Thursday, 24 December 2020
Monday, 7 December 2020
Reason going to Hell
Taksak went on to Hastinâpur to bring death and destruction on to Parîksit. When he went close to the city, he heard that
- the king Parîksit was staying on the upper story of the palace; and
- the palace had been preserved by various
- gems,
- mantras,
- herbs and
- plant.
- “How shall I now enter the palace?
- How can I cheat this stupid hypocrite vicious king, cursed by the Brâhmana, who causes troubles to the Brâhmanas. Not a single man has taken birth in the Pandava family ever since that he coiled a dead serpent round the neck of an ascetic Brâhmin.
- committed a very heinous crime and
- knowing the course of time to be in fallible, has placed sentries on all sides of the palace and
- has ascended to the top-most story of the building, thinking thereby to deceive Death and is staying in a peaceful mind.
- How can then he be smitten, in accordance with the Brâhmana's word? The king, of dull intellect, knows not that death cannot be prevented; for that reason he has placed guards and sentinels round the building, and himself has got up the house and is happily whiling away his time; but he is quite ignorant that when Fate who can never be violated, ordains the death, how can it be prevented though thousands of attempts are made to thwart it? This scion of Pandu family knows that his death is at hand and yet wants to live and therefore is staying in his own place with a tranquil mind.
- to make charities and
- other meritorious works;
- it is only by acts of Dharma that disease is destroyed and life is prolonged.And
- if that be not the object then a dying man ought to take bath, to make charities and to await his time of death; he thereby attains heaven; otherwise hell is inevitable.
68. O King! Do this sacrifice duly and deliver your father from hell by the merits that you will acquire thereby.
69. O Sinless One! The sin incurred on account of insulting a Brâhmin is serious and leads the sinner to hell. Your father committed that sin and incurred the curse from a Brâhmin. Therefore he has gone to the hell.
70. Your father died also out of a snake bite which is not a meritorious one. The death occurred also in a palace built high up in the air (on a pillar), instead of taking place on the ground on a bed of Kus'a grass.
71. O best of the Kurus! The death did not occur in any battle nor on the banks of the Ganges. Void of proper bathing and charities, etc., he died in a palace.
72. O best of Kings! All the ugly causes, leading to hell, were present in the case of your father. See, again, there is also one thing which done will lead to one’s liberation; but that was absent too with your father.
73-76. That is this :-- Let a man remain, wherever he may, whenever he comes to learn that his end is approaching, even if he had not practised before any good practices or meritorious deeds, and even if he becomes senseless in the trial time of death, when dispassion comes to an individual whose mind gets, for the time being, clear and free from any worldly thoughts, then he should think thus :-- “This my body, composed of five elements, will soon be destroyed; there is no cause whatsoever in having any remorse for it; let whatever come, that it may; I am free, void of qualities; and I am the Eternal Purusa; death is not capable to do any harm to me. All the elements are liable to decay and destruction; what remorse can overtake me? I am not a man of the world, I am always free, Eternal Brahmâ; I have got no connection with this body that is merely the outcome of actions.
77. Before I did meritorious or unmeritorious acts, leading to happiness and pain; therefore I have got this mortal coil and am enjoying the fruits of my past auspicious or inauspicious Karma.”
78. Whoever thinks thus and dies, even if he does not take proper purificatory bath or make any charity, he gets himself freed from the awful Samsâra and never comes to see himself again born in this world.
79. O King! This method of parting from one’s body is rarely attained even by the Yogins; this is the acme, the highest height of all the human efforts towards liberation.
80. But your father, hearing even the curse from a Brâhmin, retained his attachment towards his body; therefore he did not attain dispassion.
81. He thought thus :-- “My body is now free from any disease; my kingdom is free from enemies or any other source of danger; how can I now get myself saved from this untimely death.” Thinking thus, he ordered to call the Brâhmans, who know the mantrams.
82. Then that king ascended to the palace, with medicines, many mantras and many other instruments.
83-84. He considered his fate to be the strongest and therefore did not take his bath in any holy place; he did not perform any charities, did not sleep on the ground or remember any mantram of the Devî. Due to Kali entering into his body, he committed the sin of insulting an ascetic and plunged himself in the ocean of delusion and died bitten by the Taksaka snake on the top of a palace.
85. The King has now fallen undoubtedly to the hell, on account of those vicious deeds. Therefore, O King! dost Thou deliver your father from the sin.
