DIVINE INFORMATION PART 112 377 SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part87 Posted by: "DILIPKUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Sat Mar 26, 2011 6:05 pm ((PDT))
377 BALI'S RESOLVE Observing silence fora moment and with all humility, Bali told the preceptor, 'Your exposition thatwhichever action does not adversely affect the prosperity, happiness, renownand livelihood, is the Dharma of a householder, is indeed the truth. Born inthe lineage of Prahlada, how can I, like a cheat, retract my word to aBrahmana, imbued by the attachment to wealth? There is no greater inequity (Adharma) than lying,as pronounced by mother earth, who has further added, 'Barring (excepting)a liar, I can bear all other things'. The dread of deceiving a Brahmana is morefrightening than that of hell, penury, ocean of sorrow, slipping from myposition and even of death. In this world, all the possessions that have theirsource or origin in wealth will abandon the owner at death. Then, why not giftit when alive? Of what good is a partial gift, if it would not satisfy therecipient? When Dadhiciand Sibi stuck to righteousness even at the cost of their lives, why then asecond thought in regard to earth and such alike?' 'O Preceptor! Theinexorable death has consumed the warriors who did not retreat in battle andthose who enjoyed this earth, but not the glory that they attained to in earth.It is easier to come across heroes who give up their lives in battle withoutretreating, but the sight of those, who confer gifts in earnestness when a fit/ appropriate personage offers himself, is rare indeed. For a person endowedwith righteous mind and filled with compassion, generally the penury arisingfrom fulfilling the wish of a suppliant is an embellishнment - auspiciousness. How much more gloriousand auspicious such a gift would be if bestowed on those learned in Brahmavidyas like you! The privation thus arising, would be auspicious, withoutdoubt. Thus, I shallfulfil this Brahmacharin's wish. If, as you infer, thisBrahmacharin is that Mahavishnu Himself, to whom you make sacrificial offeringsin Yagas and Yajnas, irrespective of whether benefactor or adversary, I shallconfer on him the earth he has sought of me. Even if he were to unethically tieme, who am innocent, him, the timid and therefore disguised as a Brahmana, Ishall not injure. This Worshipful Vishnu, if mindful of glory, will slay me inbattle and appropriate the earth. Else, he will be killed by me in battle? Seeing that Bali wasnot showing earnestness to his advice, not abiding by his commands andremaining wedded to truth, Sukracharya, large-hearted though he was, promptedby the indwelling God, cursed him, saying, 'You, who consider yourself very learned, but in factignorant, have disrespected me by discarding my injunction. You whohave transgressed my ordainment, shall soon slip from Rajyasri (rulership)?(This imprecation came in handy) Bali was unshaken / unswerving from Truth and afterworship, gave away the earth through libation of water. Vindhyavali, Bali's consort,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 the beneficiary,is unique and unsurpassed'. SriMadhBhagavatham.... part…88 Posted by:"DILIP KUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] prdili Date: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:43 am ((PDT)) 378 DIVINE FORM The diminutive form of Vamana expandedenormously, revealing within itself all that exists - the earth, sky,quarters, heaven, thee fourteen worlds, oceans, brute creations, men,celestials, Rishis and all. In thatradiant Viswarupa form of the Lord, Bali, along with the preceptors and membersof the sacrificial assembly, witnessed the universe which was formed of theMahabhutas, the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas), the Indriyas, the Chittaand the Jiva. Bali saw the Rasatala atthe feet of the Lord and the earth in the soles of the feet; the knees were themountains, while the thighs were the homes of the winds. Bali saw Sandhya in his garments, thePrajapatis in His genitals, the Asuras, including himself, in his lips, the skyin His navel, the seven oceans in his abdomen and the stars in His chest. Bali saw Dharma in His heart, Rita (cosmicorder) and Satya (Truth) in His breasts, the moon in His mind, the goddess Sriwith a play-lotus in Hischest and the Vedic mantras