Rudras

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 25 Jul 2011 11:18 and updated at 25 Jul 2011 11:18

VISHNU PURANA NOUN

vp.1.7	Creation continued. Production of the mind born sons of Brahma; of the Prajapatis; of Sanandana and others; of Rudra and the eleven Rudras; of the Manu Swayambhuva, and his wife satarupa; of their children. The daughters of Daksha, and their marriage to Dharma and others. The progeny of Disarms and Adharma. The perpetual succession of worlds, and different modes of mundane dissolution.
vp.1.8	Origin of Rudra: his becoming eight Rudras: their wives and children. The posterity of Bhrigu. Account of sri in conjunction with Vishnu. Sacrifice of Daksha.
vp.1.8	surrounded by the singers and nymphs of heaven, and by numerous sages, beneath the shade of clustering trees and climbing plants; and all of them, whether dwellers on earth, in air, or in the regions above the skies, approached the patriarch with outward gestures of respect. The adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Maruts, all entitled to partake of the oblations, together with Jishnu, were present. The four classes of Pitris, Ushmapas, Somapas, ajyapas, and Dhumapas, or those who feed upon the flame, the acid juice, the butter, or the smoke of offerings, the Aswins and the progenitors, came along with Brahma. Creatures of every class, born from the womb, the egg, from vapour, or vegetation, came upon their invocation; as did all the gods, with their brides, who in their resplendent vehicles blazed like so many fires. Beholding them thus assembled, the sage Dadhicha was filled with indignation, and observed, The man who worships what ought not to be worshipped, or pays not reverence where veneration is due, is guilty, most assuredly, of heinous sin. Then addressing Daksha, he said to him, Why do you not offer homage to the god who is the lord of life Pasubhartri()? Daksha spake; I have already many Rudras present, armed with tridents, wearing braided hair, and existing in eleven forms: I recognise no other Mahadeva. Dadhicha spake; The invocation that is not addressed to Isa, is, for all, but a solitary (and imperfect) summons. Inasmuch as I behold no other divinity who is
vp.1.8	"Then from the gloom emerged fearful and numerous forms, shouting the cry of battle; who instantly broke or overturned the sacrificial columns, trampled upon the altars, and danced amidst the oblations. Running wildly hither and thither, with the speed of wind, they tossed about the implements and vessels of sacrifice, which looked like stars precipitated from the heavens. The piles of food and beverage for the gods, which had been heaped up like mountains; the rivers of milk; the banks of curds and butter; the sands of honey and butter milk and sugar; the mounds of condiments and spices of every flavour; the undulating knolls of flesh and other viands; the celestial liquors, pastes, and confections, which had been prepared; these the spirits of wrath devoured or defiled or scattered abroad. Then falling upon the host of the gods, these vast and resistless Rudras beat or terrified them, mocked and insulted the nymphs and goddesses, and quickly put an end to the rite, although defended by all the gods; being the ministers of Rudra s wrath, and similar to himself 6. Some then made a hideous clamour, whilst others fearfully shouted, when Yajna was decapitated. For the
vp.1.9	Parasara continued. The gods, having heard this prayer uttered by Brahma, bowed down, and cried, "Be favourable to us; be present to our sight: we bow down to that glorious nature which the mighty Brahma does not know; that which is thy nature, oh imperishable, in whom the universe abides." Then the gods having ended, Vrihaspati and the divine Rishis thus prayed: "We bow down to the being entitled to adoration; who is the first object of sacrifice; who was before the first of things; the creator of the creator of the world; the undefinable: oh lord of all that has been or is to be; imperishable type of sacrifice; have pity upon thy worshippers; appear to them, prostrate before thee. Here is Brahma; here is Trilochana (the three eyed siva), with the Rudras; Pusha, (the sun), with the adityas; and Fire, with all the mighty luminaries: here are the sons of Aswini (the two Aswini Kumaras), the Vasus and all the winds, the Sadhyas, the Viswadevas, and Indra the king of the gods: all of whom bow lowly before thee: all the tribes of the immortals, vanquished by the demon host, have fled to thee for succour."
vp.1.15	being devoted to it, was the wife of Prabhasa, the eighth of the Vasus, and bore to him the patriarch Viswakarma, the author of a thousand arts, the mechanist of the gods, the fabricator of all ornaments, the chief of artists, the constructor of the self moving chariots of the deities, and by whose skill men obtain subsistence. Ajaikapad, Ahirvradhna, and the wise Rudra Twashtri, were born; and the self born son of Twashtri was also the celebrated Viswarupa. There are eleven well known Rudras, lords of the three worlds, or Hara, Bahurupa, Tryambaka, Aparajita, Vrishakapi, Sambhu, Kaparddi, Raivata, Mrigavyadha, Sarva, and Kapali 17; but there are a hundred appellations of the immeasurably mighty Rudras 18.
vp.3.1	The Manu of the present period is the wise lord of obsequies, the illustrious offspring of the sun: the deities are the adityas, Vasus, and Rudras; their sovereign is Purandara: Vasishtha, Kasyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Viswamitra, and Bharadwaja are the seven Rishis: and the nine pious sons of Vaivaswata Manu are the kings Ikshwaku, Nabhaga, Dhrishta, Sanyati, Narishyanta, Nabhanidishta, Karusha, Prishadhra, and the celebrated Vasumat 20.
