Rākshasas dwelling there. It was he who bore Rāma on his shoulders as he crossed over from India to Lanka. Hanumān thus speaks of his wondrous power: "Sprung from that glorious Father, I In power and speed with him may vie. A thousand times, with airy leap, Can circle loftiest Meru's steep: With my fierce arms can stir the sea Till from their beds the waters flee, And rush at my command to drown This land with grove and tower and town. I through the fields of air can spring Far swifter than the feathered king, And leap before him as he flies On sounding pinions through the skies. I can pursue the Lord of Light Uprising from the eastern height, p. 404 [paragraph continues] And reach him ere his course be sped, With burning beams engarlanded." * All these powers he devoted to the service of Rāma; for, when that hero and his brother were wounded in the fight, and nothing else could restore them, Hanumān fled to the Himalayas from Ceylon, and returned almost immediately with the medicinal herbs that grew there, though, on reaching the hills, he had some difficulty † in finding them: "But when he thought to seize the prize, They hid them from his eager eyes. Then to the hill in wrath he spake: Mine arm this day shall vengeance take If thou wilt feel no pity, none, In this great need of Raghu's son.' He ceased: his mighty arms he bent, And from the trembling mountain rent His huge head, with the life it bore, Snakes, elephants, and golden ore. O’er hill and plain and watery waste His rapid way again he traced, And mid the wondering Vānars laid His burden, through the air conveyed. p. 405 The wondrous herbs’ delightful scent To all the host new vigour lent. Free from all darts, and wounds, and pain, The sons of Raghu lived again; And dead and dying Vānars, healed, Rose vigorous from the battle-field." * [paragraph continues] Hanumān is described in the "Uttara Kānda" of the Rāmāyana, † as a being possessed of great learning. "The chief of the monkeys, measureless, seeking to acquire grammar, looking up to the sun, bent on inquiry, go went from the mountain where the sun rises to that where he sets, apprehending the mighty collection. The chief of the monkeys is perfect: no one equals him in the Sāstras, in learning, and in ascertaining the sense of the Scriptures. In all sciences, in the rules of austerity, he rivals the preceptor of the gods." Rāma himself thus speaks of Hanumān's knowledge of the Scriptures, when he came to the exile as Sugriva's envoy: "One whose words so sweetly flow, The whole Rig-Veda needs must know, And in his well-trained memory store The Yajush and the Sāman's lore. He must have bent his faithful ear All grammar's varied rules to hear. For his long speech how well he spoke! In all its length no rule he broke." ‡ To this day Hanumān is regarded as divine, and in some parts of India is largely worshipped. Living monkeys are regarded as his representatives: hence many temples swarm with them, and it is regarded a meritorious act to feed them, and a sacrilegious act to injure them. p. 406 3. NALA. *Nala, another of the monkey chiefs, was a son of Visvakarma; and as the son of the architect of the gods, the builder of their beautiful cities, and the forger of their wonder-working weapons, as might have been expected, his work was of a similar nature to that for which his illustrious parent was celebrated. When the army reached the sea, and the difficulty of crossing to Lanka presented itself, as Rāma was preparing to shoot one of his mighty arrows to dry up the ocean, the Sea Deity presented himself, amidst a great commotion of the elements, and thus addressed him: "Air, ether, fire, earth, water, true To Nature's will, their course pursue; And I, as ancient laws ordain, Unfordable must still remain. Yet, Raghu's son, my counsel hear: I ne’er for love, or hope, or fear, Will pile my waters of a heap, And leave a pathway through the deep. Still shall my care for thee provide An easy passage o’er the tide, And like a city's paven street Shall be the road beneath thy feet." † His first word of advice was this, that Rāma, instead of shooting at the sea, should direct his arrow towards the North, to destroy a race of demons who were hateful to him, and then he went on to say— "Now let a wondrous task be done By Nala, Visvakarma's son, p. 407 [paragraph continues] Who, born of one of Vānar race, Inherits by his father's grace A share of his celestial art. Call Nala to perform his part, And he, divinely taught and skilled, A bridge athwart the sea shall build." * Nala declares that he has the will and power to accomplish this great and necessary work; and as an encouragement to Rāma to believe that he will complete it, said— "My mother, ere she bore her son, This boon from Visvakarma won: 'O Mandarī, this child shall be In skill and glory next to me.' But why unbidden should I fill Thine ear with praises of my skill? Command the Vānar hosts to lay Foundations for the bridge to-day." † Rāma trusts Nala's skill, and orders the Vānars to bring materials for the bridge: "Up sprang the Vānars from their rest, The mandate of the king obeyed, And sought the forest's mighty shade. Uprooted trees to earth they threw, And to the sea the timber drew. * * * * With mighty engines piles of stone And seated hills were overthrown: Imprisoned waters sprang on high, In rain descending from the sky: And ocean with a roar and swell Heaved wildly when the mountains fell. Then the great bridge of wondrous strength Was built, a hundred leagues in length. Rocks, huge as autumn clouds, bound fast With cordage from the shore, were cast, p. 408 And fragments of each riven hill, And trees whose flowers adorned them still. Wild was the tumult, loud the din, As ponderous rocks went thundering in. Each set of sun, so toiled each crew, Ten leagues and four the structure grew; The labours of the second day Gave twenty more of ready way, And on the fifth, when sank the sun, The whole stupendous work was done. O’er the broad way the Vānars sped, Nor swayed it with their countless tread." * 4. NĪLA.This chief is said to have sprung from Agni, and is described as "Bright as flame, Who in his splendour, might, and worth, Surpassed the sire who gave him birth." † Though thus eulogized, no very special feats of his are recorded in the Rāmāyana. He held a post of honour as the leader of a division of the army, and his special work appears to have been to provide sentries, and generally to guard the forces of Sugriva from the sudden attacks of the enemy. As the son of Agni he was able to see clearly, and by his watchfulness rendered good service. 5. SUSHENA.Varuna aided Rāma by the gift of this leader, who was the father of Tārā, the wife of Bāli, Sugriva's brother and the usurper of his throne. To him was p. 409 given the command of the army of the West. Sugriva, addressing him, said— "Two hundred thousand of our best With thee, my lord, shall seek the West." * After searching in vain for traces of the missing princess, he and the other unsuccessful leaders returned to Rāma and Sugriva, and said— "On every hill our steps have been, By wood, and cave, and deep ravine; And all the wandering brooks we know, Throughout the land that seaward flow; Our feet by thy command have traced The tangled thicket and the waste, And dens and dingles hard to pass For creeping plants and matted grass." † Though they could not learn the exact spot where Sitā was hidden, they discovered that she had been carried towards the South, the quarter under Hanumān's special charge, and thus considerably narrowed the sphere of the quest. In the great encounter with the foe, Sushena did good service; for when Rāma and Lakshman were overcome by Indrajit's magical noose, Sugriva and his comrades were greatly distressed. The Vānar king, however, being aware that Garuda could release them from the spell by which they were bound, told Sushena, when they regained their strength and senses, to fly with them to Kishkindha hermitage, where they could dwell in safety, whilst he himself fought against Rāvana, and rescued the royal lady. Then Sushena, as the physician, said— "Hear me yet: When gods and fiends in battle met, p. 410 [paragraph continues] So fiercely fought the demon crew, So wild a storm of arrows flew, That heavenly warriors, faint with pain, Sank smitten by the ceaseless rain. Vrihaspati, with herb and spell, Cured the sore wounds of those who fell, And, skilled in arts that heal and save, New life and sense and vigour gave. Far, on the milky ocean's shore, Still grow those herbs in boundless store; Let swiftest Vānars thither speed And bring them for our utmost need. Let Panas and Sampati bring, For well the wondrous leaves they know That heal each wound and life bestow. Beside that sea, which, churned of yore, The Amrit on its surface bore, Where the white billows lash the land, Chandra's fair height and Drona stand. Planted by gods, each glittering steep Looks down upon the milky deep. Let fleet Hanumān bring us thence, Those herbs of wondrous influence." * These plants were brought by Hanumān; the wounded recovered, and fought with renewed vigour.
Footnotes
395:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 92.
395:† Ibid., i. 93.
395:‡ Ibid., iii. 337.
396:* The dress of a hermit.
396:† Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iv. 91.
398:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 121.
399:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 122.
399:† Ibid., v. 197.
399:‡ Ibid., v. 198.
399:§ Ibid., v. 199.
400:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 199.
400:† Ibid., v. 229.
403:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iv. 272.
404:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iv. 275.
404:† In seeking for these leaves, Hanumān was exposed to considerable danger. Kālanemi, an uncle of Rāvana, was promised the half of the kingdom if he would slay Hanumān. To effect this, he went to the Himalayas and, disguised as a devotee, invited Hanumān to eat with him. Hanumān refused; but on entering a tank near, a crocodile seized his foot. This reptile Hanumān dragged out of the tank and killed it, from whose body a lovely Apsaras arose, whom Daksha had cursed to live in that form until her release was accomplished by Hanumān. This nymph, in gratitude for his kindness, warned Hanumān of his danger. The monkey god went to Kālanemi, and telling him that he saw through his disguise, took him by the feet, and whirled him through the air to Lanka, where he fell before the throne in Rāvana's palace.
405:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iv. 225.
405:† Muir, O. S. T., iv. 490.
405:‡ Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iv. 25.
406:* This Nala must not be confounded with another person of the same name, whose history is given in the Mahābhārata. Nala of the Mahābhārata was King of Nishadha, the husband of Damayanti, whom he obtained in marriage, although Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama were amongst the suitors for her hand.
406:† Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 66.
407:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 67.
407:† Ibid., v. 68.
408:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 68.
408:† Ibid., v. 94.
409:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iv. 208.
409:† Ibid., iv. 224.
410:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 152.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 12:29:46 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 411 CHAPTER IV. THE DEMIGODS OF THE MAHĀBHĀRATA. As these heroes are so intimately connected with each other, a separate account of each would necessitate frequent repetition; they will therefore be noticed together, in a brief outline of the main story of the Mahābhārata. * In the fifth generation from Soma (the Moon), the progenitor of the Lunar race, who reigned at Hastināpur, came two sons, Puru † and Yadu; from whom proceeded two branches of the Lunar line. In the account of Krishna and Balarāma, who were born in the Yadu tribe, we have seen the end of that branch of the family. Sixteenth from Puru, the founder of the other p. 412 branch, came Bharata, from whom India takes its name, Bharatvarsha (the country of Bharata), in the present day. Twenty-third from Bharata came Sāntanu. This Sāntanu had two sons, Bhishma, by the goddess Gangā (the Ganges), and Vichitravīrya, by Satyavati. * Satyavati had a son named Vyāsa before her marriage with Sāntanu; so that Bhishma, Vichitravīrya, and Vyāsa were half-brothers. Bhishma became a Brahmācharī (i.e. took a vow of celibacy). Vyāsa retired to the wilderness to live a life of contemplation, but promised his mother that he would obey her in everything. Now it so happened that Vichitravīrya died childless, and Satyavati was therefore obliged to ask her son Vyāsa to marry the childless widows. The result was that the one wife, Ambikā, had a son who was born blind, named Dhritarāshtra. This blindness is said to have been caused by the fact that Vyāsa, coming in from his ascetic life, was so repulsive in appearance that Ambikā kept her eyes closed all the time he remained with her. The other wife, named Ambālika, had a son who was born of a pale complexion, and named Pāndu; this paleness was the result of the fear that Vyāsa caused to the mother. Satyavati, not satisfied with either of these children, wished for another and perfect child. But Ambikā, dressing up one of her slaves, sent her to Vyāsa in her stead; the result was that this girl had a son who was called Vidura. After fulfilling his p. 413 mother's commands, Vyāsa returned to his ascetic life in the forest. Bhishma, the uncle of these children, conducted the government of Hastināpur in their name during their minority, and their education was also entrusted to him. Dhritarāshtra, though blind, is described as excelling the others in strength; Pāndu, as being skilled in the use of the bow; and Vidura, as pre-eminent in virtue and wisdom. When the boys came of age, Dhritarāshtra was disqualified for the throne by reason of his blindness; Vidura could not be king because his mother was a Sudra; Pāndu was therefore installed as king. Dhritarāshtra married Gāndhāri (also called Saubaleyi, or Saubali), daughter of Subala, King of Gāndhāra. Pāndu married Prithā (or Kunti), the adopted daughter of Kuntibhoja. This Prithā, "one day, before her marriage, paid such respect and attention to a powerful sage named Durvāsas, a guest in her father's house, that he gave her a charm, and taught her an incantation, by virtue of which she might have a child by any god she liked to call into her presence. Out of curiosity, she invoked the Sun, by whom she had a son who was born clothed in armour. But Prithā, fearing the censure of her relatives, deserted her offspring, after exposing it in the river. It was found by Adhirata, a charioteer, and nurtured by his wife Rādhā; whence the child was afterwards called Rādheya, though named by his foster-parents Vasushena. When he was grown up, the god Indra conferred upon him enormous strength, and changed his name to Karna." He is also called Vaikartana, being the son of Vikartana (the Sun). Pāndu, at his uncle Bhishma's request, next marries Mādrī, sister of Salya, King of Madra. Soon after this p. 414 marriage, Pāndu undertook a great campaign, and extended his kingdom to the dimensions it had reached in the time of his great ancestor Bharata. He then, with his two wives, retired to the woods, that he might indulge in his passion for hunting. The blind Dhritarāshtra, with Bhishma as regent, ruled in his stead. Dhritarāshtra had a hundred sons. The story of their birth is as follows: "One day, the sage Vyāsa was hospitably entertained by Queen Gāndhāri, and in return granted her a boon. She chose to be the mother of a hundred sons. After two years she produced a mass of flesh, which was divided by Vyāsa into a hundred and one pieces, as big as the joint of a thumb. From these, in due time, the eldest, Duryodhana, was born. The miraculous birth of the remaining ninety-nine occurred in due course. There was also one daughter, named Duhsala." These sons of Dhritarāshtra are generally called "The Kurus," or Kauravas. Pāndu's children were of divine origin. This circumstance happened in the following manner: Pāndu, as noticed above, was addicted to hunting. One day, he "transfixed with five arrows a male and female deer. These turned out to be a certain sage and his wife, who had assumed the form of these animals. The sage cursed Pāndu, and predicted that he would die in the embraces of one of his wives. In consequence of this curse, Pāndu took the vow of a Brahmācharī, gave all his property to the Brāhmans, and became a hermit." Upon this, Prithā, his wife, with his approval, employed the charm and incantation given to her by Durvāsas, and had three children: by the god Dharma, Yudhishthira; by Vāyu, Bhīma; and by Indra, Arjuna. Mādrī, the other wife of Pāndu, was now anxious to have children, and, acting on the advice of Prithā, she p. 415 thought of the Asvins, who appeared to her according to her wish, through whom she became the mother of twin sons, Nakula and Sahadeva. Soon after this, Pāndu, forgetting the curse of the sage, died in the embraces of his wife Mādrī, who was burned with the dead body of her husband. Prithā and the five children, generally known as the Pāndus, or Pāndavas, now returned to Hastināpur, and informed Dhritarāshtra of the death of his brother; he seemed to be deeply moved by the event, and the Pāndus were allowed to live with his own sons, the Kurus. But even when the cousins were children, enmity arose, and on one occasion the jealousy of Duryodhana was excited to such a pitch that he tried to poison Bhīma, and, when under its effect, threw him into the water. "Bhīma, however, was not drowned, but descended to the abode of the Nāgas (or serpent demons), who freed him from the poison, and gave him a liquid to drink which endued him with strength of ten thousand Nāgas. From that moment he became a second Hercules." Several schemes were formed for the destruction of the Pāndus, but without success. "The characters of the five Pāndavas are drawn with much artistic delicacy of touch, and maintained with general consistency throughout the poem. The eldest, Yudhishthira (the son of Dharma, virtue), is the Hindu ideal of excellence—a pattern of justice; calm, passionless composure; chivalrous honour and cold heroism." As the name implies (firm in battle), "he was probably of commanding stature and imposing presence. He is described as having a majestic, lion-like gait, with a Wellington-like profile and long lotus-eyes. "Bhīma (the son of Vāyu) is a type of brute courage and strength; he is of gigantic stature, impetuous, p. 416 irascible, somewhat vindictive, and cruel even to the verge of ferocity, making him, as his name implies, 'terrible.' It would appear that his great strength had to be maintained by plentiful supplies of food, as his name Vrikodara, 'wolf-stomached,' indicates a voracious appetite; and we are told that at the daily meals of the five brothers, half of the whole dish had to be given to Bhīma. But he has the capacity for warm, unselfish love, and is ardent in his affection for his mother and brothers. "Arjuna (the son of Indra) rises more to the European standard of perfection. He may be regarded as the real hero of the Mahābhārata, of undaunted bravery, generous, with refined and delicate sensibilities, tender-hearted, forgiving, and affectionate as a woman, yet of superhuman strength, and matchless in arms and athletic exercises. Nakula and Sahadeva (sons of the Asvins) are both amiable, noble-hearted, and spirited. All five are as unlike as possible to the hundred sons of Dhritarāshtra, who are represented as mean, spiteful, dishonourable, and vicious." Karna (the son of the Sun), though half-brother of these five Pāndus, in the great conflict is a valuable ally of the Kurus; though in character he is entirely their opposite. "He exhibited in a high degree fortitude, chivalrous honour, self-sacrifice, and devotion. Especially remarkable for a liberal and generous disposition, he never stooped to ignoble practices, like his friends, the Kurus, who were emphatically bad men." The cousins were educated together at Hastināpur by a Brāhman named Drona; all were instructed in arms, but Arjuna, "by the help of Drona, who gave him magical weapons, excelled all." Both Bhīma and the Kuru Duryodhana learnt the use of the club from their p. 417 cousin Balarāma; Prithā, Bhīma's mother, was a sister of Vasudeva, and therefore aunt of Krishna. When their education was completed, a tournament was held, in which the youths displayed their skill in archery; in the management of chariots, horses, and elephants; in sword, spear, and club exercises, and in wrestling. "Arjuna, after exhibiting prodigies of strength, shot five arrows simultaneously into the jaws of a revolving iron boar, and twenty-one arrows into the hollow of a cow's horn, suspended by a string." When he had accomplished this feat, Karma came and did precisely the same deeds of skill, and challenged Arjuna to single combat; but as he could not tell his parentage, he was not considered worthy to enter the lists with the royal youth. After the tournament was over, Yudhishthira was installed as heir apparent, and soon made his name even more famous than his father's had been. The people wished Yudhishthira to be crowned king at once, but the Kurus tried hard to prevent it. First of all, the Pāndus and their mother were sent to a house at Vāranāvata, in which a quantity of combustible materials was placed, with the intention of burning the whole family. The Pāndus were informed of this by Vidura, and escaped; but the man who conducted them, and a woman with her five sons, whom Bhīma led there in a state of intoxication, were consumed instead. By this device, the Kurus were under the impression that their plan had been successful. The brothers, with their mother, now hastened to the woods, where Bhīma slew a giant named Hidimba, and then married his sister. By the advice of Vyāsa they now went to live in the city of Ekachakrā, disguised as mendicant Brāhmans. Near this city was a Rākshas named Vaka, who p. 418 compelled the citizens to send him a dish of food daily, and the messenger who took it was devoured as the daintiest morsel of the whole. One day it happened that the turn came to a Brāhman to supply the Rākshas with a meal. The man determined to go himself, but his wife and daughter each asked to be allowed to go with him. Lastly, the little son, too young to speak distinctly, in prattling accents said, "Weep not, father; sigh not, mother." Then, breaking off and brandishing a pointed spike of grass, he exclaimed, "With this spike will I slay the fierce, man-eating giant." Bhīma, overhearing this, offered to go; he went, and killed the giant. After this occurrence, Vyāsa appeared to his grandsons, and informed them that Draupadi, the daughter of Drupada, King of Panchāla, was destined to be their common wife. This girl, in a former birth, was the daughter of a sage, and had performed a most severe penance in order that she might have a husband. Siva, pleased with her devotion, said, "You shall have five husbands; for five times you said, 'Give me a husband.'" When the brothers returned from Draupadi's Svayambara (a tournament in which the princess chose for herself a husband), Arjuna having been selected from amongst many suitors on account of his skill in archery, their mother, hearing their footsteps, and, fancying they were bringing alms, said, "Divide it amongst yourselves." The word of a mother could not be set aside, so Vyāsa showed them that it was appointed that Draupadi should be the wife of each. At this tournament Arjuna displayed great skill in the use of the bow, by piercing a fish that was suspended in the air, without looking directly at the object; he saw its image only, reflected in a pan of water on the ground. Vyāsa, seeing the discrepancy between the conduct of p. 419 ARJUNA SHOOTING AT THE FISH
ARJUNA SHOOTING AT THE FISH
p. 420 the five brothers having a wife in common and that which prevailed in his day, explains it by the fact that Arjuna was really a portion of the essence of Indra, and his brothers portions of the same god, whilst Draupadi herself was a form of Lakshmi; as, therefore, the five brethren were parts of Indra, there was no impropriety in their having but one wife. It is a fact to be noticed, that to this day polyandry prevails amongst some of the hill-tribes of India. Draupadi is said to have had a son by each of the brothers, and the brothers had other wives besides Draupadi. It was noticed above that Bhīma married Hidimbā. Arjuna married Krishna's sister, Subhadrā, and also a serpent-nymph named Uludi, and Chitrāngadā, daughter of the King of Manipura. When the Pāndus, by their marriage with Draupadi, had allied themselves with the King of Panchāla, they threw off their disguise, and their uncle Dhritarāshtra divided the kingdom: to his sons he gave Hastināpur; to the Pāndus a district near the Yamuna (Jumna), called Khāndavaprastha. Here they built Indraprastha (Delhi), and, under Yudhishthira, their kingdom grew. Arjuna wandered in the forest alone for twelve years, in fulfilment of a vow, and there met Krishna, who invited him to Dwāraka, where he married Subhadrā. Krishna was invited to a great festival in honour of the inauguration of Yudhishthira as sovereign. Acting on Nārada's advice, Bhishma proposed that an oblation should be made to the best and strongest person present, and selected Krishna. Sisupāla objected, and, as he openly reviled Krishna, the deity struck off his head with his discus. After this, a festival was held at Hastināpur, to which the Pāndus were invited. Yudhishthira was induced to p. 421 play; and having staked his kingdom, his possessions, and, last of all, Draupadi, he lost everything. A compromise was effected. Duryodhana was made ruler over the whole kingdom for twelve years; whilst the Pāndus with Draupadi were to live in the forest for the same period, and to pass the thirteenth year under assumed names, in various disguises. Whilst enjoying this forest life, Arjuna went to the Himalayas to perform severe penance in order to obtain celestial arms. "After some time, Siva, to reward him and prove his bravery, approached as a Kirātā, * or wild mountaineer, at the moment that a demon named Mūka, in the form of a boar, attacked him. Siva and Arjuna shot together at the boar, which fell dead, and both claimed to have hit him first. This served as a pretext for Siva to have a battle with him. Arjuna fought long with the Kirātā but could not conquer him. At last he recognized the god, and threw himself at his feet, when Siva, pleased with his bravery, gave him the celebrated weapon Pāsupata, to enable him to conquer