Book V. Chapter Xxxiv
*
"The Vishnu Purana", translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840],
p. 597
Chap. Xxxiv.
Paundraka, a Vsudeva, assumes the insignia and style of Krishna, supported by the king of K. Krishna marches against, and destroys them. The son of the king sends a magical being against Krishna: destroyed by his discus, which also sets Benares on fire, and consumes it and its inhabitants.
Maitreya.--Of a truth the divine auri, having assumed a mortal body, performed great achievements in his easy victories over akra and iva, and all their attendant divinities. I am now desirous to hear from you, illustrious sage, what other mighty exploit the humiliator of the prowess of the celestials performed.
Parara.--Hear, excellent Brahman, with reverent attention, an account of the burning of Varnas by Krishna, in the course of his relieving the burdens of the earth.
There was a Vsudeva who was called Paundraka 1, and who, though not "the" Vsudeva, was flattered by ignorant people as the descended deity, until he fancied himself to be the Vsudeva 2 who had come down upon earth. Losing all recollection of his real character, he assumed the emblems of Vishnu, and sent an ambassador to the magnanimous Krishna with this message; "Relinquish, thou foolish fellow, the discus; lay aside all my insignia, my name, and the character of Vsudeva; and come and do me homage; and I will vouchsafe thee means of subsistence." At which Janrddana laughed, and replied, "Go, messenger, back to Paundraka, and say to him from me, 'I will dispatch to thee my emblem the discus without fail. Thou wilt rightly apprehend my meaning, and consider what is to be done; for I shall come to thy city, bringing the discus with me, and shall undoubtedly consign it to thee. If thou wilt command me to come, I will immediately obey, and be with
p. 598
thee to-morrow; there shall be no delay: and, having sought thy asylum, I will so provide, O king, that I shall never more have any thing to dread from thee.'" So saying, he dismissed the, ambassador to report these words to his sovereign; and summoning Garuda, mounted him, and set off for the city of Paundraka 3.
When the king of K heard of the preparations of Keava, he sent his army (to the aid of Paundraka), himself bringing up the rear; and with the force of the king of K, and his own troops, Paundraka, the false Vsudeva, marched to meet Krishna. Hari beheld him afar off, standing in his car, holding a discus, a club, a mace, a scimitar, and a lotus, in his hands; ornamented with a garland of flowers; bearing a bow; and having his standard made of gold: he had also the Srivatsa mark delineated on his breast; he was dressed in yellow garments, and decorated with earrings and a tiara. When the god whose standard is Garuda beheld him, he laughed with a deep laugh, and engaged in conflict with the hostile host of cavalry and elephants, fighting with swords, scimitars, maces, tridents, spears, and bows. Showering upon the enemy the shafts from his ranga bow, and hurling at them his mace and discus, he quickly destroyed both the army of Paundraka and that of the king of K. He then said to the former, who was foolishly wearing his emblems, "Paundraka, you desired me by your envoy to resign to you all my insignia. I now deliver them to you. Here is
p. 599
my discus; here I give up my mace; and here is Garuda, let him mount upon thy standard." Thus speaking, he let fly the discus and the mace, by which Paundraka was cut to pieces, and cast on the ground; whilst the Garuda on his banner was demolished by the Garuda of Vishnu. The people, beholding this sight, exclaimed, "Alas! alas!" but the valiant king of K, adhering to the imposture of his friend, continued the conflict, till auri decapitated him with his arrows, shooting his head into the city of K, to the marvel of all the inhabitants. Having thus slain Paundraka and the king of K, with all their followers, auri returned to Dwrak, where he lived in the enjoyment of heavenly delights.
