DIVINE INFORMATION PART 103 Respected friends,
In part 103 I am starting with 349h item in this posting. Kindly note the series is a compilation. Fromnext posting these introductory lines will not be there. Sincerely, Gopalakrishnan21-09-21 349 SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part27 PRITHUSADVENT AND RULERSHIP Thesages continued to churn the arms of the issueless Vena, when a couple, a manand a woman emerged as Amsas of the Lord and goddess Lakshmi, called Prithu and Archi. TheBrahmanas glorified, the Gandharvas sang, the Siddhas showered flowers and theApsaras danced. Hosts of Devas, Pitrisand Rishis gathered overhead and the sky reverberated with the sounds of conch,drums and pipes. Brahma, Devas anddeities of the quarters all assembled. Brahma noticed on Prithu the emblems of Mahavishnu, like the mark ofChakra, His divine discus and lotus mark on his feet and declared him apart-manifestation of Mahavishnu. Prithu was anointed king and thecelestials Kubera, Varuna, Vayu, Dharma,Indra, along with Brahma, Mahavishnu, Saraswathi, Mahalakshmi, Rudra, Ambika,Soma, Twashta, Agni, Sun-god, Earth - all lavished presents on them. Whenpraises were sung, Prithu said, When there is the Supreme Being with countlessvirtues to be praised and worshipped, why sing about me, whose prowess is yetto be known. Prithuand Archi were married. He brought allthe quarters under his sway and removed the ills of the world. In short, Prithus rulership was synonymouswith the divine rule in all respects, with prosperity, peace and joy reigningeverywhere and ever. When Prithu was installed King, therewas famine and the earth was not productive. Sympathizingwith the afflicted people and realizing that mother earth was withholding herbounties, Prithu aimed an arrow at the earth. The frightened earth took the form of a cow and tried to escape. Theking pursued and overcame the mother earth, who sought refuge in Prithu. Goddess earth respectfully counselledpatience to the angered king and suggested recourse to the path employed by seers and sages forpositive results. She saidthat wicked creatures, destitute of piety and austerity, consumed the plantsand herbs originally produced by Brahma. When robbers infested the world, the rulers neglected her, the plantsand herbs were withdrawn in to the bowels as there was no sacrificial activityand they became decayed. Goddess earthpromised to yield everything desired, provided a calf and a milking vessel werearranged. Then milk could be drawn andused as a nutritious food for all beings. If the earth were leveled plain, the pouring water would collect on theland for producing food grains. Thereupon, King Prithu broke downmountain peaksand heights with the ends of his bow and converted most of the earth into a levelsurface. Villages, towns, cities and forts were formed with suitable dwellingplaces and farms. Earth yielded every desired thing forall creations,which employed the excellent ones in their classes for their calves. Thegreat king Prithu and the entire population derived all food and prosperityfrom Goddess earth, employing a calf and a vessel differently. During Prithus reign, people were free fromfear and lived their lives in comfort, peace and plenty, with full devotion tothe great king and the Supreme Lord. 350 PRITHU PERFORMS SACRIFICE Prithutook up Deeksha (holy decision) to perform a hundred Asvamedha sacrifices atBrahmavartha, where theholy river Saraswati flowed eastward. The Supreme Lord, accompanied by Brahma,Mahadeva and the deities of the quarters (Lokapalas) with their retinue, withtheir glories sung by Gandharvas, Rishis and Apsaras, appeared in person at thesacrifice of Prithu. Indra could not bear theexcellence, which exceeded his own festivals. Being desirous of the Darshan (Sight of theLord), Siddhas, Viddhyadharas, Guhyas, Daithyas, Dhanavas, Sunanda, Nanda,Kapila, Narada and Datta also arrived. The wish-yielding mother earth appeared as a cow and gave all the Havizand other items required for the sacrifice. The river began to flow with milk, curd and juices of sugarcane andgrapes. Trees assuming huge formsyielded fruits with honey dripping from them. Theocean gave heaps of precious gems and the mountains gave the four types of food(Bakshyam, Bhojyam, Lehyam and Soshyam). Offerings from all the worlds with their chiefs arrived. The grandeur of