Hindu Mythology and Tradition Vol 2
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Transcript of Hindu Mythology and Tradition Vol 2
JAN g"
BL/f35 ,FSA3 1864
W
(
JAN
30]S:,j
R KBT
S
THE LATE
HORACE IIAYMAN WILSON,M.A., F.R.S.,MEMBER OF THE ROYALASIATIC SOCIETY, OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETIES OF
CALCCTTA AND PARIS, AND OF THE ORIENTAL SOCIETY OF GERMANY;FORBtGN MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;
MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMIES OFPH.D. BRESLAU
ST.
PETERSBURGH AND VIENNA,
AND OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OP MUNICH AND BERLIN;;
M. D.
MARBURG, ETC.;IN
AND BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.
VOL.
V'll.
LONDON:TRUBNER &CO., 60,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
1865.
.
THE
VISHNU PURANA.A SYSTEMOF
HINDU MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION.TRANSLATED
FROM THE ORIGINAL SANSKRIT,AND
ILLUSTRATED BY NOTESDERIVED CHIEFLY FROM OTHER PURAnaS,BY THE LATE
H. H.
WILSON,IN
M.A., F.R.S.,THE UNIVEHSITY OF OXFORD,
BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT
ETC., ETC.
EDITED BY
FITZEDWARD HALL.VOL.
n.
LONDON:TRUBNER &CO., 60,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
1865.
VISHNU PURANA.BOOKI.
(continued).
CHAPTERlier
XV.
The world overrun with trees: they are destroyed by the PracheSoma pacifies them, and gives them Marisha to wife: tasas.story:
the daughter of the
of Kai'idu.
Marisha's former history.
nymph Pramlocha. Legend Daksha the son of the
Prachetasas: his different characters: his sons: his daughters: theirmarriages and progeny allusion to Prahhida, his descendant.:
Whilst the Prachetasas were thus absorbed in their devotions, the trees spread, and overshadowed the unprotected earth and the people perished. The winds coukl not blow; the sky was shut out by the forests; and mankind was unable to labour for ten thousand years. When the sages, coming forth from the deep,;
they were angry, and, being incensed, wind and flame issued from their mouths. The strong beheldthis,
wind tore up the trees by their roots, and left them sear and dry; and the fierce fire consumed them; and the forests were cleared away. When Soma (the moon),the sovereign of the vegetable world, beheldall
except
a few of the trees destroyed, he went to the patriarchs,
the Prachetasas, and said: "Restrain your indignation,princes, and listen to me.I will
form an
alliance be-
tween you and theII.
trees.
Prescient of futurity, I have1
VISHNU PURANA.nourished, with
my
rays,
this preciousis
maiden, the
and is, She shall be your bride, and the multiplier of the race of Dhruva. From a portion of your lustre and a portion of mine, mighty sages, the patriarch Daksha shall be born of her, who, endowed with a part of me, and composed of your vigour, shall be as resplendent as fire, anddaughter of the woods.
She
called Marisha,
assuredly, the offspring of the trees.
shall multiply the
human
race.
"There was formerly (said Soma) a sage named Kahdu, eminent in holy wisdom, who practised pious austerities on the lovely borders of the Gomati river. The king of the gods sent the nymph Pramlocha todisturb his penance;
and the sweet -smiling damsel
diverted the sage from his devotions.together, in the valley of
They
lived
Mandara, for a hundred and fifty years, during which the mind of the Muni was wholly given up to enjoyment. At the expiration ofthis period, the
requested his permission to return to heaven; but the Muni, still fondly attached to her, prevailed upon her to remain for some time longer; and the graceful damsel continued to residefor another
nymph
hundred years, and delight the great sagesuit
by her fascinations. Then again she preferred her
to be allowed to return to the abodes of the gods; and again the Muni desired her to remain. At the expiration of
more than a century, the nymph once more'Brahman,I
said to him, with a smiling countenance:
depart.' 13ut the Muni, detaining the fine-eyed damsel,
replied: 'Nay, stay yet a
little;
you
will
go hence for
Afraid of incurring an imprecation, the graceful nymph continued with the sage for nearly
a long period.'