When the inhabitants of K saw the head of their king shot into their city, they were much astonished, and wondered how it could have happened, and by whom the deed could have been done. Having ascertained that the king had been killed by Krishna, the son of the monarch of K 4, together with the priest of the family, propitiated ankara; and that deity, well pleased to be adored in the sacred place Avimukta, desired the prince to demand a boon: on which he prayed, and said, "O lord, mighty god, through thy favour let thy mystic spirit arise to destroy Krishna, the murderer of my father. It shall be so," answered ankara: and from out of the southern fire upsprang a vast and formidable female 5, like flame out of fire, blazing with ruddy light, and with fiery radiance streaming amidst her hair. Angrily she called upon Krishna, and departed to Dwrak; where the people, beholding her, were struck with dismay, and fled for protection to Madhusdana, the refuge of all worlds. The wielder of the discus knowing that the fiend had been produced by the son of the king of K, through his adoration of the deity whose emblem is a bull, and being engaged in sportive amusements, and playing at dice, said to the discus, "Kill this fierce creature, whose tresses are of plaited flame." Accordingly Sudarana, the discus
p. 600
of Vishnu, immediately attacked the fiend, fearfully enwreathed with fire, and wearing tresses of plaited flame. Terrified at the might of Sudarana, the creation of Mahewara awaited not his attack, but fled with speed, pursued by him with equal velocity, until she reached Varn, repelled by the superior might of the discus of Vishnu.
The army of K, and the host of the demigods attendant upon iva, armed with all kinds of weapons, then sallied out to oppose the discus; but, skilled in the use of arms, he consumed the whole of the forces by his radiance, and then set fire to the city, in which the magic power of iva had concealed herself 6. Thus was Varn burnt, with all its princes and their followers, its inhabitants, elephants, horses, and men, treasures and granaries, houses, palaces, and markets. The whole of a city, that was inaccessible to the gods, was thus wrapped in flames by the discus of Hari, and was totally destroyed. The discus then, with unmitigated wrath, and blazing fiercely, and far from satisfied with the accomplishment of so easy a task, returned to the hand of Vishnu 7.
Footnotes
597:1 From being, the commentator says, king of Pundra. The Bhgavata calls him chief of the Krshas; the Padma, king of K; but the Bhgavata, as well as our text, makes the king of K his friend and ally.
597:2 According to the Padma P., he propitiates iva, and obtains from him the insignia which constitute a Vsudeva. The different authorities for this legend all use the term Vsudeva in the sense of a title.
598:3 The Hari V. and Padma P. send Paundraka to Dwrak. According to the latter, Nrada incites Paundraka to the aggression, telling him he cannot be a Vsudeva till he has overcome Krishna: he goes, and is killed. The former work, as usual, enters into particulars of its own invention. Krishna is absent on a visit to iva at Kailsa, and during his absence Paundraka, assisted by Ekalavya, king of the Nishdas, makes a night attack upon Dwrak. They are resisted by the Ydavas under Styaki and Balarma; by the former of whom Paundraka is repeatedly overthrown, and all but slain: he requires so much killing, however, that he is likely to obtain the victory, when Krishna conies to the aid of his kinsmen, and after a protracted encounter, described in language employed a hundred times before, kills his competitor. The whole of the sections called the Kailsa Ytr, or Krishna's journey to Kailsa, must have been wanting in the copy used by M. Langlois, as they are not included in his translation. The chapters of the Hari V. according to his enumeration of them are 261: my copy has 316.
599:4 The Bhgavata names him Sudakshina; the Padma, Dandapni.
599:5 A personified Krity, a magical creation. The Padma has the same. The Bhgavata makes the product of the sacrificial fire a male, and sends him to Dwrak, accompanied by a host of Bhtas, Suva's attendant goblins.
600:6 According to the Bhgavata, the magical being himself destroys Sudakshina and his priest; but Sudarana consumes the people and the city. The Padma ascribes the destruction of the king and all his city to the discus. The Hari V. closes its narrative with the death of Paundraka, and makes no mention of the destruction of Benares. The circumstance is alluded to in a preceding section (s. 159) by Nrada, when detailing the exploits of Krishna.
600:7 In this legend, again, we have a contest between the followers of Vishnu and iva intimated, as, besides the assistance given by the latter to Paundraka, Benares--Varn or Atimukta--has been from all time, as it is at present, the high place of the aiva worship. There is also an indication of a Vaishnava schism, in the competition between Paundra and Krishna for the title of Vsudeva, and the insignia of his divinity.
