The Puranas -20

1.1.1   Sri Rama’s Teachings

Rama had once taught Lakshmana about the duties of a king. The Agni Purana now relates these precepts of Rama’s.

The duties of king are fourfold. Firstly, he has to earn wealth. Secondly, he has to increase it. Thirdly, he has to protect it. And fourthly and finally, he has to donate it. The king must also be polite and politeness comes through the conquering of the senses. The king must be humble. The senses are like mad elephants. If the senses are pampered, like mad elephants, they trample politeness and humility underfoot.

The king must also be non-violent, truthful, clean and forgiving. He should take care to observe all the rituals. He should give food to those who are poor, he should protect those who seek royal protection. He should always use words that are pleasant to hear. The body is here today and gone tomorrow. Stupid is the king who deviates form the path of righteousness to give pleasure to a body that is transient. The curses of unhappy people are enough to bring down a king.

There is only one difference between gods and animals. Gods use pleasant word, while animals use rough words. The king must use pleasant words like a god. And he must use pleasant words not only for those who are his friends or are good, but also for those who are his enemies or are evil. With obeisance the king pleases his guru, with good behaviour the righteous, with duties the gods, with live the servants and with alms those who are inferior.

The kingdom has seven components. These are the king, the ministers, the friends, the treasury, the army, the forts and the state itself. Of these, the most important is the state and it has to be preserved at all costs. The king must be extremely careful in the choice of the ministers and the royal priest. The king must not choose or consult ministers who are stupid.

The king’s signs are his golden rod or sceptre and an umbrella that is held over his head. The umbrella should be made of the feathers of swans, peacocks or cranes, but the feathers of different types of birds should not be mixed in the same umbrella. The throne should be made of wood and should be embellished with gold. A bow can be made of iron, horn or wood. The best bow is one that extends over four armlengths. The king can spend upto one year’s tax revenue on armaments and flags.

1.2     Dhanurveda, Dynasties and Literature

This Chapter contains 6 Sections.

1.2.1   Dhanurveda

The section on Dhanurveda is on arms and weapons.

There are five types of weapons that are used in war. The first category is that of yantramukta weapons, released from a machine (yantra). This machine may be a launcher or even a bow. The second category is that of panimukta weapons, weapons that are flung by the hand (pani). Examples are spears and stones. The third category is known as muktasandharita. These are weapons that can be flung and also withdrawn. The fourth category consists of weapons like swords that are never released from the hand during battle.

These are known as amukta weapons. And the last category of weapons consists of brute force and strength. This is of use in bouts of wrestling.

The best form of fighting is that with bows and arrows. Next comes fighting with spears, followed by fighting with swords. Wrestling is the worst form of fighting.

Before aiming, the bow (dhanusha) should be held with the arch pointing down towards the earth. The arrow (vana) should be placed against the bow with the head pointing down. The bow should now be raised and the lower end of the bow should be in line with the archer’s navel. The quiver should be at the back. Before releasing the arrow, the bow should be held firm with the left hand and the arrow with the fingers of the right hand. The string of the bow should be pulled back such that the tassel of the arrow is between the archer’s ear and right eye. The body should not be bent when one is releasing an arrow. Nor should on get excited. The archer has to be still as a pillar. The target has to be in line with the left fist and the archer’s posture has to be like that of a triangle. It is best to pull back the string of the bow upto the right ear.

A noose (pasha) is ten arms in length, with both ends of the weapon being circular. The main body of the weapon is made of rope. There are eleven different ways in which a noose may be held. A noose must always be flung with the right hand.

A sword (asi) must hang to the left of the waist. When a sword is to be taken out, the scabbard should be grasped in the left hand and the sword should be taken out with the right hand. There are thirty-two different way in which a sword and a shield may be held.

1.2.2   Property

What happens to a person’s debts when he dies? If he does not have any sons, the person who inherits the property also inherits the debts and had to pay them off. If there is a son, the son pays the debts off. But a woman is not to be held responsible for debts contracted by her husband or her son. Nor is a man responsible for debts contracted by his wife or son. Exceptions are instances where a husband and a wife contract a debt jointly.

If there are no witnesses to a contracted debt but the king feels that the debt was indeed contracted, the king must arrange for the debt to be repaid within a period of sixty-four days. In cases of a dispute, the person who brings a false suit will be punished by the king. And a false witness will be given twice the punishment that is meted out to the one who brings a false suit. A brahmana who bears false witness will be banished from the kingdom. A person who agrees to be a witness, but later withdraws, will be punished eight times as much as the bringer of the false suit. A brahmana who does this will be banished from the kingdom.

It is better that the details of a debt contracted be written down, with the names of the two parties and the witnesses clearly indicated. If the debtor pays in instalments, the details of all such payments must be recorded on the written document. Debts made in the presence of witnesses should also be repaid in the presence of witnesses. If a witness has to take an oath, the oath should be administered after cotton, fire, water or poison has been placed on the head of the witness.

Fire or water can be used to find out if a person is lying or not. If fire is used, seven banyan leaves are placed on the accused’s hand. A red hop lump of iron is then placed on the hand and the accused had to go around a fire seven times. If it is found that the hand has not been burnt, the person has been telling the truth. And if the hand has been burnt, he had been lying. Similarly, an accused person can be immersed in the water and if he does not drown, he has been telling the truth. Alternatively, the accused can be made to drink poison. If the poison does him no harm, he is truthful.

If the father makes a will, the property will be divided amongst the sons in accordance with the provisions of the will. But if all the sons get an equal share of the property, the wife should also be given an equal share, otherwise, the father can leave all his property to the eldest son. The sons and the father obtain equal shares to any property or debt that has been left by the grandfather. But the sons are not necessarily entitled to any property that has not been left by the grandfather, but been earned by father. If a son is born after the property has been divided, he too will be entitled to an equal share of any property left by the grandfather. Daughters are not entitled to property. But sons who have go married will use one-fourth of their inherited property to get their sisters married.

1.2.3   Donating the Puranas

The Agni Purana now describes the benefits of giving alms along with the purans. The puranas are to be donated together with cows. And in talking of the mahapuranas, the Agni Purana also mentions most of their length, in terms of the number of shlokas (couplets) that each has. This is worth stating.

The Brahma Purana - twenty-five thousand

The Padma Purana - twelve thousand

The Vishnu Purana - thirteen thousand

The Vayu Purana - fourteen thousand

The Bhagavata Purana - eighteen thousand

The Narada Purana - twenty-five thousand

The Markandeya Purana - nine thousand

The Agni Purana - twelve thousand

The Brahmavaivarta Purana - eighteen thousand

The Linga Purana - eleven thousand

The Varaha Purana - fourteen thousand

The Skanda Purana - eighty-four thousand

The Vamana Purana - ten thousand

The Kurma purana - eight thousand

The Matsya Purana - thirteen thousand

The Garuda Purana - eight thousand

The Brahmanda Purana - twelve thousand

The only mahapurana which is missing from the above list is the Bhavishya Purana. You now have a pretty good idea of how long the Puranas are. The Skaknda Purana is the longest and the Kurma and Garuda Puranas the shortest. But unfortunately, the numbers in the Agni Purana are not terribly accurate. The Padma Purana has fifty-five thousand couplets and not twelve as stated. The Varaha Purana has twenty-four thousands couplets and not fourteen thousand. The Agni Purana itself has slightly over fifteen thousand couplets land not twelve thousand. But at least you have some approximate idea about the lengths of the various Puranas.

The Brahama Purana is to be given in the month of Vaishakha. The Padma Purana is to be donated in the month of Jyaishtha. The Vishnu Purana is to be donated in the month of Ashada and the Vayu Purana in the month of Shravana. The Bhagavata Purana is to be given in the month of Bhadra, the Narada Purana in the month of Ashvina, the Markandeya Purana in the month of Kartika, the Agni Purana in the month of Margashirsha and the Bhavishya Purana in the month of Pousha. The Brahmavaivarta Purana in the month of Pousha. The Brahmavaivarta Purana is for the month of Magha, the Linga Purana for the month of Falguna and the Varaha Purana for the month of Chaitra.

The Skanda Purana is to be given to brahmanas. The Vamana Purana is to be given in the autumn. The Kurma Purana is to be given together with a golden urn. The Matsya Purana is to be donated together with a golden swan. The Brahmanda Purana is to be given to brahmanas.

Great benefits are also to be derived from hearing the Puranas recited. The reciter has to be given alms and the brahmanas must be given cows, rice and land at the time of the recitation. If one arranges for a recitation of the Puranas, one lives long, stays healthy and attains heaven.

1.2.4   Vamsha (Dynasties)

Brahma was born from Vishnu’s navel. Brahma’s son was Marichi, Marichi’s son Kashyapa and Kakshyapa’s son Vivasvana. From this line was descended Pururava and Pururava’s descendants were the kings of the surya (solar) dynasty.

Brahma also had a son named Atri and Atri had a son named Soma. Soma performed a rajasuya yajna (royal sacrifice). Having performed the sacrifice, Soma became the ruler of all the worlds. This made him very arrogant and he abducted the sage Brihaspati’s wife Tara. This led to a terrible war between the devas and the asuras. Tara was eventually restored to Brihaspati, but Soma and Tara had a son named Budha. From Budha were descended the kings of the chandra (lunar) dynasty.

