Chapter 209

“Yudhishthira said, ‘O grandsire, O thou of great wisdom and invincibleprowess in battle, I wish to hear in detail of Krishna who is immutableand omnipotent. O bull among men, tell me truly everything about hisgreat energy and the great feats achieved by him in days of old. Why didthat puissant one assume the form of an animal, and for achieving whatparticular act? Tell me all this, O mighty warrior!’

“Bhishma said, ‘Formerly, on one occasion, while out ahunting, I arrivedat the hermitage of Markandeya. There I beheld diverse classes ofascetics seated by thousands. The Rishis honoured me by the offer ofhoney and curds. Accepting their worship, I reverentially saluted them inreturn. The following that I shall recite was narrated there by the greatRishi Kasyapa. Listen with close attention to that excellent and charmingaccount. In former days, the principal Danavas, endued with wrath andcupidity, and mighty Asuras numbering by hundreds and drunk with might,and innumerable other Danavas that were invincible in battle, becameexceedingly jealous of the unrivalled prosperity of the gods. Oppressed(at last) by the Danavas, the gods and the celestial Rishis, failing toobtain peace, fled away in all directions. The denizens of heaven saw theearth looking like one sunk in sore distress. Overspread with mightyDanavas of terrible mien, the earth seemed to be oppressed with a heavyweight. Cheerless and griefstricken, she seemed as if going down into thenether depths. The Adityas, struck with fear, repaired to Brahman, andaddressing him, said, ‘How, O Brahman, shall we continue to bear theseoppressions of the Danavas?’ The Self-born answered them, saying, ‘I havealready ordained what is to be done in this matter. Endued with boons,and possessed of might, and swelling with pride, those senseless wretchesdo not know that Vishnu of invisible form, that God incapable of beingvanquished by the very deities all acting together, hath assumed the formof a boar. That Supreme Deity, rushing to the spot whither those wretchesamong Danavas, of terrible aspect, are dwelling in thousands below theearth, will slay them all.’ Hearing these words of the Grandsire,foremost ones among the deities felt great joy. Sometime after, Vishnuthose of mighty energy, encased in the form of a Boar, penetrating intothe nether regions, rushed against those offspring of Diti. Beholdingthat extraordinary creature, all the Daityas, uniting together andstupefied by Time, quickly proceeded against it for exerting theirstrength, and stood surrounding it. Soon after, they all rushed againstthat Boar and seized it simultaneously. Filled with rage they endeavouredto drag the animal from every side. Those foremost of Danavas, of hugebodies, possessed of mighty energy, swelling with strength, succeedednot, however, O monarch, in doing anything to that Boar. At this theywondered much and then became filled with fear. Numbering in thousands,they regarded that their last hour had come. Then that Supreme God of allthe gods, having yoga for his soul and yoga for his companion, becamerapt in yoga, O chief of the Bharatas, and began to utter tremendousroars, agitating those Daityas and Danavas. All the worlds and the tenpoints of the compass resounded with those roars, which, for this reason,agitated all creatures and filled them with fear. The very gods withIndra at their head became terror-stricken. The whole universe becamestilled in consequence of that sound. It was a dreadful time. All mobileand immobile beings became stupefied by that sound. The Danavas,terrified by that sound, began to fall down lifeless, paralysed by theenergy of Vishnu. The Boar, with its hoofs, began to pierce those enemiesof the gods, those denizens of the nether regions, and tear their flesh,fat, and bones. In consequence of those tremendous roars, Vishnu came tobe called by the name of Sanatana.[712] He is also called Padmanabha. Heis the foremost of yogins. He is the Preceptor of all creatures, andtheir supreme Lord. All the tribes of the gods then repaired to theGrandsire. Arrived at the presence, those illustrious ones a dressed theLord of the universe, saying, ‘What sort of a noise is this, O puissantone? We do not understand it. Who is this one, or whose is this sound atwhich the universe hath been stupefied? With the energy of this sound orof its maker, the gods and the Danavas have all been deprived of theirsenses.’ Meanwhile, O mighty-armed one, Vishnu in his porcine form was insight of the assembled gods, his praises hymned by the great Rishis.’

“The Grandsire said, ‘That is the Supreme God, the Creator of all beings,the soul of all creatures, the foremost of all yogins. Of huge body andgreat strength, he cometh here, having slain the foremost ones among theDanavas. He is the Lord of all beings, the master of yoga, the greatascetic, the Soul of all living beings. Be still, all of you. He isKrishna, the destroyer of all obstacles and impediments.[713] ThatSupreme God, of immeasurable splendour, that great refuge of allblessings, having achieved a most difficult feat that is incapable ofbeing accomplished by others, has returned to his own unmixednature.[714] It is He from whose navel the primeval lotus had sprung. Heis the foremost of yogins. Of supreme soul, He is the creator of allbeings. There is no need for sorrow or fear or grief, ye foremost ofgods! He is the Ordainer. He is the Creating Principle. He isall-destroying Time. It is He who upholds all the world. The roars thathave alarmed you are being uttered by that high-souled one. Of mightyarms, He is the object of the universal worship. Incapable ofdeterioration, that lotus-eyed one is the origin of all beings and theirlord.'”