॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Monday, 19 September 2022 - The seventh chapter of the second Skandha- Lord Brahma lists Maha Vishnu’s Lilavataras (incarnations).
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Sage Narada has been known to be one of the greatest devotees of Maha Vishnu and he appears often in all epics describing the creative sport of his chosen deity, Sriman Narayana or Maha Vishnu, to devotees and those in difficulties. Where did Narada himself gather all these stories?
We begin to understand that it was from Lord Brahma, his father and the first creation of Maha Vishnu.
Lord Brahma lists the various avataras or incarnations of Maha Vishnu, each aimed to fulfil a specific purpose.
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यत्रोद्यतः क्षितितलोद्धरणाय बिभ्रत् क्रौडीं तनुं सकलयज्ञमयीमन्नतः।
अन्तर्महार्णव उपागतमादिदैत्यं तं दंष्ट्रयाद्रिमिव वज्रधरो ददार॥
T: “He took the sacred form of the boar, an embodiment of all yajnas, with fierce tusks, that plunged to the depths of the ocean to tear apart the original daitya (demon) Hiranyaksha and retrive Mother Earth whom the demon has hidden away.”
“Maha Vishnu got the name Hari from Swayambhuva Manu when He resolved the conflict in the three worlds by becoming Suyajna who married Dakshina and begot the gods called Suyamas to accomplish the mission.”
“Born as Muni Kapila to Devahuti, He taught her the fundamental truth about life and liberation.”
“When Sage Atri’s spiritually advanced wife Sati Anasuya prayed to Him, Maha Vishnu took birth as her son, Dattatreya. King Yadu and many others were blessed with Yoga when they worshipped Dattatreya’s sacred feet.”
“Indeed, to instruct everyone about Tapas (austerity), He took birth as Brahma’s four sons Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata. The word Sana means Tapas. As the four divine sages of eternal youth, He revived the forgotten science of Tapas in the next Kalpa (aeon) and taught it as the goal and method of austerities for the sages.”
“Born as Nara-Narayana, He performed the most incredible Tapas. Indra’s attempt to disturb that Tapas and tempt the duo by sending divine damsels, Apsaras, failed miserably. They were unlike other meditators who were able to conquer lust but in turn, manifested rage (an equally low trap for meditators). They created Urvashi, the answer to all celestial beauties, and gifted her to Indra!”
“It was Narayana who blessed the five-year-old Prince Dhruva and gave him the status of the pole star.”
“As Prithu, he saved his father Vena from hell, and gave rise to the epithet Putra which means “one’s worthy son who saves one from hell by his righteousness.” In the same incarnation, He made Mother Earth the giver of plenty like the divine wish-fulfilling cow, and earned her the name ‘Vasundhara” which means one who supports creation by her munificence.”
“As Rishabhadeva, He established the gold standard for Yoga and its accomplishment that confers the title of Paramahamsa and Avadhuta.”
“In fact, dear Narada, in my own yajna, Maha Vishnu came as the divine horse Hayagriva who embodied all the Vedas and all divinities. The Vedas emerged from the exhalation of that horse!”
“In another aeon, He saved all life by becoming the divine giant fish Matsya who pulled the boat of creation and saved it from the cosmic deluge. This saved the Vedas from being lost forever in that flood.”
क्षीरोदधावमरदानवयूथपानामुन्मथ्नताममृतलब्धय आदिदेव: ।
पृष्ठेन कच्छपवपुर्विदधार गोत्रं निद्राक्षणोऽद्रिपरिवर्तकषाणकण्डू: ॥
T: In that famous churning of the milky ocean by gods and demons, they used the mountain Meru for the churning rod. It could not be supported by anyone until Maha Vishnu took the form of the divine Tortoise Kurma and balanced the mountain on His back, suffering much scratching!”
“As the incredible Lord Narasimha, He came to save Prahlada and destroy the evil Hiranyakashipu with His bare claws.”
“When Gajendra the elephant, on being caught in the jaws of a crocodile, prayed to the Lord Maha Vishnu, He flew at once on Garuda and used his Chakra to destroy the crocodile and save the devotee who was in the form of an elephant.”
