Vp1 21

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 22 Jul 2011 09:45 and updated at 22 Jul 2011 09:45

VISHNU PURANA

BOOK 1.

CHAPTER 21.

Families of the Daityas. Descendants of Kasyapa by Danu. Children of Kasyapa by his other wives. Birth of the Marutas, the sons of Diti.

THE sons of Sanhrada, the son of Hiranyakasipu, were ayushman, sivi, and Vashkala 1. Prahlada had a son named Virochana; whose son was Bali, who had a hundred sons, of whom Bana was the eldest 2.

Hiranyaksha also had many sons, all of whom were Daityas of great prowess; Jharjhara, sakuni, Bhutasantapana, Mahanabha, the mighty armed and the valiant Taraka. These were the sons of Diti 3.

The children of Kasyapa by Danu were Dwimurddha, sankara, Ayomukha, sankusiras, Kapila, Samvara, Ekachakra, and another mighty Taraka, Swarbhanu, Vrishaparvan, Puloman, and the powerful Viprachitti; these were the renowned Danavas, or sons of Danu 4.

Swarbhanu had a daughter named Prabha 5; and sarmishtha 6 was the daughter of Vrishaparvan, as were Upadanavi and Hayasira 7.

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Vaiswanara 8 had two daughters, Puloma and Kalika, who were both married to Kasyapa, and bore him sixty thousand distinguished Danavas, called Paulomas and Kalakanjas 9, who were powerful, ferocious, and cruel.

The sons of Viprachitti by Sinhika (the sister of Hiranyakasipu) were Vyansa, salya the strong, Nabha the powerful, Vatapi, Namuchi, Ilwala, Khasrima, Anjaka, Naraka, and Kalanabha, the valiant Swarbhanu, and the mighty Vaktrayodhi 10. These were the most eminent Danavas 11, through whom the race of Danu was multiplied by hundreds and thousands through succeeding generations.

In the family of the Daitya Prahlada, the Nivata Kavachas were born, whose spirits were purified by rigid austerity 12.

Tamra (the wife of Kasyapa) had six illustrious daughters, named suki, syeni, Bhasi, Sugrivi, suchi, and Gridhrika. suki gave birth to parrots, owls, and crows 13; syeni to hawks; Bhasi to kites; Gridhrika

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to vultures; suchi to water fowl; Sugrivi to horses, camels, and asses. Such were the progeny of Tamra.

Vinata bore to Kasyapa two celebrated sons, Garuda and Aruna: the former, also called Suparna, was the king of the feathered tribes, and the remorseless enemy of the serpent race 14.

The children of Surasa were a thousand mighty many headed serpents, traversing the sky 15.

The progeny of Kadru were a thousand powerful many headed serpents, of immeasurable might, subject to Garuda; the chief amongst whom were sesha, Vasuki, Takshaka, sankha, sweta, Mahapadma, Kambala, aswatara, Elapatra, Naga, Karkkota, Dhananjaya, and many other fierce and venomous serpents 16.

The family of Krodhavasa were all sharp toothed monsters 17, whether on the earth, amongst the birds, or in the waters, that were devourers of flesh.

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18Surabhi was the mother of cows and buffaloes 19: Ira, of trees and creeping plants and shrubs, and every kind of grass: Khasa, of the Rakshasas and Yakshas 20: Muni, of the Apsarasas 21: and Arishta, of the illustrious Gandharbas.

These were the children of Kasyapa, whether movable or stationary, whose descendants multiplied infinitely through successive generations 22. This creation, oh Brahman, took place in the second or Swarochisha Manwantara. In the present or Vaivaswata Manwantara, Brahma being engaged at the great sacrifice instituted by Varuna, the creation of progeny, as it is called, occurred; for he begot, as his sons, the seven Rishis, who were formerly mind engendered; and was himself the grand sire of the Gandharbas, serpents, Danavas, and gods 23.

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Diti, having lost her children, propitiated Kasyapa; and the best of ascetics, being pleased with her, promised her a boon; on which she prayed for a son of irresistible prowess and valour, who should destroy Indra. The excellent Muni granted his wife the great gift she had solicited, but with one condition: "You shall bear a son," he said, "who shall slay Indra, if with thoughts wholly pious, and person entirely pure, you carefully carry the babe in your womb for a hundred years." Having thus said, Kasyapa departed; and the dame conceived, and during gestation assiduously observed the rules of mental and personal purity. When the king of the immortals, learnt that Diti bore a son destined for his destruction, he came to her, and attended upon her with the utmost humility, watching for an opportunity to disappoint her intention. At last, in the last year of the century, the opportunity occurred. Diti

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retired one night to rest without performing the prescribed ablution of her feet, and fell asleep; on which the thunderer divided with his thunderbolt the embryo in her womb into seven portions. The child, thus mutilated, cried bitterly; and Indra repeatedly attempted to console and silence it, but in vain: on which the god, being incensed, again divided each of the seven portions into seven, and thus formed the swift moving deities called Marutas (winds). They derived this appellation from the words with which Indra had addressed them (Ma rodih, Weep not and they became forty nine subordinate divinities, the associates of the wielder of the thunderbolt.

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