There were twelve major wars between the devas and the asuras. The first of these was known as the Narasimha War. This took place when Hiranyakashipu was the king of the asuras. Vishnu adopted the form of Narsismha and killed Hiranyakashipu. He then made Prahlada the king of the demons. The second war was the Vamana war and it took place when Vali was the king of the demons. Vishnu adopted the form of a dwarf (vamana) to subjugate the demons. The third war was the Varaha war and this took place when Hiranyaksha was the king of the demons. Vishnu adopted the form of a wild boar (varaha) and killed Hiranyaksha. The fourth war was the Amritamanthana war and this took place over the manthana (churning) of the ocean for amrita (nectar).

The fifth war between the devas and the asuras took place over the abduction of Tara and this came to be known as the Tarakamaya war. The sixth war was known as the Ajivaka War. The seventh war took place when Tripura led the asuras and this was known as the Tripuraghatana war. It was Shiva who killed the demon Tripura in this war. The eighth war, the Andhaka war, took place when Andhaka led the asuras. It was Vishnu who engineered that Andhaka be killed when Andhaka expressed a desire to abduct Shiva’s wife.

The ninth war was known as Vritrasamhara and took place when Vritra led the demons. The tenth war was simply known as Jita. In this war, Vishnu killed Shalva and the other demons, and Parashurama killed the evil kshatriyas. The eleventh war was known as Halahala. An asura named Halahala (poison) had invaded Shiva’s body and flooded it with poison. But Vishnu managed to destroy the demon. In the twelfth war, known as Kolahala, Vishnu destroyed an asura named Kolahala (tumult).

1.2.5   Medicine

Dhanvantari was the physician of the gods and he taught Sushruta the art of ayurveda (medicine). The Agni Purana now describes what the sage Ssushruta had learnt, that is, the treatment for various diseases. This does not simply mean the treatment of human illnesses. There is a section known as vriksha ayurveda, which describes what trees are to be planted where. It describes how a garden is to be constructed and maintained.

The chapters on medicine also describe the treatment of elephants, horses and cattle. The mantras (incantations) which are the remedy for snake poison are also related.

1.2.6   Literature and Grammar

Thereafter, the Agni Purana has many chapters on literature and grammar.

It describes the different types of chhanda (metres) that are used in poetry.

Next it discusses the alphabet. There are sixty-four letters (varna) in the alphabet, of which twenty-one are vowels (svara varna). There are three tones (svara) in which the letters of the alphabet may be uttered. Their names are udatta, anudatta and svarita. There are eight places from which the letters may be pronounced. These are the chest, the throat, the head, the back of the tongue, the teeth, the nose, the lips and the palate. Pronunciations should be clear and audible. They should not be nasal and mumbled.

The Agni Purana then discusses the alamkaras (rhetoric) that are used in poetry and plays. Poetry is entirely different from the shastras (sacred texts) and itihasa (history). The sacred texts are full of words and historical texts are full of narrations of incidents that took place. But that does not constitute poetry. Real men are difficult to find on this earth. Amongst these real men, it is difficult to find men who are learned. Amongst the learned men, it is not easy to find some who have a poetic sense. And amongst those who have poetic sense, it is difficult to find a few who can compose poetry. Poetry is impossible without a knowledge of the rules of poetry and even more important, without a sense of feeling.

Sanskrit is the language of the gods. The language of humans is Prakrita. Poetry can be either in Sanskrit or in Prakrita. There are three types of poetry. These are gadya (prose), padya (poetry) or mishra (a mixture of the two). Genuine poetry is, however, only padya

Gadya can be of three types-churnaka, utkalika and vrittagandhi. Churnaka prose is easy on the ears, it has very few compouond words. Utkalika prose is hard on the ears, it is full of compound words. Vrittagandhi prose is some where between churnaka and utkalika.

An epic must always be split up into sections (sarga). It has to be written in Sanskrit, although some mixture of Sanskrit words with Prakrita ones is permissible. The theme of an epic must always be good and historical elements may be introduced if the author so desires.

Literature is useless without the flavour of sentiments (rasa). There are nine sentiments that are used. The first is hasya (humour). The second is karuna rasa (pathos). The third is roudra rasa (that which is wrathful and awe-inspiring). The fourth is vira rasa (heroic themes). The fifth is bhayanaka rasa (horror). The sixth is bibhatsa rasa (vulgar and obscene themes). The seventh is adbhuta rasa (that which is strange). The eighth is shanta rasa (placidity). And the ninth is shringara rasa (amorous themes).

But the sentiments must be used with feeling. Without feeling, all literature becomes mediocre. Particularly in a play, sentiments can be supplemented with skills (kalal). These skills are normally associated with women and there are sixty-four of them. The more important ones are singing, playing musical instruments, dancing, acting, drawing, making garlands, sewing, hairdressing and using magic.

Grammatical rules of sandhi and samasa (rules for forming compound words) are next described. The difference between the two is that in sandhi, the two words that are being joined retain their original senses in the compound word. The case of samasa is different. Sandhi occurs when two varnas (letters) met. Samasa is a condensation or conversion of two or more words into one. Sandhi does not create any new word. Samasa leads to the formation of a third word which refers to something related to but distinct from either or any of the words combined. Pita (yellow) and ambara (cloth) combined by way of sandhi are pronounced pitambara and mean cloth that is yellow. The same two words combined by way of samasa result in the third word pitambara which means “the one dressed in yellow”, that is, Krishna.

There are several possible declensions of words, depending on the vachana and the vibhakti. The vachana refers to the number. Eka-vachana is when there is only one (phalam, a fruit) dvi-vachana when there are two (phale, two fruits) and vahu-vachana when there are more than two (phalani, more than two fruits). There are three genders, pumlinga (masculine), strilinga (feminine) and klivalinga (neuter). Deva, asura, Vishnu are, for example, masculine in gender. Devi, Kalika or maya are feminine. Pushpa (flower) or phala (fruit) are neuter.

There are six karakas (cases) and seven vibhaktis (case-endings). The agent who performs the action indicated by the kriya (verb), is the kartri or doer. To the kartri karaka or Nominative Case, the prathama vibhakti or first case-ending is attached. The object of the action is karma and to the karma karaka or objective Case, the second (dvitiya) case-ending is attached. The means or instruments by which the action is performed takes on the karana karaka or Instrumental Cases and the third (tritiya) case-ending. When a gift is given irrevocably, the recipient takes on the sampradana karaka or Dative Case and the case-ending in question is the fourth (chaturthi). That which is the source of something takes on the apadana karaka or Ablative Case and the fifth (panchami) case-ending. When there is a relation of possessions, the possessor takes on the shashthi vibhakti (sixth case-ending). There is no counterpart of the possessive Case of English grammar because the relation of possession is not directly related to the verb (kriya) and therefore to the doer (karaka). In case of the location in which the action takes place, the karaka is adhikarana (Locative Case) and the case-ending the seventh (saptami).

1.3     Destruction, Pralaya and Yama

This Chapter contains 5 Sections.

1.3.1   Pralaya (Destruction)

Periodically pralayas (destructions) take place. A destruction comes at the end of four thousand yugas on earth. For a hundred years there are no rains and there is widespread drought. Thereafter, Vishnu uses the rays of the sun to drink and dry up all the waters that there are on earth. Seven different suns appear in the sky and they burn up the three worlds of heaven, the earth and the underworld. The earth becomes as flat as the back of a turtle. The breath of the great snake (Shesha) also serves to burn up the three worlds.

After the three worlds have been burnt up, dark clouds full of thunder and lightning appear in the sky. For a hundred years it continue to rain. The rain puts out the fires that have been raging. From Vishnu’s breath are created tremendous winds and these drive away the clouds. But there is water everywhere. And Vishnu sleeps on these waters. For an entire kalpa he sleeps. The sages then pray to Vishnu for the three worlds to be created yet again.

1.3.2   Yama and Hell

When human beings die, their physical bodies are given up. But they acquire new bodies that are known as ativahika bodies. In these bodies, they are brought to Yama’s abode by Yama’s servants. Living beings other than human are not brought to Yama. Yama then decides whether the dead person should go to heaven or to hell. After he has served his time in heaven or in hell, he is born again. Yama further decides what living being the person should be born as, depending on the actions in his past life. And so the cycle of birth death and rebirth goes on and on.

Since he keeps tally of all good deeds and all sins, Yama is also known as the god Dharma. Those who have done good deeds are rewaraded by Yama and those who have committed sins are punished. Chitragupta is Yama’s accountant, he keeps the account of all punya and papa.

There are twenty-eight circles of hells with many hells located in each circle. A sinner may have to go to more than one hell depending on the sins that he has committed. Some sinners are boiled in oil, others are pierced with spears and still others are whipped. Some sinners are fed heated iron balls, others are fed blood and rubbish. There are also machines for torturing sinners. Terrible birds eat up some sinners. Other sinners have their heads cut off.

When it is time to be reborn, the killer of a brahamana is born as a deer, dog, pig or camel. A drunkard is born as a donkey. A stealer of gold is born as a worm or an insect. A killer of a brahmana may also suffer from tuberculosis. a drunkard will have teeth like a dog and a stealer of gold will malformed nails. A stealer of food is born dumb. A person who has stolen the property of brahmanas is born as a rakshasa and lives alone in the forest. A stealer of fragrant scents is born as a mole. One who steals foodgrains is born as a rat. One who steals animals is born as a goat, one who steals milk as cow, one who steals fruit as monkey and one who steals meat as a vulture. A stealer of clothes is born as a crane and a stealer of salt as a cricket.