“As Aditi’s midget son Vamana, He taught a lesson to the demon king Bali swollen with pride about his own charity. But Bali proved his own merit by offering his own head for the third step to be placed upon by the Lord.”
तुभ्यं च नारद भृशं भगवान् विवृद्ध्भावेन साधुपरितुष्ट उवाच योगम् ।
ज्ञानं च भागवतमात्मसतत्त्वदीपं यद्वासुदेवशरणा विदुरञ्जसैव ॥
T: “Oh, Narada, as Hamsa, the Lord has Himself taught you the Yoga for liberation. When you teach the sages this sacred science, it will be internalised and benefit all true devotees of Vasudeva.”
धन्वन्तरिश्च भगवान् स्वयमेव कीर्तिर्नाम्ना नृणां पुरुरुजां रुज आशु हन्ति ।
यज्ञे च भागममृतायुरवावरुन्ध आयुष्यवेदमनुशास्त्यवतीर्य लोके ॥
T: “As Dhanvantari, the Lord cures diseases and restores health only by the mere chanting of His holy name. He indeed it was that gave the world the science of longevity called Ayurveda.”
“As Bhargava Parashurama, He taught a lesson to the despotic and unprincipled Kshatriyas by annihilating them.”
अस्मत्प्रसादसुमुख: कलया कलेश इक्ष्वाकुवंश अवतीर्य गुरोर्निदेशे ।
तिष्ठन् वनं सदयितानुज आविवेश यस्मिन् विरुध्य दशकन्धर आर्तिमार्च्छत् ॥
T: “The Lord, out of His infinite mercy, took birth as Sri Rama and his three brothers, and also as Devi Sita through His Maya. When Ravana transgressed by abducting Devi Sita, Sri Rama destroyed him and saved Dharma. In fact, on the battlefield, Ravana was vanquished by the mere twanging of the Lord’s bow!”
“The Lord will take birth in future as Balarama and Sri Krishna to save the earth from devilish marauders. He will perform several Lilas. He will vanquish many demons sent by Kamsa. He will destroy Kamsa and restore Dharma. He will tame the terrible serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna. He will allow as a child his mother to even tie Him up as a punishment for His mischief! At the age of seven, He will lift the Govardhana mountain to teach Indra a lesson! He will play bewitchingly on His flute. He will sport with the Gopis in Rasa. In fact, all the evil kings will be subdued personally, or through Balarama, or Bhima and Arjuna.”
“He will be born as Vyasa, son of Satyavati, to help restore the Vedas by structuring them and making them amenable to study for the people who would have lost their edge in learning.”
“As Buddha, He will take care of daityas who would be tormenting people by misusing Vedas. He will do so as His sole objective is to uplift mankind.”
“Eventually, at the end of Kali, people will abandon Dharma and stop practising the chanting of His holy name, They will abandon the good yajnas. Then the Lord will come as Kalki to dissolve the creation and wipe the slate clean, as it were.”
“These Vibhutis or Avataras with special missions will come to create, protect and dissolve creation as and when the Lord deems it fit."
“He cannot be understood by anyone- me, or the Sanatkumaras, or anyone else. Prayer and devotion are the way to realise His grace. This is known to the many devotees I have mentioned. Many royal sages like Janaka, Gadhi (Vishwamitra) Vibhishana, Hanuman, Dhruva, Prahlada, Arjuna, and so on will also realise this path. Even people of various races, and those with low status in society, and many others, can acquire merit through devotion.”
इदं भागवतं नाम यन्मे भगवतोदितम् । संग्रहोऽयं विभूतीनां त्वमेतद् विपुलीकुरु ॥
यथा हरौ भगवति नृणां भक्तिर्भविष्यति । सर्वात्मन्यखिलाधारे इति सङ्कल्प्य वर्णय ॥
T: “Dear son, Narada, this is the Lord’s story called Srimad Bhagavatam that I have narrated in brief to you.You can expand this. With the goal of instilling pure devotion in men’s hearts for the Lord, and for them to realise that He alone is the inner support for all souls, go everywhere and propagate the Bhagavatam well.”
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