Karna and the Kuru princes in war." In the thirteenth year of exile the Pāndus journeyed to the court of King Virāta, and entered his service in disguise. Yudhishthira called himself a Brāhman, and took the name of Kanka. Arjuna called himself Vrihanalā, and, pretending to be a eunuch, adopted a sort of woman's dress, and taught music and dancing. One day when Virāta and four of the Pāndus were absent, Duryodhana and his brother attacked Virāta's capital, and carried off some cattle. Uttara, the king's son, followed them, having Arjuna as his charioteer. When p. 422 they came in sight of the enemy, Uttara's heart failed him. Arjuna changed places with him, having told him who he was. This gave him courage, the Kuru army was defeated, and the stolen cattle reclaimed. Arjuna asked Uttara to keep the secret of his real character for the present. A short time afterwards, at a great assembly called by Virāta, the Pāndus took their places amongst the princes, and were welcomed heartily by the king. A council of princes was soon held, at which Krishna and Balarāma were present, to consider how the Pāndus could regain their possessions. Some were for immediate war; Krishna and Balarāma urged that attempts at negotiation should first be made. This advice was acted upon, but without result. In the mean time, Krishna and his brother returned to Dwāraka. Not long after his arrival at his capital, Duryodhana, the Kuru prince, visited Krishna to ask his aid in the coming struggle; and on the same day, Arjuna, the Pāndu prince, arrived there for the same purpose. And " it happened that they both reached the door of Krishna's apartment, where he was asleep, at the same moment. Duryodhana succeeded in entering first, and took up his station at Krishna's head; Arjuna followed, and stood reverently at his feet." Krishna, on awaking, first saw Arjuna; and when the cousins mentioned the object of their visit, he gave the right of choice to Arjuna. He offered himself to one side, but said he should not himself fight; and to the other side his army of a hundred million warriors. Arjuna at once chose Krishna, and Duryodhana was delighted with the prospect of having Krishna's immense army on his side. Duryodhana then asked Balarāma's aid, but was informed that both the brothers had decided to take no active part in the p. 423 BATTLE OF THE KURUS AND PĀNDAVAS
BATTLE OF THE KURUS AND PĀNDAVAS
p. 424 conflict. Krishna, however, consented to act as Arjuna's charioteer, and joined the Pāndus at Virāta's capital. Fresh negotiations were commenced, and Krishna himself went as mediator to the Kurus; but although in the assembly he assumed his divine form, and "Brahmā appeared in his forehead, Rudra on his breast, the guardians of the world issued from his arms, and Agni from his mouth"—although the other gods were visible in and about his person—his attempt at reconciliation failed. War was determined on between the cousins. Bhishma was made the commander-in-chief of the Kuru army; and Dhrishtadyumna, son of Drupada, was the leader of the Pāndus. Vyāsa offered to give sight to Dhritarāshtra, to enable him to witness the conflict, but, as the blind man declined the offer, he gave to his charioteer, Sanjaya, the faculty of knowing everything that took place, made him invulnerable, and bestowed on him the power to transport himself by a thought to any part of the field of battle. The armies met on Kurukshetra, a plain to the north-west of the modern Delhi, and we are told that "monstrous elephants career over the field, trampling on men and horses, and dealing destruction with their huge tusks; enormous clubs and iron maces clash together with the noise of thunder; rattling chariots dash against each other; thousands of arrows hurtle in the air, darkening the sky; trumpets, kettledrums, and horns add to the uproar; confusion, carnage, and death are everywhere." The Pāndus are described as performing prodigies of might. Arjuna killed five hundred warriors simultaneously, covered the plain with dead, and filled rivers with blood: Yudhishthira "slaughtered a hundred men" in a mere twinkle: Bhīma annihilated a monstrous p. 425 elephant, including all mounted upon it, and fourteen foot soldiers besides, with one blow of his club: Nakula and Sahadeva, when fighting from their chariots, cut off heads by the thousand, and sowed them like seed upon the ground. Of the weapons employed, about a hundred are named; and the conch shell which served as the trumpet of each leader had its distinct name, as had also the weapons of each of the chiefs. The first great single combat was between Bhishma and Arjuna, which resulted in Bhishma being so transfixed with arrows that "there was not a space of two fingers’ breadth on his whole body unpierced. Falling from his chariot, his body could not touch the ground, as it was surrounded by countless arrows, and thus it reclined on its arrowy couch. He had received from his father the power of fixing the time of his own death, and now declared that lie intended retaining life till the sun entered the summer solstice. The warriors on both sides ceased fighting that they might view the wonderful sight and do homage to their dying relative. As he lay on his uncomfortable bed, with his head hanging down, he begged for a pillow, whereupon the chiefs brought him soft supports; these the hardy old soldier sternly rejected. Arjuna then made a rest for him with three arrows, which Bhishma quite approved; and soon afterwards asked him to bring a little water. Arjuna struck the ground with an arrow, and forthwith a pure spring burst forth, which so refreshed Bhishma that he called for Duryodhana, and begged him, before it was too late, to restore half the kingdom to the Pāndavas." Drona, the tutor of the princes, is appointed to take the command of the Kuru army after the fall of Bhishma; and a number of single combats are described. Bhīma's p. 426 son by the Rākshasi Hidimbā is slain by Karna; Drupada's son, Dhrishtadyumna, the leader of the Pāndus, overcomes Drona; Drona being a Brāhman, when overpowered by his foe, voluntarily laid down his life, and is conducted to heaven "in a glittering shape like the sun," to save Dhrishtadyumna from the enormous crime of killing a Brāhman. Karna was then made leader of the Kurus in place of Drona. Bhīma next slew Duhsāsana, and remembering how this prince had insulted Draupadi, he drank the blood of his fallen foe. Arjuna then slew Karna, and Salya, King of Madra, was appointed to fill the vacant post. Bhīma challenges Salya, and the following is the account of their encounter:— "Soon as he saw his charioteer struck down, Straightway the Madra monarch grasped his mace, And like a mountain, firm and motionless, Awaited the attack. The warrior's form Was awful as the world-consuming fire, Or as the noose-armed god of death, or as The peaked Kailāsa, or the Thunderer Himself, or as the trident-bearing god, Or as a maddened forest elephant. Him to defy did Bhīma hastily Advance, wielding aloft his massive club. A thousand conchs and trumpets, and a shout, Firing each champion's ardour, rent the air. From either host, spectators of the fight, Burst forth applauding cheers: 'The Madra king Alone,' they cried, 'can bear the rush of Bhīma;' 'None but heroic Bhīma can sustain The force of Salya.' Now like two fierce bulls Sprang they towards each other, mace in hand. And first, as cautiously they circled round, Whirling their weapons as in sport, the pair Seemed matched in equal combat. Salya's club, Set with red fillets, glittered as with flame, While that of Bhīma gleamed like flashing lightning. p. 427 [paragraph continues] Anon the clashing irons met, and scattered round A fiery shower; then, fierce as elephants Or butting bulls, they battered each the other. Thick fell the blows, and soon each stalwart frame, Spattered with gore, glowed like the Kinsuka, Bedecked with scarlet blossoms; yet beneath The rain of strokes, unshaken as a rock, Bhīma sustained the mace of Salya, he With equal firmness bore the other's blows. Now, like the roar of crashing thunder-clouds, Sounded the clashing iron; then, their clubs Brandished aloft, eight paces they retired, And swift again advancing to the fight, Met in the midst like two huge mountain crags Hurled into contact. Nor could either bear The other's shock; together down they rolled, Mangled and crushed, like two tall standards fallen." Yudhishthira then fought with and eventually slew Salya. After suffering continual reverses, the Kurus rallied for a final charge, which led to so great a slaughter, that only four of their leaders, Duryodhana, Asvatthāman (son of Drona), Kritavarman, and Kripa remained, whilst "nothing remained of eleven whole armies." Whereupon Duryodhana resolved upon flight, and taking refuge in a lake, by his magical power supported it so as to form a chamber round his body. The Pāndus discovered his retreat; but when taunted by them, he told them to take the kingdom, as, his brothers having all been slain, he had no pleasure in life. At last, enraged by the sarcasms of his cousins, he came forth and fought with Bhīma, from whom he received his death-wound. The remaining three Kuru chiefs left their wounded companion and took refuge in a forest. Whilst resting under a tree at night, Asvatthāman, seeing an owl approach stealthily and kill numbers of sleeping crows, the thought occurred to him that in this manner he might destroy the Pāndu forces. Accordingly p. 428 he quietly entered their camp, leaving Kripa and Kritavarman to watch the gates. Under cover of darkness they slew the whole army: the Pāndu princes and Krishna, happening to be stationed outside the camp, alone escaped. These three then return to Duryodhana, and tell him what they had done. Hearing their narrative, his spirit revived for a moment; he thanked them, bade them farewell, and expired. The funeral obsequies of the chief are performed, and Yudhishthira is installed as King of Hastināpur. But he is most unhappy as he thinks of the great slaughter that has taken place. Acting on Krishna's advice, he and his brothers visit Bhishma, who is still lingering on his " spiky bed." For fifty-eight nights he had lain there, and ere his departure gave utterance to a series of most lengthy didactic discourses, after which his spirit ascended to the skies. As Yudhishthira was entering the capital in triumph, an incident occurred to lessen his joy in victory. A Rākshas named Chārvāka, disguised as a Brāhman, met him and reproached him for the slaughter he had caused; but the Brāhmans, discovering the imposture, consumed the Rākshas to ashes with fire from their eyes. Yet even now the spirit of the king is not at rest. After a little time, he resigns his kingdom, and, together with his brothers and Draupadi, starts on his journey towards Indra's heaven on Mount Meru, "When the four brothers knew the high resolve of King Yudhishthira Forthwith with Draupadi they issued forth, and after them a dog Followed; the king himself went out the seventh from the royal city, And all the citizens and women of the palace walked behind; But none could find it in their heart to say unto the king, Return.' And so at length the train of citizens went back, bidding adieu." These went, "bent on abandonment of worldly things; p. 429 their hearts yearning for union with the Infinite." In their journey they reach the sea, and there Arjuna cast away his bow and quiver. At last they came in sight of Mount Meru, and Draupadi "lost hold of her high hope, and faltering fell upon the earth." One by one the others fall, until only Yudhishthira, Bhīma, and the dog are left. Bhīma cannot understand why such pure beings should die: his brother informs him that Draupadi's fall was the result of her excessive affection for Arjuna; that Sahadeva's death was the result of pride in his own knowledge; that Nakula's personal vanity was his ruin, and that Arjuna's fault was a boastful confidence in his power to destroy his foes. Bhīma now falls, and is told that the reason of his death is his selfishness, pride, and too great love of enjoyment. Yudhishthira, left alone with the dog, is walking on: "When, with a sudden sound that rang through earth and heaven, the mighty god Came towards him in a chariot, and he cried, Ascend, O resolute prince.' Then did the king look back upon his fallen brothers, and addressed These words unto the Thousand-eyed in anguish; 'Let my brothers here Come with me. Without them, O god of gods, I could not wish to enter E'en heaven! and yonder tender princess Draupadi, the faithful wife, Worthy of endless bliss, let her come too. In mercy hear my prayer.'" Indra informs him that the spirits of Draupadi and his brothers are already in heaven, but that he alone is permitted to enter in bodily form. The king asks that the dog may accompany him. But as this is refused, he declines to go alone. Indra says, "You have abandoned your brothers; why not forsake the dog?" Yudhishthira replies, "I had no power to bring them back to p. 430 life: how can there be abandonment of those who no longer live?" It now appears that the dog was no other than his father Dharma in disguise; who, assuming his proper form, enters with him. On reaching heaven, though Duryodhana and his cousins are already in bliss, as he does not see Arjuna and the rest, Yudhishthira declines to remain there without them. An angel accompanies him to hell, where he hears their voices calling upon him for help. He therefore bids the angel depart, as he prefers to suffer in hell with his brethren rather than to remain in heaven without them. As soon as his resolution is taken, the scene suddenly changes, and it appears that this was simply a trial of his faith. He bathes in the heavenly Ganges, and in heaven, with " Draupadi and his brothers, finds the rest and happiness that were unattainable on earth."
Footnotes
411:* This account of the Mahābhārata is taken in an abbreviated form almost entirely from Lecture XIII. of Monier Williams's "Indian Wisdom." 411:† An interesting story is told of Puru. His father, Yayāti, married Devayāni, daughter of Sukra, the preceptor of the Daityas. Her husband loving her servant Sarmisthā also, Puru was born as their youngest son. The wife being highly indignant at the unfaithfulness of her husband, returning to her father's home, so excited the old priest that he cursed Yayāti with old age; but afterwards consented to withdraw the curse provided one of his sons would bear it for him. They all refused to do this excepting Puru. As a reward for his piety, his father disinherited his other sons, and made Puru sole heir to his dominions. 412:* Satyavati was the daughter of an Apsaras named Adrikā, who was condemned to live on earth in the form of a fish. Parasāra, a sage, met her daughter as he was crossing the river Yamunā, and Vyāsa was the result. He was born on an island of the river, and hence he had the name Dwaipāyana (who moves on an island). Vyāsa is said to have been the arranger of the Vedas, the compiler of the Mahābhārata and the Purānas, and the founder of the Vedanta system of philosophy. 421:* The Kirātās were mountaineers, or foresters. In the Rāmāyana they are described as "islanders, who eat raw flesh, live in the waters, and are men-tigers."
