Bhishma Parva

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 31 Mar 2010 12:44 and updated at 31 Mar 2010 13:54

MAHABHARATA, BOOK 06: BHISHMA PARVA

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Section 35

XXXV Bhagavad Gita Chapter XI Arjuna said, This discourse about the supreme mystery, called Adhyatman, which thou hast uttered for my welfare, hath dispelled my delusion

For I have heard at large from thee of the creation and dissolution of beings, O thou of eyes like lotus petals, and also of thy greatness that knoweth no deterioration. What thou hast said about thyself, O great Lord, is even so. O best of Male Beings, I desire to behold thy sovereign form. If, O Lord, thou thinkest that I am competent to behold that form, then, O Lord of mystic power, show me thy eternal Self' The Holy One said, Behold, O son of Pritha, my forms by hundreds and thousands, various, divine, diverse in hue and shape. Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Aswins, and the Maruts. Behold, O Bharata, innumerable marvels unseen before by thee. Behold, O thou of curly hair, the entire universe of mobiles and immobiles, collected together in this body of mine, whatever else thou mayst wish to see Thou art, however, not competent to behold me with this eye of thine. I give thee celestial sight.

Behold my sovereign mystic nature Sanjaya continued, Having said this, O monarch, Hari, the mighty Lord of mystic power, then revealed to the son of Pritha his Supreme sovereign form, with many mouths and eyes, many wonderous aspects, many celestial ornaments, many celestial weapons uplifted, wearing celestial garlands and robes, and with unguents of celestial fragrance, full of every wonder, resplendent, infinite, with faces turned on all sides If the splendour of a thousand suns were to burst forth at once in the sky, then that would be like the splendour of that Mighty One. The son of Pandu then beheld there in the body of that God of gods the entire universe divided and sub-divided into many parts, all collected together Then Dhananjaya, filled with amazement, and with hair standing on end, bowing with his head, with joined hands addressed the God. Arjuna said, I behold all the gods, O God, as also all the varied hosts of creatures, and Brahman seated on his lotus seat, and all the Rishis and the celestial snakes. I behold Thee with innumerable arms, stomachs, mouths, and eyes, on every side, O thou of infinite forms. Neither end nor middle, nor also beginning of thine do I behold, O Lord of the universe, O thou of universal form. Bearing thy diadem, mace, and discus, a mass of energy, glowing on all sides, do I behold thee that art hard to look at, endued on all sides with the effulgence of the blazing fire or the Sun, and immeasurable. Thou art indestructible, and the Supreme object of this universe.

Thou art without decay, the guardian of eternal virtue. I regard thee to be the eternal male Being. I behold thee to be without beginning, mean, end, to be of infinite prowess, of innumerable arms, having the Sun and the Moon for thy eyes, the blazing fire for thy mouth, and heating this universe with energy of thy own. For the space betwixt heaven and earth is pervaded by Thee alone, as also all the points of the horizon. At sight of this marvellous and fierce form of thine, O Supreme Soul, the triple world trembleth. For these hosts of gods are entering thee. Some, afraid, are praying with joined hands. Saying Hail to Thee, the hosts of great Rishis and Siddhas praise Thee with copious hymns of praise The Rudras, the Adityas, the Vasus, they that called the Siddhas, the Viswas, the Aswins, the Maruts, also the Ushmapas, the Gandharvas, the Yakshas, the Asuras, the hosts of Siddhyas, behold Thee and are all amazed. Beholding Thy mighty form with many mouths and eyes, O mighty-armed one, with innumerable arms, thighs and feet, many stomachs, and terrible in consequence of many tusks, all creatures are frightened and I also.

Indeed, touching the very skies, of blazing radiance, many-hued, mouth wide-open, with eyes that are blazing and large, beholding thee, O Vishnu, with my inner soul trembling in fright, I can no longer command courage and peace of mind. Beholding thy mouths that are terrible in consequence of their tusks, and that are fierce as the all-destroying fire at the end of the Yuga, I cannot recognise the points of the horizon nor can I command peace of mind. Be gracious, O God of gods, O thou that art the refuge of the Universe. And all these sons of Dhritarashtra, together with the hosts of kings, and Bhishma, and Drona, and also this Suta's son Karna, accompanied by even the principal warriors of our side, are quickly entering thy terrible mouths rendered fierce by thy tusks. Some, with their heads crushed, are seen striking at the interstices of thy teeth. As many currents of water flowing through different channels roll rapidly towards the ocean, so these heroes of the world of men enter thy mouths that flame all around. As moths with increasing speed rush for their own destruction to the blazing fire, so also do these people, with unceasing speed, enter thy mouths for their destruction. Swallowing all these men from every side, thou lickest them with thy flaming mouths. Filling the whole universe with thy energy, thy fierce splendours, O Vishnu, are heating everything. Tell me who thou art of such fierce form.