and all sounds in His neck. Bali saw Indra and the Devas in His arms,the quarters in His ears, the heaven in the crown of His head, the clouds inHis hair, the air in His nose, the Sun in His eyes and the fire in Hisface. Bali saw the Vedas in the speechof the Supreme Lord, the deity Varuna in His tongue, the Vedic commandments andprohibitions in His eyebrows, day and night in His eyelids, anger in Hisforehead and greed in His lower lip. Bali saw lust in His sense of touch, water in His semen, Adharma in Hisback, Yajna in His strides, death in His shadow, Maya in His laughter andplants in His hair. Bali saw rivers inHis blood vessels; rocks in His nails; Brahma in His intellect and the Devasand Rishis in His senses. Thus Bali witnessed in this Viswarupa (universal form),everything, moving and unmoving, in the universe, which madethe Asuras depressed. Along with thatform of the Lord were visible Sudarsana, the discus of irresistible might, thebow strings with the twanging sound of a thunderclap, Panchajanya, the sea-bornconch - whose blare was like the roll of thunder, the powerful mace Kowmodaki,the sword Viddhyadara, the ever-yielding quiver of arrows, and Sunanda andother principal attendants, besides the guardian deities of the quarterswaiting upon Him. There stood the Lord,shining in the radiance of his sparkling diadem, armlet and fish-markedear-rings, as also of the Srivatsa mark, Kaustubha jewel, superb girdle, yellowgarment, and fragrant flower wreath, ready to measure and take over the threeworlds by his three steps. The Lordmeasured the whole of Bali's earth with one step and He occupied the skies withHis body and the quarters by stretching his arms. The heaven includingMaharaloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka and Satyaloka was hardly sufficient for Hissecond 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 proceeded to worship those feet of theLord, accompanied by Rishis like Marichi, life-long Brahmacharins like Sanandanaand Yogis and sages, who have burnt up the blemish of Karma by the fire ofwisdom gained by Yoga, by devotees, who, by the comtemplation of the Lord'sfeet through Bhakti, have attained to Satyaloka and the presiding deities ofthe Vedas and Upavedas such as codes, faculties like logic, the Puranas,Ithihasas and Samhitas. All worshippedthe Lord. The water with which Brahmaworshipped the Lord's feet, sanctified as such, became Ganga for the benefit ofthe three worlds. The Asuras were furious and accused the Lord as animposter, who misutilised Balis abandonment ofviolence due to the ongoing sacrifice. They praised Bali as the upholder of all virtues and took uponthemselves to Vamana, but were stopped 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! May my word be listened to? Don't fight; depart; the present Time is notauspicious for us. The same Time, whichwas the cause of our wellbeing and the adversity of the Devas, has now swappedroles. No effort can overcome Him, whodetermines the destinies of all beings according to their deserts. Army,competent counselors, intelligence, fortification, medicinal herbs and Mantrascannot change the course of Time. Thefavorable Time, which helped you earlier to overwhelm the same followers of SriHari, is not auspicious for us now, so they have conquered us. Therefore, wait for the wheel of Time toturn in our favor. The Asura warriorsretreated to Rasatala (Patala region). 379 GOD DEMANDS THE THIRD FEET OF EARTH Then on the day ofsqueezing 'Soma' juice in the sacrifice, Garuda gleaning the thoughts of theLord, wound Bali with the celestial cord of Varuna, to the loud cries of'Alas' from the skies, earth and the quarters. To Bali, who was deprived of his fortune and put in bondage, but in fullpossession of steadfastness and of shining glory, the Lord said: O Asura! You have bestowed on me earth measured by mythree paces. With two paces, I havemeasured the entire three worlds. Causethe spot for the third pace. Thespectrum where the Sun's rays spread, which the Moon and the stars illumine andthe clouds shower rains, belongs to you. To your own sight, by one pace, the earth has been measured; my body hasencompassed the sky and quarters. Bythe second pace, the heaven has been measured. With these, 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/1023512406.1816775.1633482290284%40mail.yahoo.com.