"The Vishnu Purana", translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840],
p. 597
Chap. Xxxiv.
Paundraka, a Vsudeva, assumes the insignia and style of Krishna, supported by the king of K. Krishna marches against, and destroys them. The son of the king sends a magical being against Krishna: destroyed by his discus, which also sets Benares on fire, and consumes it and its inhabitants.
Maitreya.--Of a truth the divine auri, having assumed a mortal body, performed great achievements in his easy victories over akra and iva, and all their attendant divinities. I am now desirous to hear from you, illustrious sage, what other mighty exploit the humiliator of the prowess of the celestials performed.
Parara.--Hear, excellent Brahman, with reverent attention, an account of the burning of Varnas by Krishna, in the course of his relieving the burdens of the earth.
There was a Vsudeva who was called Paundraka 1, and who, though not "the" Vsudeva, was flattered by ignorant people as the descended deity, until he fancied himself to be the Vsudeva 2 who had come down upon earth. Losing all recollection of his real character, he assumed the emblems of Vishnu, and sent an ambassador to the magnanimous Krishna with this message; "Relinquish, thou foolish fellow, the discus; lay aside all my insignia, my name, and the character of Vsudeva; and come and do me homage; and I will vouchsafe thee means of subsistence." At which Janrddana laughed, and replied, "Go, messenger, back to Paundraka, and say to him from me, 'I will dispatch to thee my emblem the discus without fail. Thou wilt rightly apprehend my meaning, and consider what is to be done; for I shall come to thy city, bringing the discus with me, and shall undoubtedly consign it to thee. If thou wilt command me to come, I will immediately obey, and be with
p. 598
thee to-morrow; there shall be no delay: and, having sought thy asylum, I will so provide, O king, that I shall never more have any thing to dread from thee.'" So saying, he dismissed the, ambassador to report these words to his sovereign; and summoning Garuda, mounted him, and set off for the city of Paundraka 3.
When the king of K heard of the preparations of Keava, he sent his army (to the aid of Paundraka), himself bringing up the rear; and with the force of the king of K, and his own troops, Paundraka, the false Vsudeva, marched to meet Krishna. Hari beheld him afar off, standing in his car, holding a discus, a club, a mace, a scimitar, and a lotus, in his hands; ornamented with a garland of flowers; bearing a bow; and having his standard made of gold: he had also the Srivatsa mark delineated on his breast; he was dressed in yellow garments, and decorated with earrings and a tiara. When the god whose standard is Garuda beheld him, he laughed with a deep laugh, and engaged in conflict with the hostile host of cavalry and elephants, fighting with swords, scimitars, maces, tridents, spears, and bows. Showering upon the enemy the shafts from his ranga bow, and hurling at them his mace and discus, he quickly destroyed both the army of Paundraka and that of the king of K. He then said to the former, who was foolishly wearing his emblems, "Paundraka, you desired me by your envoy to resign to you all my insignia. I now deliver them to you. Here is
p. 599
my discus; here I give up my mace; and here is Garuda, let him mount upon thy standard." Thus speaking, he let fly the discus and the mace, by which Paundraka was cut to pieces, and cast on the ground; whilst the Garuda on his banner was demolished by the Garuda of Vishnu. The people, beholding this sight, exclaimed, "Alas! alas!" but the valiant king of K, adhering to the imposture of his friend, continued the conflict, till auri decapitated him with his arrows, shooting his head into the city of K, to the marvel of all the inhabitants. Having thus slain Paundraka and the king of K, with all their followers, auri returned to Dwrak, where he lived in the enjoyment of heavenly delights.