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 12:31:53 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 431 CHAPTER V. THE PLANETS. "At the great festivals of the Hindus a small offering is made to all the planets at once; but, excepting on these occasions, they are never worshipped together. They are, however, frequently worshipped separately by the sick and unfortunate who suppose themselves to be under the baneful influence of one or other of them. At these times they are worshipped one after the other in regular succession." * Seven of the planets give names to the days of the week; the other two represent the ascending and descending nodes. Surya and Chandra (Soma) have already been noticed at length among the Vedic Deities; they are again described briefly along with the planets, under the names they bear in this connection. "To Surya or Ravi are offered in the burnt sacrifice small pieces of the shrub arka (Asclepias gigantica); to Chandra those of the palasa (Butea frondosa); to Mangala (Mars) those of the khudiru (Mimosa catechu); to Budha (Mercury) those of the apārmārga (Achryranthes aspera); to Vrihaspati (Jupiter) those of the asvattha (Ficus religiosa); to Sukra (Venus) those of the ūrumbara; to Sani (Saturn) those of the Sami (Mimosa albida); to Rāhu (the ascending node) blades of Durva p. 432 grass; and to Keta (the descending node) blades of Kusa grass." * "The image of Surya is a round piece of mixed metal twelve fingers in diameter; of Chandra, a piece like a half-moon, a cubic from end to end; of Mangala, a triangular piece six fingers in width; of Budha, a golden bow two fingers in breadth; of Vrihaspati, a piece like a lotus; of Sukra, a square piece of silver; of Sani, an iron scimitar; of Rāhu, an iron makara (a fabulous animal, half stag and half fish); and of Ketu, an iron snake." † 1. Ravi (the Sun), hence Ravibāra (Sunday), is the son of Kasyapa and Aditi. Though as Surya he is daily worshipped, as Ravi he is only worshipped at the greater festivals. "The 'Jyotish-tatwa,' a great work on astrology, says that if a person is born under the planet Ravi, he will possess an anxious mind, be subject to disease and other sufferings, be an exile, a prisoner, and suffer the loss of wife, children, and property." ‡ 2. Chandra or Soma, hence Somavāra (Monday). "If a person be born under the planet Soma he will have many friends; will possess elephants, horses, and palanquins; be honourable and powerful; will live on excellent food, and rest on superb couches." A race of kings are said to be the descendants of Soma, by his wife Rohini (the Hyades), who are called the children of the moon. 3. Mangala, hence Mangalavāra (Tuesday), is represented as a red man with four arms, riding on a sheep; he wears a red necklace and clothes of the same colour. " If a person be born under the planet Mangala, he will be full of anxious thoughts, wounded with offensive weapons, imprisoned, oppressed with fear of robbers, fire, etc., and will lose his lands, trees, and good name." This deity is identical with Kartikeya. p. 433 4. Budha, * hence Budhavāra (Wednesday), was the son of Soma by Tārā, the wife of Vrihaspati, the preceptor of the gods. At his birth, on the confession of his mother that he was Soma's son, her husband reduced her to ashes. Brahmā afterwards raised her to life, and, being purified by the fire, her husband received her back. Samudra (the Sea), incensed at his son for the great crime of dishonouring his preceptor's wife, disinherited him; but owing to his sister † Lakshmi's influence, part of his sin was removed, and he became bright as the moon when three days old; and, through her intercession with Pārvati, he was restored to heaven, by being placed on Siva's forehead, who, thus ornamented, went to a feast of the gods. Vrihaspati on seeing Chandra again in heaven was greatly incensed, but was appeased on Brahmā's declaring that the lascivious god should be excluded from heaven and placed among the stars; and that the sin which had obscured his glory should remain for ever. " If a person be born under the planet Budha, he will be fortunate, obtain an excellent wife," etc. 5. Vrihaspati, hence Vrihaspativāra (Thursday), was the preceptor of the gods, and is regarded as identical with Agni, almost the same epithets being applied to both in the Vedic hymns. In later times he is said to be a Rishi, a son of Angiras. "If a person be born under this planet, he will be endowed with an amiable disposition, possess palaces, gardens, lands, and be rich in money and corn. He will possess much religious merit, and have all his wishes gratified. Brāhmans, however, will not be so fortunate as those of other castes, for Vrihaspati p. 434 being a Brāhman does not wish to exalt those of his own caste." 6. Sukra, hence Sukravāra (Friday), was the son of Bhrigu. He was the preceptor and the priest of the demons, and blind in one eye. The reason of this affliction is told in the following legend: When Vishnu, in the Dwarf Incarnation, went to Bāli, king of the daityas, to solicit a blessing, Sukra, as Bāli's preceptor, forbade the king to give him anything. The king being determined to give what was asked, it was the duty of the priest to read the customary formula and to pour out water from a vessel as a ratification of the gift. Sukra, anxious to prevent his master from giving what was asked, as he foresaw that it would prove his ruin, entered the water in an invisible form, and by his magical powers prevented it from falling. Vishnu, aware of the device, put a straw into the vessel, which, entering Sukra's eye, gave him so much pain that he could remain there no longer; so the water fell, the gift was ratified, and Sukra lost an eye. "If a person be born under the planet Sukra, he will have the faculty of knowing things past, present, and future. He will have many wives, a kingly umbrella (an emblem of royalty), and other kings will worship him." Sukra is said to have possessed the power of raising the dead, as the following legend * shows:—Devajāni, the daughter of Sukra, was deeply in love with Kacha, a son of Vrihaspati and a pupil of her father, who had been sent to Sukra for the express purpose of learning from him the incantation for raising the dead. One day Devajāni sent Kacha to gather flowers from a wood belonging to some giants, who, on previous occasions had eaten him; but Sukra, by the above incantation, had p. 435 restored him to life. The giants now resolved to make Sukra himself eat the boy; for which purpose, they cut him into small pieces, boiled him in spirits, and invited Sukra to an entertainment. As Kacha did not return with the flowers, Devajāni with many tears told her father that, if he did not restore her lover, she would certainly destroy herself. Sukra learned by the power of meditation that he had eaten the boy, but did not know how to restore him to life, without the attempt being fatal to himself. At length, whilst the boy was in his stomach, he restored him to life, and then taught him the incantation he was so wishful to learn. Kacha, tearing open Sukra's stomach, came forth, and immediately using the wonderful incantation restored his teacher to life. 7. Sani, hence Sanivāra (Saturday), is said to be the son of Surya, and Chhāya, the servant whom his wife Savarnā substituted for herself; or, according to other accounts, he sprang from Balarāma and Revati. He is represented as a black man, clothed in black garments, riding on a vulture, with four arms. "If a person be born under the planet Sani, he will be slandered, his riches dissipated, his son, wife, and friends destroyed; he will live at variance with others and endure many sufferings." Many stories are told of his evil influence, consequently the Hindus are under fear of evil from this planet. It was Sani who was said to have burnt off Ganesa's head. 8. Rāhu (the ascending node) was the son of Vrihaspati and Sinhikā. He is described as a black man, riding on a lion. "If a person be born under the planet Rāhu, his wisdom, riches, and children will be destroyed; he will be exposed to many afflictions and be subject to his enemies." According to the popular notions of the Hindus, at the time of an eclipse Rāhu devours the sun and moon; hence, as soon as an eclipse is noticed, the p. 436 people make a dreadful noise, shouting, blowing horns, and beating drums, to cause Rāhu to restore these luminaries. The reason of this custom is probably found in the following story: Rāhu was originally an asura or giant, who took his present form at the churning of the sea. As the gods and demons churned, Surya and Chandra, who were sitting together, hinted to Vishnu, when the amrita appeared, that one of the demons had tasted it. Vishnu immediately cut off the head of the offender; but as he had drunk of the water of life, neither head nor trunk could perish. The head, taking the name of Rāhu, and the trunk, that of Ketu, were placed in heaven as the ascending and descending nodes, and leave was granted, as a means of revenge on Surya and Chandra, that on certain occasions Rāhu should approach these gods and render them unclean, so that their bodies at these times become thin and black. *
Footnotes 431:* Ward, E. 70. 432:* Ward, ii. 70. 432:† Ibid., 71. 432:‡ Page 72. 433:* This Budha must not be confounded with Buddha, the Incarnation of Vishnu. 433:† Soma (the Moon) and Lakshmi were produced together at the churning of the ocean. 434:* Ward, ii. 71. 436:* Ward, ii. 81.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 12:34:54 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 437 CHAPTER VI. THE ASURAS. In the Purānas and other of the later writings of the Hindus, and also in the popular mind, the asuras are powerful evil beings; in translations the word is represented by such terms as demons, giants, etc. As the suras * were the gods, the asuras were not-gods, and therefore the enemies or opponents of the gods. In the Vedas the name asura is applied more frequently to the gods themselves than to their enemies, whilst it is also used very much in the same manner as in the later writings. In the Rig-Veda, Varuna is accosted as follows: "King Varuna has made a highway for the sun to go over. O thou wise asura and king, loosen our sins!" Again: "The all-knowing asura established the heavens, and fixed the limits of the earth. He sat as the supreme ruler of all worlds. These are the works of Varuna." "Asura stands for the Supreme Spirit," in another verse, and "also as an appellative for Prajāpati or creation's lord." † Again and again Varuna alone, and also in conjunction with Mitra, is called p. 438 an asura. "All the Vedic gods have shared the same title, not excepting even goddesses." "Varuna was the all-knowing asura, Prajāpati the Supreme Being; Indra, the Maruts, Tvastri, Mitra, Rudra, Agni, Vāyu, Pushan, Savitri, Parjanya, the sacrificial priests, were all asuras. In fine, Deva (god) and asura were synonymous expressions in a multitude of texts." * On the other hand, in the Rig-Veda, Indra is the destroyer of asuras. "The same Veda which speaks of the asuras as celestial beings supplies its readers also with the Mantras, by means of which devas overcame asuras. The texts which are condemnatory of the suras as impure and ungodly are far less in number than those which recognize the term as applicable to gods and priests." Dr. Banerjea, in the most interesting and ingenious article from which the above extracts are made, suggests a means of reconciling these contradictory uses of the word "asura." Before the Indo-Aryans arrived in India, they had lived in close proximity to the Persians, the original worshippers of fire. "What could be more natural," he asks, "than that the Asura-Pracheta, or Asura-Viswaveda of the one branch, was but the translation of the Ahura-Mazda (the Wise Lord, according to the 'Zend-Avesta') of the other branch; and that the word 'Ahura,' which the one used in a divine sense, would become a household word in the other branch, in the same sense?" the word "Ahura" being changed into "Asura," in a way common to many other words. He then goes on to say, that as "Assur" was the term used in Assyria for the Supreme Lord, and the Assyrians were for some time the rulers of the Persians, it was natural that this word should find its way into Persia; the only change being this, that the Persians added p. 439 Mazda (wise or good) to the term "Assur," and the Indo-Aryans received it from them. So much for the good use of the term "Asura." But the word "Assur" was not only used for the Supreme Lord, it also represented the Assyrian nation, his worshippers, who were most cruel in their treatment of their foes; and as, later on, the bitterest hatred is known to have existed between the Indo-Aryans and the Persians, the followers of Ahura-Mazda, Dr. Banerjea concludes that owing to the cruelties perpetrated by the Assyrians on the one hand, and the hatred cherished towards them by the Persians on the other, the branch of the Aryan family that migrated into India brought with them very bitter feelings towards Assur (the Assyrian people) and Ahuri (the belongings of Ahura); and thus the term "Asura," which at one time was considered a becoming epithet for the Supreme Being, became descriptive only of those who were the enemies of the gods. In order to afford sanction for this altered sense of a word, a new derivation has been given to it. The word was originally derived from the root as, through asu, "breath," and means a spirit, or "the Great Spirit." Now, however, it is explained to be simply a compound of a privative, and sura, "god," meaning a non-god: therefore a demon. Whatever be the cause of it, there is no doubt that at the present day, and throughout the later writings of the Hindus, the term "asura" is used only for the enemies of the gods. In the "Taittirya Sanhita" * we read "that the gods and asuras contended together, and that the former, being less numerous than the latter, took some bricks, and placing them in a proper position to receive the sacrificial fire, with the formula, Thou p. 440 art a multiplier,' they became numerous." In the "Satapatha Brāhmana" * it is said that "the gods and asuras, both descendants of Prajāpati, † obtained their father's inheritance, truth and falsehood. The gods, abandoning falsehood, adopted truth; the asuras, abandoning truth, adopted falsehood. Speaking truth exclusively, the gods became weaker, but in the end became prosperous; the asuras, speaking falsehood exclusively, became rich, but in the end succumbed." The gods tried to sacrifice, but though interrupted at first by the asuras, at length succeeded, and so became superior to their foes. Another legend in the same book teaches that the asuras, when offering sacrifices, placed the oblations in their own mouths, whilst the gods gave their oblations to each other; at length Prajāpati giving himself to them, the sacrifices, which supply the gods with food, were henceforth enjoyed by them. Although there were frequent wars between the gods and asuras, the suras were not averse to receive the aid of their foes at the churning of the ocean; and some of them were not inferior in power and skill to the gods. Bāli, one of their number, is worshipped by the Hindus on their birthday; and Jalandhara conquered in battle even Vishnu himself; Indra and the other gods fled before him, and Siva, unaided, could not destroy him. Rāhu is an asura, and it was to destroy some of these mighty beings who distressed the gods, that Durgā and Kāli had to put forth their strength. In the constant wars between these rivals, Sukra, the preceptor of the asuras, was frequently called to resuscitate the fallen. The following story of Jalandhara from the Uttara p. 441 [paragraph continues] Khānda of the "Padma Purāna" * will illustrate the teaching of the later Hindu Scriptures respecting the asuras. JALANDHARA.
