Chapter 269 - The consecration of the Umbrella (chatra)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

[Full title: The sacred formulas for the consecration of the umbrella (chatra) and other royal insignia]

Puṣkara said:

1-3. I shall describe the sacred formulas for (the consecration of) the umbrella [chatra] and other things, the worship of which (would confer) victory and other things. “O One with great intellect! One having the splendour of jasmine! One having the lustre of snow, jasmine and moon! You be glorious by the true words of Brahmā, Soma, and Varuṇa and the power of the Sun. May you shield the king for the achievement of success and promotion of health in the same way as the cloud covers the earth for its welfare.

4-9a. O Horse! You were born in the race of the Gandharvas (a kind of semi-divine beings). May you not become a defiler of the race. You be glorious by the true words of Brahmā, Soma and Varuṇa and the power of Fire (god) as well as the splendour of the Sun, the penance of the sages, the continence of Rudra (Śiva) and the strength of the Wind (god). You remember that you are of royal birth. You remember the kaustubha gem. May you not incur the sin that would accrue to the killer of a brahmin, or to a patricide or to a matricide or to a person who utters a lie for the sake of (gaining) a land or to a man of the warrior-class who turns his back (upon the battle), although you may swiftly move that way. O Horse! May you not meet with adversity in the battle or on the road. May you be happy together with your master after killing the enemies in the battle.

9b-13. O Banner of Indra! Suparṇa of great valour has taken his position on you. The lord of birds, Son of Vinatā, One (seated) on the banner of Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu), A progeny of (sage) Kaśyapa, One that carried away the nectar, The Enemy of the serpents, the Vehicle of (Lord) Viṣṇu, Immeasurable one, Unassailable in the battle, Destroyer of the enemies of the celestials, One having great strength, One having swift speed, One possessing a huge body, One who drinks the nectar, The winged one, One who has the swiftness of Māruti (son of Wind, Hanumat) is always present in you. You have been fixed by (Lord) Viṣṇu, the lord of lords, for the sake of Indra. May you always give me victory, prosperity and strength. (You) protect the warriors together with their horses, armours and weapons. You burn our enemies.

14-23. Kumuda, Airāvaṇa, Padma, Puṣpadanta, Vāmana, Supratīka, Añjana and Nīla^[1] are the eight (elephants) of divine origin. Their sons and grandsons constitute eight forces. You remember Bhadra, Manda, Mṛga and Saṅkīrṇa that have been born in the different forests and have become great elephants. May the (eight) Vasus, (eleven) Rudras, (twelve) Ādityas, the group of Maruts protect you. O King of elephants! Protect the master! May the obligation be discharged! (Lord) Indra, the lord of the celestials, riding the Airāvata (the elephant of Indra) and wielding the (weapon) thunderbolt following you, protect you. May you gain victory in the battle and march always in good state. May you get the strength of Airāvata (elephant of Indra) in the battle. May you get wealth from Soma, strength from Viṣṇu, splendour from Sun, speed from wind, firmness from mountain, victory from Rudra and fame from Lord Purandara (Indra). May the elephants protect you in the battle. May the quarters in the company of Aśvins (the two physicians of the gods) and Gandharvas (semi-divine beings) protect you in all the directions. May the Manus (the first representative of man-kind), Rudras, Vāyu, Soma, the great sages, Nāgas (serpents), Kinnaras (semi-divine beings), Gandharvas (semi-divine beings), Yakṣas (semi-divine beings), the hosts of spirits, planets, goblins with Ādityas, the Lord of the goblins with the (divine) mothers, Indra, Skanda (son of Śiva) the commander-in-chief (of the celestials) and Varuṇa resting in you burn all the enemies. May the king gain victory.

24-28a. May the festoons used by the enemy for decoration everywhere, fall down being struck by your splendour. In the same way as you have shone at the time of killing (the demon) Kālanemi,^[2] the destruction of Tripura^[3], the battle with Hiraṇyakaśipu^[4] and the killing of all the demons, may you shine now. You remember the opportune moment. May the enemies of the king be destroyed quickly. (May the enemies) be conquered by different kinds of terrible diseases and weapons. May (the names) Pūtanā, Revatī, Lekhā and Kālarātrī that we have read (as terrible forces) burn all the enemies quickly with your help.

28b-33. (O sword!) You have been created by the god of gods, the trident-bearer, (Lord) Śarva (Śiva) out of the essence of the world at the great sacrifice in which everything was offered. The destroyer of the enemies! Remember the foremost form of Nandaka (the sword of Lord Kṛṣṇa). One having a dark complexion like the petals of blue lotus! Dark one! Destroyer of bad dreams! (Lord) Brahmā has declared the following as your eight names: asiḥ, viśasanaḥ, khaḍgaḥ, tīkṣṇadhāraḥ, durāsadaḥ, śrīgarbhaḥ, vijayaḥ. and dharmapālaḥ. Kṛttikā is your asterism. Lord Maheśvara (Śiva) is your preceptor. Gold is your body. Janārdana (Viṣṇu) is your lord.

34. O Armour! You cause (the enemy forces) to feel ashamed in the battle. I will have fame in the army today. O Sinless one! Protect me, worthy of being protected by you! Obeisance to you.

35-38. O War drum! You cause the hearts of enemies to tremble by your sound. You act in such a way that you may achieve victory for the king’s army. Just as the excellent elephants get delighted on (hearing) the sound of the (colliding) clouds, in the same way (let us) rejoice on (hearing) your sound. You bring us joy. Just as the rumbling clouds cause fright in women, so also let our enemies get frightened by your sound in the battle. (These) should always be worshipped with sacred formulas. They should be employed for victory etc. Every year (Lord) Viṣṇu should be anointed with ghee and water. The king should be given the ablution by an astrologer and priest.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Supposed to guard the quarters.

[2]:

A demon killed by Viṣṇu.

[3]:

The three cities destroyed by Śiva.

[4]:

A demon killed by Viṣṇu.