86. Sûta said, O Risis! Hearing these words from the fiery Vyâsa, the king Janamejaya became very sad and tears came from his eyes and flowed down his cheeks and throat.He then exclaimed in a suffocating voice “Fie on me! my father is still in the hell. I will now do at once whatever leads my father to heaven.”
Thus ends the twelfth chapter on the Ambâ Yajña rules in the 3rd Adhyâya of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses composed by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.
Thursday, 3 December 2020
Uttanka
Muni, named Uttanka, being much troubled by Taksaka, thought who could help him in his taking revenge on Taksak and, seeing the king Parîksit's son the king Janamejaya a proper person came to Hastinâ to the king and spoke out thus :-- “O good king!
- Thou dost not know when to do a thing that ought to be done;
- Thou art doing at present what ought not to be done; and
- thou art not doing what should be done now.
Janamejaya Guru's
When Janamejaya became eleven years old,
- the family priest initiated him duly with the Gâyatrî mantra and he also studied it duly.
- Then Kripâ chârya taught him perfectly the science of archery (Dhanurveda) as Dronâchârya taught Arjuna and Paras'urâma taught Karna.
- Janamejaya learnt by and by all the sciences and became very powerful and indomitable to his enemies as he was skilled in the science of archery, he was similarly in the other branches of the Vedas. Truthful, self-controlled, religious, the king Janamejaya acquired full knowledge in the Dhârmas'âstras (philosophies and law books) and Arthas'âstras (economics) and governed his kingdom like the Dharma's son Yudhisthira.
funeral ceremonies
Sûta said :--
“O Munis! seeing now the king lifeless, and his son a mere boy, the ministers themselves performed all his funeral ceremonies.
- First they burned the king on the banks of the Ganges without uttering any Mantra, as his death was an accidental one due to snake bite,
- afterwards they had an effigy of the king made of kus’a grass and placed it on a funeral pyre and burned it, with sandal and scented wood.
- The priest then performed and completed his funeral obsequies, repeating duly the Vedic mantras, and distributed various things in charities to the Brâhmins, together with sufficient quantity of gold, and varieties of food and clothings so that the king may attain heaven.
insect
Uttarâ's son Parîksit gave away fruits to the friends and took one ripe fruit for himself, broke it and saw within it a very fine copper-coloured black eyed insect. At this the ministers were astonished; the King spoke to them :-- “The sun has set; so there is no further chance of any fear from any poison to-day. I speak then to-day, fearing the Brâhman's curse, let this insect bite me.” Thus saying the king took that insect and placed it on his neck. That Taksak in the form of an insect, when placed, during the sun-set, on the neck by the king, immediately assumed the form of the terrible Kâla (Death), coiled round the king and beat him. The Ministers were greatly surprised and began to weep and cry with great pain and sorrow. Seeing that terrible serpent, the ministers, overwhelmed with terror, fled away on all sides. The guards cried out loudly. The terrible out-cry was raised on all sides. Then Uttarâ's son, the king Parîksit, coiled by the serpent, saw that all his efforts were rendered fruitless, and remained silent and held fast to his patience. From the mouth of the serpent Taksak the terrible venomous flames came out burning all and immediately killed the king. Thus taking away the life of the king, Taksak went up in the celestial atmosphere; the people then saw that the serpent was ready as if to burn the world. The king fell down lifeless like a burnt tree; and all the persons cried out seeing the king dead.
Wealth Name Fame Death
Kas'yapa said :-- “O chief of serpents! Knowing the king cursed, I am going to do good to him by my knowledge and to get in return abundant wealth.” Hearing this, Taksak said :-- “I will give you the amount of wealth that you desire; take that and go back to your house, and let my desire be also fulfilled.”
Kas'yapa, the knower of the highest state, heard Taksaka's words and pondered in his mind again and again. “What is to be done now? If I take this wealth and go back to my house, my name and fame will not be known in this world, simply for my greed; but if the king be made alive again, my undying fame, abundant wealth, and greater Punyam will accrue to me. Again fie to that wealth with which there is no fame; so one must try one's best to preserve one's fame.
- The king Raghu, in ancient days, gave away everything of his to the Brâhmanas for fame;
- the king Harischandra and
- Karna did not hesitate a bit to give away endless property.
Thus meditating in his mind, the highly intelligent Kas'yapa began to meditate, and plunged himself in Dhyân; he thereby came to know that the king's life period was spent up. Thus knowing the king's death imminent, the virtuous Kas'yapa took the desired wealth from Taksak and returned home.
https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk02ch10.htm
Nyagrodha
Taksak said :-- “O chief of Brâhmanas! If you have so thought that you will make the king alive after I bite him, then shew me your strength before hand. O sinless one! I will bite this Nyagrodha tree (the Indian fig-tree); just now make it alive.”