When the inhabitants of K saw the head of their king shot into their city, they were much astonished, and wondered how it could have happened, and by whom the deed could have been done. Having ascertained that the king had been killed by Krishna, the son of the monarch of K 4, together with the priest of the family, propitiated ankara; and that deity, well pleased to be adored in the sacred place Avimukta, desired the prince to demand a boon: on which he prayed, and said, "O lord, mighty god, through thy favour let thy mystic spirit arise to destroy Krishna, the murderer of my father. It shall be so," answered ankara: and from out of the southern fire upsprang a vast and formidable female 5, like flame out of fire, blazing with ruddy light, and with fiery radiance streaming amidst her hair. Angrily she called upon Krishna, and departed to Dwrak; where the people, beholding her, were struck with dismay, and fled for protection to Madhusdana, the refuge of all worlds. The wielder of the discus knowing that the fiend had been produced by the son of the king of K, through his adoration of the deity whose emblem is a bull, and being engaged in sportive amusements, and playing at dice, said to the discus, "Kill this fierce creature, whose tresses are of plaited flame." Accordingly Sudarana, the discus
p. 600
of Vishnu, immediately attacked the fiend, fearfully enwreathed with fire, and wearing tresses of plaited flame. Terrified at the might of Sudarana, the creation of Mahewara awaited not his attack, but fled with speed, pursued by him with equal velocity, until she reached Varn, repelled by the superior might of the discus of Vishnu.
The army of K, and the host of the demigods attendant upon iva, armed with all kinds of weapons, then sallied out to oppose the discus; but, skilled in the use of arms, he consumed the whole of the forces by his radiance, and then set fire to the city, in which the magic power of iva had concealed herself 6. Thus was Varn burnt, with all its princes and their followers, its inhabitants, elephants, horses, and men, treasures and granaries, houses, palaces, and markets. The whole of a city, that was inaccessible to the gods, was thus wrapped in flames by the discus of Hari, and was totally destroyed. The discus then, with unmitigated wrath, and blazing fiercely, and far from satisfied with the accomplishment of so easy a task, returned to the hand of Vishnu 7.
Footnotes
597:1 From being, the commentator says, king of Pundra. The Bhgavata calls him chief of the Krshas; the Padma, king of K; but the Bhgavata, as well as our text, makes the king of K his friend and ally.
597:2 According to the Padma P., he propitiates iva, and obtains from him the insignia which constitute a Vsudeva. The different authorities for this legend all use the term Vsudeva in the sense of a title.
598:3 The Hari V. and Padma P. send Paundraka to Dwrak. According to the latter, Nrada incites Paundraka to the aggression, telling him he cannot be a Vsudeva till he has overcome Krishna: he goes, and is killed. The former work, as usual, enters into particulars of its own invention. Krishna is absent on a visit to iva at Kailsa, and during his absence Paundraka, assisted by Ekalavya, king of the Nishdas, makes a night attack upon Dwrak. They are resisted by the Ydavas under Styaki and Balarma; by the former of whom Paundraka is repeatedly overthrown, and all but slain: he requires so much killing, however, that he is likely to obtain the victory, when Krishna conies to the aid of his kinsmen, and after a protracted encounter, described in language employed a hundred times before, kills his competitor. The whole of the sections called the Kailsa Ytr, or Krishna's journey to Kailsa, must have been wanting in the copy used by M. Langlois, as they are not included in his translation. The chapters of the Hari V. according to his enumeration of them are 261: my copy has 316.
599:4 The Bhgavata names him Sudakshina; the Padma, Dandapni.
599:5 A personified Krity, a magical creation. The Padma has the same. The Bhgavata makes the product of the sacrificial fire a male, and sends him to Dwrak, accompanied by a host of Bhtas, Suva's attendant goblins.
600:6 According to the Bhgavata, the magical being himself destroys Sudakshina and his priest; but Sudarana consumes the people and the city. The Padma ascribes the destruction of the king and all his city to the discus. The Hari V. closes its narrative with the death of Paundraka, and makes no mention of the destruction of Benares. The circumstance is alluded to in a preceding section (s. 159) by Nrada, when detailing the exploits of Krishna.
600:7 In this legend, again, we have a contest between the followers of Vishnu and iva intimated, as, besides the assistance given by the latter to Paundraka, Benares--Varn or Atimukta--has been from all time, as it is at present, the high place of the aiva worship. There is also an indication of a Vaishnava schism, in the competition between Paundra and Krishna for the title of Vsudeva, and the insignia of his divinity.
