The Skanda Purana

by G. V. Tagare | 1950 | 2,545,880 words

This page describes King Divodasa’s Valour which is chapter 43 of the English translation of the Skanda Purana, the largest of the eighteen Mahapuranas, preserving the ancient Indian society and Hindu traditions in an encyclopedic format, detailling on topics such as dharma (virtous lifestyle), cosmogony (creation of the universe), mythology (itihasa), genealogy (vamsha) etc. This is the forty-third chapter of the Purvardha of the Kashi-khanda of the Skanda Purana.

Chapter 43 - King Divodāsa’s Valour

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Agasti said:

1. How did the Three-eyed Lord make King Divodāsa abandon Kāśī and how did he come from Mandara? O lord, relate this anecdote for the joy of the listeners.

Skanda said:

2. Due to the importance (given) to Brahmā’s request and becoming pleased with the penance of that mountain Mandara, the Lord went to Mandara.

3. When Lord Viśveśvara went to Mandara, a beautiful mountain, all the heaven-dwellers too went along with Giriśa (Lord Śiva).

4. Abandoning the Vaiṣṇava shrines hereof on the earth, Lord Viṣṇu too went to Mandara where the Lord of the Devas, the consort of Umā, resided.

5. Abandoning all the holy places pertaining to Gaṇapati Gaṇeśa went there. I too, O eminent Brāhmaṇa, went towards Mandara.

6. Abandoning all the places sacred to Sun-god, Sun too quickly went away from his abode. All the other Devas too went after leaving their respective sacred places (on the earth).

7. When all the groups of Devas had gone away from the earth, the valorous King Divodāsa ruled the unrivalled kingdom.

8. Making the eternal city of Vārāṇasī his capital, that highly intelligent king righteously protected the subjects and made them prosperous.

9.[1] He became scorcher of the hearts and eyes of wicked-hearted ones like the sun, and to all the friends of good hearts he was like the moon to their eyes and minds.

10. By the armies of the enemies fleeing like clouds he was seen wielding with ease his unbroken bow which was like that of Indra and twanging it on the battlefield.

11. Like Dharmarāja (Yama), he became the discriminator of piety and impiety, honouring those who should not be punished and punishing those who deserved punishment.

12. He destroyed the enemies like fire burning down numerous forests. Even from far-off he fettered the group of enemies like Varuṇa.

13. He became the lord (protector) of meritorious persons like Nirṛti, the lord of Puṇyajanas (Rākṣasas). He cut off the demon-like enemies like Nirṛti who made his friends, the Rākṣasas, prosperous. Like wind, he was eagerly engaged in making the universe breathe and live.

14. He was Rājarāja (‘king of kings’, Kubera) bestowing wealth on all good people. He was seen like Rudra in physical form by the enemies in battle.

15. Since by means of his austerities he assumed the forms of all the Devas, they all eulogized and worshipped him.

16. He could not be conquered by Sādhyas (a class of Devas). He was superior to Vasus in wealth. He had the physical form of Planets and he prevented them from being malignant. He had more beauty than Dasras (Aśvins).

17. He did not mind the group of Maruts. He pleased Tuṣitas through his good qualities. Among all the Vidyādharas, he was the greatest of Vidyādharas (‘possessor of learning’).

18. He made Gandharvas bereft of pride by his singing. Yakṣas and Rākṣasas protected his fortress that was on a par with heaven.

19. Nāgas (serpents) did not perpetrate anything evil unto him who was more powerful than the Nāgas (serpents, elephants). Danujas (Demon) assumed human form and served him.

20-21. Guhyakas became his secret spies all-round among men. (To him Asuras said,) “O king, we shall serve you through our wealth and power, because in your territory residence is impossible even for Suras. Āśuga (Wind-god) taught his horses the ability to run fast, because he was in the path of Pāvamāna (‘the treatise on training horses’).

22. On seeing his elephants whose origin was the mountainous region and whose bodies were on a par with the mountains and who were incessantly exuding ichor (Dāna) others also became givers of (religious) gifts (Dāna).

23. In his assemblies the scholarly propounders were not conquered by anyone at any place in scriptural lores. In his battlefield the warriors were not conquered by anyone at any place by means of weapons.

24. In the realm of that king the enemies were never seen Anaṣṭapadāḥ (‘those whose position was not lost’); in his realm the subjects were never seen Naṣṭapadāh (‘those whose positions were lost’).