1.3.3   Yoga

Yoga is the way to circumvent the miseries of life. True knowledge is that which informs one about the true nature of brahman or paramatman. The atman or jivatman is that which characterises an individual. Yoga means union, it is the union of the jivatman with the paramatman. Yoga concentrates one’s mind on the paramatman.

The first prerequisites of yoga is non-violence. A non-violent person is always righteous. The second requirement of yoga is truthfulness. The third prerequisite is celibacy. The fourth is controlling one’s senses and the last is the worship of god. One who practices yoga should not go around collecting material possessions. A piece of cloth, a covering against the cold, and a pair of sandals are possessions enough for him.

Before meditating on the true nature of the paramatman, one has to seat oneself in a proper asana (posture). The piece of cloth on which one is to sit should be placed in a clean place. One sits on such a seat and tries to purify one’s atman by controlling one’s mind and senses through yoga. The head and the neck should be held straight up, motionless. The point of vision should be directed towards the tip of one’s nose. One should not look in any direction. The arms should lightly rest on the folded thighs and the right hand should be placed, palm upwards, on the left palm. Padmasana (lotus position) is one such recommended posture.

The breath of life (prana vayu) has to be controlled. This process of control is known as pranayama. A finger is placed on the nose when the breath is being exhaled. The entire breath should be exhaled from the body. Since rechana means exhalation, this process of control is known as rechaka. When the breath is inhaled, the inhalation should be such that it fills the entire body. Since puraka literally means ‘that which fills’, this process of control is known as puraka. When the breath is neither being exhaled nor inhaled, one sits completely still like a kumbha (pot) and this is known as kumbhaka. Pranayama makes one healthy, swift, enthusiastic, strong and collected. Since the senses are controlled, one goes to heaven and avoids going to hell. Material pursuits are like the strong current of a river. The atman drowns in it.

Pranayama alone is not enough. It has to be supplemented with dhyana of japa (meditation and contemplation). One contemplates the true nature of the paramatman. The body is like a chariot. The senses are its horses, the mind is the charioteer and pranayama is the bridle. An individual who dies while performing dhyana is immediately assimilated with Vishnu.

Dhyana involve four different things, all of which must be in complete harmony. The first is the meditator, the second is the act of meditating, the third is the object that one is meditating upon and the fourth is the reason why one is performing the mediation. One does not have to; sit in a rigid posture for dhyana to be possible. It can be done while one is walking, sitting or even sleeping. The important aspect is to establish the object of one’s meditation in one’s heart.

There are different ways of establishing one’s concentration. As an object of meditation, one can meditate on three concentric circles which are black, red and white. In the centre of the circles is a divine lotus. The lotus has eight petals. One thinks that detachment is the stem of the lotus and praying to Vishnu its stamen. Right in the centre of the lotus is a pure spark of fire and that is the paramatman. Alternatively, one can visualise the paramatman in a blaze of light, in the centre of the lotus. Dhyana is far far superior to any yajna that one might perform.

One particular form of deep and intense meditation is known as samadhi. The meditator is then completely still, as calm as the ocean. He loses all track of the outside world. He does not hear, smell, see or touch. His mind has no wishes and feels nothing. He is completely united with god. Such a meditator automatically gets to know all the knowledge that can be gleaned from the Vedas or the shastras. He can obtain all the material possessions that he wants, but he regards them all as no more important than a blade of grass.

Such a meditator attains supreme knowledge. If you look at various pots full of water, you will find that the same sky is reflected in them all. Supreme knowledge tells one that, exactly similarly, it is the same atman that is everywhere. It is the atman which is the same as the paramatman, it is this atman that is in the water, in energy, in water, in the earth and in metals. The atman is everywhere.

1.3.4   The Knowledge of Brahman

Brahma jnana is the knowledge of brahman. This knowledge, which gives the ultimate bliss, is nothing but the sense that the individual atman is identical with the universal brahman or paramtman. The physical body is not the atman. Nor are the senses the atman. The mind or intelligence is not the atman. Life itself is not the atman.

The atman is different from all the objects that have been mentioned above. The atman is in an individual’s heart. It sees everything and senses everything, but is different from the physical body. It is this that sages contemplate when they meditate. The sky was created from the brahman, from the sky came wind, from wind fire, from fire water, from water the earth and from the earth the five elements. One has to meditate on the physical body gradually disappearing and merging into the brahman.

The brahman is neither true nor untrue. It has neither form nor is it without form. The brahman has several parts, but at the same time it is an integral whole. The brahman cannot be described. It cannot be achieved through the power of action. The brahman is always pure. It has no ties and it is the true form of happiness. What is required is the sense that it is I, the individual, who am the brahman. I am nothing but the atman and the atman is nothing but the brahman. This sense is true knowledge. The brahman is the Lord who is the origin of everything and the individual is part of the brahman. It is this knowledge that frees one from the ties of the world and this is what brahman jnana is all about.

The brahman is not the earth; it is beyond the earth. The brahman is not the wind, nor is it the sky. The brahman has no beginning; it is independent of all action. The brahman is huge; it is everywhere. The brahman not only has no form, it is beyond all form. The brahman cannot be heard. It cannot be touched. The brahman has neither intelligence nor mind. It has no sense of ego or vanity. It does not have life, birth, old age or death.

The brahman is neither happy nor unhappy. It does not feel hungry or thirsty. It cannot be measured. At the same time, it is both nothing and everything.

Life has five possible ends. By performing yajnas one can attain heaven. By performing tapasya one can become an ascetic. By performing actions one can attain brahmaloka. By detachment from material pursuits (vairagya) one can merge oneself into nature. And by true knowledge the individual gets absorbed into the divine essence. This is known as kaivalya. Detachment means to withdraw oneself from the effects of all actions. And knowledge means the knowledge that the atman is no different from the brahman. This is known as jnana yoga (the yoga of knowledge).

There are few people who attain this knowledge. One of those was Bharata. Bharata had done a lot he became very attached to a deer and when he died, he died thinking of the deer. The result was that in his next life, Bharata was born as a deer. But the deer happened to be a jatismara, that is, it remembered its earlier life. The deer eventually died and Bharata was again born as jatismara human.

The king of Soubira was once travelling on a palanquin and he wanted someone who would bear his palanquin free of charge. The king’s servants caught hold of Bharata to bear the palanquin. But Bharata moved slowly and could not keep up with the other bearers. The palanquin did not progress and the king asked Bharata. “Why are you so tired? You have not been bearing my palanquin for long. Can’t you some toil? You look fairly strong to me.”

Bharata replied, “I am not strong. Nor am I bearing your palanquin. I am not tired. nor am I lazy. I am my atman and feet are and my body is balanced on my thighs. My shoulders are on my body and your palanquin rests on my shoulders. But I am not my feet, thighs, body or shoulders. I am the atman. The atman is not carrying you. So why do you say that I am beating you?”

Bharata then instructed the king on the mysteries of true knowledge. The atman was pure, ever-lasting, calm, without traits and beyond natural characteristics. Since the atman had no traits and since an individual was the atman and not the body, it was meaningless to say that an individual was strong or weak. The physical body was made of the elements and so was the palanquin. What was the point therefore in saying that the physical body was bearing the palanquin?

Heating these words of wisdom, the king fell at Bharata’s feet. “Forgive me,” he said, “and let go of the palanquin, Who are you?”

“Who am I?”, asked Bharata. “That is not a question that can easily be answered.”

The king answered, “I fail to understand. Surely the form in which you are now existing is who you are.”

“No,” said Bharata. “I am the atman and the atman is the same as the paramatman. The paramatman is everywhere and therefore, the atman is also everywhere. I am everywhere. I am in all physical bodies. It is meaningless to ask who you are and who I am. We are all one and the same. Wood has come from the trees and this palanquin is made of wood. But is the palanquin wood or tree? When you ride on the palanquin, does anyone say that you are riding on a tree? Men, women, cows, horses, elephants, birds and trees, these are all meaningless names. They are all illusions. Everything is one and the same. I am everywhere. If there had been a place or an object where I do not exist, I could have everywhere, I do not know how to answer your question. Tell me king, are you your head or your stomach? Or is all of it, you? But then, what will you call that which is distinct from your physical body? Think about what I have said.”

Bharata’s words were so profound that the king immediately accepted Bharata as a teacher. And Bharata told the king the story of Ribhu and Nidagha.

The sage Ribhu was Brahma’s son. He was also extremely learned. Nidagha was Ribu’s disciple. After Ribhu had taught Nidagha what there was to be taught, Nidagha went to the city to see how Nidagha was getting on. Nidagha worshiped his teacher and gave him all sorts of things to eat. After Ribhu had eaten, Nidagha asked him, “Are you satisfied?”

“What do you mean?”, asked Ribhu. “The question of satisfaction would have arisen had I been hungry or thirsty. I am my atman and the atman is always satisfied. So what is the brahman that is omnipresent and so are you. You are not distinct from me, we are both part of the same whole. I came to teach you this knowledge. Now that you have learnt that the brahman is everywhere, let me leave.”

After another thousand years had passed, Ribhu came to the city again and discovered that Nidagha no longer lived in the city. He had begun to live on the outskirts of the city.

“Why have you given up living in the city?”, Ribhu asked Nidagha.

