॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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Once, a group of sages were performing a Yajna on the banks of the Sarasvati River. A controversy arose among them as to which of the three chief gods, Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva, is the supreme God. Eager to resolve this question, the sages sent Lord Brahma’s son Sage Bhrigu to find the answer.
First, he went to his father’s court.
न तस्मै प्रह्वणं स्तोत्रं चक्रे सत्त्वपरीक्षया । तस्मै चुक्रोध भगवान् प्रज्वलन् स्वेन तेजसा ॥
T: To test how well Lord Brahma was situated in the mode of goodness, Sage Bhrigu failed to bow down to him or glorify him with prayers. The lord became angry at him by his own nature of Rajas. But Lord Brahma was able to subdue it by applying his intelligence, in the same way that fire is extinguished by its own product, water.
After that, Sage Bhrigu then went to Mount Kailasa. There Lord Shiva stood up and happily came forward to embrace his brother. But Sage Bhrigu refused his embrace, telling him, “You are a deviant heretic (breaking norms of decorum).” At this Lord Shiva became angry, and his eyes burned ferociously. He raised his trident and was about to kill Sage Bhrigu when Goddess Devi fell at his feet and spoke some words to pacify him. Sage Bhrigu then left that place and went to Vaikuntha, where Lord Janardana or Maha Vishnu resides.
शयानं श्रिय उत्सङ्गे पदा वक्षस्यताडयत् । तत उत्थाय भगवान् सह लक्ष्म्या सतां गति: ॥
स्वतल्पादवरुह्याथ ननाम शिरसा मुनिम् । आह ते स्वागतं ब्रह्मन् निषीदात्रासने क्षणम् ।
अजानतामागतान् व: क्षन्तुमर्हथ न: प्रभो ॥
T: There he went up to the Supreme Lord, who was lying with his head on the lap of his consort, Devi Lakshmi, and kicked him on the chest. The Lord then rose, along with Goddess Lakshmi, as a sign of respect. Coming down from his bed, Bhagavan, whose Darshan is aspired to by all pure devotees bowed his head to the floor before the sage and told him, "Welcome, Brahmin! Please sit in this chair and rest awhile. Kindly forgive us, dear master, for not noticing your arrival."
पुनीहि सहलोकं मां लोकपालांश्च मद्गतान् । पादोदकेन भवतस्तीर्थानां तीर्थकारिणा ॥
अद्याहं भगवँल्लक्ष्म्या आसमेकान्तभाजनम् । वत्स्यत्युरसि मे भूतिर्भवत्पादहतांहस: ॥
T: “Please purify me, my realm and the realms of the universal rulers devoted to me by giving us the water that has washed your feet. This holy water is indeed what makes all places of pilgrimage sacred. Today, my lord, I have become the exclusive abode of the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi; she will consent to reside on my chest (Srivatsa!) because your foot has rid it of sins.”
Sage Bhrigu felt satisfied and delighted to hear the solemn words spoken by the Lord of Vaikuntha. Overwhelmed with devotional ecstasy, he remained silent, his eyes brimming with tears.
Sage Bhrigu then returned to the Yajna arena of the assembly on whose behalf he had gone to the three gods. He described his entire experience to them.
भूयांसं श्रद्दधुर्विष्णुं यत: शान्तिर्यतोऽभयम् ॥ धर्म: साक्षाद् यतो ज्ञानं वैराग्यं च तदन्वितम् ।
ऐश्वर्यं चाष्टधा यस्माद् यशश्चात्ममलापहम् ॥
T: Amazed upon hearing Sage Bhrigu’s account, the sages were freed from all doubts and became convinced that Maha Vishnu is the greatest Lord. From him come peace; fearlessness; Dharma; Jnana Vairagya; the eightfold powers of Yoga; and finally, the dawn of Bhakti which cleanses the mind of all impurities. His most dear form is that of pure goodness, and the Brahmins are His worshippable deities.
So the debate was conclusively settled.
***
Sri Krishna and Arjuna retrieve a Brahmin’s Sons
Next follows a quaint story of Arjuna’s sense of duty as a Kshatriya and Sri Krishna’s grace toward him.
A Brahmin in Dwaraka begot many sons. Each of them used to die immediately after childbirth. The Brahmin created a big ruckus at the Royal Arch, shouting how evil kings were ruling the kingdom and hence Dharma had fled, resulting in this extreme distress for a devout Brahmin like him seeing his newborn sons die inexplicably.
Arjuna happened to be there. He admonished the Brahmin that his accusations did not hold water when Balarama. Sri Krishna and Pradyumna were still so active as protectors of Dharma and great Kshatriyas.
He reminded the Brahmin that he was Arjuna, the most famous hero from Mahabharata, one who had pleased Lord Shiva himself! Now, Arjuna promised him that his next child would be protected by his valour! Arjuna used his power of archery and knowledge of Mantras to create a fortress-like protective ring around the Brahmin’s home.
But alas, when the next child was born, the child simply disappeared into the sky! The Brahmin did not mince his words, calling Arjuna a powerless and Adharmic Kshatriya unable to fulfil his commitment.