Prithus sacrifice wasmore than what Indra could bear.When Prithu was propitiating the Supreme Lord with the hundredth Asvamedhasacrifice, overcome by jealousy, Indra stole the consecrated horse and hid himself. Maharshi Attri observed Indra hasteningskyward in the guise of Pakhanda, wherein Adharma paraded as Dharma. Urged by Attri, Prithus warrior son chasedIndra, roaring Halt, halt! Looking atthe matted and ash-smeared and therefore sacred looking Indra in disguise, Prithus son desisted from aiming hisarrow at him. Attri advisedPrithus son, saying, Child, Slay that Indra, destroyer of the sacrifice and lowamong the devas. Prithus son againchased Indra, who being frightened, abandoned both the sacrificial horse and his disguise and disappeared. Prithusson brought back the horse and the Rishis gave him the Honorific titleVijithasvan (conqueror of the horse). The jealous Indra created a dense darkness and himself unseen, againstole the consecrated horse together with the gilded rope. Attri pointed to Vijithasvan the skywardrising Indra wearing skull and Katvangan (weapon) but Vijitasvan did not hithim. Thenprompted by Attri, Vijithasvanshot an arrow at Indra, whereupon, Indra gave up the horse as well as hisassumed form and disappeared. Prithusson returned with the horse to the sacrificial spot, while men of lesserintelligence adopted that crude form as taken by Indra. Onlearning of Indras depredation, the valiant and angry Prithu fixed an arrow onhis bow for attacking Indra. Thepreceptors at the sacrifice restrained Prithu, saying, In this sacrificial spot,killing of none other than the sacrificial animal is permitted. ThisIndra is already destitute of his prowess due to your glorious reputation. We shall invoke Indras presence here bypotent Mantras and then by force make an oblation of him in the fire. Permittedby Prithu, when the invocation was about to commence, Brahma appeared on thescene and forbade them, saying, This Indra, whom you propose offering in thesacrificial fire, is one, of whom all devas are manifestations. Besides, the present Indra, named Yajna (sonof Akuti and Ruchi) is a part manifestation of Mahavishnu. He does not deserve to be killed by you. OBrhamanas! The many systems of atheism,which have been created by this Indra for obstruction of this Yajna, will bestrengthened further, if Indra is killed or antagonized. Let Prithu be satisfied with theninety-nine Yajnas, which are already completed. Foryou, Prithu, there is nothing more to be achieved through performance ofYajnas. You are already endowed withthe wisdom of Moksha Dharma. It is not appropriate for you to beinimical with Indra, who and you are both expressions of Mahavishnu. Listento me! The pursuers ofdivinity-obstructed courses, will be victims of anger and thereby todelusion. Let your Yajna stopforthwith. Indra is pursuing his ownnarrow interest, is obstinate and therefore difficult to dissuade. Already the true Dharmas are affected. If you further continue with the Yajna, the Pakhanda stream created byIndra will destroy Dharma. Lookat the state of the people, who are deprived already of the virtuous path andare attracted to the Pakhanda stream. You are a part of the manifestation ofthe Supreme Lord, as Indra is, and have come into the world to restore Dharma,which was endangered by the perversity of Vena. It behooves you to fulfill the expectationsof the Prajapatis, viz. overcome the delusion caused by Indra mistaking theaesthetic path as real Dharma. Heedingthe advice of Brahma, Prithu refrained from his resolve to continue with thehundredth Yajna and made peace with Indra. The great deitieswho were invoked and propitiated at the Yajna bestowed liberal boons on Prithu,who concluded the holy sacrificial ceremonies with the Avabhrita snana(Concluding ritual bath). Thegreat Brahmanas, whose good wishes never go in vain, were very much pleasedwith the parting gifts given respectfully and happily. They pronounced their blessings on Prithu,saying, O heroic one! All devas, Pitrisand men invited by you and gathered here, have been appropriately honored andpropitiated by you!? SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part27 Posted by: "DILIP KUMARRAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:52 pm (PDT) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/518891631.1606456.1632206317757%40mail.yahoo.com.