BOOK
I.,
CHAP. XV.
two
liLindred years
more, repeatedly asking his per-
mission to go to the region of the king of the gods,
but as often desired, by him, to remain.
be cursed bytion
liim,
and excelUng
in amiable
Dreading to manners,
is inflicted by separafrom an object of affection, she did not quit the Muni, whose mind, wholly subdued by love, became,
well knowing, also, the pain that
every day, more strongly attached to her.
"On one
occasion the sage was going forth from
their cottage in a great hurry.
The nymph asked him where he was going. 'The day\ he replied, 'is drawing fast to a close. I must ]:>erform the Sandhya worship; or a duty will be neglected.'
mirthfully, as she rejoined:sir,
of this day drawing to a
of
many
years,
a
The nymph smiled 'Why do you talk, grave close? Your day is a dayall.
day that must be a marvel to
Explain what
this means.'
The Muni
said: 'Fair damsel,
you came to tlie river-side at dawn. I beheld you then; and you then entered my hermitage. It is now the revolution of evening; and the day is gone. What is Tell me the truth.' the meaning of this lauohter? Pramlocha answered: 'You say rightly, venerable Brahman, that I came hither at morning dawn. Butseveral hundred years have passed since the time of
This is the truth.' The Mimi, on hearing was seized with astonishment, and asked her how long he had enjoyed her society. To which the nymph replied, that they had lived together nine hundred and seven years, six months, and three days. The Muni asked her if she spoke the truth, or if she was in jest; for it appeared to him that they had spent but one day together. To which Pramlocha replied, that shearrival.this,1*
my
VISHNU PUR AN A.should not dare, at any time, totell
the path of piety an untruth, but, particularly,
she had been enjoined, by him, to
him who Hved in when inform him what
had passed.
"When
the Muni, princes, had heard these words,it
and knew that
was the
truth,
himself bitterly, exclaiming: 'Fie,
he began to reproach fie upon me! My
penance has been interrupted; the treasure of thelearned and the pious has been stolen from me;
my
judgment has been blinded. This woman has been created, by some one, to beguile me. Brahma is beyond the reach of those agitated by the waves of infirmity.^ I had subdued my passions, and was about to attain divine knowledge. This was foreseen by him by w^homthis girl has
been sent hither. Fie on the passion that
has obstructed
my
devotions!
All the austerities that
would have led to acquisition of the wisdom of the Vedas have been rendered of no avail by passion thatis
the road to
hell.'
viled himself, turned to thenigh,wilt.
The pious sage, having thus renymph, who was sitting'
and said
to her
:
Go, deceitful
girl,
whither thou
Thou
hast performed the office assigned thee
the
monarch of the gods,
of disturbing my penancebut thou andfault hast
by
by thy fascinations. I will not reduce thee to ashes by the fire of my wrath. Seven paces together is sufficient for the friendship of the virtuous:
I
have dwelt together.* And,^
in truth,
what
thirst,
Or, 'immersed in the six Urmis' (^f^'^^)? explained hunger, sorrow, stupefaction, decay, and death.
BOOKtliou
r.,
CHAP. XV.
5
committed? Why should I be wroth with tliee? is wholly mine; in that I could not suhdue my passions. Yet fie upon thee, who, to gain favour with
The
sin
Indra, hast disturbeddelusion!'