vp.5.1	At that time, Earth, overburdened by her load, repaired to mount Meru to an assembly of the gods, and addressing the divinities, with Brahma at their head, related in piteous accents all her distress. Agni"," said Earth, "is the progenitor of gold; Surya, of rays of light 5: the parent and guide of me and of all spheres is the supreme Narayana, who is Brahma, the lord of the lord of patriarchs; the eldest of the eldest born; one with minutes and hours; one with time; having form, though indiscrete. This assemblage of yourselves, O gods, is but a part of him. The sun, the winds, the saints, the Rudras, the Vasus, the Aswins, fire, the patriarch creators of the universe, of whom Atri is the first, all are but forms of the mighty and inscrutable Vishnu. The Yakshas, Rakshasas, Daityas, spirits of evil, serpents, and children of Danu, the singers and nymphs of heaven, are forms of the great spirit, Vishnu. The heavens painted with planets, constellations, and stars; fire, water, wind, and myself, and every perceptible thing; the whole universe itself consists of Vishnu. The multifarious forms of that manifold being encounter
vp.5.1	The unborn, universal Hari, having heard with his mental ear these eulogiums, was pleased, and thus spake to Brahma: "Tell me, Brahma, what you and the gods desire: speak boldly, certain of success." Brahma, beholding the divine, universal form of Hari, quickly prostrated himself, and again renewed his praises. Glory" to thee, the thousand formed, the thousand armed, the many visaged, many footed; to thee, the illimitable author of creation, preservation, and destruction; most subtile of the subtile, most vast of the great: to thee, who art nature, intellect, and consciousness; and who art other spirit even than the spiritual root of those principles 22. Do thou shew favour upon us. Behold, lord, this earth, oppressed by mighty Asuras, and shaken to her mountain basements, comes to thee, who art her invincible defender, to be relieved from her burden. Behold me, Indra, the Aswins, Varuna, and Yama, the Rudras, the Vasus, the suns, the winds, fire, and all other celestials, prepared to execute whatever thou shalt will that we shall do. Do thou, in whom there is no imperfection, O sovereign of the deities, give thy orders to thy servants: lo, we are ready."
vp.5.30	Accordingly the warders of the garden went and reported to sachi the message of Satyabhama. sachi appealed to her husband, and excited the king of the gods to resent this affront: and Indra accordingly, attended by the army of the celestials, marched to attack Hari, in defence of the Parijata tree. The gods were armed with clubs, swords, maces, and darts; and Indra wielded the thunderbolt. As soon as Govinda saw the king of the gods advancing against him on his elephant, attended by the immortals, he blew his shell so that the sound filled all the regions, and he showered smilingly myriads of arrows upon his assailants. Beholding the air in all directions overspread with his darts, the celestials in return hurled innumerable missiles; but every one of these the destroyer of Madhu, and lord of all worlds, cut playfully into a thousand pieces with his shafts. The devourer of serpents, Garuda, laid hold of the noose of the sovereign of the waters, and tore it to fragments with his beak, as if it had been a little snake. The son of Devaki threw his mace at the club of Yama, and cast it broken upon the ground: he cut in bits the litter of the lord of wealth with his discus: a glance of his eye eclipsed the radiance of the sun: he severed Agni into a hundred parts with his arrows, and scattered the Vasus through the realms of space: with his discus he cut off the points of the tridents of the Rudras, and cast themselves upon the earth: and with the shafts shot from his bow he
vp.5.37	Then there came to Kesava, when he was private and alone, a messenger from the gods, who addressed him with reverence, and said, "I am sent to you, O lord, by the deities, and do thou hear what Indra, together with the Viswas, Maruts, adityas, Sadhyas, and Rudras, respectfully represents. More than a hundred years have elapsed since thou, in favour to the gods, hast descended upon earth, for the purpose of relieving it of its load. The demons have been slain, and the burden of earth has been removed: now let the immortals once again behold their monarch in heaven. A period exceeding a century has passed: now, if
vp.6.7	undefinable by words, and is to be discovered solely in one s own spirit. That is the supreme, unborn, imperishable form of Vishnu, who is without (sensible) form, and is characterised as a condition of the supreme soul, which is variously modified from the condition of universal form. But this condition cannot be contemplated by sages in their (early) devotions, and they must therefore direct their minds to the gross form of Hari, which is of universal perceptibility. They must meditate upon him as Hiranyagarbha, as the glorious Vasava, as Prajapati, as the winds, the Vasus, the Rudras, the suns, stars, planets, Gandharbas, Yakshas, Daityas, all the gods and their progenitors, men, animals, mountains, oceans, rivers, trees, all beings, and all sources of beings, all modifications whatever of nature and its products, whether sentient or unconscious, one footed, two footed, or many footed; all these are the sensible form of Hari, to be apprehended by the three kinds of apprehension. All this universal world, this world of moving and stationary beings, is pervaded by the energy of Vishnu, who is of the nature of the supreme Brahma. This energy is either supreme, or, when it is that of conscious embodied spirit, it is secondary. Ignorance, or that which is denominated from works, is a third energy 14; by which the omnipresent energy of embodied spirit is ever excited, and whence it suffers all the pains of repeated worldly existence.

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