Arjuna was livid. He decided to pursue the gods and get the child back. Using his well-acquired mystic Yogic powers, he proceeded to Yamaloka. The Brahmin’s child was not to be found. He then proceeded to Indraloka. There again, no sign of the boy child. Arjuna went to all the Lokas, growing more and more desperate. Everywhere, he was received by the gods with extreme courtesy, but he could not locate the baby. Arjuna decided that he had failed utterly and decided to enter the sacred fire as atonement. Just as he was about to enter the fire, Bhagavan Sri Krishna came and stopped him.
Sri Krishna said: I will show you the Brahmin’s sons, so please don’t despise yourself like this. These same men who now criticize us will soon establish our spotless fame.
Having thus advised Arjuna, Bhagavan had Arjuna join him on his divine chariot, and together they set off toward the west.
The Lord’s chariot passed over the seven islands of the middle universe, each with its ocean and its seven principal mountains. Then it crossed the Lokaloka boundary and entered the vast region of total darkness.
In that darkness, the chariot’s horses — Shaibya, Sugriva, Meghapushpa and Balahaka — lost their way as it was pitch dark. Seeing them in this condition, Sri Krishna, the supreme master of all masters of Yoga, sent his Sudarshana Chakra ahead of the chariot. That Chakra shone like thousands of suns and lighted up their path.
गुणच्युतो रामशरो यथा चमू:
T: Vyasa says that Sudarshana dispelled primeaval darkness like an arrow shot from Sri Rama’s bow cuts through his enemy’s army.
Following the Sudarshana disc, the chariot went beyond the darkness and reached the endless spiritual light of the all-pervasive Brahma Jyoti. As Arjuna beheld this glaring effulgence, his eyes hurt, and so he shut them. From that region, they entered a body of water resplendent with huge waves churned by a mighty wind. Within that ocean, Arjuna saw an amazing palace more radiant than anything he had ever seen before. Its beauty was enhanced by thousands of ornamental pillars bedecked with brilliant gems.
In that palace was the huge, awe-inspiring serpent Ananta Adishesha. He shone brilliantly with the radiance emanating from the gems on His thousands of hoods and reflecting from twice as many fearsome eyes. He resembled white Mount Kailasa, and His necks and tongues were dark blue.
ददर्श तद्भोगसुखासनं विभुं महानुभावं पुरुषोत्तमोत्तमम् ।
सान्द्राम्बुदाभं सुपिशङ्गवाससं प्रसन्नवक्त्रं रुचिरायतेक्षणम् ॥
महामणिव्रातकिरीटकुण्डल- प्रभापरिक्षिप्तसहस्रकुन्तलम् ।
प्रलम्बचार्वष्टभुजं सकौस्तुभं श्रीवत्सलक्ष्मं वनमालया वृतम् ॥
सुनन्दनन्दप्रमुखै: स्वपार्षदैश्चक्रादिभिर्मूर्तिधरैर्निजायुधै: ।
पुष्ट्या श्रिया कीर्त्यजयाखिलर्धिभिर्निषेव्यमानं परमेष्ठिनां पतिम् ॥
T: Arjuna then saw the omnipresent and omnipotent Parama Purusha, Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu, sitting at ease on the serpent bed. His bluish complexion was the colour of a dense rain cloud. He wore a beautiful yellow garment, his face looked charming, and his broad eyes were most attractive.
He had eight long, handsome arms. His profuse locks of hair were bathed on all sides in the brilliance reflected from the clusters of precious jewels decorating his crown and earrings. He wore the Kaustubha gem, the mark of Srivatsa and a garland of forest flowers. Serving that topmost of all Lords were his personal attendants, headed by Sunanda and Nanda; His Chakra and other weapons in their personified forms; His consort potencies Pushti, Sri, Kirti and Aja; and all his various mystic powers.
Sri Krishna offered homage to himself in this boundless form as Maha Vishnu! Arjuna, astonished at the sight of Sri Maha Vishnu, bowed down as well. Then, as the two of them stood before him with joined palms, the almighty Maha Vishnu, supreme master of all rulers of the universe, smiled and spoke to them in a voice full of solemn authority.
“I brought the Brahmin’s sons here because I wanted to see the two of you, my Avataras, who have descended to the earth to save Dharma. As soon as you finish killing the demons who burden the earth, quickly come back here to me. Although all your desires are completely fulfilled, Oh best of exalted personalities, for the benefit of the people in general you should continue to exemplify Dharma as the sages Nara and Narayana.
ॐ इत्यानम्य भूमानमादाय द्विजदारकान् ॥
T: Sri Krishna and Arjuna assented by chanting Om, and then they bowed down to almighty Lord Maha Vishnu. Taking the Brahmin’s sons with them, they returned with great delight to Dwaraka by the same path they had come along. There they presented the Brahmin with his sons, who were in the same infant bodies in which they had been lost.
Sage Shuka concludes the chapter by saying how Arjuna was totally amazed by Sri Krishna’s powers and the projection of experiences that he governed so seamlessly. Bhagavan Sri Krishna continued to emancipate all good people and uphold Dharma by destroying the wicked. He also knew that Yudhishtira was a good ruler and would protect Dharma always.
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