Chapter 21 - Indradyumna Gets the Royal Shrine Built

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Jaimini said:

1. As the saintly king said thus, a certain Brāhmaṇa who had mastered Ṛgveda and acquired the knowledge of Vedanta, gladly spoke to the king these words:

2. “Wonderful indeed is the mass (greatness) of your fortune, whereby the Lord has manifested on the earth in a wooden body. Śruti says that his sincere and regular worship bestows salvation on those who are deluded because of the ignorance of Ātman.

3-11a. The tree had been floating on the other side of the ocean. By worshipping (the idols made out of it) and adoring the super-human Lord very difficult to be propitiated, people attain liberation which is difficult to attain.

Nārada himself, who is a storehouse of the knowledge of Brahman, has told you that the knowledge of this (Lord) cannot be had from anything other than the words of Vedanta. Indeed the activity of Viṣṇu cannot go on without the Vedas. Whether it is the creation of others or manifestation of himself, the Lord honours the authority of the Vedas.

If he were to act without Śruti, who will accept it as authoritative? Hence, O king, this incarnation is also noted in the Vedas.

Do not think that it is an (ordinary) statue. It is the Puruṣa comprehensible through the Vedānta and sung about in the Sāman songs. It is the cause of spiritual welfare (Mokṣa) unto men.

Merely by its sight our dense darkness has subsided. There are Śrutis shedding light on the worship of this (idol).

The worship of this is praiseworthy, if it is employed for a good cause. Oh! the men living in the sub-continent of Bhārata have got their sins reduced and destroyed because Janārdana, the bestower of salvation, has appeared before them. There too this Oḍhra-land (Orissa State) is the most excellent one, because people living there see the Lord in the form of Brahman with their physical eyes.

11b-17a. The mysterious path of Śrutis and Smṛtis has become perplexing through rituals. Those who go by that path whirl in great agitation like a waterwheel. The Lord, the embodiment of knowledge and consciousness, is the cause of attainment of the true status (i.e. salvation). Even without such means as Śruti etc. he is the bestower of the greatest bliss and salvation.

To the vicious people who undergo great distress on account of the continuous departures and arrivals (i.e deaths and births), this wooden idol of Viṣṇu is the bestower of happiness, and a good kinsman.

The rules and regultaions mentioned in Śrutis and Smṛtis are not binding here, O king. He is the bestower of salvation on even Cāṇḍālas, should they happen to come within the range of (his) vision.

Even if a man is no devotee but views him as a blind follower, he shall obtain full merit of thousands of horse-sacrifices.

If a person strictly adheres to holy observances and worships devoutly with steady mind, he will undoubtedly attain Sāyujya with Brahman.

17b-22. How ineffective is the means (ritual act) which is full of exertion, easily perishable, temporary in nature, yielding only insignificant results and characterized by return (i.e. rebirth); and how great is this Brahman constituted of wood which burns heaps of sins like a forest fire burning out trees! It is merely by its sight that it bestows salvation—the state of aloofness characterised by existence, knowledge and bliss!

Repetition of the Vedic passages and other rites are very difficult to be performed by vicious souls. What can be achieved through them by noble souls, is granted by this (Lord) coolly without any excitement.

In the other holy spots the Lord is far away from the residents of the mortal world. But (here) the Lord is always present in his own holy spot as the bestower of salvation.

Hence, O illustrious king, stay here with your army and men. You are the most learned and a great devotee. Worship him along with all ancillary and subsidiary rites.”

Jaimini said:

23-28. On hearing those words of the Brāhmaṇa Nārada became delighted in his mind. (He said:) “What is said by the excellent Brāhmaṇa, a follower of the Vedic path, is relevant. The collection of the Vedas issued forth at the beginning of creation from the breath of Brahmā. There the purport of the Upaniṣads has become revealed now.

The meaning of the same, only Prajāpati, the lotus-born lord, knows. Now I have understood it, O king, directly from him. Everything has been performed at his bidding. Propitiate this (Lord) as much as you desire and stay here. I am going to Brahmā; I shall inform him that the manifestation of the Enemy of Mura has been brought about.

By spending a big sum get the (Lord’s) Mansion built, O king, After installing Narasiṃha in the Temple, you will be liberated.”

Jaimini said:

29-33. On hearing it the king replied to the sage: “O great sage, I am desirous of going to Brahmā along with you.

It is by his grace that the Lord of the universe has been made the guest of our eyes. I shall tell him about the Palatial Shrine for the installation of Viṣṇu. I shall request him that the festival of the installation within the Mansion should be celebrated in (his) presence. Then the Grandfather (i.e. Brahmā) shall come from Brahmaloka and celebrate the great festival of the Lord here in the Mansion (Temple). Hence, O sage, take me also to the presence of Brahmā. We shall conclude the rite of installation in the inner sanctuary in the Mansion. O sage, stay here and complete it. We shall proceed thereafter. Kindly wait for some time.”