my
devotions,
vile
bundle of
"Thus spoken to by the Muni, Pramlocha stood trembling, whilst big drops of perspiration startedfrom every pore; till he angrily cried to her: 'Depart, begone.' She then, reproached by him, went forth from his dwelling, and, passing through the air, wiped the perspiration from her person with the leaves of the trees. The nymph went from tree to tree, and, as, with the dusky shoots that crowned their summits, she dried her limbs, which were covered with moisture, the child she had conceived by the Rishi came forth from the pores of her skin, in drops of perspiration.and the winds them into one mass. This", said Soma, "I matured by my rays; and gradually it increased in size, till the exhalation that had rested on the tree-tops became the lovely girl named Marisha. The trees will give her to you, Prachetasas. Let your indignation be appeased. She is the progeny of Kandu, the child ofcollected
The
trees received the living dews;
Pramlocha, the nursling of the trees, the daughter of the wind and the moon. The holy Kandu, after theinterruption of his pious exercises, went,princes,* to the region of Vishnu,
excellent
termed Purushottama,
*its
The
v?ord
epithet, "excellent", all the
jective in
by the translator; and, for have seen give ^TtRTI, an adthe singular number, and belonging to Kaiidu."princes"is
here supplied
MSS.
I
:
:
VISHNU PURANA.where, Maitreya/ with his whole mind, he devoted himself to the adoration of Hari; standing fixed,lifted
with np-
arms, and repeating the prayers that comprehend^
the essence of divine truth."
'
There
is
some confusion, here,
in regard to the person ad-
dressed: but the context shows that the insertion of Maitreya's
name2
is
an inadvertence
,
and that the passage
is
a continuation
of Soma's speech to the Prachetasas.
The phrase
is
^^qiT'T^ ^
*"-
WTfi,
I
'made up of
the
furtherthe
boundary of Brahma'; implying
either
'comprehending
'consisting of the furthest limits (Para) or truths of the
Supreme or Brahma, and transcendental wisdom, Para'; or Vedas orthat is,
Brahma'; The hymn
being the essence of the Vedanta philosophy.
that follows is, in fact, a
mantra or mystical prayer,
commencing with thexrrt
reiteration of the
^ f^^T^T^TTinfinite';
word Para and Para;
as:
Para means 'supreme,or, figuratively, the
and Para, 'the further bank orVishnu, then,
limit', the point that is to
be attained by crossing a river or sea,is
world or existence.
Param,
that
which nothing surpasses; and Param, the end or object ofis
existence: he
Aparaparal:', the furthest
bound of
that
which
is
illimitable, or space
and time: he
is
Param parebhyah, abovefinal truth,
or
beyond theheis
highest, being
beyond or superior
to all the elements
Paramartharupi, or identical withis
or knowledgespiritual
of soul: he
Brahmaparah, the object or essence ofis
wisdom. Paraparabhiitabof those objects
said to imply the further limit (Para)
of rudimental matter (Para).
He;
is
Parahhe
,
or chief,is
Paranam,Paraparah,
which are beyond the senses: and hethatis,
or the boundary of boundaries
is
the comprehensive
*
Tho MSS. which
I
have examined exhibit, without exception, Tf^:
BOOK
I.,
CHAP. XV.
7
The
Pi-aclietasas said:
"We
are desirous to hear thereciting
transcendental prayersthe pious
by inaudiblyis
which
Kandu
propitiated Kesava."
On which Soma
repeated as follows: '"Vishnuofisall
things; he
is
the infinite; heis is
beyond the boundary is beyond that whichis
boundless; he
above
all
that
above; he exists
as finite truth; he
the object of the Veda; the limit
of elemental being; unappreciable
by the senses; posthe cause of cause;
sessed of illimitable might.
He
is
the cause of the cause of cause; the
cause of
finite
cause; and, in effects, he, both as every object andagent, preserves the universe.
He
is
Brahma theall
lord;
Brahma
all
beings;
Brahma
the progenitor of
beings;
the imperishable.
He
is
the undecaying, eternal, un-
born Brahma, incapable of increase or diminution. Purushottamais
the everlasting, uncreated, immutable,
Brahma. May the imperfections ofhilated (through his favour).'
my nature be anni-
Reciting this eulogium,
the essence of divine truth, and propitiating Kesava,
Kandu obtained
final
emancipation.*old, I will also relate to
"Whoto you.
Marisha was of
you;
as the recital of her meritorious acts will be beneficial
She was the widow of a prince, and
left child-
less at her husband's death.