The story of Jalandhara's birth and life was narrated by Nārada to the Pāndavas to encourage them when they were in distress on account of their misfortunes. He reminds them that adversity and prosperity come to all: Rāhu, who swallows the sun, is the same Rāhu whose head was severed from his body by Vishnu; and the valiant Jalandhara, the son of the Ocean and the river Ganges, who on one occasion conquered Vishnu, was himself slain by Siva. The mention of this fact excites the curiosity of his hearers; and in answer to their inquiry about him, Nārada gives the following history. Indra and the other gods, arriving at Siva's home on Mount Kailāsa to pay him a visit, informed the bull Nandi, the chief of Siva's attendants, that they had come to amuse his master with song and dance. Siva invites them to enter, and, being delighted with their music, tells Indra to ask a boon, who, in a defiant tone, asks that he might be a warrior like Siva himself. The boon is granted, and the gods depart. No sooner have they left than Siva asks his attendants if they had not noticed Indra's haughty tone, when immediately there stood before him a form of anger, black as darkness, who said to Siva, "Give me thy similitude, and then what can I do for you?" Siva tells him to incorporate himself with the river of heaven (Gangā), form a union between her and the Ocean, and conquer Indra. p. 442 In obedience to Siva's command, Gangā left the skies, and becoming united to the Ocean, from them a son proceeded, at whose birth the earth trembled and wept, and the three worlds resounded with noise. Brahmā coming to inquire the cause of this commotion, and asking to see the child, Gangā lays it in his lap, when it seized his head, and would not loose it until its father opened its hand. Brahmā, admiring the child's strength, said, "From his holding so firmly, let him be named Jalandhara," and bestowed upon him this boon, that he " should be unconquered by the gods, and enjoy the three worlds." Jalandhara's boyhood was full of wonders. Borne up by the wind, he flew over the ocean; his pets were lions which he had caught; and the largest birds and fishes were subject to him. When he grew up to manhood, at Sukra's request, his father withdrew the sea from Jambadwipa, the residence of holy men, which became his home, and bearing his name has become celebrated. * Māya, the architect of the asuras, there built him a beautiful city, his father installed him as king, and Sukra gave him the charm by which he could raise the dead to life. He married Vrindā, the daughter of an Apsaras named Swarnā, and soon after his wedding made war upon the gods. In order to lead to a conflict, he sent a messenger to Indra, whom he found "surrounded by three hundred and thirty-three millions of deities," to demand the restoration of the moon, the amrita, elephant, horse, gem, tree, and other things of which he said Indra had robbed him, at the churning of his uncle, the Sea of Milk; and also to resign Swarga. As Indra refuses to accede to this request, Jalandhara raises an army of warriors p. 443 having the heads of horses, elephants, camels, cats, tigers and lions, with which Indra's abode is soon surrounded. The gods in their extremity resort to Vishnu for aid. On Vishnu's arrival the battle commences. Multitudes are slain on both sides, but the gods, when wounded, resort to the mountains, where they find herbs which quickly restore them. At length the greater gods and the leaders of the daityas personally engage in conflict; Indra falls insensible, Rudra is taken prisoner, and Kuvera is laid low by a blow of a mace. After this, the tide turns in favour of the gods. When Indra struck Bāli, the most costly gems dropped from his mouth; he therefore asked for his body, and with his thunderbolt cut it into many parts. "From the purity of his actions, the parts of his body became the germs of the various gems. From his bones came diamonds, from his eyes sapphires, from his blood rubies, from his marrow emeralds, from his flesh crystals, from his tongue coral, and from his teeth pearls." Indra being in his turn attacked by Jalandhara, Vishnu comes to the rescue; and though the asuras attack him in immense numbers, and the sky is dark with their arrows, Vishnu overthrows them as if they were leaves. One of their number, named Shailaroma, losing his head, seized hold of Garuda, Vishnu's marvellous bird, when the severed head immediately rejoined his body; Garuda, seeing this wonderful event, flew oft with his master. Jalandhara was prevent from following him, as he had to call in the aid of Sukra to restore his warriors to life. Hearing that the soldiers of the gods were also restored to life through using herbs obtained from an island called Drona, situated in the Sea of Milk, he asked his uncle to submerge it. Being deprived of this p. 444 means of restoration, they appealed to Vishnu, who, attacking Jalandhara, was laid low by the daitya, and would have been slain but for Lakshmi's intercession with her cousin. In return for his life Vishnu promised to remain near the Sea of Milk. Jalandhara, having now conquered the gods, enjoyed peace and happiness. The gods, however, being expelled from heaven, and deprived of sacrifices and the amrita, did not long remain contented with their lot. They went together to Brahmā, who conducted them to Siva, whom they found "seated on a throne and attended by myriads of devoted servants, naked, deformed, curly-haired, with matted locks and covered with dust." On Brahmā' stating the case for the gods, Siva declared that, if Vishnu had been unsuccessful in fighting the demon, it was impossible that he alone could overcome him; he therefore advised that the gods should unite to form a weapon by which their common enemy might be destroyed. Acting on this advice, the gods, glowing with anger, darted forth volumes of flames, to which Siva added the consuming beams of his third eye. Vishnu, too, when summoned, added his flame of anger, and asked Siva to destroy the daitya, excusing himself from the task on the ground that Jalandhara was a relative of Lakshmi. Visvakarma and the deities were alarmed as they saw the glowing mass; but Siva, placing his heel on it, whirled round with it, and formed it into the discus called Sudarsana, which sent forth such fiery beams that the gods cried out, "Preserve us!" Brahmā's beard was scorched as he took it into his hand—"such is the result of offering a gift to a blockhead"—but Siva hid it under his arm. Nārada informed Jalandhara of the intended attack p. 445 of Siva, and, enlarging on Pārvati's beauty, excited him to attack her husband that he might win her. With this object he sent Rāhu as an ambassador, to summon the god to submission. On his arrival at the court the envoy delivered his master's message to Siva, in the form of Panchānana, who did not deign to speak; but the snake Vasuki, falling to the ground from his hair, began to eat Ganesa's rat. Seeing this, Kartikeya's peacock made such an awful noise that the snake disgorged the rat and returned to his proper place. Lakshmi then entered the assembly with a vessel of amrita, with which she resuscitated Brahmā's fifth head that was in Siva's hand; the head rolling on the ground uttered most boastful language, until myriads of hideous forms from Siva's locks quieted it. Rāhu, seeing all this, asked Siva to forsake his wife and children, and live a mendicant's life. At a sign from Siva, Nandi, the bull, showed him the door; this was the answer vouchsafed to the illustrious master's demand. War being determined on, Jalandhara marched first to Kailāsa; but finding that Siva had forsaken it and taken up a position on a mountain near Lake Manasa, he surrounded the mountain with his troops. Nandi marched against them, and spread destruction "like the waters of the deluge;" reserves, however, being brought up, the army of the gods suffers loss. Pārvati, hearing that her sons, Ganesa and Kartikeya, are hardly pressed, urged her husband to go in person and put forth his energy, though not to expose himself unnecessarily. Before leaving home, Siva carefully warned Pārvati to be on her guard during his absence, as it was possible the daitya in some disguise might visit her; after this, accompanied by Virabhadra and Manibhadra, two forms p. 446 of his anger, he went to the field of battle. When the conflict between the daityas and the attendants of Siva had continued for some time, Jalandhara devised a plan by which he hoped to succeed more easily than by fighting. Giving his own form and the command of his troops to a chief, the daitya king assumed the form of Siva, changed Durwarana into Nandi, and, taking the heads of Ganesa and Kartikeya under his arms, hastened to Siva's abode. Seeing this, Pārvati was overwhelmed with grief; but having some doubt of his being the real Siva, she hid herself and would not listen to his overtures of love. To make certain of his identity, she caused one of her attendants to assume her form and visit the daitya, who, returning with the information that he was not the true Siva, Pārvati hid herself in a lotus, and her companions were changed into bees which hovered around her. In the mean time Vishnu had been more successful with Vrindā, the wife of Jalandhara. In the guise of a Brāhman, he made a hermitage near her palace, and caused her to dream that she saw her husband's head severed from his body, his flesh eaten by wild animals, and his eyes plucked out by vultures. Distracted with her dream, in a high fever she rushed into the forest, where an ogress met her, ate her mules, and was about to attack her, when the Brāhman came to her rescue. On reaching the hermitage, Vishnu induced her to enter, changed himself into the form of her husband, and there they lived together for some time. At length Vrindā, seeing through the disguise, cursed Vishnu, telling him that, as he had wronged Jalandhara, he would himself be wronged, and, having purified herself from her sin, died. Her body was burned, her mother collected the ashes, and threw them into the Ganges. The forest in p. 447 which she was burned has ever since borne the name of Vrindāvana, * near Mount Govardhana. Jalandhara, hearing of his wife's deception and death, was mad with rage; and, leaving the neighbourhood of Pārvati's home, returned to the field of battle. By Sukra's power his dead heroes were restored to life, and a grand final charge was made. At length Siva and Jalandhara personally fight; after a desperate encounter, in which the daitya employs various magical powers, Siva cuts off his head; but it is no sooner severed than it resumes its place. Siva in his extremity summonses to his aid the female forms or energies of the gods, Brāhmi, Vaishnavi and the rest, who drink up the blood of the giant, and with their aid Siva succeeds in destroying him, and the gods regain their kingdom and possessions.
Footnotes 437:* Originally the suras were a class of inferior deities, connected with Surya; afterwards the term was employed to signify the gods generally. 437:† Dr. Banerjea, Bengal Magazine, April, 1880. 438:* Dr. Banerjea, Bengal Magazine, April, 1880. 439:* Muir, O. S. T., v. 15. 440:* Muir, O. S. T., iv. 60. 440:† The Mahābhārata says the asuras were the elder, the gods the younger, sons. 441:* Kennedy, "Hindu Mythology," p. 457. 442:* The present Jallander. 447:* Brindāban.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 12:48:39 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 448 CHAPTER VII. SACRED ANIMALS AND BIRDS. Some of the animals regarded as sacred have already been mentioned in connection with the deities to whom they are specially dear, and in whose worship they participate. They are regarded as the Vāhans, or vehicles, upon which these gods and goddesses travel. Thus Indra rides upon the elephant Airavata; Siva on the bull Nandi; Yama on a buffalo; Durgā, as Singhavāhini, on a lion, as Durgā on a tiger; Agni on a ram; Vāyu on an antelope; Ganesa on a rat, and Sasti on a cat. Virabhadra, the emanation of Siva which destroyed Daksha's sacrifice, rode on a dog, and Kāmadeva travelled either on the monster Makara or a parrot. The jackal is regarded as a representative of Durgā, who in this form assisted in preserving Krishna, on the night of his birth, from Kansa's anger. Monkeys, as representatives of Hanumān, are very commonly worshipped; the dog, though worshipped by some, by others is regarded as unclean. Amongst birds, the goose is the Vāhan of Brahmā, the peacock that of Kartikeya, Sani rides upon a vulture; the Brāhmani kite is said to be a form of Durgā, and the Khanjana, or wagtail, represents Vishnu, because the mark on its throat is thought to resemble the Shālgrāma; the owl, too, is worshipped at the festivals of p. 449 [paragraph continues] Kartikeya, Brahmā, and Lakshmi. Garuda, the Vāhan of Vishnu, and Jatāyus and Sampāti, the vultures who assisted Rāma, will be described separately. The cow, though not regarded as the Vāhan of any deity, is worshipped too. Brahmā is said to have created cows and Brāhmans at the same time; the Brāhman to officiate at worship, and the cow to provide milk, ghī, etc., as offerings, whilst cow-dung is necessary for various purifying ceremonies. Regular worship of the cow takes place yearly, at which similar ceremonies are performed to those which are employed at the worship of images; the horns and bodies of the cows are painted, and they are then bathed in the rivers. Some people are said to worship the cow daily. GARUDA.Garuda or Superna is a mythical being, half-man and half-eagle, the Vāhan of Vishnu. Though not strictly divine, he appears frequently in Vishnu's exploits, and, being worshipped together with his lord, it is necessary to give some description of his birth and deeds. When Daksha's sons refused to people the world, he produced sixty daughters, thirteen of whom he gave to Kasyapa the sage; of these, two come into prominence in connection with Garuda. Vinatā bore him two celebrated sons, Garuda and Aruna: the former, also called Superna, was the king of the feathered tribes, and the remorseless enemy of the serpent race. Aruna became famous as the charioteer of the Sun. "The progeny of Kadru (the other sister) were a thousand powerful many-headed snakes, of immeasurable might, subject to Garuda." * The mother of Garuda is said to have laid an egg; hence her son assumed a bird-like form. p. 450 Another legend makes "Garuda the son of Kasyapa and Diti. This all-prolific dame laid an egg, which, it was predicted, would yield her a deliverer from some great evil. After the lapse of five hundred years, Garuda sprang from the egg, flew to Indra's abode, extinguished the fire that surrounded it, conquered its GARUDA.
GARUDA.
guards, and bore off the amrita, which enabled him to liberate his captive mother. A few drops of the immortal beverage falling on some Kusa grass, it became eternally consecrated; and the serpents greedily licking it, so lacerated their tongues with the sharp grass, that they have ever since remained forked. But the boon of immortality was ensured to them by their partaking p. 451 of the amrita." * "As soon as Garuda was born, his body expanded till it touched the sky; the other animals were terrified. His eyes were like the lightning. The mountains were driven away with the wind caused by the flapping of his wings. The rays which issued from his body set the four quarters of the world on fire; the affrighted gods imagining that Garuda must be an incarnation of Agni, resorted to that deity for protection." † Garuda is the mortal enemy of snakes. His mother Vinatā quarrelled with her sister, Kadru, the mother of the snakes, respecting the colour of the horse that was produced at the churning of the ocean; since that time there has been constant enmity between their descendants. On the occasion of his marriage, the serpents, alarmed at the thought of his having children who might destroy them, made. a fierce attack on him; but the result was that he slew them all, save one, which he has ever since worn as an ornament round his neck. To this day superstitious Hindus repeat the name of Garuda three times before going to sleep at night, as a safeguard against snakes. The following legend from the Mahābhārata ‡ gives the account of his liberating his mother from servitude, and of his appointment as the Vāhan of Vishnu. His mother, having lost her wager with her sister respecting the colour of the sea-produced horse, was reduced to servitude to the serpents, who, being anxious to become immortal, promised to liberate her on condition that her son Garuda should bring them Chandra (the Moon), whose bright spots are filled with amrita. Before starting on this expedition he went to his mother for p. 452 food, who advised him to go to the seashore and gather whatever he could find, but entreated him to be most careful not to eat a Brāhman; adding, "Should you at any time feel a burning sensation in your stomach, be sure you have eaten a Brāhman." After receiving this warning, he set off on his journey. Passing through a country inhabited by fishermen, he at one inspiration drew in houses, trees, cattle, men, and other animals. But among the inhabitants swallowed, one was a Brāhman, who caused such an intolerable burning in his stomach that Garuda, unable to bear it, called in the greatest haste for him to come out. The Brāhman refused unless his wife, a fisherman's daughter, might accompany him. To this Garuda consented. Pursuing his journey, Garuda met his father Kasyapa (he shines as the Pole Star), who directed him to appease his hunger at a certain lake where an elephant and tortoise were fighting. The tortoise was eighty miles long, and the elephant one hundred and sixty. Garuda with one claw seized the elephant, with the other the tortoise, and perched with them on a tree eight hundred miles high. But the tree was unable to bear the ponderous weight, and, unhappily, thousands of pigmy Brāhmans were then worshipping on one of its branches. Trembling lest he should destroy any of them, he took the bough in his beak, continuing to hold the elephant and tortoise in his claws, and flew to a mountain in an uninhabited country, where he finished his repast on the tortoise and elephant. Garuda having surmounted astonishing dangers, at last seized the Moon and concealed it under his wing. On his return, however, being attacked by Indra and the gods, he overcame all, excepting Vishnu. Even Vishnu was so severely put to it in the contest, that he p. 453 came to terms with Garuda, made him immortal, and promised him a higher seat than his own; while on his part Garuda became the Vāhan or carrier of Vishnu. Since then, Vishnu rides upon Garuda, while the latter, in the shape of a flag, sits at the top of Vishnu's car. In the Rāmāyana Garuda is represented as doing great service to Rāma and his followers, and his powers and peculiarities are repeatedly referred to. Thus, in the description of Hanumān it is said, that "Like a thunderbolt in frame was he, And swift as Garud's self could flee." * In like manner it is said of two heroes: "Sugriva, offspring of the Sun, And Bāli, Indra's mighty one, They, both endowed with Garud's might, And skilled in all the arts of fight, Wandered in arms the forest through, And lions and snakes and tigers slew." † When Ansumān found the ashes of the sixty thousand sons of Sāgar, ‡ who, owing to Kapila's curse, had been destroyed, and was in distress because he could obtain no water with which to offer oblations for the dead, he sees their uncle— "King Garud, best beyond compare, Of birds who wing the fields of air. Then thus unto the weeping man The son of Vinatā began: 'Grieve not, O hero, for their fall, Who died a death approved of all.'" § Garuda then tells Ansumān that if he can succeed in inducing Gangā to descend from heaven, and with her p. 454 streams to touch these ashes, the dead shall return to life, and finally ascend to Indra's heaven. In the description of the city of Ayodha, when Rāma had gone into the forest, is a reference to Garuda's antipathy to snakes:— "The city wore No look of beauty as before— Like a dull river or a lake By Garud robbed of every snake." * In the following lines is an account of Garuda's resting on a tree when he was carrying off the elephant and the tortoise as narrated above. Rāvana impelled by the accounts of Sitā's beauty, goes to see her, and on his journey "He saw a fig-tree like a cloud, With mighty branches earthward bowed. It stretched a hundred leagues, and made For hermit bands a welcome shade. Thither the feathered king of yore An elephant and tortoise bore, And lighted on a bough to eat The captives of his taloned feet. The bough, unable to sustain The crushing weight and sudden strain, Loaded with sprays and leaves of spring, Gave way beneath the feathered king. * * * * The feathered monarch raised the weight Of the huge bough, and bore away The loosened load and captured prey. * * * * His soul conceived the high emprise To snatch the amrit from the skies. He rent the nets of iron first, Then through the jewel chamber burst, And bore the drink of heaven away That watched in Indra's palace lay." † p. 455 In the great conflict with Rāvana, as Rāma and his brother were wounded and well-nigh dead, owing to a flight of serpents sent by Indrajit, Garuda appeared to restore them, and thus enabled them to carry on the war. His approach and work are thus described:— "The rushing wind grew loud, Red lightnings flashed from banks of cloud, The mountains shook, the wild waves rose, And, smitten by resistless blows, Uprooted fell each stately tree That fringed the margin of the sea. All life within the waters feared: Then, as the Vānars gazed, appeared King Garud's self, a wondrous sight, Disclosed in flames of fiery light. From his fierce eye in sudden dread All serpents in a moment fled; And those transformed to shafts, that bound The princes, vanished in the ground. On Raghu's sons his eyes he bent, And hailed the lords omnipotent. Then o’er them stooped the feathered king, And touched their faces with his wing. His healing touch their pangs allayed, And closed each rent the shafts had made. Again their eyes were bright and bold; Again the smooth skin shone like gold." * For this great work of restoration Rāma expressed his gratitude, whereupon Garuda replied— "In me, O Raghu's son, behold One who has loved thee from of old. Garud, the lord of all that fly, Thy guardian and thy friend am I. Not all the gods in heaven could loose These numbing bonds, this serpent noose, Wherewith fierce Rāvan's son, renowned For magic arts, your limbs had bound. p. 456 [paragraph continues] Those arrows fixed in every limb Were mighty snakes, transformed by him. Bloodthirsty race, they live beneath The earth, and slay with venomed teeth." Garuda is represented in pictures and sculpture in various ways. Sometimes he has the head and wings of a bird, with a human body; sometimes he has a bird's claws; and at others he has a human face, and the body of a bird. JATAYUS AND SAMPATI.
