daSama skandHam - The Tenth Canto - 7

daSama skandHam - The Tenth Canto - 6

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The previous birth of dEvaki and vasudEva

10.1-131.

Upon hearing the eulogies of dEvaki, the Lord spoke thus. O Mother, earlier during the regime of the swAyambhuva manu you were known as vrSni, the chaste and virtuous wife of the prajapati sutapu who is now vasudEva. In the beginning of the creation, you both were inspired by brahma and performed very difficult penance for a period of 12000 years by conquering your senses, subsisting merely on leaves and roots without being deterred by the sun, rain, wind or snow and observing solitude. By virtue of contemplating on me for such a long period without any blemish in your hearts, your forms turned resplendent and I manifested in front of you and offered to confer desirous boons upon you. At that time you could have very well asked for liberation but being under my spell and being childless, you both desired for a son equal to me in all aspects. Since there is no one else equal to me, I was myself born as a child to you and came to be known as vrSnigarbha, one born of vrSni.

10.1-132.

In your second birth, you were respectively known as aditi and kaSyapa. I descended and was then born to you as the dwarf vAmana, being the younger brother of indra, the lord of the gods.

10.1-133.

Now, in this third birth I have been born to you both again. As promised earlier I have been your child three times and after this there is no birth for Me through you.

10.1-134.

Considering Me as your child you shall derive supreme bliss. Realizing Me to be the Absolute and contemplating on Me you shall attain the highest state. By virtue of the love and devotion you have on Me, you shall be liberated and not born henceforth. 

krSNa assuming the form of a child

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10.1-135.

Saying so, the Lord withdrew His mighty Form...

10.1-136.

O King (parikshit), as the parents looked on without battling an eyelid, the Lord magically withdrew His majestic form and assumed that of a tender new born and started to make gestures befitting one. 

krSNa goes to rEpallE

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10.1-137.

vasudEvA grasped from the instructions of lord hari about the further course of action..

10.1-138.

O king (parikshit), while vasudEvA looked to take the new born out of the prison, there in rEpallE in nanda's house goddess yOgamAya was born to his wife yaSOdA.

10.1-139.

At that time...

10.1-140.


vasudEvA held the infant across his chest and pressed him to the bosom. Taking stealthy steps he at once crossed the soldiers guarding the labor room.

10.1-141.

There in rEpallE,

10.1-142.


yaSOdA gave birth to the little girl who was none other than yOgamAya, the illusory power of the lord. By virtue of her birth a magical spell descended upon both people in rEpallE as well as the soldiers guarding the prison in mathurA and they all fell in to deep stupor.

10.1-143.


As vasudEvA held the great child in his hands and took measured and stealthy steps,  the iron chains with which he was tied un-linked magically, the locks on the doors of the prison gave away and they sprung open! vasudEvA walked the huge corridors of the palace and crossed the main arch. AdiSEShA, the giant serpent followed the lord closing all the gates that opened magically and walked behind the lord with an unfurled hood that served as an umbrella and keeping a keen vigil.

10.1-144.


That river yamunA split and gave way to vasudEvA just like the mighty ocean yielded the path to the lord of sItA back in the trEtAyuga.

krSNa by the side of yaSOdA

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10.1-145.


Thus vasudEvA crossed the river yamunA swiftly and reached the village of nanda. Without disturbing any of the inhabitants who were in deep sleep he approached the bedside of the ever smiling yaSOdA. He exchanged his dark hued boy with the just born girl of yaSOdA at once. Carrying the little girl of yaSOdA, he quickly returned to his dwelling and put her by the side of dEvaki without any hesitation.

10.1-146.


Having reached the confinement vasudEvA quickly chained his legs and pretended as if he was unaware of the happenings. He cunningly curled up in a corner and was shivering.

10.1-147.


O king parikshith, that night the beautiful yaSOdA was so deep in sleep that she had no idea that her little daughter has been replaced by her side by the Lotus eyed lord!

10.1-148.


As the effect of the spell cast by SrI vishNu receded the guards woke up to the cry of the just born baby girl. Seeing the intact locks on the doors and feeling relieved they ran to kamsa and gave the news of dEvaki's delivery. He at once scrambled up from his bed. His headlocks unwound and his shoulder scarf dragged on the ground as he hurried towards the labour room and approached the new born in a bid to slay her...

daSama skandHam - The Tenth Canto - 6

daSama skandHam - The Tenth Canto - 5

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vasudEva extols krShNa

10.1-116.

vasudEva prostrated in front of the new-born without even considering that he is a child and springing up at once, held his two hands up in the shape of lotus and began to extol him thinking about his earlier exploits.

