Chapter 10

“Narada said,–‘Possessed of great splendour, the assembly house ofVaisravana, O king, is a hundred yojanas in length and seventy yojanas inbreadth. It was built, O king, by Vaisravana himself using his asceticpower.

Possessing the splendour of the peaks of Kailasa, that mansioneclipses by its own the brilliance of the Moon himself. Supported byGuhyakas, that mansion seems to be attached to the firmament. Ofcelestial make, it is rendered extremely handsome with high chambers ofgold. Extremely delightful and rendered fragrant with celestial perfumes,it is variegated with numberless costly jewels. Resembling the peaks of amass of white clouds, it seems to be floating in the air. Painted withcolours of celestial gold, it seems to be decked with streaks oflightning. Within that mansion sitteth on an excellent seat bright as thesun and covered with celestial carpets and furnished with a handsomefootstool, king Vaisravana of agreeable person, attired in excellentrobes and adorned with costly ornaments and ear-rings of greatbrilliance, surrounded by his thousand wives. Delicious and coolingbreezes murmuring through forests of tall Mandaras, and bearing fragranceof extensive plantations of jasmine, as also of the lotuses on the bosomof the river Alaka and of the Nandana-gardens, always minister to thepleasure of the King of the Yakshas. There the deities with theGandharvas surrounded by various tribes of Apsaras, sing in chorus, Oking, notes of celestial sweetness. Misrakesi and Rambha, and Chitrasena,and Suchismita; and Charunetra, and Gritachi and Menaka, andPunjikasthala; and Viswachi Sahajanya, and Pramlocha and Urvasi and Ira,and Varga and Sauraveyi, and Samichi, and Vududa, and Lata–these and athousand other Apsaras and Gandharvas, all well-skilled in music anddance, attend upon Kuvera, the lord of treasures. And that mansion,always filled with the notes of instrumental and vocal music, as alsowith the sounds of dance of various tribes of Gandharvas, and Apsarashath become extremely charming and delicious. The Gandharvas calledKinnaras, and others called Naras, and Manibhadra, and Dhanada, andSwetabhadra and Guhyaka; Kaseraka, Gandakandu, and the mighty Pradyota;Kustumvuru, Pisacha, Gajakarna, and Visalaka, Varaha-Karna, Tamraushtica,Falkaksha, and Falodaka; Hansachuda, Sikhavarta, Vibhishana, Pushpanana,Pingalaka, Sonitoda and Pravalaka; Vrikshavaspa-niketa, andChiravasas–these O Bharata, and many other Yakshas by hundred andthousands always wait upon Kuvera. The goddess Lakshmi always stayeththere, also Kuvera’s son Nalakuvera. Myself and many others like myselfoften repair thither. Many Brahmana Rishis and celestial Rishis alsorepair there often. Many Rakshasas, and many Gandharvas, besides thosethat have been named, wait upon the worship, in that mansion, theillustrious lord of all treasures. And, O tiger among kings, theillustrious husband of Uma and lord of created things, the three-eyedMahadeva, the wielder of the trident and the slayer of the Asura calledBhaga-netra, the mighty god of the fierce bow, surrounded by multitudesof spirits in their hundreds and thousands, some of dwarfish stature,some of fierce visage, some hunch-backed, some of blood-red eyes, some offrightful yells, some feeding upon fat and flesh, and some terrible tobehold, but all armed with various weapons and endued with the speed ofwind, with the goddess (Parvati) ever cheerful and knowing no fatigue,always waiteth here upon their friend Kuvera, the lord of treasures. Andhundreds of Gandharva chiefs, with cheerful hearts and attired in theirrespective robes and Viswavasu, and Haha and Huhu; and Tumvuru andParvatta, and Sailusha; and Chitrasena skilled in music and alsoChitraratha,–these and innumerable Gandharvas worship the lord oftreasures. And Chakradhaman, the chief of the Vidyadharas, with hisfollowers, waiteth in that mansion upon the lord of treasures. AndKinnaras by hundreds and innumerable kings with Bhagadatta as theirchief, and Druma, the chief of the Kimpurushas, and Mahendra, the chiefof the Rakshasas, and Gandhamadana accompanied by many Yakshas andGandharvas and many Rakshasas wait upon the lord of treasures. Thevirtuous Vibhishana also worshippeth there his elder brother the lordKuvera (Croesus). The mountains of Himavat, Paripatra, Vindhya, Kailasa,Mandara, Malaya, Durdura, Mahendra, Gandhamadana, Indrakila, Sunava, andEastern and the Western hills–these and many other mountains, in theirpersonified forms, with Meru standing before all, wait upon and worshipthe illustrious lord of treasures. The illustrious Nandiswaras, andMahakala, and many spirits with arrowy ears and sharp-pointed mouths,Kaksha, Kuthimukha, Danti, and Vijaya of great ascetic merit, and themighty white bull of Siva roaring deep, all wait in that mansion. Besidesthese many other Rakshasas and Pisachas (devils) worship Kuvera in thatassembly house. The son of Pulastya (Kuvera) formerly used always toworship in all the modes and sit, with permission obtained, beside thegod of gods, Siva, the creator of the three worlds, that supreme Deitysurrounded by his attendants. One day the exalted Bhava (Siva) madefriendship with Kuvera. From that time, O king, Mahadeva always sittethon the mansion of his friend, the lord of treasures. Those best of alljewels, those princes of all gems in the three worlds, viz., Sankha andPadma, in their personified forms, accompanied by all the jewels of theearth (also in their personified forms) worship Kuvera.”

“This delightful assembly house of Kuvera that I have seen, attached tothe firmament and capable of moving along it, is such, O king. Listen nowto the Sabha I describe unto thee, belonging to Brahma the Grandsire.”