She, therefore, zealously
worshipped Vishnu; who, being gratified by her adoration,
appeared to her, and desired her to demand a,
investure of, and exterior tofined;
those limits by wliich soul
is
conpas-
he
is
free
from
all
incumbrance or impediment.
Theto
sage
may be
interpreted in differentis
ways, according
the in-
genuity with which the riddle
read.
Siddhi, in the original.
8
VISHNU rURANA.:
boon on which she revealed to him the wishes of her heart. 'I have been a widow, lord', she exclaimed, 'even from my infancy; and my birth has been in vain. Unfortunate have I been, and of little use, sovereign of the world. Now, therefore, I pray thee, that, in suc-
may have honourable husbands, and May I be possessed of affluence and beauty; may I be pleasing in the sight of all and may I be born out of the ordinary course. Grant these prayers, thou who artceeding births,I
a son equal to a patriarch (amongst men).
;
propitious to the devout.'* Hrishikesa, the god of gods,
the supreme giver of
all
blessings, thus
prayed
to,
raised her from her prostrate attitude, and said: "In
another
prowess, and renowned for glorious
have ten husbands of mighty acts. And you shall have a son, magnanimous and valiant, distinguished by the rank of a patriarch, f from whom the various races of men shall multiply, and by whoselife
you
shall
posterity the universe shall be
filled.
lady, shall be of marvellous birth ;t and
You, virtuous you shall be
hearts of men.'
endowed with grace and loveliness, delighting the Thus having spoken, the deity disapis
peared; and the princess was, accordingly, afterwards
born as Marisha, who'
given to you for a wife."^is
This part of the legend
peculiar to our text;
and the
Marisha was, thus, promised a son "endowed with the attributes of apatriarch."X
Ayonija.
BOOK
I.,
CHAP, XV.
9
Soma havingrisha, as he
concluded, the Prachetasas took Mawife,
had enjoined them, righteously to
relinquishing their indignation against the trees;
and
upon her they begot the eminent patriarch Daksha, who liad (in a former life) been born as the son of Brahma.^whole story of Marisha'sbirthis
nowhereits
else so fully detailed.
The penancein
of the Prachetasas, and
consequences, are related
the
Agni,
Bhagavata, Matsya, Padma, Vayu, and Brahmais
Purcirias;
and allusion
briefly
made
to Marisha's birth.in
Her
oriain fromin the
Kandu and Pramlocha is narrated Brahma Purtina, where the austerities,
a different place
of
necessity for their interruptionthatis
are described.
Kandu, and the The story from,
authority,
was
translated by the late Professor Chezy, and
number of the Journal Asiatique. Daksha, and his share in the peopling similar of the earth, is narrated in most of the Puranas in a manner. It is, perhaps, the original legend; for Daksha seemspublished in the
first
The second
birth of
an irregular adjunct to the Prajapatis or mind-born sons of Brahma (see Vol. I., p. 100, note 2); and the allegorical natureto be
of his posterity in that character (Vol. recent origin.
I.,
p. 109)
intimates a
more
Nor does
that series of descendants apparently
occur in the Mahabharata; although the existence of two Dakshasis
especially
remarked there (Moksha Dharma):
In the Adi Parvan, which seems to be the freest from subsequent improvements, the Daksha noticed is the son of the Prachetasas.
The
incompatibility of the
two accounts
is
reconciled
hy
referring
the two
Manwantaras; the Daksha who proceeded from Brahma as a Prajapati being born in the first, or Swayambhuva, and the son of the Prachetasas, in the Chakshu-
Dakshas
to different
sha,
Manwantara. The
latter,
however, as descended from Uttanaperiod also.It is
pada, should belong to the
first
evident that great
confusion has been made, by the Puranas,
in
Daksha's history.
Mahabharata, Sdnti-parvan, 7573.
10
VISHNU PUKANA.