10.1-117.

Oh Lord, the witness of everything, the embodiment of ultimate knowledge and bliss, the etrnal, the unbounded One, the one untouched by illusion, is there anything more fantastical than You being born as my Son!!!

10.1-118.

Earlier by virtue of Your power, You have created the three guNAs - satwa, rajO and tamas. All the worlds have been formed by these very guNAs. These guNAs have also come from You but they do not affect You. Therefore You are both within and beyond this creation!

10.1-119.

It happens this way.

The various subtle forces starting with mahath combine with the sixteen perturbations comprising of the senses and elements that exist in nature and form the vastness of the Universe which is verily Your Form. That vast Form of Yours while comprising the subtle forces, it is also beyond those. While You reside in that Form, You are also beyond that Form, i.e. Formless. Since You exist even before the creation, there is no need to exclusively enter into this Universal Form. This Universal Form is but like a bubble born out of the water that is Your power. This ultimate knowledge about Your truth can be had by men only when their senses cease to exist and they begin inquiry with the intellect. You exist in the creation even without depending on those subtle forces and stay unperturbed and unsullied.

10.1-120.

Every thing in all the Worlds is contained in You and You reside in everything. O Lord, you are verily the soul immanent in all and are omnipresent and therefore You do not make any distinction between inside, in between and outside.

10.1-121.

The most ignorant one is he who having assumed his body and mind due to the soul, considers them to be different from the soul. You are the very form of Universe. There is nothing that is not You.

10.1-122.

Not only that...

10.1-123.

O Lord, it is not incorrect to say the entire creation is born, blooms and is withdrawn into You who are devoid of the three guNAs and desires and are changeless. Since You are the Lord and the Absolute, the three guNAs obey Your command and celebrate You. Just as the glory of the soldiers is belongs to the king, the glory of Your guNAs also reveal Your greatness. 
As the creator, Your glory combines with rajas and assumes red color; 
as the sustainer, Your glory combines with satwa and assumes white color; 
as the destroyer Your glory combines with tamas and assumes black color in the creation. 

These are all but different roles played by You. The benevolent that You are, You have descended on to the earth today again to punish the wicked.

10.1-124.

Ever since the ethereal voice declared that You shall be born in my home, kamsa has lost confidence. Having lost his sleep, he has slain one after another of your elder brothers right at their birth. therefore as soon as the guards give him the news of his birth, he will descend here readily.

10.1-125.

As vasudEva was extolling the new born thus, dEvaki lovingly glanced at the One with all attributes of a great soul, the considerate One and the one with a tender body. Feeling fearful at the thought of kamsa and the danger that lied ahead and yet managing a smile on her face, she spoke thus...

dEvaki's psalm

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10.1-126.

At the end of the second half of brahmA's existence when the great deluge takes place and all the worlds are destroyed, the five gross elements merge into the subtle forces, the subtle forces merge into the pristine nature, the pristine nature merges into the unmanifest, That unmanifest are You carrying the name SESHA. That glory of Yours is always sung by the vEdAs as being the indescribable, the primordial cause, the all pervasive, the self-resplendent, beyond attributes, unperturbed, eternal, beyond speech, unfathomable by senses and as being One not in need of action, i.e. immovable.

10.1-127.

O mAdhava, the Lord of lakshmi, the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the Universe is but a sport of Yours. The ignorance known as avidya is Your kin. The infinite and eternal time is nothing but an illusion spun and run by You. O Lord of the Universe, the repository of all auspiciousness, only he who sings Your glory with assiduity attains eternal wealth, conquers death and lives happily.

10.1-128.

The ancient yOgIs and rishIs having taken the path of yOga and performed penance with determination claim to have had Your vision. However what they claim to have seen is how they have wanted to see You and not the real Form of Yours as You are blessing us with now.  O lotus eyed Lord, it is becoming difficult to behold Your real Form with these physical eyes. Kindly withdraw it, I prostrate to You.

10.1-129.

O best among purushA, Isn't it the greatest of Your mAya that the capable and great actor that You are Who withdraws the whole Universe into Yourself and protects it at the time of the great deluge is born of me?

10.1-130.

O lotus eyed One, the evil kamsa has kept us under confinement for long having known that You will be born of me. Please punish the evil minded kamsa and protect us who are panic-stricken. The vows that we have observed have not gone in vain and have bore fruition with Your descent.