I bow to thee, O chief of the gods, be gracious to me. I desire to know thee that art the Primeval One, I do not understand thy action The Holy One said, I am Death, the destroyer of the worlds, fully developed. I am now engaged in slaying the race of men. Without thee all these warriors standing in the different divisions shall cease to be Wherefore, arise, gain glory, and vanquishing the foe, enjoy this swelling kingdom. By me have all these been already slain. Be only my instrument. O thou that can'st draw the bow with even the left hand. Drona and Bhishma, and Jayadratha, and Karna, and also other heroic warriors, already slain by me, do thou slay.

Be not dismayed, fight; thou shalt conquer in battle thy foes Sanjaya continued, Hearing these words of Kesava, the diadem-decked Arjuna, trembling, and with joined-hands, bowed unto him; and once more said unto Krishna, with voice choked up and overwhelmed with fear, and making his salutations to him, Arjuna said, It is meet, Hrishikesa, that the universe is delighted and charmed in uttering thy praise, and the Rakshasas flee in fear in all directions, and the hosts of the Siddhas bow down to thee. And why should they not bow down to thee, O Supreme Soul, that are greater than even Brahman himself, and the primal cause? O thou that art Infinite. O God of the gods, O thou that art the refuge of the universe, thou art indestructible, thou art that which is, and that which is not and that which is beyond both. Thou art the First God, the ancient male Being, thou art the Supreme refuge of this universe. Thou art the Knower, thou art the Object to be known, thou art the highest abode. By thee is pervaded this universe, O thou of infinite form Thou art Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, Moon, Prajapati, and Grandsire.

Obeisance be to thee a thousand times, and again and yet again obeisance to thee. Obeisance to thee in front, and also from behind. Let obeisance be to thee from every side, O thou that art all. Thou art all, of energy that is infinite, and prowess that is immeasurable. Thou embracest the All. Regarding thee a friend whatever hath been said by me carelessly, such as, O Krishna, O Yadava, O friend, not knowing this thy greatness from want of judgement or from love either, whatever disrespect hath been shown thee for purpose of mirth, on occasions of play, lying, sitting, or at meals, while alone or in the presence of others, O undeteriorating one, I beg thy pardon for it, that art immeasurable. Thou art the father of this universe of mobiles and immobiles. Thou art the great master deserving of worship. There is none equal to thee, how can there be one greater? O thou whose power is unparalleled in even three worlds

Therefore bowing to thee prostrating my body, I ask thy grace, O Lord, O adorable one. It behoveth thee. O God, to bear my faults as a father his son's, a friend his friend's, a lover his loved one's. Beholding thy form unseen before, I have been joyful, yet my mind hath been troubled, with fear. Show me that other ordinary form, O God. Be gracious, O Lord of the gods, O thou that art the refuge of the universe. Decked in diadem, and armed with mace, discus in hand, as before, I desire to behold thee. Be of that same four-armed form, O thou of a thousand arms, thou of universal form The Holy One said, Pleased with thee, O Arjuna, I have, by my own mystic power, shown thee this supreme form, full of glory, Universal, Infinite, Primeval, which hath been seen before by none save thee. Except by thee alone, hero of Kuru's race, I cannot be seen in this form in the world of men by any one else, aided even by the study of the Vedas and of sacrifices, by gifts, by actions, or by the severest austerities

Let no fear be thine, nor perplexity of mind at seeing this awful form of mine. Freed from fear with a joyful heart, thou again see Me assuming that other form Sanjaya continued, Vasudeva, having said all this to Arjuna, once more showed him his own ordinary form, and that High-Souled one, assuming once more his gentle form, comforted him who had been afflicted Arjuna said, Beholding this gentle human form of thine, O Janardana, I have now become of right mind and have come to my normal state' The Holy One said, This form of mine which thou hast seen is difficult of being seen. Even the gods are always desirous of becoming spectators of this my form. Not by the Vedas, nor by austerities, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifices, can I be seen in this form of mine which thou hast seen. By reverence, however, that is exclusive in its objects, O Arjuna, I can in this form be known, seen truly, and attained to, O chastiser of foes. He who doth everything for me, who hath me for his supreme object, who is freed from attachment, who is without enmity towards all beings, even he, O Arjuna, cometh to me'

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