This great sage, for the furtherance of creation, andthe
Obeying Brahma, he made movable and immovable things," bipeds and quadrupeds, f and, subsequently, by his will, gave birth to females, ten of whom he bestowed on Dharma, thirteen on Kasyapa, and twenty-seven, who regulate the course of time, on
the increase of mankind, created progeny.
command
of
the Moon.^
Of
these, the gods, the Titans, t the snake-
gods, cattle, and birds, the singers and dancers of thecourts of heaven, the spirits of evil, and other beings, were born. From that period forwards, living creatures were engendered by sexual intercourse. Before the time of Daksha, they were variously propagated, by the will, by sight, by touch, and by the influence of religious austerities practised by devout sages and holy
saints.
II
Maitreya. Daksha, as I have formerly heard, was born from the right thumb of Brahma. Tell me, great Muni, how he was regenerate as the son of the Prachetasas.
Considerable perplexity also arises inhe,
my
mind,
who, as the son of Marisha, was the grandson of Soma, could be also his father-in-law. Birth and death are constant in all Paras ARA. creatures. Rishis and sages, possessing divine vision,
how
That
is,
they are the Nakshatras or lunar asterisms.
*
The Sanskrit has avara and vara, "inferior" and "superior"; and
these epithets, not being given in the neuter, but in the masculine, referto
putra, Professor Wilson's "progeny". t See Orujinal Sanskrit Texts, Part I., pp. 26 and 27.+
Daitya.
li
Ddnava.See Original Sanskrit Texts, PartI.,
p. 27.
:
BOOKare
I.,
CHAT. XV.
11
not [)ei'plexed by
this.
Dakslui and the other
enunent Munis are present
in
every age, and,
in
die
interval of destruction, cease to be.^
man'
entertains no doubt.
Of this the wise Amongst them of okl there
'They are removed' (f'T'^"^^), "wliich the commentator ^^ip^cf^"^^ 'are absorbed, as if they were fast in asleep.' But, in every age or Yuga, according to the text, every Manwantara, according to the comment theRishis reappear;explains by|
the circumstancestherefore, asin
of their origin
only being varied.
Daksha,
remarked
in the preceding note, is the
son of Brahma,
one period, the son of the Prachetasas, in another.
So Soma,
in thein the
Swayambhuva Manwantara, was borntext occur in the
as the son of Atri;
Chakshusha, he was produced by churning the ocean.
The
words of ourvariation
Hari
Vaifisa, *
with an unimportant
'Birth and obstruction are constant in all beings. But Rishis, and
those
men who
are wise, are not perplexed by this'
;
that
is,
not,
as rendered above,
by the alternation of
life
and death, but, acUtpatti, 'birth
cording to the commentator on the Hari Vaihsa, by a very difierent matter, the prohibition of unlawful marriages.
of progeny',is
is
the result of their will; Nirodha,
'obstruction',
the
law prohibiting the intermarriage of persons connected byfuneral cake: f?!'^^ f^uvres inipuissantes celui qui ue le counait
pas en ce
monde? "La femme aux nombreuses
formes, c'est Tintelligence de I'esprit, la-
quelle,
comme
la
courtisane,
prend
divers
caracteres:
quel
l)esoin
a
d'ceuvres inipuissantes celui qui u'en a pas yu le terme?
"Semblable au mari d'une epouse coupable,avec I'intelligence, perdla
I'esprit,
par son unionle
souverainete
et
roule
dans
cercle de la
transmigration: quel besoin a d'anivres inipuissantes celui qui ne connait
pas ses voies?
"Le
ileuve, c'est I'lllusion, qui produit a la fois la creation et la deset
truction,
qui
s'agite
au bord de sa rive: quel besoin
a-t-il
d'onivres
inipuissantes
rhommele
enivre qui ne la reconnait pas?
"L'esprit est
merveilleux miroir des vingt-cinq principes: quel besoin
a d'ceuvres impuissautes celui qui en ce
monde ne connait pas
I'Esprit
supreme?
"Quand on
a renonce a la doctrine qui fait obtenir le Seigneur,la science
qui
enseigne la delivrance de tous les liens, et qu'on ignoreles paroles sont pures, quel besoin a-t-on
dont
d'a?uvres inipuissantes?