Garuda had two sons, named Jatāyus and Sampāti, who also assisted Rāma. As he, Lakshman and Sati reached the hermitage in the forest where they intended to remain, they saw "a mighty vulture, of size and strength unparalleled." Struck with his appearance, Rāma inquired who he was, when Jatāyus informed them of his parentage, and offered to be their friend: "Thy ready helper will I be And guard thy house, if thou agree: When thou and Lakshman urge the chase, By Sitā's side shall be my place." *
This offer was accepted; and when Rāma saw the stag which Rāvana sent to attract him from his home, he went after it with the greater sense of security because Jatāyus was there to guard his wife. When Rāvana seized Sitā, she cried out to Jatāyus—
"Oh see, the king who rules the race Of giants, cruel, fierce, and base! Rāvan, the spoiler, bears me hence, The helpless prey of violence." †
p. 457 Jatāyus first tries by reasoning to lead Rāvana to restore Sitā to her home, and warned him that death would result from his act of violence. When, however, JATĀYUS.
JATĀYUS.
neither advice nor threats availed, he prepared to fight.
"With clash and din and furious blows Of murderous battle met the foes: * * * *
p. 458
[paragraph continues] Then fierce the dreadful combat raged, As fiend and bird in war engaged, As if two winged mountains sped To dire encounter overhead." *
Jatāyus succeeded in breaking Rāvana's bow, but—
"A second bow soon armed his hand, Whence pointed arrows swift and true In hundreds, yea, in thousands flew." †
The giant's arrows wounded the vulture; the vulture in return threw darts which injured Rāvana, struck the steeds of the chariot, and broke the chariot itself; whilst with his beak and claws he tore the coachman to pieces. Rāvana descended from his chariot and fought on foot; but gradually the strength of Jatāyus, who was weak with age, gave way. Rāvana, therefore, re-ascends the chariot, and is about to fly through the air, when the vulture a second time intercepts his flight, and— "Swooped down upon the giant's back: Down to the bone the talons went; With many a wound the flesh was rent." ‡ Jatāyus was able to tear off the ten left arms of Rāvana, but unfortunately others grew to replace them. At length Rāvana seizes his sword, and, after giving the vulture a mortal blow, hurries off with Sitā to Lanka. When Rāma and Lakshman commence their search for Sitā, they come upon the dying bird, and, seeing the marks of blood upon him, at first think that he has been guilty of carrying off the lady; but, after hearing from him the story of Rāvana's visit and flight, they watch the bird expire, and perform his funeral rites. In their search, reaching the seashore, but still ignorant p. 459 of Sitā's whereabouts, some of their monkey followers see an immense vulture, weak with age, who, hearing them mention Jatāyus' name, inquires of his welfare. When told that he had been slain by Rāvana, the vulture informs them that this victim of the giant was no other than his own brother; and in revenge assists them, by informing them where Rāvana and Sitā were at that moment. He told them that he had Garuda's power to see immense distances, and, mounting into the sky, saw Lanka, and told the Vānar chiefs that the object of their search was there. Hearing this, Hanumān was despatched to communicate with Sitā, and to assure her of Rāma's coming to rescue her.
Footnotes 449:* "Vishnu Purāna," p. 119. 451:* Moor's "Hindu Pantheon," 341. 451:† Ward, ii. 200. 451:‡ Ibid., ii. 201. 453:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 94. 453:† Ibid., i. 96. 453:‡ See Gangā. 453:§ Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 186. 454:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," ii. 167. 454:† Ibid., iii. 162. 455:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," v. 153. 456:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," iii. 68. 456:† Ibid., 230. 458:* "Griffiths's Rāmāyana," iii. 236. 458:† Ibid., 237. 458:‡ Ibid., 240.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 12:54:04 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 460 CHAPTER VIII. GANGĀ. Gangā (the Ganges), the chief of the sacred streams of India, whose waters are said to have the power of cleansing from all past, present, and future sins, is GANGĀ.
GANGĀ.
believed to be divine, and the account of her birth and appearance on earth forms an interesting episode in the Rāmāyana. The story is told to Rāma by the hermit p. 461 [paragraph continues] Visvamitra, as he was travelling with Rāma and his brother Lakshman. As soon as they reach the banks of the sacred stream, "They bathed, as Scripture bids, and paid Oblations due to god and shade." As soon as they were seated, Rāma said- "'O saint, I yearn The three-pathed Gangā's tale to learn. Thus urged, the saint recounted both The birth of Gangā and her growth: The mighty hill with metals stored, Himālaya, is, the mountains’ lord, The father of a lovely pair Of daughters, fairest of the fair. Their mother, offspring of the will Of Meru, everlasting hill, Mena, Himālaya's darling, graced With beauty of her dainty waist. Gangā was elder-born; then came The fair one known by Umā's name. Then all the gods of heaven, in need Of Gangā's help their vows to speed, To great Himālaya came and prayed The mountain king to yield the maid. He, not regardless of the weal Of the three worlds, with holy zeal His daughter to the Immortals gave— Gangā, whose waters cleanse and save, Who roams at pleasure, fair and free, Purging all sinners, to the sea. The three-pathed Gangā thus obtained, The gods their heavenly homes regained.'" * The sage next tells Rāma that there was a mighty King of Ayodha named Sāgara † who, being childless, p. 462 and most anxious to have a son, propitiated the saint Bhrigu (or, according to other accounts, his grandson) by penances extending over a hundred years. At length the saint, pleased with Sāgara's worship, said— "From thee, O Sāgar, blameless king, A mighty host of sons shall spring, And thou shalt win a glorious name, Which none, O chief, but thou shalt claim; One of thy queens a son shall bear, Maintainer of thy race and heir; And of the other there shall be Some sixty thousand born to thee." * Hearing this, the wives are anxious to know which of them is to have the one son, and which the multitude; but this the Brāhman leaves them to decide. Kesini wishes for the one; and Sumati is pleased with the prospect of having sixty thousand. "Time passed. The elder consort bare A son called Ansumān, the heir. p. 463 [paragraph continues] Then Sumati, the younger, gave Birth to a gourd, O hero brave, Whose rind, when burst and cleft in two, Gave sixty thousand babes to view. All these with care the nurses laid In jars of oil; and there they stayed, Till, youthful age and strength complete, Forth speeding from each dark retreat, All peers in valour, years, and might, The sixty thousand came to light." * After a time King Sāgara determined to make an Asvamedha, or horse sacrifice, with the object of becoming the reigning Indra, or king of the gods. Preparations for this are accordingly made, and Prince Ansumān, the son of the elder wife, is appointed by the king to follow the horse set apart for the sacrifice; for, according to the ritual, it was to be set free, and allowed to wander for a whole year wherever it would. Indra, knowing the great merit that Sāgar would obtain by this sacrifice, and fearing that he might even lose his crown, "Veiling his form in demon guise, Came down upon the appointed day, And drove the victim horse away." † The officiating priest, being aware of this, cries out— "Haste, king! now let the thief be slain; Bring thou the charger back again; The sacred rite prevented thus Brings scathe and woe to all of us." King Sāgara, incited by the Brāhman, urges his sons to search until they find the stolen horse: "Brave sons of mine, I know not how These demons are so mighty now; p. 464 [paragraph continues] The priests began the rites so well, All sanctified with prayer and spell. If in the depths of earth he hide, Or lurk beneath the ocean's tide, Pursue, dear sons, the robber's track; Slay him and bring the charger back. The whole of this broad earth explore, Sea-garlanded from shore to shore; Yea, dig her up with might and main, Until you see the horse again." * The sons commence their search. Each digs a league in depth, and by this means they reach the centre of the earth; but cannot see the horse. Alarmed at their destructive work, the gods repair to Brahmā, and tell him what is happening. He cheers them with the information that Vishnu, in the form of Kapila, will protect the Earth, his bride, and that these sons of Sāgara will be consumed to ashes. The gods, encouraged by these words, repair to their home and patiently wait for deliverance. After digging sixty thousand leagues into the earth without obtaining any tidings of the horse, the princes return to their father, asking what can be done. Sāgara commands them to dig on, and continue their search until the horse is found. At length they "Saw Vāsudeva (Vishnu) standing there. In Kapil's form he loved to wear; And near the everlasting God The victim charger cropped the sod. They saw with joy and eager eyes The fancied robber and the prize, And on him rushed the furious band, Crying aloud, 'Stand, villain! Stand!' p. 465 'Avaunt! avaunt!' great Kapil cried, His bosom flusht with passion's tide; Then, by his might, that proud array All scorched to heaps of ashes lay." *, Hearing no news of his sons, the king became anxious, and sent his grandson Ansumān to look after them. He inquires of all he meets on the earth, and is encouraged by the information that he shall certainly bring back the stolen horse. At length he reaches the spot where his brothers were consumed, and is overwhelmed with grief at their fate. At this moment his uncle Garuda appears and consoles him, saying— "Grieve not, O hero, for their fall, Who died a death approved of all. Of mighty strength they met their fate By Kapil's hand, whom none can mate. Pour forth for them no earthly wave, A holier flood their spirits crave. If, daughter of the Lord of Snow, Gangā would turn her stream below, Her waves, that cleanse all mortal stain, Would wash their ashes pure again. Yea, when her flood, whom all revere, Rolls o’er the dust that moulders here, The sixty thousand, freed from sin, A home in Indra's heaven shall win. Go, and with ceaseless labours try To draw the goddess from the sky. Return, and with thee take the steed; So shall thy grandsire's rite succeed." † The prince takes the steed; the sacrifice is completed, and for 30,000 years King Sāgara was thinking how he could induce Gangā to come down from heaven. At length, not having succeeded in forming a successful plan, the monarch himself went to heaven. Ansumān p. 466 reigned in his stead, who, in his turn, tried to find some means of liberating his brothers. His son Dilipa also made a similar, but equally unsuccessful, effort. It was given to Dilipa's son Bhagirath to accomplish this work. Bhagirath had no son. He, in order to obtain this boon, and also to free his kinsmen from their sad fate, practised most severe austerities, until at length Brahmā said— "Blest monarch, of a glorious race, Thy fervent rites have won my grace. Well hast thou wrought thine awful task: Some boon in turn, O hermit, ask." * To which Bhagirath replies as follows— "Let Sāgar's sons receive from me Libations that they long to see. Let Gangā with her holy wave The ashes of the heroes lave, That so my kinsmen may ascend To heavenly bliss that ne’er shall end. And give, I pray, O god, a son, Nor let my house be all undone." To this the god replies— "As thou prayest, it shall be. Gangā, whose waves in Swarga (Heaven) flow, Is daughter of the Lord of Snow. Win Siva, that his aid be lent To hold her in her mid descent, For earth alone will never bear These torrents hurled from upper air." † Brahmā then re-ascended to the skies; but Bhagirath remained for a whole year— "With arms upraised, refusing rest, While with one toe the earth he prest." p. 467 Siva, pleased with this devotion, promised to sustain the shock of the descent of the waters on his head; but Gangā was not at all pleased when commanded to descend to earth: "'He calls me,' in her wrath she cried, 'And all my flood shall sweep And whirl him in its whelming tide To hell's profoundest deep.'" * Siva, however, was a match for the wrathful deity. He held her in the coils of his hair until her anger abated, and then she fell into the Vindu lake, from whence proceed the seven sacred streams of India. This lake is not known; and of the seven streams mentioned, two only are familiar to geographers, the Ganges and the Indus. One branch of this stream followed Bhagirath wherever he went. On the way the waters flooded the sacrificial flame of Jahnu, a saint. In his anger he drank up its waters, and Bhagirath's work seemed to be fruitless. But at the intercession of the king and Brahmā, the saint allowed the waters to flow from his ears. From this fact one of the many names of Gangā is Jāhnavi, or daughter of Jahnu. At length Bhagirath reached the ocean, and descending to the depths where Sāgara's sons were lying, Gangā followed until her waters touched the ashes, when— "Soon as the flood their dust bedewed, Their spirits gained beatitude, And all in heavenly bodies dressed Rose to the skies’ eternal rest." † As a reward for his meritorious work, Brahmā' said to him— "Long as the ocean's flood shall stand Upon the border of the land, p. 468 So long shall Sāgar's sons remain, And, god-like, rank in heaven retain. Gangā thine eldest child shall be, Called from thy name Bhagirathi." * As a consequence of faith in this legend, one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage in India is Sāgar Island, the place where the river Ganges and ocean meet. In addition to the Ganges, there are many other rivers regarded as sacred by the Hindus; the worship of these, and bathing in them, being productive of almost as great blessings as are to be obtained from Gangā herself. Some of these are considered as males and some as females. The following is not a complete list, but it contains the names of the rivers most generally worshipped. Male rivers:—The Sona and the Brahmaputra. Female rivers:—The Godāvarī, the Kāveri, the Atreyī, the Karaloyā, the Bahudā, the Gomati, the Sarayu, the Gandakī, the Varahī, the Charmanwatī, the Shatadru, the Vipāshā, the Goutamī, the Karmanāshā, the Airāvatī, the Chandrabhāgā, the Vitastā, the Sindhu, the Krishnā, the Vetravatī, the Bhairavā. †
Footnotes 461:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 171. 461:† Sāgara's birth was supernatural. His father Bāhu, King of Ayodha, was expelled from his kingdom. The mother of Sāgara p. 462 accompanied her husband to the forest, but, owing to a poisonous drug having been given her by a rival wife, she could not bring forth her son, with whom she had been pregnant for seven years. When her husband died, she wished to be burned with his body; but this was prevented by a sage named Aurva, who assured her that her son would yet be born, and grow up to be a mighty king. When he was born, Aurva gave him the name Sāgara (sa, with, and gara, poison). Aurva himself was also born in an extraordinary manner. A king named Kritavirya was very liberal to the Bhrigus, and through his liberality they became rich. His descendants being poor, they asked help of the Bhrigus. On this being refused them, they made an onslaught on the Brāhmans of this family, slaying all they could find, even to children in the womb. One woman concealed her unborn child in her thigh. The Kshattriyas, hearing of this, tried to slay him, but he issued from his mother's thigh with such lustre that he blinded his persecutors. And because he was born from the thigh (uru) of his mother, he was called Aurva. 462:* Griffiths's " Rāmāyana," i. 174. 463:* Griffiths's Rāmāyana," i. 175. 463:† Ibid., 177. 464:* Griffiths's " Rāmāyana," i. 177. 465:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 183. 465:† Ibid., 186. 466:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 190. 466:† Ibid. 467:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 193. 467:† Ibid., 196. 468:* Griffiths's "Rāmāyana," i. 197. 468:† Ward, ii. 217.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 13:02:11 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 469 CHAPTER IX. SACRED TREES.