“Because I do not like to live in the city, where there is a king, “ replied Nidagha.

“Who is the king ?”. asked Ribhu. “Point him out to me in this procession that is passing. And point out to me the subjects.”

Nidagha said, “The king is the one who is as tall as a mountain peak. He is the one who is riding the elephant. The ones who are walking are the subjects.”

“What do you mean?”, asked Ribhu. “The brahman is in the king and the brahman is in the elephant. How do you distinguish one from the other, how do you say that one is riding the other? Is the king the physical body or the atman and is the elephant the physical body or the atman? Who is riding on whom? I do not understand.”

This knowledge, that the atman is the same as the brahman, is known as advaita (unified) brahma-jnana. Ribhu taught this to the king of Soubira. This is the knowledge that all elements are one and the same. It is only those who suffer from illusions who think that different elements and different beings have different identities.

1.3.5   The Gita

Krishna had taught Arjuna the lessons of the Gita on the plains of Kurukshetra. The Agni Purana now relates the essence of the Gita .

If physical body is alive, that is no reason for rejoicing. Just as, if the physical body is dead, that is no reason for mourning. The atman does not die. It does not decay, it cannot be destroyed and it is immortal. The atman does not warrant any tears that might be shed over it. people who are addicted to sensual pleasures cannot realise this. The person who is addicted to the atman alone has no desire for anything else. He had no action to perform. He had neither gains nor losses. The knowledge of this is like a raft that rescues one from the flood of illusions.

2         Bhavishya Purana

Eleventh among the Puranas, contains five parts. The first part contains a description of the genesis, greatness of the dates and worship of Lord Vishnu, Shiva and Surya. Second, third and fourth parts describe about the greatness of Shiva, Vishnu and Surya respectively.

The fifth part contains a description of the heaven. Like other Puranas, Bhavishya Purana also contains a description of the ancient kings and Chandra and Surya dynasties. Interestingly, Bhavishya Purana contains a description of a game that resembles modern chess to a great extent. In all, the subject matter of Bhavishya Purana seems to be an attempt to prove and establish the supremacy of Brahma.

The Bhavishya Purana is an ancient text authored by Sri Vyasa Muni, the compiler of the Vedic texts. It is listed among the eighteen major Puranas. Bhavishya means "future" and Purana means "history", so the text's name would translate literally as "The History of the Future". Though the text was written many thousands of years before the recorded events took place, by the power of his mystic vision, Sri Vyasa was able to accurately predict the happenings of the modern times. One of the text's poetic styles is to present the events as though they have already happened. This is a common practice in Sanskrit poetry, and does not indicate that the book was written in modern times. Modern scholars reject the contents of Bhavishya Purana mostly on the grounds that its information is too accurate. But we should ask ourselves: If there was an empowered saint, who knew past, present and future, and if he chose to write a book named "the History of the Future", shouldn't it contain accurate information about the modern times, as the title suggests? We cannot disqualify it simply because it speaks accurately of the British controlling India, Hitler fighting the world, and Max Mueller misrepresenting the Vedic teachings. "Veda" means knowledge, and the Vedic texts contain knowledge of everything - past, present and future.

This Purana consists of 7 chapters:

2.1     Biblical and Modern History

[From the Pratisarga Parva, Chapters Four to Seven.]

Suta Goswami said: Once upon a time in Hastinapura, Pradyota the son of Kshemaka was leading an assembly and meanwhile the great sage Narada arrived there. King Pradyota happily honored him. Having him seated on the seat the sage told king Pradyota, "Your father was killed by the mlecchas, therefore he attained Yamaloka or the hellish planet. If you perform a ‘mleccha-yajna’, then by the effect of this sacrifice your father will attain the heavenly planets."

Hearing this king Pradyota immediately called the best of the learned Brahmanas and started ‘mleccha-yajna’ in Kuruksetra. They built a yajna-kunda which was 16 yojanas in square (128 miles). They meditated on the demigods and offered oblations of mlecchas. There are haras, hunas, barvaras, gurundas, sakas, khasas, yavanas, pallavas, romajas and those who are situated in different dvipas and in kamaru, china and the middle of the ocean; all of them were called with the mantra and burnt to ashes. Then he (the king) gave dakshina (donation) to the brahmanas and performed abhiseka. As a result his father Kshemaka went to the heavenly planets. After that he became famous everywhere as a mleccha-hanta or destroyer of mlecchas. He ruled the earth for ten thousand years and went to heaven. He had a son named Vedavan who ruled for two thousand years.

At that time the Kali purusha prayed to Lord Narayana along with his wife. After sometime the Lord apperared to him and said, "This age will be a good time for you. I will fulfil your desire having various kinds of forms. There is a couple named Adama and his wife Havyavati. They are born from Vishnu-kardama and will increase the generations of mlecchas. Saying this, the Lord disappeared. Having great joy the Kali purusha went to Nilacha

Vyasa said: "Now you hear the future story narrated by Suta Goswami. This is the full story of of Kali-yuga, hearing this you will become satisfied."

In the eastern side of Pradan city where there is a a big God-given forest, which is 16 square yojanas in size. The man named Adama was staying there under a Papa-Vriksha or a sinful tree and was eager to see his wife Havyavati. The Kali purusha quickly came there assuming the form of a serpent. He cheated them and they disobeyed Lord Vishnu. The husband ate the forbidden fruit of the sinful tree. They lived by eating air with the leaves called udumbara. After they had sons and all of them became mlecchas. Adama's duration of life was nine-hundred and thirty years. He offered oblations with fruits and went to heaven with his wife. His son was named Sveta-nama, and he lived nine-hundred and twelve years. Sveta-nama's son was Anuta, who rulled one-hundred years less than his father. His son Kinasa rulled as much as his grandfather. His son Malahalla ruled eight-hundred ninety five years. His son Virada rulled 160 years. His son Hamuka was devoted to Lord Vishnu, and offering oblations of fruits he achieved salvation. He ruled 365 years and went to heaven with the same body being engaged in mleccha-dharma.

having good behavior, wisdom, qualities like a brahmana and worship of God, these things are called mleccha-dharma. The great souls have declared that the dharma of the mleccha is devotion to God, worship of fire, nonviolence, austerity and control of the senses. The son of Hamuka was Matocchila. He ruled for 970 years. His son Lomaka ruled 777 years and went to heaven. His son Nyuha (Noah) ruled for 500 years. He had three sons named Sima, Sama and Bhava. Nyuha was a devotee of Lord Vishnu.

Once the Lord appeared in his dream and said: “My dear Nyuha, please listen, there will be devastation on the seventh day. Therefore, you have to be very quick that you make a big boat and ride in it. O chief of the devotees, you will be celebrated as a great king”.

Then he made a strong boat which was 300 feet long, 50 feet wide and 30 feet high. It was beautiful and all the living entities could take shelter in it. He then himself rode in it, engaged in meditating on Lord Vishnu.

Lord Indra called the devastating cloud named Sambartaka and poured heavy rain continuously for 40 days. The whole earth, Bharat-varsa, had merged in the water and four oceans came up together. Only Visala or Badarikasrama was not submerged. There were 80,000 great transcendentalists in Visala who joined with king Nyuha and his family. All of them were saved and everything else was destroyed.

At that time all the sages praised the eternal energy of Lord Vishnu. Being pleased by the prayers of the sages, the Vishnu-maya reduced the waters of devastation. After one year gradually the earth become visible. Under the hill there is a place named Sisina and the king was situated in that place with his other people. When the water completely dried up, king Nyuha came back to his place.

Suta Goswami continued: The mleccha, king Nyuha became attached to Lord Vishnu and as a result Lord Vishnu increased his generation. Then he created a language fit for the mlecchas, unfavorable to the Vedas. He named it as brahmi-bhasha, or brahmi language, full of bad words, for increasing the degradation of Kali-yuga. The Lord who is Himself the master of intelligence gave this language to Nyuha. Nyuha named his tree sons opposite. They were known as Sima, Hama, Yakuta and also Yakuta, Sapta putra, Jumara and Majuya. The name of their countries were known as Madi, Yunana, Stuvaloma, Tasa and Tirasa.

Hama who was the second son of his father, had four sons know as Kusa, Misra, Kuja and Kanaam. Kusa had six sons - Havila, Sarva, Toragama, Savatika, NimaruhaI and Mahavala. Their sons were known as Kamala, Sinara and Uraka. And their countries names are Akvada, Bavuna and Rasana.

After telling this story Suta Goswami influenced by Yoga-nidra entered mystic slumber. He woke up after two thousand years and thereupon he said: “Now I’m going to say about the generation of Sima. Because he was the first son of his father he became the king. This mleccha king ruled over the country for 500 years. His son Arkansoda ruled for 434 years. His son Sihla ruled for 460 years. His son Iratasya ruled the same length as his father. His son Phataja ruled for 240 years. His son Rau ruled for 237 years. His son Juja ruled the same length as his father. His son Nahura ruled for 160 years, and he destroyed his many inimical kings. His son Tahara ruled the same length as his father. He had three sons: Avirama, Nahura and Harana. Thus I have explained the generation of mlecchas with the indication of their names only. The mleccha language is considered the lowest language because it bears the curse of goddess Sarasvati. Thus I have summarily narrated the rise of the mlecchas in Kali-yuga.