"Lace
roue qui tourne, c'est celle du Temps, roue tranchante qui enleveI'univers:
tout dans
quel besoin a d'a'uvres inipuissantes celui qui en
monde n'en reconnait pas I'independance? "Le pere, c'est la science: comment I'liomme
qui ne connait pas ses
ordres touchant I'inaction, pourrait-il, avec la confiance qu'il accordequalites,
aux marcher selon ses enseignements ? "Les llaryacvas unanimes dans leurs pensees etant arrives a cette conviction, tournerent autour de Narada avec respect, et entrerent dans la voie d'oii Ton ne revient plus.
"Et
le
solitaire
qui tient sa pensee
indissolublement unie au lotusle
des pieds de Ilfichikc^'aparcourir le monde.
que manifeste
Veda,
se
mit de nouveau
a
"Endonneregrets.
apprenant que Naradaparjourla
etait
la
cause de la perte de sesse
iils
qui
brillaientle
vertu,
Dakcha penetre de douleur
lamenta d'avoir
a des
enfants vertueux qui sont souvent une source de
"Mais console par Adja, Dakcha eut encore dedes uiilliers detils
la fille de
Pautchadjana
nommes
les (^abala9vas.
:
BOOKthat
I.,
CHAP. XV.
17
all these his sons had vanished, was incensed, and denounced an imprecation upon Narada.
varta,
Narada
is
cursed by Brahma, on a similar occasion, to
become
the chief of the Gandharvas;
whence
his musical pro-
" Charges aussi par leur pere d'accoinplir la creation des etres, ces houimes, fermes dans leurs desseins, se rendirent a I'etaug de Narayaiia,oil
leurs freres aines etaieiit parvenus a la perfection.
"Purifies,
par
le
seul contact
de ses eaux, des souillures qu'avaient
contractees leurs
co'urs;
repetant
a voix
basse
le
nom suprememois,et
de
Brahma,
ils
s'y
livrerent a de grandes austerites.
"Ne
se
nourrissantils
que d'eau
pendant
quelques
pendantla
d'autres que d'air,
houorerent Idaspati (Vichnu) en recitant ce Mantrasejour de la pure qualite de la Bonte, qui est le
'"Om!
Adressons notre adoration a Narayaiia, qui est Puruchale
grande ame, qui est
grand Brahma'.
"Narada voyant quelangage enigmatique.
ces
sages pensaient
a reprendre
I'ffiuvre
de la
creation, se rendit aupres d'eux et leur tint,
comme
a leurs freres,
un
"Fils de Dakcha, leursuivez, Yousqui
dit-il,
ecoutez les conseils que je vous donne;ils
avez de Taifection pour vos freres, la voie ou
out
marche."est
Le frere qui connaissant la loi, suit la route que lui ont tracee ses freres, un ami de la vertu qui obtient de jouir du bonheur avec les Maruts. "Ayant ainsi parle, Narada dent le regard est infaillible se retira; etde Dakcha, 6 roi respecte, entrereut dans la voie qu'avaient suivie
les fils
leurs freres.
"Marchant,qui ramenantils
comme leurs aines, Thomme an dedansle
d'une mauiere reguliere dans la voiede lui,le
conduit a I'Etre supreme,les nuits deja ecoulees.
ne revinrent pas plus que ue reviendront
"Enquela
ce
temps-la
Pradjapati voyant deetait,
nombreux prodiges, appritaines,
mort de ses enfantsla perte
commeil
celle de leurs
Tceuvre
de Narada.
"Desole deet la levre
de ses enfants,il
se mit en fureur centre Narada,
tremblante de colere,dit:
parla ainsi au Richi.exterieur qui est celui des gensfils
"Dakcha
Ah! mechant, avec tonfait
de bien, tu m'as
du mal en enseignant a mesavantqu'ils
vertueux
la voie
des ascetes qui mendieiit. " [En leur donnant ce conseil]dettes
eussent acquitte
les trois
[de la vie]
et
qu'ils
eussent accompli des ceuvres,et
tu as detruit
leur bonheur pour ceII.
monde
pour
I'autre.
