DIVINE INFORMATION PART 111
Dear friends, Part 45 to Part 83 of SrimadBhagavatham are not found saved in any of my memory devices in spite ofrepeated searches. So I started with part 84 saved in thememory in the previous posting. Continuing with part 87 in this posting. Gopala krishnan 4-10-21 374.SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part87 Posted by: "DILIPKUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Sat Mar 26, 2011 6:05 pm ((PDT)) 374 BALI'S RESOLVE Observing silence for a moment and with all humility, Balitold the preceptor, 'Your exposition that whichever action does not adverselyaffect the prosperity, happiness, renown and livelihood, is the Dharma of ahouseholder, is indeed the truth. Born in the lineage of Prahlada, how can I,like a cheat, retract my word to a Brahmana, imbued by the attachment towealth? There is no greater inequity (Adharma) than lying, as pronounced bymother earth, who has further added, 'Barring (excepting) a liar, I can bearall other things'. The dread of deceiving a Brahmana is more frightening thanthat of hell, penury, ocean of sorrow, slipping from my position and even ofdeath. In this world, all the possessions that have their source or origin inwealth will abandon the owner at death. Then, why not gift it when alive? Ofwhat good is a partial gift, if it would not satisfy the recipient? WhenDadhici and Sibi stuck to righteousness even at the cost of their lives, whythen a second thought in regard to earth and such alike?' 'O Preceptor! The inexorable death has consumed the warriorswho did not retreat in battle and those who enjoyed this earth, but not theglory that they attained to in earth. It is easier to come across heroes whogive up their lives in battle without retreating, but the sight of those, whoconfer gifts in earnestness when a fit / appropriate personage offers himself,is rare indeed. For a person endowed with righteous mind and filled withcompassion, generally the penury arising from fulfilling the wish of asuppliant is an embellishнment - auspiciousness. How much more glorious andauspicious such a gift would be if bestowed on those learned in Brahma vidyas likeyou! The privation thus arising, would be auspicious, without doubt. Thus, Ishall fulfil this Brahmacharin's wish. If, as you infer, this Brahmacharin is that MahavishnuHimself, to Whom you make sacrificial offerings in Yagas and Yajnas,irresнpective of whether benefactor or adversary, I shall confer on him theearth he has sought of me. Even if he were to unethically tie me, who aminnocent, him, the timid and therefore disguised as a Brahmana, I shall notinjure. This Worshipful Vishnu, if mindful of glory, will slay me in battle andappropriate the earth. Else,he will be killed by me in battle? Seeing that Bali was not showing earnestness to his advice,not abiding by his commands and remaining wedded to truth, Sukracharya,large-hearted though he was, prompted by the indwelling God, cursed him,saying, 'You, who consider yourself very learned, but in fact ignorant, havedisrespected me by discarding my injunction. You who have transgressed myordainment, shall soon slip from Rajyasri (rulership)? (This imprecation camein handy) Bali was unshaken /unswerving from Truth and afterworship, gave away the earth through libation of water. Vindhyavali, Bali'sconsort, bedecked with necklaces of pearls, came forward and placed there agolden jar, full of water, for the rites related to the gift. Mahabali, themaster of the sacrifice, with all joy, washed both feet of Vamana and sprinkledon his own head that world-satisfying water with which he washed the feet, tothe showering of flowers on his head by the celestials -Gandharvas, Vidyadhara,Siddhar, charaana - in appreciation of Bali's action and his righteous-virtuousnature. Celestial instruments played music. They praised Bali saying, 'Bali'sgift of the three worlds, with awareness of adversarial intent of thebeneнficiary, is unique and unsurpassed'. 375. SriMadhBhagavatham.... part…88 Posted by: "DILIPKUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:43 am ((PDT)) 375 DIVINE FORM The diminutive form of Vamana expanded enormously, revealingwithin itself all that exists - the earth, sky, quarters, heaven, thee fourteenworlds, oceans, brute creations, men, celestials, Rishis and all. In that radiant Viswarupa form of the Lord,Bali, along with the preceptors and members of the sacrificial assembly,witnessed the universe which was formed of the Mahabhutas, the three Gunas(Sattva, Rajas, Tamas), the Indriyas, the Chitta and the Jiva. Bali saw the Rasatala at the feet of the Lordand the earth in the soles of the feet; the knees were the mountains, while thethighs were the homes of the winds. Bali saw Sandhya in his garments, the Prajapatis in His genitals, theAsuras, including himself, in his lips, the sky in His navel, the seven oceansin his abdomen and the stars in His chest. Bali saw Dharma in His heart, Rita (cosmic order) and Satya (Truth) inHis breasts, the moon in His mind, the goddess Sri with