Chapter 64

“Janamejaya said, ‘O Brahmana, those thou hast named and those thou hastnot named, I wish to hear of them in detail, as also of other kings bythousands. And, O thou of great good fortune, it behoveth thee to tell mein full the object for which those Maharathas, equal unto the celestialsthemselves, were born on earth.’

“Vaisampayana said, ‘It hath been heard by us, O monarch, that what thouaskest is a mystery even to the gods. I shall, however, speak of it untothee, after bowing down (to the self-born). The son of Jamadagni(Parasurama), after twenty-one times making the earth bereft ofKshatriyas wended to that best of mountains Mahendra and there began hisascetic penances. And at that time when the earth was bereft ofKshatriyas, the Kshatriya ladies, desirous of offspring, used to come, Omonarch, to the Brahmanas and Brahmanas of rigid vows had connection withthem during the womanly season alone, but never, O king, lustfully andout of season. And Kshatriya ladies by thousands conceived from suchconnection with Brahmanas. Then, O monarch, were born many Kshatriyas ofgreater energy, boys and girls, so that the Kshatriya race, might thrive.And thus sprang the Kshatriya race from Kshatriya ladies by Brahmanas ofascetic penances. And the new generation, blessed with long life, beganto thrive in virtue. And thus were the four orders having Brahmanas attheir head re-established. And every man at that time went in unto hiswife during her season and never from lust and out of season. And, O bullof the Bharata race, in the same way, other creatures also, even thoseborn in the race of birds went in unto their wives during the seasonalone. And, O protector of the earth, hundreds of thousands of creatureswere born, and all were virtuous and began to multiply in virtue, allbeing free from sorrow and disease. And, O thou of the elephant’s tread,this wide earth having the ocean for her boundaries, with her mountainsand woods and towns, was once more governed by the Kshatriyas. And whenthe earth began to be again governed virtuously by the Kshatriyas, theother orders having Brahmanas for their first were filled with great joy.And the kings giving up all vices born of lust and anger and justlyawarding punishments to those that deserved them protected the earth. Andhe of a hundred sacrifices, possessed also of a thousand eyes, beholdingthat the Kshatriya monarchs ruled so virtuously, poured down vivifyingshowers at proper times and places and blessed all creatures. Then, Oking, no one of immature years died, and none knew a woman beforeattaining to age. And thus, O bull of the Bharata race, the earth, to thevery coasts of the ocean, became filled with men that were alllong-lived. The Kshatriyas performed great sacrifices bestowing muchwealth. And the Brahmanas also all studied the Vedas with their branchesand the Upanishads. And, O king, no Brahmana in those days ever sold theVedas (i.e., taught for money) or ever read aloud the Vedas in thepresence of a Sudra. The Vaisyas, with the help of bullocks, caused theearth to be tilled. And they never yoked the cattle themselves. And theyfed with care all cattle that were lean. And men never milked kine aslong as the calves drank only the milk of their dams (without havingtaken to grass or any other food). And no merchant in those days eversold his articles by false scales. And, O tiger among men, all persons,holding to the ways of virtue, did everything with eyes set upon virtue.And, O monarch, all the orders were mindful of their own respectiveduties. Thus, O tiger among men, virtue in those days never sustained anydiminution. And, O bull of the Bharata race, both kine and women gavebirth to their offspring at the proper time. And trees bore flowers andfruit duly according to the seasons. And thus, O king, the krita agehaving then duly set in, the whole earth was filled with numerouscreatures.

“And, O bull of the Bharata race, when such was the blessed state of theterrestrial world, the Asuras, O lord of men, began to be born in kinglylines. And the sons of Diti (Daityas) being repeatedly defeated in war bythe sons of Aditi (celestials) and deprived also of sovereignty andheaven, began to be incarnated on the earth. And, O king, the Asurasbeing possessed of great powers, and desirous of sovereignty began to beborn on earth amongst various creatures, such as kine, horses, asses,camels, buffaloes, among creatures such as Rakshasas and others, andamong elephants and deer. And, O protector of the earth, owing to thosealready born and to those that were being born, the earth becameincapable of supporting herself. And amongst the sons of Diti and ofDanu, cast out of heaven, some were born on the earth as kings of greatpride and insolence. Possessed of great energy, they covered the earth invarious shapes. Capable of oppressing all foes, they filled the earthhaving the ocean for its boundaries. And by their strength they began tooppress Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras and all othercreatures also. Terrifying and killing all creatures, they traversed theearth, O king, in bands of hundreds and thousands. Devoid of truth andvirtue, proud of their strength, and intoxicated with (the wine of)insolence, they even insulted the great Rishis in their hermitages.

“And the earth, thus oppressed by the mighty Asuras endued with greatstrength and energy and possessed of abundant means, began to think ofwaiting on Brahman. The united strength of the creatures (such as Sesha,the Tortoise, and the huge Elephant), and of many Seshas too, becamecapable of supporting the earth with her mountains, burdened as she waswith the weight of the Danavas. And then, O king, the earth, oppressedwith weight and afflicted with fear, sought the protection of theGrandsire of all creatures. And she beheld the divine Brahman–theCreator of the worlds who knoweth no deterioration–surrounded by thegods, Brahmanas, and great Rishis, of exceeding good fortune, and adoredby delighted Gandharvas and Apsaras always engaged in the service of thecelestials. And the Earth, desirous of protection, then representedeverything to him, in the presence, O Bharata, of all the Regents of theworlds. But, O king, the Earth’s object had been known beforehand to theOmniscient, Self-create, and Supreme Lord. And, O Bharata, Creator as heis of the universe, why should he not know fully what is in the minds ofhis creatures including the very gods and the Asuras? O king, the Lord ofthe Earth, the Creator of all creatures, also called Isa, Sambhu,Prajapati, then spake unto her. And Brahman said, ‘O holder of wealth,for the accomplishment of the object for which thou hast approached me, Ishall appoint all the dwellers in the heavens.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Having said so unto the Earth, O king, thedivine Brahman bade her farewell. And the Creator then commanded all thegods saying, ‘To ease the Earth of her burden, go ye and have your birthsin her according to your respective parts and seek ye strife (with theAsuras already born there)’. And the Creator of all, summoning also allthe tribes of the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, spake unto them these wordsof deep import, ‘Go ye and be born amongst men according to yourrespective parts in forms that ye like.’

“And all the gods with Indra, on hearing these words of the Lord of thecelestials–words that were true, desirable under the circumstances, andfraught with benefit,–accepted them. And they all having resolved tocome down on earth in their respected parts, then went to Narayana, theslayer of all foes, at Vaikunth–the one who has the discus and the macein his hands, who is clad in purple, who is of great splendour, who haththe lotus on his navel, who is the slayer of the foes of the gods, who isof eyes looking down upon his wide chest (in yoga attitude), who is thelord of the Prajapati himself, the sovereign of all the gods, of mightystrength, who hath the mark of the auspicious whirl on his breast, who isthe mover of every one’s faculties and who is adored by all the gods.Him, Indra the most exalted of persons, addressed, saying, “Beincarnate.” And Hari replied,–‘Let it be.'”