Several trees are regarded as sacred; they being representative of, or peculiarly dear to, some of the deities. It is a meritorious act to plant and water them, and such is the respect cherished for them, that even their withered branches are not allowed to be burnt. The THE BANYAN TREE.
THE BANYAN TREE.
same ceremonies are observed at the planting of these trees, or, when they have been taken care of for some time, at their consecration, as are observed at the setting up of an image. The following are the names of the sacred trees:— p. 470 The Asvatta, or Pipul. Tree (Ficus religiosa), sacred to Vishnu.
The Vata, Banyan or Indian Fig Tree * (Ficus Indica), also sacred to Vishnu.
The Vilva, or Wood-apple, or Bēl Tree (Ægle Marmelos), sacred to Siva.
The Vakula (Mimusops Elengi).
The Harltāki (Terminalia chebula).
THE BĒL.
THE BĒL.
The Amalaki, or Emblic Myrobalans (Phyllanthus emblica).
The Nimba, or Nim Tree (Melia azadirachta).
The Tulsi (Ocimum gratissimum or sanctum).
The Tulsi is very commonly worshipped by the followers of Vishnu; and the plant is most carefully tended
p. 471 as his representative. Every morning the ground near it is cleaned with cow-dung and water; at night a lamp is hung before it. During the two hottest months of the year, a vessel of water is hung over it so that it constantly receives moisture. When a plant dies, it is cast into a river, the same honour being given to it as to an image as soon as the worship of it is concluded. It is a common custom to place a sprig of Tulsi near the head of a dying person. The origin of the worship of this plant is said to be the following: A woman named Tulsi engaged in religious austerities for a long period, and asked, as a boon, that she might become the wife of Vishnu. Lakshmi, hearing of this, cursed her, and changed her into the plant which bears her name. Vishnu, however, comforted his follower with the assurance that he would assume the form of the Shālgrāma, and continue near her. * The Vāyu and the Padma Purānas teach that the Tulsi was one of the products of the churning of the ocean. In addition to these trees should be mentioned the Durva grass (Agrostis linearis) and Kusa grass (Poa cynosuroïdes), which form part of the offerings made to the gods; as do the leaves or flowers of most of the trees previously mentioned. The Mahābhārata has a legend accounting for the sacredness of the Kusa grass. When Garuda brought some of the amrita from the moon for the Nāgas, or serpent deities, as the price to be paid for his mother's release from servitude, Indra tried to induce him not to give it to them lest they, becoming immortal, should oust him from his throne. Garuda would not consent to this arrangement, but told Indra that after it was given to them he could steal it. p. 472 Garuda therefore placed the amrita in a vessel on the grass, and whilst the Nāgas were bathing, Indra stole it. They, thinking that the ambrosia must be on the Kusa grass, licked it; the sharp spikes slit their tongues, and hence the serpents' tongues are forked; and the grass, having been touched by the amrita, is holy. THE FIG TREE.
THE FIG TREE.
Footnotes 470:* See p. 472. 471:* Ward, ii. 204.
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 13:13:58 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 473 CHAPTER X. MISCELLANEOUS MINOR DEITIES. 1. SHITALA.Shitala is the Bengali name for the small-pox, and for the deity who is supposed to have charge of that disease. The meaning of the word is "She who makes cold."
SHITALA.
SHITALA.
This goddess is represented as a golden-complexioned woman sitting on a lotus, or riding on an ass, dressed in red clothes. Before an image of this kind, or more p. 474 commonly a pan of water merely, Shitala is worshipped in the hope that she will preserve her worshippers from this dire disease. In the spring of the year, the Hindus formerly inoculated their children for this disease when they were about two years of age. The Brāhman who performed the operation made presents to render Shitala propitious, and promised, in case the work was successful, to give still greater gifts. At the close of the operation the flowers that were presented to the goddess were placed in the hair of the child as a charm. On behalf of those afflicted with small-pox, offerings are made daily; and when the patient is thought to be dangerously ill, he is placed in front of an image of Shitala, bathed in, and given to drink, water that has been offered to her. Beggars go about with a stone, partly gilded, which they teach is sacred to Shitala, and, in seasons when the disease is prevalent, receive presents from the superstitious. * 2. MANASĀ.Manasā is the sister of Vasuki, king of the snakes; the wife of Jaratkāru, a sage; and being the queen of the snakes is regarded as the protectress of men from those reptiles. Another name by which she is known is Vishahara, "the destroyer of poison." Generally, offerings are made to her without any image being made, a branch of a tree, a pan of water, an earthen snake being her representative; when her image is made, it is that of a woman clothed with snakes, sitting on a lotus, or standing upon a snake. A song founded upon the following story concludes the worship of this deity. p. 475 A merchant named Chānda not only refused to worship Manasā, but professed the profoundest contempt for her. In process of time six of his sons died from snake-bites. To avoid a similar fate, his eldest son Lakindara dwelt in an iron house; but Manasā caused a snake to enter through a crevice, which bit him on his wedding-day and caused his death too. His widow, however, escaped, and went weeping to her mother-in-law, MANASĀ.
MANASĀ.
who, with the neighbours, vainly tried to induce Chānda to propitiate the goddess through whose influence so much evil had come to the family; Manasā herself urged his friends to prevail upon him not to remain so hostile to her. At last he so far yielded to p. 476 their wishes as to throw a single flower with his left hand towards her image, which so delighted her that she restored his sons to life, and from that time, as men came to know of her power, her worship has become celebrated. * The Mahābhārata gives the following particulars regarding her marriage. Jagatakāru, her husband, was an eminent sage, who had practised great austerities, bathed in all the holy tanks, abstained from matrimony, and, as a result of his penance and fasting, had a dry and shrivelled body. In the course of his wanderings, he came to a place where he saw a number of men hanging from a tree with their heads downwards over a deep abyss, with a rat gnawing the rope by which they were suspended, and learned that they were his own ancestors, doomed to endure this misery because, their children being dead, they had no one to release them (i.e. by performing religious ceremonies); and he, who, by having a son might have set them free, was given up to a life of austerity, and refused to marry. When they are told that Jagatakāru is the man through whose abstinence they are suffering, they entreat him to seek a wife and secure their deliverance. He consents to do so on condition that the parents of the girl he marries give her to him willingly. Vāsuki hearing of this, offers his sister to the sage, who marries her and has a son named Asika. This son effected the deliverance of his ancestors and also rendered good service to the serpent race in saving them from destruction when Janamejaya was wishful to exterminate them. p. 477 3. SASTĪ.Sastī is peculiarly the goddess of married women; she is the giver of children, assists at childbirth, and is the guardian of young children. She is represented as a golden-complexioned woman with a child in her arms, riding upon a cat; hence no Hindu woman would under
SASTI.
SASTI.
any circumstances injure that animal, lest she should offend the goddess and be made to suffer for it. Six times a year festivals in honour of Sastī are held; in addition to which, women who have lost their children by death worship her monthly. When a child is six days old, the father worships her; and when three p. 478 weeks old, the mother presents offerings to her. The ordinary representative of Sastī is a stone about the size of a man's head, placed under a Banyan tree, which is decorated with flowers, and offerings of rice, fruit, etc., are made to it. * 4. THE SHĀLGRĀMA.By the worshippers of Vishnu, the Shālgrāma is regarded as a most sacred object. It does not derive its sacredness from consecrating rites, as images and other representatives of deities, but is believed to be inherently holy. It is a black ammonite, found in Mount Gandakī in Nepal. The popular belief is that in this mountain there are insects which perforate the stones; and when perforated, falling into the river Gandaka, they are taken out by means of nets. The more common ones are about the size of a watch, and their price varies according to their size, hollowness, and inside colouring, according to which peculiarities special names are given. For the rarer kinds as much as Rs. 2000 are given; and as it is the common belief of the people that the possessor of one of these, and a shell called Dakshināvarta (i.e. a shell whose convolutions are towards the right), can never be poor, it is not to be wondered at that large prices should be paid for them. As it is also believed that in parting with them they invite misfortune, it is natural that few should wish to part with them; to sell them for gain is regarded as a most dishonourable deed. A reason for the sacredness of the Shālgrāma is found in the "Bhāgavata Purāna." Sani commenced his reign with a request to Brahmā to become subject to him; p. 479 [paragraph continues] Brahmā referred him to Vishnu, who asked him to call upon him the next day. When he called, finding that Vishnu had transformed himself into a mountain, he became a worm named Vajrakīta, and afflicted him for twelve years. At the expiration of that time Vishnu resumed his proper shape, and ordered that henceforth the stones of this mountain (Gandakī) should be worshipped as representatives of himself. * The Brāhmans usually worship Vishnu in this form in their daily puja at home. In the hot season a vessel is suspended over it, and the water continually dropping on it keeps it cool; another vessel is placed under it to catch the water, which is drunk in the evening by the worshipper. The marks of it are shown to men when dying, in the belief that the concentration of the mind on them at this time will ensure the soul a safe passage to Vishnu's heaven. † 5. THE DHENKĪ.The Dhenkī is a log of wood fixed to a pivot, used for husking rice, pounding bricks for mortar, etc. It is generally worked by women, who, by standing on the one end, raise it to a certain height and then let it fall by its own weight. It is said to be the Vāhan or vehicle of Nārada, and it is believed that, owing to his blessing, it became an object of worship. A religious teacher, when initiating a disciple into the mysteries of Hinduism, told him to say, "Dhenkī, Dhenkī." Nārada, hearing this, was delighted, and coming upon his Vāhan gave him another incantation by which he became p. 480 perfect and was admitted into heaven. It is worshipped at the time of marriage, at the investiture of a son with the Poita or Brāhmanical thread, at the ceremony of giving rice to a child, and on other festive occasions. At the close of the last century a Rāja of Naladanga is said to have spent Rs. 300,000 in celebrating the worship of the Dhenkī. 6. KA? WHO?The Athenians were not alone in worshipping the "Unknown God." "The authors of the Brāhmanas had so completely broken with the past, that, forgetful of the poetical character of the hymns (of the Vedas), and the yearning of the poets after the unknown god, they exalted the interrogative pronoun itself into a deity, and acknowledged a god, Ka? or 'Who?' In the 'Taittiriya Brāhmana,' in the 'Kanshītaki Brāhmana,' in the 'Tāndya Brāhmana,' and in the 'Satapatha Brāhmana,' wherever interrogative verses occur, the author states that Ka is Prajāpati, or the lord of creatures. Nor did they stop here. Some of the hymns in which the interrogative pronoun occurred were called Kadvat, i.e., having kad or quid. But soon a new adjective was formed, and not only the hymns, but the sacrifices also, offered to the god, were called Kāya, or 'Who-ish.' At the time of Pānini (the great grammarian), this word had acquired such legitimacy as to call for a separate rule explaining its formation. The commentator here explains Ka by Brāhman. After this, we can hardly wonder that in the later Sanskrit literature of the Purānas, Ka appears as a recognized god, with a genealogy of his own, perhaps even a wife; and that in the laws of Manu one of the recognized forms of marriage, genet ally known by the name of the Prajāpati p. 481 marriage, occurs under the monstrous title of Kāya." * In the Mahābhārata Ka is identified with Daksha, and in the "Bhāgavata Purāna" it is applied to Kasyapa, probably on account of their similarity to Prajāpati.