Sanskrt is the language by which the whole Bharata-Varsa is being praised and glorified. The same language, after going to another country became the mleccha language and mlecchas took advantage of it.

After hearing all this, the sages situated in Badarikashrama, worshipped Lord Nara-Narayana and meditated upon them for 200 years. When they woke up from their meditation, they inquired from their teacher Suta Goswami:

“O disciple of Sri Vyasa, you are so fortunate and greatly intelligent, may you live long. Now please tell us who is the king at the present time?"

Suta Goswami said: “At the present time, the Kali-yuga has already passed its 3000 years. Now the king Sankha is ruling the earth and in the mleccha countries the king named Sakapat is ruling. Please hear about how they came up."

When the Kali-yuga passed 2000 years, the dynasty of mlecchas increased. They created many paths to grow and gradually the whole earth become full of mlecchas. The spiritual master and teacher of the mlecchas was named Musa. He was residing on the bank of the river Sarasvati, and he spread his doctrince throughout the whole world. As soon as Kali-yuga started, the devotion to the Lord and the language of the Vedas were destroyed. There are four kinds of mleccha languages: Vraja-bhasa, Maharastri, Yavani and Garundika. In this way there are four million kinds of other languages.

For example: paniyam (water) is called pani, bubhuksa-hunger is called bhukh. Paniyam-drinking is called papadi and bhojanam-eating si called kakkanam. Isti is called suddharava, istini is called masapavani, ahuti is called aju and dadati is called dadhati. The word pitri is called paitara and bhrata is bather and also pati. This is the yavani lanugage in which the asva is called aspa, Janu is jainu and sapta-sindhu is called sapta-hindu.

Now you hear about Gurundika language. Ravi-vara (the first day of the week) is called sunday, phalguna and chaitra months are called pharvari (February). Sasti is called sixty, these kinds of examples are there.

Crime is becoming prominent in the holy place of Sapta-puri. Gradually the people of Aryavata are becoming theives, hunters, bhillas and fools. The followers of mleccha-dharma in foreign countries are intelligent and having good qualities, whereas the people of Aryavarta are bereft of good qualities. Thus the ruling of mlecchas is also in Bharata (India) and its islands. Knowing all this, O great and intelligent sage, you should just perform the devotional service to Lord Hari.

The great sage Saunaka inquired: “Please tell us, what was the reason that the mlecchas did not arrive in Brahmavarta.

Suta Goswami said: That was by the influence of goddess Sarasvati that they could not enter that place. By the order of the demigods, when the Kali-yuga pursued his 1,000 years, a brahmana named Kasyapa come down to earth from the heavenly planets with his wife Aryavatil. They had ten spotless sons who are known by the names: Upadhayaya, Diksita, Pathaka, Sukla, Misra, Agnihotri, Dvi-vedi, Tri-vedi, Catur-vedi and Pandey. Among them was the learned one full of knowledge. He went to Kashmir and worshipped goddess Sarasvati with red flowers, red akshata (rice), incense, lamps, naivedya (food offerings) and puspanjali (flower offerings). To please her he praised her with some prayers, asking her for better knowledge of Sankrt to put mlecchas into illusion. Being pleased by his prayers she remainded situated in his mind and blessed him with knowledge. Then the sage went to the country known as Misra and put all the mlecchas into illusion by the greace of goddess Sarasvati.

Then he made 10,000 people as dvijas or twice born brahmanas; he made 2,000 people into vaishyas; and the rest of them as shudras. He came back with them and staying in Arya-desha (India) he engaged in the activites of the sages. They were known as Aryans and by the grace of goddess Sarasvati their generation gradually increased upto 4 million, both the men and women with their sons and grandsons. Their king, Kasyapa muni, ruled the earth for 120 years.

There were 8,000 sudras in the county known as Rajputra (Rajput) and their king was Arya-prithu. His son was Magadha. The sage made him a king and left.

Saunaka inquired: "O disciple of Vyasa, O Lomaharsana, please tell us who were the kings to rule the earth in Kali-yuga, after Magadha?"

Suta Goswami said: When king Magadha, the son of Kasyapa was ruling the earth, he remembered his father's administration and he separated the Arya-desha (India) into many states. The state which is on the eastern side of Pancala is known as Magadha, the state of Kalinga is on the east-south side, the state of Avanta is in the south, Amarta-desha is to the south-west, Sindhu-desha is on the western side, Kaikaya is to the north-west, Madra-desha is in the north, and Koninda-desha is to the north-east. These states are named according to his sons' names. After performing a sacrifice he gave the states to his sons. Lord Balabhadra became pleased with his sacrifice, and Sisunaga appeared from the sacrifice as his son. He ruled for 100 years and his son Kakavarma ruled for 90 years. His son Kshemadharma ruled for 80 years and his son ruled for 70 years. His son Vedamisra ruled for 60 years. His son Ajata-nipu ruled for 50 years. His son Darbhaka ruled for 40 years, his son Udayasva ruled for 30 years, his son Nanda-Vardhana ruled for 20 years, his son Nanda-suta, who was born from the womb of a sudri or a low class lady, also ruled for 20 years. His son Pranancala ruled for 10 years. His son Parananda also ruled 10 years. His son Samananda ruled for 20 years. His son Priyananta ruled for 20 years, his son Devananda also ruled for 20 years. his son Yajna-bhanga ruled for 10 years. His son Mauryananda ruled for 10 years. And his son Mahananda fuled for 10 years.

At this time Lord Hari was remembered by Kali. At that time the great and famous Gautama, the son of Kasyapa introduced the Buddhist religion, and attained Lord Hari in Pattana.

Gautama ruled over 10 years. From him Shakya muni was born, who ruled 20 years. His son Shuddhodana ruled 30 years. His son Shakyasimha became the king on Satadri after 2000 years and he ruled for 60 years, by which time all the people were Buddhists. This was the first position of Kali-yuga and the Vedic religion was destroyed.

If Lord Vishnu becomes a king then all the people would follow Him. The activities of the world are carried out by the prowess of Lord Vishnu. He is the master of maya or the illusory energy and whoever takes shelter of that Lord Hari, though he may be a sinful and abominable person, will become liberated.

Buddha-simha was born from Shakyasimha and he ruled for only 30 years. Buddha-simha’s son was Chandra-gupta, who married with a daughter of Suluva, the Yavana king of Pausasa. Thus he mixed the Buddhists and yavanas. He ruled for 60 years. From him Vindusara was born and ruled for the same number of years as his father. His son was Ashoka. At this time the best of the brahmanas, Kanyakubja, performed sacrifice on the top of a mountain named Arbuda. By the influence of Vedic mantras, four Kshatriyas appeared form the yajna.  Among these four Pramara was samavedi, Chapahani was yajurvedi, Shukla was trivedi and Pariharaka was the Atharvavedi. They were accustomed to ride on elephants. They kept Ashoka under their control and annihilated all the Buddhists. It is said there were 4 million Buddhists and all of them were killed by uncommon weapons. After that Pramara became king in Avanta and he constructed a large city called Ambavati for his happiness. It was as big as 4 yojanas or about 32 miles.

Then Suta Goswami said: "My dear brahmanas I’m being influenced by yoga-nidra, therefore, please go to your respective ashramas and meditate on Lord Vishnu."

After the completion of 2,000 years, Suta Goswami said: When the kali-yuga had passed his 3,710 years, at that time the king was Pramara who rulled 6 years, from him Mahamada was born. He ruled 3 years and his son Devapi did the same. His son Devaduta also did the same. From him Gandharva-sena was born, who went to the forest after ruling for over 50 years and having given his kingdom to his son Shankha. Shankha ruled for over 30 years. Lord Indra sent a heavenly girl to Gandharva-sena named Viramati. A jewel like son was born form her womb. At the time of his birth, there were flowers raining from the sky, many auspicious instruments were played and the wind was blowing pleasingly. The name of the baby was Siva-drishti, who later left for the jungle with his disciples. After 20 years he became perfect in Karma-yoga. When kali-yuga copmleted 3,000 years, the terrible symptoms of kali had appeared. That baby took birth in the secret place of Kailasa, by the benediction of Lord Shiva, to destroy the shakas and to increase the Arya-dharma or the Vedic reigion. His father Gandharva-sena named his son as Vikramaditya and become happy. This child was very intelligent and very pleasing to his parents. When he was 5 years old, he left for the forest to perform austerities and he continued it upto 12 years. After 12 years he went to the holy city named Ambavati with all the opulence and accepted the transcendental throne sent by Lord Shiva. For his security goddess Parvati created a Vetala (a king of ghosts) and sent it to king Vikramaditya’s palace. Once the powerful king went to the temple of Lord Shiva named as Mahakaleshvara, who is the chief of the devas, and who has a bow named Pinaka. There he worshipped Lord Shiva. In that place he built a religious council hall with the pillars made of various metals and decorated with many kinds of jewels and covered with so many plants and creepers and flowers. In that hall he kept a celestial throne. He invited the foremost brahmanas who are well-versed in Vedic knowledge, worshipped them with proper hospitality and heard many religious histories from them. After that one demigod named Vitala come there having a form of a brahmana. Glorifying and blessing the king, he sat down on the seat and said: O master of this earthly planet, king Vikramaditya, if you are very eager to hear them I will describe the stories and histories to you.

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana.

2.2     The Prediction of Islam

[From the third part of the Pratisarga Parva.]

