Chapter 105

“Kanwa said, ‘Meanwhile, O Bharata, the mighty Garuda heard what hadhappened, viz., the bestowal by Sakra of length of days on the NagaSumukha. And inflamed with great anger, that ranger of the firmament,Suparna, smiting the three worlds by the hurricane caused by theflappings of his wings, quickly came to Vasava. And Garuda said, ‘Oillustrious one, disregarding me why hast thou interfered with mysustenance. Having granted me a boon of thy own will, why dost thou nowwithdraw it? The Supreme Lord of all creatures hath, from the beginning,ordained what my food is to be. Why dost thou then stand in the way ofthat divine decree? I had selected this great Naga and had fixed time,for O god, I had intended to offer the meat of his body, as sustenance tomy numerous progeny. When he, therefore, hath obtained a boon from theeand hath become indestructible by me, how can I henceforth dare killanother of his species? Dost thou sport thus, O Vasava, as thou listest?I, however, shall have to die, as also the members of my family’ and theservants whom I have engaged in my house. That will, I think, gratifythee, O Vasava! Indeed, O slayer of Vala and Vritra, I deserve all this,nay more, since being the lord of the three worlds in might. I yetconsented to become the servant of another. O monarch of the threeworlds, Vishnu, however, is not the only cause of my inferiority, forthough, O Vasava, I am quite thy equal, yet the sovereignty of the threeworlds resteth on thee, O chief of the celestials. Like thee, I also havea daughter of Daksha for my mother and Kasyapa for my father. Like thee,I also can, without any fatigue, bear the weight of the three worlds. Ihave strength that is immeasurable and incapable of being resisted by anycreature. In the war with the Daityas I also achieved grand feats.Srutasri and Srutasena and Vivaswat, and Rochanamukha, and Prasrura, andKalakaksha amongst the sons of Diti were slain by me. Perching yet on theflag-staff of thy younger brother’s car I carefully protect it in battle,and sometimes also I bear that brother of thine on my back. It is,perhaps, for this that thou disregardest me. Who else in the universe isthere that is capable of bearing such heavy burthens? Who is there thatis stronger than myself? Superior though I am, I yet bear on my back thisyounger brother of thine with all his friends. When, however,disregarding me thou hast interfered with my foods, thou hast, O Vasava,inflicted disgrace on me, like this younger brother of thine that hadhitherto been disgracing me by making me bear him on my back. As regardsthyself, O Vishnu, amongst all those endued with prowess and strengththat have been born of Aditi’s womb, thou art superior in strength. Yetthee I bear without any fatigue, with only one of my feathers. Thinkcoolly then, O brother, who amongst us is stronger?’

“Kanwa continued, ‘Hearing the proud words of that bird foreshadowingdanger the bearer of the discus, provoking Tarkshya still more, said untohim, ‘Though so very weak, why dost thou, O Garuda, yet regard thyselfstrong, O oviparous creature, it ill behoveth thee to vaunt thus in ourpresence. The three worlds united together cannot bear the weight of mybody. I myself bear my own weight and thine also. Come now, bear thou theweight of this one right arm of mine. If thou canst bear even this, thyboast would be regarded as reasonable. Saying this, the holy one placedhis arms on Garuda’s shoulders. Thereupon the latter fell down, afflictedwith its weight, confounded, and deprived of his senses. And Garuda, feltthat the weight of that one arm of Vishnu was as great as that of theentire Earth with her mountains. Endued with might infinitely greater,Vishnu, however, did not afflict him much. Indeed, Achyuta did not takehis life. That ranger of the sky, afflicted then by that immense weight,gasped for breath, and began to cast off his feathers. With every limbweakened, and utterly confounded, Garuda was almost deprived of hissenses. The winged offspring of Vinata then, thus confounded and almostdeprived of his senses, and rendered utterly helpless, bowing unto Vishnuwith bent bead, feebly addressed him, saying, ‘O illustrious Lord, theessence of that strength which sustains the universe dwelleth in thisbody of thine. What wonder, therefore, that I should be crushed down tothe earth by a single arm of thine, stretched out at thy pleasure. Itbehoveth thee, O divine Lord, to forgive this winged creature thatperches on thy flag-staff–this fool intoxicated with pride of strength,but now rendered utterly helpless. Thy great strength, O divine Lord, wasnever known to me before. It was for this that I regarded my own might tobe unequalled.’ Thus addressed, the illustrious Vishnu became gratified,and addressing Garuda with affection, said, ‘Let not thy behaviour besuch again.’ And saying this, Upendra threw Sumukha with the toe of hisfoot upon Garuda’s breast. And from that time, O king, Garuda hath everlived in friendship with that snake. It was thus, O king, that mighty andillustrious Garuda, the son of Vinata, afflicted by the might of Vishnu,was cured of his pride.’

“Kanwa continued, ‘In the same way, O son of Gandhari, thou livest, Oson, as long as thou approachest not the heroic sons of Pandu in battle.Who is there whom Bhima, that foremost of smiters, that mighty son ofVayu and Dhananjaya, the son of Indra, cannot slay in battle? Vishnuhimself, and Vayu and Dharma, and the Aswins,–these gods are thyenemies. Let alone an encounter with them, thou art not competent even tolook at them on the field. Therefore, O prince, do not set thy heart uponwar; let peace be made through the agency of Vasudeva. It behoveth theeto save thy race thus. This great ascetic Narada witnessed with his owneyes the incident (I have related to thee) which shows the greatness ofVishnu, and know that this Krishna is that bearer of the discus and themace!’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Hearing these words of the Rishi, Duryodhanacontracted his eye-brows and began to breathe heavily. And casting hiseyes then on Radha’s son, he burst out into a loud laughter. And settingat naught those words of the Rishi, that wicked wretch began to slap histhigh that resembled the trunk of an elephant. And addressing the Rishi,he said, ‘I am, O great Rishi, precisely what the Creator hath made me.What is to be, must be. What also hath been ordained in my case musthappen, I cannot act otherwise. What can these senseless declamations,therefore, avail?'”