a play-lotus in His chest and the Vedic mantras and all soundsin His neck. Bali saw Indra and theDevas in His arms, the quarters in His ears, the heaven in the crown of Hishead, the clouds in His hair, the air in His nose, the Sun in His eyes and thefire in His face. Bali saw the Vedas inthe speech of the Supreme Lord, the deity Varuna in His tongue, the Vediccommandments and prohibitions in His eyebrows, day and night in His eyelids,anger in His forehead and greed in His lower lip. Bali saw lust in His sense of touch, waterin His semen, Adharma in His back, Yajna in His strides, death in His shadow,Maya in His laughter and plants in His hair. Bali saw rivers in His blood vessels; rocks in His nails; Brahma in Hisintellect and the Devas and Rishis in His senses. Thus Bali witnessed in this Viswarupa (universal form),everything, moving and unmoving, in the universe, which made the Asurasdepressed. Along with that form of theLord were visible Sudarsana, the discus of irresistible might, the bow stringswith the twanging sound of a thunderclap, Panchajanya, the sea-born conch -whose blare was like the roll of thunder, the powerful mace Kowmodaki, thesword Viddhyadara, the ever-yielding quiver of arrows, and Sunanda and otherprincipal attendants, besides the guardian deities of the quarters waiting uponHim. There stood the Lord,shining in the radiance of hissparkling diadem, armlet and fish-marked ear-rings, as also of the Srivatsamark, Kaustubha jewel, superb girdle, yellow garment, and fragrant flowerwreath, ready to measure and take over the three worlds by his three steps. The Lord measured the whole of Bali's earthwith one step and He occupied the skies with His body and the quarters bystretching his arms. The heavenincluding Maharaloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka and Satyaloka was hardly sufficientfor His second step, leaving nothing else for His third stride. Brahma saw the lustreof the nails of the Lord,whose feet had touched the Satyaloka (Brahma's abode). He proceededto worship those feet of the Lord, accompanied by Rishis like Marichi,life-long Brahmacharins like Sanandana and Yogis and sages, who have burnt upthe blemish of Karma by the fire of wisdom gained by Yoga, by devotees, who, bythe comtemplation of the Lord's feet through Bhakti, have attained to Satyalokaand the presiding deities of the Vedas and Upavedas such as codes, facultieslike logic, the Puranas, Ithihasas and Samhitas. All worshipped the Lord. The water with which Brahma worshipped theLord's feet, sanctified as such, became Ganga for the benefit of the threeworlds. The Asuras werefurious and accused the Lord as an imposter, who misutilised Balis abandonmentof violence due to the ongoing sacrifice. They praised Bali asthe upholder of all virtues and took upon themselves to Vamana, but werestopped by the attendants of the Lord. Remembering the curse of Sukracharya and pitying the great slaughter ofhis followers, Mahabali asked them to stop fighting. Bali counseled hisfollowers, saying, O Viprachitte! O Raho! He Neme! Maymy word be listened to? Don't fight;depart; the present Time is not auspicious for us. The same Time, which was the cause of ourwellbeing and the adversity of the Devas, has now swapped roles. No effort can overcome Him, who determinesthe destinies of all beings according to their deserts. Army, competent counselors, intelligence,fortification, medicinal herbs and Mantras cannot change the course ofTime. The favorable Time, which helpedyou earlier to overwhelm the same followers of Sri Hari, is not auspicious forus now, so they have conquered us. Therefore,wait for the wheel of Time to turn in our favor. The Asura warriors retreated to Rasatala(Patala region). 376 GOD DEMANDS THE THIRDFEET OF EARTH Then on the day of squeezing 'Soma' juice in the sacrifice,Garuda gleaning the thoughts of the Lord, wound Bali with the celestial cordof Varuna, to the loud cries of 'Alas' from the skies, earth and thequarters. To Bali, who was deprived ofhis fortune and put in bondage, but in full possession of steadfastness and ofshining glory, the Lord said: O Asura! You have bestowed on me earth measured by my three paces. With two paces, I have measured the entirethree worlds. Cause the spot for thethird pace. The spectrum where theSun's rays spread, which the Moon and the stars illumine and the clouds showerrains, belongs to you. To your ownsight, by one pace, the earth has been measured; my body has encompassed thesky and quarters. By the second pace,the heaven has been measured. Withthese, your entire possession is exhausted. Thus, for you, who have swerved from yourword, hell is the due; and permitted by Sukracharya, you'd better enterit. For the retractor / deceiver, allhis hopes go in vain, heaven is far away and only downfall is at hand. Proud of your wealth, you have deceived meof what is promised. You live down thesin of falsehood by a stint in hell. -- 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/681878692.1163810.1633307406420%40mail.yahoo.com.