Kas'yapa said :-- “Certainly I will make this tree alive, that will be burnt away by the venom of your teeth.” Sûta said :-- “The snake Taksak then bit the tree, which was reduced to ashes; and asked Kas'yapa to bring back that tree to life.” Seeing the tree reduced to ashes by the fire of venom of the snake, he collected all the ashes and said :-- “O highly venomous serpent. See to-day the power of my mantra. Behold! While you are witnessing, I will enliven this tree. Thus the great mantra-knower Kas'yapa took water in his hand, and impregnating it with his mantra power, sprinkled the water on the ashes. Immediately, on the sprinkling of the mantra saturated water, the Nyagrodha tree got back its life as before.
Kadru
The great sage Kashyapa, the wish-born son of Lord Brahma, was married to the two daughters Kadru and Vinata of Daksha. (Kashyapa was married to many more women, some of them the daughters of Daksha.) Both these sisters were of great beauty and jealous of each other. Kashyapa was exceedingly pleased with both of them and offered to grant each of them a boon.
Kadru said, "Let a thousand sons of incomparable strength and valor be born to me!" Kashyapa said, "So be it!", and to Kadru were born the race of serpents, a full thousand of them, endowed with great strength.
When it was her turn to chose her boon, Vinata said, "Let two sons be born to me, who shall eclipse the sons of my sister in strength, valor and fame."
Kashyapa said, "So be it!"
In due course of time, Vinata laid two eggs. She gave them to her maid-servants for safe-keeping. They put these two eggs in warm containers and guarded them day and night. Five-hundred years passed, but the eggs had not hatched. Vinata grew impatient, for her sister already had a thousand snakes as her offspring. She broke open one of her eggs. The embryo in it had the upper part fully developed, but its lower half was still to be formed. The child grew angry at his mother and said, "How could you be so impatient? You have nearly killed me by your rash act. I curse you to slavery! Do not disturb my brother in the other egg. If you wait for another five hundred years, he shall be the means of delivering you from your servitude."
Some time after this, the two sisters Kadru and Vinata were involved in an argument. Kadru asked her sister, "Sister, what is the color of the divine horse Uchaishravas that belongs to Indra?"
Her sister replied, "It is of a flawless white color, right from its nose to its magnificent tail."
Kadru said, "You are wrong. While it is true that his face and his body are of a flawless white color, I think that his tail alone is a shiny black color. Tell you what, let us have a bet on this topic. If you are right, I shall become your slave. If I am right, you must become my slave instead."
Vinata accepted the bet. She was confident that she would win. Kadru knew that the horse was white through and through, so she hatched a plan. She called her sons and said, "I have bet with your aunt that the horse Uchaishravas possesses a black tail. You must make my words come true. Go forth and entwine yourself around his tail and give it a black appearance."
The snakes did not want to be a part of this deception. Kadru became exceedingly angry. She said, "How dare you disobey the command of your mother? There is no use in having offspring that disobeys my commands. I curse that all you will be destroyed by fire before too much time has elapsed!" (Note: This is the curse that was responsible for the so many snakes being destroyed in King Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice.)
When Lord Brahma heard this curse, he further strengthened it by saying, "So be it!". When Kashyapa heard how his sons were cursed, and that his father Brahma had also sanctioned it, he went to Brahma and pleaded with him to mitigate the curse.
Brahma said, "Your sons are wicked. Their poison is threatening to destroy all creation. If left unchecked, nothing else can live on the earth. However, not all of them shall be destroyed. Those who are virtuous, who did not swerve from the path of truth shall be saved." Thus comforting his son, he taught Kashyapa an infallible Mantra to neutralize the poison of the snake. (This is how Kashyapa worsted his son Takshaka in a challenge, by reviving a banyan tree that had been reduced to ashes by the serpent's venom).
https://www.google.com/search?q=Kadru
Kadru said, "Let a thousand sons of incomparable strength and valor be born to me!" Kashyapa said, "So be it!", and to Kadru were born the race of serpents, a full thousand of them, endowed with great strength.
When it was her turn to chose her boon, Vinata said, "Let two sons be born to me, who shall eclipse the sons of my sister in strength, valor and fame."
Kashyapa said, "So be it!"