Shri Suta Gosvami said: In the dynasty of king Shalivahana, there were ten kings who went to the heavenly planets after ruling for over 500 years. Then gradually the morality declined on the earth. At that time Bhojaraja was the tenth of the kings on the earth. When he saw that the moral law of conduct was declining he went to conquer all the directions of his country with ten-thousand soldiers commanded by  Kalidasa. He crossed the river Sindhu and conquered over the gandharas, mlecchas, shakas, kasmiris, naravas and sathas. He punished them and collected a large ammount of wealth. Then the king went along with Mahamada (Mohammad), the preceptor of mleccha-dharma, and his followers to the great god, Lord Shiva, situated in the desert. He bathed Lord Shiva with Ganges water and worshipped him in his mind with pancagavya (milk, ghee, yoghurt, cow dung, and cow urine) and sandalwood paste, etc. After he offered some prayers and pleased him.

Suta Goswami said: After hearing the king’s prayers, Lord Shiva said: O king Bhojaraja, you should go to the place called Mahakakshvara, that land is called Vahika and now is being contaminated by the mlecchas. In that terrible country there no longer exists dharma. There was a mystic demon named Tripura, whom I have already burnt to ashes, he has come again by the order of Bali. He has no origin but he achieved a benediction from me. His name is Mahaoda and his deeds are like that of a ghost. Therefore, O king, you should not go to this land of the evil ghost. By my mercy your intelligence will be purified. Hearing this the king came back to his country and Mahamada came with them to the bank of the river Sindhu. He was expert in expanding illusion, so he said to the king very pleasingly: O great king, your god has become my servant. Just see, as he eats my remnants, so I will show you. The king became surprised when he saw this just before them. Then in anger Kalidasa rebuked Mahamada, “O rascal, you have created an illusion to bewilder the king, I will kill you, you are the lowest..."

[...]

That city is known as their site of pilgrimage, a place which was Madina or free from intoxication. Having a form of a ghost (Bhuta), the expert illusionist Mahamada appeared at night in front of king Bhojaraja and said: O king, your religion is of course known as the best religion among all. Still I am going to establish a terrible and demoniac religion by the order of the Lord. The symptoms of my followers will be that they first of all will cut their genitals, have no shikha, but having beard, be wicked, make noise loudly and eat everything. They should eat animals without performing any rituals. This is my opinion. They will perform purificatory act with the musala or a pestle as you purify your things with kusha. Therefore, they will be known as musalman, the corrupters of religion. Thus the demoniac religion will be founded by me. After having heard all this the king came back to his palace and that ghost went back to his place.

The intelligent king, Bhojaraj established the language of Sanskrit in three varnas - the brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaisyas - and for the shudras he established prakrita-bhasha, the ordinary language spoken by common men. After ruling his kingdom for 50 years, he went to the heavenly planet. The moral laws established by him were honored even by the demigods. The arya-varta, the pious land is situated between Vindhyacala and Himacala or the mountains known as Vindhya and Himalaya. The Aryans reside there, but varna-sankaras reside on the lower part of Vindhya. The musalman people were kept on the other side of the river Sindhu.

 

On the island of Barbara, Tusha and many others also the followers of Isamsiha were also situated as they were managed by a king or demigods.

2.3     The Prediction of Buddhism

[From the 29th chapter  of the Pratisarga Parva.]

Long ago in the country known as Citrartha, the inhabitants of the heavenly planets used to come to play during the time of autumn. One day a heavenly apsara know as Manjughosha came to that place where the sage Shuka was residing. Seeing this beautiful boy, she tried to attract him while singing and dancing, being overwhelmed by lusty desires. She praised him with a beautiful prayer holding her hands and bowing down. Somehow, she pleased the muni. Then the glorious Shuka, hearing this auspicious prayer asked her to request a benediction. Manjughosha humbly said: ”O lord, you are the protector of those who came to your shelter, therefore I’m at your shelter, please become my husband”. The sage accepted her and after some time they produced a son named ‘Muni’ who performed austerity very strictly upto 12 years. He married the daughter of Svarnadeva, the god of gold. They gave birth to a daughter named Kinnari. She was very young and beautiful. She performed austerity to please Lord Shiva, and as a benediction lord Shiva intrusted her to a sober sage Makaranda.

Then her father, Muni, asked lord Shiva to bless her, so that they will successfully make progress in this world.

Lord Shiva said: Upto 30 years you will enjoy your country in the middle of the earth, then it will be destroyed. After hearing this Muni went to his place with Makaranda and resided there. As soon as the 29th year started the battle took place among those kings who took birth as the incarnations of the associates of Krishna. Bauddha, the lord of nyuhas (the lessened people) attacked the beautiful city of Netrapala, thinking that this city is wonderfully decorated with various kinds of jewels. The powerful king Bauddha-simha who had seven-million soldiers, fought with those kings who had only three million soldiers. The fight went on terribly between the armies for seven days and nights. The great powerful kings, who killed all the inimical armies protected by Baudha-simha, were Yoga-simha, Bhoga-simha and Vijaya.

After that more Buddhists came from the countries known as Shyama and Japaka, and all of them were magicians. Again they had a large battle which lasted for one month. Then Netrasimha arrived with seven million soldiers protected by eight generals, for the destruction of the Buddhists. Being afraid, all the Buddhists left India completely and went to China to continue the war from there. The opposite army also continued following them. When they arrived on the bank of the Huha river, it was the month of Magh, the second half part of the month of January, the fight took place again. There were one million soldiers each from the countries of Syama and Japaka, and ten million soldiers from China assembled for a fight. On the other side, Krishnamsa, Deva, Netrapala, Mandalika, Dhanyapada, Lallasimha, Talana and Jana nayaka were the generals, each of them having one million soldiers. There was a terrible battle between the Buddhists and the Aryans. In that war seven million Buddhists, and two million Aryans were killed. Being afraid the Buddhists ran away from the battle and went to their home to produce a wooden army with the help of a machinery arrangement. They made ten-thousand elephants (made out of wood) along with warriors, one million horses, one thousand buffaloes, one thousand hogs, one thousand tigers, one thousand swans, and seven thousand camels. All these creatures had wooden warriors on their back. Thus with the wooden army which was 125,000 in number, they killed two million soldiers protected by Krishnamsas. Seeing this wonder Jayanta, the expert fighter shot fire arrows toward the wooden armies, so that they were immediately destroyed, being burnt to ashes. Only three million kshatriyas (warriors) were left, and they glorified the proficient warrior Jayanta again and again. Then the Buddhists from China, made a twenty thousand strong iron horse calvary and sent them to fight. The powerful warrior Yogasimha, riding on an elephant held the bow and arrows in his hands and shot to the neck of the iron warriors. Being afflicted by the arrows of Yogasimha five thousand soldiers were killed. Seeing this, Bauddhasimha made an iron tiger and sent it to Yogasimha. By the attack of that iron tiger the brave Yogasimha was finally killed, and then Bhogasimha riding on a horse, went to fight with the tiger. He killed the tiger by throwing a missile, and roared loudly. Then a lion was sent to him by Bauddhasimha and thus he (Bhogasimha) was killed by a lion. When the son of Swarna-vati (Jayanta) saw that his maternal uncles were already dead, he rode on a powerful horse and went to Bauddhasimha. He took illusory arrows and put the opposite army into delusion along with Bauddhasimha. He captured ten-thousand kings including Bauddhasimha, and returned to Krishnamsas having destroyed the mechanical armies.

Then all of them happily went to the city and forcibly “looted” the wealth from the palace, which was very opulent, and came back the fort of the king. Jayanta came and released Bauddhasimha. After being released he offered his daughter Padmaja to Jayanta and also offered 100,000,000 golden coins for the pleasure of his in law. After that all the Buddhists made their vows there itself saying “We will never go to Arya-desa to invade the country.” Then they offered their homage and left. They went to Netrapala with their three million remaining soldiers.

2.4     The Prediction of India’s Kings

[From the 31st chapter  of the Pratisarga Parva.]

Suta Goswami said: The great powerful king of Madrakesa worshipped the mendicants of the heavenly planets (the Asvini kumaras) for five years and after having received a benediction from them he produced ten sons and one beautiful young daughter named Kantinati. King Madraka invited Maharaj Suryavarna (the present king of Hastinapura), and gave his daughter to him with proper conduct.

Having accepted the new wife, Suryavarna quickly returned to his home with his army. There was a mystic demon named Karbura, the son of Bigbhisana, when he saw Kantimati the daughter of king Madrakesa, he came there and kidnapped her in their presence and went to a mountain called Sahyadri. Seeing this incident Mahiraja became very upset and lamented again and again. Mahiraja came to Hastinapura and sent a message to Krishnamsa. He explained everything to him and immediately with five hundred warriors Krishnamsa went to Sahyadri mountain and said fearlessly: “O best of the demons, please listen. Your father Bibhishana is a great devotoee, and you are the dear son of him, therefore, you should not act in this manner (sinfully) which is the cause of the destruction of family. Do you remember, long ago mother Sita was kidnapped by Ravana and what happened to him?”