25. Even in heaven there is only one Kalāvān (‘Master of arts’, the Moon) among the heaven-dwellers; but in the realm of that king, all were Kalālayas (‘abodes of arts’).

26. There is only one Kama in heaven and he is devoid of limbs; but in his realm the Kāmas (Kama = 1. god of love 2. desire) of everyone were complete in their limbs and parts of limbs (had their desires fulfilled in all respects).

27. In his realm, no one was anywhere heard to be Gotrabhid (‘breaker of family tradition’). In heaven the lord of the heaven-dwellers is glorified as Gotrabhid. (Gotrabhid—‘who chopped off the wings of mountains’).

28. No one was heard in his realm by anyone to be a Kṣayī (‘suffering from consumptive disease’). In heaven the lord of the night (Moon) is expected to wane in the different fortnights (Kṣayī).

29-31. In heaven there are Nava Grahas (‘Nine Planets’). His lands are Anavagrahas (‘have no drought’).

Even in heaven there is only one Hiraṇyagarbha (Brahmā). The abodes of all the inhabitants of his realm have gold within (i.e. are Hiraṇyagarbhas).

There is only one Aṃśumān (‘the Sun, having rays or raiments’) blazing in heaven with but seven horses. But his citizens have many good silk clothes and many horses everyday.

32. Just as the heavenly region is Sadapsarāḥ (‘having excellent celestial damsels’), so also his city is Sadapsarāḥ (‘having lakes with excellent water’). In the world of Vaikuṇṭha, there is only one Padmā (Goddess Lakṣmī) but he has a hundred Padmākaras (‘abodes of Padmā’, ‘lotus ponds’).

33. His villages are Anītis (‘having no divine calamities’ and ‘having no justice’) but there are no Arājapuruṣas (‘men spreading anarchy’ or ‘men with no royal glory’). In heaven there is only one Dhanada i.e. Kubera, the lord of Alakā, here in every house there are Dhanadas (Kuberas, donors of wealth).

34. Even as that Divodāsa was ruling Kāśī thus, every year passed off like a day and thus eighty thousand years elapsed.

35. Even as he followed the path of righteousness, the Devas who were desirous of taking malafide action against him took counsel with Guru (Jupiter).

36. O sage, the Devas usually bring about great disasters to persons of righteous activities like you.

37. Although this king very much propitiated those partakers of the offerings (gods) in the fire by means of sacrifices very difficult to be performed, yet they were not friendly towards him.

38. Inability to bear the prosperity of others is but the nature of these heaven-dwellers. In what way was offence committed by Bali, Bāṇa, Dadhīci and others against them?

39. Obstacles do indeed happen at every step in the performance of piety. Still their own duty is never forsaken by pious-minded ones.

40. Unrighteous ones do flourish with abundance of wealth and grain; but due to the same unrighteousness they face downfall along with their roots (completely).

41. Not even an iota of unrighteousness was incurred by that king who protected his subjects like his own bosom-born progeny and who conquered the enemies.

42. The Suras did not come to know of any vulnerable point in that king who was aware of the six Guṇas (expedients of political success). His mind was very powerful on account of the three Śaktis, viz. intellect, army (or physical prowess) and brilliance, and he was perfectly conversant with clever strategic means.

45. Although they were intelligent and they endeavoured to harm him, the Devas did not succeed in doing the least harm to that king.

44. All the men in his realm were steadfast in their vow of having only one wife each. Among women there was no one who was not chaste.

45. No Brāhmaṇa remained without learning. No Kṣatriya was unheroic and no Vaiśya was without an adequate knowledge of the means of earning wealth.

46. In the realm of that King Divodāsa, Śūdras had unswerving devotion to the service unto the twice-born.

47. In his kingdom religious students maintained their celibacy unaffected. They were always obedient to their preceptor’s family and desirous of learning the Vedas.

48. The householders everywhere were keen in the observance of their duties of entertaining guests, masters of the scriptures and always behaved honourably and decently.

49. Those who were in the third stage of their life, scrupulously abided by the conduct prescribed for hermits without any desire for the activities of the village and followed the Vedic path.

50. The ascetics therein eschewed all desires and were free from attachments of every sort. They maintained the three Daṇḍas (signifying mastery over) speech, mind and physical action.

51. Persons of mixed castes (whether born of the regular order, i.e. husband of a superior caste and wife of an inferior one, or vice versa and of the irregular order, i.e. husband of an inferior caste and wife of a superior one) never swerved in the least from the path traditionally inherited by them.