34-41a. Then the king engaged several experts in sculpture in cutting stones as well as in construction activities. He honoured them with gifts and respectfully requested them to attend to every aspect of the job.

O Brāhmaṇas, the neatly constructed Mansion rose up everyday like the moon during Śuklapakṣa (bright fortnight), growing bigger and bigger. The Mansion rose up very tall in a short time. It was impossible to count the number of stones used in the construction.

The money was spent in crores. There also it was impossible to calculate the expense. All the people in the subcontinent of Bhārata who owned allegiance to King Indradyumna were engaged in this. All those who were engaged worked jointly with mutual co-operation. The great delight of those engaged in the work gave rise to a loud clamour filling the vaults of heaven and the quarters.

41b-46. The Goddess of prosperity and fortune was pleased with the sincerity, faith, devotion, and the Sattva quality of the king. Along with the fame of the king the glory increased, O Brāhmaṇas.

The Mansion of Viṣṇu was excessively refulgent. In some places it was covered with gold and inlaid with different kinds of gems. In some places where crystals were used in the construction it had the lustre of the antumnal sky. The walls in some places were built of blue stones and the Mansion appeared like the sky covered with black clouds. As the beautiful Mansion of Viṣṇu was thus perfectly finished, the excellent king duly performed the rite of Garbhapratiṣṭhā (installation of the idol in the inner sanctuary of the temple). In order to ward off stroke of lightning, cracks in the structure and other calamities, gems etc. were suitably fitted in the manner prescribed in the treatises on architecture. The king then suitably utilized many other costly articles acquired by his heroic exertions in the construction of the Mansion.

47-54. The Mansion that was being constructed was such as could not be even mentally imagined by kings in the three worlds. It increased the fame (of Indradyumna), O Brāhmaṇas. Even Devas who live till the end of the Kalpa could not visualize it. Ādityas spoke to one another thus:

“A Mansion like this has never been constructed anywhere on the earth or in heaven. His excellent intellect is wonderful. It has taken this lofty form. It craves for the lotus-like feet of the Lord with faith and sincerity. Who are such wise kings on the earth who see such supra-mundane activities or perform them? Emperors may defeat all the enemies and establish their suzerainty. They may have hoarded much wealth in crores and crores, but is it possible for those kings to perform a thousand horse-sacrifices as performed by this king unto the Lord of heaven. Before this it has not been performed. A thousand horse-sacrifices have not been seen or heard of, but they have been performed by this king. In the course of those sacrifices the residents of all the three worlds stayed on the earth along with this king and enjoyed the pleasures.

55-59. As he performed the sacrifices, his assembly appeared like the world of Brahmā. The three Vedas were present there in embodied form. Dharma had all the four feet. Suras who can realize their desires by merely thinking of them have become struck with wonder there in regard to this excellent Mansion. The king has intelligently planned this (and got it constructed) but no other person resident in all the three worlds could even imagine this. What can be inaccessible to this king who has the help (and guidance of) Nārada and Brahmā, the creator of all the worlds, the Lord of all the Devas!

Or to a devotee of Viṣṇu what is desired to be done cannot be far off (inaccessible). O Brāhmaṇas, there is no difference between Viṣṇu and his devotees.”

At the conclusion of the construction of the Mansion the king, said to Nārada, the eminent sage:

60-66. “Everything which was impossible for Suras and Asuras has been accomplished by me, because I have been meditating on Viṣṇu directly in an exclusive way. The Lord said to me formerly, ‘The palatial building is ever in me’” (?) After saying this he fell at the feet of Nārada and bowed down to him.

Nārada raised the excellent king and honoured him: “O king, there is no difference between you and me really. For your sake the Lord of the universe has directly manifested himself. Do worship him. Now you are a living-liberated soul. Your mind is attached to his lotus-like feet. What more than this has to be acquired by a person with single-minded devotion?

O king, what cannot be achieved through Tīrthas, Mantras, Japas, charitable gifts, sacrifices with plenty of monetary gifts, holy rites, study of Vedas and austerities, O great king, has been acquired by you through devotion. Henceforth you need not grieve. Let your mind remain in the path of devotion.

67. After staying in this world for a long time, O great king, propitiate the Lord of the universe by means of offerings and great festivities.

68. If you are desirous of seeing Brahmā, if you wish to go to the Lord, he will instruct you in the various festivals and processions.

69-71. The Lord himself will grant you boons. After the Palatial Shrine has been inaugurated by the Self-born Lord I shall also come along with the Seven Sages. Then we can go to the sinless world of Brahmā. Except you who is fit for going to the world of Brahmā?”

After saying this to the king Nārada rose into the sky.