Footnotes 474:* Ward, ii. 139. 476:* Ward, ii. 142. 478:* Ward, ii. 143. 479:* For another account of the origin of the worship of the Shālgrāma, see the account of Tulsi, chap. ix. 479:† Ward, ii. 221. 481:* Max-Müller, quoted in Dowson's Classical Dictionary, s.v. "Ka?"
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Post by Anne Terri on Nov 18, 2016 13:17:05 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY © ... The Hindu Trimurti - Their Children and Avatars Hindu Mythology"
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic-
PART III. THE INFERIOR DEITIES p. 482 CHAPTER XI. SUPERHUMAN, THOUGH NOT DIVINE BEINGS. APSARAS AND GANDHARVAS.
The Apsaras are nymphs, and the Gandharvas choristers in Indra's heaven. The Apsaras are not as a class prominently noticed in the Vedas, but Urvasi and a few others are mentioned by name. In the Institutes of Manu they are said to be the creations of the Seven Manus, the progenitors of mankind. In the Epic poems more is said about them—the Rāmāyana attributing their origin to the churning of the ocean, and with this the Purānic account of their origin agrees. It is said that when they rose from the waters neither gods nor asuras would wed them, so they became the common property of both classes. They are sometimes called "the wives of the gods," and "daughters of pleasure." "Then from the agitated deep up sprung The legion of Apsarasas, so named That to the watery element they owed Their being. Myriads were they born, and all In vestures heavenly clad, and heavenly gems; Yet more divine their native semblance, rich With all the gifts of grace, of youth and beauty. A train innumerous followed; yet thus fair, Nor god nor demon sought their wedded love; Thus Rāghava! they still remain—their charms The common treasure of the host of heaven." p. 483 "In the Purānas various ganas or classes of them are mentioned; the Vāyu Purāna enumerates fourteen, the Hari Vansa seven. They are again divided, as being daivika, 'divine,' or laukika, 'worldly.' The former are said to be ten in number, and the latter thirty-four, and these are the heavenly charmers who fascinated heroes as Urvasi, allured austere sages from their devotions and penances as Menekā and Rembhā. The Kāsi Khand says there are forty-five millions of them, but only one thousand and sixty are the principal. The Apsaras, then, are fairylike beings, beautiful and voluptuous. They are the wives or mistresses of the Gandharvas, and are not prudish in the dispensation of their favours. Their amours upon earth have been numerous, and they are the rewards in Indra's heaven held out to heroes who fall in battle. They have the power of changing their forms, and give good luck to whom they favour." * In the Satapatha Brāhmana is a story, which has been copied into the Purānas, concerning Purūravas and the Apsaras Urvasi which will give some idea of the character of these beings. Owing to the imprecation of Indra and Varuna, Urvasi was compelled to leave heaven. Purūravas, son of Budha and a daughter of Manu, fell deeply in love with her; and she agreed, on certain conditions, to live with him. She said, "I have two rams which must always remain with me, both by day and night; you must never be seen by me undressed; and I must eat only ghī, or clarified butter." The inhabitants of heaven being anxious for her return, the Gandharvas came at night and carried off her rams. Purūravas, in order to rescue them, rushed into her room hurriedly, without being dressed, trusting to the p. 484 darkness to hide him. Unfortunately a flash of lightning revealed him to her gaze, and, the condition of her remaining with him being broken, she returned to her celestial home. Purūravas was distracted at his loss, and wandered from place to place searching for her. At length he was successful in his quest, and obtained a promise that she would meet him yearly and present him with a son. After five visits, she assured him that if he offered a sacrifice with the express object of gaining her, he would succeed. He followed her advice, became a Gandharva, and so obtained eternal possession of his strange bride. The Gandharvas, according to the Vishnu Purāna, were sons of Brahmā. "The Gandharvas were next born, imbibing melody; drinking of the goddess of speech, they were born, and thence their appellation. (gām dhayantah, 'drinking speech')." * In another place the same Purāna † makes them the offspring of Kasyapa and Arishtā, and therefore grandchildren of Brahmā. The Padma Purāna speaks of them as the children of Vach. They are said to be sixty millions in number. They defeated the Nāgas, or snake-gods, seized their jewels, and usurped their kingdom. In their distress the snakes resorted to Vishnu, who promised to enter into Purukutsa and destroy them. The Nāgas sent their sister Narmadā (the river Nerbudda) to ask the help of Purukutsa, who consented to do her bidding. As a reward the Nāgas gave this power to their sister, that whoever worshipped her and repeated her name should be safe not only from the poison of snakes, but other poison too. It would appear from the earlier books that the Gandharvas were assistants of Indra, the Storm King, p. 485 and were rewarded by the later writers with a place in his heaven. And as the deities were all provided with a wife or wives, the Gandharvas were not neglected in this respect. The beautiful though frail Apsaras were allotted to them, and when Indra was in danger of losing his throne, or the other gods were in a similar plight through the austerity of the devout, some of the more attractive were commissioned to visit them and distract their minds. The name of these heavenly musicians and their loose matrimonial alliances with the Apsaras has come into common use to designate one of the five forms of marriage—that where the mutual consent of man and woman to live together is all that is necessary, without any civil or religious ceremony. THE RĀKSHASAS. These formidable beings are frequently referred to, and their actions described at some length in Hindu legend. Though Brāhmans by birth, strange to say they are described as cannibals. The goddess Parvati gave to the whole tribe the power to arrive at maturity the moment they were born. They are said to be able to assume any form at will; and we read of them appearing as horses, buffaloes, and tigers. Some of them had a hundred heads. Amongst the most noted of them was Rāvana, the hereditary foe of Vishnu, who in several incarnations left his heavenly home to slay him. The demon reappeared on the earth after remaining some years in hell; it was therefore necessary for the god in like manner to revisit the earth to get rid of him. Some of Rāvana's relatives, such as p. 486 [paragraph continues] Kumbhakarna, Vibhishena, Indrajit, and others, were almost equally notorious. Kumbhakarna, a brother of Rāvana, as soon as he was born, stretched forth his arms, and gathered everything he could reach to stay his hunger. Later on in life, on one occasion he seized five hundred Apsaras, and at another time he laid violent hands on the wives of a hundred sages, besides cows and Brāhmans innumerable. Brahmā threatened to destroy him unless he moderated his demands. Fearing he might come to an untimely end, he commenced a life of austerity, which was to continue ten thousand years. But as this proceeded, the gods feared lest, as a result of such a penance, he should be stronger than ever, and, especially that he might obtain immortality and be able to swallow up everything, gods and men included. In their distress they appealed to Brahmā, who caused his wife Sarasvati to enter the demon's mind, and delude him so far as to lead him to ask as a boon that he might sleep for ever. The plan succeeded. But the Rākshasas were not pleased with the result, and asked Brahmā, to allow him to awake once in six months for one day only, and then eat as much as he wished. This request was granted. At one meal he is said to have eaten six thousand cows, ten thousand sheep, ten thousand goats, four hundred buffaloes, five thousand deer, and drank four thousand hogsheads of spirits, with other things in proportion, and then was angry with his brother Rāvana for not providing him with more! His home in Ceylon is said to have been 20,000 miles long, and his bed occupied the full length; but according to the Rāmāyana the island itself was only 800 miles in circumference! What can be represented by these monsters? In p. 487 [paragraph continues] Manu, * amongst instructions concerning sacrifice, we read: "As a preservative of the oblation to the patriarchs, let the housekeeper begin with an offering to the gods; for the Rākshasas rend in pieces an oblation which has no such preservative." According to Professor Wilson these beings may be divided into three classes: "One is of a semi-celestial kind, and is ranked with the attendants of Kuvera, the god of wealth; another is a sort of goblin, imp, or ogre, haunting cemeteries, animating dead bodies, disturbing sacrifices, and ensnaring and devouring human beings; the third kind approaches more to the Titan, or relentless and powerful enemy of the gods." Can it be that men, finding it difficult to abstain from evil and do good, have invented these mighty beings to represent the forces of evil that are arrayed against them? They are described as eating cows and also men, when, according to the ordinary belief of the people, these are the greatest imaginable crimes. May this not be a vigorous method of teaching that the enemies of God and man will not stop at anything in order to secure success in their work of destruction? It may be that the Rākshasas of the Epics were the rude barbarians of India, who were conquered by the Aryans, and their manners of life and religious ceremonies caricatured in this strange fashion. Some of the more intelligent were styled monkeys, possibly the more savage were styled Rākshasas. The name Bhuta is given to a similar class of beings who are the common attendants of Siva; hence. his name of Bhutanātha, the lord of spirits. The term Pisarch is given to beings similar to, though if possible more offensive than, the Rākshasas. p. 488 THE JAIN DEITIES.
As there are considerable numbers of Jains, chiefly in the north and north-west of India, some account should be given of their objects of worship. The origin of this sect is obscure, especially as their chronology is so wild and extravagant. Hindu notions of time are reasonable compared with those of the Jains. In some respects, there is much in the tenets of this religion that closely resembles those of Buddhism. Both reject the divine origin and authority of the Vedas; though when a Vedic text agrees with his own belief, a learned Jain will not scruple to employ it to buttress his own teaching. Both may be regarded as heretical sects of Hinduism. Both reject the divine institution of caste, and profess to believe in the social and religious equality of man: though the Jains are not regarded as outside the pale of Hinduism. For when, as it sometimes happens, a Jain wishes to worship as an orthodox Hindu, a place is found for him in the caste system; he is not treated as an outcast. Both acknowledge in a general way the more common and modern of the Hindu deities; and very much of the worship of both is very similar to that which prevails amongst the Hindus. In both systems a number of saints have been raised to the dignity of deities, and have largely taken the place of the inferior gods of the Hindu Pantheon. In fact, at one time it was a commonly received opinion that the Jains were the present-day representatives of the Buddhists, But fuller and more correct knowledge has shown that the two religions, though strikingly similar, have distinct and separate origins. Possibly they originated about the same time, when there was p. 489 considerable religious excitement in India; or it may be, that very soon after Gautama Buddha commenced his work as a teacher, some of his followers broke away from his leadership, and from that time have formed a separate and independent stream. At the present time Jains and Buddhists worship a succession of deified saints in place of the many gods adored by the Hindus; but in the two systems the names of these saints are quite different. The main lines of the religions are very similar, but the differences are sufficiently great to show that they have run a separate, though to a large extent parallel, course. The Jain saints belonging to the present age are twenty-four in number; in a previous age there were twenty-four, and in a succeeding age there will be a similar number. These twenty-four as represented in the temples are seated in an attitude of contemplation. In features they greatly resemble each other, and in order to distinguish them, they are painted in different colours, and have either their names engraved on their pedestals, or some distinguishing sign, commonly an animal by their side. In the stories of their lives there is little of a distinctive character. But there is this noticeable fact, that in height of stature and in length of life there has been a steady decline. A brief account of the first and last two of these saints, now regarded as divine beings, may be taken as fairly representative of the whole. 1. Vrishabha, of the kingly race of Ikohwaku, was son of Nābhi and Marudeva. He is usually painted yellow, and has a bull as his characteristic mark. His stature was 500 poles in height, and he lived 8,400,000 great years. He was born at Oude. When crowned king he was 2,000,000; he reigned 6,300,000 years, and p. 490 spent 100,000 in the practice of austerity, by which he became qualified for sainthood. 23. Parswanatha was also of the same race as the first. He is represented as blue in colour, and has a snake to distinguish him. Possibly this was the real founder of the Jain sect. He was born at Benares, and commenced his saintly life when he was thirty years of age, and, continuing his asceticism for seventy years, died when he was just a hundred years old. 24. Mahavir is the last and much the best known of all. His common title is "The Saint." His image is golden in colour, and his symbol a lion. He resigned his position as a god in order to obtain immortality as a saint, when there was a little over seventy-five years to run before the end of the age. His parents were Brāhmans; but as Indra considered it improper that one whom he recognized as a saint before he was born, who was to occupy such a position, should be born in a humble family, he removed the fœtus to the womb of a princess of the royal race, Trisala, wife of Siddhārta. At twenty-eight he lost his father, became king and reigned for two years. Then resigning his royal state, he entered upon a life of austerity, and after forty-two years of preparation, at the age of seventy-two he became exempt from pain for ever. In other words he died, and obtained moksha, deliverance from birth and death, absorption. According to tradition, the death of the last Jain occurred two thousand four hundred years ago.
Footnotes 483:* Dowson, s.v. 484:* Page 41. 484:† Page 150. 487:* Manu, bk. iii.
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