52. In that realm there were no men without children, no one devoid of wealth, no one who did not serve the elders and no one who met with death prematurely and unaccountably.

53. There were no garrulous persons or fickle ones, no cheats or persons of violent nature, no heretics and no imbeciles, none dying childless and no liquor-sellers.

54. Everywhere there was heard the loud sound of Vedic chanting; at every place there debate on scriptural literature was held; everywhere there were pleasing melodious auspicious songs.

55. There were heard the sounds of lutes and flutes and drums of sweet melody. Excepting the intake of the Soma juice, no other sort of drinking was heard of.

56. Therein meat-eating was practised only with respect to the sacrificial Puroḍāśa (oblation) and never elsewhere. There were no gamesters there; no one in debts and no thieves.

57. Adoration of the feet of his parents (was considered by a son as) worship of gods, holy fasts, vow and observance, holy spot and the greatest worship of the deities.

58. To women worship of the feet of the husband was the worship of the lord; his word is (as authoritative as) the Vedas. All men always worshipped their elder brothers.

59. Servants joyously worshipped the lotus-like feet of their masters. The persons of superior caste were extolled by those of inferior caste on account of deference for good qualities.

60. They worshipped the deities of Kāśī thrice a day. Everywhere all the learned men were worshipped by laymen with great zeal.

61. Persons steadfast in austerities were worshipped by scholars. Those who had conquered the sense-organs were adored by those who were steadfast in penance. Those who were well-established in knowledge were adored by those who had mastered the sense-organs and Śiva Yogins were adored by those who were well-established in knowledge.

62. Day and night sacrificial offerings well-consecrated, sanctified by Mantras and of great worth were duly made in the fire constituting the mouth of the Brāhmaṇas.

63. In that realm, at every step, there were many persons who dug wells, tanks and lakes and planted parks utilizing (their) wealth acquired by legitimate means.

64. In his realm people of all castes were seen delighted and well-nourished. Excepting hunters and animal killers, all were richly endowed with a desire to be engaged in uncensurable services.

65. Thus that king was pure in every respect. The Devas who were given to find fault could not find even the least weak point in that king.

66. The preceptor of Devas said thus to the Devas who were desirous of harming that virtuous king who was the foremost among those who were conversant with Mantras.

Guru said:

67. Here no one knows (the six expedients in politics viz.) Sandhi, Vigraha, Yāna, Āsana, Saṃśraya and Dvaidhībhāvana (i.e. peace, war, marching against, halting, seeking shelter and duplicity) as that king.

68. O heaven-dwellers, among the four Upāyas (means of strategy) there is only one, namely Bheda (sowing dissensions) which perhaps may be successful in regard to that king who is very powerful due to his austerities.

69. Devas have been banished from the earth by that king. Yet there are many there who are partial and sympathetic towards us.

70. They are honourd by him too as well as by us. Even for a moment he will not be happy without them.

71. They keep moving in and out constantly. They are objects of trust unto everyone. If once they come here, all that we desire can be achieved.

72. On hearing the words uttered by Gīṣpati (i.e. Bṛhaspati) all the Devas understood the implications thereof. Hence they duly honoured those spies who moved within and without and said, “It shall be so.”

73. Thereafter Śakra (Indra) called Vītihotra (god Fire) standing in front and spoke to him sweetly with great reverence.

74. “O Havyavāhana, withdraw immediately your form established there in the realm of that king.

75. When that form comes back, all the subjects with their sacred fires having extinguished, shall become deprived of the rites of Havya and Kavya and so will be averse to the king.

76. Bereft of the attachment of the subjects—the wish-yielding divine cow of the kingdom, the title Rājā (a king, a delighter of the subjects) acquired with very great difficulty, shall become meaningless.

77. A king is called so (Rājā) because he makes the people delighted. This is the conventional meaning acquired (by the word). If that convention gets spoilt and lost the very kingdom shall perish.

78. The king alienated from the subjects will before long perish, though he may be richly endowed with treasury, fortress, army etc., like a tree on the bank (of a river).

79. The means of achieving the three aims of life for a king is his subjects at the very outset. If the subjects become weak, the threefold objective gets weakened.

80. When the three-fold aim gets weakened the attainment (of the pleasures) of the two worlds too becomes very weak.”

81. At these words of Indra, god Fire endowed with Yogic Māyā quickly withdrew his form from the region of the earth.

82. At the instance of the Thunderbolt-wielding Lord, god Fire withdraw not only the Tretāgnis (the three types of sacrificial fires) but also the gastric fire having the power of digesting foodstuffs.

