Chapter 3 - The History of Nābhi—Incarnation of Ṛṣabha

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Śrī Śuka said:

1. Being desirous of progeny, Nābhi, along with childless Merudevī^[1], worshipped the venerable Lord of Sacrifices, with concentrated mind.

2. Although the Lord of charming personality is difficult to be attained to by the use and accomplishments of all the means of sacrifices such as wealth, suitable place, time, appropriate Mantras (incantations), competent sacrificial priests, and payment of liberal sacrificial fees he is affectionate to his devotees. Hence, when he (king Nābhi) was devoutly and with pure heart, performing the sacrifice, his (the Lord’s) heart became eager to accomplish the object desired by his devotee. Although his charming personality is absolutely independent, he manifested his form with beautiful limbs, ravishing the mind and sight, at the time of conducting the Pravargyas (the ceremony preliminary to the Soma Sacrifice).

3. And lo! The Supreme Lord appeared as a self-refulgent personality with two pairs of arms. He was clad in tawny coloured silk garment. He had the splendid Śrī-vatsa mark on his chest. He was characteristically distinct by the great conch (Pāñcajanya), lotus, Vanamālā (a garland of forest flowers), discus, the immortal jewel Kaustubha, mace and others. At this the priests officiating at the sacrifices, the directors of the sacrifice and the sacrificer waited upon him very respectfully with arghya offering water to wash the guest’s hands. They received him bending down their heads respectfully, just as poverty-stricken persons would do when receiving a rich treasure-trove.

The Sacrificial Priests said:

4. “Oh most adorable (God)! (Even though you are perfect in every respect) you be pleased to accept of your own accord, the worship offered, (to you) by us, your servants. We are unable to praise you as your form is incomprehensible. Hence we are taught by the saintly persons to express our obeisance to you again and again. You transcend Prakṛti and Puruṣa. What man, whose mind is absorbed in saṃsāra, the product of the guṇas of Prakṛti and hence incapable, can describe fully the nature of the Supreme Ruler of Prakṛti and Puruṣa by means of name, form or colour belonging to modern gross creation called saṃsāra which can hardly touch you).

5. One cannot do anything more than to extol only, a part of those multitudes of the excellent and the most auspicious attributes which destroy the sins of all human beings.

6. You are thoroughly pleased indeed, Oh Supreme One, through worship offered to you lovingly, by Your followers—worship consisting of water, pure white shoots, tender Tulasī leaves and sprouts of dūrvā grass, and accompanied by sincere prayer in faltering tone.

7. We do not see if you have to achieve any covetable object of yours through this elaborate sacrifice enriched with a number of component parts (formal rites).

8. You are the highest bliss, the embodiment of all the mutually complementary Puruṣārthas (highest objectives in human life) which flow from yourself uninterruptedly, directly and to an unlimited extent. But Oh Lord, this sacrifice signifies as merely (an inadequate) means of propitiating you in the case of us who covet blessings (of Puruṣārthas).

9. Oh Supreme Person! You are superior to supreme gods (like Brahmā). We are ignorant. We by ourselves do not know what is our highest good. Nor have we worshipped you properly (with due formalities). But just as others (philosophic teachers approach the laity for enlightening them, even though not duly received), out of your exceedingly profuse compassion, you reveal yourself here to us and bestow upon us your glory known as Final Liberation as well as the objects coveted by us.

10. However, (the very fact) that you have now manifested yourself to the vision of your own people (devotees), at the sacrifice of the royal sage (Nābhi), is itself a veritable boon, Oh most worshipful God, the foremost among those who confer boons!

11. Oh Lord! The description of the host of your excellent attributes is a source of the highest auspiciousness even to sages who have completely burnt down their impurities by the fire of knowledge intensified by non-attachment, and have consequently become similar to you in nature, and enjoy themselves in their Self. (But even such sages have not visualized you). Hence your excellent virtues are continuously (and repeatedly) sung by them.

12. (Though we have been favoured with your audience, we seek one boon of you. May your names descriptive of your excellent qualities and annihilating all sins, be ever uttered by us (lit. be within the range of our speech), even when we are unable to remember you, while stumbling, hunger-stricken, falling, yawning and in wretched conditions and even when attacked by fever and at the moment of death as well.

13. Moreover, this royal sage is desirous of progeny. He looks upon progeny as a covetable object in human life. He covets to have progeny like you. Hence, like a beggar approaching Kubera, the Lord of Wealth—for obtaining mere husk, he beseeches you, the Lord who are competent to give all blessings including pleasures in Heaven and Final Beatitude.

14. Is there any such person in this world who has not waited upon the feet of the high-souled ones and still is not overcome by your invincible Māyā of inscrutable ways and whose intellect and understanding has not been clouded by her and whose nature has not been overwhelmed by the vehemence of the poison in the form of sense objects of pleasure?

15. You have been invited here for an insignificant object. This act of ours who are dull-witted enough to regard progeny as the highest object in human life, is really an insult to you who are the Lord of unlimited achievements. Be pleased, Oh God of gods, to forgive us all who are ignorant ones as you are equal (in kindness) to all.”

Śrī Śuka said:

16. The glorious Lord Viṣṇu was thus being praised in a hymn composed in prose. The feet of that foremost of gods were bowed to by the priests who were (in their turn) paid obeisance by (king Nābhi), the ruler of a sub-continent (which later became famous as Bhārata-varṣa). He (the Lord) spoke graciously as follows:

The Lord said:

17. “Oh sages! It is admirable that a very embarrassing and difficult boon viz. the son of this (king) should be like unto me, has been sought from me by you whose words are not futile and ineffective. For being matchless (one without a second), I alone am similar to me. Nevertheless, the words of Brāhmaṇas should not prove untrue inasmuch as it is my own mouth that is represented by the race of Brāhmaṇas who are like gods among the twice-born ones.

18. Therefore, no compeer to me being available, I shall exhibit a part of mine by incarnating (on the earth) through (king Nābhi), the son of Agnīdhra.”

Śrī Śuka said:

19. Within the hearing of queen Merudevī the Lord addressed this to her consort and disappeared.

20. Oh king Viṣṇudatta^[2] (Parīkṣit)! The glorious Lord who was thus propitiated by the great sages in that very sacrifice, and who desired to oblige the monarch, descended as the son of Merudevī in the king’s harem. He assumed a white (pure, Sāttvic) personality with a view to demonstrating to the world the sacred vows to be observed by (nude Śramaṇas) or recluses clad with air, performing austerities with a pledge to observe life-long celibacy^[3].

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Marudevī in Jaina tradition (Hemacandra’s Triṣaṣṭi Śalākā Puruṣa Carita (TSPC).

[2]:

So called because he was restored to life by Kṛṣṇa—vide supra 1.12, 7-10.

[3]:

This obviously refers to Digambara Jaina sages despite Bhāvāratha Dīpikā