The rakshasa said, "Previously she was the daughter of a Gandharva and my beloved wife, but because of a curse by a sage she took birth on the earthly planet. Therefore, feeling her separation I went to Madrakesa. Although I stayed there so many days, being afraid of the king I could not kidnap her. Now she is in my control, but if you defeat me in battle you can take her back. Then Krishnamsa started fighting with him with a sword and it went on for seven nights. Finally he defeated the rakshasa, and with Kantimati came back to Delhi to see Mahiraja. The king (Mahiraja) offered 10,000,000 golden coins to the great Krishnamsa. Then he came to Pramdavana, or the forest called Pramoda, with his friends.

Suta Goswami said: There was a powerful king named Purnamala in Pattana. He worshipped the Vasus for five years and received a benediction from them. By their blessings he had ten sons and a daughter named Vidyun mala. For the marriage of his daughter he invited king Mahiraja and with seven million soldiers he gave his daughter to the son of Mahiraja (Bhima).

Bhima came back happily to his home (Hastinapura) with his beautiful wife. Then the king of paisaca-dasa, Sahoda, came with ten-thousand mlecchas to get Vidyunmala. They came to Kurukshetra by the order of Bali, the grandson of Prahlada Maharaja. They broke the deities of gods, killed so many cows and in the places of sacred water they put cow-blood. Sahoda, the mleccha king, wrote a letter and sent it to Mahiraja. King Mahiraja answered: "O mleccha king, you are the master of the mlecchasi, why are you worried about Vidyunmala? You should know that I’m the one who can shoot arrows just by hearing a sound and I’m the central point of the country of the thieves."

Then the king went to Kurukshetra with three million soldiers. There was a large, terrible fight between them. At night in the month of Jesta (July), Bali Maharaja came from Patala, the lowest region with ten-thousand demons and killed the soldiers of the king very quickly, eating them again and again. The king, being afraid took shelter of goddess Sarasvati. After that immediately Krishnamsas arrived and killed the ten-thousand demons. They came to Bali, the lord of the demons, and pleased him with their words.

Then Baliraja said: I’m very pleased with you, now you can ask for any benediction.

They said: These demons should never come to Aryadesha (India) with you, all of you should stay always in mleccha-desha and eat the followers of mleccha-dharma.

Baliraja became upset hearing these fearful, terrible words.

Then Krishnamsa said: as long as I’m in this world you should simply stay in your home, after that you come here and do whatever you like”.

Hearing this the mleccha king Sahoda went back to Rasatala, the sixth lowest region of demons.

[From Pratisarga Parva, 4th Part, Chapter 6.]

The sage (Saunka) said: “O great fortunate one, you know everything please tell us about the kings who came after Mahiraja.

Suta Goswami said: The ghostly Kutukoddina, with human nature, was situated in the kingdom of Delhi. The best king Bhapasena, the grandson of Virasena was situated in the beautiful city of Aligarh. This city was protected by yadavas. Kutukaddin with ten-thousand warriors went there and defeated him and returned to Delhi. Then so many kings form other countries came there and defeated him and rejected him from their countries. When Shahoddina heard this, he came to Delhi, conquered the kings and broke all the deities. After that so many mlecchas came from all sides and ruled the kingdom for 5, 6 or 7 years. They had destroyed the places of pilgrimage and the temples, therefore as a reaction they become short-lived. From today, the mleccha kings will continue for a hundred years, therefore O sages, you should quickly go to Vishala (Badarikashrama) with me.

Then all the sages sadly left this place (Naimisaranya) and went to Vishala, the best of the Himalayas and meditated upon Lord Hari, being in samadhi (trance). And after a hundred years all of them attained the kingdom of God.

2.5     The Prediction of Nimbarka Acharya

[From the 7th chapter of the Pratisarga Parva.]

The sun god, being pleased by the praise of the demigods, said: By the order of the Lord Krishna, Sudarshana will take birth in the Dvapara-yuga, and will be known as Nimbaditya (Nimbarka). He will be able to remove the declination of religious principles.

Suta Goswami said: Now you hear about the pastimes of the great Nimbarka. Lord Krishna personally ordered him to appear on the auspicious bank of Narmada river, which flows to the southern side of mountain Meru. That state is known as Tailanga, the place used by the devarsis, the godly sages.

Lord Krishna said: "You receive knowledge from devarsi Narada and establish the true principles of religion. You should remain in Mathura, Naimisaranya and Dvaraka."

Lord Sudarshana accepted the order of Lord Krishna sarying, "Yes," and appeared on the earth to fulfill the desires of the devotees. There was a broad-minded holy brahmana living in the auspicious state of Tailanga. His name was Aruna and was well versed in the Vedas and Vedangas. His wife was known as Jayanti. They were living an austere life like the sages. The brilliant luster of Sudarshana suddenly entered in the heart of Jayanti, and by that luster she looked brilliant like the moon. When the time arrived with all auspiciousness and good qualities, in Gaura paksha purnima of Kartika month, Vrisha rasi, the moon in Krittika, the five grahas (planets) situated in higher places, in the evening at the time of sunset, in Masa-lagna, the Lord of the universe (Sudarshana), who engaged the whole universe in Vedic religion, appeared from mother Jayanti (as Nimbarka).

One day Lord Brahma went to Nimbarka’s ashrama just before the sunset and said: O brahmana, I’m very hungry, as long as the sun is in the sky, please give me something to eat. (I will not eat after the sun sets). The brahmana (Nimbarka) gave him food and while he was eating the sun went down. Then the brahmana by his power kept a sudarshana on a nimbe tree. Lord Brahma wondered seeing that sunlike shine and paid his obeisances to the brahmana by lying flat on the ground. Pleased with his austerity Lord Brahma said: Excellent. You will become famous on this earth, and you will be known as Nimbaditya (Nimbarka - One who made the sun appear from a Neem tree).

2.6     The Prediction of Madhva and Sridhara

[From the 7th chapter of the Pratisarga Parva.]

Brihaspati said: Long ago, during the age of treta, O Indra, there was a brahmana named Shakrasharma, in Ayodhya. He worshipped demigods such as the Asvini Kumaras, Rudras, Vasus, and Surya with the mantras mentioned in the Yajur-veda. After worshipping, he satisfied them by offering oblations every day. Thus being pleased with his worship all the 330 million demigods awarded him all desired objects and even the rarest things. By the benediction of the demigods the brahmana lived on this earth for ten-thousand years without getting old and having no disturbance. After leaving his body he become the Sun-god and predominated the sun planet for one hundred thousand years, before going to Brahmaloka. He spent eight thousand celestial years for visiting the higher planets and then returned to the sun planet.

Hearing this, Lord Indra with his sober intelligence began to worship the sun-god along with other demigods in the month of June-July. On the purnima, the full moon day, the sun-god came down to the earth and said to demigods: I will take birth in Kali-yuga in Vrindavana and this brahmana will execute favorable acts for the demigods. He will be born as a son of Madhava, named Madhu and follow the Vedic path.

Suta Gosvami said: Saying this the sun-god created a light from his body and sent it to Vrindavana. Attracting all the irreligious people with pleasing speech he gave them Vaishnavi-shakti or the spiritual energy of Lord Vishnu, the bestower of enjoyment and liberation. Thus he become famous, known as Madhvacarya.

Jiva said: In the age of Dvapara, there was a brahmana named Megha Sharma. He was very much religious, intelligent, learned and a follower of the Vedic path. He was engaged in farming, and with the ten percent profit from farming he was worshipping the demigods every day with devotion. Once there was no rain during the administration of Maharaja Shantanu for five years, but the farm of Megha sharma was about four miles wider and was watered by rain. Naturally the grain-rate increased and Megha sharma became rich by taking advantage of the scarcity. Other people being so distressed took shelter of the king. The king called Megha sharma and said: O great brahmana, I offer my obeisances unto you, please became my Guru and guide us, so that we can be free from the scarcity.

Megha sharma said: when the month of Shravana (July-August) starts, you should call twelve Vedic brahmanas to chant one-hundred thousand times the mantra of the sun-god with the proper mind. Then on the full moon day (purnima) offer one tenth the number of oblations in the sacrificial fire, through the brahmanas. If you could do this as mentioned, you will become free from anxiety. So the king performed accordingly and fed all the brahmanas, then the sun-god being pleased by this poured heavy rain on the earth from all sides. After this king Shantanu, engaged in performing Surya-vrata and become a greatly pious person. Whoever he touched with his hand immediately turned to a young man. By the mercy of the sun-god, Meghasarma lived for five-hundred years, being freed from old age, and then went to sun-planet. After 100,000 years he will attain Brahmaloka. While he was speaking thus, sun-god revealed his identity to Jiva and went to Prayaga (Allahabad) and being in a happy mood he said to the demigods: “In kali-yuga, when the mlecchas will be ruling the kingdom, I will come to Vrindavana and preach for the mission of the Devas."

Suta said: Then the sun-god descended in Vrindavana as a son of Deva-sharma, named Sridhara. He studied Srimad Bhagavatam very deeply and a great commentary on it which is known as Sridhar-bhasya, the commentary of Sridhara.

2.7     The Prediction of Jayadeva Gosvami

Brihaspati said: Long ago there was a brahmana named Heli, in the beautiful city Pampapura. He was a worshipper of the sun-god and he knew the 64 arts. He avoided the mood of accepting dakshina (donations) and he became an artist, having established a workshop for clothes, paintings, pictures, metal statues etc. He spent five thousand coins to establish it. Whatever profit he made he used for worshipping the sun-god in the month of Magha (January-February) by performing sacrifices. Thus the sun-god Vishvakarma (the architect of the gods) became pleased with this sacrifice and descended on the top of a big pillar in Pampasarovara, the lake named Pampa, having a brilliant shining form. At the noon time, Heli offered food to the sun-god according to his desire. In this way he satisfied the three worlds. After leaving his body he entered into the sun-planet. Therefore O king of devas you may worship the sun-god, he will help you.

