Chapter 35 - Defeat of Kṣupa

Sanatkumāra said:

1-2. O sage of holy rites, how did Dadhīca strike king Kṣupa with his foot after conquering Viṣṇu, the lord of Devas in battle? How did that sage of great penance attain adamantine bones from lord Śiva? O Nandin, please recount how Death was conquered by you.

Nandin said:

3. There was a king of great splendour known as Kṣupa. He was the son of Brahmā. He, the lord of the people, was the friend of Dadhīca, a leading sage.

4. In course of time, incidentally a dispute arose between Kṣupa and Dadhīca as to who was the better—a Kṣatriya or a Brahmin.

5-6. (Kṣupa said) The king holds the physical body of the eight guardians of the quarters.^[1] Hence I am Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Soma (Moon), and Dhanada (Kubera, the lord of wealth). I am Īśvara (overlord). I should not be dishonoured.

7-9. O sage of holy rites, that deity (i.e. the king) is greater than the greatest.^[2] Hence, O blessed one, O son of Cyavana, I must never be insulted by you. I must always be honoured.

On hearing that opinion of Kṣupa the great sage Dadhīca, son of Cyavana, struck Kṣupa on the head with his left fist, believing in his own supremacy as a brahmin. But the powerful Kṣupa hit Dadhīca with his thunderbolt.

10-12. Formerly, he was born in the world of Brahmā when Brahmā sneezed. He was urged by the thunderboltwielding Indra to perform a task. He obtained the thunderbolt as a reward for his task. Out of his own will, he became a human, being and afterwards a king. The powerful king then conquered the leading brahmin like the powerful Indra himself, full of tamas qualities. When struck by the thunderbolt the leading brahmin fell on the ground.

13-14. Out of sorrow he remembered sage Bhargava. Bhārgava, the best among the embodied beings, came there and by his yogic power he stitched the body of Dadhīca who had been struck by the thunderbolt. After stitching the severed body Bhārgava said:

15 -16. O highly blessed Dadhīca, worship Śiva, the unsullied lord of Devas, worthy of worship by Brahmā and others. O brahmin sage! by the grace of the three-eyed lord, you become immortal. O brahmin, this power of resuscitating one to life has been obtained from him by me.

17. There is no fear, anywhere, from death for the devotees of Śiva. I shall now tell you Śiva’s Mantra that revives one to life.

18-21a “We worship the lord, father of the three worlds,^[3] the lord of the three deities, three Guṇas, three principles, three sacred fires, of three Vedas, of everything splitin to three. He is the scented one, the increaser of nourishment in all living beings in all places: in the Prakṛti having the three Guṇas, in the sense-organs and their objects, in Devas and Gaṇas. The fragrant lord is as subtle as fragrance in the flowers.

21b-25. O excellent brahmin of holy rites, O great sage, because puṣṭi (nourishment) is the very name of Puruṣa, He is the increaser of nourishment (puṣṭivardhana) of all the divine creations beginning with Mahat and ending with Viśeṣa, of Viṣṇu, of Brahmā, of sages, of Indra, and of Devas. Hence, we do worship that immortal nectarine lord Rudra by means of actions, by penance, by study of the Vedas, by yoga and by meditation. By this truth, Śiva himself shall liberate us from the bondage of Death. The lord is the cause of bondage and liberation like the cucumber fruit.”^[4] This Mantra that resuscitates life has been acquired by me from Śiva.

26. By repeating this Mantra, by doing sacrifice with this, by drinking water inspired by this mantra, by meditating on this Mantra in the presence of the Liṅga, O brahmin, one shall not have any fear of death.

27. After hearing his words Dadhīca propitiated Śiva by means of penance and attained adamantine bones, indestructibility and absence of affliction.

28-30. Having obtained indestructibility and adamantine bones Dadhīca hit the king severely on the head with the tip of his foot. King Kṣupa, in return, hit Dadhīca in his chest with his thunderbolt. But by the grace of lord Śiva the thunderbolt was rendered ineffective. It could not injure Dadhīca the great soul of adamantine body

31. On seeing the greatness and power of Dadhīca by way of indestructibility and unafflicted state, Kṣupa propitiated the lotus-eyed lord Viṣṇu, the younger brother of Indra.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The king embodies the essence of eight lokapālas—the guardian deities presiding over the quarters, viz. (i) Indra, cast; (2) Agni, southeast; (3) Yama, south; (4) Sūrya—south-west; (5) Varuṇa, west; (6) Vāyu, north-west; (7) Kuvera, north; (8) Soma, north-east. As such, he is a divine being. He is authorized to maintain the system of four varṇas and Āśramas. But none of the sacred texts—śrutis and smṛtis—empowers him to rule over the Brāhmaṇa varṇa. Cf. Gautama-Dharmasūtra rājā sarvasyeṣṭe brāhmaṇa-varjam.

[2]:

Cf. Manu:—[mahatī devatā hyeṣā nararūpeṇa tiṣṭhati |] 7-8.

[3]:

triyambaka [triyambakam]—tryambaka [tryambakam]. Cf. Tattirīya Saṃhitā. I.8.6.2.

[4]:

Tattirīya Saṃhitā. I.9,6.2. Cf.—[bhidyate hṛdayagranthiśchidyante sarvasaṃśayāḥ | kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi mayi dṛṣṭe'khilātmani |]—Śivagītā quoted in Śivatoṣiṇī.