2
18
VISHNU PURANA.
Then, Maitreya, the wise patriarch,
it
is
handed
pensities.
But the Bliagavata.first,
VI., 7, has
the reverse of this
legend, and makes him,the son ofVaiiisa.
a Gandharva, then a Sudra, thenand, afterit,
Brahma.
The Brahma Furana,have ato
the Hariin-
and the
Vj'iyu Purfina,
different,
and not verv
telligihle, story.
Daksha, being about
pronounce an impreca-
tionit
as
upon Niirada, was appeased by Brahma and the Rishis; and was agreed, between them, tliat Narada should be again born, the son of Kasyapa, by one of Daksha's daughters. Thisto be the gist of the legend:
seems
but
it is
very confusedlythe
told.
The
version of the
Brahma
Purai'ia,
which
is
same
as that of
the Hari
Vamsa,* may be thus rendered: "The smooth-speaking
"Et cependant, homme sansdes enfants,tii
pitie,
toi qui te plais
a troubler I'esprit
te
montres avec impudence an milieu des serviteurs delinetoi
Hari dont tu detruis la gloire.
"Certes
lis
eprouvent
constante sollicitude pour tons lesexcepte,toi reiineuii
etres,
les serviteurs de
Bhagavat,
de la bienveillance,
qui fais du mal a ceux qui ne t'en veulent pas
"Non, quoique tu penses detes conseils, 6 toi qui n'as
la
quietude qui tranche
le lien
de Taffection,
que I'apparence trompeuse du sage, ue concuisaute
duirout jamais les"II ne salt rien,
hommes au detachement. Thomme qui n'a pas eprouve Timpressionfois
des objets; mais
une
qu'il la ressentie,
il
se degoute
Ini-meme du
monde, bien mieux quedesseins.
celui
dont des etres superieurs
rompent
les
"Quoique
tu
nous
aies
fait
uu
mal intolerable, a nous qui sommesuiaitres de
voues aux ceuvres
et qui
vivons en
maison vertueux, nousfait
savons supporter ta mauvaise action.
"Mais parce qu'en interrompanta deux reprises, a cause de cela,
ma
descendance tu m'as
du mal
6 insense, je te
condamne
a errer a
travers les mondes, saus pouvoir t'arreter nulle part."(,'uka dit:
Ainsi
soit-il,
repondit Narada qui est estime des gens deetait si sage, qu' I(;vara
bien;
car le langage de
Dakcha
lui-meme
Teiit
endure,"*
The account
there given
122-129
is,
as edited, iu these words:
BOOK
I.,
CHAP. XV.
19
down
to us, being anxious to people the w^orld, created
Narada addressed the sons of Dakslia for their destruction and his own: for the Muni Kasyapa begot him as a son, who was the son of Brahma, on the daughter of Dakslia, througli fear of He was formerly the son of Paramethe hitter's imprecation. shthin (Brahma): and the excellent sage Kasyapa next begot him,,
as
if he were his father, on Asikni, the daughter of Viraiia. Whilst he was engaged in beguiling the sons of the patriarch, Daksha, of resistless power, determined on his destruction. But he was
by Brahma, in the presence of the great sages; and it was agreed, between them, that Narada, the son of Brahma, should be born of a daughter of Daksha. Consequently, Daksha and, by her, w^as Narada gave his daughter to Paramesht'hinsolicited,;
born."
Now,
several difficulties occur here.
Asikni
is
the wife,
not the daughter, of Daksha.compiler;for, in the parallel
But
this
may be
a blunder of the
passage of the Vayu, no
name
occurs.
In the next place,the progeny ofall
who
is
this
daughter?
For, as we
shall see,in
Daksha's daughters are fully detailed; andis
no authority consultedof them, or as
daughter, not to
Narada mentioned as the son of either the son of Kasyapa. Daksha, too, gives his Kasyapa, but to Parameshthin or Brahma. Thethis
commentator on the Hari Vamsa solves
by saying he gives
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