83-84. When god Fire had gone back to the heavenly region, at midday, the king concluded the midday rites and quickly entered the dining hall. The trembling officials in charge of the kitchen submitted as follows to the hungry king.

The Cooks said:

85-86. O king, you have excelled the Sun by means of your brilliance and god Fire by means of your exploits. Though it is untimely, we are desirous of submitting something, O king skilled in fighting battles. If you accord to us freedom from fear, we shall intimate to you with palms joined in reverence.

87. When the command was given with an indication from his eyebrows by the king of esteemed countenance, the officials in charge of the Royal Kitchen submitted softly:

88. “O lord, we are not fully aware by what mischievous means Vaiśvānara (god Fire), terrified much at your exploits and fully conscious[2] (of the consequences), vanished from the city.

89. How can there go regular cooking acitivity when fire has vanished? Still some cooking has been completed by us with solar power.

90. On getting your lordship’s command we shall bring it here. O king, we think that today’s cooking is good.”

91. On hearing the words of the cooks that highly intelligent king of noble temperament thought that it was the mischief done by Devas.

92-96. Presently he meditated and visualized by means of the power of his penance that god Fire abandoned not only the kitchen but also the cavities of belly and went away to the abode of the gods, away from the earth.

‘Let it be so. What harm has been done to us when god Fire has left? The harm is that of the gods thanks to the disorderly activity (i.e. cessation of sacrifices etc.). Has the kingdom been taken over by me on the strength of their power? It has been assigned to me by the Creator, Brahmā, with due weightage.’

While that king who ruled the middle world (Earth) like Indra was thinking thus, the citizens came to the royal threshold along with the people of the surrounding countryside. At the king’s behest they were allowed to enter by the doorkeeper.

97-98. They were given due precedence and approach and they bowed down to the king (the Indra on the Earth). Some of them were addressed by the king in a voice indicating reverence. Some were welcomed with eyes beaming with delight. Some were received with gestures of the hands. They left their seats and were received by the king with due deference.

99. All of them resorted to the courtyard. It was served (lighted) with the rays of precious stones. The fragrance thereof surpassed that of celestial trees (in sweetness). It was auspicious and splendid due to the shade of the royal umbrellas of a hundred ribs.

100-111. Then the king, having come to know their purpose as evinced by their facial colour (expression), began to speak:

“O citizens, do not be afraid. If fire is taken away from the earth by the Devas committing mischief, does it by itself amount to an attack on me by them?

O citizens, I myself had a desire of doing this but did not bring it into effect. Fortunately it has been recalled after a long time.

Fire has gone away. That is good. Let god Wind too go away from here. Let Varuṇa too along with the Sun and the Moon, go away without delay.

By means of the power of my penance I myself shall be Indra, the bestower of the abundance of all vegetation to the delight of the realm all-round.

Thanks to the power of penance and Yoga, I shall divide myself into the three forms of fire for carrying out the activities of cooking, sacrificial rites and warming (those affected by chillness).

I shall adopt the duty of Wind within (the body) and outside (in the world) and become capable of knowing the internal activities of everyone.

I shall assume the form of water, the sole enlivener of all creatures, and resuscitate all the subjects. Of what use are the waters in my realm?

When the Moon and the Sun are overwhelmed by Tamas (Rāhu at the time of eclipse), O citizens, do we not keep alive without them in the world?

I shall make the subjects delighted by assuming the splendour of the Moon. Of what avail is the night-stalking Moon that wastes away and is defiled by a stigma?

Bhāskara (the Sun) is the founder of our dynasty. He is decidedly worthy of our respect. Let him remain happily and carry on his movements to and fro.

He alone is the very soul of all the worlds. Particularly he is our family deity. He does not stoop to commit any harm. That is his excellent vow.”

112. After imbibing these nectar-like words of the king through the cups of their ears, the citizens with their faces beaming with delight went away to their respective abodes without any worry in their minds.

113. The king too did accordingly. What is it that cannot be achieved by penance in the three worlds? Adopting the refulgence far excelling that of fire and the Sun, he became, as it were, a great thorn in the heart of the heaven-dwellers.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The king’s similarity with Lokapālas (Protectors of the World like the Sun, Indra etc.) is described in vv 9-15.

[2]:

If taken as avidvān instead of vidvān, it means “The fool, that he is etc.”

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