In due course of time, Vinata laid two eggs. She gave them to her maid-servants for safe-keeping. They put these two eggs in warm containers and guarded them day and night. Five-hundred years passed, but the eggs had not hatched. Vinata grew impatient, for her sister already had a thousand snakes as her offspring. She broke open one of her eggs. The embryo in it had the upper part fully developed, but its lower half was still to be formed. The child grew angry at his mother and said, "How could you be so impatient? You have nearly killed me by your rash act. I curse you to slavery! Do not disturb my brother in the other egg. If you wait for another five hundred years, he shall be the means of delivering you from your servitude."
Some time after this, the two sisters Kadru and Vinata were involved in an argument. Kadru asked her sister, "Sister, what is the color of the divine horse Uchaishravas that belongs to Indra?"
Her sister replied, "It is of a flawless white color, right from its nose to its magnificent tail."
Kadru said, "You are wrong. While it is true that his face and his body are of a flawless white color, I think that his tail alone is a shiny black color. Tell you what, let us have a bet on this topic. If you are right, I shall become your slave. If I am right, you must become my slave instead."
Vinata accepted the bet. She was confident that she would win. Kadru knew that the horse was white through and through, so she hatched a plan. She called her sons and said, "I have bet with your aunt that the horse Uchaishravas possesses a black tail. You must make my words come true. Go forth and entwine yourself around his tail and give it a black appearance."
The snakes did not want to be a part of this deception. Kadru became exceedingly angry. She said, "How dare you disobey the command of your mother? There is no use in having offspring that disobeys my commands. I curse that all you will be destroyed by fire before too much time has elapsed!" (Note: This is the curse that was responsible for the so many snakes being destroyed in King Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice.)
When Lord Brahma heard this curse, he further strengthened it by saying, "So be it!". When Kashyapa heard how his sons were cursed, and that his father Brahma had also sanctioned it, he went to Brahma and pleaded with him to mitigate the curse.
Brahma said, "Your sons are wicked. Their poison is threatening to destroy all creation. If left unchecked, nothing else can live on the earth. However, not all of them shall be destroyed. Those who are virtuous, who did not swerve from the path of truth shall be saved." Thus comforting his son, he taught Kashyapa an infallible Mantra to neutralize the poison of the snake. (This is how Kashyapa worsted his son Takshaka in a challenge, by reviving a banyan tree that had been reduced to ashes by the serpent's venom).
https://www.google.com/search?q=Kadru
Parikshit to Ministers about Ruru
So let me now
- drop myself down in a lake or
- enter in to a burning fire or
- drink venom or
- strangle myself by tieing rope round my neck!”
Thus Ruru wailed much on the bank of the river and long reflecting in his mind found out a way and thought
- what would be the advantage in death? “
- Rather an irretrievable sin would be incurred in committing suicide; and
- my father and mother would be sorry. Seeing me commit suicide,
- my bad luck and enemies will be gladdened; there is no manner of doubt; in this.
- What benefit will my beloved gain if I commit suicide or if I be distressed for her bereavement.
- Suppose I die, even then my beloved will not become mine in the next world; so there are many faults in my committing suicide but there is no fault if I preserve my life.
Cow Womb
Parîksit went once on an hunting expedition to a dense forest and shot a deer. He then searched for the deer and it became noon and he felt very thirsty, hungry, quite fatigued with his body, perspiring, when he saw a Muni merged in meditation; he asked the Muni “Where can water be had?” But the Muni held at that time the vow of silence; so he did not answer anything. Seeing this, the thirsty king, influenced by Kali, became angry and raised a dead serpent by the fore-end of his bow and coiled it round the Muni's neck. Even thus coiled with a snake round his neck the Muni remained as before motionless in his state of enlightenment and spoke nothing. The king also returned home.
Then the Muni's son, born from the cow's womb, S’ringî, a great ascetic, a fiery devotee of Mahâs'akti, heard of the above event, while he was playing in the forest. His friends spoke to him :-- “O Muni! Some body has now enclosed a dead serpent around the neck of your father.” Hearing their words, S’ringî became very angry and taking water in his hands, cursed thus :-- “He who has coiled to-day a dead serpent around my father's neck, let that villain be bitten by the serpent Taksak within one week from this day”.
36
He installed Parîksit, Uttarâ's son who was then thirty six years old on the throne and went out of his palace in company of his brothers, and Draupadi to the forests of the Himâlayâs. Thus the Pândavas, Prîtha's son, reigned for thirty six years in Hastinâ and quitted their mortal coils in the Himâlayâs. Here the greatly religious sage-king Parîksit governed with vigilance all his subjects for sixty years
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