Suta said: Lord Indra hearing this from his guru, began to worship the sun-god Visvakarma along with other demigods. Thus being pleased with their worship Tvashta (Visvakarma) said: O gods, please listen to my words, I will appear in a village named Bilvagram in Bengal, and I will be the poet known as Jayadeva, the compiler of Nirukti. Saying this the sun-god went to Bengal and took birth in the house of a brahmana named Kanduke. When he was just five years old, he was engaged in the service of his parents and continued for twelve years. After sometime his parents left their body and Jayadeva did all the final ceremonies (Shraddha) in Gaya. Being satisfied they went to heaven. Then Jayadeva lived in a jungle as a detached brahmana.

At the age of twenty three, a brahmana (someone) offered his beautiful daughter to Lord Jagannatha. At the end of his worship the eternal Lord Aniruddha, having the form of Darubrahma, directly spoke thus: “O Satyavrata, please listen to Me, it is my order that you offer your daughter Padmavati to Jayadeva because he is the body of Mine, or he is as good as Me.” Then he found the detached brahmana (Jayadeva) and leaving his daughter in front of him, he went to his home. Padmavati served her husband for so many years accepting him as a beautiful and learned one. Jayadeva compiled a book known as Nirukta, the Vedic vocabulary, one of the six Vedangas. There were five kinds of Niruktas, but in Kali-yuga they were destroyed by the evil people and Prakrit-bhasha or the illiterate language was established. For the sake of the demigods, Panini the author of Ashtadhyayi grammar, overtook them and established the pure Sanskrit languagae.

Once the evil minded Kali situated in the hearts of thieves, plundered all the money of the brahmana Jayadeva which was given to him by the king. Following this they cut both his hands and legs and went home leaving Padmavati aside. Jaydeva was thrown into a ditch. Padmavati took him out cried and lamented again and again seeing the situation of her husband.

One day, when the king Dharmapala was out hunting. He saw the sage Jayadeva without hands and feet and asked: “Who put you in such a condition?”

Jayadeva answered: “No one put me in this condition, O king. It is due to my previous activities that I am suffering now in this abominable condition."

Having heard this statement, the religious king put the brahmana on a palanquin along with his wife and brought them to his palace. The king built a dharma-shala, religious institution, after receiving instructions from Jayadeva.

One day those same thieves, dressed as Vaishnavas came to the king and said: “We are very much expert in the scriptures and therefore we have come to you. O best of the kings, Lord Vishnu, while being in the stone (Shalagrama) eats food cooked by us everyday with love. If you don’t believe us, you can see this right here.”

Saying thus the slaves of kali by their power showed the king a four handed form of Lord Vishnu eating. Being struck with wonder, king Dharmapala said to Jayadeva: “O my gurudeva, some vaishnavas, the devotees of Lord Vishnu have come to my palace, and they have shown me the Lord before my very eyes, therefore please come quickly."

The theives saw Jayadeva and became struck with wonder. They said to the king in a joking mood: “O king, this brahmana was a cook in the palace of the king of Gaudadesa (Bengal). Once he became very much greedy for money and he mixed some poison in the food and offered it to a king. When the king come to know about it he ordered him to be crucified. Then we came to him (Jayadeva), and knowing him to be an offender, we instructed him in the Vedic knowledge. Then the king refused to crucify him, but he cut off his hands and legs. At that time the king became our disciple, having been enlightened by us.”

While they were speaking thus, the earth broke in two and those thieves fell within the earth, being sent to the lowest hell known as patala-loka. Jayadeva began to cry to the thieves and while he was crying his hands and legs appeared to be as they were. Then he explained to the bewildered king what had happened. The king became very happy after hearing everything from him. Jayadeva wrote a song called Gita-Govinda, the song sung for the pleasure of Lord Govinda. The king read the song and attained liberation. “O brahmanas, thus I have narrated the birth story of Jayadeva, now you listen about how the Supreme Lord appeared as Sri Krishna Chaitanya ."

[From Pratisarga Parva, 4th Part, Chapter 6.]

The sage (Saunka) said: “O great fortunate one, you know everything please tell us about the kings who came after Mahiraja.

Suta Goswami said: The ghostly Kutukoddina, with human nature, was situated in the kingdom of Delhi. The best king Bhapasena, the grandson of Virasena was situated in the beautiful city of Aligarh. This city was protected by yadavas. Kutukaddin with ten-thousand warriors went there and defeated him and returned to Delhi. Then so many kings form other countries came there and defeated him and rejected him from their countries. When Shahoddina heard this, he came to Delhi, conquered the kings and broke all the deities. After that so many mlecchas came from all sides and ruled the kingdom for 5, 6 or 7 years. They had destroyed the places of pilgrimage and the temples, therefore as a reaction they become short-lived. From today, the mleccha kings will continue for a hundred years, therefore O sages, you should quickly go to Vishala (Badarikashrama) with me.

Then all the sages sadly left this place (Naimisaranya) and went to Vishala, the best of the Himalayas and meditated upon Lord Hari, being in samadhi (trance). And after a hundred years all of them attained the kingdom of God.

3         Kurma Purana

Lord Vishnu, in Kurm Avatar (tortoise incarnation), had first preached this Purana to Narad. In his turn, Narad narrated it to Sutji who later narrated this Purana to an assembly of the great sages. Initially, this Purana had four parts namely Bramhi Samhita, Bhagawati Samhita, Gauri Samhita and Vaishnavi Samhita. Presently, however, none of these Samhitas is available except Brahm Samhita. Present version too contains two parts-Purv and Uttar Parts.

Purv Part: Tale of Indradyumna. Description of Kurm Purana. Description of Varnashram. Description of the sequence of these ashramas. Origin of the geo-sphere. Description of various incarnations. Preaching of the gods. Description of the self-begotten Manu. Destruction of Daksh’s yagya. Killing of Hiranyakashipu. Vamana avatar (dwarf incarnation). Description of Ikshvaku clan. Description of Pururava clan. Description of Rama and Krishna incarnations. Description of Satya-, Treta-, Dwapar- and Kali yugas. Greatness of Varanasi. Greatness of Lingas. Greatness of Prayag and Yamuna etc.

Uttar Part: Yoga of unexpressed knowledge. Appearance of Devadidev (Rudra) during Tandava. Description of metaphysical knowledge. Preaching of metaphysical knowledge by the God. Description of Ashtang Yoga. Duties of a celibate. Duties of a graduate. Description of edible and non-edible things. Rituals to be performed regularly. Rituals of dining. Description of the duties of a Vanaprasthi. Duties of an ascetic. Description of expiation. Expiation for drinking of wine. Greatness of different places of pilgrimage.

This Purana consists of 35 chapters:

3.1     Introduction

(The samudra manthana story is given in great detail in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. As for Lakshmi, some of the Puranas state that she was born as the daughter of Khyati and the sage Bhrigu. She was then married to Vishnu. But the demons defeated the gods and Indra. The sage Durvasa therefore cursed Lakshmi that she would have to live in the ocean. And when the ocean was churned, Lakshmi emerged yet again.)

Indra, the other gods, and the sages were charmed at Lakshmi’s beauty when she appeared. “Who is this wonderful goddess?” they asked Vishnu.

“This is Lakshmi,” replied Vishnu. “She is also known as Shakti. It is with her help that I delude the universe and its inhabitants with my illusions (maya). It is Lakshmi who gives me all my powers, although she is no different from me in essence.”

Vishnu then proceeded to tell the gods and the sages the story of Indradyumna.

3.2     Indradyumna

Many years ago, there was a king named Indradyumna. He ruled the world well and, when he died, was reborn as a brahmana, (The brahmanas constitute the first of the four classes, their primary duties are to study the Vedas and perform sacrifices.)

As a brahmana, Indradyumna observed religious rites and meditated. He also stared to pray to the goddess Lakshmi. When Lakshmi appeared, Indradyumna begged of her, “Please tell me about yourself. Please give me insight into what constitutes true knowledge.”

“Even the gods and the sages are unable to comprehend my true nature,” replied Lakshmi. “I an Vishnu’s illusions and there is no difference between him and me. As for knowledge, it is beyond my powers to grant you that. You will have to pray to the great Vishnu himself.”

Having said this, Lakshmi disappeared, and Indradyumna started to pray to Vishnu. Several years passed, but Indradyumna continued to meditate. Finally, Vishnu appeared and instructed Indradyumna on the path to true knowledge.

“What did you tell Indradyumna?” asked the gods and the sages. “What was this wonderful knowledge?”

“I will repeat it for your benefit,” replied Vishnu.

Since Vishnu repeated his teachings while in the form of a turtle of Kurma, these sacred words are known as the Kurma Purana. There are many subjects that Vishnu’s instructions covered, but let us first start with the concept of varnashrama dharma, Dharma means righteousness and these precepts lay down the fundamental principles of righteous conduct. This is typified in the system of four varnas (classes) and four ashramas (stages of life).

Om Tat Sat

(Continued)

My humble salutations to Swamyjis, Philosophic scholars , dharmicscriptures dot org

for the collection)